Spinning the Moon by Karen White

Author:Karen White
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-08-18T10:06:55+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Love knows not distance; it hath no continent;

its eyes are for the stars.

—SIR GILBERT PARKER

Less than a week later, the soldiers were gone—creeping ever southward toward the prize of Atlanta. The end was near. General McPherson was true to his word and left a guard and plenty of food to get us through the next several months. He also mentioned that William had disappeared, probably deserting the army. I hoped that he had fled west and that I would never see him again.

I was out by the well, drawing water, when I heard the unmistakable sound of wagon wheels. I had grown accustomed to this sound as refugees continued to move out from Atlanta and seek shelter from the invading army in the Georgia countryside. But this wagon was approaching the house, coming to a halt on the front drive.

Dropping the bucket, I walked quickly to the side of the house to see who my visitors might be and wondering why I hadn’t heard the guard.

Turning the corner, I spotted the guard sitting on the front porch steps, busily munching on hardtack and oblivious to the wagon that had pulled up in front of the house.

I opened my mouth to speak when I heard my name. I stopped in disbelief as Julia and Zeke appeared from the other side of the wagon.

“Zeke! Julia!” I ran to them, my arms outstretched.

Sarah bounded out the front door, her small legs almost flying as she threw herself into Julia’s arms. “Mama!” she shouted. Their heads bent together, and they cried and laughed at the same time. I turned to Zeke, unable to watch the reunion between mother and daughter.

He embraced me, and it felt good to have somebody’s arms around me again. I wept on his shoulder as he stroked my hair.

“You are leaving us.”

I nodded, wiping my eyes with my sleeve.

Julia stilled, her arm around Sarah. “Please, Laura. Stay with us.”

I shook my head. “I can’t, Julia. I’m going to have a baby.”

Julia gave a shriek of delight and threw her arms around me, catching me off guard. “Zeke told me you had married Stuart. I am so delighted for you. Now there is even one more reason for you to stay.”

Tears, which always seemed near the surface every time I thought of Stuart and of leaving this place, spilled down my face. “I have to go back. I can’t survive childbirth here. Besides, Stuart doesn’t think the baby’s his.” My voice hitched on my last words.

Zeke and Julia both wore stunned expressions. “It’s a long story—but of course it’s his. Suffice it to say that William contributed to the seed of doubt in Stuart’s mind.”

Julia grabbed my arm. “You’ve seen William.”

I looked into her warm brown eyes and knew she could handle the truth. “Yes, Julia, I have. And Pamela, too.” I saw the panic in her face just as I realized that we were missing someone. “Where is Willie?”

“I left him with the Holcombs. I didn’t want to bring him until I knew it was safe.

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