Beneath the Honeysuckle Vine (15 page)

“
Well then…we
’
ll all wait,
”
Savannah
said, sitting down on the top step of the front porch.
“
We
’
ll wait for that headstrong friend of yours to return.
Then I
’
ll see both y
’
all put to bed for some good long rest.
”

“
Bet I can lick ya
’
fore he gets back with his treasure,
”
Nate said to Willy.

“
What treasure?
”
Willy asked as he and Nate began to circle one another.

Vivianna smiled and shook her head.
She well recognized the daring attitudes and gestures of the two youngest Turner boys
;
a mean wrestle was about to commence.

“
Now don
’
t you boys go gettin
’
too all wound up,
”
Savannah
warned.
“
It
’
s nearly time for bed now.
Do ya hear me?
”

But it was too late.
Justin and Caleb both broke into chuckles
,
for Nate and Willy were already pulling one another down into the grass
,
wrestling as if their very lives depended on it.

Vivianna smiled as she watched the boys.
After all
,
what else was to be done but to let the match play out?
What else was to be done but to wait for Johnny Tabor to return—if he returned?

“
You
’
ve been awful quiet today, Viv,
”
Caleb said, coming to stand beside her.
Guilt washed over her like a nauseating, bitter illness.
She could not believe that mere hours before
,
she
’
d been considering marrying Caleb.
How utterly unfair it would
’
ve been to him—how devastating to her own soul if she
’
d accepted Caleb before Justin had returned.

She glanced to where Justin sat on the porch with his mother.
“
I guess…I guess I just don
’
t have much to say is all,
”
she said.
“
I mean
,
it
’
s all been such a surprise…such a whirlwind today.
I swear I don
’
t know which way to turn.
I feel like my head might spin clean off my shoulders.
”

“
I bet you do,
”
Caleb mumbled.

She could sense Caleb was already angry—hurting—already aware that Vivianna
’
s heart did indeed belong to his brother.
Yet she
’
d meant to ease Caleb into understanding and acceptance.
Though she
’
d secretly hoped the sight of Justin returning would cause Caleb to simply forget any aspirations he
’
d previously held in regard to marrying her, she knew—even for her lack of experience—she knew that matters of the heart rarely worked themselves into place with such plainness.

“
Caleb
—”
Vivianna began.

“
Viv,
”
Caleb interrupted, forcing a smile,
“
let
’
s not set anything in stone yet.
I know you loved my brother…but you loved me once too.
And though you may not see it
—
may not want to see it
—
I can see he
’
s changed some.
I know my brother like nobody does…and he has changed.
So please don
’
t make any decisions
’
til he
’
s been home a time.
All right?
”

Inwardly, Vivianna was infuriated!
How dare he?
How dare Caleb presume to know Justin better than she?
It wasn
’
t Caleb who had written to Vivianna during the war—written letters of true revelations of the heart and soul
.
It wasn
’
t Caleb who had cared enough to give up sleep and comfort in order to write to her
.
It wasn
’
t Caleb who had confessed his love over and over and over again
.
No!
It was Justin!
Caleb didn
’
t know the things of his brother
’
s heart the way Vivianna did.
How could he?
He hadn
’
t even been with his brother for nearly a year.
How could he claim Justin had changed?
Vivianna saw no change in Justin. Certainly his head was shaven
;
certainly he was not full healthy
;
certainly there was a sadness about him.
However, Vivianna did not know a man who had returned from the war without a lingering sadness about him—and that meant Caleb Turner as well.

She was angry with Caleb, yes
,
but she would not argue with him
or injure his heart further in that moment.
She must be patient
. S
he must be patient, and Caleb must begin to understand.
Her heart swelled within her with the sure knowledge that Caleb would see Justin had not changed so much
. E
ventually he would see it
,
and then he would have to accept the fact that Vivianna loved Justin—irrevocably.

“
He
’
s weak…weak and battered
.
I know that,
”
she answered at last.
“
Like so many others,
”
she added poignantly—but not harshly.

