Dovey Coe Read Online Free PDF Page B

the way he did when he was littler, but on that day he’d take my hand from time to time and give it a little squeeze, which was a great comfort to me.
    Mama was sitting at the kitchen table when we come off the mountain, writing in her little book. Mama liked to keep notes on things, such as what Pastor Bean preached about on Sunday or the first day of spring that the flowers showed theirblooms. Daddy said she was a historian, and years from now her grandbabies and great-grandbabies would be able to know how things were in the old days without having to go to the library to study on it.
    The kitchen was bright with sunshine, yellow rays streaming through the curtains and settling over everything, giving the room a clean, soft feeling. Amos went off to his room to tie some fishing flies for an afternoon out back by the pond, and I sat down across from Mama, hoping she might have some advice for me on how to get back in Daddy’s favor.
    Mama closed her book and set down her pencil. “You’uns get them traps set?” she asked, her eyes holding a more serious concern.
    â€œYes’m,” I answered, rolling a grain of salt across the table with my finger. “I reckon we’ll get us one or two rabbits at least. We might get some money for their furs to help with Caroline’s schooling. That is, if she still aims to go on to teachers college.”
    â€œThat weighs on your mind real heavy, don’t it?” Mama asked.
    I nodded. “Yes’m, and I’ve gone and gotten myself in a mess with Daddy over it. I don’t think he’s like to forgive me for what I said tohim yesterday about Parnell giving us money were he and Caroline to get married.”
    Mama reached across the table and put her hand atop of mine. “Give your daddy some time, honey. I suspect he knows you just hadn’t thought the matter through, is all. You know, your daddy ain’t tickled by this proposal, either. He wants Caroline to go to school.”
    â€œThen why’s he letting Parnell come up here all the time?” I asked, tugging hard at a thread coming loose from my sleeve.
    â€œWell, I’ll tell you, honey, partly it’s because we’ve tried to raise you children so that when you came of age you could make your own decisions in a clearheaded fashion, whether we agreed with your decisions or not. But I suspect your daddy has other reasons for letting Parnell court Caroline.”
    â€œWhat other reasons?” I asked.
    Mama smiled. “When your daddy started courting me, my mama and daddy weren’t too happy about it. A lot of folks thought your Granddaddy Caleb was an odd sort, always coming up with wild notions. Caleb Coe was famous for standing up in church one Sunday and saying we should all be outside admiring God’s handiwork instead of cooped up in a musty old building and singingtired old hymns.” Mama laughed at the memory of it, then stood up and walked over to the window and looked out across the yard.
    â€œYour daddy was tame compared to Caleb, but he was still a free thinker. All them Coe boys were, and Mama and Daddy didn’t want me to have a thing to do with any of them. It took John Coe two years to convince my daddy to let him come to the house to call on me. I reckon your daddy remembers that well enough to feel the least bit of sympathy for Parnell.”
    I leaned back in my chair. “What about you, Mama? What’s your thinking on the matter?”
    Mama turned to face me. “Honey, what I think ain’t important. Caroline’s got to make up her own mind about things. I’ve got my opinions on the situation, of course, but I tend to keep my thinking to myself.”
    â€œUnlike some people you know?”
    â€œThat’s right, honey,” Mama said, laughing. “And some people I know need to be real sweet to their daddy for the next couple days if they want to get back into his good graces.”
    It took a