Mountain Homecoming Read Free Page B

alone?”
    â€œI am. I just rode into the Cove from Townsend.”
    Her body stiffened, and her lips curled into a sneer. “Townsend? Are you with the Little River Company?”
    â€œI have been.”
    â€œIt figures.” She spit the words at him as if they were distasteful. “We get a lot of Little River workers checking out the Cove. You people are always searching for another stand of timber to cut down, aren’t you?” She bent down, grabbed her discarded shoes, and slipped them on her feet. Then with her arms rigid at her sides and her fists clenched, she took a step toward him. “Well, you can go back and tell your bosses we don’t sell our land and our trees to outsiders who want to clear cut their way through the Smokies.”
    The defiant look in her eyes shot daggers at him, and they felt as if they poked deep holes in his heart. This girl’s words echoed the fierce pride shared by all the Cove residents for this valley, his valley, the place he called home. He wanted to tell her he agreed with her, that all he wanted was to live again among the people he remembered. Instead, other words emerged from his lips. “I worked for their railroad, not the logging company.”
    She shook her head, and one of the blooms tumbled to the ground. Her eyes widened, and she glanced up as if she’d forgotten she wore a crown of flowers. A flush covered her cheeks, and she yanked the blossoms from her thick hair. “They’re the same to me. Maybe you didn’t cut our trees, but you carried them away.”
    Matthew swallowed hard. There was something so familiar about this girl. Her brown eyes, dark complexion, and the high cheekbones reminded him of someone. It wasn’t possible he could have met her before. She probably hadn’t even been born when he had left the Cove. But still, there was something. He took a step closer, and the dog growled. With a smile he stopped and held up his hands. “I’m not coming closer.”
    â€œGood.” She sniffed and snapped her fingers again. “Let’s go, Scout. It’s time we got home.”
    He didn’t move as she strode past him, her head held high and her dog at her side. He turned and watched her disappear around the side of what had once been his home. Her straight back and determined stride reminded him of the spirited mountain women he’d known. They attacked the harsh life in the Cove and planted the seed of unyielding loyalty to the land in their children. Just like his mother had done with him.
    Someone had instilled that same devotion in this girl. He hoped he’d get to meet the person who had done that, for he had just encountered the fierce mountain pride that had ruled his life. And it thrived in the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

Chapter 2
    W ith each step she took toward home, Rani’s anger grew stronger. Why wouldn’t Little River Lumber stay out of the Cove? The stranger she’d encountered at the old Jackson farm wasn’t the first one who’d been sent to find tracts of timber to buy. Her father had even been approached about the forest on their land, but he’d told them no.
    Now another Little River worker had arrived. She hoped what she’d said had convinced him he was on a futile mission. If truth be told, though, she wasn’t sure what some of the other families in the Cove would say. Life was hard here and money was scarce. An offer from a big logging company could lighten the day-to-day problems of living in this remote valley.
    Rani sighed and shook her head. No use thinking about what other folks would do. She only knew what her parents would do, and she was proud of them for their stand against the stripping of the mountainsides.
    She smiled when the cabin she’d lived in all her life came into view, and her stride increased. The sun had begun to sink toward the west. That meant it wouldn’t be long until supper.