Love by Dawn (9 page)

“Sorry ma’am but I am new here and I’m not
too sure what the right protocol is.”

Then, deciding she was in need of his
assistance, he quickly poured her a glass of water.

She accepted it weakly and taking a sip, she
handed the glass back with her gratitude. With a sweet pout,
keeping her eyes downcast, Casey pushed a lock of her hair off her
face. She had earlier brushed out her coif until her hair shone
with a bright luster and then tied it back with a ribbon she found
in Sharon’s foot locker. Not looking at the soldier, she picked an
imaginary piece of lint off her bodice knowing he was watching.

“Pleeease, Sir, I’d be mighty appreciative
if yo’all would let little ol’ me see him fo’ just a minute. No one
would know I was hear.” She looked up to see him wiping his brow
with the back of his uniformed sleeve. Casey hated what she had to
do to this poor soldier; he was so young and trusting. She hoped he
wouldn’t get in too much trouble over this, but her brother’s life
was more important then his career.

The private gulped. “I guess no harm could
come for a few minute. If I were in prison I’d surely want to see
my sister." He retrieved a key from his belt, stating he would let
her have a moment or two.

“Oh, thank you, Sir.” She had to stop herself
from jumping out of the chair.

The young soldier led her to Hunter’s cell.
He was the only prisoner that Casey could see in the semi-darkness
and she was glad there would be no one else to cause a problem. The
guard opened the cell door as she tried to focus her eyes. She
still couldn’t see anyone and she began to wonder if her brother
was in the cell at all. “I’ll rap on the outer door when it‘s time
to leave,” the soldier informed her, licking his salty top lip. The
iron door clicked behind her making her jump uneasily. Casey
sighed; she had made it thus far and prayed she would be able to
get her brother out before something unexpected happened.

“Hunter?” she whispered wiping her sweaty
hands against her dress. A low grunt came from the corner.
“Hunter?” she repeated. She heard his low moan and went to the
sound, nudging him gently. “Hunter!” she repeated again in a hushed
voice. Grumbling, he pushed away her hand. “Hunter, please, it’s
me, Casey.”

Hunter had heard the voice echo in the back
of his brain and thought he was dreaming.

“Hunter?” The voice seemed nearby. Then it
became more urgent and penetrated his sub- consciousness. Startled,
he nearly knocked his sister over when he jerked up. “Casey?” He
rubbed his eyes and blinked away his confusion. “Casey is it really
you? I thought you were the jailer. Sorry.”

“Yes… and I have no time to explain.” She
lifted her skirt and pulled out the knife that was tucked in her
boot. “We’re getting out of here.”

“What?!” His eyes widened in alarm at the
suggestion but he had no time to argue the point, a light tap on
the outer door interrupted them.

“Damn!” she uttered and handed him the
knife. He merely gazed at it as if it was a figment of his
imagination, and maybe it was. He could be dreaming, but she poked
him and ordered, “Follow my lead,” she continued to speak above a
whisper. He shook his head to loosen the cobwebs. When the outer
door opened and the young soldier poked his head in, his sister
leaped away from him.

“Sorry miss, but you must leave now,” he said
to her upon opening the gate. Casey put her hand on her forehead
and slightly swooned. “Oh my… please help me, I’m feeling a little
poorly again.”

Hunter saw the soldier’s face show great
concerned. He ran quickly to Casey’s side thinking only of her as a
delicate lady and he caught her before she fell to the floor.
Holding his swooning sister gently, the soldier led her to the cell
door. Upon reaching it, from behind, Hunter placed the knife
against the guard’s Adam’s apple.

“Don’t make a stupid move and you might live
to fill out your army uniform,” he sneered.

Casey quickly twisted and turned from the
soldier’s hold and retrieved his gun. “Sorry,” she said before she
knocked his lights out. Hunter could see she wasn’t happy that she
had to knock out the soldier and the trouble that would cause him.
Shaking her head, she took his hand, telling him that there was no
time for regrets, and that he came first.

“Shush,” Casey placed a finger to her lips
and Hunter nodded still uncertain that he still wasn’t dreaming.
His sister had done some foolish things in her life but this took
the cake; they’d both be in deep horse dung if they were caught.
But now was not the time to tell her that fact. He would have
preferred to have taken his chances and kept her out of trouble but
trouble seemed to follow Casey anyway. Another family trait.

