by Caryl McAdoo
She looked until she spotted the guy. “Yes, I see him. Who is he?”
“I traded him my mules and harness for the craft. He wanted to sell the boat so he could buy himself a good team.” Henry shrugged. “Guess you could say I was in the right place at the right time.”
“I certainly would say that! Do you realize how blessed you are? That this is all God’s doing?”
“Maybe, I don’t know. You might be right, but I—”
“Trust me, Henry. You. Are. Blessed.” She took his hand and squeezed. “And so am I!”
“Well, I am going to marry the most beautiful woman in the Red River Valley, so who am I to disagree?”
She laid her head against his shoulder and watched as the last of the cotton and then the bellowing cattle were loaded onto the flatboat and silently prayed. Oh, dear Lord, please bring him to salvation. Whatever it takes. Henry had the men tarp all the cotton and then stowed all of their other belongings inside the structure that sat in the middle of the craft. She paid extra attention to the boat’s waterline, but even with everything loaded, it hadn’t gone down much at all.
Henry had amazed her, buying the four mules from Titus back in Pleasant Mound, and then, when she missed the Jefferson buyers, trading them for the boat she needed to get her cotton to New Orleans. Plus he’d blessed the neighbors and bought their eight bales to sell. She wondered just how much money the man had, because he seemed to be going through it like water.
In no time, the men had her mules split and harnessed to her wagons and Henry’s team delivered to their new owner. With a final request for Doug and Shannan to drop the hobbles and other borrowed items off at the Dawsons’ and to let the Aikins know she hadn’t forgot their fabric, Sue hurried across the gangplank and joined Henry. Becky and Blue stood by his side. Henry nodded to the captain. “We’re ready, let’s shove off.”
Sue waved to the Howletts. “Stay safe! Be blessed!”
They waved back. “Y’all too! Love you!”
Sue looked around. “Wait! Where’s Levi? I haven’t seen him for a while.”
Becky looked around Henry. “He’s sleeping.”
“During the day? Is he sick? Where is he?”
Henry nodded toward the boat’s quarters. “In the cabin. He’s fine.”
Before Sue could ask more, the captain and his four crewmen pushed the boat away from its mooring with long poles. Once out a ways, two of the men raised their poles and ran to the other side. The captain went to the back and lowered another long pole with a fat end that ran through an iron ring. How the men navigated through the water and the speed with which they poled the craft along amazed her. She watched awhile, then faced Henry. “How long will it take us to get there?”
“About five days.”
Henry slipped his hand into Sue’s. “Care to inspect the accommodations?”
“Sure. Becky?” She held her hand out. “You coming?”
“No, Blue and I want to watch for a while. ’Sides, I’ve already seen the whole boat.”
Henry’s gut twisted a bit as he strolled toward the cabin, but as much as he didn’t want to, he had to tell her. Once inside, he pointed out the different rooms and where she and Rebecca would be sleeping. He showed her his and Levi’s berth, where, like Becky said, the boy sawed logs. He took her to the mess area and offered a chair. She sat, and he joined her.
“Want anything?” He nodded toward the cookstove. “We could fry up some fatback and potatoes if you’d like. Or chicken. Did I tell you I bought a few chickens? Are you hungry?”
“What’s wrong, Henry? Is there something on your mind?”
He nodded. Could she read him so well so soon? “Yes, actually two things. It’s been on my mind since you said it, and there hasn’t been a good time to bring it up.”
“Believe me, I know what you’re talking about.”
“You do?”
She laughed. “Not what you’re going to say, but about finding the right time.”
“Do you remember when you said Andy’s death was all your fault? What did you mean by that?”
Her gaze dropped, and she went to fussing with her fingernails. Finally, she looked up. “He passed because I didn’t honor my father like the Good Book says. His death was my punishment. It’s why I refuse to go against God where you’re concerned. I won’t chance it.”
“But what about grace? What about God’s mercy and forgiveness? Mama always told me the only unforgivable sin was blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Have you repented of not honoring your father?”
“Of course! What a silly question.”
