Free The Last Full Measure by Ann Rinaldi Page B

fresh coffee, and went outside.
    "David."
    "Yes, Tacy?"
    "Can we keep the dog?"
    He finished washing, splashed water over his face, and reached for the towel. "I suppose so, if it's all right with Mama. Not much of a dog, though."
    "I think she's right nice. And I'll take care of her. Can we give her a chance?"
    "Everybody deserves a chance." He reached for the clean shirt, put it on, and started buttoning. "I'm about starved. Left Josie at her mama's for a while. Got anything to eat?"
    "Sure. Got fresh coffee brewing, too. The Confederates drank all the other."
    "Confederates?" He stopped in his tracks to stare at me. "They were
here?
And you didn't tell me?"
    "Well, I
meant
to, David. First thing. But then with the dog and all, well, other things just got in the way."
    "Yeah, I guess other things got in the way," he said.
    "But I'll tell you all about it, soon's we get inside," I promised.
    "Yeah," he said, eyeing me steadily, "soon's we get inside."
    Thank heaven, Marvelous had his breakfast all ready for him, eggs and ham and reheated biscuits, coffee, and a few other things she had managed to resurrect and make like new again. The sight and smell of it becalmed and soothed him while I told the story of what had happened.
    He said not a word, just ate and listened. He chewed and drank and looked up every so often, and when he was finished, he contemplated a bit. He was scowling.
    "Come here," he said solemnly.
    I got up from my chair and went to stand beside him, not knowing what to expect.
    "You did good," he said. He reached up, put a hand on the back of my neck, pulled me down, and kissed my forehead.
    "Were you afraid?" he asked me when I sat back down.
    I wanted to say no. I wanted to lie. But he would know if I was lying—he always did. "Yes," I allowed.
    He picked up the coffeepot and poured himself another cup. "Good. It's good to be afraid sometimes. Did they make any unseemly advances to you? Or Marvelous? Because if they did, I'm either going to have to report them to the provost marshal's office or kill them."
    "No."
    He sipped coffee. "What aren't you telling me, then?"
    "I've told you everything, David."
    He looked at Marvelous. "No sense in asking you, is there, sweetie? You wouldn't tell tales out of school if I threatened to hang you up by your thumbs, would you?"
    Marvelous lowered her eyes. "Nosir. 'Ceptin, I don't know what it is, if it's anythin'."
    He bit his lower lip. "Come on, Tacy. Or I'm going to think you're protecting them for something."
    He was right. So I sighed and told him. "I liked Lieutenant Marshall," I said.
    He closed his eyes for a second. "What do you mean, you
liked
him?"
    "Well, because he let Marvelous stay. Because of that, of course. But not only because of that."
    "Because of
what
, then? The color of his eyes?"
    "If you go on like this I'm going to cry."
    "If you don't go on, I'm going to give you a reason to cry."
    "I think you're a crude toad! An ungrateful beast!"
    He leaned back in his chair and looked at Marvelous. "We always end up like this," he told her, mildly. "We can't discuss anything but it turns into a fight."
    Marvelous won't say anything
, I told myself.
She knows better
. But I was wrong.
    "Tacy loves you, Mr. David," she told him. And right there I wished the Rebels had taken her.
    Well, that turned David around, all right. That shut his mouth for half a second at least. Now he sighed and looked at me. "All right," he said. "Let's start again. Likely I am a crude toad and an ungrateful beast. Most women seem to think so, anyway."
    "Josie doesn't." I don't know what made me say that just then. I never will know what made me say that. Certainly I had the brains to know that in the mood he was in, it wasn't the right time.
    "
What?
" He sat up straight in his chair.
    I pushed mine back a little from the table, too. "I shouldn't have said that."
    "Well, you said it, so explain it."
    I shrugged, like it made no never mind. "I just said that Josie doesn't