Up the Mountain
Luke knocked on the women’s door at five thirty Thursday morning. They could have slept later, except Ivy needed extra time to get ready. Even then, it was a little after seven when he got them down for breakfast. They ate quickly and left about seven thirty.
“This is later than I planned to start,” Luke said.
“Is it that far?” Ivy asked.
“Not in distance, but it is in time. You’ll understand when you see the two mountains we have to climb.”
“I like this,” Leah said as she took in the landscape. “I can see it has already started to get hillier, but it’s a pretty area. I like the streams that wind through the fertile farmland.”
Luke watched Leah when the silhouette of the mountains rose majestically in the distance to touch the sky. She looked elated.
“This is breathtaking,” she said. “I could live here.”
“You can have it,” Ivy said. “Don’t tell me we have to go up one of those.” She pointed at the high peaks ahead. Luke chose not to answer.
The farther they traveled, the larger the mountains ahead loomed. “‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,’” Leah quoted from Psalm 121, “‘from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.’ He made a beautiful earth, didn’t He?”
“Yes, He did.” Luke looked at the largest peak. “I love these mountains. I’m free here. My spirit soars.”
Luke looked over at Leah. Ivy partially blocked his view, but Leah seemed to alternate between watching the landscape beside them and looking upward toward the summits. When she stared at the mountains ahead, her face turned radiant, as if she beheld the presence of God.
He looked back at Ivy and the grimace on her face. Ivy’s sweet disposition had only lasted about a day. Even though he knew she’d been making a concerted effort to appear agreeable, he’d hoped it would last longer.
Although Ivy wasn’t as pleasant as she’d been for the one day, she wasn’t angry and pouting, either. Her remarks often showed a petty and selfish nature, but she didn’t seem mad at the world, now. That attitude had worried him more than he wanted to admit. Still, he realized the chance of her being happy on the mountain farm seemed to dissipate with each mile they traveled west.
He glanced at Leah again. He must try to hold her at arm’s length. It wouldn’t do for him to become too interested in her while being engaged to Ivy.
Why couldn’t Ivy be more like her younger sister? Being her mother’s favorite, Ivy had been spoiled and pampered all her life, but Leah had grown up in the same household and been her father’s favorite. Yet, Leah had depths Luke dared not explore, and she cared about others. What made the difference?
God. God must be the difference. Leah’s faith seemed strong and vibrant. He thought Ivy believed in God, but she didn’t show much faith. The three of them, God, Ivy, and Luke, needed to work on that.
Soon the incline became steep. “We’d better get off and walk until we clear the steepest part,” Luke said.
“You mean we have to walk,” Ivy complained. “I’ll ruin my shoes.”
Luke remained silent.
“It’s fine with me,” Leah said. That wagon seat gets hard, and I could use a stretch. Besides, the road has narrowed, and when the wagon hits a rut and tilts toward the cliff, it almost looks as if the wagon might fall over the ledge.”
“Are you disparaging my driving?” Luke teased.
“Not at all,” Leah countered. “If not for your driving, I’m sure we would have already rolled down to the valley below.”
“How do those freight wagons get up the mountain with a heavy load?” Patsy asked.
“They usually have a large team of strong mules,” Luke said. “Even then, it’s not easy. That’s why anything brought over the mountain is more expensive.”
Luke walked along beside the wagon, as he held the reins. Leah and Patsy came along not far behind. Ivy tended to lag back, and Luke could tell her breathing had become labored. Patsy saw him looking back at Ivy.
“You want me to go back and walk with her, Mister Luke?”
“That might be a good idea, Patsy. I don’t want to stop the mules on the mountain. It would be harder for them to get the wagon going again.”
When Patsy stopped to wait for Ivy to catch up, Luke realized he and Leah would be together again. He hadn’t thought of that.
“I can tell the air is getting thinner, the farther we go,” she said. “It may take us flatlanders some time to get used to this.”
“You don’t seem to be having much trouble with it.”
“I’m used to roaming over the plantation and often putting in a day’s work. I guess that’s helped my stamina.”
“How do you like the mountains, so far?”
“They’re lovely and welcoming.”
“Welcoming? How so?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. It’s almost as if they’re wrapping their arms around me. I feel as if I’m coming home.”
