Love Lasts Forever (8 page)

“Yes, a nice handsome man,” Eva continued on, carried away by her thoughts. “Maybe he’ll be an educated man, having gone to that college in Ohio.”

“At Oberlin.” Willow clarified for her.

“Yes, Oberlin. Perhaps, he’d be a man of the cloth like the reverend. I know he’d give his blessing to a union such as that.” Eva tossed her sewing down onto her lap when Willow didn’t respond. “Willow! I know you think about it. Every woman does. A handsome man, big and strong like my Anders, who will love you and cherish you as long as you both shall live. Surely, you want that, too.”

Willow swallowed hard and lowered her eyes to study her clenched hands. “I’ve never thought about it.”

“I think you’ll have pretty babies, and our children can play together.”

“That would be nice,” Willow said quietly.

The possibilities Eva presented were too painful for Willow to consider. They awakened desires she tried hard to ignore. The nighttime discussion with Thor left her longing, and Eva’s words filled her with despair. She couldn’t listen to her friend’s wishes and predictions for a moment longer.

Willow turned her back to Eva and grabbed the pail at the back door. “I think I hear the pigs calling. I’d best feed them before they jump out of the pigpen. I’ll return directly.”

“Thank you. While you’re out there, could you ask Thor to come inside for a moment?”

Willow dipped her head in a slight nod and with pail in hand, slipped out the back door. She made quick work of tossing the leftovers into the trough.

Since the pounding stopped, she had no idea where Thor wandered off. The area around the cabin presented a number of hiding places, and although he seemed to know his way around, the idea of him going off alone bothered her. Leaving the empty bucket at the rear of the cabin, she went in search of him.

“Thor!” she called out, subconsciously using his first name without hesitation. It simply rolled off her tongue as if it belonged there. She pushed through the brush on the west side of the house and called again, “Thor!”

From out of nowhere, a hand shot out and clamped over her mouth, silencing her. Her mind floundered as icy, cold fear left her frozen in shock and alarm.

* * *

Thor’s hold on Willow was solid. She squirmed and gave him a good elbow to his ribs until he whispered against her ear, “It’s me!”

The words obviously did little to reassure her. She wiggled again and landed another jab to his midsection. Afraid that she’d hurt herself, he pulled her behind a large oak and whipped her around to face him. He braced his hands against the tree trunk to box her in.

It took a moment for recognition to set in. When it did, her black eyes brimmed with hurt and accusation. The display of emotions plagued his heart.
Didn’t she know she could trust him?

“I’m sorry I scared you,” he whispered, “but you don’t have to be afraid of me.”

“Why did you grab me?” Her eyes watched him and suspicion radiated from her.

“Ssh.” He pressed a finger to his mouth for emphasis. “I thought I heard something. With you calling for me, I thought I’d lose them.”

The tension slowly evaporated, and she exhaled. Her tone matched his whisper. “What did you hear? Was it a wolf? Mr. Anders ran off a pack months ago. He’d be fit to be tied if he learns they came back.”

Thor shook his head. He gestured with his hand for them to squat. Once the bushes hid them, he answered her. “Not wolves. I heard voices. I couldn’t make out what they were saying. When I came out here, everything got quiet.”

“Did you see anybody?”

“I think I saw a glimpse of a man, but I’m not sure. You stay here. I’ll go look.”

He moved to stand, but she stopped him by taking his hand. A frown marred her forehead. “Let me.”

“You shouldn’t go out alone. We don’t know who’s out there. I’ll go.”

“I live here, Thor. I go back and forth in these woods all the time. I’m safer here than I’d be anywhere else in these United States! I’ll go first. If I need help, I’ll call you.”

He wanted to disagree, but the stubborn set of her jaw told him to prepare for a serious battle of wills. Besides, he followed the voices out of curiosity, not danger. As long as he was close enough to see her, he could compromise. “Okay. You can go first.”

“Thank you.” Annoyance flashed in her eyes, belying the words of gratitude.

