here, I strewed the floor with sweetgrass and dried flowers and a bit of mint and set candles in some places in the wall,” he said as he pointed the flashlight at them. “It was our place, our lover’s nest. This time of year ye’d have to build a fire, of course, but feel free to use it if’n ye can convince Callie to sweeten up on ye again. God knows it’s hard to find this kind of privacy in anybody’s house.”
Seeing Euan’s confused look, Papa explained, “If’n ye’re goin’ to be part of the family ye’d best get used to the rest of us having our noses up in yore business. And mountain folks are the biggest bunch of gossips on the whole darned planet. If’n ye want to keep somethin’ a secret don’t even breathe it in yore sleep.”
Euan nodded, understanding that completely. A few ideas came to mind about fixing the place up for a tryst. He just wished that he had some idea as to how to get Callie to go along with it.
“We’d better get a move on if’n we want to get home fer supper,” Papa suggested. “Dark comes early this time of year.”
*****
Callie and Caleb spent most of the morning and early afternoon up at their grandparents’ cabin tending to stock and splitting firewood. A weasel had apparently killed one of the hens so Caleb set a trap for it while Callie checked the floor and sides of the hen house for any holes or cracks it could have gotten in through. She found a loose board in the corner and nailed it down, then cleaned the hen house out.
While they were working, Caleb asked his big sister a few questions, most of which Callie tried to evade. Finally, in exasperation, he said, “Dammit, Callie, this is me talkin’ to you! I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need to know what it is we’re dealing with here.”
“You’re dealing with a lying, cheating, forked-tongue snake!” she snapped. “You’re dealing with the man who used me and dumped me!”
“And the daddy of your kids,” Caleb added. “You think he’s here to try to take ‘em?”
Callie sat motionless for a few moments. She didn’t want to think anymore about it, but why else would Euan be there? Why else would he have come so far? The world threatened to start spinning as the gravity of the whole situation began weighing down on her again. Not that it had really lifted much since yesterday anyway. Finally she voiced her fears. “I can’t think of why else he’d be here,” she admitted. “Certainly not for me.”
Caleb took a swing with the axe, splitting a piece of red oak cleanly. “Well,” he said as he picked up one of the pieces to split again. “He sure looked like he wanted you. Talked like he did, too.”
Callie snorted and said, “Talking and doing are two different things. Any fool can talk a good game. It’s the doing that counts.”
“What if he’s for real?” Caleb asked. “What if he really does love you?”
Callie cut loose with a string of invectives that made her opinion of that quite plain. Caleb winced as the air turned a bit bluer than usual. He was used to his sister’s temper but this was a bit too harsh.
“Damn, Callie!” he exclaimed. “Do you need to put it like that ?”
“What if Lacie did you the way he did me?” she retorted. “What if she strung you along and then shit, pissed, and stomped all over your heart like it was nothing? How would you feel, huh?”
Caleb looked at Callie. There were tears in her eyes and her face was flushed. Her breath came in staccato bursts as she fought to keep her self-control. He remembered four years back and several times since when he had come upon her crying her eyes out and trying to keep anyone from finding out. He understood his sister as few could - Callie was tough but her heart wasn’t. Whatever she felt she felt to the marrow of her being, and when her heart had broken the pain had gone all the way through and back again. She wasn’t afraid to take on the world but she was terrified of getting hurt
Seeing Euan’s confused look, Papa explained, “If’n ye’re goin’ to be part of the family ye’d best get used to the rest of us having our noses up in yore business. And mountain folks are the biggest bunch of gossips on the whole darned planet. If’n ye want to keep somethin’ a secret don’t even breathe it in yore sleep.”
Euan nodded, understanding that completely. A few ideas came to mind about fixing the place up for a tryst. He just wished that he had some idea as to how to get Callie to go along with it.
“We’d better get a move on if’n we want to get home fer supper,” Papa suggested. “Dark comes early this time of year.”
*****
Callie and Caleb spent most of the morning and early afternoon up at their grandparents’ cabin tending to stock and splitting firewood. A weasel had apparently killed one of the hens so Caleb set a trap for it while Callie checked the floor and sides of the hen house for any holes or cracks it could have gotten in through. She found a loose board in the corner and nailed it down, then cleaned the hen house out.
While they were working, Caleb asked his big sister a few questions, most of which Callie tried to evade. Finally, in exasperation, he said, “Dammit, Callie, this is me talkin’ to you! I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need to know what it is we’re dealing with here.”
“You’re dealing with a lying, cheating, forked-tongue snake!” she snapped. “You’re dealing with the man who used me and dumped me!”
“And the daddy of your kids,” Caleb added. “You think he’s here to try to take ‘em?”
Callie sat motionless for a few moments. She didn’t want to think anymore about it, but why else would Euan be there? Why else would he have come so far? The world threatened to start spinning as the gravity of the whole situation began weighing down on her again. Not that it had really lifted much since yesterday anyway. Finally she voiced her fears. “I can’t think of why else he’d be here,” she admitted. “Certainly not for me.”
Caleb took a swing with the axe, splitting a piece of red oak cleanly. “Well,” he said as he picked up one of the pieces to split again. “He sure looked like he wanted you. Talked like he did, too.”
Callie snorted and said, “Talking and doing are two different things. Any fool can talk a good game. It’s the doing that counts.”
“What if he’s for real?” Caleb asked. “What if he really does love you?”
Callie cut loose with a string of invectives that made her opinion of that quite plain. Caleb winced as the air turned a bit bluer than usual. He was used to his sister’s temper but this was a bit too harsh.
“Damn, Callie!” he exclaimed. “Do you need to put it like that ?”
“What if Lacie did you the way he did me?” she retorted. “What if she strung you along and then shit, pissed, and stomped all over your heart like it was nothing? How would you feel, huh?”
Caleb looked at Callie. There were tears in her eyes and her face was flushed. Her breath came in staccato bursts as she fought to keep her self-control. He remembered four years back and several times since when he had come upon her crying her eyes out and trying to keep anyone from finding out. He understood his sister as few could - Callie was tough but her heart wasn’t. Whatever she felt she felt to the marrow of her being, and when her heart had broken the pain had gone all the way through and back again. She wasn’t afraid to take on the world but she was terrified of getting hurt
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