Impending Love and War
Page 26
Tyler looked at Adelaide. “This was your plan. How did you do it?”
“We paid the conductor to put Tess and the men in a livestock car,” she explained. “Then Jake and his friends opened the door on the other side, overpowered the men, and rescued Tess.”
“Two old men against me and my friends,” Jake bragged. “They never stood a chance.”
“One lesson we learned from Wellington,” Adelaide said. “Don’t attack head on. Sneak in the back door for a quiet rescue.”
“But we beat you here to the boat,” Tyler said. “What took you so long?”
Cory wondered if he would be angry with her. “I sent a telegram.” She stepped toward Tyler. “I wanted to warn Reggie.”
“Warn her about what?”
“You were right about Edward. He didn’t like Reggie helping Tess, and he won’t be happy when he finds out Tess escaped.”
“You think he’d hurt her?”
“I didn’t want to take any chances,” she confessed. “The telegram said Tess free. Edward angry. Be careful. I signed your name.”
“I forgot all about her.” He stroked a stray curl back from her face. “I didn’t think I could love you more, and you give me a whole new reason to marvel at how lucky I am to have met you.”
He loved her.
Paddy tossed the towline to Ethan, who secured it to the Irish Rose. Noah, Tess, and Adam had already gone below and out of sight. Tyler tossed his bag to Ethan.
Cory grabbed his coat sleeve. “Are you going, too?”
“I want to guarantee they reach Canada safely. I couldn’t sleep otherwise. But I’ll be back.” He grinned. “I have a job working with Sam.”
He had said he loved her. How could he be so cavalier? Tears sprang to her eyes. “Is that the only reason you’re coming back?”
Tyler embraced her. She resisted, but he wouldn’t release her. “Don’t look so worried, my love. I’ll see you on Sunday.”
“Why Sunday?”
He chuckled as he tightened his arms around her. “It’s called courting, Miss Beecher. I dress in my finest clothes and bring you flowers and sweets and try to make a good impression.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t think you believed in all that tea-sipping nonsense.”
He rested his forehead against hers, their eyes locked. His mouth was so close she could taste his words. “Depends on whether all that nonsense is worth the reward.”
“Is it?”
“You tell me.” His lips brushed against hers, sending a wave of pleasure through her body. He kissed her, and Cory made sure he had no doubt about the answer.
Epilogue
Cory tossed the quilt off her warm body and slid out of bed. Where was her husband? She poked at the fire. It had burned down to embers. She added a log and stirred up the flames. She looked around Adelaide’s former bedroom. Tyler had bought Glen Knolls, most of the furnishings, and livestock.
Adelaide had taken the bedroom furniture, her rocking chair, and her personal items when she had moved in with her daughter in August.
Cory and her sisters helped Tyler clean the house, polish the woodwork, and stock the pantry. Tyler had taken her shopping for new bedroom furniture the day after he proposed.
He was impatient to marry, but they had set an October wedding date to give the local school board time to find a new teacher to replace Cory. The board had hired a graduate from the normal school in Cleveland. Cory missed the children but was too busy to miss teaching.
Tyler traveled to Akron at least three times a week to work with Sam in their law office, and he helped Cory with the chores on the farm the remainder of the time. They made love often, each experience adding to their desire to pleasure each other.
So, where was her lover? She looked out the window. Lulu had given birth to a calf yesterday. Tyler had helped deliver Bessie. Frost partially blocked her view of the barn, but she saw no light. He wasn’t in the barn.
Cory donned a lacy dressing gown. She left the matching nightgown on top of a cedar chest at the end of the four-poster bed. She had been naked, waiting in bed for her husband. She glanced at the mantel clock. An hour had passed since he had promised to join her.
She hurried down the stairs, wishing she had remembered slippers. The crisp fall air penetrated the cracks in the house. She locked the front door.
On the sideboard was today’s newspaper. The voters had elected Abraham Lincoln as President. Douglas would be upset, but Beth would calm her husband. She knew how to gently persuade him to change his mind.
Beside the paper were several letters. One was from Noah. Tyler had helped them reach Ontario safely after leaving her at the Mustill Store. Noah and Tess had settled with other former slaves in a small town, and Noah had opened a blacksmith shop. Tess enjoyed running her own home, and Adam had taken his first steps.
Another letter was from the Yoders. Reggie had received Cory’s warning, and she had stored a traveling bag with her belongings with them, ready to flee if Edward turned violent. But fate had provided an alternative. The state representative from their district had died, and the Southern Democratic Party needed to appoint a replacement.
When Edward arrived home, he was greeted by two state representatives with an offer to fill the vacant seat. Regina encouraged him to campaign. No word yet on whether he had won, but politics had erased any threat to punish Reggie for her role in Tess’ escape.
Cory heard the scratching of a quill and stood in the doorway to Tyler’s office. She silently watched her husband work. In order to spend more time with her at Glen Knolls, he brought home endless legal paperwork. His head was bent over a long document as he wrote in small cursive strokes.
Cory glided into the room outside the glow of the lamp illuminating his work space. She admired the law books on the shelves and examined the neat stack of papers on a side table. He was nearly done with his work. She ran her hand along the smooth surface of the large desk she had bought as a wedding gift with her dowry money and sat on the edge. Her robe fell away to expose a bare leg.
The scratching of the pen stopped. “What time is it?”
“An hour since you promised to join me in bed.”
He leaned back in the leather chair and raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was so late.”
“You work hard.” She sat on his lap and put her arms around his neck, nestling close to steal a bit of his body warmth. “You need to relax.”
He peeked beneath the lace robe. “Where’s your nightie?”
“Upstairs.” He had discarded his coat and tie. Cory stroked the intricate embroidery on his vest and unbuttoned it. “Nice vest.”
“A beautiful woman made it for me.” He leaned forward so she could remove it. “She’s skilled with her hands.”
She tugged his shirt from his trousers. “That’s how I recognized Reggie’s skill.”
“What other talents do you want to show me, my love?”
She kissed his neck and worked her way to his lips. “I’m good at games. What would you like to play?”
Tyler stood and grabbed the lamp. “Hold on.”
Cory clutched his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her out of his office. “I was comfortable on your lap.”
He hurried down the hall. “You said you’re in a playful mood, and I’ve had a fantasy since the night we met.” He turned into the parlor.
She pointed toward the staircase. “The bed is upstairs.”
“We first met on the parlor rug.”
“I don’t want to lie on the hard floor.”
“I’ll be on the floor.” He gazed into her eyes. “As much as I enjoy your position, you need to unwrap yourself.”
Cory unhooked her legs and stood. “Now what?”
Tyler placed the lantern on the floor. “I want to recreate that night.”
“Should I put on my blue and green plaid dress?”
He stretched out on the braided rug an
d tugged on the hem of her robe. “Your attire is perfect for my purposes.”
She straddled his body. “Do I get to shoot you?”
He pulled her down on top of him. “No, but you can play with my gun.”
A word about the author...
Laura Freeman has been a reporter for the past nine years and covers the historic town of Hudson, Ohio. She has won the Press Club of Cleveland’s Ohio Excellence in Journalism award in 2013 and 2014 and the Ohio Newspaper Association awards in 2011, 2013, and 2014.
Her novel, Impending Love and War, takes place in the fictional town of Darrow Falls but is based on the historical traits of the small towns in Northeast Ohio, where she lives. She is working on her next book, Impending Love and Death.
Visit her on:
Facebook.com/laurafreeman.5648
and Twitter:
@LauraFreeman_RP
or her blog:
Authorfreeman.wordpress.com
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