“I know the feeling, Leah, but I am coming home. I’m surprised to hear you feel it, too.”
“I’m rather surprised myself. I’ve never even seen a mountain before.”
“I wish Ivy felt the same way.” The words came out before he could stop them.
“Don’t be too hard on her,” Leah said. “She’s never liked drastic change. Give her time, and she’ll probably come around.”
“I’m surprised she wanted to come at all, then.”
“I was, too, but she really didn’t want to marry Lawrence. Mother had always helped Ivy get what she wanted, but Mother continued to push her to marry Lawrence and wouldn’t consider you. It’s ironic, but if Papa had been alive, I think chances are good he’d have allowed you and Ivy to wed at Gold Leaf.”
“What about Paul? He seemed reasonable to me.”
“He usually is, but he and Ivy have never gotten along well, and he’s wrapped up in his own affairs.”
Luke wondered, if he had married Ivy at the plantation and brought her up the mountain as his wife, would things have been better? Would Ivy have acted differently? He doubted it. Something told him things might have been worse.
Luke realized he had a strong aversion to a contrary, unhappy wife. The very thought frightened him. Frances came to mind, and he mentally shook himself.
“How did your business go in Wilkesboro?” Leah asked.
“It actually went as I’d hoped. This year, I decided to grow a large crop of cabbage to sell for extra cash. Cabbage grows quite well in our cool, wet climate. I decided to take advanced orders in Wilkesboro, and I’ll do the same thing in Boone and deliver them in the fall.”
“That sounds like a good idea. I take it you got some orders.”
“I did. I’ll be able to take a large wagon load down the mountain. I haven’t asked in Boone, yet, but I’m hoping for orders there, too.”
The wagon topped the ridge, and Luke stopped the wagon to wait for Ivy and Patsy. “We’ll be able to ride the wagon from here into Boone,” he said.
Luke helped the women into the wagon. “I’m glad that’s over,” Ivy said. “I don’t think I could have made many more steps.”
Luke started the mules up, and they had just rounded a curve, when they had to stop for a huge tree across the road. “Now, what?” He got down to take a look, and three men on horseback rode out with guns pointed on Luke.
“Hands up, Moretz,” one of them commanded.
Luke raised his hands. “How do you know my name?”
“We’ve been trailing you for days. I planned to do the snatch in Wilkesboro, and we almost got the chance, but then it fell through.”
“We got a beauty,” another of the men said. “Have you looked at her, Burt?”
Burt looked at Ivy. “Whoo-ey! I like that. It may be worth it to keep her and forget the bounty.”
“Who’s paying you to do this?” Luke asked.
“Some Biles fellow down in Anson County, but he said he had the brother’s permission.”
“I’ll take the sister. She’s a looker, too. Can we keep ’em, Burt?”
“Shoot, that just leaves me the colored, Hank.” Patsy had stuck her head out of the wagon to see what was happening. “Oh, well, she ain’t half-bad either. We ain’t goin’ to marry them, no how.”
“Let’s git them down and git out of here. We can decide on what to do later.”
“I don’t like those plans,” Leah said. “We’d rather stay with Luke.” Somehow she held Luke’s rifle aimed at the one called Burt. Luke had no idea how she’d managed to pull it from the bottom of the wagon without anyone seeing her.
“Go on, boys,” Burt said. “She ain’t goin’ to be able to shoot.”
“I’d think again, if I were you,” Leah said. “I’ve been hunting with my father and older brother, and I could outshoot both of them.”
“Now, you ain’t goin’ to kill us, little miss.” Burt didn’t sound as sure anymore.
“I won’t have to kill you,” Leah told him. “Just some strategically placed shots should take away your threat of harming women.”
Luke’s mouth dropped open. He couldn’t believe she’d said that. Was this gentle, caring Leah, and was she bluffing, or did she mean what she’d just said? Even he didn’t know. She sure appeared calm and in control. The barrel of that rifle didn’t move at all, so she wasn’t shaky.
Luke started for the wagon. Leah did remind him of his grandmother sometimes. Luke could see Granny standing down bounty hunters, if the need arose.
“I’ll take over now, little lady,” a new voice said. Luke hadn’t even seen the sheriff ride up. He’d been too taken back by Leah. “Good job. I could use you as a deputy.” He nodded at Leah and laughed.
