Angel of the Cove (25 page)

A wagon, drawn by two horses, rolled into the churchyard and slid to a stop at the entrance to the church. The man driving the team lurched from the wagon seat and fell to the ground.

Naomi grabbed Anna's arm and gasped. “Oh, dear Lord, no.”

Before Anna could ask her what had happened, Granny rushed up. “Matthew, run in the church and git Simon. Tell him to hurry.”

Matthew glanced at his mother and then dashed toward the church. His feet skimmed the ground before he leaped onto the porch and disappeared inside.

“What is it?” Anna asked.

Granny nodded in the direction of the man who was trying to get up from the ground. “That there's Luke. Looks like he's in one of his mean moods.”

Naomi's body shook so hard Anna thought she would drop Eli. She reached for the boy and pulled him from Naomi's arms. “Let me hold him for you.”

Luke pushed to his feet. He spread his legs in a wide stance and weaved back and forth for a moment. “Naomi!” he yelled. “Git yoreself over here right now. You hear me, woman. Don't make me come find you.”

Naomi took a step forward, but Granny grabbed her arm. “Wait a minute. Let's see if Simon can calm him down.”

Simon ran from the church and down the steps to where Luke stood. He said something to him, but Luke shook his head. Several of the men inched past Anna and joined Simon next to Luke's wagon.

Anna couldn't hear what was being said, but she could tell Luke was having none of their suggestions. His voice bellowed from the
group. “I don't want my fam'ly havin' nothin' to do with no hypocrites. You tell 'um that we's got to go home.”

The men talked several more minutes, and gradually Luke became quieter. The minutes dragged by, and everyone waited in silence. Finally, Simon stepped away from the group and walked to Naomi. “Luke's over his mad spell. He says he just wants you and the children to go home with him. What do you want to do?”

Naomi glanced at Matthew, who'd followed Simon over. “What you say, son?”

Matthew shrugged. “I 'spect we better do as he says. I'll help you put him to bed, Ma.”

Anna reached out and touched Naomi's arm. “No. You can't go with him. What if he hurts you or the children?”

Naomi's lips quivered. “He be my husband, Anna. Me and my young'uns got nowhere else to go.” She patted Anna's hand. “Don't worry. I been takin' care of Luke for a long time now.”

Anna faced Simon. “Don't let her do this, Simon. Make her stay here.”

He shook his head. “There's nothing I can do if she wants to go home.”

Naomi took Eli from Anna and nodded to Matthew. “Let's go.”

“No!” Anna cried. She cast a wild glance in Granny's direction. “Don't let her go with him.”

Granny shook her head. “Child, there's nothing I can do.”

Anna watched Naomi and her children walk toward Luke, and fear for them rose in her throat. They looked as if they walked toward their execution. Tears gushed from her eyes, and she pressed her fists to her temples. “Matthew, don't forget what I told you,” she called out.

The boy turned, and for the first time she saw a smile on his face. He gave a slight nod before he turned away.

Matthew took Eli when they reached the wagon. Naomi stepped onto the wheel, pulled herself into the seat, and reached for Eli. Luke stumbled forward and Matthew guided him to the rear of the wagon and helped him to lie down in the wagon bed. Then Matthew clambered up to the seat, planted himself beside his mother, and took
the reins from her hands. With Matthew guiding the horses, the wagon rumbled from the churchyard and turned into the road. Anna watched until they disappeared in the distance.

The churchyard suddenly seemed quiet, and Anna glanced around. Only she and Simon still stood there. The rest of the people had returned to the picnic area where they continued their preparations to leave.

Simon stepped closer to her. “Anna, I'm sorry.”

Sorrow lined his face, but Anna refused to believe he cared about Naomi and her children. She backed away from him. “Don't say that.”

“You don't understand…”

“You must think I'm an ignorant woman, Simon. You've been quick to point out everything about your precious valley that I don't understand ever since I arrived. Maybe I don't know the people here, but I know Naomi and her children don't deserve to live with a man like Luke Jackson.”

“Anna, please, let me explain.”

“Explain what? Are you talking about Luke and Naomi or your own actions?”

He frowned. “What actions of mine are you talking about?”

She crossed her arms and glared at him. “Let's start with how you wanted to be my friend and showed up at Granny's every time we sat down to eat. Then all of a sudden you ignore me and say awful things to me. Then you act like a schoolboy with Linda Mae Simmons at the picnic today.”

His eyebrows drew down over his nose, and he sneered. “Oh, so that's what you're mad about. It's not Naomi at all. It's the fact that I ate with Linda Mae instead of you.”

“Don't be ridiculous. I couldn't care less who you ate with. But the way you behaved was shameful.”

“And I suppose you weren't acting the same way with William Carter. How could you cheer for him and embarrass me in front of my entire congregation? And besides, what difference does it make to you who I show attention to?”

She advanced on him until they stood so close she could almost feel his breath. “I don't care who you carry on with, Reverend Martin.”

“Well, it sounds like you do. What's going on with you? You don't want any kind of relationship with me, but you don't want me to have one with anybody else.” He glared at her for a moment. “You're the most selfish woman I've ever known, Anna. You want to be the center of attention, and you don't care who gets hurt in the process.”

