by Karen Cogan
She frowned with uncertainty as she remembered Andrew’s fight. Would her children find acceptance? Surely hard feelings would dissolve before they grew old enough to be shut out of society.
She didn’t realize she’d been frowning until James touched her arm. She looked up to see him studying her.
“Is something wrong?”
“I was wondering how long the hard feelings against the Yankees would last. How long will it be before we can all live in peace?”
James sighed. “From the stories I heard on the way home, it’s going to be a long time. They’ve moved in, pushing their ways on us, and buying up what they’ve got no right to own. I’d as soon live near a bunch of skunks. It makes my blood boil. You know, Caroline, we’re lucky to be able to hang onto our home instead of having it bought up for taxes.”
Caroline grimaced at his words, wondering how he’d feel if he knew a Yankee had helped him keep his home. Would his pride or his gratitude win out? Unsure of the answer, she kept her mouth shut.
She called to Andrew, her heart heavy as they turned away from the neatly growing crops. She should have been perfectly content on this peaceful summer evening to know that her brothers were safe and her home intact. Yet the secret she was keeping weighed heavy on her mind.
“Lord, help me know how to tell James about Nate. Smooth the way for me somehow,” she silently prayed.
The crimson sunset cast a rosy glow across the porch, bathing Gran in its gentle light. She rose from the sturdy rocker in which she’d been doing the mending. “There’s cold buttermilk sitting on the table.”
James grinned at Andrew. Years fell away from his face as he challenged, “Race you for it.”
Andrew dashed off as James limped along behind.
Caroline found them tussling on the porch. “I’m too tired for milk. I’m going up to bed.”
Gran appraised her closely. “You feel alright?”
“I’m fine. I just need some time alone.” She closed the door to her room and picked up the little dove Nate had carved. It felt cool in her hands as she rubbed its smooth surface. It reminded her of his love and concern for her spiritual well-being.
With a sigh she set it back on her dressing table. She longed for the peace the dove symbolized. Yet her mind felt far from peaceful. Part of her heart longed to give over to God and pray, “Thy will be done.” Yet, another part of her firmly resisted. What if God asked her to give up her home and move west with Nate?
A tear slid down her cheek. She couldn’t do that. Not even for God. She undressed quickly and slipped between sheets that were still warm from the day’s heat. Only the faintest breeze stirred the lacy curtains that parted to reveal a sky that had turned from crimson to ebony. For the first time in many nights, she had skipped her nightly Bible reading. Instead, she lay with arms crossed atop her chest. Rebellion welled in her heart. God couldn’t tell her what she didn’t want to hear if she didn’t listen.
And she didn’t intend to listen.
It seemed she had just drifted to sleep when she heard loud voices below her in the yard. She rushed to the window, her heart hammering in her chest. Three horses, carrying men with lit torches, stamped below the window. The torches illuminated the white sheets the men wore over their heads and shoulders. Caroline shuddered at the grotesque effect.
The man in the middle spotted her and called up, “You come down right now and nobody gets hurt.”
She recognized his voice and her heart leapt to her throat. What could Jed mean by coming here under cover of the night with torches and demands? As she hesitated, he waved the torch dangerously close to the rails of the veranda. “The Yankees learned these old homes burn quickly.”
“Wait. I’m coming down.” She grabbed the dress she’d cast aside when she climbed into bed and pulled it over her head. Every instinct told her to hurry and persuade Jed to abandon whatever he planned to do. Even so, proper breeding would never allow her to rush down in her nightclothes. She only prayed he would wait until she got there instead of torching their veranda.
Of the occupied bedrooms, only hers faced the front of the house. Since no one else had stirred, she supposed they’d slept through the initial commotion. She groped her way down the dark stairs and flung open the front door. She took a deep breath, summoning her courage as she faced the three men.
“I don’t know who your two friends are, but you needn’t cover your face, Jed Mason. I know it’s you.”
“How perceptive you are, my dear. A woman should know her future husband’s voice.”
Her knees felt so weak she nearly stumbled. “I haven’t agreed to marry you.”
The sheet nodded. “Quite true. Whether you marry me as a respectable woman would or live in sin is your own choice. Either way you’re coming with me tonight. If you come peaceably, I’ll let your house stand. Put up a fuss and you’ll see it burn to the ground.”
“My family’s in there!”
“That would be a shame to have them die in the fire. Yet, I suppose it would be your own fault, now wouldn’t it?”
Her body shook with rage and fear. “Why are you doing this?”
“I’m not going to sit idle while you scandalize yourself with some Yankee soldier. And if you think anyone from town will come to your rescue, you’re wrong. You’re disgracing all of us. Not a single soul would blame me for stopping you.”
She found it unnerving to stare into holes that revealed dark shadows where his eyes should be. “What I do with my life has nothing to do with this town or with you. You don’t own me, and you have no say in what I do.”
