Secret Tides by Gary E. Parker

Author:Gary E. Parker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Howard Books
Published: 2004-08-31T04:00:00+00:00

Camellia ate supper that night with Josh and his children. Although her pa had gone with Trenton, Josh had stayed behind to begin repairs on the fields, particularly the damaged dikes and canals that controlled the water flow. After she had prepared the food, Josh came in and helped her carry it to the table—biscuits, a cut of ham, and peas from the garden he kept behind his house. The children talked loudly as they ate, but Josh and Camellia were quiet. When everyone had finished eating, Beth asked Camellia to read to them. She brought out a copy of A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, that her pa had gotten for her from the Tessiers’ library, opened it, and struggled through a few pages. Butler became restless quickly, and after a few more minutes, Beth led him and Lucy out to the yard for some last-minute play before bedtime.

Camellia and Josh remained at the table. He drizzled some honey on one of the biscuits.

“Your reading is coming along fine,” he said. “Wonderful for somebody who’s as new to it as you are.”

“Ruby says I’m almost to the point that she can’t teach me much more.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. You’re about to catch me too.”

“I’ve got a long way to catch you. I want to go further, though,” she said eagerly. “You know, to school and all. I feel like there’s so much more I don’t know.”

“A body can never know it all. My mama used to tell me that.”

“I never knew my mama.” Camellia sighed.

“That is sad for a child,” he agreed. “Especially a daughter.”

“Pa won’t speak much of her. I reckon it hurts him too much.”

When Josh stared intently at his hands, she wondered what he found so interesting on them. “You never knew her, did you?” she asked.

“Nope. She married your pa before the war and was gone before I came to York and The Oak.”

“You and Pa were separated for a long time.”

“He headed out on his own the year he turned seventeen. Lived in and around Charleston, Savannah, made a living working horses for some stable owners, doing some gambling.”

“You got back together about the time the war started.”

“Yes, my mama died in ’46. I didn’t know where else to go. York had taken work at The Oak, asked me to come with him. I came here, then the war started. We both went off to fight it.”

“You were mighty young for that.”

He looked at his shoes, and she saw he felt bad about something. She changed the subject. “What’s Pa told you about my mama?”

“Not a lot. Just that she was a beautiful woman and he loved her. You want to know more, uh … you need to ask him. I know she loved you, though. What mama wouldn’t love a daughter like you?”

Through his hesitation, Camellia sensed Josh Cain knew more, but he wasn’t willing to tell. So she said simply, “I want to know what colors to wear in what season.

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