Authors: Sandra Robbins
Two days later dark clouds drifted across the sky as the crowd of mourners gathered next to Luke's grave. The threat of rain was increasing by the minute. Eli squirmed in Anna's arms, and she jiggled him up and down in an effort to quiet him. Beside her Naomi and Matthew stared at the wooden box resting on the ground. The women of the congregation held jars of wildflowers and mountain ferns they'd brought to decorate the grave.
Simon, his Bible open, stood in front of the coffin and read from Psalm twenty-three. “The Lord is my shepherd,” he began. “I shall not want.”
Anna glanced at Naomi's face and tried to determine what she was feeling, but her expression divulged nothing. Anna wondered what thoughts were running through the woman's mind. A little over forty-eight hours earlier she'd found out her husband had been killed, and now she faced the task of burying a husband and trying to provide for her children alone.
Simon concluded reading the chapter. “Let us pray.” The Cove residents, gathered in the small cemetery beside the church, bowed their heads as Simon began to pray. “Lord, we don't understand when tragedies like this happen, but we do know You're still in control. We come to You today in this sad hour to ask Your blessings on Naomi, Matthew, and Eli. We ask You to be with them and help them through the hard days ahead. Help them to draw on the promises found in Your Word and keep them in Your safekeeping. Their friends and neighbors place them in Your hands. Amen.”
Naomi, who hadn't shed a tear at the service, opened her eyes and stared at Matthew standing next to her. He reached up and took her arm. “You ready to go now, Ma?”
She smiled down at her son. “I reckon I am.”
Naomi held out her arms for Eli and Anna handed the child to her. “Thank you kindly, Anna, for all you done for us since they brought Luke home.” She glanced at Granny, who stood behind Anna. “And thank you, Granny. You two been better to me than anybody ever. I won't be fergettin' it.”
Granny touched Anna's shoulder. “Darlin', the men want to git the grave filled in. Doc's gonna drive Naomi home, and then he'll come back by my house.”
Together they walked from the cemetery toward the front of the church. Uncle Charles, who'd arrived a few hours before the burial, moved along in the midst of the mourners leaving the grave. Anna grasped Naomi's arm. “You will think about what Uncle Charles and I told you?”
Naomi's expression didn't change, but she nodded. “I been a-thinkin' all through the fun'ral. I reckon a woman with two young'uns gotta do what she kin to take care of 'em. You and your uncle are good friends to be lookin' out for me and mine. I al'ays knowed he was, and when I met you, I said to myself you was jest like 'im. I reckon I was right.”
“Thank you, Naomi. When will you be leaving?”
“Doc said he'd send a wagon fer us in 'bout two weeks.”
Anna smiled. “Good. That'll give me time to visit with you before you go.”
They stopped beside the buggy Anna had ridden in when she came to the Cove. Toby whinnied as distant thunder rolled across the valley. Naomi glanced down at her son. “All right, Matthew, let's go home. We's got lots to do.”
The boy's dark eyes stared back at his mother, and he nodded. “I reckon I gotta get on the chores. Then we'll talk about leavin'.” He helped his mother climb into the buggy, his protective manner with his mother proclaiming his position as head of the family now. He might only be a boy, but he was a boy who'd grown up overnight. He took off the straw hat he wore and held it in front of him. “Thank you, Miss Anna and Granny. I won't never forgit your kindness to my ma.”
Uncle Charles stopped beside Matthew and grasped his shoulder. “You're a credit to your mother, Matthew. She's lucky to have a son like you.”
The boy didn't smile but gave a small nod in acknowledgment of the compliment. Uncle Charles turned to Anna. “I'll drive Naomi and her sons home. Then I'll be back by Granny's in just a bit.”
Uncle Charles climbed in the buggy and flicked the reins across Toby's back. Anna watched him ride away from the church, the little family huddled beside him. A few drops of rain splattered against the dry earth. Dust whirled across the dirt yard.
One after another the families left until only Anna, Granny, and the men filling the grave were left. Granny looked up at the sky. “Looks like we're in for a downpour. We oughta wait a while 'fore
drivin' home. I'll jest go in the church and clean up some for Sunday service. You coming?”
Anna looked around for Simon, but he was nowhere to be seen. She took a step toward the cemetery. “I'll be there in a minute. I want to find Simon first.”
She walked back to the cemetery and stopped at the grave. John, working with the men to fill the grave, paused and leaned on his shovel as she approached. “Anna, I thought you'd gone home.”
Her gaze drifted over the tombstones scattered across the small hill next to the church. “I was looking for Simon. Have you seen him?”
John pointed to a field behind the cemetery. “I saw him walk out that way a little while ago.”
Anna hurried to the back of the cemetery and let her gaze drift across the area. At the far edge of the field she spotted a dilapidated cantilever barn that looked as if it had been abandoned years ago. She squinted and caught a glimpse of Simon sitting underneath the barn's overhang, his arms resting on his bent knees and his head bowed. Another drop of rain hit her head. She looked up at the dark sky and hurried across the field toward the barn.
“Simon, what are you doing?”
He didn't look up as she approached. “I needed to be alone.”
“But it's about to become a downpour. You need to come back to the church.”
He shook his head. “I'll be all right. You go on before you get wet.”
Anna dropped to her knees. Raindrops leaked through the rotting wood overhead and dripped onto her face. “Tell me what's troubling you.”
He glanced up, and she gasped at the tortured look in his eyes. She'd seen it once before, the day he'd learned of Luke's death. “Leave me alone, Anna.”
His raspy voice shocked her, and she grasped his hand. “Simon, you're scaring me. Please tell me what's the matter. I want to help you.”