Anna sucked in her breath at his words. She narrowed her eyes and leaned toward him. “How dare you talk to me that way! I'd never expect to hear anything like that coming from a man who's supposed to be a preacher. I think you'd better go back and read your Bible. See if you can find a way to get rid of the mean streak I see in you.”

He backed away from her, his eyes wide. He stared at her for a minute, and then turned away. His shoulders slumped, and he looked back at her. “I may be a preacher, Anna, but I'm also a man.”

The hurt she saw in his eyes crushed her anger and left her heart pounding against her chest. She struggled to hold back her tears, but one slipped from the corner of her eye and trickled down her cheek. She had to get away from him before she dissolved in tears.

Turning, she ran toward Granny's buggy and climbed in. She wondered if Simon had returned to the picnic, but she wouldn't let herself glance back toward the church. It didn't matter where he was or who he was with or what he was thinking. After their argument today, she doubted if he would ever speak to her again.

For the first time she wished she had never come to Cades Cove. The heartache over not getting to go to nursing school couldn't be any worse than what she was feeling right now. At the moment all she wanted was for her mother to wrap her arms around her and tell her everything was going to be all right. Somehow she didn't see how it ever could be again.

S
imon took a step to run after Anna, but he clenched his fists at his side and forced himself to stand his ground. He hadn't had a peaceful day since Anna came to the Cove, and he was tired. He had to conquer the unrest in his soul some way. He raked his hand through his hair and shook his head. “Women,” he muttered.

He took a deep breath and turned to rejoin his congregation at the picnic area, but his eyes widened at the sight of Linda Mae standing a few feet away. From the expression on her face he knew she must have heard his entire exchange with Anna.

He swallowed back the remorse rising in his throat and took a step toward her. “Linda Mae, I didn't know you were here.”

Her dark eyes gazed past him, and he knew she was watching Anna's retreating figure. “I reckon you didn't.”

An awkward silence hung between them for a few seconds before he forced himself to speak. “I was having a conversation with Anna.”

She nodded. “More like an argument, I'd say.” She glanced once more in the direction of Anna's retreat before she straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath. “The folks all been sayin' how you're right taken with Miss Anna, but I didn't want to believe it. Now I guess I will.”

Simon searched his mind for the right words. “Linda Mae, I'm
sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I've known you since we were children, and I wouldn't hurt you for anything in the world.”

“I know. You jest can't help how you feel.”

“That's right. Please understand and forgive me if I've caused you any pain.”

A gradual transformation took place as Simon stared into Linda Mae's face. The hurt look that had flickered in her dark eyes when he first turned around vanished, and the seductive smile he'd witnessed before twisted her lips. She tilted her head to one side and laughed. “Why, Simon Martin, I didn't take you for a silly man, but I guess you are. What makes you think yer so special that I'd think of you as anything but the preacher at my church? I'm sorry if you thought I had my sights set on hookin' up with you.”

“Linda Mae, please…”

She held up a hand and backed away. “I guess you don't know me and William Carter been keepin' comp'ny for some time now.”

Her words surprised him, and he shook his head. “I didn't know about you and William.”

“I thought ev'rybody in the Cove done found out 'bout William and me. The bad thing is we had a fuss a few weeks ago, and he ain't been around since. But I can tell by the way he looks at me that he ain't over me. I guess we tried to make each other jealous today.”

Simon forced a smile to his face. “If you love each other, I hope it works out.”

“I do too.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I see William helpin' his mama get ready to leave. Maybe I better go talk to him and ask him to come to supper one night this week.”

Simon nodded. “Maybe you should.”

With a whirl of her skirts, Linda Mae strode toward the church members still at the picnic grounds. Simon watched as she approached William. They talked for a moment before he took her arm and guided her away from the group.

Simon wanted to go back to the picnic grounds, but he couldn't make his feet move. He sank down on the front steps of the church
and thought about the events of the day. The memory of tears in Anna's eyes and the hurt on Linda Mae's face made him wince.

In his years of being a pastor he had helped many people resolve problems they had with friends or family members, but when it came to his own relationships he had no idea where to begin or even what to do. In the course of one day he had hurt both Anna and Linda Mae, and now guilt gnawed at his heart.

Thoughts of the conversation he and John had the day they fished at Abram's Creek flashed into his mind, and he groaned. His brother was right. When it came to women, he was about as dumb as he could be.

Thirty minutes later Simon waved goodbye as the last buggy pulled away from the picnic grove. After it disappeared, he walked to the spot where they'd pitched silver dollars earlier. He thrust his hands deep into his pockets and kicked at the grass with the toe of his shoe.

His gaze drifted to the spot where Granny's buggy had parked. The argument with Anna still blazed like a wildfire in his heart, and he clenched his fists in anger. She'd accused him of being mean. If that's what she thought of him, then he'd made the right decision in staying away from her.

But he'd also been right when he said she was selfish. She didn't care about him or his feelings. She'd proven that today with the way she carried on with William Carter. All she wanted was to go to New York. She thought of him—and William, for that matter—as someone to help her pass the time until she boarded the train. Then she would probably never think of either of them again. The time for her to leave couldn't come soon enough for him.