Beneath the Honeysuckle Vine (12 page)

“
Fredericksburg
?
I
’
ve never heard of it.
”

“
Most folks haven
’
t.
It
’
s small.
”

“
And your family is there?
”

“
No, ma
’
am,
”
he answered.
“
Two parents, two sisters
,
and two brothers…moved north about a year ago.
”

Vivianna smiled and asked,
“
Only two parents?
”

She was momentarily mesmerized as Johnny Tabor smiled then too.
His smile quite lit up his face
,
and it was only then that she noticed what a handsome man he would be were he healthy.

“
Yes.
Only two,
”
he said.
Instantly, his smile faded, however, as he said,
“
I
’
m so sorry for the loss of your family, ma
’
am.
Truly I am.
”

Vivianna shook her head
and
restrained the tears begging to well up in her eyes.
“
Everyone lost someone in the war,
”
she said.
“
But I have the Turners
. T
hey
’
re my family now.
”

“
Until you and Justin have your own family?
”
he asked.
His eyes were piercing as they studied hers
,
as if he were trying to read the thoughts in her mind.
She felt her cheeks pink with blushing
,
yet she wasn
’
t quite certain if the blush rose from the thought of having a family with Justin
or because of the intensity of Mr. Tabor
’
s gaze.
“
Well…well…well, I…
”
she stammered.

“
You haven
’
t already promised yourself to Caleb, have ya, ma
’
am?
”
he asked.

Vivianna was astonished!
She felt her mouth gape open as she stammered to respond.

“
Well
,
no…I…I haven
’
t.
Of course…I have to…I wouldn
’
t want to hurt him
.
I…
”

“
But he
’
s asked ya…hasn
’
t he?
”
he asked.

Vivianna sensed he already knew the answer to his own question.
Therefore, she dared not lie.
“
Well, yes,
”
she admitted in a whisper.
“
But I refused.
I couldn
’
t…I couldn
’
t accept him while…while…
”

“
While you were still in love with his brother,
”
he finished.
Again, Johnny Tabor
’
s dark eyes bored into her soul.

“
It seems…it seems you know an awful lot about it, Mr. Tabor,
”
she said, spooning more stew into his mouth.

“
Bein
’
a friend to both boys…it seems I would, wouldn
’
t it?
”
he asked.

Vivianna gasped as Johnny Tabor reached out and firmly took hold of her wrist with one roughened hand.

“
I didn
’
t bring Justin home so you could sacrifice yourself in the name of duty or pity
and break Justin Turner
’
s heart, ma
’
am,
”
he rather growled as he glared at her.
“
I brung him home to you
. S
o even though I know you
’
re mindful of Caleb
—
and you
’
re a good woman for it
—
don
’
t do anything out of pity or obligation that might find a load of souls unhappy in the end.
”

“
Well, I don
’
t plan to, Mr. Tabor,
”
Vivianna began, yanking her wrist from his surprisingly powerful grip,
“
but I
’
m not right certain that it
’
s any of your nevermind anyway.
”

“
Oh, it is indeed my nevermind, ma
’
am,
”
he growled.
His eyes narrowed as he glared at her.
“
I was at heaven
’
s door not an hour ago…and glad to be there.
”
He closed his eyes for a moment
,
his face donning an expression of peace.
“
I could almost see the crick glistenin
’
in the sun…almost smell the prairie grasses…hear the meadowlarks.
I was walkin
’
through a meadow
,
and everything was green and peaceful.
”
He shook his head, opened his eyes, and continued,
“
But then it come to me…that Caleb was thinkin
’
of marryin
’
you before the war
. H
e told me himself
,
before he was shot and sent home.
”
He exhaled a heavy sigh.
“
And heaven didn
’
t let me in
. I
t sent me back to make sure things go as they should here.
”
He frowned and added,
“
I won
’
t find my peace until things are as they should be where these Turner boys are concerned.
”

“
Though I
’
m glad heaven wanted you to linger longer in life
,
this isn
’
t your worry to bear,
”
Vivianna said.
“
If you knew me at all
,
you
’
d know I would never marry anyone out of pity or obligation.
”

His eyes narrowed.
“
Yes, you would.
”

Vivianna trembled slightly—for she knew he was right.
Still, she wanted to convince him—wanted to offer him any manner of peace that she could.
Therefore, she set the bowl and spoon down on the washbasin table and reached into her pocket.
Withdrawing Justin
’
s letter, she held it toward Mr. Tabor.

