Beneath the Honeysuckle Vine (3 page)

“
You
’
re a poet if nothin
’
else, little brother,
”
Caleb
growled
, his eyes narrowing
as he gazed
at Vivianna.
Stepping forward
,
he
reached out and took one of
her
hands in his own.
“
I…I guess I did do a pitiful job at sayin
’
good
-
bye.
But you
’
ll wr
ite to me all the same, won
’
t you
?
”

“
O
f course
I will,
”
Vivianna managed.
She placed a hand to his cheek as her tears began anew.

Justin
turned
,
strode to his horse
,
and
mounted as
Caleb
dropped Vivianna
’
s hand and followed.

“
You
boys
take care of Mama
and
Vivianna for
us
, all right?
”
Justin
called.
Both
young boys nodded
,
sniffling and wiping
tears from their cheeks.
“
I love y
ou
, Mama,
”
Justin
said.
He looked to Vivianna one last time, nodding at her.
The frown had returned to his brow.

Vivianna watched Caleb mount—knew she would never forget the si
ght
of the two
Alabama
boys leaving to fight for the
Union
.

“
Bye, Justin!
Bye, Caleb!
”
Willy cried out.

“
I ain
’
t watchin
’
, Mama!
”
Nate cried suddenly.
“
I ain
’
t gonna watch
’
em ride away!
Daddy rode away…and he never came back!
I ain
’
t gonna watch
’
em!
”

“
Nate!
”
Savannah
called as Nate ran off in the direction of the house.

“
Let him go, Mama,
”
Caleb said.
“
Don
’
t make it any harder on him than it already is.
”

Savannah
nodded as Willy shouted,
“
I ain
’
t watchin
’
neither!
I ain
’
t!
”
and ran off after his brother.

“
You
all come back to us,
boys
,
y
ou hear me?
”
Savannah
called as
Justin
set out at a gallop.
“
Caleb?
You all come back to us!
”
she
cried
, brushi
ng the tears from her cheeks.

“
We will, Mama,
”
Caleb
said.
“
Good
-
bye,
Viv,
”
he said.

“
Good
-
bye,
”
Vivianna whispered.

Caleb nodded.
“
Get,
”
he said to his horse.

They were gone.
The Turner boys were gone to war.

CHAPTER ONE

Vivianna giggled as she watched Nate and Willy wrestling in the grass.
She shook her hea
d
,
wondering why boys found so much joy in torturing one another.
In that moment, she was awash with gratitude and thanksgiving—grateful spring had come
,
thankful the war was over
,
grateful in knowing Nate and Willy would never have to enlist.
Nate and Willy would not die in the battlefields
or disappear the way Samuel and Augustus had—the way their own brother Justin had.

At the thought of her brothers—as the vision of Justin Turner settled in her mind—Vivianna drew a deep breath
,
silently pleading with her emotions to remain calm.
Caleb was walking toward her
,
and she would not have him knowing she still longed for his brother.

She studied him as he approached.
He was so handsome
,
even for the residual evidence of suffered hardship that now weathered his countenance.
His smile was not so bright and carefree as it once had been
,
his eyes void of the radiant spark of gaiety they had once owned.
Furthermore, he walked with a limp
,
a vestige of the war
,
one that would never let him forget—if forgetting such a thing w
ere
even possible.
Yet Caleb Turner was a good man
,
a strong man
,
and he had returned from the fighting when so many others never would—including his own brother.

Caleb chuckled as he glanced to Nate and Willy.
“
Puts me in mind of Justin and me,
”
he said
,
his smile fading a little.
“
Do you remember how we used to fight, Viv?
”

Vivianna smiled
,
her heart aching at the memory.
“
I do,
”
she told him.
“
It seems the two of you were always covered in dirt and grass.
”

Caleb gazed at her for a long moment.
She knew he was thinking of Justin too
,
missing his brother.
A moment of unspoken understanding passed between them.
Vivianna knew Caleb sorely missed his brother, and Caleb knew Vivianna
’
s heart was broken in missing Justin as well.
She sensed this was why he had not pressed her further to marry him
;
he knew her tender heart still clung to his brother
’
s memory.
Vivianna knew Caleb would wait until he was certain she was free of the ghost of Justin Turner before proposing to her again.
In that moment, she recognized another reason for gratitude
:
Caleb Turner
’
s patience.

“
Do ya need anything?
”
he asked.
“
I could stop in at one of the shops for ya if ya like.
”

Vivianna shook her head
and
allowed her smile to broaden.
Caleb was ever so thoughtful.

“
No, thank you,
”
she said.
“
I best save everything I have in case the critters get into the garden and we find ourselves needin
’
to trade our things for food.
You were nothin
’
but skin and bones when you came home.
I won
’
t see ya skin and bones again.
”

Caleb nodded.
“
You
’
re right
. W
ho knows what these next months will bring
?
”
He reached out, brushing a stray strand of hair from her che
e
k.
“
Well, you just send one of the boys after me if you or Mama needs somethin
’
,
”
he said.
“
Repairin
’
bridges is hard labor…and I
’
d look forward to a reason to be called home for the day.
”

Vivianna smiled, though in truth she felt saddened.
There had been a time when Caleb
’
s simple touch would
’
ve sent goose pimples racing over her arms
. B
ut that was years ago—a war ago—and she felt sad that his touch no longer thrilled her.

