Beneath the Honeysuckle Vine (55 page)

Lowell
paused and looked up to Vivianna with a rather frightened, pleading expression.
“
I think Mr. Johnny loves me…don
’
t you, Miss Vivianna?
”
he asked.

Vivianna
’
s heart nearly broke with
sy
mpathy and love for the boy.
“
I know he does,
”
she said, dropping to her knees and gathering him into her arms.

“
And he loves you too,
”
Lowell
sniffled against her cheek.
“
I can tell.
”
He pulled away from her then, brushing a tear from his cheek.
“
He just needs a little more skill with his kissin
’
.
”
He smiled at her then.

Vivianna giggled.
“
Darlin
’
,
if Johnny gets any better at kissin
’
…I swear he
’
ll lead me
—”

“
Straight down the path to
h
ell?
”
Lowell
finished.

Vivianna
’
s eyes widened.
“
Why,
Lowell
!
What a thing to say!
”

Lowell
shrugged.
“
It
’
s what ya meant
,
isn
’
t it?
Though…I
’
m not rightly certain how kissin
’
on Johnny could lead down to
h
ell.
I just heard a nurse woman say that once
,
when she was visitin
’
the camp.
I hea
r
d her say,
‘
Ooo!
That Johnny Tabor!
He could lead me straight down the path to
h
ell
,
and I wouldn
’
t mind a bit!
’
That
’
s what she said.
”
Lowell
shrugged.
“
Of course
,
I never could figure it…bein
’
that Johnny never would say a word to her.
”
Lowell
shook his head and sighed.
“
Sometimes grown
-
up folks don
’
t make no sense at all.
”

Vivianna watched as
Lowell
then placed half the bouquet of mashed flowers on her mother
’
s grave and half on her father
’
s.
She stifled a giggle when he kneeled down and began pinching the already mutilated blossoms with his small fingers.

“
There now,
”
he said, wiping his violet scented hands on his shirt.
“
Mama used to pinch mint or sage leaves when she was cookin
’
.
She said it released the flavors.
I figure the same thing goes on with flower perfume.
”

“
I suppose it does,
”
Vivianna said.

Lowell
was quiet for a moment—thoughtful.
“
Would it be all right with you if I come out here every once in a while and visited your folks, Miss Vivianna?
”
he asked.
“
I don
’
t know where my own were buried over…or even if they were.
It
’
d make me feel a whole lot better if I could come visitin
’
yours here and there.
”

“
Of course, darlin
’
,
”
Vivianna said, fighting back another flood of tears.
“
And besides
,
I know my mama and daddy are watchin
’
over me from heaven.
Maybe…maybe since you
’
re here too now…maybe your mama and daddy are to
gether with my own.
Maybe they
’
re
just sittin
’
up in heaven together
—”

“
Sippin
’
lemonade?
”
he asked, smiling hopefully.

“
Yes,
”
Vivianna said, smoothing his hair from his forehead.
“
Sippin
’
lemonade…with lots of extra sugar.
”

Lowell
smiled
,
bent
,
and crushed a few more violet petals.



“
Lowell
told me today
that you found him…not Justin,
”
Vivianna said.
She let the droplet of honeysuckle nectar drip to Johnny
’
s lip
and
then kissed it away.

Johnny smiled as he lay on his back, hands tucked behind his head, beneath the wild honeysuckle vine in the woods.
“
Oh, I
’
ll take me some more of that, Miss Vivianna Bartholomew,
”
he said.

Vivianna smiled.
“
Did you find him?
Did you find
Lowell
…or did Justin?
”

Johnny shrugged.
“
Does it matter?
He got found
. T
hat
’
s what
’
s important.
”

“
But I wanna know the truth,
”
Vivianna prodded.

Johnny
’
s smile faded.
“
The truth,
”
he mumbled.
“
All right
.
I did find
Lowell
,
”
he confessed.
“
I was out scoutin
’
,
and Justin was a ways behind me…and I found the poor boy.
When we got back to camp, Justin marched in and announced he
’
d found a lost orphan boy.
Everyone went on and on, slatherin
’
him with praise and compliments.
I don
’
t know why he done that
.
I just wanted to make sure the boy was safe.
”
He paused, his eyes narrowing as he added,
“
And I ain
’
t tellin
’
ya that to try and make myself shine in anybody
’
s eyes. I just wanna make sure you know that
Lowell
ain
’
t a liar.
”
His anger disappeared almost instantly, however, and he chuckled.
“
That boy!
He does lighten a heart…don
’
t he?
”

Vivianna nodded.
“
Yes, he does.
He
’
s a little darlin
’
.
”

Johnny sat up
,
and Vivianna leaned back against the old vine-covered oak as he cupped her chin in one hand and kissed her.
Oh, his kiss was divine!
His mouth was sweet like sugar
,
and the feel of it to hers caused goose pimples to ripple over her body.

He mumbled something against her mouth
,
yet her ears were ringing so loudly with bathing in bliss that she didn
’
t understand him.

“
What?
”
she breathed.

His mouth left hers, and he kissed her neck just below her right ear.
“
I love you, Vivi,
”
he whispered then.

Instantly, tears sprang to Vivianna
’
s eyes
.
Instantly, her heart began to hammer even more madly than it had a moment before!

“
I
’
ve loved you for so long,
”
he breathed.

Vivianna captured his face between her hands—kissed him ravenously on the mouth.
He loved her!
He
’
d said it—confessed his love
.
She was wild with rapture!

Throwing her arms around his neck
,
she wept and whispered against his cheek,
“
I love you, J
ohnny!
I
’
ve loved you from the
moment I first saw you!
The day you and Justin returned…I…I tried not to look at you.
I thought it was because you were lookin
’
so near to death.
But…but now I realize…I realize my soul was drawn to you!
”

He released her, taking her face in his hands and studying her expression.

“
Remember…remember that day…when all of us thought you would die…that you wouldn
’
t live until mornin
’
?
I kissed you, Johnny!
I kissed you!
Oh, it probably seemed like nothin
’
to you
,
but I
’
d never done such a thing in my life, Johnny!
To kiss a strange man?
Even then my soul was drawn to you.
My mind and heart were tryin
’
their best to love Justin…but my soul knew I loved you.
”

Johnny
’
s eyes were moist—bright with joy but also sadness.
“
Do you…do you love me enough to forgive me anything, Vivi?
”
he asked.

“
Johnny, I know you
. T
here
’
s nothin
’
you could
’
ve done that would change my love for you.
”

He looked doubtful.
His brow puckered with pain.

“
Johnny Tabor…have you murdered anyone?
”
she asked.

“
No!
Of course not,
”
he grumbled.

“
Do you have a wife and children tucked away in
Texas
?
”

“
Vivi!
No!
”

“
Then there
’
s nothin
’
you
’
re hidin
’
…nothin
’
hauntin
’
you that would keep me from you.
”

“
Let me taste you now, Vivi,
”
he mumbled.
His eyes began to smolder with desire as he gazed at her.
“
Let me kiss you for an hour here…beneath the honeysuckle vine.
Let me have one more day of ownin
’
your heart…and the
n…then I
’
ll tell ya.
Give me
time to build up my courage…and then I
’
ll tell you about the devil in me.
Then you can decide whether or not you can still love me…whether or not you can tolerate lookin
’
at me.
All right?
”

Vivianna pressed her palm to his whiskery cheek.
She was not afraid.
She knew Johnny
;
she knew his soul.
There was nothing he could
’
ve done to make him unworthy of her love—to cause her to abandon him.