A Traitor Among Us by Deborah Caldwell-Wright

Author:Deborah Caldwell-Wright [Caldwell-Wright, Deborah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Historical, History, Americas, United States, Civil War, Historical Romance
Amazon: B01C9RB67W
Published: 2016-03-10T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Morning arrived with the smell of rain on the breeze. Since we were going into town, I asked if Absalom would drive us and he happily agreed. He and Vaughn rigged the cover over the wagon in the event of rain and we set off for town. Vaughn appeared very excited to see his cousin. Samantha, on the other hand, was quite unhappy. I couldn’t sort out why she was fussy, as she was clean, dry, and fed. She finally settled down just before we reached town which was about the same time the rain started to fall.

Vaughn helped Azalea get out of the wagon and retrieved her parcels while Absalom helped me with Samantha. Azalea then set off with her bundles and an umbrella and the rest of us went inside the store.

The bell rang above the door as we entered and I saw Delia behind the counter.

“Charlotte, my dear, what a wonderful surprise!” She quickly came out from her position and greeted me with a hearty embrace, kissing Samantha’s cheek in the process. She then took the baby from me and snuggled with her granddaughter.

“We’re here to see John, Mama. Is he here yet?” Vaughn stepped over to his mother and kissed her on the cheek.

“Not yet, darling, but he should arrive soon. Come, have you had breakfast?”

“Yes, thank you. But I could use a cup of tea,” I stated. We followed Delia into the kitchen through the black curtain to find Hiram and Hannah finishing their breakfast. Hiram stood and greeted me in almost the same way his wife had. Hannah got up and flung her arms around me. She’d grown quite a bit since I had first arrived over two years ago. Hannah’s head reached the middle of my chest and she squeezed tight enough to make me feel uncomfortable.

“Hannah, you’re squeezing the life out of me,” I said jokingly.

“I’m sorry, Charlotte, I’m just so glad to see you,” Hannah said apologetically.

“It’s alright, sweetheart. Are you excited to see your cousin John?” Hannah had pulled far enough away from me that I could look at her face.

“Yes, but I haven’t seen him since I was little.”

“You’re still little,” I joked.

“No, I’m not. I’m getting bigger, right, Mama?”

“That you are, Hannah. Getting bigger every day. Now come give your niece a kiss,” Delia instructed her daughter. Hannah obeyed her mother and gently stroked Samantha’s head. What little red hair was there instantly stood up and made Samantha giggle. At nine years old, Hannah was old enough to sit down and hold Samantha, so Delia and I allowed her to do so while the rest of us talked about the impending visitor and Hiram went to tend the store.

We spent a few hours with the Penwells while everyone else went about their business in the rain. It wasn’t until after lunch that Mr. Andrews finally arrived, soaked to the bone and looking like a swamp rat, but in rather jovial spirits. He was similar in height to Sam and had the same color eyes and hair.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.