Angel of the Cove (28 page)

Anna glanced around at the kitchen, which had been so bare of food when they were here before. Today bowls of food sat on the table and pots simmered on the stove. Granny set the basket she'd brought on the floor and began to unload it.

“I brung some vittles, Lavinia. Ain't much. Jest some ham and a blackberry cobbler. And a few tomatoes, and oh, yeah, there's a bowl of peas too.”

Lavinia shook her head. “Land's sakes, ev'rybody been so kind to
Cecil and Pearl. I think ev'ry fam'ly in the Cove done brought somethin'.” She darted a glance at the bedroom as if she didn't want Pearl to hear and spoke in a soft voice. “It's a good thang they did. Food's been mighty scarce 'round this place lately. The foxes done got all their chickens 'cept a rooster and two laying hens, and they's down to two hams and a side of bacon in the smokehouse.”

Granny nodded. “Them foxes been bad this year.”

“Shore have. So's I was glad to see all this here food. And the men, they's worked so hard helpin' Cecil. I declare, I don't want to live nowhere else but in the Cove. Folks cain't be as good anywhere else.”

Josie clapped her hands as Anna juggled her on her knee. “I think you're right, Lavinia. I've never met kinder people.”

Lavinia turned to her. “Then maybe we can talk you into stayin'. How long you gonna be with us, Anna?”

“I'll be leaving the first of September. I'm going to New York to enroll in nursing school.”

Lavinia frowned. “Why you want to go there? We need you here in the Cove. All the women are talkin' 'bout how you doing such a good job with Granny. Pearl's raved 'bout how you took care of Josie. We need you, Anna.”

Granny set the last bowl on the table and placed the basket on the floor. “That's what I been tellin' Anna, but sometimes I think I'm jest a-wastin' my breath. This child got the gift of healin', and I shore would like to see her take my place when I cain't do it no more.”

Before Anna could say anything, Pearl's voice called from the bedroom. “Lavinia? Do we have comp'ny?”

“We do, Pearl. Granny and Anna come by.”

“They gonna come in here?”

“We's coming, Pearl,” Granny said as she headed toward the bedroom.

Anna got up, shifted Josie onto her hip, and followed Granny and Lavinia into the bedroom. Pearl lay in the bed with her long brown hair fanned out across the two pillows beneath her head. Her hazel eyes lit up, and she smiled.

Pearl's face didn't look quite as gaunt as it had when Anna had last
seen her, probably a testimony to the good care Lavinia had been giving her. Pearl held out her hand and Granny grasped it. “Granny, I's so glad to see you.”

Granny leaned over and kissed Pearl on the forehead. “You look mighty good, Pearl. I knowed Lavinia would have you back to normal in no time.”

A shadow crossed Pearl's face. “Normal? I ain't never gonna be normal agin, Granny. Not after what you said 'bout me not havin' no more babies.”

Granny sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed Pearl's hand. “I jest tole you what I think's for your own good. Your little body cain't handle no more, Pearl. Don't kill yourself tryin' to have another child.”

Josie squirmed and tried to get down, but Anna tightened her grip on her. Anna stepped forward, Josie still hanging on her hip. “Listen to Granny, Pearl. You've got the sweetest little girl I ever did see, and she needs her mama around until she's grown.”

Tears shimmered in Pearl's eyes. “You right, Miss Anna. She's the best thing ever happened to me.”

Josie whimpered and held out her arms to her mother. “Mama.”

Anna leaned over and held Josie down to her mother for a kiss. “She loves you a lot, Pearl. When Granny was helping you and I was taking care of Josie, she kept crying for you. I don't know what she'd do if you left her.”

Pearl hugged the child before Anna stood and held Josie to her side again. Pearl smiled up at Anna. “You shore got a way of makin' me see thangs the right way, Anna. I got me a child the Lord done given me. I cain't go a-grievin' over what He took away. The Good Book says the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I guess I jest gotta remember that.”

Josie squirmed again and rubbed her eyes. Anna glanced down at Josie's mouth, which she'd pulled down into a frown. “I think Josie's tired.”

Lavinia nodded. “She didn't sleep much last night neither. With all the comin' and a-goin' round here, I don't know if'n she'll go to sleep or not.”

Anna drew the child's head down to her shoulder and Josie snuggled against her. “She did real well with me the other day. Why don't I lie down with her in the sitting room and see if I can get her to sleep?”

Pearl smiled up at Anna. “I ain't never gonna forgit how good you been to my little girl.”

Anna hugged Josie. “It's easy to be kind to a child as sweet as she is.” She glanced at Granny. “You and Lavinia can stay and visit with Pearl, and I'll see if I can get Josie down.”

Granny nodded. “Thank you, child.”

Anna turned and walked from the bedroom. As she entered the kitchen, she stopped at the sight before her. Cecil Davis, his arms braced on the kitchen table, leaned forward, his head bowed and his shoulders drooping. He glanced up as Anna walked into the room.

“Hello, Mr. Davis. I'm so sorry about your barn.”

He pushed himself up to his full height and straightened his shoulders. His red eyes stared out of a soot-streaked face crisscrossed with lines of fatigue. He glanced at Josie and Anna clasped her tighter. Without a word, he nodded and walked out the back door.

Anna stood in the kitchen a moment, her legs shaking and her heart pounding. Simon might think Cecil Davis was a good man, but so far he'd given her no indication of that. His aloof attitude frightened her, and she resolved she would never place herself in a situation where she was alone with him.

She stepped to the back door and watched Cecil rejoin the men at the barn before she entered the sitting room. The patchwork quilt still hung on the chair, and she spread it on the floor.

