Moon Over the Mountain by Carol Dean Jones

Author:Carol Dean Jones
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: C&T Publishing

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The gray weathered clapboard house was run down and in dire need of repair, but Sarah could see that it had been someone’s treasured home at some time in the past. The front porch was sagging, and the step leading up to it was askew, but there was latticework enclosing the space below the porch and a built-in planter on the exposed side of the covered porch. Two additions had obviously been added, a small one facing the front of the house and a two-story one on the back, probably bedrooms.

“Someone loved this house,” Sarah said softly, not realizing she had spoken her thoughts aloud.

“The grandparents. Clara’s parents,” Mary Beth clarified. “Richard and Clara moved into her parent’s house when they got married. Richard built on the addition for the parents and after they died, Clara and Richard’s children filled up that part of the house.”

“You said you visited here when you were young,” Sarah said, hoping Mary Beth would share some of her memories.

“Our grandfather was good friends with Clara’s parents and he used to bring Coby and me over here to play when we were kids. Clara was much older than we were, but she still played with us. That was before she married Richard, of course.”

“And later your father became good friends with Richard?”

“Yes,” Mary Beth replied. “Our families have been close for years.”

Sarah spotted a well with an old-fashioned pump near the side door. A slanting gutter had been jerry-rigged at the roofline to carry rainwater to a barrel near the well. Realizing Sarah was looking up at it, Mary Beth explained, “Our grandfather built that. It’s an awful looking thing, but it works.” She smiled as she remembered running through the cornfield with Coby that day while the men worked on the contraption. “Clara’s mama really fussed when she saw it,” Mary Beth said with a chuckle.

Sarah noticed a utility pole with low slung wires running into the house and was glad to see the children had electricity.

“It’s time for you two to hop out,” Coby announced. “I’ve got to get back to the lodge. I’ll be back for you in an hour. …”

“Oh?” Sarah responded, looking disappointed. “I was hoping to spend some time with the children. …”

“He’s just coming to pick me up then,” Mary Beth explained. “I need to get back to work, but if things are going well with you and the kids, you can stay longer. Coby can pick you up after his next trip to Knoxville.”

“That sounds good, assuming the children want me to stay. I was hoping to do some cooking,” she said as she reached into the back seat for the box of groceries she had asked Coby to pick up for her.

“I’ll carry that,” Mary Beth offered, taking the box from Sarah. As she was getting out of the car, Sarah handed Coby a slip of paper with her cell phone number and said, “Call me when you have an idea when you want to pick me up.

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