Beneath the Honeysuckle Vine (39 page)

Vivianna shook her head, however—clutched the box to her bosom.
“
No.
No
,
I could never burn them.
But I have decided to put them away from my easy reach.
”

“
Where do ya mean to put
’
em?
”
he asked.

Vivianna looked at the box
and
studied the small treasure holder.

“
I think…I think I
’
ll take them to my daddy and mama
’
s house in town,
”
she told him.
“
There
’
s a whole attic full of trunks…trunks and trunks filled with things my mama packed away to sort through one day.
I figure they
’
ll be safe there
,
and I don
’
t visit the house often.
It
’
s too far for me to rush over in a fit of melancholy and retrieve the letters…yet close enough I know they
’
re near.
I figured I
’
d go tomorrow mornin
’
.
”
She paused
and
glanced to the tin box still tucked under Johnny
’
s arm.
“
There
’
s a heap of trunks up there, Johnny
. M
ost anybody could find a good hidin
’
place for a lot of things…things a body maybe doesn
’
t want to hold too awful close…or things they don
’
t want anybody to find.
”

Johnny glanced to the tin box.
He looked back to her, frowning.
“
I don
’
t want to belittle your treasure, Vivianna,
”
he began,
“
but my secrets…what I keep in this old box are worth far more than Justin
’
s letters.
I best keep them close.
”

Vivianna nodded.
Perhaps Nate and Willy were right.
Perhaps Johnny did hide gold or jewels in the old tin box he guarded so carefully.

“
I
’
ll take ya to town tomorrow if ya
’
d like,
”
he said, startling her from her thoughts.

“
Pardon?
”
Vivianna asked.

“
Ya shouldn
’
t go into town alone,
”
he said.
“
I
’
ll go with ya.
”

Vivianna felt a smile spread across her face.
“
That
’
s very kind of ya, Johnny.
But folks in town know ya fought for the Union…and you
’
re not
Florence
born and raised like Caleb and Justin.
Aren
’
t ya afraid folks might
—”

“
I ain
’
t scared of the folks in town, Vivianna.
”
His frown softened a little.
“
I
’
ll go with ya to hide those letters…unless…unless ya don
’
t want me to go with ya.
”

Vivianna
’
s heart quickened its pace.
The thought of walking all the way to town and back in Johnny
’
s company caused such a thrill of delight to rise in her that she nearly forgot the heartache she
’
d been bathing in beneath the honeysuckle vine only a few minutes before.

“
Oh, no!
No…I want ya to go with me,
”
she assured him.
“
I just hate to impose on your time.
”

Johnny shook his head
,
however.
“
It ain
’
t no imposition,
”
he said.
“
I was plannin
’
on checkin
’
in on them jobs with the railroad sometime this week anyhow.
I
’
ll be glad to go along with ya.
”

Vivianna smiled
,
though an odd disappointment had pricked her when Johnny had said he
’
d planned on going to town anyway.
She would
’
ve liked to believe he
’
d wanted to go with her simply for the sake of her company.
Still, it was a kind offer
,
and she did look forward to his company.
Perhaps having Johnny with her would make the task of letting go of Justin
’
s letters a little easier.

“
Promise, Johnny?
”
she asked.
“
Do ya promise to go with me to leave off Justin
’
s letters?
”

Johnny grinned and nodded.
“
I promise.
”

“
Then I
’
ll see ya in the mornin
’
, Johnny Tabor,
”
she said.

He nodded and mumbled,
“
Good night, Vivi.
”

“
Good night,
”
she told him.

Vivianna hurried to the house.
She was tired, and morning would com
e
all too soon.

“
He
’
s a good man, Viv.
”

Again Vivianna startled at the unexpected sound of a man
’
s voice.

“
Caleb Turner!
”
she scolded in a whisper as Caleb stepped up onto the porch behind her.
“
I swear!
You nearly scared me to jumpin
’
right outta my skin!
”

Briefly Vivianna wondered if Justin too w
ere
lurking in the night shadows.
What was wrong with men?
Why did they find it ever so necessary to steal up on a woman?
She wondered then if perhaps their quiet, creeping ways were a lingering characteristic of war—of quiet care in scouting.

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
Caleb apologized.
“
I didn
’
t mean to scare ya so.
”

“
Well
,
you did.
Shame on you,
”
she teasingly scolded.

Caleb nodded to the box she held in her hands.
“
You been readin
’
Justin
’
s letters again?
”

Vivianna nodded.
“
For the last time, I
’
m afraid.
”
She frowned as she studied Caleb for a moment.
“
You told me Justin had changed, Caleb.
When he first came home…you said he
’
d changed.
How did ya know he
’
d changed?
You ha
d
n
’
t seen him in almost a year.
”

Caleb glanced away a moment.
“
Truth is…he
’
d changed long before I was wounded and sent home,
”
he said.

“
But…but that was before he and Johnny were at
Andersonville
.
”

Caleb nodded.
He looked back to her and said,
“
Johnny Tabor
’
s a good man, Viv.
A better man than Justin…and probably me too.
”

Vivianna felt a slight blush rising to her cheeks.
Had Caleb seen her talking with Johnny in the dark near the honeysuckle moments before?

“
Caleb…how you do go on sometimes,
”
she sighed.
“
What do you mean tellin
’
me that Johnny Tabor is a good man and that Justin
’
s not?
And why do you always put yourself under everyone else?
You
’
re a better man than most,
”
she assured him.

“
I
’
ve seen the way ya look at him, Viv,
”
he continued, however.
“
Your eyes light up when Johnny
’
s near…like nothin
’
I ever seen come over ya before.
”

“
Now…now, Caleb,
”
Vivianna stammered,
“
I
’
m sure that
’
s simply not true.
”

“
It is true,
”
he said.
“
And I just want you to know…if I can
’
t have ya myself
,
then I
’
d rather lose ya to the likes of Johnny Tabor than to the likes of Justin.
”

“
J-Justin just needs time, Caleb,
”
she began to argue.
Yet she wondered why she felt the need to defend Justin—for Caleb was right.
Johnny Tabor did affect her in a manner that Justin did not.
Yet her sense of obligation to the Turner family spurred her to protecting Justin
’
s right to her somehow.
“
He just needs more time.
I
’
m sure he
’
ll
—”

“
Justin don
’
t need time, Viv,
”
he interrupted.
“
Are ya gonna stand on this porch and try to tell me that Johnny went through less than Justin did at
Andersonville
?
When they first came home
,
it was plain as day who
’
d seen the worst of the misery
Andersonville
rained down.
”
He reached out and took hold of her shoulders.
“
I
’
m tellin
’
ya, Viv…ya wouldn
’
t marry me
’
cause ya loved somebody else more.
Don
’
t marry my brother out of obligation and expectation…or even because of a memory.
Whether it
’
s Johnny Tabor or some other man ya find yourself lookin
’
to
,
you settle for the best man that crosses your path…because that
’
s what ya deserve.
”

Caleb paused and looked at the box containing Justin
’
s letters.
“
You said you
’
re readin
’
’
em for the last time.
I say good!
Them letters is what kept ya from marryin
’
me
,
and ya know it, Viv.
Don
’
t let them come between you and the man who was meant to have ya.
Burn
’
em
,
and look forward.
That
’
s what we
’
re all doin
’
—
burnin
’
the pain this war caused and movin
’
on.
”

“
I could never burn them, Caleb,
”
she told him.
“
But I won
’
t dream over them anymore.
”