“
Do you know what this is, Mr. Tabor?
”
she asked.
Frowning, he took the letter from her, unfold
ing
its pages.
“
It
’
s a letter from Justin to me…one of my favorites.
I carry it with me always
. E
ven when we thought there was no hope of his having survived to return to us, I still carried it
. E
ven as we thought he was dead
,
I still kept it near me.
”
She watched as he studied the letter for a moment.
“
Put your mind at ease, Mr. Tabor.
I won
’
t hurt Caleb more than necessary…but it
’
s Justin I love.
”

Johnny Tabor folded the letter and returned it to Vivianna.
She carefully returned it to her pocket.

“
Then I
’
ve seen what I need to see…heard all I needed to hear…and I can take my rest now,
”
he said.

Vivianna
’
s heart began to pound in her bosom.
Did he mean then to die?
Did he feel such a sense of having finished his calling that he would simply give up the ghost?

“
No, you cannot, Mr. Tabor!
”
she scolded.
Reaching out
,
sh
e pinched him hard on the arm.

“
Ow!
”
he exclaimed, glaring at her.

“
I know you
’
re hurt and weak, sir
,
”
she began
.
“
B
ut you
’
re alive…and obviously heaven itself wants you that way!
”

He turned his face away from her
,
however, mumbling,
“
I
’
m tired, ma
’
am…and I own such pain in my heart, mind
,
and body…pain beyond understandin
’
or endurin
’
.
I can
’
t even feed myself anymore.
Rest is all I can think on
. R
est is what I need…what I want.
”

“
What you need is a good paddlin
’
!
”
she exclaimed.

Again Vivianna pinched him.
Again he looked to her and exclaimed,
“
Ow!
”
Frowning
,
he mumbled,
“
Them Turner boys never told me you were so mean.
”

Hopping up from her chair, Vivianna stomped to her chest of drawers.
Pulling open the top drawer, she rummaged around until she found the small jar of salve she kept there.

“
Here,
”
she said, returning to the bed and dropping the jar onto Mr. Tabor.

He breathed an
“
oof
”
and flinched as the jar landed non
e
too
gently in his lap.

“
Rub this over all those scratches on your hands, Johnny Tabor
. I
t
’
ll soothe the itchin
’
and help them to heal.
”
She frowned.
“
How in the world did ya get so scratched up in the first of it?
”

Johnny looked at her
,
an expression of astonishment on his face.
“
I…uh…I had to hatchet through a briar patch.
Me and Justin heard somebody comin
’
yesterday
. T
hey turned out to be Johnny Rebs…and we had to get off the road.
It was the briars in the patch we went through.
”

“
Very well
. T
hat salve will work wonders then,
”
she told him.
She picked up the bowl of stew once more, placing it in his lap next to the salve.
“
And I want you to finish up this stew!
You need to build your strength. If it comes back up, you just let me know
,
and I
’
ll bring ya a fresh bowl.
You tell me I better not break Justin
’
s heart, Mr. Tabor?
Well, I won
’
t see you die and do the same thing!
”

Vivianna was angry with the man!
How could he think of dying?
How could the fight go out of such a man as this?
Obviously, Johnny Tabor was a survivor!
Andersonville
?
It infuriated her that he would consider giving up now—after all he
’
d fought
through
to live.

“
Look here, woman
,
”
he began to scold.
He raised a trembling index finger and wagged it at her.
“
I didn
’
t bring that boy home so his little filly could corral me into
—”