Beneath the Honeysuckle Vine (17 page)

“
But if I do…if ya come in here and find me dead
—
I
’
ll put it under the bed
—
and if I
’
m dead
,
you
’
ll take it
,
without hesitation…and sink it in the river?
”
he repeated his request again.

He was so weary!
She could see he hardly had the strength to stand.

“
Of course,
”
she said.
“
I promise.
And I always keep my promises.
”

“
Do you?
”
he asked.
He doubted her
,
yet she was not angry with him
,
for even as he doubted her
,
she knew he must have reason for trusting her as well
,
else he would not have asked for her help.

“
I do,
”
she assured him.

“
Then I
’
ll take my rest in peace,
”
he mumbled.

“
Oh, for Pete
’
s sake, Mr. Tabor!
”
she scolded with a disbelieving giggle.
“
Don
’
t say it that way!
I swear, you
’
ll give me a fit of nightmares.
”

He grinned
,
obviously amused by her outburst.
“
Forgive me,
”
he said.

“
I
’
ll consider on it,
”
she teased, reaching out and retrieving her hairbrush from her vanity.
“
But only if you quit talkin
’
so dark and deathly like,
”
she added, wagging the brush at him.

“
Yes, ma
’
am,
”
he said.
His eyes seemed to lighten
,
and he grinned at her.

“
Very well,
”
she told him.
“
Good night, Mr. Tabor.
”

“
Good night, ma
’
am,
”
he mumbled.

Vivianna left Johnny Tabor to his rest and walked across the hall to Mrs. Turner
’
s room.

“
What a strange man,
”
she whispered to herself as she set her things on the trunk at the foot of Mrs. Turner
’
s bed.

Suddenly, she gasped,
“
Oh no!
”

Quickly, she crossed the hallway to her bedroom—rather
,
to the room that had once been hers alone.
The door was still open
,
and she sighed
,
relieved.

“
I beg your pardon, Mr. Tabor,
”
she said.
Her heart began to hammer with mad anxiety
,
however, as she saw he knelt on the floor next to the bed—no doubt placing his menacing pack beneath it.

“
Ma
’
am?
”
he asked, turning to look at her.

“
I…I only just forgot one little thing,
”
she said, dropping to her knees beside him.

She ducked down, looking under the bed.
She felt her eyes widen as she did indeed see Johnny Tabor
’
s mysterious pack there—exactly next to the small wooden box containing Justin
’
s letters.
She reached under the bed but could not comfortably reach the box.

“
Let me get that for ya, ma
’
am,
”
Johnny said
,
obviously having noticed what she was reaching for.

Vivianna held her breath
,
somehow afraid the angry, weathered man might not hand the precious box to her
but rather keep it from her instead.

He did not, however.
As Johnny handed the box to her, Vivianna exhaled the breath she
’
d been holding.
“
Thank you, Mr. Tabor,
”
she told him.
“
I hope you enjoy a pleasant rest.
”

“
And you,
”
he said.
She watched as he started to stand—noted that it was an arduous task for him.
She placed a hand at his elbow to steady him.

He nodded and forced a grin
,
though she sensed he was disgusted with his own weakness.

“
Good night, again,
”
she nervously giggled.

“
Good night,
”
he echoed as she hurried across the hall.

Once inside Mrs. Turner
’
s room, Vivianna sighed with relief.
Justin
’
s letters!
She
’
d nearly forgotten to bring Justin
’
s letters with her!

Quickly she opened the box and let her fingers trace the envelope resting on top.
She smiled
,
promising herself she would read this letter before she retired for the night.
Yes!
Tonight she would drift to sleep with Justin
’
s words of love in her mind and his tender kiss fresh upon her lips.

CHAPTER FIVE

Vivianna
’
s eyes opened slowly.
The sun was already shining through the window, yet she did not feel rested.
Certainly she
’
d stayed up far past any decent hour reading over Justin
’
s letters.
She wanted to be sure she had not forgotten one word he
’
d written to her—wanted to think of him sleeping comfortably in another room close by
instead of miserably on the hard ground.

