Beneath the Honeysuckle Vine (18 page)

Johnny
’
s eyes fairly danced with amusement
,
and he continued to laugh so hard Vivianna feared it might not be at all good for him.
Yet her mother had always told her laughter was the greatest healer God had given man.
Thus, as she doubled over
,
her stomach aching with merriment
,
she did not worry for the man—only laughed harder as he dropped to his knees
,
overcome with hilarity.

He was crouching now
,
on his hands and knees as he continued to laugh
,
and Vivianna could endure it no longer.
Sitting down hard on her seat in the grass, she continued to laugh—laugh so hard she could not draw breath
,
so hard that her back ached.
Yet she could not seem to stop laughing
,
and neither could Johnny Tabor.

“
Oh, ho ho ho!
”
he laughed
,
tears of mirth gathering at the outer corners of his eyes.

“
Oh, stop!
”
Vivianna breathlessly begged.
“
Please, stop!
I
’
ll be sick!
”

Johnny drew a deep breath and seemed to hold it as he lifted his head to look at her.
However, as he glanced to his shoulder and then back to her
,
the uncontrollable revelry overtook them again
,
and Vivianna was undone
.
Each time she or Johnny would try to settle their laughter, one or the other of them would glance to his shoulder
,
and the merriment would begin anew
.

“
For cryin
’
out loud, Viv!
”
Willy said, coming to stand next to her.
“
What is so funny?
”

Vivianna could only shake her head and gasp
.
“
Nothin
’
!
Nothin
’
really!
”
Yet new pe
a
ls of laughter overtook her.
In her soul
,
she knew it wasn
’
t just the incident of the bird
mess
. T
he laughter owning her in those moments was also a release of sorts—something she
’
d missed for years
,
since her brothers and the Turner boys left for the war.
Vivianna realized that the reason the hard laughter was so entirely wracking her body with discomfort was for the unfamiliarity of it.
Truly
,
she hadn
’
t laughed so thoroughly in forever, it seemed.
She thought the same was probably true for Johnny Tabor.
As he wiped the mirthful moisture from his eyes—as he inhaled a deep breath, exhaling a contented sigh—she was certain he hadn
’
t known such laughter in years either.

“
What are y
’
all laughin
’
at?
”
Willy demanded.
Vivianna knew he felt left out, but she couldn
’
t breathe well enough yet to explain.

Johnny held up a hand, however, and gasped,
“
Just a pigeon,
”
he began.
“
A pigeon flew over and targeted me with his hind end.
”
As Johnny sat back on his heels and pointed to his shoulder, Vivianna snickered
,
and she and Johnny were undone once more.

Willy frowned—looked to Vivianna as she sat in the grass attempting to gain control of her spontaneous laughter once more.
“
Well, that ain
’
t funny at all!
”
the boy exclaimed.
“
If a bird messed all over me
,
I sure wouldn
’
t be sittin
’
in the grass laughin
’
about it!
”

Johnny sighed and rubbed his moist eyes.
One final chuckle escaped his throat as he struggled to his feet.
Still smiling, he offered Vivianna his hand.
She was certain he didn
’
t have the strength to pull her to her feet, yet she did not want to offend him by refusing.
Therefore, she took his hand and was surprised when his strength proved to be more than she had imagined.

“
Willy,
”
Vivianna began,
“
would ya please run on in the house and fetch one of your daddy
’
s old shirts for Mr. Tabor?
He can
’
t possibly wear this one all day.
”
She giggled
and
placed her hand over her mouth to stop.
Her sides were aching—and her back!
She was sure she couldn
’
t endure another round of such overwhelming laughter.

Willy nodded—grimaced as he watched Johnny
remove the soiled shirt.
“
Yeah, I
’
ll
get one for him, Viv,
”
the boy said.
“
I couldn
’
t hold my breakfast down at all with bird
mess lookin
’
me straight in the face.
”

“
Thank you, Willy,
”
Vivianna said as one final giggle escaped her throat.

Willy hurried off toward the house
,
calling,
“
Mama!
One of them naughty pigeons messed all over Johnny!
”

Johnny still smiled as he wadded up the soiled shirt.