“Then how is it you still blame yourself and carry so much guilt?”
“I—I don’t know.”
“Doesn’t His grace and mercy and forgiveness apply to you?”
“Of course it does, and I hear what you’re saying. You are an amazing man, Henry Buckmeyer.”
“Glad you think so. Give it some thought, will you?”
“I promise.”
“And the other thing, well, I don’t like talking about it, but you need to know. You may not think I’m so amazing after all.”
She looked into his eyes and smiled. “Don’t you worry. Whatever it is, there’s absolutely nothing in your past to make me stop loving you or thinking you’re the greatest man who ever walked the face of this earth. And besides, we still have some more talking to do about getting you saved.”
He wasn’t so sure about that and couldn’t see how him getting baptized was any of her business. It might not even matter once she knew. She probably could hear it all right, but would she still want him? “Sue, my mother and father never married. That man I killed when I was fifteen, that’s what he was taunting me about.”
She reached out and took his hands into hers. “Is that all? Why, it doesn’t matter one iota to me what mistakes your parents made. My goodness, Henry, you were innocent.”
He nodded. He’d heard it all before, but a part of him still believed it flawed him somehow. “It pleases me to no end that you think it doesn’t matter. But what about your father? What’s he likely to say?”
“Nowhere is it written that a person is required to tell everything he knows.”
He smiled. The knot in his gut disappeared. “I love you, Susannah. I can hardly wait until you’re my Mis’ess Buckmeyer.”
She returned his smile. “I love—” But before she could say another word, a scream followed by a splash pulled him to his feet and out the door.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
SUE RACED ONTO THE DECK.
Becky stood at the boat’s edge looking as if she was fixin’ to jump. “Blue, you get back here right this minute! Blue!”
The dog swam toward the shore, where a brute of a mutt paced, barking and growling at him. Sue grabbed her daughter’s hand. “Blue! Get back here!”
“Blue Dog,” Henry bellowed from behind her. “Come here.” Like he was on a rope, the dog turned, making a wide arc. The shepherd mix on the bank leapt into the water, heading straight for him.
Sue looked back at Henry. One of his boots lay on the deck, and he worked on getting the other one off. “What are you doing?”
He nodded toward the unfolding scene. The mongrel was closing in. “Getting my dog.”
After one long stride, he stepped onto the rail, then dove. The brute lessened the distance to his unsuspecting prey. Henry pulled hard toward them, but the larger dog swam fast.
“No!” Becky stepped closer to the edge. “Blue! Blue!”
“Rebecca!” Sue tightened her grip. “Hurry, Henry!”
Before he could reach his dog, the cur made contact. He climbed onto Blue’s back and pushed him under the water. Frantic seconds clicked by.
“No! Stop it!” Her daughter squeezed Sue’s hand. “Blue!”
The dog finally emerged, turned, and attacked.
Becky wrapped her fingers around the side of her mouth. “Hurry, Daddy! Hurry!”
Fangs flashed. Blood stained both
animals’ heads and necks. Henry neared, then, with one hard pull, propelled himself into the melee.
“Henry! Be careful!”
He managed to separate the dogs. “Blue, go back!”
Obedient hound that he was, he turned away and swam toward the boat. The shore mutt latched on to Henry. Becky pulled her hand from Sue’s and kneeled on the edge. “Come on, Blue. Come back here.”
The dog reached the flatboat, and one of the crew helped drag him aboard. Blood oozed from gashes all over his head and shoulders. Becky hugged him. “Oh, Blue, why did you do that? You scared me half to death.”
The current carried them past the fight. Sue turned to the pole men. “Stop this boat! Do you hear me? Stop it now!”
The man and the dog disappeared beneath the surface. The pole men changed direction, pushing hard. The craft lunged, then lurched, but they only managed to slow it a bit.
“Henry!” She couldn’t bear this.
The boat floated further down the river. Sue moved to the back of the deck. The fight raged. Henry struggled to keep the dog’s head below the water. People on the bank screamed. The brute kept popping back up, fangs bared and slashing every time. Man and dog went back under together.
