Free Legacies by Janet Dailey Page B

unreasonable."
    "To be honest, Diane, I can't imagine Lije ever agreeing to live in the East."
    "I should have known you would take his side," she accused stiffly.
    "It isn't a case of taking sides," Susannah told her. "It's simply that I know Lije, I know what he's been through, what the family has been through. He's strongly protective of his father, Diane. He always has been, and I expect he always will be." She stood up, needing to emphasize her point. "Diane, he was a little boy when he saw his grandfather killed by a group of men in black masks. He adored his grandfather, but there was nothing he could do to help him. He was too young, too small. He had to simply stand there and watch. He's never forgotten that."
    "It was a terrible experience, I know, but it happened a long time ago," Diane argued.
    "But it still colors his thinking."
    "Then he should understand that my family is important to me, too," Diane countered. "My mother has her faults. I don't deny that—but she is still my mother. I care about her."
    "And you should," Susannah agreed. "But as much as I wish I could say otherwise, I don't think the day will ever come when your mother will approve of Lije—no matter how successful he might become."
    "I don't know why we're discussing any of this," Diane said with impatience, but Susannah noticed Diane didn't disagree with her comment. "Lije has made it clear that he doesn't care anything about my feelings. So why should I care about him?"
    "You don't mean that, Diane."
    "That's where you're wrong, Susannah," Diane stated, her temper flaring. "I do mean it."
    Susannah made another attempt to reason with her, but Diane only grew more adamant. Rather than create a rift in their friendship, Susannah changed the subject.
    Privately, she had hoped she would have something positive to write Lije, something to give him hope. But now that she understood the nature of their quarrel, she saw nothing that would remedy the situation. Unable to offer him any encouragement, Susannah decided not to mention her meeting with Diane at all when she wrote him.
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    Campsite Off the Texas Road
    November 15, 1860
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    Twilight streaked the western sky with swirls of magenta and violet that grayed to purple where the sky spread over the rest of the land. The shadows grew longer and thicker, blackening the ground. A whispering wind carried the chill of approaching winter on its breath as it stirred the few leaves still clinging to the blackjack trees.
    High above, the first evening star winked dimly while below, the glow of a small campfire threw its faint light against the darkness that gathered beyond its circle of stones. Wisps of aromatic steam rose from the large tin mug on the fire's edge and scented the air with the smell of coffee boiling.
    Lije rescued the mug from its bed of hot embers and set it on a flat stone to steep. Automatically, he retreated from the fire, forsaking its feeble warmth to settle back against his saddle, his heavy coat fastened all the way to his neck, his thick leather gloves covering his hands. The air was so cold he could see his breath.
    He tore off a chunk of beef jerky from his saddlebags and slowly chewed it. Silence built around him, broken only by the occasional crackle of the fire or the stomp of his horse. He idly scanned the shadows. This was the time when the ghosts of the night came out, when the rustling wind reminded him of the whisper of silk, when he saw the golden lights of her hair in the campfire's dancing flames, when the heat of the fire caressed his skin like the warmth of her breath.
    With jaws rigid, he reached inside his coat to once again confront his ghost. He pulled out his latest letter from Susannah and shifted closer to let the firelight play over the words penned in Susannah's precise hand.
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    Dearest Elijah,
    It was with great eagerness I read your letter of October 10, advising me of my parents' safe return. It was most