Shifted By The Winds (24 page)

It took them almost an hour to get all the men settled into the cabin. Rose wasn’t surprised when women had appeared from the other dwellings with food and water for the travelers. They had all walked the same road. It didn’t matter that it was the middle of the night. Their people had learned to stick together to survive.

“I’m glad we could help them,” Rose said as she and Moses walked back toward the house. Her husband nodded but remained silent. “What’s bothering you?” she finally asked when they had walked halfway home.

“Trevor could be trouble,” Moses said reluctantly.

“You’ve had trouble with him before?”

“Let’s just say there is potential,” he answered carefully. “He never disobeyed any orders during the war, but I’ve always felt he was like a keg of dynamite on the edge of exploding. I don’t think it would take much to set him off.”

“Do you know why?” Rose had been watching Trevor carefully when they were in the quarters. The oil lanterns that had been carried out with the food allowed her to examine his eyes. She had seen what seemed to be equal amounts of anger and pain etched into his very soul. Just looking at him had made her heart ache.

Moses shrugged. “He’s not much for talking, but he revealed some things during the Siege of Petersburg the last year of the war. His years as a slave were bad ones.”

Rose frowned. More than anything he could have actually said, the flat tone in Moses’ voice told her just how bad those years must have been. “He ran away?”

“Yes. They caught him and brought him back twice.”

Rose shuddered as she imagined what his punishment must have been like.

“The second time he ran away, his master killed his youngest child and sold off his wife and other children. He had run away so he could start a better life for them, but they were all gone when he was brought back. Evidently he hasn’t been able to find them.”

“No!” Rose whispered with horror.

“When he ran away the third time, I think they just gave up on sending the slave hunters after him. They knew he would just run again. I don’t think he’s a bad man,” Moses continued, “but when you have that much hate and anger in you, it can make you do bad things.”

Rose wished there were more light so she could see the expression in his eyes. “What are you afraid he will do?”

Moses shrugged. “That’s the thing. I don’t have a basis for being afraid at all. It’s just something I feel…”

“And we’ve both learned to trust our feelings and intuition,” Rose answered quietly. “What are you going to do?” The final decision should be up to him. He knew the men in his old unit.

“I’m going to play it out and see what happens,” Moses replied after a long silence. “All of those men have been through terrible times. They fought for their freedom, and now they’re forced to fight to have any kind of life at all. Any one of them could end up being trouble, but that’s no different from the other harvest workers I hired. The only men I completely trust are the first ones who came with me.” He stared up at the moon falling lower on the horizon. “I’m going to do what I can to help them. That may end up being nothing, but at least they have a safe haven for a while.”

Rose nodded. “They’re all horribly skinny. At least we can feed them.”

Robert took a deep breath of the cool morning air. Summer seemed to have left for good. They may have a bout of Indian summer, but the ushering in of October seemed to have eliminated the searing heat for good. He smiled as he watched the colts and fillies cavorting around the pasture.

The only thing to mar his joy was the constant ache of missing Carrie. He knew just how happy she would be on a morning like this. She would already be on Granite, riding off to take advantage of a beautiful day.  He could envision her black hair flowing down her slim back, a brilliant smile on her face as she waved to him. They would have spent the night snuggling together under covers that were needed for the first time in months. He shook his head to clear it of his lonely thoughts. She had promised to be there for the Harvest Festival. At least he had something to look forward to.

“Sure is a fine morning,” Clint said cheerfully as he led two of the colts from the barn.

“That it is,” Robert agreed, pushing aside his feelings as he turned to face his assistant. “And you’re doing a fine job with those two.”

Clint nodded, a bright smile lighting his face. “They make me look good,” he said easily. “All of these babies have the temperament of their sire. Eclipse is a fine stud.”

“That he is. I thank God every day that you had Abby buy him.” Robert walked around the two colts. “They are both going to be natural athletes,” he murmured, running his hand gently down their shoulders and legs, satisfied with their early training when he noted they watched him with no trace of fear.

He jerked his head up when a sharp whinny broke the still air. “Has All My Heart been hanging over that fence since Amber left?” he asked with a laugh.

Clint nodded. “She came by the stables this morning as soon as it was light, just like she always does. When she left to go to school, that filly watched her until she disappeared into the woods. She hasn’t quit watching that spot since then.”

“That filly is more like a dog than a horse,” Robert muttered.

“I keep telling Amber she’s spoiling her,” Clint proclaimed.

“Not a bit,” Robert said. “They adore each other, and All My Heart does whatever Amber asks. She is already leading and walking perfectly. Winning an animal’s trust is the best way to train them—especially with horses. Far too many of today’s trainers think they have to discipline them into obedience. Amber naturally knows that love is the best way. Just like you do.” Robert’s belief that Clint was a natural horseman had been confirmed many times over since he had arrived on the plantation with his family. Robert had worked closely to ingrain his own training methods into the boy, but he also knew how easily a man’s pride could get in the way of gentle training.

Clint nodded, seeming relieved that Robert agreed with Amber’s methods. He grinned suddenly. “I have something to show you.”

“What is it?”

Instead of answering, Clint tied one of the colts to a hitching post and moved forward with the other one, a sorrel colt named Dandy Delight who promised to be the biggest of the crop of babies. Clint stroked the colt’s neck for a moment, whispering in his ear before moving in front of him. He waited a moment and then held out his right hand. Dandy promptly lifted his right leg and placed his hoof in Clint’s hand. “Good boy!” Clint murmured.

