Behind the Altar: Behind the Love Trilogy (7 page)

“Let’s go down to the
barn and take a look,” Susie said. “I don’t have to be at the dry cleaners
until eleven. Dean said it would be all right.”

“Dean said? I don’t
know how much more of this I can take,” Leah said. “Who is this guy?”

“Why are you so set
against him? This isn’t like you, Leah,” Susie said. “You accept just about
everyone, no matter what they believe or do. You set an example for the rest of
us to follow. Now this handsome man comes home and wants to help, and you’ve
been nothing but rude about his helping hand.”

Leah bowed her head.
She knew Susie was right, but Susie didn’t know about the kiss or about the way
they looked into one another’s eyes that first day. Then an hour later, he was
carting Sally Jean around on the back of his bike as if she was painted on his
back. What kind of man did that? Then just as quickly, she remembered that
she’d kissed him, too, and she was the one engaged to Jacob. She didn’t know
what it was about him, but she supposed she couldn’t refuse his help.

“All right,” Leah
said. “You’re right; I’ve been unfair. It’s been confusing for me because I
thought for several years that the older brother of my fiancé was dead. Now Geraldine
and Jacob talk horribly about him.”

“Doesn’t that say
more about them than him?” Susie asked. “I mean, here they are the head of the
Sunshine Church, and they cast out Dean and disparage him. That doesn’t sound
very Christian to me.”

“They said he did
something horrible,” Leah said.

“And I happen to know
that the ‘thing’ they refer to never happened,” Reggie said. “If they haven’t
told you, here’s the story. They claim he raped Mable Cornish; she was sixteen,
and he was seventeen, but she was already having sex with several guys around
town. But Dean never touched her.”

“How are you so
sure?’ Leah asked. “Just because he told you?”

“Because the night
they said he did it, I was with Mable,” Reggie said.

Susie and Leah both
stared at him. Leah didn’t have to wonder for long if Susie knew this part of
the story.

“You were with Mable?
You never told me that,” Susie said. “Why didn’t you stand up and defend Dean?”

“I tried, but
Geraldine came down hard; she said if I said anything again, Big Jim was going
to come after me. I was a kid, and I believed her, but I know for a fact Dean
never touched her that night—probably never. He was too far gone into Sally
Jean to notice anyone else.”

“Dean forgave you?”
Susie asked.

“He understood.
Geraldine raised him.”

“What else have you
been keeping from me?” Susie asked. “First Harold Grant and now this.”

“It never seemed
important enough to tell you.”

“What happened to
Mable?” Leah asked. “And who’s Harold Grant?”

“You can ask Dean
about Harold Grant, but Mable’s a sad story,” Susie said. “Ever since high
school, she was known as the town whore. A couple of years after Dean left, she
committed suicide. She left a note accusing her father of abusing her for
years, and she just couldn’t take it any longer.”

“I was only with
Mable that one time, but I always felt sorry for her. I told you about sleeping
with her so you could see that Geraldine isn’t as great as you think she is,”
Reggie said. “Jacob’s a good guy, but his mother has far too much influence
over him. I’m sorry to say that about the man you intend to marry, but maybe
it’s time you heard it.”

“It’s true that Jacob
won’t stand up to his mother even when he knows she’s wrong like with Soup’s
On. I know he believes in the work I do there, but he won’t do anything about
it.”

“And now you’ve been
given an ultimatum,” Susie said. “What are you going to do if you continue with
Soup’s On?”

“I don’t know,” Leah
said. “But I know I can’t give it up. Let’s go and take a look at the barn,
like you suggested.”

“One more thing,”
Reggie said. “Geraldine doesn’t make idle threats, so you better make sure you
can handle the consequences. It could mean the end of your relationship with
Jacob.”

“I’ve considered
that, and if Jacob doesn’t stand up for me with his mother, then maybe that’s
something I need to find out before I marry him,” Leah said.

“You can come and
live with me,” Susie said. “There’s plenty of room in that old house.”

“I think that’s a
good idea,” Reggie said. “Now I’ve got to get over to the tavern and start up
the grills for the Saturday lunch crowd. I’ll have some food for you about three
o’clock, if you want to come by.”

“Thanks, Reggie,”
Leah said. “The river folks are going to eat more than ever between you and
Clara.”

Leah and Susie drove
slowly down the old road kicking up limerock dust behind them as they came
closer to the barn. Finally, it came into view, all two stories of it with the
chipped and faded barn red paint. Despite the neglected façade, the structure
looked sturdy, with white shutters on the windows of the top floor and a large
barn door shut tightly.

“Nothing paint and
nails can’t solve,” Susie said as she pulled up to the front doors.

Leah got out of the
car with a beating heart. She’d been down here plenty of times, but she’d only
walked past the barn on the way to the river. It always appeared foreboding and
closed to her before today. Now she saw it with fresh eyes. The possibilities
ran through her mind.

“I can see it,” Leah
said as they walked toward the two large doors that slid together. A padlock
kept them from entering. “Wonder how we can get a key.”

