Vow Unbroken (29 page)

Walking beside Henry, she became aware he held her hand again and remembered taking his earlier. It felt so good and seemed so natural. His being right about leaving earned her appreciation for getting her out of there, and also for standing up for Levi. Having a wonderful man on her side, especially a strong, wise, and gentle man like Henry Buckmeyer, made such a difference.

She looked at him; he headed straight toward the wagon. She loved that face. The realization shocked her. When had her heart let him in and come to love him so deeply? Indeed, she loved him. She squeezed his hand, and he glanced over and smiled. She loved Patrick Henry Buckmeyer. Unsure exactly how, she determined to spend the rest of her life with him.

Just then, at the height of her sweet revelation, the promise she'd made to God reared its head. The vow had served her well, weeded out those who professed love, but would it hurt her now? Every suitor had quit coming around once she told him. What if Henry did likewise? Or if her father refused again to give his blessing?

Could she marry him without it? Or without him being a believer?

And if she did, would he die, just as Andy had?

She shook her head. Faithfulness to God trumped everything else. No way would she go back on her promise. No compromise either. Henry had to agree to go and get her stubborn daddy's blessing. Then her father had to give Henry her hand; he simply must, and she refused to think on any other outcome.

Sue looked toward the sky and silently prayed, “And God, it is Your business to get him saved before we get to Daddy's. You know he'll never give his blessing if Henry isn't a believer.”

H
ENRY HELD SUE
'
S HAND
until he reached what had become her wagon, then still didn't let go. He bent and braced his knee, lifting her hand, and she used him to climb aboard. She finally pulled away and seated herself. Levi heaved his cousin up on the other side, and Blue jumped up at the girl's feet.

“Mama, Levi said I had to ride with you! It's not fair!” Becky sat forward on the bench with her arms crossed over her chest. “He got to ride all the way here with Mister Henry, so it should be my turn. Tell him! Tell him that it's my turn, and he has to ride with you!”

“Well, my, my, my. What a sad thing to have to spend a little time with your mother, Rebecca Ruth. How would it make you feel if I didn't want to ride with you?”

Becky dropped her hands to her lap and hung her head. “I'm sorry, it's just that—”

Levi spit, then threw his hands in the air. “You can ride with him tomorrow, stinky.” He glanced up at his aunt, shaking his head. “You've spoiled her so bad!”

Sue looked to each of the children and then at Henry. “So, I guess everyone would rather ride with you.” She smiled.
“But what can I say? I certainly understand. I'd rather ride with you, too.”

He shook his head and smiled back. “We best get going.”

Once aboard, Henry unlocked the brake and waved the reins over the team. “Hey, now.” The animals tossed their heads and threw themselves into moving the load. They were a good team; he should be able to make a profit on them. Circling back around toward the trace, he recognized a granger waiting in line at the springs on the Jefferson side.

He handed the reins to the boy. “Keep 'em at a good clip, I need to talk to that man. I'll catch up.” He jumped off the wagon and waited for Sue to come beside him, then nodded toward the springs. “I'm going to see if there's any news. I'll be back directly.”

She nodded and slapped her team's backs with the reins. “Come on now.”

After a quick handshake and hello, Henry quizzed the man. While the granger talked of the trace and cotton prices, Henry kept an eye on the wagons. Once the man went to talking about the weather, Henry excused himself and ran off after Sue's wagon. Didn't take him long to catch up.

She glanced down when he came alongside. “What'd you find out?”

“Good news is, the buyers are still there and paying six cents a pound for high-quality lint like yours.”

“Oh, Henry! Six cents?” Her face shone. “That's a wonderful report!”

“Bad news is that their steamer is getting full fast, and he said there was a long line when he left.”

The glow faded. “Oh, no! Do you think we'll make it in time?”

“We're going to give it our best. He said there's two steep pulls between here and Jefferson, and that the trace is in fair to good shape. Bad ruts in a few places, but with four mules to a wagon, shouldn't be much of a problem. Only those two hills might slow us down some.”

“How far is the first one? Will we get to it today?”

“Not sure, he didn't say.”

Becky stretched out and grinned a big ol' grin. “Me and Trudy, that's what I named my doll. Anyway, we get to ride with you tomorrow because it's my turn. How close will we be from Jefferson then?”

“We should get there tomorrow evening.”

“Oh, good, so I'll get to ride with you for the whole day.” She opened her eyes wide. “ 'Cause I have some things I want to talk with you about, and we'll probably need the whole day.” She nodded that fast little nod of hers where she kept on nodding.

Sue looked at him and shook her head. “What have you done to my children? What did you ever do to win such admiration from the little darlings? Tell me, please.” She laughed.

He shrugged. “I don't know. Like a new toy, I guess. Best get on back to Levi. We need to pick the pace up a bit.”

He ran ahead and climbed into the wagon. The boy handed him the reins. Henry urged the team into a faster walk and, though he hated repeating himself, told the boy everything he'd just told his aunt. For a while, the ride was quiet, but the peace didn't last long.

“So, Mister Henry, how fast do you think I had 'em going, and how fast would you say they're going now?”

“You were at a mile or a little over; I'd say we're closer to a mile and a half or two now, maybe even a bit faster.”

“How can you tell? Do you pick a tree up ahead and count or something?”

“No. You get a feel for it. Comes from experience. You'll have to go through the mill, but you'll get it by and by.”

The boy sat silent awhile and then nudged him in the rib with his elbow. “So when are you going to ask her?”

Henry started to play dumb, but he knew exactly what Levi was talking about. He didn't have the answer though. “I don't know. Think I ought to wait.”

“For what?”