“You’re wrong there. I had great respect for your Pa and I’m not going to let you disgrace your family name. But since you continue to argue, you leave me no choice.”
He leaned toward the pillar that supported the roof. Her blood froze in her veins.
“No!”
She heard quick steps behind her. Andrew appeared, hoisting the rifle he’d pulled from the mantle.
“Leave my sister alone or I’ll shoot.”
She gasped, as she watched him steady the heavy gun, torn between the relief of rescue and the fear of Jed’s response. Jed made a move to get off his horse.
“Now Andrew, you give me that gun or something bad’s going to happen. You don’t want to see your house burn down, do you?”
The gun wavered. “No.”
You just let your sister come with us, and we’ll leave you in peace.”
The rifle steadied. “No.”
Jed held the torch close to the veranda. “You won’t shoot me, Andrew.”
“Yes, I will.”
The sheeted head turned to face Caroline. “You can stop all this before someone gets hurt.”
She saw Jed’s hand move surreptitiously toward a gun strapped on his hip. She stepped in front of Andrew. Whatever happened she must not let any harm come to Andrew.
James’s voice came from behind them. “What’s going on? Who are you?”
“It’s Jed,” she whispered. The confusion on his face tore at Caroline’s heart. Perhaps, if she had told him how Jed had changed, he would not look pale from shock.
He stepped forward. “Jed? What do you mean by this, threatening to burn the house of a brother Confederate?”
Jed stepped back. “James, nobody told me you were back from the war.”
James scowled. “I just got back. I heard what you said. Is this how you repay our years of friendship? Take off that stupid sheet and face me like a man.”
Jed threw off his head covering, while his companions remained covered like muted ghosts. A nervous twitch tugged at his cheek. “I was only trying to make your sister see reason. Of course, I’d never burn you out. Tell Andrew to put down that gun.”
“Give me the rifle, Andrew.” James reached for the gun.
Andrew stepped away, clutching it stubbornly. “He’ll shoot us in the back.”
Jed’s eyes spit fire. “You think I’d shoot a Confederate in the bac
k? You better watch what you say, boy.”
“Hand me the gun,” James repeated. This time Andrew complied.
James lowered the gun while pinning Jed with a penetrating stare. “I want to know what this is about.”
“You better ask your sister. I asked her to marry me. But she thinks a Yankee soldier is better than one of her own kind. That’s why I came here tonight. I wanted to stop her before it was too late.”
James’s frown rested on Caroline.
Her heart pounded. This was not the way she’d planned to raise the subject with James.
“A Yankee soldier?” James repeated the phrase as though turning it over in his mind.
Jed’s face flushed with agitation. “She allowed him to court her, scandalized the whole town. Now that you’re back I can rest, knowing you’ll have the sense to put a stop to it.”
James stared at Caroline. “Is this true?”
She looked away, unwilling to discuss anything about Nate in front of Jed. She bit her lip, determined to ignore the eyes that rested upon her.
James turned back to Jed. “If you brought something to my attention that I need to know, I thank you. But don’t ever come on my land again with either threats or torches.”
Jed shook his head. “I never would have come tonight if I’d known you were back. You make Caroline see sense, and we can still be brothers like we’ve always been.”
With that, Jed wheeled his horse. Flanked by the others, he rode away. Caroline watched them go, feeling stunned and frozen now that the danger had passed. She clutched the solid carved post, her knees too shaky to support her. What would have happened if James had not been home?
He ruffled Andrew’s hair. “You were brave out here, defending our place. Now you best get upstairs and get some sleep.”
Andrew hesitated, his shadow small against the white veranda. “Do you think he’ll come back for you, Caroline?”
She heard the worry in his voice and answered, “I don’t think so.”
“I don’t want you to have to go with him, ever.”
She bit her lip, touched by her young brother’s sensitivity to her feelings.
“Don’t worry, Andrew. Jed can’t hold me against my will.” She shivered, knowing that was precisely what he had meant to do.
“Now, off to bed,” James repeated as he gently grasped Caroline’s wrist. “Caroline and I have some things to discuss. “
Fragile Dreams
Fragile Dreams
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Two days later, Caroline sat in the parlor with her brothers and Nate, stunned by Andrew’s latest confession. She couldn’t believe what he was saying. Hoping to bring him back to his senses she said, “Andrew, stop it right now. I know how angry you are with Jed. But Nate is right. You can’t make such accusations without proof.”
“I saw it. I was in the woods. He shot Nate first, then the others. He thought they were dead. He started to leave. Then he saw me. I thought he was going to kill me, too, but he made me promise not to tell, instead.” James grasped Andrew roughly by the shoulder.
