Blues Along the River Read online

  “Yes. I feel God’s presence in my life all the time, and He guides me in everything I attempt. I pray over every decision I make, whether it concerns my family or the tenant farmers who live on our land. You’re a shy young man, Marcus, but God can make you bold and give you strength to face whatever comes your way.”

  “My father never had time for God, and I suppose I haven’t, either.”

  Dante’s eyes clouded. “I spoke to your father many times about accepting Christ, but he refused. I don’t want that for you. All you have to do is believe, ask Him to come into your heart, and turn your life over to Him. When I was a boy, my father taught me a Bible verse that has stayed with me: ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ I hope you’ll think about that verse and come to believe in the power that Jesus has to make your life right.”

  Marcus pondered what Dante had said before he pushed to his feet and held out his hand. “Thank you, Dante, for talking with me today. I’ll think about everything you’ve said.”

  “Good.” Dante stood and grasped his hand. “Don’t be a stranger around here. Come again. And I wish you well with Miss Turner. Let me know how things turn out.”

  Marcus shrugged. “I will, but there probably won’t be anything to tell. She may not even want me to call on her.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short. You have a lot of good qualities that you try to keep hidden from people. I happen to be able to see them.”

  Marcus’s heart pumped at the kind words. He wished his father would have said something like that to him. “Thank you, Dante. Again, I’m sorry for interrupting your Sunday afternoon at home with family.”

  “Nonsense. We’re glad you came.”

  A few minutes later, Marcus mounted his horse and nudged him onto the road that led away from Cottonwood. He glanced over his shoulder at Dante and Savannah’s home. The house was beautiful, but no more so than the big house at Pembrook. There was one difference that he’d noticed from the moment Savannah Rinaldi appeared in the doorway.

  Cottonwood’s big house was a home. Dante, Savannah, and their children loved each other. For the first time in his life, he realized what a home should be.

  Pembrook had never had what he’d experienced during his short visit at Cottonwood. The only way his house would ever be a home was if love lived inside it.

  He closed his eyes and envisioned walking to the front door of Pembrook and having it opened by Victoria. His blood raced through his veins at the thought. He opened his eyes, and the feeling subsided.

  What was he thinking? There was no way a woman like Victoria Turner would ever be interested in him. No matter how much he longed to have a woman look at him the way Savannah had looked at Dante, he knew it wouldn’t happen. His father had told him that often enough. He was destined to end up like his father—a lonely old man living in a big house with no one who loved him.

  Four

  Victoria sat on the sofa in the small parlor of the quarters above her uncle’s store. She glanced around and wondered how he’d been able to live in such cramped quarters all these years. He’d built the store five years before the war broke out and had brought his bride there to live with him until he made enough money to build a larger house. When she died two years later, he couldn’t bring himself to move anywhere else. So he’d stayed on, connected to his work every hour of the day.

  A stairway in the back room of the store made the upper level accessible when he was working. For after-hours visitors, a steep staircase on the back of the building led to a small landing and another entrance into the area.

  When her mother first told her they would be living above the store, she had imagined the living area to be small, but she’d had no idea how little space there would be. The one good thing about their accommodations, however, was the fact that the kitchen was quite large. Her mother had been right at home in it from the moment they arrived, and the meals they’d shared around the big oak table in the middle of the room had been pleasant.

  The small bedroom where she and her mother slept was quite a different story. A bed, a dresser, and an armoire they shared for storing their clothing crowded the floor space and left little room for them to navigate around each other. To make matters worse, the warm weather for the past few days had made the room quite stuffy, but the cool breeze that blew from the river through the open window had been refreshing at times.

  There was no doubt about it. Victoria had no desire to spend the rest of her life living over Uncle Samuel’s store.

  Sighing, she directed her attention back to the book in her lap. With Uncle Samuel living alone, he’d spent much of his time reading, and his assortment of books had kept her entertained for the past few days.

  This Sunday afternoon, though, she couldn’t concentrate on the story she’d been reading. Her thoughts kept returning to Marcus Raines and how glad she was to see him at church. With everyone speaking to her after the sermon, she’d been delayed in leaving the building. She’d worried that he might already have left. When she saw him talking with Savannah’s husband, she’d breathed a sigh of relief.

  She couldn’t understand why he hurried away so quickly. Most young men she knew in Mobile would have stayed longer and talked, but he seemed eager to be gone. He said he would come to the dinner after church next week, and she hoped he would. With another sigh, she picked her book up again and stared at the page where she’d stopped reading.

  A knock at the outside door startled her, and she glanced up at her uncle and mother who sat in chairs facing her. Frowning, Uncle Samuel pushed to his feet. “Who could that be? I don’t get many visitors on a Sunday afternoon.”

  Her uncle walked from the room and into the small hallway that led to the door. She listened as the door opened. “Marcus,” Uncle Samuel said, “come in.”

  Startled at her uncle’s greeting, Victoria sat up straight and tensed.

  “I don’t want to interrupt if you’re busy.” She could barely hear Marcus’s words.

  “Do you need something from the store?” her uncle asked.

  “No, sir. I’d like to speak with you and Mrs. Turner if I may.”

