Carried Forward By Hope (39 page)

“If that don’t beat all,” he muttered. “A white woman and a black man. What they be doing?”

He couldn’t imagine a white woman coming after his children. Suddenly his eyes narrowed. He peered around the boulder again. The man was walking over to get something from the wagon. Gabe stared at him, his mind racing. How many men could be that big? His mind raced back to an unsuspected knock on his door two years ago in the middle of the night.

Making a decision, he slid back down the hill and circled his property again, knowing he could creep up behind the barn without being heard. He was going to be careful, but something pounding in his heart told him the two in his clearing did not represent danger.

Twenty minutes later, he slid in behind the barn, biting back a groan when he realized the sounds from the chickens and pigs were covering most of the conversation. He had to content himself with brief snatches.

“What happens if they’re not back before dark?”

“I sure hope Gabe and Polly still live here.”

Gabe laid back and tried to work it through. He knew he had never told his name to the giant black man who questioned them before the battle, nor when he left Robert with them. How could he know their names?

Thirty minutes passed while he tried to decide what to do. Suddenly he stood, deciding to simply go with his gut. Everything in him told him it would be all right. He’d survived so many years as a conductor of the Underground Railroad by learning to trust his gut. There was no reason to stop now.

******

Carrie jumped to her feet when Gabe materialized from the woods.

“Hello, ma’am. There be something I can do for you?”

“Hello!” Carrie responded. “Are you Gabe?”

“I reckon that depends on who be askin’,” he replied evenly.

Moses swung around when he heard Carrie’s voice. Just a few strides had him back at her side. “It’s you,” he said with relief.

Gabe stared at Moses. “Yes.” He figured it was best to just wait and see what they had to say.

Carrie smiled and moved forward. “I’m so glad to be able to thank you in person,” she said softly.

Gabe continued to look at her. “Thank me for what?”

Carrie held her smile. She understood the wariness in his eyes and voice. All Gabe knew was that a strange white woman was at his house with a black man he barely knew. “I want to thank you for saving my husband. I’m Carrie Borden.”

Gabe’s eyes widened as he moved forward. “Robert’s Carrie?” he asked in astonishment.

Carrie laughed. “Yes!” She reached out to grip his hand. “Thank you for saving my husband and sending him back to me.”

Gabe relaxed as he stared at his hand engulfed in hers. “Robert said you was real different…”

“That would be putting it mildly,” Moses said, reaching out to offer his hand as well. He answered the question he knew was in Gabe’s mind. “You can trust her, Gabe.”

Gabe shook Moses’s hand but continued to stare at Carrie. “What you doing here, Mrs. Borden? I can’t imagine you just be passin’ through.”

Carrie smiled. “That’s rather a long story,” she admitted. She glanced at the cabin. “When will the rest of your family be home? I’m so eager to meet them.”

Gabe hesitated but once again he trusted his gut. “We’re hiding out in the woods,” he said. “Ain’t so safe for black children around here right now.”

Moses frowned and looked around. “What’s wrong?”

Gabe glanced at Carrie. “I reckon that’s a long story too,” he said mildly. He made a quick decision. “I can take you to them if you want.” He saw Carrie’s quick nod but continued. “It will be a little rough. There won’t be no bed for you, Mrs. Borden.”

Carrie just smiled again. “I tell you what,” she replied. “You quit calling me Mrs. Borden and I’ll be happy to sleep in our wagon. My name is Carrie.”

Gabe glanced at Moses, received an unspoken message, and nodded. “All right, Carrie,” he agreed. Then he looked back at Moses. “Since you’re here, could we load some supplies into your wagon? It be a lot easier den carryin’ everythin’ back to mine.”

A short time later they had arrived at Gabe’s wagon. Now they were following him through the thick woods. By unspoken agreement, everyone agreed to wait until they arrived at their destination to talk.

One hour later, they broke out into the campsite.

