Guarded

by Angela Correll

  The recent weeks of learning more about Josiah May, who was also buried in this graveyard, made her connection to the land, the old stone house, and to all those who went before her even stronger.

  Annie was grateful for Vesta Givens, who helped save the old stone house and brought to light their shared family history. She thought about the word family and how shared DNA usually defines it. Sometimes it goes beyond, crossing the boundaries of race and geography.

  ***

  “It’s quiet around here,” she said, walking into Evelyn’s kitchen.

  “Annie, come in. I was daydreaming,” Evelyn said.

  “About Tom?” Annie smiled and sat down.

  Evelyn blushed. “Well, he’s going to be my date at the rehearsal dinner.”

  “You’ll make a handsome couple.”

  “As will you and Jake. I’ve kept him so busy this week, I guess you’ve hardly seen him.”

  Annie nodded and avoided Evelyn’s eyes.

  “It’ll all get back to normal next week,” Evelyn said, reaching across the table and putting her hand on Annie’s.

  “Everybody keeps saying that,” she said.

  For a second, she wanted to tell Evelyn her worries about Jake. The moment passed and Annie changed the subject.

  “How do you like Scott’s family?”

  “They are really nice folks; very polite and helpful. His mother and aunt want to set up tomorrow, so I don’t think it will take long.”

  “I thought you might need help, but it looks like everything is under control.”

  “Everything is done for now. I’ll sit here and daydream a bit longer,” she said, laughing. “This is the calm before the storm, so I might as well enjoy it.”

  ***

  Jake drove over and escorted Annie and Beulah to the rehearsal dinner at the Old Stone Mill just outside of town. Beulah had resisted going with them, but Annie insisted since Tom was taking Evelyn.

  The banquet room was decorated with white lights and candles at the tables. It was the first date Annie and Jake had enjoyed since things had grown so awkward between them. A couple of times, he squeezed her hand under the table, and for those moments, it seemed all was well.

  When the evening was over, he took her home along with Beulah, and quickly kissed her goodbye on the back porch instead of staying longer or inviting her to his cottage.

  The pit in her stomach returned and she almost dreaded the wedding tomorrow. After it was over, Jake would finally tell her what had come between them.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  SCOTT AND MARY Beth’s wedding day dawned bright and clear. Beulah sat outside where she could breathe in the crisp morning air and enjoy the fall color. A wisp of steam drifted up from her coffee. She watched as Annie walked out of the chicken house door in her jeans and boots and waved before heading over to the Wilder farm.

  It was a sight how Annie had taken to Jake’s goats. When it was time for Jake to move them into the pasture next week to start doing their job, she had a feeling Annie might take one for a pet. Woody said goats need a companion, so that would make at least two or maybe even a horse and a goat. Either way, she could tell Annie was itching for some animals.

  Holding the coffee close to her face, she enjoyed the warmth it gave before she took a sip. Today they celebrated Scott and Mary Beth’s love for each other. Jake and Annie might be next and what about Evelyn and Tom? Or Woody and Stella? Well, she was happy for them all if it’s what God saw fit to do in their lives. As for this old nanny goat, she was quite content alone.

  The truth was, she didn’t feel alone. Beulah felt God’s presence around her and she still was married to Fred in her heart. It was not hard to imagine Fred’s comments on daily happenings, the things he would shake his head over, and the things he would chuckle about.

  Inside, the heated kitchen warmed her cold bones. Easing down into a chair at the table, her mind went again to her nephew Benito, and when he and Angelina might visit. Spring and summer were such beautiful times, yet she was so hungry to see him it really didn’t matter to her, as long as he came soon.

  When the time for the wedding finally arrived and Annie came down the stairs, Beulah was nearly knocked over at how beautiful she looked. Her dark hair hung down past her shoulders, a striking contrast against the bright salmon-colored dress she had bought for the occasion.

  “My, you are pretty as a picture,” she said.