The sheriff had his gun on the three abductors, so Luke moved to the wagon and took his gun from Leah. She sat down in the seat, as if her legs suddenly gave way.
With the two guns on them, the sheriff made the men pull the tree to the side of the road and then tied them to their horses. Luke kept his rifle on them the whole time.
“I don’t think these three will bother you anymore,” the sheriff said. “I saw them follow you out of Wilkesboro, so I trailed along. I had some business up this way, anyways. I’m glad you filled me in, before you left, Moretz.”
“I am, too. Thanks, Sheriff.” Luke shook his hand.
“Well, I might have been too late, if that little gal hadn’t taken things in hand. You be careful, Luke. I’d hate to get on the wrong side of her.” He laughed again.
“Will we have to appear in court?” Luke asked.
“Since I witnessed what was going on, and they ain’t denying it, I think I can handle it. If that changes, we’ll let you know. I’ll get with Sheriff Horton in Boone. We’ll make sure justice is done.”
Luke walked over to Leah’s side of the wagon, and the sheriff left with his prisoners. “Thank you, Leah. I don’t know how you did it, but you saved us. Even if the sheriff hadn’t come along, I could have taken over, and we’d have been all right.”
“I was scared to death, Luke. I knew I had to try to do something. I couldn’t let them take us, but I have never been so frightened.”
“You didn’t show it. You were great.” He had the strongest urge to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he knew he couldn’t. “Could you indeed shoot, if you’d had to?”
“Yes, what I said was true. I can hit what I aim at. I had no intention of letting them take us, but I was hoping I wouldn’t have to pull the trigger.” She gave Luke a weak smile.
He picked up one of her hands, squeezed it gently, and quickly let it go. He’d felt a shock at the touch of her hand, and, by her reaction, she’d felt it, too. He walked around the mules and got into the driver’s side of the wagon. Now, he felt shaken. He wasn’t sure what had just taken place, but he knew he’d better not touch Leah again.
“What Mister Luke said is true. You saved us from a fate worse than death,” Patsy told Leah. Leah reached back and hugged Patsy. Patsy wrapped her arms around Leah and squeezed. Good. Leah needed a hug.
“Yes, thank you, Leah,” Ivy said. She sounded subdued.
“Burt was the man I saw following us in Wilkesboro,” Leah told them.
“I saw him, too,” Luke said. “That’s why I went by the sheriff’s office before we left. He said he’d keep an eye out.”
“Do you think it’s over,” Leah asked, “or will there be others?”
“Most likely that’s it.” Luke wasn’t nearly as sure as he sounded, but he knew the women didn’t need another scare right now. “Let’s get to Boone.”
“What a pretty place,” Leah said. “It must be atop a mountain or ridge, it looks much more level.”
“This is Deep Gap,” he told them. “The longest climb is over. There’ll be little change in grade to get to Boone. Between Boone and the farm will be more mountainous.”
Luke had planned to stop in Boone and try to contract to sell some more cabbage, but he felt it would be better to get the women on to the farm. After their escapade, he didn’t feel like stopping now, either. He could come back to Boone on another day.
He turned left, while they were still in the east side of town. They would go south and then turn right to head southwest.
Leah looked exhausted. The Deep Gap incident must have left her emotionally drained.
“Look at Grandfather,” Luke said. He pointed to the mountain in the distance.
“The mountain?” Ivy asked.
“Yes, the Cherokee called it ‘Tanawha,’ which means great hawk or eagle in their language. The settlers named it ‘Grandfather Mountain.’ Look at it. See it looks like the profile of an old man with a beard. He’s reclining horizontally. Can you see?”
“I don’t see an old man,” Ivy said. “All I see is a mountain.”
“It’s the head of a man with a beard,” Leah told her. See the first rise is his forehead. The sharp, thin peak is his nose, then comes his chin and beard. Can you see it?”
“I can see it now,” Patsy said excitedly.
“We’re getting close to where we turn again,” Luke told them.
They passed a few plowed areas, where the soil gleamed as black as cow manure. These were small plots, not big enough to be called fields.
