The Sound of Falling Leaves by Lisa Carter

Author:Lisa Carter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Published: 2020-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Nothing had changed at the Kittrell cabin since the last time Tessa had climbed the mountain and wended her way to the homestead.

Smoke curled in the bright blue sky over the clearing. A late autumn rose trailed over the porch railing, diffusing a spicy aroma. A robin sang from under a bush.

Ouida sat in the porch rocker, her gnarled hands on the armrests. The treads beat a rollicking to-and-fro cadence. Her dark eyes were fixed on the trees from where Tessa emerged.

As if she’d been waiting for Tessa to show, expecting her any moment. Knowing Tessa was coming.

Tessa squared her shoulders and crossed the remaining distance. “Why didn’t you tell me Leota came back from Nashville pregnant?” She removed the songs from her tote bag. “These are lullabies.”

Ouida looked at her. “They are indeed.”

“Can’t we just skip the mystery and get to what else you actually know about Leota’s disappearance?”

Back and forth. Back and forth. The steady rhythm of the rocker never varied. “Are you ready to sing for me this afternoon?”

“If you’re worried that I’m in cahoots with the Cozarts, I promise you nothing could be further from the truth.” She adjusted the tote strap on her shoulder. “There are forces in motion that will not allow them to escape justice forever.”

Ouida gripped the armrests. “Civil justice or mountain justice, one way or the other, child, we will all face a heavenly one.”

“I talked this morning with Tom Connelly. I don’t know if Leota ever mentioned him to you.”

The old woman commenced her rocking again. “Leota trusted him. Shame she wasn’t as discerning about others here.”

“Connelly told me Leota left Nashville to tell the father of her child about the baby.” Tessa leveled a hard stare at Ouida. “I’m guessing you were the next one to set eyes on her.”

“When she arrived, she was, as the Good Book says, great with child. Didn’t have to be a midwife to calculate she was breeding afore she left in October.”

Tessa winced. The old-fashioned term always reminded her of farm animals. “I looked at her high school yearbook. Merritt Cozart was a classmate. Do you think he was the baby’s father?”

Ouida Kittrell’s mouth downturned. “I always wondered if it was Merritt. Him being a Cozart, maybe the reason she refused to tell me.”

“What happened the last time you saw her?”

“First thing she done when she got to the cabin was scamper over to someplace near Cane Creek where they’d left notes for each other over the previous summer break.”

“Did Leota write to him from Nashville?”

“She did, and never got no response.” Ouida’s eyes narrowed. “That ought to have told her something. That he didn’t want no part of her nor the child.”

Tessa leaned against the railing. “I’m sure that’s not what she wanted to hear.”

“We argued.” Ouida sighed. “I regret that. But if I didn’t try to make her see sense, who would? She was determined to talk to him. And she was convinced someone was trying to keep them apart.”

“Over the next few days, did she work on her songs?”

“Until she got word to come meet him.

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