  Annie smiled. “Grandpa always said that. He would say the same about you. We need to take pictures tonight.”

  Annie had fixed Beulah’s hair in a style she copied from a magazine where the hair was combed back off her face. Why not, she had thought, it’s only for a night. Annie had also helped her pick out her outfit, a light brown dress with a cream-colored jacket.

  Evelyn’s driveway was lined with chrysanthemums in wine red and sunset gold and was highlighted by the wash of the setting sun, hanging low in the sky.

  “Didn’t Lindy do a good job,” Beulah said, driving past them to the parking area. Even though they had watched the transformation take place, seeing it now, finished and ready for the wedding, made it look almost magical.

  Chairs lined both sides of the sidewalk leading to the front porch. Candlelight glowed from glass globes, guiding guests from the parking area to the seats. Greenery adorned an arch in front of the porch where the ceremony would take place. One of Scott’s friends from his church strummed on an acoustic guitar to the side of the arch as the ushers seated early arrivals.

  Jake was dressed in a black tuxedo. He looks like an actor from a Hollywood movie, she thought. And when he saw Annie, he looked like a man in love.

  Another usher took Beulah by the arm and Jake followed with Annie, seating them on Mary Beth’s side. The wedding party was small with only Mary Beth’s sister as her maid of honor and Mary Beth’s two children serving as the ring bearer and the flower girl. The little boy had a mischievous look on his face, and she sensed Scott might have his hands full with that one.

  Scott’s brother was his best man, and Scott’s father, also a minister, was going to conduct the ceremony. The groom grinned with pride when his new young son came down the aisle bearing the pillow that carried the ring. He beamed again when his new daughter scattered rose petals here and there.

  Cued by the music, the crowd stood for Mary Beth, who was escorted by her older brother, and looked lovely in an understated beige gown. Beulah’s eyes welled up and stayed that way through most of the ceremony.

  After the wedding, everyone meandered over to the reception tent while the wedding party took pictures. Jake found Annie and led her to a table where they sat down together.

  Tom had his hand on Evelyn’s back and led her to a table. Evelyn looked at Beulah and waved her over. Betty and Joe Gibson joined them.

  “Wasn’t it lovely?” Evelyn said.

  “Your place was a beautiful setting,” Beulah said.

  “Beulah, can I get you some punch?” Tom asked.

  “How nice, thank you,” Beulah said, sitting down next to Evelyn.

  “Law, law, what a beautiful day. Did you ever dream it would be this nice?” Betty Gibson was showing a little cleavage in a new dress. Beulah fought to hide her indignation.

  Woody pointed to the empty seats.

  “Are these taken?” he asked, Stella by his side, her fingers nearly white with clutching the small beaded bag in front of her satin green dress.

  “Sit on down here,” Joe said, pulling out a chair.

  The Master of Ceremonies introduced Scott and Mary Beth as Mr. and Mrs. Scott Southerland when they entered the party tent to everyone’s applause. Scott was used to handling attention, him being the pastor of a church. Mary Beth blushed, the color accenting the auburn curls that hung delicately around her face.

  The food line was open and Joe hightailed it over with Betty in tow as the rest of the wedding guests lined up to go down both sides of the buffet. Cake-and-punch weddings were all she had known,
but nowadays the trend leaned toward full meals. Pity for the bride’s parents who have to provide it, she thought. Beulah hoped surely-to-goodness Annie knew not to count on her if she wanted a big shindig like this. Beulah and Fred had put her through college with Jo Anne’s social security. No, if she wanted a big party, Eddie Taylor, Annie’s absent father, would have to step up and take his medicine.

  Beulah took her plate and was just about to get a crispy fried chicken leg when she felt something nudge her skirt and root its way between her and Evelyn. When she looked down, a furry white face looked back, a tuft of hair trailing from its chin.

  “Baaaaa.”