As always, Justin
’
s letters had so absorbed her, she
’
d quite lost track of the time.
Thus, by the hour she finally did retire, it was to find
Savannah
sound a
sleep and snoring.
The worries, fears, and losses the war had brought had caused Vivianna to become a very light sleeper.
Any strange or unexpected noise woke her
and
kept her awake with worry and anxiety.
Thus,
Savannah
’
s snore
,
soft as it was
,
had made the night seem long and void of good rest.

Yet now Vivianna sat up
,
stretching her arms
,
arching her back.
She was sure the others were already up and about.
This fact was made certain as she heard voices.
Curious, she left the large bed she would now share with
Savannah
and went to the open window.
The air was fresh and already heavy with moisture and fragrance.

Leaning out the window
,
she saw Willy inside the hen pen.
Johnny Tabor was with him, and the chickens were frantically pecking at the ground around their feet.

“
Here, Johnny.
Do it like this,
”
Willy said.
Vivianna watched Willy plunge his hand into the small bag of chicken feed he was holding.
Withdrawing a fistful of feed, he scattered it over the ground.
“
Ya see that?
”
he asked Johnny.
“
And if ya want
,
you can talk to
’
em a bit.
Mama says they like that.
Just say somethin
’
like,
‘
H
ere
,
chickie chickie
’
or some such thing.
See how they like that?
”

Vivianna smiled as she heard Johnny Tabor chuckle.
“
They sure seem to, don
’
t they?
”
he answered.

“
Here,
”
Willy said, handing the bag of feed to Johnny.
“
You try it.
”

“
All righty,
”
Johnny said.
He filled a hand with feed and scattered it over the ground.

“
Don
’
t forget to talk to
’
em,
”
Willy urged.

Johnny nodded.
“
Here ya go, hennies
. Y
’
all eat that feed there.
That
’
s the way.
”

Willy looked up to Johnny Tabor with a proud smile.
“
Ya
see, Johnny!
I told Mama you
’
d be more
’
n happy to feed these chickens from now on.
”

Johnny chuckled, tousled Willy
’
s hair
,
and said,
“
Oh, I bet ya did.
”

Vivianna giggled a little
,
delighted to see Johnny Tabor walking around the hen pen with Willy.
She
’
d been afraid she
’
d wake up to find he really had passed on during the night—that Justin might well have lost his friend.
Furthermore, if Johnny had the strength to be doing chores with Willy, then Justin must certainly be feeling better.

Quickly she washed and dressed.
She was sure
Savannah
had already started breakfast, and she hurried into the kitchen.

Caleb and Nate were sitting at the table as
Savannah
pulled a pan of fresh biscuits out of the oven.
For a moment, Vivianna was unsettled
,
for Justin was not with them.

“
Justin
’
s still asleep, Viv,
”
Nate said, however—and her mind was eased.
“
Mama says we oughta let him sleep as long as he will.
But that Johnny Tabor…he didn
’
t die like we feared he might.
He
’
s out feedin
’
the chickens with Willy.
”

“
Well, that
’
s nice, isn
’
t it?
”
Vivianna said.
She returned Caleb
’
s greeting smile and said,
“
Good mornin
’
, Caleb.
”

“
Mornin
’
, Viv,
”
he said.

“
I
’
ve got the biscuits ready, Viv,
”
Savannah
said.
“
Would ya call Willy and Mr. Tabor in
,
please?
Oh, I hope his stomach can tolerate biscuits this mornin
’
.
”

“
Yes, ma
’
am,
”
Vivianna said.

Suddenly, she owned such a feeling of joy that she could hardly contain her delight
.
It was a beautiful day!
Caleb wore a smile
,
Nate and Willy were happy
,
Mr. Tabor hadn
’
t died
,
and Justin was, at that very moment, regaining his strength.
The war was over
,
and life was moving on—moving on down a brighter road.

