Angel of the Cove

by Sandra Robbins

  His gaze dropped to her strong hands—healing hands, they were often called. There was something about her fingers that always caught his attention. Everyone who shook hands with her was surprised to discover she had the grip of a man. Yet those same hands dispensed tenderness and love to all she came in contact with. No woman in the Cove would think of giving birth without Matilda Lawson at her side.

  He remembered his grandmother talking about the first white settlers that came after the Cherokee were forced out of their mountain homes. The most loved and respected among them had been the midwives—the granny women of the Cove, as they came to be called. And now Granny Lawson carried on a tradition that had begun many years before. His heart warmed with love for this woman who’d always been like a second mother to him. He cleared his throat and stepped closer. “Making a pie for supper?”

  Startled, she looked up and smiled. The delight that flashed in her eyes made him forget his weary afternoon in the saddle and the disappointment he’d had when he tried to talk to Luke Jackson about his need for God in his life.

  “Well, it if ain’t the preacher come a-callin’ to keep me comp’ny,” she said.

  He walked over to where she sat, reached down in the basket, and pulled out a round green apple. He rubbed the smooth skin across his shirtsleeve and looked up at her. “Mind if I help myself to a bite? I've been riding the Cove all afternoon, and I’m getting mighty hungry.”

  She motioned toward the house with the hand that held the knife. “Help yourself. Go in the kitchen and git you a chair. Then come set a spell with me. The breeze is nice under this here tree.”

  Simon shook his head and sat down on the dirt. “The ground is fine. Don’t have much time. John and Martha are looking for me to stop at their house for supper. Don’t want to be late.”

  Granny smiled. “How’s your brother and that sweet sister-in-law doin’?”

  “Fine. Fine. Martha seems to be making it all right.”

  Granny dropped the peeled apple into a pan at her feet and reached for another one in the basket. “Reckon I’ll be makin’ my way over to their farm purty soon now.” She stopped and thought a moment. “Should be in about two months, I’d say.”

  Simon nodded. “That’s what they tell me.”

  Granny hesitated before she started on the next apple. “Simon, when you gonna find a nice girl and settle down like John? You need a good woman.”

  He laughed and chewed on the bite in his mouth. “I’m making it fine by myself, Granny.”

  A sad expression darkened her eyes. “You kin tell yourself that, but I know better. I see the loneliness in your eyes.” She glanced back down at the apple she held. “What ever happened to that gal you was sweet on when you was in school?”

  He shrugged, hoping to look as if he’d put the whole matter behind him. “When I had to leave school because my folks were sick, she turned to a good friend of mine. Well, they’re married now, and he pastors a church in Knoxville.”

  She reached out and patted his arm. Leave it to Granny to know the hurt was still fresh. “Then she wasn’t the one God has for you. I hope you’re not still a-pinin’ over her.”

  “It’s not her, Granny. It’s just that sometimes I wonder where I would be and what I would be doing if I hadn’t come back home.”

  Granny pinned him with a steady gaze. “You done what you had to do at the time, Simon, and you cain’t keep a-worryin’ about it. Things happen in God’s own good time.” Her mouth curled into a smile. “That’s why I know there’s a girl somewhere out there for you.”

  Simon leaned over and chucked her under the chin. “Aw, Granny, you know I want a girl just like you. Since you’re a little old for me, I guess I’ll just have to wait for the next angel to come to the Cove.”

  Granny laughed and tossed a long strip of apple peel at him. “Hush your mouth, preacher boy. You say that because you know nobody ever moves to the Cove to live, but the Lord’s gonna find you somebody. I been a-prayin’, and He done told me He’s a-workin’ on it.”

  Simon stood up and dusted off the seat of his pants. He frowned and turned his head when his horse nickered in the front yard. “That sounded like a buggy stopping. You expecting anybody today?”

  Granny stood up and set the pan aside. She wiped her hands on the apron that covered her long dress and smiled. “That must be Doc Prentiss. He’s a-comin’ back today from visitin’ his brother’s family over close to Strawberry Plains. And he’s a-bringin’ me a new helper, his niece. Come on. Let’s go meet ’er.”

