by Danni Roan
JPeri
A Needful Bride
By
Danni Roan
Periwinkle Perkins is determined to become an independent woman. After the death of her father and departure of her sister Prim, Peri knows that she can’t live off the generosity of her aunt forever. Tasked with caring for her invalid mother while her older sister tries to establish a new home for them as a mail-order bride, Peri sets out to find the money her recently deceased father has hidden. If she can only find her Pa’s stash, Periwinkle can take her mother to Needful, Texas to join her sister and set up a home of her own. Always a hopeless romantic before, Peri now wishes only for the security of a steady income to provide for her mother, but will she find the funds she needs or be stranded while her sister seeks a man who is willing to accept a fully formed family? Desperate times called for desperate measure and Peri knows she is up to the task.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Authors Note:
Copyright © 2019 by Danni Roan All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review. FIRST EDITION https://authordanniroan.com
Chapter 1
Rockington, Tennessee November 1869
“Periwinkle Perkins, you’ve lost your mind,” Aunt Betsy snapped as Peri tightened the girth on the old mule’s saddle and stowed the shovel in the rifle scabbard.
“Aunt Betsy, I know you don’t understand, but I have to do this. Prim was right, no fancy man is coming to my rescue, so I’ll just have to save myself and Mama too.”
“But you don’t need to do this,” Betsy pleaded. “You and your mama can stay with me as long as need be, we’ll manage.”
Periwinkle Perkins turned, looking down into the face of her sweet aunt, her blue eyes scanning the beloved face of her father’s sister. “Aunt Betsy,” she said resting her hand on the petite woman’s shoulder. “We’ve already taken in laundry and sold all that we could spare, but winter is coming, and you can’t provide for the three of us. Mama’s no use at anything, all she does is sit, rock in her old rocking chair, and hum. I know your heart is in the right place, but I have to do this, or we’ll all be destitute. Pa had money stashed on that hill somewhere, and I’m going back to find it. I’m not waiting on someone else to send for me. As it is Prim doesn’t even have a prospective groom yet, and who knows how long it will take her to save the money to send for me and Ma.”
“What if something happens to you up in those hills,” Betsy sniffed, her dark eyes troubled as she looked into the lovely face of her sassy niece.
“I’ll be fine,” Peri insisted. “I lived in that old cabin for years and learned to hunt or gather provisions as needed. There are probably even a few items in the old root cellar that Prim and me missed.”
“Isn’t there some other way?” Betsy asked pushing a strand of Peri’s light brown hair from her forehead, her eyes full of affection. “You don’t even know that your pa had money hidden up there, and it’s getting colder by the day.”
“I know Papa had money stashed in those hills,” Peri replied gathering up the reins of the old mule. “I’ll only be gone a few days, and I know you’ll look after Mama. I hope she understands I’ll be back,” she added looking sadly at the door of the simple house.
“I’ll be praying for you every day,” Betsy said as Peri placed a foot in the stirrup and climbed into the saddle, adjusting her faded blue skirt into wide billows around each leg.
Leaning out of the saddle and clasping her aunt’s hand in hers, Peri smiled. “Don’t worry Aunt Betsy. I’ll be back soon. You’ll see. I’ll find the money then whisk me and Ma off to Needful, Texas to save Prim from marrying some old codger for his money,” she added with a giggle.
“Peri!” Betsy gasped, shocked at her niece's words.
“See you soon,” Peri called laughing as she kicked the mule into a ragged trot out of town.
Betsy Perkins twisted her hands together nervously as she watched Peri ride out of town. The girl had always been too feisty for her own good, and when an idea got into her head, there was no getting it out.
“Lord, if my brother did have money stashed up there on that hill I pray that you let Peri find it. If anyone can, it’s that girl for sure,” she said glancing down the now-empty street. “Much as I hate to see her go, she’s right. We need those ill-gotten gains in the worst way if we’re to keep body and soul together this winter. Please look after our little Periwinkle and keep her safe as she’s all alone in the world,” she finished. Hesitating before walking back into the house, Betsy closed her eyes once more. “And look after Primrose as well,” she added. “Amen.”
Chapter 2
Peri trotted the mule the whole way to the trailhead that led to her old home. The bone-jarring gait of the mule had been horrid, but she knew she didn’t have time to waste, as the hard climb to the cabin would be slow going.
“We’re headed home Bruce,” Peri said patting the old blue roan beast on the neck. “You know the way better than I do, I think,” she added with a smile, letting the reins go slack in her hand as they started up the first incline.