With only one sentry posted at the gate,
Hunter managed to knock him out and lead them out to the safety of
the dark night.

TEN

“What!?” Blake bellowed upon hearing that the
prisoner had escaped and the girl was also gone. His head still
buzzed from drinking himself into a stupor the night before and
regretfully, he discovered that half a bottle of booze didn’t
relieve the ache in his loins.

It was late in the day now and he had only
himself to blame for being drunk so long. He raked his hand angrily
through his thick hair, probably adding more damage to its unkempt
appearance. Hellfire! She made a fool out of them all. Well, she
won’t get away with it.

“Did you send out a search party?” He leaned
back on his heels and closed his painful eyes. A moment later he
opened to see the lieutenant looking up, his brows drawn in
confusion. “Why would I? Didn’t you say I was to release him after
tonight?”

Blake nodded gloomily and felt like an ass.
Yes, it was only temporary but dammit to hell! That girl risked her
foolish neck to help her brother escape for nothing. Well, she
believed she had a purpose, but no matter, that was a mote excuse
now. Oh, his head began pulsating.

What was that saying about a tangled web?
Well, the hell with her and good riddance. Damn that sweet
kiss!

He paced.

Hell no! She wasn’t going
to get away with this!
He pounded a fist
into a palm and winced. It was the principle, he told himself. No
one puts one over on him.
His tangled web
was becoming a knot.

Lieutenant Shepherd stood, shuffling papers
into a satchel and asked, “Remember the wire I received last
night?”

Blake frowned and then nodded feeling as if
his brain was still full of cobwebs.

Shepherd sighed. “Well, I have very good
news; it seems Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox
Court House, in Virginia yesterday. This damn war is over and my
men and I have been ordered back to Georgia. Things are in total
chaos right now, but I’m sure many of the prisoners of war will be
released. Let’s just say he got his freedom a little early and let
it go.” He shrugged. “Most of my men have been celebrating and are
in no better shape than you.”

He grinned, galling Blake even more. With a
few choice words, he sat heavily in a chair. Shepherd might be
right, but he was made a fool of by that little snip of a girl and
it stuck in his craw; he wasn’t about to let it go that easily.
Besides, she owed him something and he was determined to collect.
Right now, he was more concerned with evening the score with Casey
than her brother. Though Blake didn’t believe in slavery, the kid
only made one foolish mistake as far as he was concerned and the
truth of the matter was that there wasn’t any score to settle with
Hunter. It was just the kid’s luck that he had to be caught by
Davis Pits. The man was on a personal vendetta and they were both
tangled up in the mess.

He leaped from the chair, ignoring the
spinning room. “I’m going after her.” He shook the confused
officer’s hand and left like a shot. As he exited the office, he
noticed the sun low in the sky and there was no sense in going
until daybreak. They had a good start, but he knew they couldn’t
get far riding double and he could catch up with them in a day or
so. He was sure they left tracks a blind man could follow on a
rainy night. Blake chuckled to himself; he was the best tracker
around thanks to his Apache friend, Star Gazer.

Later, much later, Blake couldn’t get to
sleep, so he rose and decided that the hair of the dog might be
what he needed to get some decent shut eye. He bought a bottle at
the trading post and walked up the catwalk. Gray clouds drifted by
covering the moon and a sentry sat on the walk, snoozing. He didn’t
disturb the young soldier and sat on the edge of the wall, taking a
swig. It burned his throat.

“Hello,” someone called from behind. He
recognized the interesting voice as Sharon’s, and he turned. She
was a dark beauty and under other circumstances, he would’ve loved
to stay to get to know her better. “Can’t sleep?” she asked the
obvious.

Blake nodded. “Yer might say that.” His
greeting was a husky whisper.

“Might I join you?” A faint light twinkled
in the depths of her dark eyes, as she nodded at the bottle in his
hand. He arched an eyebrow indicating his surprise, making her
laugh gently at his bemused expression.

