Lover's Knot by Emilie Richards Read Free Book Online Page B

feet.” Helen thrust the box at Cissy and started up to the cabin porch. “Where’d the railing go?”
    “Rotted through. I think Dabney was planning to put up a new one and didn’t get around to it.”
    “Man snuck out of town like a snake-oil peddler. We’ll send Zeke over to put up a new one. That boy can build anything—can’t he, Cissy. Maybe Caleb could help.”
    “Zeke’s my husband,” Cissy explained. She took the steps carefully, since it was hard to see around the box. “Zeke Claiborne. Caleb’s my little brother, Caleb Mowrey. I don’t think Caleb knows which side of a hammer is which. But Ms. Henry’s right about Zeke. He’ll be glad to do it, but he might not be able to get to it right away. He’s going out of town in a day or two.”
    Helen was tall and broad, and, judging from the leathery texture of her skin, much of her past had been lived outdoors. She had thin white hair that was plumped up by a good perm and eyes that sparkled behind thick glasses. Cissy was small boned, with fragile features and Kendra’s propensity to freckle. The two women made an interesting pair.
    “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the offer,” Kendra said, “but I’m afraid I need a lot more than a railing. I’m going to have to find somebody who has at least a couple of weeks to help me get things in better order.” She tried to remember details about Cissy and her husband. “Zeke makes musical instruments, right? He has his own shop.”
    “If you can call a part of his daddy’s barn a shop,” Helen said. “But the boy is showing a lot of promise. His banjos are something to behold.”
    “He sold a guitar to one of the Statler Brothers,” Cissy said proudly.
    “Sounds like he’s really on his way,” Kendra said.
    “We…I was sorry to hear about you being shot and all,” Cissy said. “We were all real worried.”
    “We put you on the prayer list at church. Never thought that did much good,” Helen said. “But it gave us all something to do when you were so far away. I mean, even if the Good Lord does what He has to when He has to, at least He knew you had a lot of friends who were worried.”
    Kendra felt a familiar choking sensation. Tears waiting to be swallowed. “Something worked. Here I am. Thank you for that.”
    “Glad you’re better.”
    “Cissy, I didn’t mean to leave you standing there,” Kendra said. “The kitchen’s this way.”
    She led them inside, and Cissy put the box on the table in the corner. “There’s chicken potpie, Valley style,” Cissy said. “That’s one of Ms. Henry’s specialties. A green bean casserole Zeke’s mama made for you. A lime Jell-O salad with pears. I made that, and I made you a loaf of pumpkin bread, too. Marian, that’s Zeke’s mama, she also put in half a dozen chocolate cupcakes and a dozen sugar cookies.”
    “See that you eat every bit of it,” Helen said. “You’re going to be a country girl, you got to get some meat on those bones.”
    Kendra had not seen so much food in one place since she’d gone to one of Community Church’s potluck suppers. “This is so much. Thank you both. And you’ll thank Marian for me?”
    “We’re your closest neighbors,” Helen pointed out. “Me over that way—” she pointed “—the Claibornes in that direction. It’s been a right long time since anybody lived in this house, and I’m glad to see it in use again.”
    “Would you like to see the rest of it?”
    Helen shook her head. “Looks good enough to live in, though it could do with some spit and polish, or maybe a bulldozer. But you’ve had a big day and need some rest. We’ll be back.”
    Kendra followed them back to the porch and watched as Cissy helped Helen down the steps. This time Helen made no protest.
    At the bottom, the older woman turned and looked up at Kendra. “I knew the woman who used to live here, you know. Leah Spurlock, that was her name before she married old Tom Jackson. That’s how we all think