Turner's Rainbow 2 - The Rainbow Promise (7 page)

Downstairs, Sarah hummed softly to herself as she scrubbed the Irish potatoes and rubbed them with bacon drippings, then stuck them into the hot oven to bake. She grinned a small, secret smile, thinking of how Luke's face would look when he saw Julia. He would be so happy! Sarah knew how much Luke loved his sister and how much he had regretted her marriage to Will Dobson and the separation between them.

Sarah thought about running out to the fields to tell him immediately But then she wouldn't get to see the joy on his face when he walked in on Julia, unknowing.

She occupied herself by making supper and speculating about Julia. Sarah wouldn't have been so rude as to ask Julia point blank why she was here, but that didn't mean her curiosity wasn't aroused. Obviously Julia hadn't trudged all the way from Gideon just for a visit with her brother. She must be in some sort of trouble. Had her husband left her?

Or more likely, it was the other way around. Luke said that Will Dobson was a crude, even mean, man. Perhaps he had hit her, or worse.

Sarah put on a pot of corn and another of collard greens and took out the pieces of round steak she had tenderized earlier this afternoon and left to soak in milk and eggs. She set the big black skillet on the largest eye of the stove and plopped a huge spoonful of lard into it. When the fat was sizzling hot, Sarah dipped each piece of meat into a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper, and laid it into the pan. The grease popped and hissed with each new addition. She kept a watchful eye on the frying meat, turning it with long tongs to avoid being burned by the hot grease. When it was brown and crisp, she set it out to drain and poured the old grease into an old pot kept for that purpose.

While she was working, Micah came to the back door and asked if she would like any chores done, so she had him do the evening chores of feeding the animals and bringing in a fresh supply of wood for her stove the next day. She glanced at him out the window now and then while she cooked. He seemed a hard worker.

The children soon arose from their nap and went to play outside. Sarah kept an occasional eye on them, too. It was nice knowing that Vance and Bonnie were with little Emily, so that she didn't have to watch her continuously. Preparations for supper went much more smoothly without Emily's presence in the kitchen, too.

The sun was getting low. It was almost time for Luke to come in from the fields. The food was done, Sarah set the table, continuing to look out the window for him. When she spotted Luke coming in from the fields, Sarah ran to the stairs and called up, "Julia! Luke's home."

A muffled voice answered her, and assured that Julia was awake, Sarah hurried out the kitchen door and into the side yard. Bonnie and Vance stood at the foot of the porch, looking across the yard toward Luke. Emily had run to him, and he had picked her up and was now hugging her and nuzzling her soft neck. He looked up at Sarah and waved, then started across the yard toward her.

"Bonnie. Vance. Why don't you run inside and clean up now?"

Sarah didn't want to have to introduce them to Luke and spoil the surprise. The children scurried back into the house. They had had enough experience of a man's uneven temper to be glad to get out of one's way when he returned from a hard day's work.

"Sarah." Luke kissed her lightly in greeting. "Who is that man in the barn? He said he'd take care of the mules. Did you hire somebody?" It wouldn't be like Sarah to do that.

"He asked if he could trade some chores for supper, so I said yes," Sarah replied. "I told him he'd have to talk to you about a job, though."

It wasn't an unusual occurrence to have a drifter be given a plateful of food by his kindhearted wife and let him pay it off with a little work. Luke frowned, saying automatically, "I don't like you talking to those drifters when you're here alone." It scared him to think of someone being around Sarah when he was out in the fields. The most frightening thing in the world, the only thing he could think of, really, that scared him, was something bad happening to Sarah or Emily.

"I can't turn them away." It was Sarah's usual response in their long-running argument over the subject. "Besides, I didn't let him in the house, like you told me."

"Good." But there was something else going on here besides a drifter seeking work. Sarah's cheeks glowed with color, and her eyes danced. She practically vibrated with suppressed excitement. He started to smile. "What is it?"

"What?" Sarah returned innocently.

