Bluegrass Dawn: Bluegrass Single #2 (Bluegrass Singles) by Kathleen Brooks Read Free Book Online

He had talked to Marcy for his allotted two minutes in March. She had moved into the farmhouse and told him everything was fine. How she could say that, he didn’t know. Marcy didn’t know anything about farming and he tried not to worry about coming home to debt and a ruined family farm.
    If anyone could pick up the reins and run a farm, it was Marcy. She was so smart—it was one of the things he admired most about her. That, and she was blessed with a will of sheer determination. If she didn’t know how to do something, he bet she wouldn’t give up until she’d mastered it. His mother’s fried chicken recipe was proof of that. She’d burnt two pans getting it right. But when she did, it was mouth-watering.
    Jake had gotten a letter from John that week that had been written a month ago. In it, John assured the young soldier that Helen had thoroughly approved of Marcy as a wife and loved her as if she’d been her own daughter. The town, he said, had been helping Marcy when she needed it. Tabby was over there twice a week and apparently Jake had been replaced in his marital bed by a pig named Bertha. He didn’t know what that was about so he made sure to ask Marcy about Bertha in his next letter to her.
    “If we move troops here,” his commander pointed to a map spread out on the table, “and have bombers hit here, then we may be able to take out the train and nearby ground troops.”
    Jake tilted his head and looked at the map. Something was off. It was too easy. “I don’t think so, sir.”
    “What is it, Davies?”
    “It doesn’t seem right. They’ve hidden their transportation so well. Why would they be so out in the open about transporting missiles?”
    “Do you think it’s a trap?”
    “I do. Look.” Jake pointed to the map. “This section of the railroad is surrounded by mountains. Granted, they’re not the Rockies, but they would be more than enough to support an ambush.”
    “And we’d be stuck in a funnel. Good thinking, Davies.”
    “If you don’t mind me saying, we could try something different,” Jake started. His commander gave his approval and Jake studied the map. He looked at the topography, the elevations, and the surrounding terrain for a long time. “Here.” Jake pointed to the map. “And here. We could outflank them. There’s dense jungle for coverage and the elevation would be to our advantage. I say you bomb the mountains that they are most likely hiding in. When they run for cover in the jungle, they have to cross this open area and our troops could intercept them."
    The men in the room studied the map and whispered among themselves. His commander tapped the map and grinned. “We could catch them by surprise and we’d limit ground fighting to protect our men. Good job, Davies.”
     
    *     *     *
     
    Marcy twirled around in the fanciest dress she had ever seen. “How do I look?”
    “Fab!” Betsy laughed as she also twirled around. “What about me?”
    “Amazing!” Marcy laughed. The two of them were decked out to the nines for the Derby. Marcy had sold her first round of alfalfa hay. She decided to use the extra money to increase the cattle herd, she cleared one of the backfields on the property, and she’d also planted the tobacco and soybeans. She saved enough by working the dinner shifts at the Blossom Café to buy her beautiful sky-blue dress. She hoped to wear it when Jake came home.
    “Do you have any spare money to bet on Meggy?” Betsy asked.
    Marcy rolled her eyes. “Why would you call him that? Poor horse, his name is My Megavolt.”
    “Pish, he likes it. The horse gives me a kiss every day when I watch him train.”
    Marcy walked over to where Big Bertha, no longer the cute little piglet she was a couple months ago, sprawled. “Up, Big B.” The pig gave her a sad look as if she couldn’t believe Marcy was actually interrupting her nap on the kitchen rug. Finally Bertha got up and trotted slowly out the open kitchen door.
    “What