Thor bit back a smile. The thinly disguised sarcasm tickled him. He admired her spunk. Bowing slightly, he gestured for her to proceed. She rose and moved through the weeds and bushes. At a considerable distance, he followed.

A crow cackled as it sailed overhead. A frog croaked in reply. Even the whistle of a whippoorwill joined in the chorus. Thor heard it all, but the noises came from a distance. His gaze locked on Willow, as he made sure no harm came to her.

She moved gracefully through the shrubs. Her hands brushed aside weeds while her feet stepped over rocks and logs. The sight of her slight body, moving so carefully and sure, sent urges through Thor. He wanted to protect her, yet he enjoyed her independence. Holding her in his arms even for a brief moment gave him a glimpse of Heaven. The desire to embrace her properly ripped through his insides and made coherent thought nearly impossible.

As he followed her trail, he wondered about her odd effect on him. Thor wasn’t a novice, and he certainly couldn’t be classified as a monk. With his looks and position on the football team, he never had to look for female companionship. Girls flocked to him, but none stirred him; not deeply.

After a few weeks of passionate exchanges, the novelty wore off. Football beckoned him and he heeded its call. The pattern began in high school and didn’t change until the tackle took his dreams away. In that one game, Thor lost the ability to play on the field and the desire to play off it.

Until now
.

Willow did things to him. Her plight, in the unfriendly 1860s America, worried him. He was scared for her. Blacks were making progress in 1985.
The Cosby Show
was number one on television, and Thurgood Marshall sat on the Supreme Court bench. There was also a female talk show host who wasn’t doing too shabby either.

1860 presented a different story. The Fugitive Slave Act of eighteen fifty made all people of color easy pickings for bounty hunters, marshals, and a number of jerks wanting to make a quick buck. He remembered reading about that from his college American History class. For all he and Willow knew, she could be walking into a trap.
What if a bounty hunter was luring them into the woods to imprison her?

Frightening images of Willow bound in chains and whipped until her flesh was wet with blood flashed before his eyes. Her beautiful olive black eyes lifeless, her sense of humor and kind spirit stripped from her. His fear turned to anger and his temper flared. He quickly looked around for a weapon to protect her. Spotting a fallen branch to his right, he bent to retrieve it. The whippoorwill whistled again and another replied.

Listening, Thor held himself still. He was raised in these woods and participated in plenty hunting trips. He knew the difference between human whistles and those from birds. The similarity was close, but humans made those calls.

His grip on the branch tightened, and he rose to his full height. Through narrowed eyes, he watched Willow’s every move and those of the surrounding woods. He moved quietly. His hearing tuned to the woods. The natural sounds diminished as Willow’s soft whisper carried back to him.

“It’s okay to come out. Come on. You’re safe.”

A deeper masculine whisper replied, “What about that young massa? We saw him with you.”

“He won’t hurt you,” Willow replied. “He’s with me.” Without turning, she beckoned with her hand for Thor to come to her. “Thor, let them see you.”

Thor moved briskly at her call. His hold on the branch loosened, but he didn’t think to drop it. He was too busy looking at the trio who surrounded Willow.

A young man, probably in his mid-teens, and a girl and a boy who were a few years younger stared with large brown eyes at Willow. Their clothing was little more than rags, and none of them had extra luggage with them.

Their faces were round even though their cheeks were sunken. The boys’ skin was bronze while the girl’s complexion was darker like chocolate. The resemblance between the three was startling and left little doubt they were siblings.

As he reached them, three pairs of eyes watched him and Willow with thinly disguised fear and wariness. On instinct, Thor moved to her side and placed a protective hand at the small of her back. She stiffened at his initial contact and then relaxed, pressing lightly against his palm.

“I won’t hurt you,” he reassured the trio quietly.

“He’s not a patroller,” Willow quickly added when the children remained silent.

“Is he a station massa?” the young girl asked. The biggest boy gave her a hard look, and she moved behind him.