Vivianna
’
s heart felt so light
,
in fact, that she nearly considered skipping as she left the house and hurried toward the chicken coop.
Everything seemed more wonderful!
The sun seemed to shine more brightly
;
the sky was bluer.
The grasses were fragrant and green
;
the flowers flaunted their blossoms in every color.
Vivianna Bartholomew was happy—truly happy!

“
Your mama has breakfast on, Willy,
”
she called as she approached the hen pen.
“
Do ya think your stomach will manage biscuits this mornin
’
, Mr. Tabor?
”

Willy clicked his tongue and shook his head with disgust.
“
His name is Johnny, Viv,
”
Willy reminded her.
“
Mr. Tabor
’
s his daddy
’
s name.
”

“
Oh, that
’
s right!
”
Vivianna giggled.
“
I
’
d quite forgotten.
”

Johnny grinned and tousled Willy
’
s hair.

“
And he didn
’
t die in the night neither,
”
Willy added.

“
Johnny…or his daddy?
”
Vivianna teased
,
though she thought perhaps it was a little irreverent.

Willy
’
s eyes narrowed
,
and he stuck his tongue out at her.
“
You know I mean
Johnny!
You
’
ve got a real smart mouth on you sometimes, Vivianna Bartholomew.
A real smart mouth,
”
he grumbled.

Vivianna giggled and affectionately tweaked Willy
’
s nose as he stepped out of the hen
pen.
“
Well, you just wash those grubby hands of yours, Willy…quick as ya can
,
while the
biscuits are still hot,
”
Vivianna told him.
Quick as
a
mouse, he was off to the rain barrel.

“
I suppose I better light out after him,
”
Johnny said, setting the feed back outside the fence as he looked at his own hands.

Vivianna studied him.
He did appear somewhat recovered—stronger—and there was even a hint of color in his thin cheeks.
Truly
,
he looked quite a lot healthier than he had when she
’
d left him the night before.
Vivianna was glad he hadn
’
t died—and for more than just Justin
’
s sake.
She
’
d seen far too much death
;
they all had.
She was glad someone near
d
eath
’
s door had managed to drive the Reaper away.
She thought for a moment that
,
considering it was Johnny Tabor the Reaper had come looking for
,
he
’
d probably run for the
h
ill
s
out of pure intimidation.

“
You look near as fresh as a daisy this mornin
’
, Mr. Tabor,
”
she said, smiling at him.

Johnny Tabor smiled
,
and Vivianna was again struck by how entirely his smile changed his countenance.
He was a handsome man
;
she could well imagine he
’
d set many a female heart to fluttering in the past.

“
Well, I can
’
t say I
’
ve ever been compared to a daisy, Miss Vivianna,
”
he said.
“
The devil maybe…but never a daisy.
”

As if some mischievous imp had been eavesdropping—as if a pixie had been near and decided to mix up a bit of naughtiness—a large pigeon flew over at that very moment.
Vivianna gasped, covering her mouth in dismay as the mean-hearted bird sent a stream of white bird
mess to running over Johnny
’
s right shoulder.

“
Oh, Mr. Tabor!
”
she gasped as he frowned and looked to his shoulder.
“
Oh, I
’
m so sorry!
”

She couldn
’
t help herself, however.
Oh, she tried—desperately she tried not to laugh—yet the trill of giggles would not stay trapped in her throat.
“
I
’
m…I
’
m so sorry, Johnny!
”
she giggled
,
her eyes filling with mirthful moisture.
“
Truly…I don
’
t mean to laugh
.
I
’
m so sorry!
”

Johnny looked to her
,
his frown giving way to a smile.
His chuckles began slow
,
vibrating low in his throat.
Yet in another moment, he laughed—wholeheartedly laughed!

This only caused Vivianna
’
s giggles to multiply
,
and she covered her face with her hands a moment to try and calm herself.
Yet nothing seemed to stay her laughter!
As she looked at him again
—
shaking his head as he laughed unreservedly
,
a stream of bird manure as fat and as long as a grass snake dripping from his shoulder—her giggles transformed
,
and she was overwhelmed by a ripple of delighted giggles.