Foxfire Bride by Maggie Osborne Read Free Book Online
Authors: Maggie Osborne
anyone out here cared about that."
"Most don't, but I'm on my way home to Georgia where I plan to join up." Brown's chin jutted forward. "My family don't own any slaves, so that part of it ain't important to me. What's important is the states should have the right to secede. The South shouldn't have to be part of a Union if we don't want to be."
"It's hard to grasp that Nevada is lobbying to become a state and join the Union, while the South is fighting to withdraw." Fox shook her head and watched one of the coals flare into a puff of flame. "I guess I don't have an opinion on this except to say I don't believe people should own people."
Tanner looked straight at Jubal Brown. "I'm for the Union."
Brown nodded slowly, and his mouth pursed, but he didn't comment.
Next they turned toward Hanratty. "Hell, I don't care who wins." He shrugged. "That fight is thousands of miles from here. It don't touch me."
"What's your opinion?" Fox asked Peaches.
"Well now, I have to agree with Mr. Brown," Peaches said after a minute. Fox's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Nobody should be forced to be where they don't want to be."
"How can you favor the Confederacy? They own slaves in the South!"
"Mr. Brown's family doesn't. Eventually slavery will collapse no matter who wins the war. How can the Confederates fight for free will and then deny it to their servants? You have to believe in the basic goodness and decency of all people."
"That's a noble sentiment, Mr. Hernandez, but I think you're wrong." Leaning forward, Tanner refilled his cup from the pot above the coals. "It's not that simple. The Southern economy is built around cheap labor. If slavery is abolished, the economy will likely collapse. I don't see the South willingly bringing themselves to that kind of disaster."
Jubal Brown covered a yawn. "Seems we got two Rebels, one Yankee, one undecided, and one don't-care." He thought a minute. "Doesn't look like much of an issue. You're taking the first watch, right?" he asked Hanratty. "Or is your wound troubling you too much to work? The wound you got when a woman knifed you."
Hanratty's smile didn't reach his eyes. "I think I can manage." Picking up his rifle, he stood and scanned the perimeter of the campsite. "Just for the sake of curiosity, ma'am, how many men have you knifed?"
"Not as many as I've shot. I've got a medical kit if you think your wound needs attention." If Hanratty wanted to pretend his small puncture was significant, she was willing to go along, but not without a broad hint of sarcasm.
Not bothering to reply, Hanratty moved beyond the fire's light and slipped among the trees.
"Reckon I'll be turning in right after I rub some of that horse liniment on my shoulder," Peaches said, rising.
"Do you want me to do it for you?"
"I'm telling you, stop fussing. It's just a touch of rhumitiz." Muttering he headed into the darkness toward the tether line, leaving Fox and Tanner beside the fire.
"Well? What do you think?" Fox asked, putting some distance between them. They were almost shoulder to shoulder and she didn't like the odd way his proximity made her feel. Sort of like she'd eaten something that made her stomach churn. "About the trip so far."
"We've only gone twelve miles, and it took a couple of hours longer than it should have."
"You can't hurry mules. If you try, you're likely to have a train wreck. It's always going to feel as if we didn't cover as much ground as we should have."
"I'm not criticizing, just noticing." When he turned his head, the firelight painted his craggy face in gold and shadow. "All in all, I'd say the first day went well. My guard didn't kill my scout, and my scout didn't kill my guard. We had steak for supper." A shrug and a smile lifted his expression. "Brown was right, you know. What you did was brave and stupid."
"Maybe," she said, gazing at the dying fire. "But Peaches and me, we've been together off and on for twenty years. That old man is the closest thing I've got to
"Most don't, but I'm on my way home to Georgia where I plan to join up." Brown's chin jutted forward. "My family don't own any slaves, so that part of it ain't important to me. What's important is the states should have the right to secede. The South shouldn't have to be part of a Union if we don't want to be."
"It's hard to grasp that Nevada is lobbying to become a state and join the Union, while the South is fighting to withdraw." Fox shook her head and watched one of the coals flare into a puff of flame. "I guess I don't have an opinion on this except to say I don't believe people should own people."
Tanner looked straight at Jubal Brown. "I'm for the Union."
Brown nodded slowly, and his mouth pursed, but he didn't comment.
Next they turned toward Hanratty. "Hell, I don't care who wins." He shrugged. "That fight is thousands of miles from here. It don't touch me."
"What's your opinion?" Fox asked Peaches.
"Well now, I have to agree with Mr. Brown," Peaches said after a minute. Fox's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Nobody should be forced to be where they don't want to be."
"How can you favor the Confederacy? They own slaves in the South!"
"Mr. Brown's family doesn't. Eventually slavery will collapse no matter who wins the war. How can the Confederates fight for free will and then deny it to their servants? You have to believe in the basic goodness and decency of all people."
"That's a noble sentiment, Mr. Hernandez, but I think you're wrong." Leaning forward, Tanner refilled his cup from the pot above the coals. "It's not that simple. The Southern economy is built around cheap labor. If slavery is abolished, the economy will likely collapse. I don't see the South willingly bringing themselves to that kind of disaster."
Jubal Brown covered a yawn. "Seems we got two Rebels, one Yankee, one undecided, and one don't-care." He thought a minute. "Doesn't look like much of an issue. You're taking the first watch, right?" he asked Hanratty. "Or is your wound troubling you too much to work? The wound you got when a woman knifed you."
Hanratty's smile didn't reach his eyes. "I think I can manage." Picking up his rifle, he stood and scanned the perimeter of the campsite. "Just for the sake of curiosity, ma'am, how many men have you knifed?"
"Not as many as I've shot. I've got a medical kit if you think your wound needs attention." If Hanratty wanted to pretend his small puncture was significant, she was willing to go along, but not without a broad hint of sarcasm.
Not bothering to reply, Hanratty moved beyond the fire's light and slipped among the trees.
"Reckon I'll be turning in right after I rub some of that horse liniment on my shoulder," Peaches said, rising.
"Do you want me to do it for you?"
"I'm telling you, stop fussing. It's just a touch of rhumitiz." Muttering he headed into the darkness toward the tether line, leaving Fox and Tanner beside the fire.
"Well? What do you think?" Fox asked, putting some distance between them. They were almost shoulder to shoulder and she didn't like the odd way his proximity made her feel. Sort of like she'd eaten something that made her stomach churn. "About the trip so far."
"We've only gone twelve miles, and it took a couple of hours longer than it should have."
"You can't hurry mules. If you try, you're likely to have a train wreck. It's always going to feel as if we didn't cover as much ground as we should have."
"I'm not criticizing, just noticing." When he turned his head, the firelight painted his craggy face in gold and shadow. "All in all, I'd say the first day went well. My guard didn't kill my scout, and my scout didn't kill my guard. We had steak for supper." A shrug and a smile lifted his expression. "Brown was right, you know. What you did was brave and stupid."
"Maybe," she said, gazing at the dying fire. "But Peaches and me, we've been together off and on for twenty years. That old man is the closest thing I've got to
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