Beyond the Quiet Hills (14 page)

“That's different. Your father didn't run away and leave you!”

“No, but losing a father leaves an empty place in your heart.” After a pause, Sequatchie continued. “And the Bible tells you what happens to these young lions in another place. It says, ‘The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God.' If you would seek God, you wouldn't need anyone else to fill the emptiness of your heart. You must learn, in any case, that no human being can take the place of God. Only God can fill that place.”

Jacob was angry as he listened. He did not want to hear about his father, and he did not want to hear about God. “You just don't understand, Sequatchie.”

When Sequatchie did not answer, Jacob grew calm. He scratched in the dirt with his feet, then shifted nervously. “I wish I knew the frontier and the woods.”

“I will be glad to teach the son of Hawk as I did his father.”

“Really? Would you do that for me, Sequatchie?”

“Yes.” Sequatchie nodded, and then his lips turned upward in a smile. “There is a price, of course. Just as there was for teaching your father.”

“A price? I don't have any money.”

Sequatchie stared at the young man and seemed to be thinking hard. Finally he said, “It is time to discuss our first agreement.”

“Which agreement is that?”

“About how long you will stay here in this place.”

“I'm only going to stay until spring, until the warm weather comes.”

“If you will stay longer, I will teach you as I've taught your father. You will become a true long hunter, a man of the woods. You have the makings of a great hunter in you, but you will need a teacher.”

Jacob considered his words of encouragement but said nothing. Now he asked quickly, “How long would I have to stay?”

“Until,” Sequatchie said evenly, “you become a man.”

Overhead a red-tailed hawk soared, looking for his prey. Jacob looked up and watched as the magnificent hunter suddenly banked, folded his wings, and dropped. He disappeared behind the trees, but somehow Jacob knew that he had made his kill. He turned to Sequatchie, who was watching him, and said abruptly, “All right. If you will teach me, I'll stay.”

“Good. We are agreed.”

Sequatchie spent the rest of the day with Jacob. He had formed a genuine attachment to the young man, and when Hawk and the others appeared and Jacob went to meet them, Sequatchie leaned back against a towering hickory tree and lifted his gaze upward, praying for God to touch the son of Hawk.

Chapter Nine

Christmas Surprise

Rising before dawn, Elizabeth prepared a quick breakfast of eggs, ham left over from supper the night before, and bread served with apple butter. As soon as it was ready, she sent Hawk, Sequatchie, Jacob, and Andrew out to find a Christmas tree, while she kept Sarah beside her to help with the cooking.

After the men had left, Elizabeth began cooking all the food for the enormous dinner she had planned. Her mind raced ahead, counting the guests and arranging, in her own imagination, how everything would take place.

An hour later she heard the sound of voices and stepped to the door. It was cold outside, although December had been warmer than usual. She saw Hawk carrying a perfect Christmas tree.

“We got some mistletoe and red berries,” he called out as he approached the door.

“Bring it inside.”

“Going to be crowded enough with all this company,” Hawk warned.

“I can't help it. We've got to have a tree. Sarah, make a place for it over in the corner.”

Jacob was surprised to discover that he could take part in the festivities. He joined in with Sarah and Andrew, who were stringing popcorn with needles for decorations, and soon after, the guests began to arrive. The Andersons and the Stevenses came first, and Deborah had done a great deal of cooking. Opening up a basket, she began taking out pie tins of chicken pudding, a large plate of almond tarts, and Sally Lunn bread. Joined by Abigail, the women all helped pull the meal together.

Paul Anderson and George Stevens stepped outside to join the other men while the women worked on the meal and talked about the news in the settlement.

Elizabeth took a quick break from the cooking to inspect the tree and laughed at the decorating job. “You men can do better than that.”

“Why, it looks all right to me,” Hawk said with surprise.

“It takes a woman to decorate. Sarah, you and Abigail do it right. You can get Jacob and Andrew to help you.”