He stepped back a little further. “How old are you, Dandy?” The willing colt flicked his ears forward, lifted his right leg and pawed the ground once. “Good boy!” Clint repeated, pulling a piece of carrot out of his pocket for Dandy to devour.

Robert laughed. “How long did it take for you to teach him that?”

Clint shrugged. “Only a few days. He’s a smart one,” he said proudly.

Robert could see the truth in Clint’s eyes. He had been waiting for a good time to talk to his assistant. Now that Amber was in school, that time had finally come. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about All My Heart and Amber,” he began.

“No need,” Clint replied promptly.

“But…”

“I know the bond you and Amber have,” Clint said quickly. “And I know the time will probably come when you decide to give me a horse, too. I don’t want you to,” he said, planting his feet and squaring his shoulders as he met Robert’s eyes.

Robert blinked and waited for him to continue.

“I want to buy Dandy from you,” Clint continued. “I know you’ll get a good price for him, but I’ve been saving every penny since I started working for you. I knew the day would come when I found the horse I wanted to train to be mine.” He stroked Dandy’s neck as he talked. “Dandy is the one, but I don’t want to buy him yet. I have to know what a fair price is.”

Robert was speechless, remembering the bitter young man who had hated him on sight. “I’m listening,” he finally managed to say.

Clint continued to meet his eyes. “You still don’t have any buyers for the horses do you?”

Robert didn’t look away, but he also didn’t know how to answer the question. How did Clint know?

Clint offered a small smile. “No one told me, but I read horse publications all the time, and I know buyers usually line up for the year’s crop of foals sometime in the summer. No one has shown up, so I figure you’re being shunned because of what you’re doing with all the freed slaves.”

Robert stared at him for a long moment. “When did you get to be so smart?” he muttered.

“Someone is going to be smart enough to understand these are the finest fillies and colts in Virginia,” Clint said confidently.

Robert decided to be honest. “I wish I shared your confidence,” he confessed. Sleep had come slowly the night before. Between missing Carrie and wondering what he was going to do if no one bought any of his stock, he had tossed and turned until late in the night.

“Mama told me not to worry about it,” Clint replied staunchly. “Mama always knows what is going to happen.” He saw the look in Robert’s eyes. “She saved your life, didn’t she? She told me and Daddy you could be trusted, didn’t she? She said you would walk again, didn’t she?”

Robert couldn’t refute the truth of what he was saying.

“So, Mama says somebody is going to come and buy all these horses,” Clint said evenly. “I believe her.”

Robert felt a surge of comfort, but he couldn’t say he had any confidence in Polly’s prediction. Regardless, all he could do was make sure his stock was ready if a buyer did appear. “Back to Dandy…”

“When the buyer comes, I’m going to know what a fair price for Dandy is. Then I’ll make you an offer and buy him.”

Robert calculated in his head the amount of money Clint could have accumulated since he had arrived, and then he thought about the amount Eclipse’s progeny should bring. He was willing to let Dandy go for far below his value, but he knew Clint’s pride wouldn’t allow that. He had to respect the boy who had grown into a young man he was proud of, but he also wanted to figure out a way to make it possible for Clint to own the colt he so obviously loved. There would be plenty more horses in the years ahead that he could sell for top dollar. He searched his mind for how to respond.

Clint read his thoughts. “If I don’t have enough, I’ll only ask you to give me some time to pay what he is worth.”

“Done.” Robert stepped forward to shake his hand. He knew he could stretch the payments out for a very long time.

Clint looked dazed. “Really? I can buy him from you?”

“Absolutely. He’s going to be a fine horse,” Robert said. He walked around him slowly. “If I don’t miss my guess, he’s going to be as big as Eclipse.”

“I think so, too,” Clint said eagerly. “And he’s already faster than any of the rest of them.” His eyes sparkled as he laid a hand on Dandy’s neck. “I’ll take real good care of him.”

“That I’m sure of,” Robert said. “The two of you deserve each other.” A sudden noise caught his attention. He turned to stare down the drive, certain he heard a carriage approaching. He knew they weren’t expecting company that day. “Keep working,” he said quickly. “I’ll go see who is coming.”

Clint started to turn away, but hesitated. “You want me to come with you?”

Robert was the one to hesitate now. Moses had told him early that morning about the unexpected arrival of his men. Could there be vigilantes who were after them? He shook off that thought as soon as it popped in his mind. Vigilantes intent on secrecy were hardly going to drive up in a carriage in the middle of the day. He bit back a sigh, wondering if life would ever return to the way it had been before the war split his country in half and left too many people afraid and paranoid. He shrugged off that thought as well. Given the choice, he wouldn’t go back to a country built on slavery, and he wouldn’t go back to the blind hatred that had ruled him. Everyone would simply have to navigate through the country they had now.

Clint made the decision for him. “I’m coming,” he said quickly as he tied Dandy to a post and stepped up beside Robert.

Robert felt better with Clint by his side as they strode toward the house to meet whomever was coming. The reality was that they all lived in a country full of hatred and turmoil. At the very least, they had to choose to be wise.

Annie joined them on the porch as they waited for the carriage. “You know who it be?”