  Victoria’s heart pounded in her chest. She glanced at her mother, who directed a questioning stare at Victoria. Uncle Samuel walked into the room with Marcus right behind him. Marcus came to an abrupt stop when he saw her sitting there. She smiled, and he moved into the room.

  He turned to her mother. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Turner. I hope I haven’t inconvenienced you by coming unannounced.”

  She shook her head. “Not at all, Mr. Raines. I heard you tell my brother you wanted to talk with us.” She pointed to the chair where Uncle Samuel had sat a few minutes before. “Please have a seat.”

  “Thank you.”

  Her mother turned back to her. “Victoria, perhaps you should leave us alone.”

  Marcus had started to sit in the chair, but he bolted upright. “No, please. I’d like for Victoria to stay.”

  Her mother glanced at Uncle Samuel. “Very well.”

  Uncle Samuel took a seat on the sofa next to Victoria. “Is something wrong, Marcus? I’m afraid I don’t understand why you need to speak with us.”

  Marcus’s blue eyes flickered over Victoria’s face, and in their depths she could sense his fear. His whole demeanor suggested he might rush from the room at any moment. The muscle in his jaw twitched, and perspiration rolled down his face. He swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.

  “Mr. Perkins, Mrs. Turner,” he began, “I’m not very good at making speeches. I don’t know any way to say what I’ve come for than to tell you right out. I want to ask your permission to call on Victoria.” His face turned crimson, and he gazed at her. “That is, if Victoria is agreeable to the idea.”

  Victoria’s breath caught in her throat. Her eyes grew wide, and she stared at Marcus. Her uncle cleared his throat and glanced at her mother, then at he
r. “I appreciate the fact that you’ve included me in this request, but I feel like my sister and Victoria are the ones who should make the decision.” He swiveled in his seat to face her. “How do you feel about what Marcus asked, Victoria?”

  “It makes me very happy. I would be honored to have Marcus call on me.” She stared at her mother. “Is it all right with you?”

  Her mother clasped her hands in her lap and glanced at Uncle Samuel, who gave a slight shrug. “My brother tells me you’re a very hardworking young man, Mr. Raines. You own one of the largest plantations in the area, but you seem to have few friends. Is this true?”

  Marcus nodded. “I’ve lived all of my life at Pembrook, but I can assure you I’m trustworthy. And I will treat your daughter with respect.”

  Uncle Samuel gave an almost imperceptible nod, and her mother sank back against the cushion of the chair. “Very well, then. We give our permission for you to call on Victoria.”

  The smile he directed at Victoria sent ripples of pleasure floating through her body. The handsome owner of Pembrook wanted to call on her. From what she understood from Tave and Savannah, he had never shown any interest in anyone before, and now he promised her mother he would respect her.

  Marcus rose from his chair and smiled at her mother. “Thank you, Mrs. Turner. I’ll look forward to visiting with all of you one night this week. Tuesday, if that’s all right.”

  “That will be fine. Victoria,” her mother said, “it appears Marcus is leaving. Why don’t you walk him to the door?”

  His gaze followed her as she rose and brushed past him. “I’ll show you out, Marcus.”

  She led the way to the door, opened it, and stepped back. “Thank you for coming, Marcus. You’ve made me very happy today.”

  “Have I? You may be disappointed when you get to know me better.” His forehead wrinkled, and the sadness she’d seen in his eyes before returned. “I’m not like the young men you probably knew in Mobile.”

  She laughed. “Thank goodness for that. I’m glad you’re who you are.”

  “I’ll try not to disappoint you, Victoria.” He stepped onto the landing at the top of the staircase and turned back to her. “Good day.”

  “Good day, Marcus. I’ll expect to see you Tuesday night.”

  He nodded, turned, and headed down the stairs.

  Victoria watched until he’d disappeared around the corner of the store before she closed the door. She stood in the hallway with her hand on the knob and thought about what had just happened.

  In her wildest dreams she never would have thought a wealthy planter and owner of one of the largest plantations in the area would be interested in her. Yet he was. Marcus Raines might be shy, but he liked her. And the truth of the matter was that she liked him, too.

  ❧

  On Tuesday night, Marcus stared at Victoria from his seat in the same chair where he’d sat on Sunday afternoon. It felt like a repeat of their previous visit, with everyone seated as if they’d been assigned specific places. Perspiration trickled down the small of his back, and he ran his finger around the inside of his shirt collar. He hadn’t thought the evening that warm until he’d entered the parlor and stared into Victoria’s dark eyes.

  Once again he tried to determine what it was about her that fascinated him. She was beautiful, to be sure, but there was something more. Perhaps it was the lilting quality of her voice that made his heart quicken, or it could be the elegance and grace with which she moved. Whether or not he ever discovered the mystery of her hold on him, he knew he would never feel about anyone else the way he did about her. From the first moment she’d directed her sultry stare at him, he knew he was powerless to fight his attraction.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her mother reach toward the table beside her where a tray with a tea service rested. She glanced at his empty cup. “More tea?”

  He shook his head and handed her the cup and saucer he’d drained within seconds of its being offered. “No thank you. That was delicious.”