Gabe wasn’t alarmed when he saw it empty. He figured his family had identified the sounds of two wagons. Uncertain of what that meant, Clint would have taken them further back into the woods to the cave they had discovered. He also knew Clint would be watching. He waved his hand as he pulled the wagon to a halt. “You can bring ‘em back, Clint,” he called. “It’s safe.”

Minutes later, Polly, Amber, and Clint emerged from the woods, their eyes wide with questions as they stared at Carrie and Moses.

Suddenly Amber pulled away from her mother and raced forward. She stopped in front of Moses and stared up at him. “You be the man who brung Robert to us, ain’t you?”

Moses knelt in front of her. “Yes, I am. And you’re Amber.”

“I sure ‘nuff am! You here to tell me about Robert? I think about him most every day, ‘specially when I go back to my secret place. I reckon Robert be one of the best friends I ever had,” Amber said excitedly. She pulled at Moses’s hand. “Does Robert be okay?”

Carrie knelt down now and looked into Amber’s eyes. “Robert told me so much about you,” she said quietly. “Now I understand why he loved you so much.”

Amber pulled away from Moses and turned to look at Carrie. “Who are you?”

“I’m Carrie.”

Amber stared at her hard and a brilliant smile exploded on her face. “You’re Robert’s Carrie?”

“Yes, I am.” Carrie forced back her tears of emotion as she took Amber’s hand. “Robert loves you so much.”

Amber nodded, her eyes gleaming. “Me and Robert done love each other,” she said matter-of-factly. “Now, you gonna tell me how he’s doing?”

Carrie smiled. Robert had told her Amber could see straight through any pretense. He had been right. “Could I meet the rest of your family first?” She waited for Amber’s nod, and then turned to Polly and Clint. She loved both of them immediately, drawn in by their warm faces and direct eyes.

“Thank you,” she said huskily, taking both of their hands. “You’re the reason my husband is alive. He’s told me so much about all of you.” She turned to Clint. “And I have you to thank for saving Granite.”

“Granite is okay?” Clint asked anxiously.

“The war was tough on him, but he’s back on our plantation as fat and sassy as ever,” Carrie assured him.

“Husband?” Polly asked. “So Robert done married you?”

Carrie nodded. “Just after he returned from your home.”

“He ain’t doing so good,” Polly said flatly. “Ain’t that why you’re here on your own?”

Carrie nodded again, almost relieved to get right to it. “No, he’s not doing very well,” she admitted heavily. “He’s very ill.”

“Robert’s sick again!” Amber cried. “What be wrong with him?”

Polly took Carrie’s hand and led her over to the fire, pushing her down onto a log gently. “Must have taken a lot of days to get here,” she said kindly.

Carrie nodded, suddenly feeling the strain of the last five days.

“Must have wanted to get here real bad,” Polly said. She nodded at Clint. “Get Carrie and Moses some of that soup I made this morning,” she ordered, holding her hand up when Carrie started to speak. “You just sit there until you get some food in you.”

Carrie smiled and waited quietly. Now that they had found Gabe and Polly she could wait until she had food to make her request. She had thought about it before, but now, sitting here in this wooded clearing, she fully realized how crazy her request was going to sound. She bit back a sigh. She had come this far. She had no choice but to tell them why she was here.

The only sounds were of the birds and crickets as they ate the bowls of soup Clint handed them. Carrie could see the questions boiling behind Clint’s piercing eyes, but she had a feeling no one in this family stood up against their tiny mama very often.

“So why don’t you tell us what’s wrong with Robert?” Polly asked when Carrie took her last bite. “We have lots of things to talk about, but I reckon that’s the most important.”

Carrie took comfort from her kind eyes. She could imagine her holding Robert up…feeding him spoonfuls of soup…wiping his face…wrapping his legs in warm cloths so he would walk again. She took a deep breath, knowing she had made the right decision to come. “Robert came home from the war very sick,” she began. She told the entire story, wanting to gloss over some of the details because Amber was listening, but sensing Polly and Gabe needed to hear it all.