“You think because I’m a lady I don’t enjoy a
little spirits?” She reached for the bottle and he handed it to
her. She took a swig and coughed. “It get’s mighty boring out here
sometimes,” she offered an explanation as she took another sip. “My
brother tells me that you were quite upset to hear that the young
prisoner and his sister left without saying good-bye.”

Sharon bantered in a relaxed manner and
Blake was casually amused, but he chuckled with a dry and sardonic
sound. “Yep, I don’t like being made to look the fool.” He looked
up at the heavens and exhaled an exasperated breath as if it would
help in the frustrating situation. It didn’t. She placed the bottle
on the ledge and gazed at the sky herself.

“It’s beautiful out here. I have to admit to
that, but I do miss my home. Walter and I are from Florida. Our
parents own an orange plantation and from the wire we last
received, the war didn’t reach my home. I’ll be glad to get back
even thought it gets mightily hot in Barefoot Bay, but the winter
months can be beautiful. Beside I haven’t had a decent glass of
orange juice in along time.”

Blake studied her profile, peering at the
pretty woman intently. Her nose was exquisitely Grecian. He turned
away; she was too tempting and if he didn’t want to spend time in
the brig, to rot, he’d better get rid of his carnal thoughts. He
cleared his throat and asked, “How did your brother and you get
mixed up in the damn war?”

Sharon shrugged. “My older brother joined
and was killed, so Walter joined right after that. It upset my
parents terribly and I had to promise to look after him. When he
made lieutenant and was stationed out here, I came to keep my
promise.”

Blake sighed. “You love you brother very
much.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes, we’re twins as you know, there’s a
special bond between siblings sharing the same womb.”

“Sis! Are you up there?” She peeked over the
side at Walter. “Yes, dear.”

“Come on down, we have an early start in the
morning.”

“All right dear.” She placed a chaste kiss on
Blake’s cheek. “Casey is a lucky woman. You love her.”

It was definitely not a question. He was too
shocked to utter a sound.

Love? Her? Not in a million years!

ELEVEN

Casey believed Blake might come after them
and he wouldn’t be easily fooled. They had come upon a stream where
she and her brother dismounted and walked a few miles in the water
hoping to confuse the cowboy. Wild flowers hugged the banks and she
wished she had time to gather some. She didn’t know how far they
traveled but she and Hunter decided the further west they journeyed
the safer they would be and was certain they were still in
Alabama.

Tired, cold and hungry they made camp after
drifting all night and day. Her brother was lucky enough to kill a
rattler, which they feasted on that night. Casey allowed them both
the luxury of sleeping four hours before she rousted her grumpy
brother from the cold ground. She presented the sour-faced boy with
a handful of wild berries she had found earlier. That afternoon the
sky was a ceiling of clear blue; there wasn’t a cloud attached to
the heavens.

They came upon a small band of Confederate
soldiers sitting on the dusty road. Most of the men were wounded,
the rest looked half starved and bone weary. Hunter was reluctant
to stop and wanted to circle around, but she didn’t feel threatened
by the motley bunch. Anyway, they were southerners, so they didn’t
have anything to fear. But the real reason she continued her course
was she wanted information from them, hoping they could tell her
where they were.

“Excuse me, Sir,” she knelt beside one of
the men who was not wounded. “Can you tell us how far we from the
Alabama’s border?” The soldier in the torn uniform squinted up at
her. He was young; his full beard didn’t hide his youthful eyes. He
licked his dry lips and pointed west. “A few weeks in that
direction should get you to Jackson Mississippi,” he informed
her.

“Thank you, sir. I hope you make it to where
you all are going.”

He sighed and then snorted. “I’m no sir,
miss, just a weary solder and the name’s Keith. I have no fear
about myself, but some of the wounded men may not make it back to
celebrate that is if there’s anything to be joyous about.
Personally, I have nothing to celebrate.”

Casey saw Hunter’s features take on a puzzled
look.

“Celebrate?” Her confusion leaked out in her
voice and the soldier scowled.

“Haven’t you heard,” he spat on the ground,
“the war is over.”

Casey rose to her feet, a bit light headed,
exclaiming incredulously, “The war is over?” Not knowing whether to
laugh or cry, she turned to her brother with a questioning eye and
Hunter shrugged with indifference.