The smile gained a definite hold on Luke's mouth. He enjoyed looking at Sarah like this, all pink and bubbling. "Something's afoot. What is it?"

"I don't know why you'd think that."

"Those children you just hid inside the house, for one thing. They obviously don't belong to the man in the barn. Who are they? Why are they here?"

Sarah chuckled. "I'm not going to tell you yet. You have another visitor, too. Why don't you come inside?"

Luke couldn't imagine who could engender such eagerness in Sarah, but he followed her into the house without another word. When she smiled at him like that, he would have followed her anywhere.

When they stepped inside, Sarah took his hand and whisked him through the dining room into the front hall, where he had a full view of the staircase. A woman was coming down the stairs, and she froze in mid-motion when she saw him. She said nothing, simply looked at him, and it was a moment before Luke could say anything, either—or even move.

"Julie?" The word came out softly, wonderingly. It couldn't really be her. It had been so long.

She nodded. She looked almost scared. Luke was so different from the sixteen-year-old boy Julia remembered. His frame was still wiry, but he had fleshed out. He was a man now. Still handsome enough to sing birds out of the trees—maybe even better looking—but not the same. His face was older, with lines of experience that hadn't been there before, but, curiously, it was not harder. The old pugnacious look and the wary, defiant air were gone. His stance was open and at ease, and his face was almost peaceful.
I don't know you
. Tears formed in Julia's eyes, and she wasn't sure whether she was happy for Luke or sad for herself.

Luke moved, breaking the tableau. "Julie!" He broke into a grin and hurried toward her, his arms extended. There was no mistaking the elation in his voice, the intermingled joy and amazement. "Julie!"

Julia giggled and flung herself into his arms. He squeezed her to him and whirled around, lifting her up off the floor. Julia held on tightly, closing her eyes, shutting out the rest of the world for that brief instant of love and safety. "Oh, Luke."

Julia's tears started in earnest then. Luke set her down and stepped back, holding her at arm's length to look at her. "I can't believe it! It's really you! I never thought I'd—" He pulled her back for another hug, laughing. "Oh, Julie!"

She could do nothing but laugh and cry and hold him and try to look at him, all at once. He hugged her so hard it hurt. He looked over her head at Sarah. "Did you know about this?"

Sarah smiling mistily, shook her head, "Not until this afternoon."

"Julie, what's happened? What are you doing here? Oh, hell! Forget that. Just let me look at you. Are you all right? Are you sick or anything?"

"No. I'm fine, really. Just a little tired."

"I can't believe—it's been so long."

"Eleven years."

"Eleven years. You're still beautiful."

"Then you're still a liar." Julia smiled up at him, wiping the tears from her cheeks. But, Sarah thought, with that glow on Julia's face as she gazed at Luke, she did look beautiful, despite her tiredness and lack of care.

"God, I'm glad you're here."

"My children are with me," She turned to where Bonnie and Vance stood, staring wide-eyed at the scene before them. "Bonnie, Vance, come here. Meet your Uncle Luke."

"Your children," Luke stared at them. Of course, he'd known she had children, had to have had since she'd been pregnant when she left home. But somehow the idea had never had much reality. "Hello, there." Luke squatted down on their level. "I'm your uncle." They nodded silently, not sure what to say to this man. "I'm pleased to meet you."

"Children," their mother said meaningfully.

"Pleased to meet you," they chorused, and Luke grinned.

"I see she's got you better trained than she ever did me."

"I learned my lessons with you," Julia retorted.

Luke stood up and ruffled the children's hair, aching to touch them, yet not wanting to force them or frighten them. "I'm glad you're here. Emily been showing you everything?"

They nodded, and the boy said, "Yes, sir."

"I—I'm sure you wonder what I'm doing here," Julia began, lacing her hands together in front of her Sarah thought she looked like a child bracing herself to confess a prank to the school principal. There was something fragile about Julia, something that made a person want to hug her and assure her that you'd keep the bad things away. Sarah suspected that no one had ever kept the bad things from her, though.

