Beyond These Hills (25 page)

Even though she'd heard the story all her life, Laurel never tired of hearing the account of her grandmother's first summer in Cades Cove. It always reminded her that she was a result of her grandmother's decision to stay in the Cove. “But you wanted to go to New York and study nursing, didn't you?”

“I did, but God gave me the best teacher in the world right here in this mountain valley. She taught me about helping people and loving them even when they were unlovable. And she taught me that it
doesn't matter where you are if you're doing God's will in your life. Sometimes I shudder to think what would have happened to me if I'd gone to New York instead of staying here in this valley. I would have missed all the babies Granny and I delivered and having the best man in the world to love me.” She smiled at Laurel. “And I would have missed having my family that I love so much.”

Laurel reached down and squeezed Granny's wrinkled hand. “Granny, Mama has told me so many times how you were always there for her, especially when she and Poppa couldn't seem to get together. And you've done the same for me.” She leaned closer and whispered. “Thank you for telling Andrew to come to the barn to see me today. I don't know what will happen with us, but you've made us realize that we need to at least give each other a chance.”

Her grandmother's hands stilled, and she glanced up, her eyes wide. “You and Andrew? I thought you'd agreed not to see each other again.”

Laurel shrugged. “We had, but we can't help the fact we have feelings for each other. We have a lot of things to work out, and I have no idea how we'll do it.”

“I thought the same thing about your grandfather when I was about your age, but God showed me the way. Put your trust in Him and it will all work out.”

“Maybe.”

Anna chuckled and turned her attention back to Granny. “You are quite the matchmaker, Granny. You did it with Simon and me and with Rani and Matthew. Now you've taken on Laurel and Andrew. Oh, Granny, what would I ever do without you? I need you when we move out of the Cove. Don't you dare leave me now.”

Tears pooled in her eyes, and she bit down on her lip as she continued to sponge Granny's body. For the next thirty minutes Laurel ran back and forth to the kitchen to bring fresh pans of water to her grandmother. She had just filled another one when she heard Willie yell from the front porch.

“Laurel, they're back. Mama and Poppa are coming down the road.”

She set the pan on the kitchen table and rushed to the door. The rain had stopped, but it still dripped off the edge of the roof. Relief flooded through her at the sight of her father's truck pulling into the yard. She and Willie were down the steps and running toward the truck before her father could get out. “Poppa, I'm so glad you're back,” she cried.

A startled look flashed across his face as she and Willie both threw themselves into his arms. He staggered backward at the force of their weight, but he steadied himself and clutched them in a fierce hug. “What's the matter? Has something happened?”

“It's Granny. Something's happened to Granny!” Willie wailed.

“What is it?”

Laurel jerked her head around at the sound of her mother's panic-filled voice. Willie pulled away from their father and dived into his mother's arms just as she walked around the front of the truck.

Laurel pulled away from her father and faced her mother and grandfather, who were staring at her with a stunned look. “Nana found Granny unconscious in her chair on the front porch. She thinks it may be a stroke or a heart attack. Andrew was here, and he's gone for the doctor at the CCC camp.”

Her grandfather's face paled. “Where's Anna?”

“Andrew carried Granny to her bedroom. Nana's in there with her now.”

She'd barely finished speaking when her mother and grandfather bolted for the house. A muffled cry of surprise drifted from the room when her grandfather burst through the door. When Laurel entered, her grandparents were standing beside Granny's bed with their arms wrapped around each other. Her mother was on her knees beside the bed with Granny's hand in hers. Willie, looking more frightened than she'd ever seen him, stared at Granny from the foot of her bed.

“Oh, Simon,” Laurel heard her grandmother say, “I'm so glad you're back. I couldn't stand to go through this without you here.”

“We would have been back sooner, but the rain slowed us down. Tell me what happened.”

Her grandmother took a deep breath and began to relate the events of the last hour. When she finished, Rani pushed to her feet and frowned at Laurel. “What was Andrew doing here?”

Laurel's face warmed, but she didn't flinch from her mother's steady gaze. “He stopped by and talked to Granny for a while and then came to the barn where I was. Willie came and got us when Nana found Granny.”

Her mother took a step toward her. “I thought you weren't going to see that boy anymore.”

Her father's arm tightened around Laurel's waist. “Please, Rani. This isn't the time to discuss this.”

“I agree,” her grandmother said. “I don't know what we would have done if he hadn't been here. I just wish he'd get back with the doctor.”

She'd no sooner uttered the words than Laurel heard a car stop at the front of the house. She pulled away from her father. “Maybe that's him now. I'll go see.”

Laurel ran through the house, stopped at the front door, and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Andrew getting out of his car. A huge raindrop slipped off the roof and landed on Andrew's head as he climbed the steps, but he didn't appear to notice. He glanced at her father's truck sitting in the yard and then back to her. A man she had never seen stepped onto the porch right behind Andrew, and she pushed the door open for them to enter the front room of the cabin.

“Your folks are back?”

“Yes.”

“I'm glad.” He turned to the man behind him. “Laurel, this is Dr. Atkinson from the camp.” He motioned to Laurel. “And this is Laurel Jackson, Reverend Martin's granddaughter.”

The doctor nodded and smiled. “It's good to meet you, Miss Jackson. Where is the patient?”