He stared at her for a moment as if debating whether or not to allow her to see into his soul. He reached up with his free hand and
brushed away a raindrop that had landed on her cheek. “I wonder if God is crying today.”
Surprised, Anna sat back on her heels. “What do you mean?”
He tilted his head to one side and narrowed his eyes. “God wants everyone to accept Him, and I'm supposed to be doing His work. But I failed with Luke. I told him time after time about how much God loved him, but he wouldn't listen. He got to where he wouldn't even talk to me when I went by his house.”
Anna rubbed his hand. “That wasn't your fault. You tried.”
He sat up straighter and glared at her. “Oh, I tried all right, but I won't anymore. I've failed again.”
“You haven't failed anybody, Simon. Everybody loves you.”
A sarcastic chuckle escaped his mouth. “Oh, sure, they love me. Everybody in the Cove loves me so much they made me feel guilty about going back to school. They needed me here, they said, and I believed them.”
“But it's true. They do need you.”
He shook his head. “No, I was supposed to do God's work. I was supposed to lead lots of people to Christ. After I told them I'd stay here, I realized they were nearly all Christians. All except Luke.”
Understanding dawned on Anna. “And you thought it was your mission to bring him to Christ?”
“Yes. That's why God brought me back. Now I've failed in what He wanted me to do.”
The agony Anna saw in his face scared her. The Simon she knew had a joy for life and loved to tease and laugh. The brooding man before her didn't resemble that person at all. There had to be something she could do to ease his pain.
Before she realized what she was doing, Anna lifted Simon's hand to her mouth and kissed it. “Simon, you're one of the best men I've ever known. You take your calling seriously, and you try to follow God's will. But you can't take responsibility for other people's actions.”
He swallowed. “What do you mean?”
“God expects us to tell the people around us about His love, but He's also given everybody the choice to either accept Him or not. Luke
chose to ignore what you told him of his own free will. That's not your fault. You did what was expected of you.”
He glanced down at his hand she still held. “I would like to believe you.”
She smiled. “Simon, you're a man of faith. You have to understand you can't take the sins of the world on your shoulders. Jesus has already done that. He just wants you to tell the people around you about Him and let them make their own choices. It doesn't matter if you do that in Cades Cove or in a big city somewhere.”
“But on top of the tragedy of Luke, there's Naomi and the boys,” said Simon. “I don't know how she'll make it without a husband. Luke may not have been the best one in the world, but at least he kept some food on their table.”
Anna smiled. “You don't have to worry about that either.” She shifted from her heels to sit on the ground. “Before Sheriff Wade left Naomi's house the day before yesterday, I asked him to take a note back to Uncle Charles for me.”
“What did it say?”
She settled her skirts around her. “When Uncle Charles was bringing me to the Cove we stopped at Mrs. Johnson's inn over at Pigeon Forge. She kept complaining about not having anybody to help her do the work. I asked Uncle Charles if he would talk to Mrs. Johnson about the possibility of Naomi coming to work for her.”
Simon sat up straight, his eyes wide. “You what?”
“Well, it seemed like a good idea. Mrs. Johnson needs a worker, and Naomi needs a place to go. She and Matthew can't work that farm. I really didn't expect Uncle Charles to get over there right away, but he made a quick trip to Pigeon Forge and then came on over here for the funeral.”
“Well, don't keep me in suspense. What did she say?”
Anna smiled. “She thought it was a wonderful idea. She has a little cabin out behind the inn where Naomi and the children can live, and Naomi will help her with the cleaning and cooking. Matthew will do odd jobs like chopping wood and drawing water, but the best part is he'll also get to go to school.”
Simon stared at her for a moment before he leaned forward and kissed Anna on the cheek. “Thank you, Anna. You're wonderful. Not only have you helped Naomi, but you've given
me
a lot to think about too.” Her skin tingled with pleasure where his lips had grazed her face.
From the edge of the field John's voice rang out. “Simon, Anna, it's 'bout to become a downpour. You're gonna drown if you don't git inside.”
For a moment Anna felt as if their souls had connected, but John's words brought her back to the reality of rain pouring from the sky. They laughed and jumped to their feet. Simon grabbed her hand and pulled her out from underneath the barn's overhang into the drenching rain. In surprise she looked down at her wet dress and Simon's shirt clinging to his body.
Anna turned her face up to the rain and let the water trickle down her face. Simon smiled at her, and the look in his eyes sent a thrill through her. “Want to race me back to the church?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No. You might beat me again, and I don't want anything to spoil this moment with you.”
S
imon latched the tailgate on the wagon and studied the items Naomi was taking to Pigeon Forge. Anna's uncle had returned as he promised, and now they were about to send the family to a new life outside the Cove.
Anna walked from the house. She'd never looked lovelier than she did today. The gingham dress she wore rustled against her legs as she hurried toward him. “Simon, is there room for this box? I found it in the kitchen.”
He leaned against the back of the wagon and watched her move toward him, her slight figure swaying as she walked. Her hair sparkled in the sun, but it was the happiness on her face that ignited his spirit. It was the joy he often saw on the face of someone who'd given of their time to help someone.
“I think it'll fit in the space beside the cedar chest.” He pushed a quilt aside and took the box from her hands. Their fingers touched, and he felt a tingle all the way to his elbow. Her expression didn't change and he wondered if she felt anything.
Anna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “The world smells so good today, doesn't it?”
Simon chuckled. “I guess I never thought about that.”
She laughed. “It's such a beautiful day in the Cove.” She cocked her head to one side. “Say, when are you going to take Granny and me fishing? You promised, but you haven't done it yet.”
“We'll do it soon.”
She grinned and wagged a finger at him. “I'm not going to let you forget.”