“
I
’
ll send Nate or Willy to fetch ya if we need ya home.
”
Vivianna glanced to the two boys still wrestling in the grass.
“
If I can break them up long enough to make them hear me.
”

“
All right then,
”
Caleb said.
“
I
’
ll see ya this evenin
’
, Viv.
”

“
Bye now,
”
Vivianna said, tossing a wave as he limped down the road toward town.

She watched him go—thought of the day last June when he had returned.
He
’
d been wounded
,
and the injury to his leg had found him unable to fight.
In truth, the doctors had feared Caleb would even lose his leg.
But he didn
’
t
;
he was discharged and sent home to recover.

She
’
d never forget the day Caleb returned—never forget the joy in Mrs. Turner
’
s eyes.
Further, Vivianna feared she
’
d never forget how she
’
d silently wished it had been Justin who had returned.
She
’
d hated herself for two months over having had such thoughts.
Caleb was a good man
. S
he was glad he
’
d survived.

It was also in June that Caleb
’
s mother told him of Justin having won Vivianna
’
s heart.
Justin had faithfully written to Vivianna
;
Caleb had not.
Caleb seemed to understand
,
though he constantly scolded himself to Vivianna and his mother for letting his brother woo Vivianna away from him.
Still, Vivianna was certain he had not loved her as deeply as he had once professed to.
She thought
if he truly loved her
,
he should have been angry with his brother for kissing her the day they left.
If he loved her as Justin did
,
he should
’
ve written long letters of missing her—of loving her.
But he did not.
It was Justin who had written
,
not Caleb.
Thus, Caleb—by his own admission—had no right to be angry or hurt
and did not endeavor to win her away from Justin once more.

Until November—when Justin
’
s letters had ceased in arriving.
Even Mrs. Turner had received no word from him.
All at the Turner home began to worry
,
yet they continued in owning no word of Justin having fallen.
Still, as the weeks and months passed—as no word from Justin ever arrived—Vivianna and the Turners began to understand that no word would ever arrive from him—or of him.
Justin Turner was lost.
The war had taken him
,
as it had so many others.
Justin would not have let his loved ones linger five months without word.
Thus, Mrs. Turner, Nate, Willy, Caleb
,
and Vivianna had begun to accept that another
Alabama
son would not return from the war.

General Lee had surrendered
,
just three weeks past.
Caleb had waited several days after the beginning of war
’
s end before asking Vivianna to marry him.
When tears began to stream down her face
,
Caleb at once apologized.
He explained he had thought her ready to settle—mistakenly.
He
’
d thought the love she once owned for him would somehow heal the love she
’
d known for his fallen brother.
Still, when he realized it had not, he offered his explanation to Vivianna—told her he would wait until she was ready
,
even if it w
ere
a full year or more.

Vivianna had presented her own apology to Caleb.
She did not wish to hurt him
,
for she had loved him once—yet did love him still
,
in a manner.
Yet she suspected he had asked her to marry him more out of obligation or expectation than because he was truly in love with her.
She suspected he felt sorry for her
,
orphaned and brotherless as she was.
Further, she suspected Caleb owned the notion he and she would make a comfortable match.
After all, did she not already reside with his family?

Savannah Turner had taken Vivianna into her home after Vivianna
’
s parents had been killed by the Union soldiers raiding
Florence
almost two years previous.
With no word from either of her brothers
for those same two years, Vivianna knew the Turner family was all the family she would know.
She thought perhaps Caleb felt this too—that his own tired heart reasoned it might be easier to own a wife who was already so settled in with his family.

But Vivianna
’
s heart could not release the memory of Justin
;
her lips could not forget the feel of the kiss he
’
d given her the day he left.
The memory of Justin Turner was wound about her heart—woven through her soul.
It was nearly every night still that she read his letters
,
at least one or two of them.
How could she marry his brother?
How could she live with always wishing Caleb were Justin?
She could not
,
for if nothing else, it would not be fair to Caleb.

Savannah Turner had tried to convince Vivianna that time would heal her heart.
She had loved Caleb once
;
she could love him again
. T
ime would be the means.
Still, Savannah likewise counseled Vivianna not to marry Caleb unless she truly w
ere
able to love him—love Caleb Turner for being Caleb Turner
,
not merely because she
’
d once loved him.

Thus, as Vivianna watched Caleb rather amble-limp toward town, she thought of the good man he was, and a part of her hoped she could fall in love with him one day.
Still, she closed her eyes
,
her mind lingering on the words written in one of her most cherished letters from Justin.

“
When I return
,
”
Vivianna whispered
,
nearly able to hear Justin
’
s now silenced voice speaking the words he
’
d written,
“
we
’
ll meet beneath the honeysuckle vine
…
”

Awash with the sudden pain of renewed heartache, she opened her eyes.
Tears filled them—tears now blurring the vision of Caleb ambling in the distance.

Turning, she left Nate and Willy to their play
,
brushing tears from her cheeks as she hurried toward the vine-covered arbor.
It was her place of heartache—of memory.
Once her secret venue of hope, the arbor heavy with honeysuckle was now the place she retreated when her tears could no longer be restrained.

The fragrance of sweet honeysuckle hung heavy on the air.
Not as heavy as it would in the coming months
but heavy enough that Vivianna could breath it in—almost taste the sweet nectar of the blossoms.