Jacob kept back, but he could not help noticing how attractive Abigail Stevens was. He admired the thick brown hair that fell down in waves and the cool gray-green eyes. Most of all he noticed the smooth complexion and trim young figure.
She's going to be a beauty when she grows up
, Jacob thought. He was, at sixteen, a year and a half older than Abigail, but there was a precocious quality about Abigail Stevens that caught his attention.

As Abigail decorated the tree, she was well aware that Jacob Spencer was gazing at her. He was very tall, she saw, with the same wavy black hair and dark blue eyes of his father. She held his gaze for a moment, then smiled at him, and at once he came to stand beside her.

“I'm not much on decorating,” he said. “How do you do it?”

“Why, it's easy. I'll show you.”

The two seemed to be preoccupied with each other, and then Sarah called out, “Andrew, you and Jacob hang the mistletoe.”

Jacob, being the tallest, reached up and fastened a sprig of mistletoe to the ceiling of the cabin. As he did so, Abigail walked by, seemingly by accident.

“Jacob, look at Abigail,” Sarah said. “She's right under the mistletoe. You know that means you must kiss her.”

Jacob grinned abruptly, reached out, and kissed Abigail on the cheek very near her lips. “I suppose if it's the custom, I must do it,” he said. He kissed her again on the other cheek and Abigail flushed, but her bright eyes were laughing.

Andrew said abruptly, “There's no time for this foolishness!”

Sarah looked at her brother with a demure smile and, knowing him well, poked him in the ribs. “You'll have to be quicker than that if you're going to hang on to Abigail,” she said.

Jacob overheard her and turned away so they would not see the smile that had come to his face.

****

The rather small cabin was soon crowded, for William and Lydia Bean and James and Charlotte Robertson had arrived. The Beans brought their children, including Russell, who had the distinction of being the first white child born in the area in 1769. The Robertsons had a baby born that same year, but a little later. They had brought the child when they had come west.

The meal was a great success. Something about being packed in so closely added to the fellowship, and the room resounded with laughter. Finally, as Elizabeth directed the women in bringing out the gooseberry and blackberry pies, the talk turned to the Donelson Survey.

“I don't know exactly what we're going to do,” William Bean said fretfully. “We may have to leave our lands.”

“I don't agree with that,” Hawk said quickly. “A line on a piece of paper isn't going to drive me off this place.”

James Robertson leaned back, chewed thoughtfully on the pie, and shook his head. “I'm with you, Hawk. I don't like the sound of it, but we'll have to wait until spring.”

After the meal was over, the Beans and the Robertsons left to visit brothers and sisters who had settled in the area. The Andersons and the Stevenses stayed a little longer to help clean up. While the adults were busy, Andrew took the opportunity to pull Abigail aside. “Let's go outside a minute, Abigail. I . . . have a present for you.”

“Oh, Andy, I don't have anything for you!”

“That's all right. Here, I hope you like it.”

Abigail's eyes were warm as she opened the brown wrapping. When she took out the object that was inside, she squealed with pleasure. “Oh, it's a muff!”

“Yes. Mother made them from the pelts I caught and cleaned. That ought to keep your hands warm.”

Abigail reached out and touched him on the chest gently. “That was very thoughtful of you.”

As the two stood together just outside the front door of the cabin, Jacob suddenly appeared. “There you are!” he said. “I wondered where you two had gone. I understand we're going to sing carols around the tree. Come on in!”

Jacob took Abigail's arm and pulled her back inside. She glanced back at Andrew with an apologetic smile and a shrug as she disappeared through the doorway. Andrew followed the two but felt somehow that he had been cheated. “Jacob could have waited,” he said. “He didn't have to come butting in like that!” While the singing went on, Andrew himself mumbled the words but could not help but notice the admiring looks Abigail gave to Jacob, who had, indeed, a fine singing voice. A thought came to Andrew, but he pushed it down and shook his head slightly, then tried valiantly to join in with the celebration.

****

“‘And it came to pass in those days that Caesar Augustus sent forth an edict that all the world should be taxed. . . .'”

Elizabeth sat quietly as Hawk read through the Christmas story. Her glance went around at the children, and she noted that Jacob somehow managed to separate himself so that he sat with his back against the cabin wall.