“
We
’
ll get that washed out for ya later on, Johnny,
”
Vivianna said.
She held her hand out, indicating he should hand her the shirt.

But Johnny shook his head, frowning slightly.
“
Oh, no, ma
’
am,
”
he told her.
“
I couldn
’
t let ya wash out this mess.
I
’
ll do it after breakfast.
”

Vivianna smiled as he tossed the shirt onto a nearby tree stump.

“
Well, the rain barrel is just over by the house
. Y
ou can wash up there,
”
Vivianna explained.
“
There
’
s a towel hangin
’
on a nail right above it.
”

“
Thank you,
”
he said
and sauntered past her.

Vivianna turned
and
watched him head for the rain barrel.
She felt her brows arch at the sight of the long, dark scar marring the flesh on his lower back.
Indeed, it was obviously the harsh remnant of the brutal saber wound Caleb had told them about.

Her thoughts lingered on Caleb a moment then.
He was a compassionate man
,
a kind man
,
and loyal.
For an instant, the tender feelings her heart had owned for Caleb before the war returned.
Vivianna remembered then why it was she had loved Caleb first—why it had been Caleb who owned her heart before the war.
Caleb was calm.
He was not easily provoked to anger.
There was a sense of stability
,
of steadfastness
,
about him that his own brother did not possess.
Vivianna realized that, as a girl, these were the qualities in Caleb Turner she loved most.
But that was in the past
;
she loved Justin now.
Oh, it was true she would always be fond of Caleb—always love him in a manner.
Yet, she was
in
love with Justin
,
and
nothing would change that now.

Sighing—for she was quite worn out with laughing so hard—she started for the house.

“
I
’
ll send Willy out with that shirt, Johnny,
”
she called.
“
We
’
ll have breakfast on the table when you
’
re finished.
”

“
Thank you,
”
Johnny said, smiling and nodding to her.

As she stepped up onto the porch, she heard him chuckle.
No doubt this chuckle was a residual response from the previously unruly laughter.
Vivianna smiled
,
glad that Justin
’
s friend seemed to be mending.

Justin was sitting at the table when Vivianna entered the kitche
n
.
At once, her heart was full and
delighted!
He smiled at her, and the sight of it bathed her with joy
.

“
Mornin
’
, Viv,
”
he greeted.

“
Good mornin
’
, Justin,
”
she said.
“
You look quite well
rested!
”

Justin nodded.
“
And I feel it.
”
He smiled at his mother and added,
“
And I can
’
t wait for some of Mama
’
s biscuits
.
I swear, Mama…how I
’
ve missed your cookin
’
!
”

“
Thank you, darlin
’
,
”
Savannah
said as she se
t a jar of honey on the table next to the pan of biscuits.
“
The eggs are about ready too, Viv.
Is Mr. Tabor nearly finished out there?
Willy said a pigeon got him.
I guess that
’
s what all the laughin
’
was about.
I couldn
’
t imagine what was so funny!
”

Vivianna giggled just a little.
“
I don
’
t know why it seemed so funny…but it just tickled me so.
”

“
I got one of Daddy
’
s shirts, Mama,
”
Willy said, racing into the kitchen.

“
Well, take it out to Johnny then, Willy.
I
’
m starvin
’
!
”
Nate growled.

“
I
’
m goin
’
.
I
’
m goin
’
,
”
Willy mumbled as he hurried out of the house.

Vivianna smiled.
Nate Turner was a bear when he was hungry.
In fact, all the Turner boys were irritable when they went too long without food.

“
Maybe we can finish our walk after breakfast, Viv,
”
Justin said.

“
Yes,
”
she told him.
“
Of course.
”

Vivianna could not keep the sigh of pure delight from escaping her throat.
Justin!
His eyes were bright—as blue and as bright as the summer sky
.
Oh, how thankful she was that he seemed in fair health.
She would not have had a moment
’
s peace had Justin arrived looking as near to death as his friend did.

“
I
’
ll be workin
’
on that east bridge if ya need me today, Mama,
”
Caleb said.
“
Just send Nate or Willy along if ya need anythin
’
.
”