  Granny, her feet raising a little dust cloud, hurried around the side of the house as Simon followed after. As he stepped into the front yard, he stopped and stared. Doc Prentiss had just finished tying his horse to the tree beside Simon’s mare. Now the doctor turned toward the young woman who sat in the buggy and offered her his hand. With a smile she hopped to the ground and glanced around at her surroundings. She looked so small standing there, a smile on her lips, her hands clasped as her gaze swept across the mountains surrounding the Cove.

  Her blonde hair was pinned underneath a hat with a brim that shaded her face, but Simon could see her blue eyes. She turned back to her uncle, her lilting voice drifting toward him. “You were right, Uncle Charles. This is a beautiful place.”

  Simon’s breath caught in his throat. He’d never seen anyone as lovely in his life. She tilted her head, smiled, and held out her hand as Granny approached.

  His heart pumped in his chest and he struggled to breathe. He swallowed and walked toward the young woman. I think I’ve just seen an angel, he thought to himself.

  Chapter 2

  Anna smoothed her dress into place after jumping from the buggy and studied the woman walking toward her. She had imagined her as short and stout with rosy cheeks, but Granny Lawson couldn’t have been more different. Her straight back and lean body gave evidence of having known physical labor in her life, and her stride matched the length of any man’s. A smile lit her face as she stopped in front of Anna.

  Granny Lawson ignored Anna’s outstretched hand and her arms encircled her, engulfing her in a tight embrace. “Well, bless my soul. If you’re not the purtiest little thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “Th-thank you.” The hat perched on Anna’s head threatened to fall off, and she pried one arm loose to catch it before it toppled to the ground.

  Granny Lawson took a step back and held her at arm’s length. “Doc Prentiss, you shore was right. She’s a-gonna fit right in around here.”

  Uncle Charles put his arm around Anna’s shoulders and smiled down at her. “I think you’re right, Granny.”

  “Oh, thank you,” Anna gasped. She grabbed the brim of the hat and pulled it back into place. “Thank you, Mrs. Lawson. I’m so happy…”

  “Miz Lawson?” Granny’s eyes crinkled at the corners from the grin on her face. “Darlin’, don’t nobody around here know who Miz Lawson is. I’m Granny to ev’rybody in these here parts, and I’m Granny to you too.”

  Anna felt a smile curling her lips. “All right, Granny. And I’m Anna.”

  Uncle Charles stepped to the back of the buggy and reached for her trunk. “We stayed over at Mrs. Johnson’s inn at Pigeon Forge last night. We would have been here earlier, but we didn’t get as early a start this morning as I’d hoped.”

  “And how was Miz Johnson?” Granny’s eyes sparkled. “I hope she didn’t scare Anna off from comin’ here.”

  Her uncle chuckled and hoisted the trunk to his shoulder. “It would take more than Mrs. Johnson’s warnings about the strange folks in the Cove to change Anna’s mind.” He inclined his head toward the trunk. “I’ll take this inside. Where do you want it, Granny?”

  She waved her hand toward the house. “Put it in the back room off the kitchen. That’s where Anna’s gonna be sleepin’.” Granny turned and glanced over her shoulder. “Simon, git that there valise and take it inside for Doc Prentiss, but come on over here ’fore you do and meet Anna.”

  For
the first time Anna noticed the young man standing behind Granny. Dust covered his pants and shirt, and he clutched a misshapen hat in his hands. His dark eyes peered at her from underneath long lashes and his dark hair tumbled over his forehead. Her face warmed at his intense stare.

  He took a hesitant step forward and stopped in front of her. “Good evening, Miss Prentiss. Welcome to Cades Cove. I know you’re gonna like living and working with Granny.” He turned to Granny, his white teeth appearing behind his smile. “She was just telling me how glad she was to have a helper.”

  “Thank you, Mr.…”

  “Martin. Simon Martin.”

  She smiled at him. “Thank you for taking my valise inside, Mr. Martin.”

  “Brother Martin,” Granny corrected. “Simon’s our preacher.”

  Anna felt her eyes widen. “You seem so young to be a preacher. And you already have a church?”