Caleb nodded.
“
I
’
m just askin
’
ya to be careful, Viv.
I won
’
t see your heart broken
by me or my brother.
”

Vivianna frowned slightly.
How could Justin ever break her heart?
Furthermore, Caleb certainly never could!
Other than the lingering memory of
the
love she
’
d held for him before the war and the love she held for him now as a friend
,
Caleb Turner had no power to break her heart.
She felt sorry for him in that moment—sorry for him for thinking he held the power to do so.

Yet she felt her temper soften—and her heart.
Caleb was a very fine man.
Furthermore, the truth was
,
no matter what she
’
d told Justin
,
she
’
d considered marrying Caleb.
She did love him in a manner
,
though she was not in love with him
. S
he did own a love for him
,
and she did not wish to be the cause of his unhappiness.
Therefore, she cooled her annoyance and nodded.
After all, she knew it was purely out of concern for her that he issued such a warning.

“
Nate!
Nate Turner!
”
Savannah
hollered.
“
You
’
re gonna break your brother
’
s neck!
Be careful!
You boys are playin
’
too rough!
I
’
ll have Caleb separate you two if you
’
re not more careful!
”

“
Get him, Willy!
You can do it!
Don
’
t give up just
’
cause he
’
s bigger than you!
”
Justin called from his seat next to his mother.

Vivianna smiled at Justin
,
her insides thrilling when he winked at her.

She heard Caleb chuckle and glanced back to him.

“
I remember when Daddy used to tell Justin the very same thing,
”
he mumbled.

Vivianna
’
s smile faded just a bit.
“
Me too,
”
she whispered.



Johnny Tabor pulled the horse to a rough halt and dismounted.
He couldn
’
t believe the sense of near panic pounding in his chest.
He had to retrieve
the packs he and Justin had hidden up in the tree before moving on so close to
Florence
;
he had to retrieve the tin box inside his pack.
If anybody had found it
,
if it had been taken—but nobody had
. H
e could see it up high in the tree branches where he
’
d placed it earlier in the day.

He was tired
and
weak and in truth felt nearer to death than he had in a long while.
Still, he had to retrieve that box!
For one thing, he didn
’
t want to die without having it near to him.
He shook his head
,
disgusted with himself for lying in a soft bed and sleeping when his pack with the tin box full of treasure was still up in the tree.
What if he
’
d died and left Justin to come back for the packs?
What if he
’
d died and Justin had opened that box only to find out what a true villain Johnny Tabor was?
He couldn
’
t have it on his conscience
.
Justin could never know the true, wicked nature of his friend.
Johnny loved Justin near like a brother—at least he had.
But it didn
’
t change the fact of what Johnny kept cached in the tin box.
It didn
’
t change who he was and the things he
’
d done.

With every measure of strength left in his weary, weathered body, Johnny climbed into the branches of the tree and retrieved his pack.
He pulled Justin
’
s down
too, of course, letting them drop to the grass below as gently as he could.

He jumped down from the limbs of the tree and groaned
,
certain his weathered body would never be what it once was.
A familiar hatred of the guards and circumstances at Andersonville welled up within him
,
but he choked it down
,
determined to make it back to the Turner place and hide his box of secrets and treasure where no one would ever find it if he died.

His bones ached as he awkwardly mounted Caleb
’
s horse.
It was a fine horse
,
befitting such a fine man as Caleb Turner.
Part of Johnny Tabor—the good part—almost hoped he and Justin had returned to find Caleb wed to Vivianna Bartholomew.
Caleb was true and honest
;
he
’
d make any woman a fine husband.
Yet it was Justin that the girl loved
,
and that counted for more.
It would
’
ve marked a strange thing between the Turner brothers if Justin had returned to find his girl married to his brother—whether or not she
’
d understandably given him up for dead.

Johnny shook his head
. T
oo much thinking was bad for a man in his condition.
He knew his thoughts were not rational.
Wasn
’
t his riding out after his pack proof enough of that?
Still, he wouldn
’
t die with the worry that Justin might find his pack, pry open the tin box
,
and discover the whole truth.
He
’
d never be able to find eternal rest in knowing such a thing.