Free Heart of Gold by Robin Lee Hatcher Page B

reverend wouldn’t see through her flimsy reasoning and know that she’d thought only of herself, not the dressmaker, when she’d agreed to buy the gown. But now she must hurry. She must get to the mercantile and return home before her father finished practicing his sermon.
    She turned and stepped right into the chest of a tall man.
    His fingers closed around her upper arms. “Careful there, miss.” His voice was genteel, his accent blessedly familiar.
    Shannon took a step back and looked up.
    His eyes were blue, his skin bronzed by the sun, his hair the color of straw. He had a mustache that she thought might make him look a few years older than he was. A smile spread slowly across his lips as he tipped his hat. “I trust you are not harmed.”
    “No. Of course not.” She placed her right hand over her collarbone, willing her pulse to slow down.
    The man bowed slightly at the waist. “Joe Burkette at your service.”
    It wasn’t proper etiquette to introduce herself to a man on the street. She should do nothing more than nod, if that, before continuing on her way.
    But he saved her from cutting him, which she truly did not want to do. “Miss Adair, I presume?”
    Truly it must have been a rare thing for a young woman to arrive in Grand Coeur if everyone guessed she was the reverend’s daughter immediately upon meeting her.
    Joe Burkette’s smile broadened. “It’s the red hair, miss.”
    “I beg your pardon.”
    “Just about everybody’s heard about the color of your hair.”
    “Oh.” She felt a blush warming her cheeks.
    “You’re from Virginia, I hear.”
    She nodded.
    “I’m from Greensboro, North Carolina.”
    A wave of homesickness washed over her. She’d formed friendships with several girls from North Carolina when she was in school.
    “Perhaps you would allow me to escort you home, Miss Adair. You really shouldn’t be out alone. Grand Coeur can be a rough place.”
    “No. Thank you. I . . . I’m not going home yet.” She pressed her lips together, horrified that she had said so much. Where were her manners?
    “Then please allow me to walk you to your destination.”
    Surely it was better to agree than to stand there declining his chivalrous offer. She nodded as she pointed in the direction they needed to go. He turned and fell into step beside her.
    “Where in Virginia are you from, Miss Adair?”
    “My father’s family was from Richmond, but after he married my mother, they settled near her parents’ home. Perhaps you know of Brandon and Elizabeth Covington.”
    “I do indeed. My grandfather went to school with Brandon Covington.”
    This news brought a smile to her lips. How could it help but do so? It felt as if she’d met an old family friend, someone she’d known since childhood.
    He continued, “I suppose there is some comfort in knowing my grandfather didn’t live to see so many suffering in this war. With all the bad news that’s coming out of the Confederacy, it’s—”
    She stopped walking. “I’ve heard little news of the war since arriving in this territory, Mr. Burkette. Kindly tell me what you have heard.”
    “It isn’t good, Miss Adair. Grant has pushed Lee’s Army of
    Northern Virginia down past Spotsylvania. The most recent news we’ve had says there’s a big battle taking place in Cold Harbor.”
    “Cold Harbor?” But that was less than twenty miles from Richmond.
    “I’ve upset you, Miss Adair. I’m sorry.”
    “No, Mr. Burkette. I’m glad you told me. I don’t want to forget what’s happening just because we live so far from home.”
    He nodded. “Spoken like a true Southerner, Miss Adair.”

    Matthew sat in the chair beside his sister’s bed, watching as she sipped the last of the soup.
    As if she felt his gaze upon her, Alice looked up. “We must speak about Todd.”
    “What about him?”
    “You’re all the family he has left in the world.”
    “Alice—”
    “Promise me you’ll be there for him, Matt. When my time comes,