  Simon laughed, his eyes twinkling. “Yes, but that may be because I grew up in the Cove.”

  “He don’t like to brag, Anna, but he’s a real good preacher. And he watches out for the folks in his congregation.” Granny’s eyes softened, and a smile pulled at her lips. “Don’t know what I’d do without him.”

  Simon reached for the valise and grinned at Granny. “She’s one of my biggest supporters, Miss Prentiss, and I have to say I love it.”

  Granny grabbed Anna’s arm and steered her toward the front porch. Inside the house Anna stopped and let her gaze rove over the interior. The sparsely furnished room—perhaps a sitting room?—was a far cry from her mother’s parlor at home. Two rockers faced a stone fireplace, and several straight-backed chairs sat to the side of the hearth. But it was the long table against one wall that drew her attention. Dried herbs hung above it on a rope stretched across the wall, and various bottles with medicinal terms painted on the sides lined the back of the table. She picked up one and studied the word printed on it—morphine. She held the bottle in front of her eyes and looked at the shape of the pills inside. She set it down and stared at the next two—laudanum and quinine.

  Granny Lawson stepped up beside her and picked up the container of laudanum. “This can be mighty helpful when somebody’s suff’rin’.”

  Anna nodded. “I’ve heard of these drugs, but I didn’t think about you having these to work with.”

  Granny smiled and set the bottle back on the table. “It may look like the folks in the Cove be cut off from the outside world, but we still got the mail a-comin’. And Doc brings me drugs from over to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg when he’s a-passin’ by.”

  “Oh, I see.” Anna turned her attention to the dried herbs hanging above the table. She reached up and touched a bundle. The leaves crunched in her fingers. “How do you know which ones to use?”

  Granny chuckled. “It takes a lot of studyin’ to know ’em apart, and which ones need boilin’ or which need seepin’. My mama taught me, and hers before taught her. I’ll be a-workin’ to get you able to tell ’em apart ’fore you go out alone.”

  The words surprised Anna, and she turned to face Granny. “Alone? Surely you won’t send me without you.”

  Granny tilted her head. “Never can tell. We may have two folks needin’ help at the same time.” She reached for Anna’s hand. “But don’t go a-worryin’ about that now. We got a lot of work to do first.”

  At that moment Uncle Charles walked back into the room. Her uncle stopped beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. He motioned to the young man she’d just met. “Simon and I got your things settled in the room, Anna. I’d better get on home. I may have messages from patients needing me to come.”

  Suddenly she didn’t want him to go and leave her alone with these strangers. She swallowed her fear and forced herself to remember why she had come. Anna threw her arms around her uncle’s neck. “When will I see you again?”

  He hugged her. “Granny knows how to get in touch with me if I’m needed. You listen to her and do what she tells you, and you’ll be fine.” He turned to Simon. “You get by here more than I do, Simon. Hope you’ll keep a watch over my girl.”

  Simon glanced at Anna and smiled. “I’ll be glad to help out any way I can, Doc.”

  Uncle Charles leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m leaving you in the care of two very trusted friends, Anna. They will take care of you like you’re family.”

  Her lips trembled. “Thank you for everything, Uncle Charles.”

  He released her and headed toward the porch. Anna followed but stopped at the top of the steps as he untied his horse and climbed into the buggy. She stood there unmoving until he was out of sight. She almost wanted to call him back and tell him she’d made a mistake. Her first glimpse of the drugs and herbs she would be working with made it clear that working with a mountain midwife wasn’t for the faint of heart. She was going to be responsible for helping women at the most crucial point in their lives—when they put their own lives at risk to bring new life into the world. Would she be able to do it?

  Granny stood beside her and put her arm around Anna’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. You gonna be fine.”

  A strange sense of calm settled over Anna, and it seemed to flow from the woman standing beside her. Anna swallowed and managed a weak smile. “I know. Thank you for taking me in.”

  Granny squeezed Anna’s shoulders. “Tell you what. You go on in the house and rest ’til suppertime. You must be pert near worn out from that trip.”

  Anna shook her head. “I couldn’t rest.”