Luke turned the wagon onto a lane barely wide enough for the wheels in some places, and they started climbing again. Luke didn’t mind the narrow, winding mountain path, but he knew the women would.
Ivy gasped and clutched the edge of her seat. Leah didn’t seem to notice it, and that worried Luke. He didn’t know if she was distracted by the scenery or remembering the incident.
“Sometimes it looks as if we’re driving off the side of the mountain,” Ivy said.
“Close your eyes and don’t look,” Luke told her. “When you get used to it, you won’t even notice.”
Leah looked over at them. “You can trust Luke’s driving,” she told Ivy. “He’ll get us there safely.”
Luke gave her a grateful glance. “I’ve done this many times,” he assured them.
“Look at all the beautiful pink flowering bushes!” Leah exclaimed. “They’re gorgeous.”
“Those are rhododendron,” Luke told her. “You’ll see them all over the mountains during the month of June.” At least the scenery seemed to distract Leah from thoughts of what’d happened.
“Everything is so lush and green,” Leah remarked, “and there are little streams of water trickling over rocks and down the mountain all along. The forests look almost enchanted, and the soil’s black and fertile. What a remarkable place!”
A wave of pleasure washed over Luke. He loved Leah’s descriptions.
“It’s cold here, even in June,” Ivy said.
“It’s cool and refreshing,” Leah said. “It smells fresh and clean. I feel close to the earth and on top of the world, all at the same time.”
“You’ve gone giddy on us. What’s wrong with you?” Ivy asked.
“Nothing’s wrong, Ivy. At this moment, in this place, everything’s right.”
There weren’t many homes along the way, but the ones Leah saw were primitive, rustic log cabins. None of them looked big enough for a family. However, some of them had a number of barefooted children running about them.
They must have climbed the steepest grade again, because the land leveled out. Leah looked up to see a larger log house come into view. It nestled back on a small rise, as if it had been waiting patiently for their arrival. Mountains seemed to loom in the distance all around them.
A slender, spry woman with graying hair pulled straight back into a bun came to the porch, paused to look, and then quickly came down the steps to meet them.
“Land alive, is that you, Luke? I was hoping you’d make it in soon.”
She stopped in her tracks, when her eyes settled on the three women. Luke jumped down from the wagon.
“I brought you some company, Granny,” he said. “In fact, I brought my fiancée.”
His grandmother already had Luke locked in her arms, but she stepped back to look at Leah and Ivy. Luke moved to help them all down from the wagon.
He lifted Leah down first, since she sat on that side of the wagon. She turned to find herself locked in a bear hug. The woman was stronger than she looked.
“I’m so pleased to meet you, honey. I’ve been thinking Luke was going to bring himself home a bride one of these days.”
“No, no, Granny. This is my fiancée, Ivy Morgan. Ivy, this is my grandmother Emmaline Moretz.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Moretz,” Ivy said, but she didn’t sound too pleased. Leah guessed she was peeved Luke’s grandmother had mistaken Leah for Luke’s fiancée.
“Well, I’ll be,” Luke’s grandmother said. She looked from Leah to Ivy and back to Leah again. The twinkle in her eyes made Leah wonder if the spry lady wasn’t glad she’d made the mistake.
“And, this is Ivy’s sister, Leah.”
“Well, we already greeted each other, now, didn’t we?” she laughed. “Y’all just call me ‘Granny Em’ like everyone else around these parts, except Luke. I’m just plain ole Granny to him.”
Luke helped Patsy from the wagon. “Granny, this is Patsy. She’s a freed slave, who used to be Ivy’s maid.”
“Now, Luke, she may be free, but you know she’s still my maid.”
“I’m sure y’all are weary of traveling, so come on in the house, now.”
“I didn’t expect a log cabin,” Ivy said to Luke.
“I told you, Ivy.”
“Well, I didn’t hear you.”
“I love it,” Leah said. “It’s suited to the mountains.”
“You love everything here, don’t you?” Ivy said. “The next thing, you’ll be telling me you love Luke.”
“Ivy!” Leah exclaimed. “What are you talking about? Now who’s letting her imagination run wild?”
“You need to quit sharpening your tongue at your sister’s expense,” Granny Em said to Ivy. “It seems way too sharp already.”
Ivy gasped in dismay. No one had ever talked like that to her before.