Time slowed. The bloody spot fell further behind. Sue held her breath.
Come up, come up, she willed.
But the water’s surface stilled. It remained still much too long. Too long! Much too long! Numbness worked its way up from her depths. Her jaw quivered. This couldn’t be happening! Not again.
“Henry! No! God! God, save him!”
Becky stood. “Daaadeeee!” Terror filled her voice! “Daddy!”
Time stood still. “Henry!”
Nothing happened. Silence boomed in Sue’s ears, through her head. Her knees threatened to give way.
The murky red water spread and calmed. Sue’s heart stopped beating. Oh, God, she couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t live without him. A rage rose from her belly. “Henry! You can’t die on me!”
Her knees buckled. She melted to the deck, buried her face in her skirts, and sobbed.
Becky stood and screamed at the top of her lungs. “Daddy! Daddy! Come up now!”
Seconds seemed like minutes. No dog. No man emerged.
Then Henry burst up, gasping for air. He spun around as though getting his bearings, then swam toward the boat.
“Daddy!” Becky clapped her hands. “Daddy! Mama! He’s all right! He’s coming!”
Had she heard right? Sue lifted her head.
He swam toward the boat. Both his arms were bleeding, washed each time they cut through the water. Sue joined Becky, Blue, and two of the boatmen at the rail’s edge. Tears streamed down her face as if they would never stop. Thank You, thank You, God! Thank You, thank You, thank You!
She could hardly wait to hold Henry and would never let him go again. God had spared his life; he was alive! She belonged with him, to him. And he belonged to her.
Oh, Father, thank You! Lord, save his soul now, please. Draw him to Yourself. You know I cannot live without him.
Though it seemed to take forever, Henry reached the boat at last, and the men pulled him aboard. He gasped again and again, like he’d never get enough air. Sue fell to the floor beside him and held his face between her hands. “Henry, Henry, I was so scared.”
She bent down and pressed her cheek against his, whispering in his ear, “I thought you were going to die. I couldn’t bear losing you. I don’t want to live without you.”
He rubbed the back of her head. “I’ll never leave you, Sue. Never, I promise.”
She collapsed on him and bawled.
Becky fell across her shoulders. Her little arms wrapped around Sue. “It’s all right, Mama. It’s all right now. Daddy’s safe. He didn’t die. See?” She patted and rubbed her mother’s back. “Don’t cry, Mama.”
Blue whimpered. Sue looked up. Bleeding himself, the dog licked his master’s arm. She rose off Henry. Bright red blood covered his arms and oozed from a gash in his scalp, too. “Henry, you’re hurt!” She sat up and turned to the captain, who had joined them. “Do we have any clean rags? Fetch me something!”
Levi came stumbling out of the center room. He rubbed his eyes as though he couldn’t see well. He blinked, then stared at Henry bleeding on the deck. He walked next to Bitty Beck and kneeled. “What happened?”
“A bad dog was after Blue, so Daddy jumped in to help him. It was a huge mongrel, twice Blue’s size, and it was fighting Blue; then it tried to kill Daddy.” Becky’s eyes filled again with tears. “He went under the water, Levi, and he didn’t come out. Not for a long time.”
“He’s safe now, though; he’ll be fine, sweetheart.” Sue appreciated Levi comforting Becky and continued trying to clean Henry’s wounds.
The man looked at them both. “I’m fine.”
“Well, you don’t look even fair to middling, much less fine.”
“I’m so sorry I was asleep. I could have helped.” He turned and retreated into the cabin’s darkness. It wasn’t long until he reemerged. “Auntie?”
“Yes, Levi?”
“Soon as you can, could I speak with you a minute? In private?”
What in the world? Why was he acting so strange? “Of course, dear—at least as private as we can get on this glorified raft.” She smiled.
“I—uh—I have to tell you something.” He ducked back into the shadows.
Henry sat up, holding a clean rag to his head wound. “I’m fine, Sue. You go ahead.”