"I just want to look at you," Luke interjected. He knew that whatever Julia had to say was hard for her, and doubly so in front of Sarah and the children. "We can talk after supper I bet these little ones are starving. I know I am."

"That's right." Sarah added. "Let's eat first."

The family sat down around the table, and, much to Julia's astonishment, Luke folded his hands and lowered his head along with Sarah and Emily, and Sarah said grace. Julia stared. Luke looked up and caught her staring at him, and he winked. "Sure got respectable, didn't I?"

Julia nodded. He was her old Luke, yet he wasn't. The changes in him seemed only to the better, but it left her unsure what to make of him.

Luke glanced toward Sarah, his gaze soft and loving. Julia had never seen him look like that, and it made her heart hurt with love and happiness for him and a little regret lor herself. "Sarah's done it to me." His hand covered Sarah's where it rested on the edge of the table. "Didn't you, sweetheart?"

She smiled back at him, the love in her eyes equally strong. "Somebody had to, I reckon."

"I want 'tato," Emily piped up, and the tender moment was gone. They began to dish up the food and eat.

Julia and the children thought what they had eaten a few hours earlier was plentiful, but it was a mere snack compared to this meal. They rarely had chicken-fried steak, and when they did, it was a very special occasion. Their meals ran to beans and greens and rice; and if there was meat, it was usually pork middlings cooked in the vegetables. They dived into the meal with gusto; and when they finished, their plates were as clean as if they had wiped them. There was peach cobbler for dessert, with cream poured on top, and that was the best of all.

Julia, Sarah, and the girls cleaned up afterward, and Sarah took the children upstairs to put them to bed, leaving Luke and Julia alone to talk. Julia told her brother the story of Will's death, their financial straits and of her decision to come to him. She was grateful for Sarah's tactful departure. It was far easier to talk alone with Luke. It was still embarrassing, but she knew that Luke understood; he had once lived the same kind of life she had.

"I'm sorry," Julia finished softly, gazing down at her hands. "I didn't want to burden you with my family, but I didn't know where else to go. And the children..."

"What are you talking about?" Luke sounded indignant. "Where else should you go, except to your own family? You're no burden to me. I want you here. Julie, I'm so happy. I've missed you for years."

"Oh, Luke!" Julia's head came up, and she looked at him, tears shining in her eyes. "I've missed you, too! I felt so bad that I never came to see you, that I didn't see you get married. That I wasn't there when you were on trial."

"There was no reason you should have been there," he replied gruffly. "It was no place for a lady."

"I'm no lady; I'm just a Turner."

"Don't say that!" Luke looked fierce. "You're as good as any woman. I won't let you talk that way about yourself. If Sarah hears you, she'll give you a real earful." He grinned ruefully. "She always does me if I say something like that. She's a wonderful woman." His smile turned dreamy. "Sarah believes that you can be whatever you want, that it doesn't matter how you started out or what your name is. She's made me believe it, too. She's given me so much—I don't mean the farm, but inside. She showed me what I can do. She gave me a chance when there wasn't another soul on earth who would have."

"She sees who you really are, like I do."

"Yeah." Luke grinned. "And she doesn't even hold that against me."

"Oh, Luke." Julia made an expression of mock exasperation. "She must be a saint to put up with your teasing."

"She probably is."

"But even a saint couldn't be happy about having a strange woman suddenly living in her house. I don't want to make trouble between you and Sarah."

Luke smiled and touched Julia's cheek. "I can't imagine a woman less likely to make trouble than you."

"But it's hard to have a stranger in your house, especially one with two children. Sarah won't like that."

"You don't know Sarah. She's happy that you're here. She came out to meet me tonight, glowing all over, like she had a wonderful secret. She loves me, Julie." Luke's voice roughened, and he glanced away. "She loves me so much I can't believe it. She wants me to be happy, and she knows how happy it makes me to have you here. Sarah's good; she's generous." He paused and shrugged. "There's no way to tell you. You'll just have to see it for yourself. But for now, take my word for it. You won't be a burden. You won't create trouble. Sarah and I want you here."