It had been nearly two months since Peri and Prim had packed up all of their earthly possessions, loaded Mama in the wagon, and headed down the mountain to Rockington. When their father, a notorious moonshiner, had been shot by the revenuers in July, Peri’s whole world had changed.
Before the incident that cost them their only means of income, Peri had been the dreamer in the family: always talking about the great romance that would carry her away to a big house and an adoring husband.
Things had been so different for Peri and her family before her mother had been kicked in the head by a nasty old cow. They had lived on a small farm near town where Pa worked at the textile factory, and though they weren’t rich, they had always had enough. Mama had worked hard tending the garden and teaching her girls to cook, can, and preserve food for winter. The three women had kept the home clean, neat, and industrious as Pa had earned a fair wage at the mill.
Peri had loved living so close to town, attending school and visiting with friends as she dreamed of finding her perfect match. Her sophisticated man would have enough money to keep her from having to plant the kitchen garden, or carry water from the well. He would also be a man who would buy her fancy dresses and take her to restaurants.
For a while, after Mama’s injury, Peri and Prim had thought that she would recover, but when Mama had the fit that the doctor called a stroke she had slipped away with the fairies never to speak again.
A single tear slipped from Peri’s blue eyes as she remembered that time. Papa, always a temperate man before, had slipped into a depression and then into his old habits of drinking and gambling which he had before he’d married Mama, only to lose both his job and the farm.
Without their mother to help keep Pa on the straight and narrow, the family had been forced to move into a tiny cabin far up in the hill
s where Peri’s father had started making moonshine. Everyone knew it would only be a matter of time before he got caught, but no one expected it to cost him his life.
“I don’t see why folks have to be so mean in Rockington,” Peri mused as the old mule made his way through the bright fall foliage of the forest and Peri’s temper rose. “Just because Pa was a moonshiner doesn’t mean me and Prim are some sort of damaged goods,” she fumed. “If someone would have given us a decent job in Rockington, we wouldn’t be in such a mess.”
The old mule flicked his ears at Peri’s rant but plodded steadily onward toward the old cabin in the silent forest.
Bright leaves of gold, red, and vibrant orange fluttered to the ground around them as they plodded along and Periwinkle continued to turn over the events of the past few months in her mind. “Pa should have thought of us girls more,” Peri continued. “What prospects did we ever have with him the way he was? Me and Prim are good God-fearing women who only want to keep Mama comfortable as she grows old.”
The mule took a sharp turn and Peri clutched the saddle horn with a gasp, pulling her mind back to the present. The air was colder here as they made the climb up the old trail into the higher reaches of the Tennessee hills, but Peri’s temper still bubbled with heat.
“Bruce, I’m tellin’ you now,” she said making the old mule grunt in acknowledgment. “I’m not comin’ off this mountain until I find Pa’s stash. He owes us at least that much,” she finished setting her eyes on the trail. “You just wait and see.”
The old roan mule lowered his head, pushing up a steep slope on the familiar path with a huff, as the young woman grew silent. His long legs and narrow hooves giving good purchase on the hard-packed trail, as he headed toward the old cabin and the familiar treat of corn.
Chapter 3
Peri dropped the shovel with a hard clang and a snarl as yet another hole came up empty. She had been digging holes around the cabin for two days now, and no matter where she went, she came up with nothing but new blisters.
“Where is it?” she barked, looking around the meager property. “Where d'you put it Pa?” The young woman called to the sky. She had gotten into the habit of thinking out loud, as she talked to herself, the mule, the squirrels or even an old fox she’d seen slinking through the garden plot.
When she arrived in the clearing two days earlier, nothing much seemed to have changed at the cabin. Her father’s still was gone, probably taken by a competitor in the business, but the cabin stood squat, square, and dark in the midst of the bright fall foliage. Peri had found a few canned items in the deepest recesses of the root cellar that she and her sister had missed when they left shortly after their father’s untimely demise. The extra provisions meant that Peri could stay a few days longer if she needed to, and right now, it looked like she would need to.
Her steady activity of digging holes throughout the property had kept Peri busy all day, her mind bent to the task, but at night, a loneliness set in that took her by surprise. Although familiar, she had found settling into the empty cabin for the long nights a sad time. The absence of her sister and the barren silence of the place without her mother’s constant humming were rather overwhelming.
Lifting her shovel once more, Peri walked to the old shed where the mule was stabled propping her work implement against the faded wood.
“Come on Bruce,” she said taking the mule’s long lead line in her hand. “We’ll get you some fresh grass,” she continued leading the animal to a patch of grass that he hadn’t already cropped short. “I wish you could talk,” she mused as she pounded the stake that tethered the mule into the ground. “I bet you know where Pa hid his moonshine money.”