“Dean can get past a
padlock, I bet,” Susie said.

As she finished her
statement, they heard the roar of a motorcycle come down the road. Dean pulled
his Harley in behind Susie’s car. After he’d turned it off, he sat on his bike,
looking at them.

“You two are
trespassing, you know,” Dean said with a smile on his face. Leah kept staring
at the barn while Susie turned around.

“Who’s going to kick
us off?” Susie asked. “You better bring a posse if you think you can do it.
This girl is determined to turn this barn into Soup’s On.”

Dean got off the bike
and walked toward them. “Let’s go inside,” he said.

“It’s locked,” Leah
said and pointed to the padlock.

Dean pulled a key out
of his jean’s pocket. Leah tried not to look at him with his denim shirt
unbuttoned just enough to reveal the muscles of his chest.

“Big Jim gave it to
me before he died,” Dean said. “Let’s take a look.”

He unlocked the doors
and pushed them aside using both of his arms. Dust motes danced in the sunlight
filtering through gaps in the walls. Musty and mildew greeted them, but only in
the expected amounts for a structure in Florida without air conditioning.

“Going to need some cool
dry air in here,” Dean said. “Your food will go sour as soon as you put it on
the table.”

“What about
electricity?” Leah asked. “Is there electricity?”

“Pretty sure there’s
a line out here, but it probably isn’t on,” Dean said as he walked over to the
side. He found a light switch and flicked it. A bulb hanging from a rafter in
the center of the barn illuminated the center of the room. “Geraldine must not
realize it’s still on here.”

“I can picture a
kitchen back here,” Leah said as she walked to the back wall. “The whole width
of the barn from about here back could be the kitchen.” She stood one quarter
of the way back from the far wall.

“Then the rest could
be for tables and maybe a sitting area,” Susie said.

“That’s going to take
some work,” Dean said. “But it’s not impossible.”

“Reggie and I have
plenty of friends who work in construction,” Susie said. “I’m sure with enough
beer, we could get them to donate some weekend time.”

Leah’s eyes shone as
she looked at Dean for the first time. “Thank you, Dean.” She found it
difficult to say his name.

“Let’s make some
lists of what needs to be done,” Susie said. “I’ve got a notepad in the car.”

She left the two of
them standing and facing one another.

“I didn’t mean to
insult you back there,” he said. “I stated my view of the world as I’ve known
it. Maybe you’ll prove me differently.”

“Apology accepted.
I’m sorry I called you a liar. But Geraldine is sure she owns it all. How are
you going to convince her you actually own the property?”

“The lawyers will sort
that out,” Dean said. “There’s going to be a meeting on Monday, but I don’t
think Geraldine and Jacob know about it yet.”

“I don’t want her to
know anything about what we’re planning,” Leah said. “She’s threatened to kick
me out if I continue trying to keep feeding those folks.”

“What about you and
Jacob?”

“I don’t know. I
can’t believe he’d let her throw me out.”

“I hope you’re
right—only for your sake, not theirs.”

“About that kiss,”
Leah said. “Geraldine saw us. She’s holding it over my head.”

“Sounds like her.
Ignore her and her threats. It will all be settled one way or another in a few
days.”

Leah heard the car
door slam and saw Susie headed back to the barn with notepad in hand.

“I’m sorry about the
kiss,” Dean said. “It won’t happen again.”

Leah didn’t know
whether to smile or cry.

Susie dropped Leah off
at the parsonage. On Saturdays, Geraldine went shopping in the Tampa area,
usually to one of the many malls surrounding the periphery of the sprawling
city. Leah sighed in relief when Geraldine’s chocolate-colored Lincoln Town Car
wasn’t sitting in the garage when Leah returned. She went into the hall and opened
the cupboard where she kept the paper products purchased in advance for Soup’s
On. She grabbed paper plates, plastic utensils, and napkins. She knew Jacob was
hard at work on his sermon for the next day so she didn’t bother him. She got
into the van and drove back to Dew Drops where Clara had pans of lasagna and
meatloaf. She also gave her several bags of garlic bread.

“Everything’s hot so
better get them down there quickly,” Clara said. “I’m closed tomorrow, but I’ll
have some more food later today, if you want to drop back by.”

“Thanks. I’ll be
back,” Leah drove off and headed for the barn. She couldn’t drive down to the
river so she parked the van under a live oak tree next to the barn. She’d feed
them from the back of the van until Geraldine took it away from her. She walked
down to the camp.

“Hey, folks, I’ve got
some hot food up at the van parked near the barn, but you’ll need to come up
there and get it,” Leah said. “I think I might have some good news, too.”

She walked with
Joshua back to the barn. Joshua had followed Leah from Tampa when she moved in
with Geraldine. He didn’t have any physical wounds, and mentally, he was sound.
She knew he could have worked a regular job if he wanted to. She wondered more
than once if he stayed at the Deer River Camp to help take care of the others. That’s
what he’d done in Tampa. He and Carol had served as surrogate parents to Leah.
They gave her the courage to finish high school and get a job.

