Long Trail Home by Vickie McDonough

Author:Vickie McDonough [McDonough, Vickie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8024-7876-4
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Published: 2011-09-24T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Riley glanced at Annie sitting more relaxed on the church bench than she had in the wagon. She hadn’t yet talked to him—not since he’d made that stupid remark about her eyes resembling Bertha’s. He shook his head just thinking about his careless words.

He’d only wanted to compliment her—to tell her how pretty her eyes were—dark like Bertha’s, fringed with long lashes. It didn’t sound all that bad to him, but she sure had taken offense. He leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees and glanced at the children. The oldest three sat on the bench with him and Annie while Miss Laura sat in front of them, in the middle of the younger ones.

A large crowd had already gathered. People squeezed closer together on the benches while others spilled out around the outskirts. Any kind of a gathering always brought out people eager to visit with neighbors, but they seemed especially glad to get together now that the war was over. People could relax once again and go about the business of life. The buzz of conversation filled the air as farmers and ranchers, merchants and businessmen, all speculated on the future and how things would change now that the slaves had gained their freedom.

He suspected cotton growing would probably wind down now that the workforce wasn’t there to harvest it, but how would that affect the economy of Waco? Several men to his left raised their voices in differing opinions until one man’s wife shushed him. His neck and ears turned red, but he settled in his seat and faced the front. Riley grinned but then sobered. The action reminded him of his parents. Everyone thought Calder Morgan was the boss of the family, but most of the time his ma ruled the roost. His heart clenched. He missed his parents. If only he’d had a chance to see them one more time—to tell them how much he loved them.

Ducking his head, he widened his eyes when they started stinging then blinked away the unwanted tears. With his head down, he noticed Annie’s hands folded in her lap. Her nails were not the clean, polished nails of a debutante but rather chipped and even had a bit of dirt under them. He wanted to take hold of her hand—to tell her not to worry about things at the school, but how could he make such a promise? He couldn’t even decide what he wanted to do himself.

And he certainly didn’t want Annie to think he was interested in her. He’d learned his lesson where women were concerned.

Keeping his head down, Riley stared at the dirt and crumpled grass at his feet. A spot in his heart still ached at Miranda’s defection from their betrothal. She had always been a bit of a flirt—a pretty woman who seemed to crave the attention of men, and he’d fallen under her spell. He was dimwitted to think she’d wait for him, especially after he found her in the arms of Nate Watson that time.

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