Perhaps her father’s line of work hadn’t been legal or even respectable, but she knew he had earned enough cash for them to manage on. On dark nights when the moon was full, she had often heard her father working with a shovel around the property, but she couldn’t find any indication of his buried treasure.
Walking back to retrieve her shovel Peri hefted it over her shoulder and scanned the area with a critical eye. The mountains were beautiful in their fall garb, but the stark austerity of the old cabin and disheveled, unsightly mounds of earth that dotted the area were a jarring contrast to the finery of the trees.
A soft shuffle from the trees drew Peri’s attention and she turned to see a fox slink from the woods stopping to gaze at her, his black nose twitching in curiosity.
“You’re a mighty pretty critter,” Peri said with a smile as she admired the fox’s deep red coat and black and white-tipped tail. “I don’t suppose you know where Pa hid his cash do you?” she asked a giggle bubbling in her middle at her absurd question. “I didn’t think so,” she added watching the fox stalk toward the old privy.
The red fox dropped his black nose to the ground, sniffing as he trotted toward the outhouse, probably tracking a mole, or mouse for his breakfast, and Peri watched hoping to see the classic hop and pounce of the forest hunter.
It had always delighted her in the winter when a fox would come into the yard seeking food. Inevitably, their large keen ears would pick up the sound of a rodent deep beneath the snow, and if you were very quiet, you could watch them leap high into the air plunging headfirst into the snow until only their twitching hind legs could be seen.
This time was different though as the fox stopped at the corner of the privy and began to dig, its hard claws scrabbling at the dirt and sending it flying in every direction.
“I don’t know what you found,” Peri whispered, smiling when the fox looked from its task to gaze at her. “I hope you find it though,” she continued talking to the creature like an old friend, “because at least one of us should have a bit of luck.”
Turning her eyes to the patch of blue that sparkled through the trees, Peri whispered a silent prayer that God would somehow grant both her and the fox success on their hunt.
The sound of canine claws clinking on a hard surface made Peri turn back to the fox just in time to see it pounce like an agile cat, jaws snapping, as it seized a fat mouse.
Peri laughed with delight as the fox trotted into the forest with its prize then walked toward the new hole that the animal had dug, as a glint of sunlight caught something shiny in the dirt.
“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” Peri whispered as she gazed down onto the lid of a large mason jar. “Pa, you weren’t as addled by drink as we sometimes thought,” she continued. “Who would ever think to dig near the smelly old privy,” she finished with a grin, dropping her shovel to the earth and pressing the tip deep into the dark soil with a booted foot.
Chapter 4
Peri galloped the last few yards to Aunt Betsy’s place leaping from the saddle before Bruce had come to a complete stop. Racing across the wooden stoop, she pushed open the door and called to her aunt.
“Betsy, Betsy,” she cried hurrying into the living area and dropping to the floor before her mother, her dirt-smudged skirt flaring out around her in a puddle. “Mama, I found it,” Peri gushed, her blue eyes dancing with delight. “I found Pa’s stash, and now we can go to Needful, Texas and find Prim.”
Peri placed her head on her mother’s knee as a wave of relief and joy swept over her while her mother’s humming of Jesus Saves filled the room.
“Periwinkle!” Aunt Betsy cried, hurrying from the kitchen as she dried her hands on a dishtowel. “You’re back.” The older woman enthused reaching out to embrace Peri who sprang to her feet.
“I found it, Aunt Betsy!” Peri squealed squeezing her aunt tight. “I found Pa’s money and brought it all home,” she said. “Now Mama and I can go to Texas and join Prim.”
Betsy pulled back looking up into Peri’s animated face, as tears of joy and sorrow filled her eyes. “Oh honey, I’m so happy,” she blubbered using the dishtowel to wipe her eyes.
“Don’t cry Aunt Betsy,” Peri said her blue eyes filling with tears of her own. “You know we have to go, and now that we have the money, you won
’t have to starve this winter.”
“I know, I know,” Betsy said sniffing as she waved the towel before her like a flag, “but I’ll still miss you so.”
Peri wrapped her aunt in her arms, holding her tight. Betsy had taken them in at their time of greatest need, and it would be hard to leave her behind.
“I’m going to make arrangements as quickly as possible,” Peri said with a sniff, finally releasing her aunt. “We have to leave before the weather gets bad, and we may even save Prim from marrying the first man she meets in that town.”
Betsy nodded, drying her eyes. “How much did you find?” she finally asked, “I don’t know how much you’ll need for you and your mother to get all the way to Texas.”
