Beneath the Honeysuckle Vine (2 page)

As always,
Justin
’
s
brow was puckered with a frown.
He shook his hea
d—clicked his tongue with disapproval
.

“
Caleb Turner,
”
Justin began as he strode toward Vivianna
,
“
y
ou do know you
’
re
leavin
’
for war, don
’
t ya
?
”
he asked.
“
You do realize ya might never come back?
”

“
Justin!
”
his mother exclaimed.

“
Of c
ourse I do,
”
Caleb said, glaring at
his brother.
“
Why?
”

Vivianna
was confused—overwhelmed by heartache and utterly confused.
Why would Justin say such a thing?
Did he want to make certain everyone
’
s heart w
ere
as broken as hearts could possibly be?

She stared at Justin
,
hurt and curious.

As
was ever the case when she looked at
Justin
, her
bosom
experienced an odd, rather nervous little flutter
.
She could never understand
why
Justin
Turner
had such an unsettling effect on her.
Sometimes she fancied her mind and body reacted more ardently to
Justin
’
s presence than it did to
Caleb
’
s—
even though
Caleb
was the one who owned her heart.
Justin was handsome—not quite as handsome perhaps as Caleb
but handsome enough to send the heart of every girl in the county to leaping at the sight of him.
His dark hair and light blue eyes gave him a striking appearance certainly.
But Justin didn
’
t own Caleb
’
s charm and easy manner.
Still, he unsettled Vivianna somehow—especially of late.

Justin shook his head and mumbled,
“
Well
,
Caleb
,
it
’
s j
ust…
it
’
s just that ya done a
downright
pitiful
job of kissin
’
your girl good
-
bye.
”

“
I did not!
”
Caleb defended himself.
“
I done a fine job of it…and in front of Mama too!
”

“
It was a pitiful kiss for a soldier to give his girl before leavin
’
for battle, Caleb!
”
Justin scolded.
“
And you know it!
Whether or not Mama
’
s standin
’
here lookin
’
on…or Nate and Willy.
”
Justin
’
s frown deepened
,
and he shook his head again.
“
We
’
re leavin
’
, Caleb
,
maybe for good
,
and that
’
s all you
’
re gonna give her…that choirboy peck?
”

Vivianna felt her
face flush
crimson.
She was uncomfortable with their banter.
Certainly the Turner boys were known for their teasing, their bickering
,
and even their brawling with each other.
Still,
the fact
they were leaving to enlist made Vivianna wish that, just this once, they wouldn
’
t tease—not during their last moments with their family.

“
First off, she ain
’
t
really my girl any
more than she is you
rs,
”
Caleb said.
Vivianna was astonished by Caleb
’
s utterance—surprised and hurt.
Yet he added,
“
Not officially anyway.
”
Vivianna sighed
,
somehow understanding he meant she wasn
’
t his because he
’
d never spoken to her daddy about marrying her.

“
You didn
’
t talk to her daddy yet?
”
Justin growled.

“
I ain
’
t gonna leave Viv behind to worry over me any more than she already will, Justin!
”
Caleb growled.
“
Second off, I think the pink on her cheeks says I did
a
fine
job of kissin
’
her
.
”

Justin
continued to frown as he nodded and said,
“
She ain
’
t your girl, huh?
”

“
Not formally…no,
”
Caleb admitted.

“
Then
I guess that gives me leave
to show you
how y
ou
shoulda kissed her.
”

Vivianna gasped as Justin
suddenly
reached out
,
taking hold of
her
shoulders
.
She held her breath
,
her heart
increasing
in
tempo as he looked at her.
Justin
’
s expression softened a moment
;
his mouth offered a slight smile.

The frown returned to his brow all too quickly
, however.
“
You watc
h out for my mama and the little boys
, Viv.
All right?
Promise me you
’
ll watch out for them.
”

Vivianna could only nod—
barely managed to whisper,
“
O
f course,
”
in response.
She was
still breathless
,
both from the
endurance of the excruciating
pain of the
Turner boys
’
leaving
and from the nearness of
Justin
’
s face to her own.

“
Then
I
’
ll say
goodbye, Vivianna
Bartholomew,
”
he whispered
, taking her face between his strong hands.

Vivianna gasped as his lips softly
pressed against her own—a slow, tender kiss causing her stomach to feel light with strange, unfamiliar excitement.
The gentle
kiss ended, but
Justin
’
s lips lingered
close to
hers.
H
e kis
sed her once more—more firmly—his lips slightly parted.
Again he kissed her, coaxing her lips to
a slight parting
in meeting his.
Again he kissed her—and somehow she could not keep from returning his kiss.
The knowledge she might never see him again seemed to spur her to reckless abandon, and she accepted yet another kiss from him.

Justin ended their exchange, leaving
Vivianna
breathless—trembling as his arms wrapped around her
,
pulling her
against
him
.

Suddenly all h
er withheld emotion
,
her fear
,
her heartache at watching the
Turner
boys
leave to fight the war
,
all of it overwhelmed her
.
She
was glad to have had
Justin
Turner
’
s kiss! She would savor
the memory of it forever!
N
o ma
tter how inappropriate it was
,
s
he would bathe in the blissful
knowledge their lips had met
.
War was everywhere
,
and she cared little for propriety in that moment
.

“
It
’
s enough,
Justin
,
”
his mother said.

Placing
one hand at
the back of Vivianna
’
s head
,
he pressed her cheek
against
the
solid muscles of his c
hest.
Vivianna held her breath
,
restrained her tears
,
intent on listening to the strong, rhythmic beat of his heart.
Oh, how she prayed in that moment
that
Justin
Turner
’
s heart would ever continue to beat!
How she prayed no bullet or saber would strike it cold and lifeless.
She clutched the fabric of his shirt in he
r fists, willing him not to go
,
sobbing as she
wondered how she could care as much for
Justin
’
s leaving
as she did
Caleb
’
s.
She loathed herself in tha
t moment—loathed her disloyalty
,
her apparent fickle-heartedness!
She felt
Justin
press h
is face to the top of her head—
hea
r
d hi
m
inhale
deeply
as he
breathed
in the scent of her
sable
hair.

Taking her
face in his hands,
he gazed longingly
down at her.
As tears spilled from her eyes and over her cheeks, she forc
ed a smile as he smiled at her.
His
brow
was straight and strong—
free of the frown it had worn before.

“
You
see,
Caleb
,
”
Justin mumbled
,
his voice f
illed with regret
,
“
i
f battle finds me thirsty…I
’
ll have the memory of
lovely
tears to quench my thirs
t.
If I
’
m taken by nightmares
—
if the ghosts of men I
’
ve killed haunt me and fear threatens to overpower my mind
—
I
’
ll have the sense of home and holdin
’
a beautiful girl in my arms to calm me.
And if I die…I
’
ll die with the taste of a kiss as moist and sweet as honeysuckle nectar fresh
on my lips
.
”

Vivianna released him—pushed herself away from him.
S
tepping back
from Justin, she straightened
her posture.
They had to go
,
both of them
.
Th
ere would be no stopping them
,
and her feelings were not sorted.
Her mind was muddled and confused for the sake of heartache and fear.
She loved the Turner boys—both of them.
But she was only
in
love with one
,
and she would not let the agony of war cloud her mind any longer.