“If you'll follow me, I'll take you, and thank you for coming.”

The doctor followed her down the hall. When they walked into the room, she could almost feel the collective sighs of relief that rose from her family. The doctor strode toward the bed and stopped beside her grandfather. “Reverend Martin, I'm Dr. Atkinson. I believe we met when you came to the camp one day. I'm sorry we have to meet again under such circumstances.”

Her grandfather shook the doctor's hand and smiled. “So are we, but we appreciate your coming.” He stepped away from the bed. “My wife will help you with Granny, and the rest of us will get out of your way.” He turned to Anna. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Her eyes sparkled with tears, and she sniffed. “I'll come in there as soon as the doctor finishes his examination.”

Laurel and her father led the way back to the kitchen. Her parents, brother, and grandfather continued into the front room, but Laurel hung back until Andrew caught up with her. He pulled out a chair from the kitchen table for her before he slipped into one next to her. She clasped her hands on top of the table, and he reached over and laced his fingers with hers. Tears pooled in her eyes, and she smiled. “I'm glad you're here with me.”

He tightened his grip on her hand. “I'll stay with you as long as you want.”

“Thank you,” she whispered as a tear rolled from the corner of her eye. “I know my family's here, but I need someone just for me. Is that selfish?”

He wiped away the tear that slid down her cheek and then pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Not a bit. I want to be with you.”

From the other room she could hear the muffled voices of her family. It seemed strange that she didn't want to be with them at this time instead of with the man sitting beside her, but she was right where she wanted to be. She squeezed his hand, and a tingle of
pleasure raced up her arm at how comforting his presence was. She closed her eyes and said a prayer for Granny, thankful that Andrew was there to share this troubling time with her.

Laurel had no idea how long they sat there, but it felt like an eternity. Then the door to Granny's bedroom opened and Anna stepped out. Her family rushed in from the other room. A forced smile pulled at Anna's lips as she walked toward them.

“What does the doctor say?” her grandfather asked before she had even arrived in the room.

She shook her head. “It's not good. He says it's a massive stroke, and he doubts if she will live. She's getting weaker by the minute.” She grabbed the corner of her apron and wiped at her eyes.

Willie buried his face in their mother's side and sobbed as her father gathered them both close. Her grandfather put his arm around her grandmother, and Andrew gripped her hand tighter.

Her grandfather cleared his throat. “Does the doctor think she's near death?”

She took a deep breath. “Yes. I think all of us need to be in the room and spend whatever time she has left with her. We're the only family she's had for the last forty years, and she'd want us there.” She looked down at Willie. “But you don't have to if you'd rather not.”

He pulled away from his mother. “I want to be with Granny.”

“Good.”

Laurel followed her grandparents toward Granny's bedroom but stopped when she heard her father's voice behind her. “Andrew, aren't you coming with us?”

She turned and glanced at him. He shifted from one foot to another and shook his head. “I don't want to intrude.”

Her father shook his head. “You're not intruding. From what Laurel's said, you've been a big help to our family today. I'd like for you to join us.”

Laurel held out her hand. “Besides, I want you with me.”

He smiled at her father, stepped forward, and grabbed Laurel's
hand. “Thank you, Matthew. I'd be honored to be with all of you at this time.”

Laurel clenched his hand tighter as they stepped into the bedroom. Granny lay with the quilt she'd always loved pulled up over her body. The doctor, a somber expression on his face, stood at the foot of the bed.

Anna picked up the rocker that Granny had spent many hours in, set it next to the bed, and motioned for her husband to take a seat. She reached for Granny's Bible and began flipping through the pages. A serene expression covered her face as she leaned forward and handed the Bible to her husband.

He gazed up into her eyes, and the look that passed between them made Laurel's breath hitch in her throat. They had shared more than a love for each other. Theirs had been a divine calling to minister to the people of the Cove, and Granny had been the one who had shared their journey with them all these years. Now they were about to lose her.

Laurel stifled the sob that rose in her throat as her grandparents clasped hands and covered Granny's with theirs. Her grandmother cleared her throat.

“Granny, I thought you might like for Simon to read your favorite chapter from the Bible to you. I couldn't start to count the number of times we've read this together through the years, and yet every time it blesses me more than it did the time before. I want it to give you peace now.”

A sweet comfort filled Laurel at the sound of her grandmother's voice. That hypnotic tone had soothed her many times when she was a child and suffering from an illness. In her role as a midwife and nurse to the people of the Cove, Nana had seen her share of death and had perfected the lilting voice that always comforted her patients. But Laurel suspected there was a reason the timbre of her spoken words was different today. It was the love she had for Granny that made her truly sound like an angel at this moment.

Laurel closed her eyes and said a prayer of thanks for Granny's life and how she'd influenced their family. And she also thanked God for allowing her to be the granddaughter of this wonderful couple who had served the people they loved.

To Laurel they had always just been her grandparents, a man who ministered to everyone he came in contact with and a woman who'd delivered babies and treated the sick. They had served when there was no one else to do it, and they had earned the love and respect of the people of the Cove. Friends who were now gone.

For the first time the enormity of her grandparents' service to the people they loved washed over her, and she was humbled at their godly spirit. She bowed her head and prayed to be worthy of their legacy.