When Hawk finished the story he looked up and said, “Elizabeth, you made it a wonderful year for me.” Turning to the children, he said, “And you three. You give a man a reason for living. Now,” he said, “it's time for Christmas gifts.” He moved out of the room and came back with a cotton sack and pulled out several packages, handing them out. “I guess I'm Santa Claus,” he grinned.

Sarah opened the package and gasped when she saw the beautiful new dress her mother had made. It was made out of a royal blue silk with a square neckline edged in white lace, and elbow-length sleeves that ended with a large band of royal blue brocade and a large white lace ruffle. The bodice had an edging of brocade following all the way down the front and onto the plain overskirt, and the stomacher had been delicately embroidered with white thread in the pattern of snowflakes. The petticoat was made of the same material and had no decoration, but a pretty pinner cap of white linen and lace and a beautiful blue silken cord with a drop pearl completed the outfit.

Andrew found a coonskin cap inside his package and instantly clapped it on his forehead.

Sarah was intrigued with the music box that Hawk had brought back from Williamsburg and put her ear down close, her lips moving in time with the music.

But it was Jacob who was surprised. There had been nothing in the sack for him, and he had felt left out. Then suddenly Hawk had stepped back into the room and come out with a rifle in his hand. “This is for you, Jacob.”

Jacob was speechless, for he saw at once that it was a new Kentucky long rifle. He had heard of the weapon before but had only seen one on rare occasions. He let his fingers slide over the gun, then looked at his father, unable to speak.

“Do you like it, Jacob?” Hawk asked quietly.

“Oh yes! It's wonderful, but you shouldn't have done it!”

“Why, of course I should have done it.” He clapped the boy on the shoulder and said, “You might need a lesson or two. Be glad to teach you what I know.”

Jacob had been open and felt pleased with the gift, but the deep resentment he had kept bottled up over the years came out, and he heard himself saying, “That's okay. I think I can handle it.” He saw that his father's face broke, and there was a hurt look in his eyes. He glanced over and saw Sequatchie staring at him with a frown, so he said, “Well, maybe we could all go out together.”

Sequatchie had sat back, not taking part in the gift exchange, and now he rose and left the room. Jacob said, “I'll get some more wood.” He hastened out of the cabin and caught up with Sequatchie. “I guess I didn't handle that very well, did I?”

“No. Not too well. Your father deserves better.”

“I'll . . . I'll try to do better. I'll talk to him.”

Jacob picked up a few sticks of firewood and went back inside. Several times that evening he tried to get Hawk alone, but the house was small, so finally he went to bed without saying a word. He looked over at his stepbrother and thought for an instant of telling him that he enjoyed the Christmas, but instead, “It was a good celebration.”

“Yes, it was. Good night.”

Surprised by Andrew's rebuff, Jacob stared at him, then he recognized that Andrew had barely spoken to him since he had kissed Abigail under the mistletoe. He lay back and shook his head, thinking,
I'm not doing too well. I'll have to do better than this
.

Hawk and Elizabeth were preparing for bed, and when Elizabeth had put on her nightgown, she turned to him and said, “I've got a present for you.”

“Do I have to wait for it until Christmas morning?”

Elizabeth had a strange expression on her face. She put her hands on his broad chest and for a moment said nothing. Her eyes were glowing. “You'll have to wait a little longer than that. As a matter of fact,” she whispered, “you'll have to wait seven months.”

Hawk blinked with surprise, then suddenly her meaning came to him. A light of pure pleasure leaped to his eyes, and he put his arms around her, looking down. “Are you sure?”

“As sure as a woman could be at this point.” Elizabeth reached up and put her hands on his lips but merely shook her head. “God has blessed us.” She savored the feel of his strong arms around her and ran her hand around the planes of his jaw. There was a joy in her that she had never known before, and now to cover up the tears that threatened to come, she said, “Well, God's blessed us even if you are an old man.”

Hawk laughed and held her tightly. “You're right about that. I got me a child bride.”