Willow shook her head. “He’s not, but I know one. I can get you to him. How did you find these woods? This path is off the track. Did you have a shepherd?”

The oldest boy nodded, his brown-eyed gaze boring into Willow. “Our shepherd told us to go on ahead. He told us to follow the Drinking Gourd.”

“The Big Dipper?” Thor slowly deciphered the coded conversation.

“Yes,” Willow answered him. “Why did your shepherd tell you to go without him? Patrollers rarely come up this far, but it has happened. He shouldn’t have left you alone.”

“He had no choice, miss,” the boy said. “A few nights ago, the other runaway with us got scared and said he was going back. The shepherd didn’t trust him, so he went after him. He told us to keep going, and we’d see the light, and sho’nuff we did! We saw the lantern on the porch and knew we was on the right track.”

“The lantern?” Willow repeated softly.

Thor glanced at her. A worried frown creased her brow. “What’s wrong?” he asked her.

She ignored his question and kept her focus on the children. “When was the last time you ate?”

“About two nights ago.”

She inhaled sharply and nodded. “It’s another two miles to the station. Can you make it?”

“Miss, we can do whatever we needs to do to make it to the Promised Land. We come from down by Macon and don’t have no plans for stopping until we get to Canaan.”

She gave the boy a tender smile. “I understand. Follow me.”

“Willow.” Thor’s hand wrapped around her elbow to stop her from leading the group away. “Where are you going? You don’t have to take them anywhere when there’s food inside. Let’s go back to the cabin.”

Her eyes grew large as she vehemently shook her head. “I’m forwarding them to Reverend Brown’s place. They can’t eat at your kin’s cabin.”

“What?” He almost yelped in surprise. “Why not? It’s right here. You heard him. They haven’t eaten for two days. They may be dehydrated, too. We can feed them here, and then take them to the reverend.”

“They can’t eat here! Please, Thor. Go back to the cabin and watch out for Miss Eva. I won’t be gone long. Tell her I’ll come back as soon as I can—”

“Why can’t they eat here?” He refused to release her even as she tried to twist free.

Her mouth tightened. Through stiff lips, she replied, “Mr. Anders won’t allow it, and I won’t ask Miss Eva. She’d say yes, I’m sure of it, but it wouldn’t be right of me to ask. Now, please, let go.”

Thor flinched as if she struck him.
My great-great-grandfather won’t allow her to feed three hungry kids?
What kind of man was he? The stories he learned at his Gramps’ knee led him to believe that Magnusen men were honorable, compassionate, hard-working men. If so, where did Anders fit in? He couldn’t have been included in the tales Thor’s grandfather once told.

Reluctantly, he dropped his hand from her elbow and nodded. “I understand. Tell me the way, and I’ll take them to the reverend’s.”

“I can’t let you do that. This is not play, Thor. If a patroller catches you with them…”

“You said they rarely come this deep into the forest,” he reminded her when her voice trailed off. “Besides, it’s less dangerous for me than you. I could lie. You couldn’t.”

“But you don’t know these woods—”

“I grew up here,” he said softly. “I can find it. Just tell me where his place is and if there are some special words I should use. I’ll get them there safely, Willow. I promise.”

“Miss Eva wanted to speak with you,” she attempted one final protest.

Her stalling tactics irritated him, but he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. She was a beauty when her hackles were raised. “Eva can wait. They can’t.”

“But what should I tell her?”

“Tell her you couldn’t find me. That’s why you were gone for so long. You looked for me and gave up. When I come back, I’ll tell her that I went for a walk and got lost.”

A look of alarm streaked across her face. “What if you do get lost?”

“I won’t.” One hand lightly cupped her cheek. His voice dropped to a low whisper meant for her ears only. “I won’t get lost. I’ll get them to the station master safe and sound, and I’ll return before nightfall. You’ll see me tonight because I’m not about to miss one of Mr. William Shakespeare’s sonnets as read by Miss Willow Elkridge.”