She stood and followed the boy inside the cabin. “Well, what is it?”
Levi hung his head. “The reason I was sleeping and didn’t help Mister Henry.” He looked into her eyes without lifting his chin. “I’d been up most all night.”
“Why, honey? Was there trouble at the livery? Something happen I don’t know about?”
“No, ma’am, I mean, yes, ma’am. Well, there wasn’t any trouble. Nothing like that. See, I, uh, bought a pint of whiskey, and I got soaked. That’s all.”
She pushed him back. “That’s all? That’s all! What in the world were you doing drinking hard liquor, Levi Bartholomew Baylor?” Her eyes bore into his until he looked away.
“I only wanted to see what it tasted like. Bought me a bottle with some of my winnings from playing mumbley-peg at Cap Daingerfield’s Springs. I’m sorry, Auntie. I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to drink it all. It burned at first, but then it got to tasting kind of good. Made me feel like I was grown-up or something, I guess. It was gone before I knew it. Can you forgive me, Aunt Sue?”
Her heart melted. She extended both arms, and he walked into her embrace. She spoke into his ear, “Of course I can. We all make mistakes that we’re sorry for later.” She held him out at arm’s length. “But promise me you’ll never do that again.”
“I promise. I never felt so bad in my whole life. I don’t know what I’d have done if Mister Henry hadn’t bought me a bath and poured coffee down me.”
So Henry knew and hadn’t told her? How dare he keep such a thing from her? Levi was not his nephew—not yet—and she certainly had a right to know what was going on with her children! She gave Levi another hug and a little peck on his cheek, then went to gathering all the clean cloth she could find.
She insisted Henry let her see to his wounds properly but didn’t mention the incident with Levi. She wanted to think on it before spouting off. She smiled. Maybe she had learned something at least. She led the man to the mess table and went to work on him.
Becky marched in holding out the sewing kit. “Are you going to need this, Mama?”
“I don’t know.” Sue looked at Henry. “What do you think?”
“Wrapping should do.”
She liked that answer. She would hate hurting him even if it was to help him, but perhaps that was exactly what she needed to do. She needed to bring up the subject again and try to share her testimony or something. Tell him she couldn’t marry him unless . . .
Might as wel
l get it over with. Hurt him to help him. Tell him that even with her father’s blessing, she could not marry him; not until he accepted the Lord’s sacrifice and free gift of salvation. She wet a strip of cloth, then wrung it out and went to cleaning the first gash near his shoulder.
But should she mention his sinner’s state at all? Would it only serve to make him mad? Especially when he actually acted more like a Christian than she did. He’d proved that over and over again. Daubing the cleaned wound with coal oil, she remembered all the times on the trace when he’d acted like Christ and she was the one who didn’t.
But she’d have to let him know that the issue wasn’t resolved just because he’d said he and the man upstairs were fine. It would rip his heart in two—and hers as well—if she just refused to marry him.
But could she really do that? Moving on to the next deep cut, she dipped the cloth and began again. How could she live the rest of her life without him if he absolutely refused salvation? Then again, what if today had been a warning of what might happen if she did go ahead and marry him no matter the consequences?
Would God really punish her if she conceded to unequally yoke herself to this most wonderful man? And what about His grace and mercy and forgiveness—all that Henry had said? She couldn’t think about it; she couldn’t bear to, not now. She must put it all out of her mind, far away from her innermost heart, and force herself to focus on the task at hand.
Once she finished, he extended his left arm, the one with the most and worst wounds, and examined her doctoring. “I think that will do fine.” He smiled. “Thank you.”
“You are welcome, sir.” She faced her daughter. “Please put the kit back where it goes; unless we need it to see after Blue. Have you checked him out good?”
“Yes, ma’am.” The girl took the small box and stood. “He’s fine; I made him a pallet next to my side of the bed.”
Sue nodded, waited until Becky had left the room, then took a deep breath and held it. She exhaled slowly. “Henry, there’s something we need to finish talking about.”
He laughed. “I’ve already promised not to ever do anything stupid like that again.”
