Jessie's Mountain by Kerry Madden-Lunsford

Author:Kerry Madden-Lunsford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2010-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

The following afternoon, the Trailways bus grinds to a halt in front of the Maggie Store. It takes me a few moments to realize we’re actually home. I yawn and sit up to look out the window, and it’s true. We’re back in the Smoky Mountains, surrounding us on all sides, welcoming us home. Buck, Setzer, Dirty Britches.

Daddy holds Appelonia, and Mama stands next to Grandma Horace, who’s got Baby Tom-Bill on her hip. Daddy wipes his eyes, but Mama holds it inside, and for the first time, I see the little girl in her who used to hide her feelings so well. She’s not about to fall apart in public for the folks of Maggie Valley to bear witness. Grandma Horace tries to look stern, but I can see for myself the pure relief etched on her face. Pearl, the iguana, is nestled inside Uncle Buddy’s shirt, and he stands apart, grim and snarly. If Uncle Buddy were an animal, I reckon he’d be a warthog, always grunting for the next fight. He has brought his Ghost Town truck, and Grandma Horace has her Rambler, which means Emmett must be back from Knoxville, but I don’t see him anywhere. Becksie stares at us like we’re strangers, her eyes red-rimmed with tears.

Jitters jumps up and down like a jackrabbit, singing, “We’re home, Laika! We’re home! Wait until you meet everybody!” And I try to feel like she does, but the fact is, I almost feel like a foreigner or something, and I’ve never felt that way before with my own family. It’s as if I left Maggie Valley a little girl and came back home grown up. Even Mama and Daddy look older to me, like the worry of the last few days aged them all at once.

I wave out the bus window, but they just stand there like they can’t hardly believe it’s us. Louise smiles, holding on to the twins’ and Gentle’s hands. The twins wrench free and race toward the Trailways, dragging Gentle with them. Cyrus is dressed up like Poseidon again, and Gentle and Caroline have got their fairy wings back on.

The bus driver calls, “Maggie Valley. Next stop, Waynesville.” He turns to us. “Good luck with your dog, girls. I’m sure the Smoky Mountains folks will appreciate such a fine rescue dog in their midst to find the lost children.”

“Thank you,” Jitters says, “and Merry Christmas!”

“Yes, thank you,” I tell him. “Merry Christmas.”

We get our schoolbags, and I can’t help but reach automatically for my guitar case. Jitters whistles for Laika to come on. My head is still crowded with dreams of Nashville, and in a matter of seconds, I’ll have to pass through the gauntlet of family and accusation and by-God-how-could-you? We get off the bus together, blinking in the sunny winter day. Uncle Hazard howls at Laika, wagging his tail on the flatbed. The twins and Gentle rush into our arms, hugging like they won’t never let go.

Then Cyrus holds up a wooden trident.

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