“Stop it. It wasn’t Jed. He wouldn’t do such a thing. You must have seen someone else.” Caroline’s mind replayed the day Nate was shot. Andrew had been in the woods. He had come home late and refused to tell her why he seemed upset. Suddenly it all made sense. She grasped James’s arm.
“Andrew was in the woods that day. If he says he saw it, then he did. Jed’s changed since you’ve been gone. I can believe he would do it.”
Pale yet resolute, Andrew turned to Nate, determined to rid himself of the entire weight he carried.
“You must hate me for not telling, but Jed told me if I did, he’d tell the Yankees I killed those men. They’d come here and...” He squeezed his eyes shut. “They’d hurt Caroline and do terrible things before they killed us and burned the house.”
Nate knelt beside the boy. “I don’t hate you, Andrew. What a heavy burden you’ve carried. I wouldn’t have let the Yankee soldiers burn your house.”
Andrew nodded. “I found that out when that Yankee came here and tried to kill us. I almost told, but I was afraid of Jed. I knew he’d kill me if I did.”
James leaned forward. “There was another Yankee in the house?”
Caroline nodded. “He was a deserter. He would have killed us all if Nate hadn’t been here.” She shivered at the memory.
James studied Nate. “It seems I owe you gratitude for more than just planting our cotton.”
Nate fixed James with a level look. “I’m very fond of Caroline, Gran, and Andrew. I wouldn’t have let them be harmed.”
“I see that now.” James looked away, his clouded expression giving evidence of the battle waging in his mind.
Nate turned to squint at Andrew. “I remember seeing a boy just before I passed out. I’d forgotten. Now that you’ve admitted being there, I remember you.”
Andrew hung his head. “I didn’t mean to leave you injured. I thought everyone was dead.”
Nate grimaced. “Fortunately, so did Jed. Would you be willing to testify before a military court to what you saw?”
Andrew flinched, yet asked, “Would it keep Jed from shooting anyone else?”
Nate nodded. “I could arrest him today.”
Andrew set his jaw. “I’ll do it.”
Caroline blinked back tears at the manly courage in her little brother’s face. She was not the only one whose character had been strengthened by meeting Nate. He had the effect of forcing those he knew to exercise the best within them.
She glanced at James. As he met her eyes, she pitied his struggle to dislike Nate. She had experienced the same struggle. And lost.
Nate turned to James. “Will you allow him to testify?”
James spread his hands, misery written on his face. “Jed and I were old friends. Yet, after what Andrew has said, I have no choice.”
Nate nodded, his mouth set in a grim line. “All these weeks I’ve longed to face the coward who ambushed us. Now, I find I’ve stood face to face with him and let him walk away.”
He jammed his hat onto his head as he turned to leave. “This time he won’t walk away.”
Caroline clutched his arm. Her heart raced at his questioning gaze. She swallowed over the lump of fear in her throat. “Please be careful. Remember he has a gun.”
He managed a smile. His strong fingers closed over her hand. “God saved me from Jed’s bullet for a reason. I don’t suppose He’ll let anything happen to me now.”
Caroline watched him ride off, wondering how the town would react to the arrest of a sheriff. Would they be as shocked as James? Betrayal in a friend was not easy to accept. Pity filled her heart at the pain on her brother’s face.
He pushed up from his chair. “I’m going for a walk.”
She let him go, sensing he needed to be alone. How disappointed he must be. He had needed to believe in the dependability of southern honor.
****
Nate rode hard to get back to town. Hair prickling on the back of his neck, he handed over his horse to a soldier to cool and curry. He prayed that Jed’s bullet would not find him before he told the captain what he had learned.
He closed the heavy oak door of the jail behind him and felt safe at last. Cool and dim after his ride beneath the unrelenting sun, it felt like a sanctuary. Only a few months ago, Jed served as the law enforcement here. He sat at the desk in this very room. Now, he had become a mockery to the justice he had enforced.
The captain greeted him. Nate took a chair and drew a deep breath before relaying what Andrew had told him. The captain’s face drained of color.
“Take two men and arrest Mr. Mason. I’ll set a hearing date, and you can fetch the little boy in to testify.” Nate nodded.
Dismissed, he gathered two soldiers and headed for the saloon where Jed frequently squandered his family inheritance. The streets bustled with activity. Carpetbaggers arrived daily, crowding the streets and sidewalks. Already, a new hotel had sprung
up to accommodate the newcomers. Their money funded the hammers that were erecting a new saloon and a new dry goods store.
Nate wove among the crowd. If he were fortunate, he would find Jed before Jed found him. The crowd in the saloon looked up as the three men entered. The barkeeper stiffened. The hot anger in his eyes looked as though it could melt ice in the glasses.
Nate scanned the room. He saw Jed with a group of men at a back table. Restraining his anger, he let his training steer him to caution. He placed his hand on his pistol. His men drew weapons. Together they moved to the back of the saloon.