Free Ever Bound by Odessa Gillespie Black Page B

strip outside our wagon. I headed to see Sampson, the new colt. I needed something to keep my mind off everything. A day not too long ago, I had promised myself I wouldn’t worry over women or get married. Too much trouble.
    Delilah stood patiently in her stall. She was the mother and her son had been named Sampson. He was white with a brown spot in the center of his forehead. The sharecroppers had finally washed almost all the blood from his coat.
    A few stains still remained, but blood was like that. It didn’t go away easily.
    Sampson’s long legs were curled under him, but he wasn’t sleeping. He made a wobbly start but stood and came to me. He nuzzled my cheek. There’d never been a sweeter animal on the farm.
    With a sugar cube I brought from the cottage, I held out my hand. Petting and praising him only kept my mind off the situation for a few seconds.
    “Boy, if you ever see a foal with a crazy look in her eye heading in your direction, run.” Smiling, I patted his head.
    In the large entry to the barn, I leaned against the wooden slats. The back of the house was quiet and dark.
    Finally, unable to take it anymore, I walked from the barn to the manor, crept around the side, and looked up to Annabeth’s window.
    Light flickered in her room.
    She was still awake.
    Up the back steps and toward the back entrance, there was still no one. The house was dark.
    I left the back door slightly opened so I could make a fast getaway if need be. I crept up the first few steps on the staircase.
    There was no light on in the master suite.
    Being very careful not to make a sound, I made it to the small stairwell that serviced the upper levels. With shadows in every corner, the trip up the stairs was hard to make.
    I’d never been on the third floor hall. I’d only ever seen it from a distance from the elevator when it needed maintenance. After stumbling a few times, I learned the stairwell’s design and quickly made it to Annabeth’s level of the house. Upon looking both ways, I inched into the hallway.
    A light glimmered from under a door on the right about six doors down from the back of the house.
    I crept to the left and looked out the window. The cottage was still dark.
    Taking slow easy steps, I finally stood in front of Annabeth’s room. Soft rustling came from deep inside.
    I knocked.
    “Hold on.” Annabeth’s voice stilled every function in my body.
    She opened the door. Her eyes widened and she jerked me inside the room. After the door was shut, she leaned against it and closed her eyes.
    “You shouldn’t have come. You have no idea what you’ve done,” she whispered.
    “No one ever came to tell me what happened, and I was worried sick.” And I wanted to see you.
    She ushered me to her dressing room, lit the wall lantern, and pulled the door behind her. The array of dresses hanging inside was staggering. Fidgeting, Annabeth paced the floor. “This is not good.”
    If she wrung her hands one more time I thought they’d fall off.
    In a beseeching tone, she said, “What would possess you to come all the way in the house?”
    “I was going crazy. I thought maybe you decided that the prospect of being with me wasn’t worth the trouble or—”
    Her robe swishing around her legs, she turned and rushed to me.
    Annabeth slipped her arms around me and held on for what seemed like dear life. Seconds went by as she held me, and then her voice reverberated in my chest. “You really shouldn’t be here. There’re things about my family I never wanted you to find out. I’m afraid you’ll see me differently after you learn their secrets.”
    “There’s nothing that could change my feelings for you. I have a few secrets myself. That’s another reason I came. I need you to know some things about me.”
    “I’m sure your secrets are petty compared to mine. Daddy’s drinking again tonight.” Annabeth reluctantly pulled back. She was right in front of me, but her eyes looked so far away. Her housecoat slid