Within minutes of lying down Josie drifted off to sleep. Anna lay there, wide awake, listening to the soft, rhythmic breathing of the child. Anna's back ached from lying on the wooden floor and her head hurt from lack of sleep, but she wouldn't allow herself to doze. Even with Granny, Lavinia, and Pearl in the house, she didn't trust Cecil, and she intended to keep guard against him.

I
n the few days since Simon had appeared to tell them about Cecil's barn he had become a frequent visitor again, and his appetite hadn't decreased during the time he'd been away. Anna watched him shovel the last bite into his mouth and swallow.

“Simon, you git 'nough to eat?” Granny propped her hands on her hips and stared at his empty plate.

Simon glanced at Granny. “What'd you say, Granny?”

She raised her voice. “I said, did you git 'nough to eat?”

Simon laid his fork down and glanced up at Anna. “I don't know. Did I, Anna?”

His words startled Anna, and she frowned. “How should I know?”

Simon grinned at Granny and leaned forward. “Well, you're the one usually tellin' me to quit eatin' up all Granny's food. I wanted to check with you before I asked for another helping of those fried apples.”

A retort sprang to her lips, but the teasing glint in his eyes made her smile instead. She settled back in her chair and crossed her arms. “I know what you're up to, Simon Martin, and it's not going to work.”

His eyebrows arched. “Whatever do you mean, ma'am?”

“You're baiting me into fussing at you so you can keep on teasing until I lose my temper.” She leaned forward and wagged her finger at him. “Well, it's not going to work this time.” She picked up the ladle in the bowl and spooned a mound of apples onto his plate. “How's that, sir?”

Simon looked down at his plate and frowned. “Is that all I get?”

Anna giggled and wagged a finger at him. “There you go again. Trying to make me mad.”

He laughed and took a bite of apples. “Am I succeeding?”

Granny, who'd stood listening to the exchange, burst out laughing. “I declare. Thangs are a-gittin' back to normal 'round here. You two sure can go at it worse than any I ever seen.” She shook her head and turned toward the stove, then glanced over her shoulder. “I'd say you right taken with each other.”

Anna didn't answer but scooped up the remaining dishes on the table and carried them to the dry sink. Simon might eat a lot, but she had to admit he never came without bringing a string of fish or some kind of wild game for their table.

She had to admit too, that having him back had brought life into the house again, and she could endure the teasing just to have him here. In fact she was beginning to think that he added a missing ingredient to her life, and she didn't want to think about the time when she would no longer be able to see him. She took a deep breath before turning back. It would probably be wise to change the subject. “How's it going with the barn raising?” she asked. “Is everything ready for tomorrow?”

Simon nodded and handed his now-empty plate to Granny. “All the logs have been cut and hewn to the size and shape for the different parts of the barn. We'll get started early in the morning. You two coming?”

“'Course we comin'. I 'spect ev'rybody in the Cove's gonna be there,” Granny said.

Simon sighed and slumped down in his chair. “I don't know about that, Granny. I hope Luke Jackson's able to come. I hate to think what the men are gonna say if he doesn't show up. You know they helped him out when he needed a new barn.”

Granny eased into the chair beside Anna, shook her head, and grunted. “Has he been drinkin' agin since the church picnic? I feel so sorry for Naomi and what she puts up with. I pray for her ev'ry night.”

Simon smiled at Granny. “You need to keep doing that.”

Anna reached over and patted Granny's hand. “I've been praying for her too. The Lord has really put her and her children on my heart.”

Simon's gaze raked over her. “I'm glad to hear that. You do care about the people here, don't you?”

“I do, Simon.” She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but it refused to budge.

They stared at each other for a moment before Granny coughed. “Now back to the barn raisin'. We'll be there early in the mornin' with lots of food. When those men get to workin', Anna, they can eat enough to feed a big army.”

Anna laughed at the thought of what tomorrow would bring. “Will they build one of those cantilever barns like I've seen all over the Cove?”

Simon nodded. “Yes. It's what works best for us.”

“I'd never seen anything like them before I came to the Cove.”

“I guess the way they're built does look kind of strange to folks who haven't seen them before. I could explain how they're built if I could draw it for you,” Simon said.

“Let me get my journal. You can use that.” Anna jumped up and ran to the bedroom.

She grabbed the book and her pencil and hurried back into the kitchen. She pulled her chair around next to Simon and plopped the journal down in front of him. “There's a blank page in the back.”

Simon opened the book and picked up the pencil. “This is how we start.” He drew two box-like figures side by side with a space between them. “First of all we build two long cribs about eighteen feet long, but we place them about fourteen or fifteen feet apart.”

“Those are the parts you said looked like little houses,” added Granny.

“Right,” Simon laughed. “Actually they serve as animal pens. The space between them is left so the farmer can pull into the barn to unload his wagon. Understand so far?”

Anna stared at the drawing. “Yes.”

“Next we place two long logs across the top of both cribs. We want them to extend, oh, about eight feet out from the top on either end of
the cribs. Those are the primary supports, but then we place some timbers, purlins they're called, on top of them from front to back across the full length of the barn. These with the bottom timbers are the supports for the whole second floor where hay and corn can be stored.” He glanced up from his drawing. “Still following me?”

Anna nodded.

He continued to draw as he spoke. “We put a heavy timber frame on top of these supports and line it up with the corners of the cribs. This frame supports the eaves and horizontal timbers in the loft. After we get the gabled room on, the loft runs out about six or eight feet on either side of the cribs. So we have a top-heavy barn with a wide space in the middle where equipment can be stored and wagons can pull in for unloading.”

Anna studied the drawing and understanding began to dawn. “And with the loft sticking out on both ends of the barn, the rain drips off there and doesn't go down into the cribs. So the animals and any grain stored there is protected.”