  Her mother collected the other cups and stood. “I’ll take the tray into the kitchen if everyone is finished.”

  Marcus jumped to his feet. “Allow me to carry it for you.”

  She shook her head. “There’s no need for that. Samuel can help me.”

  Mr. Perkins stood up, his eyes wide. “Of course.”

  As they disappeared out the door, Marcus glanced at Victoria and swallowed the panic that roiled in his stomach. “I–it’s good to see you again, Miss Turner.”

  She frowned and picked up a fan that lay beside her in the chair. She snapped the ribbing of the fan open in front of her face and peered over its semicircular top. Her dark eyes bored into his. “I thought we’d agreed to call each other by our first names.”

  His throat constricted. “W–we d–did. I’m sorry, Victoria.”

  She lowered the fan and smiled. “That’s better, Marcus. She inclined her head in the direction of the kitchen. “You know they went to the kitchen so that we could visit without them in the room.”

  He darted a glance toward the door and back to her. “I didn’t think about them leaving us alone.”

  Victoria tilted her head to one side and smiled. “You are so serious and so formal. How am I ever going to get you to relax and just talk with me?”

  He exhaled. “I haven’t had much practice talking with a woman.”

  “Are you scared of women, Marcus?”

  “I’ve never given it much thought. I don’t know that many women.”

  She studied him for a moment. “Then maybe you’re afraid of me.”

  His gaze drifted over her face, and in that moment he knew she wasn’t the one who scared him. He shook his head. “It’s not you. It’s myself that I fear the most.”

  Her eyes grew wide. “But why?”

  “I grew up at Pembrook with my father. The only women around were the wives of the tenant farmers, and I didn’t know any of them well. So sitting here talking with you is a new experience for me. I want to do everything I can to impress you and make you like me, but I’m afraid I’ll fail.”

  “And what makes you think that?”

  He scooted to the edge of his chair and clasped his hands between his knees. “Even though I’ve lived at Pembrook all my life, I feel like an outsider in the community. Dante Rinaldi is the only man who’s ever talked to me—besides the preacher, that is. Every time I see him, he invites me to church. I think he was shocked I came last Sunday.”

  “I’m glad you came, too. But it doesn’t matter what other people think about you. I make up my mind about my friends based on how I feel. I like you, Marcus.”

  “You do now, but if you change your mind, I’ll understand. You see, we’ve had very different lives. You’ve lost your father, but you have a wonderful mother. I can tell how much love there is between the two of you by the way you look at each other. I never knew my mother. My father met and married her when he visited Boston and brought her back to Pembrook. She hated life in Alabama almost as much as she disliked being a mother. She deserted us right before the war and returned to her family. I never heard from her again.”

  A small frown pulled at her eyebrows. “I’m so sorry. That must have been very hard for you.”

  “It was. My father saw that I had the best tutors, but they were paid to be nice to me. They really didn’t care about me. No one has ever asked me to be their friend until you did. The truth is, I don’t know much about friendships or how to talk with people. Especially with a beautiful young woman.”

  Her mouth curled into a smile. “Do you think I’m beautiful, Marcus?”

  He couldn’t tear his gaze away from her lips. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. You’re young and full of life, not at all like me. I’ve inherited a plantation that I’m trying to run like my father did, and I spend all my time thinking about cotton and corn crops. You must have had interesting friends in Mobile.”

  “I did have a lot of friends. Two of them
, Margaret and Clara, were more like sisters. Not only did we attend church together, but we also lived on the same street. I didn’t want to leave them.”

  Marcus hesitated before he asked the question that had been on his mind for days. “Was there also a special gentleman friend you didn’t want to leave?”

  A smile pulled at her lips. “No, Marcus. There was no man in my life.”

  Her words made his heart beat faster. “I hope living in Willow Bend won’t be too much of a disappointment for you. I’m sure you’ll make all kinds of friends soon.”

  “All the way up the river I tried to think of some way I could get back to Mobile. Then I saw something that excited me.”

  “What was it?”

  “Pembrook. It took my breath away when I spied that beautiful house on the bluff. I wondered about the people who lived there. Then we arrived in Willow Bend, and you were on the dock. It was almost like you were waiting for me to arrive. I knew right away we were going to be great friends.”

  Her long lashes fell over the dark eyes that stirred his heart, and he leaned back in his chair. She was right. Without knowing it, he had been waiting for her to arrive and had been for years. Now that he had found her, he wasn’t going to give her up.

  Five

  On Sunday when the final Amen was said, Marcus waited at the back pew in hopes of speaking with Victoria as she left the church. Tom Jackson nodded as he and his wife passed by. “Good to see you today, Marcus.”

  “Thank you,” he mumbled and directed his attention back to Victoria walking up the aisle toward him.

  She smiled at him as she approached and stopped beside him. “I’m glad you’re here, Marcus.”

  Several women clustered together in a pew near the front of the sanctuary. They held their fans in front of their mouths as they talked, but they didn’t take their eyes off him. He felt sure he was the topic of conversation with many of the churchgoers today.

  “My presence seems to have stirred quite a bit of interest today.”