The Gettysburg Vampire by Susan Blexrud

Author:Susan Blexrud
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, paranormal
Publisher: Crimson Romance, an imprint of F+W Media, Inc.
Published: 2012-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Inadequate. Frivolous. Abby couldn’t shake the self-doubt. She’d asked Malcolm to tell her about Sarah, and she knew it was good for him to be able to talk about the woman he’d loved and lost, but she hadn’t considered the fallout effect it would have on her own self-image.

She had never been the kind of woman to compare herself to others, but next to Sarah, trait-for-trait, she felt woefully lacking. Her life had been a cakewalk; Sarah’s had been a marathon of hardship. While Malcolm was at war, Sarah had waged her own battles on the farm, maintaining crops and livestock with only two farmhands. In the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, Sarah had tirelessly nursed wounded soldiers in a makeshift hospital.

Abby ticked off the times she’d met with true adversity. There was the summer of 2000, when she and three other Girl Scouts had gotten lost in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She’d kept the group’s spirits up with songs and games. True, she didn’t succumb to the hysterics of the other girls, but that was just her practical nature. Then in college, she’d blown the whistle on a farm in rural Pennsylvania where horses were dying from neglect. The Gettysburg Times had written a story about her. So, she’d done things to earn merit badges and accolades, but had she ever put herself in harm’s way for someone else?

Malcolm deserved someone with true courage.

• • •

“Drink your orange juice, Abby. Mortals need vitamin C to ward off colds, and there’s a definite chill in the air today.” Malcolm pushed the glass of juice across the kitchen table to Abby. He could tell she was brooding by the way her eyebrows knit together. And she looked so vulnerable … and adorable. How had he resisted her for so long? “Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong.”

“Sarah was resilient. I’ve never faced real adversity. It makes me feel … unsuitable for you.” She shifted in her chair.

“You are far from unsuitable.” He wished he could convince her. God, she had no reason to feel insecure.

“But you and Sarah had so much in common.” She frowned.

“Because we were farmers?”

“No. I’m serious. You were in sync.”

“Not entirely. We had our quarrels, but it was a different time, Abby. Women were dependent on men. They rarely bucked the system. Like most of the women during the Civil War, Sarah did what she had to do in the face of adversity. I’m not saying that to diminish her bravery, because she was courageous, but you’ve never met with that kind of conflict. I have no doubt you’d rise to the occasion.”

“You’re giving me too much credit.”

He wished she could believe him. If only there was a way to convince her.

• • •

The following afternoon, Abby sat at her office desk, gnawing on the gooey center of her fourth candy sucker of the day. She typically allowed herself three, but today her musings about Sarah had required additional thought, aided by chewing.

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