“Carol and I spent
last night talking about the dilemma now that Soup’s On is closed,” Joshua
said. “We’ve been allowing you to do all the work, and that’s not right when
we’re all capable of doing something to help ourselves.”

“I don’t mind. You
helped me when I needed it most,” Leah said. “You’re all doing the best you
can.”

“But we’ve got to get
up each day and at least try or we die,” he said. “Carol and I came up with an
idea.”

They were coming
close to the barn as they edged out of the line of trees and walked across the
fallow field.

Joshua raised his
arms around the field. “See this large area of good soil? Carol and I think we
could start a garden here if we had some seeds and seedlings.”

“It’s not the right
time of year to start a garden in Florida,” Leah said, but she could see his
vision immediately.

“That’s right, but
that means we have a few months to get the area prepped for the plants,” Carol
said. She’d joined them as they walked out of the woods. “If we could borrow
some tools, we could start plotting out an area, and then we could start
growing vegetables in the fall. When I was a kid, we always had a garden.”

“I don’t think it’ll
be a problem to find you some hoes, rakes, and shovels,” Leah said. “I think
it’s a great idea.”

“Who knows? Maybe
we’ll grow so much food, we’ll open a roadside stand,” Joshua said. He and
Carol grinned as they put their arms around one another, but then Carol’s face
lost the smile.

“Would the owners of
this land let us garden here?” Carol asked.

“That’s the news I
wanted to share,” Leah said. “I’m sure the owner would be fine with the idea,
and besides that, he’s going to let us open Soup’s On right here in the barn.
And it’s big enough in there to put in a dormitory for nights when it’s
impossible to sleep outside.”

“No kidding?” Joshua
looked up at the barn. “That’s just about the best news I’ve ever heard.”

“We’ve got some work
to do, but I bet there’d be things some of you could do to help get it ready,
too,” Leah said. “But first, let’s feed everyone. For now, Soup’s On will be
serving from the back of a van.”

After the river folks
went back to their afternoon pursuits, Leah entered the barn using the key Dean
left with her. Despite the heat and humidity outside, the barn felt warm and
dry. But most of all to Leah, it felt safe. She thought she’d bring down her
sleeping bag and stay there for the night to absorb the spirit of the place.
Leah breathed in the peace. It’s never been disturbed by anything bad, she
thought as she looked up at the loft. Dust motes danced and floated down to
surround her. She sneezed once and smiled, knowing there would be no more
sneezes here. The place wrapped itself around her in a warm embrace.

As she stood in the
middle of the great room, she decided to tell Jacob she needed time to think
and would move in with Susie. As she looked up at the rafters, she imagined the
barn come alive with the Deer River campers. She didn’t like to refer to them
as homeless because as she knew no one who was alive was ever homeless. There
was always some place to live, even if it meant there were no walls or ceilings
to keep her warm. She left the barn and drove back to the church where she
found Jacob still hard at work on his sermon.

“How’s it going?”
Leah asked when she entered his office. Jacob’s office was devoid of much of
anything but his desk and a few chairs. Nothing adorned the white walls and his
desk’s one ornament was a photo of Leah and him on the day they became engaged.

“Slowly,” he said as
he looked up from the table in front of him. “I’m stuck, and it’s probably
because of all that’s happened this week, first with the kitchen, and then with
Dean showing up. It has me rattled.”

“Why, Jacob? I don’t
understand why seeing your brother after so many years would be disturbing.”

“It just is. He’s
always been trouble, and I have no reason to believe this time is any
different. But I can live with that. I’m much more bothered by your insistence
to keep running Soup’s On.”

“You know why that’s
so important to me,” Leah said as she sat down in the chair in front of the
desk. “I know you want me to give it up, but I can’t. It’s as much a part of me
as you are.”

Jacob looked at her
for a long time, and then nodded. “I understand. But you have to understand
that I can’t stand up to Mother. I just can’t.”

“I wish you could. I
need some time to think about things, so I’m going to stay over at Susie’s
place for at least tonight. Maybe I can sort it all out so we can both be
satisfied.”

Jacob smiled with
relief. “That would be great if you could find a way that Mother would approve
of as well.”

“I didn’t say I could
perform a miracle, but maybe with some distance between us I can find a
solution.” Leah stood up and came around the desk to stand next to Jacob. He
turned in his chair and faced her.

“I know one thing,”
Leah said. “I love you, Jacob, and want to marry you.”

Jacob stood and gave
her a long and lingering kiss. “I feel the same way.” Then he pulled her close
and gave her a hug.

Leah walked out of
the office feeling even more confused than before. When Jacob kissed her, she
felt nothing. Those kisses used to tempt her to convince him to forgo the silly
promise to wait until they were married to have sex. However, today she
couldn’t wait to get away from him.

She was grateful that
Geraldine had yet to return from her shopping trip. She went to her bedroom
closet and pulled down her sleeping bag from the top shelf. It was worn from
years of use but still had padding and gave Leah a sense of home when she
pulled it close and smelled the lingering odors of fire, salt, and sand.