“So Robert’s spirit has just withered up,” Polly said quietly when she was finished.

Carrie nodded. “Yes.”

“Do Robert’s legs still work?” Amber asked.

Carrie nodded, hoping she was right. He had not stood since they brought him home, but she had no reason to think he couldn’t.

“And it’s just his heart be sick?” Amber pressed.

Carrie nodded, knowing that somehow this eight-year-old little girl understood.

Amber stood and walked to where Gabe was sitting, listening quietly. “We got to go to Robert, Daddy,” she said earnestly.

Gabe exchanged a look with Polly and started to open his mouth. Amber held her hand up. “Don’t say no, Daddy. I got to go to Robert. He needs me.” She spun around and stared at Carrie. “Ain’t that why you’re here? Because you believe I can make Robert better?”

Carrie just stared at her, not sure how to answer. She finally nodded, her eyes pleading with Gabe and Polly to understand. “I didn’t know what else to do,” she admitted, her voice breaking as the reality of what she was asking them to do sank in.

Silence settled over the clearing. “That’s a lot to think about,” Gabe finally said, his voice startling the squirrels into increased chattering.

Carrie nodded again but had no idea of what to say.

Moses was the first one to break the silence. “You said you were hiding back here in the woods? Why?”

Carrie was grateful for something to take attention away from her crazy request but part of her silently screamed for an answer. She clasped her hands tightly as she forced herself to listen.

Gabe explained what was going on with the enforced apprenticeship program.

His explanation shocked Carrie out of her thoughts. “That’s nothing but a different kind of slavery!” she said angrily. “It’s wrong!”

“That’s what we figure,” Polly replied, “but we also know there are a lot of strong feelings in people right now. Them plantation owners are scared they gonna lose all their help.”

“Meaning they lose their precious plantations,” Clint snorted. “I have two friends who got taken back to their old plantations to work. Their folks been trying to get them back, but they can’t.”

Carrie stared around the fire. “There has to be a way to stop this!”

Gabe shrugged. “I hope so, Carrie, but for right now I just aim to keep my kids safe. And keep me alive to provide for them,” he added.

“We ain’t gonna let Gabe fight for his kids,” Polly said firmly. “They’ll kill him and take the kids anyway.”

Carrie wished she could refute the statement, but knew it was probably true.

“I think we can help you,” Moses said firmly.

Even Carrie turned to gaze at him.

“You can’t keep hiding here in the woods forever,” he said. “We’ve got a house waiting for you down at the plantation if you’ll come back with us.” He briefly described Ike Adams’s house. “It’s not fancy, but it’s big enough for all of you.” He looked at Gabe. “You handy with a hammer?”

“I reckon I be. I built our cabin.”

“Then we’ll hire you to help with the new school we’re building. My wife, Rose, is going to be the teacher.” Moses looked at Polly next. “That soup was delicious. Are you good in a kitchen?”

Polly just nodded, though her eyes said she’d been there before.

Moses knew she and Gabe had spent years in slavery before escaping. “We can hire you to help as much as you want to.” He took a moment to make things clearer. “I’ve been hired by Carrie’s father to make Cromwell Plantation profitable again.”

“You’re the overseer?” Gabe questioned sharply.

Moses frowned. “That word will never be used on Cromwell Plantation again,” he said firmly. “I’m the manager. A group of the men from my old military unit are working with me. Right now they are building homes for their families. We’ve planted all the crops for the season — that’s the reason I could get away to come with Carrie.”

He turned to Clint now. “I understand you love horses.”

Clint nodded eagerly.

“There aren’t a lot of horses on the plantation now, but it’s part of our plan. Robert will need help when he’s better.”

“What about Oak Meadows?” Clint asked. “Robert told me all about his place in the Virginia foothills.”

Carrie was the one to answer. “We don’t know what is going to happen with Oak Meadows right now, Clint, but I think you’ll love Cromwell Plantation. We had a lot of beautiful horses before the war.” She suddenly realized what a perfect solution Moses was proposing.