  “Land’s sakes!” Beulah said, looking around for Joe Gibson or Jake. In the minute she hesitated, the goat nudged her arm and her plate dropped to the floor with a crash. A lady in front of her screamed and over the ensuing gasps and clatters, Beulah yelled for Joe. To his credit, he was by her side in a second, scooping up the goat in his arms.

  Another scream came from across the room and she watched with horror as a goat pronged from chair to table as wedding guests jumped back. Scott’s aunt flew out of her seat, a red shoe flung in the air, as she made her escape. The goat strutted on the table, as if playing king of the mountain, and then twisted in the air like a gymnast before landing on the ground.

  Mary Beth’s little girl ran in front of Beulah crying, another goat nibbling on the long ribbon trailing behind her dress. In the chaos, she saw Annie, frozen to the dance floor, the color drained from her face. In that brief moment, she knew Annie must have forgotten to latch back the gate. It had taken the goats all day, but they had found her mistake.

  “The cake!” somebody cried, and Mary Beth scrambled over the folds of her cream-colored dress toward the two-tiered wedding cake. On the opposite side of the room, two goats stood on their hind legs, nibbling on the groom’s confection, until Woody Patterson shooed them away.

  When the chaos seemed impossible to control, Jake appeared with a bucket of feed, shaking it to get their attention. The cake-eating goats with chocolate noses followed first, and then the other six trailed along behind him, out of the tent and back to the pasture.

  Annie was now on her hands and knees, cleaning goat urine off the dance floor with paper towels. Lindy knelt down to help. When they got it cleaned up, Annie stood, and Beulah saw her granddaughter’s dress had a big wet stain near the hemline. Apparently the paper towels weren’t the only things that helped clean up the mess.

  Chairs were uprighted and Jake was applauded when he came back into the tent. The surprise and tension released into laughter led by Scott and Mary Beth. Scott’s aunt was reunited with her red shoe and Mary Beth’s little girl was smiling. All in all, no harm was done other than nibbles off the groom’s cake.

  Beulah looked for Annie and saw Lindy talking to Scott’s brother from Alabama. Jake was talking to Scott, but Annie was nowhere in sight.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  THE TURMOIL OF emotions built up inside Annie until she felt like one of the pressure canners she learned to operate last summer; another turn of the heat dial and she would explode. Pressing forward into the darkness, she left the lights and the music of the tent behind her.

  How could I have forgotten the latch? It was her grandfather’s number one farm rule: “Always leave a farm gate just as you find it. If it’s open, leave it open. If it’s latched shut, leave it latched.” She knew this rule as well as she knew anything, but she had been so distracted with Jake and the chasm between them.

  Her heels sunk into the soft ground as she stumbled forward into the darkness. The Wilder dairy barn was just ahead, dimly lit by an old security light. She was nearly there when the toe of her sandal stubbed something hard and she fell face down in the dirt lane. The pain of the fall added injury to insult and she let the pent up tears flow.

  How long she lay in the dirt, she didn’t know. When she finally pushed herself up, she felt herself being lifted to her feet.

  “Annie?”

  Jake hardly sounded like himself; his voice was so low and husky.

  “What happened? Are you hurt?”

  Once on her feet, she pulled away from his grip.

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re not fine. Let’s go inside so I can see if you’re hurt.”

  Annie limped into the barn office where Jake pulled a beaded metal chain. An incandescent bulb illuminated the room. Jake turned her so he could look at her, studying her face first, and then taking one arm at a time and running his fingers down each. How long had it been since he touched her so tenderly? Since the night after she got home from Italy.

  “You scraped your hands,” he said. Then bending down, he said, “Your dress is torn. Your knees are bleeding. Maybe you should take off your shoes.”

  “I said I’m fine,” she heard the hardness in her voice, but what did he expect from her?

  Jake faced her, his look asking a question she couldn’t answer.

  “Sit down for a minute?” he asked, his voice gentle.

