The Widow of Rose Hill (The Women of Rose Hill Book 2), стр. 45
“Did I hear something about a swing?” he said, a teasing tone in his deep voice.
“Yes!” Samuel jumped up and down, tugging on the colonel’s hand. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
Merriment glittered in Levi’s brown eyes when he looked at Natalie. “Mrs. Ellis, won’t you join us?”
With the others in the room pretending to be busy—of course, she knew they were all listening—she chose her words carefully. “A few minutes on the porch would be nice before I ready Samuel for bed.”
As she went out the door, Samuel tugging the colonel along behind her, she heard sniggers that sounded very much like they came from Carolina. Frowning, Natalie decided she would have to teach the sassy young woman how to spell decorum and learn its meaning.
The three walked around the porch to the front of the house. Samuel ran to the swing and crawled up, his dirty, bare feet sticking out with no hope of reaching the floor.
“Come on, Co’nel. Swing with me.” He grinned as Colonel Maish settled next to him, the rusty chains groaning under his weight. He glanced up as if to make certain the swing wasn’t in danger of collapsing.
From her place near the railing, Natalie watched as he gently pushed them into motion. Samuel giggled then snuggled up to the colonel’s side. Natalie wasn’t the only one surprised by the action. The colonel looked up at her, uncertainty in his eyes before he glanced back down at Samuel. The little boy yawned and snuggled deeper into the colonel’s arm.
“Maybe I should take him on to bed now.” She didn’t want the big military man to feel uncomfortable. Playing with the little boy was a nice gesture, but having a child make himself at home on you was another matter entirely.
“No,” both Samuel and the colonel said.
When they grinned at each other, she knew she’d lost that battle.
“Come swing with us, Mama. There’s room.” Samuel gathered his legs up, inadvertently squishing into the colonel.
She sent him an apologetic look, but he didn’t seem to mind the closeness of the sweaty little boy.
“Please, join us.” The warmth in his voice sent chills racing up her arms.
Once she was settled on the other side of Samuel, the colonel put them into a soothing back and forth motion. With the sun setting the western horizon ablaze with color and the night creatures beginning their unique songs, she couldn’t think of a more perfect end to an extraordinary day.
“Moses and I saw you teaching the women their letters,” he said, his voice gentle. When she turned to him, the tenderness in his eyes nearly took her breath away. “That is a remarkable gift you’re giving them.”
Samuel yawned again. Curling into a ball, he lay his head on the colonel’s lap and closed his eyes. Embarrassed, she reached to remove him, but the colonel stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“He’s fine. Let him sleep.”
She leaned back against the swing, very aware of the warm place where his hand had touched her. They sat in silence for a while before she responded to his comment.
“I see now how selfish it was of us to forbid the slaves to learn to read and write,” she said quietly. “I’m ashamed I never thought of it before.” She looked up and found him watching her, the details of his face shadowed in the waning light. “I’m also ashamed to admit it wasn’t my idea to teach them. Carolina asked to learn to read. When Harriet heard what we were doing, she and Lottie asked to join us.”
“Moses said some of the freed people are fearful the government is going to change their minds and reinstitute slavery.”
Her eyes rounded. “That isn’t possible, is it?”
He shook his head, looking down at a sleeping Samuel. “No. Neither our children nor our children’s children will ever have to fight a war because of slavery.”
While his assurances brought a measure of peace, they conjured an image of a wife and children waiting for him in Pennsylvania.
“I’m sure you must be eager to return home to your family.” If he did indeed have a wife, she was certain Mrs. Maish would not appreciate him sitting on the porch with Natalie. Best to remind him of his responsibilities and have it out in the open.
“I am,” he said, a smile lifting the corner of his mouth. “I miss Ma’s cooking and Pa’s corny jokes.”
Natalie smiled, but his answer did nothing to relieve her anxiety over whether or not a wife waited for him.
“And your children?”
He glanced at her, confusion tugging his brow. “I don’t have children.” He looked down to Samuel. “I always thought I’d be a soldier and wouldn’t have time for a family. But now, after four years of war, I’m done with the military. As soon as I’m finished in Texas, I plan to go back to Pennsylvania and open a carpentry shop.” His eyes met hers. “And hopefully, one day I’ll fall in love with a beautiful woman, and we’ll have a dozen children.”
Relief burst from her lips in the form of a laugh. “A dozen children! My, I hope your future wife doesn’t plan on getting any sleep for two decades.”
His hearty laugh made her laugh all the more. Samuel stirred, and they shushed each other, shoulders still shaking.
“Will you ever remarry?”
The quiet question caught her off guard. “I … I don’t know.” Señor Lopez came to mind. If he and her cousin had their way, the Tejano would come courting soon. But marriage to him? She simply couldn’t imagine it.
“Samuel will need a man in his life, to teach him those things a father teaches a son.”
She knew he was right. Samuel didn’t like Alexander, though, which didn’t bode well for a father-son relationship.
Her eyes drifted from her sleeping son to the handsome face of the colonel, a man Samuel clearly adored. From what she’d seen of