  Across the road from Granny’s house a wildflower-dotted field stretched into the distance. Clouds of the wispy fog that gave the mountain range its name floated on unseen breezes above the gently rolling hills. Anna’s heart thudded in her chest. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life.”

  Granny nodded. “I’m glad you like our mountains. Sometimes when I’m tired, I just set out here on my porch and soak ’em up. Then after a while of thinkin’ about how God made them a long time ago and left them here for me to look at, I git to feelin’ so good I think I can do anything I set my mind to.” She glanced at Simon and grinned. “Even run a footrace with Simon.”

  A surge of energy shot through Anna. “I know what you mean. I can feel it too. But please, let me help you with whatever you were doing when we got here.”

  “Well, I was a-peelin’ some June apples out back.”

  Anna looked down at the dress she wore. The dust of travel still clung to it. “Let me change my dress, and I’ll do that for you.”

  Granny nodded and glanced at Simon, who had stood silent while Anna studied the beauty around her. “I left the pan under the tree. Simon, you want to keep Anna comp’ny whilst I start fixin’ supper? You can tell her about the folks ’round here.”

  Simon smiled at Anna. “Be happy to, Granny.”

  Anna glanced at him. “Thank you, Brother Martin.”

  His face broke into a big smile, and he threw back his head and laughed. “Just call me Simon. Everybody else does.”

  Anna smiled at him. “All right. Simon, then.”

  Granny had turned to reenter the house, but she stopped and faced them. “Say, preacher boy, we don’t want to make you miss supper over at John and Martha’s.”

  He waved his hand in dismissal. “Oh, they never know if I’ll be there or not. I get delayed all the time.”

  “Well, in that case, wanna stay for supper here?”

  “I’d like that, Granny.”

  She arched her eyebrows and motioned for Anna to follow her inside. “I figured you would.”

  Simon sat on the ground, the knife Granny had given him in his hand, and concentrated on the apple he was peeling. He stole a glance at Anna every once in a while and studied her face as she worked. He’d never seen a complexion so creamy in his life. Her skin didn’t have the weathered look of the women who lived in the Cove.

  His gaze drifted to the apple in Anna’s hand, and for the first time he noticed dark stains on her fingers an
d around her nails. She glanced up, saw him staring at her fingers, and blushed. “Mama and I picked strawberries and made jam the day before I left home. I tried rubbing vinegar on my hands, but I couldn’t get rid of the stains.”

  “My mother used to make blackberry jam. She’d always say her stained hands were a sign of hard work for the people she loved the most.”

  Anna smiled. “That’s a lovely thought.” She paused before continuing. “You speak of her as if she’s no longer with you.”

  He shook his head. “She died three years ago.” Simon smiled as he thought of her. She’d stood less than five feet tall, but she worked from sunup until long after dark taking care of her family. She’d been the one to read the Bible as they sat at the kitchen table, the oil lamp casting its glow across the pages of the book her parents had passed down to her.

  Simon shook his head. This was no time for remembering the past. Lately, though, his memories had come more often. He cleared his throat and picked up another apple. “So, Miss Prentiss, what made you come to Cades Cove?”

  A smile pulled at her lips. “Miss Prentiss? How do you expect me to call you Simon if you’re going to call me Miss Prentiss?”

  He tried to ignore the teasing quality in her voice. He frowned, directed his gaze to the apple, and sliced into it. “I didn’t want to take that liberty unless you approved. After all, we just met.”

  She laughed, and the tinkle of it sounded like bells chiming in the trees. “We did indeed, but please call me Anna. I hope we’re going to be good friends.”

  “I do too.” The blade nicked his finger and he dropped the knife. Blood trickled from his finger, and a sharp intake of breath escaped his lips.

  Anna set her pan of apples on the ground and reached for his hand. “Let me see.”

  She bent closer to look and her fingers curled around his hand. Her hair gleamed in the sunlight, and the urge to touch the spun gold before his eyes welled up in him. Suddenly she straightened. “That doesn’t look too bad.” She reached in the pocket of her dress, pulled out a handkerchief, and wrapped it around his finger.