  She sat on a folding metal chair and Jake sat across from her, their legs touching. Annie wanted to pull away from him but there was nowhere to go. She kept her hands in her lap and stared down at them.

  “Annie, I know these last few weeks have been strained between us. You’ve had some struggles and I’ve had some things going on too, but that’s not all of it.”

  Barely breathing, she looked at Jake and waited.

  “I’ve kept a secret from you.”

  Here it comes, she thought. A tear trickled down her cheek, despite the stoicism she tried so hard to emulate. If she could only be more like her grandmother when it came to emotions.

  “The phone calls,” she said.

  “They were important,” Jake said.

  “Who was it?”

  Jake hesitated, his eyes softening. “Your father.”

  My father? “What?” she said, unable to comprehend the meaning. “Why?”

  “I called him to ask his permission.”

  “For what?” Annie said, the words not making sense.

  “To marry you,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

  “Marry me? I thought you were breaking up with me!”

  “Breaking up with you?” Jake said, his blue eyes surprised and then solemn.

  Annie shook her head. “Jake, you haven’t spent any time with me. You find reasons we can’t see each other. And you went to Lexington for dinner with someone else on the very night you and I were supposed to go out. What am I supposed to think? Now you’re saying you want to marry me?”

  Jake ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ve screwed this up. Let me explain.”

  “Please,” Annie said and took a deep breath.

  “When I got your e-mail from Italy, I was relieved, but I wanted to see you and make sure we had resolved everything. When you came over that night and we talked, I was ready to move forward. I got your father’s number from your phone when you went to the bathroom.”

  “You did?”

  “Yep. I called it the next day. The woman who answered said he was working out of the country and to call back later. Anyway, it took me a week to reach him. He called me twice when you were with me out in the field. By the time I got the call to go through, I missed him.”

  “He rarely answers,” she said.

  “You told me he’s hard to reach, so it’s why I tried calling as soon as I could.”

  “You finally talked with him? What’d he say?”

  “He wanted to Skype so he could meet me in person, so to speak.”

  “He did?” she asked. “I didn’t know he knew how.”

  “Well we did. He has a young woman living with him who is apparently teaching him all sorts of new tricks.”

  “Hmm. I can only imagine,” she said dryly.

  “So we Skyped about fifteen minutes and he gave his permission.”

  “When?” she said.

  “A few days ago,” Jake sai
d. “But then there was something else I had to do first. I had to see a very special woman.”

  Annie cocked her head, realizing whom Jake had gone to see for dinner in Lexington. “Your grandmother,” she said.

  “She gave me her ring,” he said.

  “I still don’t understand why you avoided me so much?”

  “I didn’t want to take anything away from Scott and Mary Beth’s wedding. Once I knew I was going to ask you, I could hardly be around you. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to hold off. Fortunately, Mom had so much work for me to do, it kept me busy. Then you found out I had gone to Lexington after canceling our date.” Jake said. “The hurt on your face nearly killed me. But there was no way for me to explain it to you until after the wedding.”

  “Betty Gibson, again.”

  “Joe didn’t know why I was going or who I was seeing, but he asked me for help with one of his cows and I had to tell him why I couldn’t stay. I should have known it would get back to you.”

  “There are no secrets on May Hollow Road,” she said and they both laughed.

  “I thought I had this all planned out, but I made it worse,” Jake said. “I’m sorry.”

  “Jake, I sure hope our marriage is easier than the dating.”

  “It probably won’t be, but at least we know what we’re in for,” he said, taking her face in his hands and kissing her.

  “So do you have something to ask me?”

  “I sure do.” Jake slid off the chair onto the concrete floor of the dairy barn office. “Will you marry me?”

  “I will!”

  Dirt and the salt of her tears mixed with the long kiss that followed.

  “I don’t even have the ring with me,” Jake said when he pulled away. “It’s at Cheney’s Jewelry being reset.”

  “I don’t need the ring to know this is real,” she said. “But it sounds lovely.”