“Maybe until we get to Jefferson and get her cotton sold.”

“But why wait? Even I can tell that you're perfect for her. You're exactly what Aunt Sue needs.”

He pondered on it before saying more, and then sighed. “Well, then there is the vow.”

The boy sat back and grinned. “Oh, so you've heard about that, have you?”

Henry looked over at him. “Who hasn't?”

SUE RODE AWAY THINKING
on what Henry had told her. She tried to figure out what she'd do if the buyers had all the cotton they wanted. She'd not considered that scenario at all, never even thought to. If there were no buyers, she didn't know what she'd do except hope and pray that Henry would have a plan.

One thing she did know. She'd learned long ago that worrying about tomorrow never changed a thing, so she dismissed that elusive day and its troubles and focused on a completely different subject. That wasn't a hard thing for her.

Henry.

She'd been thinking a heap on him of late. Never would she have imagined how much she missed the simple act of strolling along on a man's arm; the sense of belonging, of having someone. Admitting she loved him, even to herself, had not come easy, but now she knew how powerful much she wanted to spend the rest of her life beside him.

But what if he didn't feel the same way? She certainly hadn't been acting as though she had any interest in him past getting her cotton sold then safely back home. Maybe he couldn't wait until he made it back to Sulphur Fork and was rid of her bossy, angry self. But then, his eyes . . .

Oh, Lord, let it be. Let him overlook my bad qualities, and let it be Your will. Surely it was; after all, God had arranged the whole journey. She had to trust Him to bring Henry to salvation, but trusting Him came easy. He'd proved Himself so many times, she couldn't even count.

She glanced over at Becky. No doubt her daughter would be thrilled to call Henry daddy. Her little one sang a lively tune that she was obviously making up as she went along. Her doll danced in time on her lap.

“So, happy girl, what do you need to talk to Mister Henry about?”

“Oh, Mama, don't you know that we talk almost the whole time when we're riding together? We talk about Blue Dog. How much better he's getting.” She looked at the sky as though thinking. “Um, we talk about singing some.” She turned, dipped her chin toward her chest, and looked up from under her eyebrows. “But you knew that, didn't you?” She giggled. “He really sings more terribler than anyone I've ever heard, Mama. Wait till you hear him!”

“There is no such word as
terribler,
young lady. Seems to me that you're avoiding my question. Did you think I'd forget it if you stalled long enough?”

The little girl held her mouth wide open like she was aghast. “I was answering the very question you asked, Mother.”

“Um-hmm.”

“And!” She paused. “I saw you holding Mister Henry's hand at the springs.”

“Oh, you did?”

“Yes, ma'am, and I'm so proud to see that you've finally come to your senses, Mama. He loves you, you know.”

Sue couldn't believe what had just come out of her baby's mouth. How could a nine-year-old know such a thing before she even knew it herself? “You really think so, do you? What in the world would make you assume that?” Those silly butterflies swarmed her tummy again.

Becky rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Mama, I do not assume it, I know it.”

“How? Did he tell you?”

“Well, not in so many words, but—”

“There, you see?”

Becky looked all around and puckered her lips over to the side as though trying to decide a hard problem. “Well, what I was going to say is, he may not have told me right out that he loves you, but remember, I know all what he bought with his honey money.” She glanced over and winked. “And he got you those mules. They were dreadful expensive, by the way.”

“But those mules are really his. He said he planned to sell them and get his money back.”

“And he got you something else, too.”

Sue leaned over against her daughter and tickled her ribs.
“What else did he buy, Rebecca Ruth Baylor?” She tickled her more, enjoying Becky's throes of giggles. She loved that her child lived so carefree. Sue had worked hard at that, keeping all the burdens at bay. “Come on, you silly willy! You know you want to tell me.”

“No, I don't! I do not!” She bent at the waist and gasped for air. “Stop, stop. You're killing me.”

Sue quit tickling her. “Now tell me true, Rebecca Ruth, what did Mister Henry buy for me with his honey money?”

Becky reached up with one hand and placed it on the center of her chest. “Do you really want to know? It's supposed to be a secret.”

“Yes, I do, or I wouldn't have asked.”

“I can't tell you!” She bent over laughing.

“Rebecca Ruth, that is not nice to tease me.”

“I'm sorry, Mama.” She grinned. “All right then, I'll tell you one thing, but I can't tell you what kind or what it's for.”

Sue reached over and squeezed Becky's cheeks together so that she made a fishy-kiss face. “Stop talking in riddles. What is it?”

Her daughter looked to both sides, then behind her. “Fabric, Mama, but you can't get me to say what kind or what it's for. And that's not all either.”

If Henry had bought her material, Becky had probably told him that she'd like it, and that's why he'd bought it. He certainly had been more than generous.

Was it only yesterday? Time on the trace always seemed so much longer than it actually was. They had been on it barely over a week now, and it seemed like a month or more. Sue was so tired of travel and troubles and trying to figure Henry Buckmeyer out. Her daughter obviously knew him better than she did.

But he was so good for Becky. What a great father he'd make. He was good for all of them. Levi had matured so much just being around him. For that matter, Henry Buckmeyer was probably good for everyone he was around at any given point in time. She wished she could be more like that. But he wasn't even saved.

What a wonderful Christian he would be! Why wouldn't he give in? He had to be under conviction.

Could what Becky thought be true?

Sue wondered what else he'd bought—besides those mules and the material—which her little hard nut to crack refused to tell her about. And what could the fabric be for? Maybe he'd only chosen a bolt or two for the Aikins, and her daughter had misunderstood. “Now, listen to me, Rebecca Ruth.”