“You’d think so. Once when I was trying to learn as much about you and your life as possible, I read an article on the civil war. Approximately, a million and a quarter US soldiers have died in wars to date. Six hundred twenty thousand of those were killed in the Civil War and six hundred forty-four thousand in all the other conflicts our country engaged in put together.”
“That’s so sad. Do those large numbers include the Native Americans who died protecting their homeland?”
“You know, I don’t know.” His question made her feel funny. “Justice is not always a product of conflict. Civil War ended slavery and the World Wars kept evil men from taking over.” Journey realized what she said made things sound too simple. “Yet, these wars didn’t solve all the problems. The slaves were freed but it was a century later before they received equal rights. Some say they’re not equal yet. And even the lessons of the world wars weren’t enough to prevent more fighting. Remind me to tell you about the Vietnam war and the wars in the Middle East.”
“Sounds like the passage of time has succeeded in advancing technology but failed in the lessons of peace.”
“Exactly.” They looked around a bit more, then went on their way.
“Is the library next?”
She checked her phone before she started out. “Isn’t that a shame? I can’t remember where the public library is located. Ah, it’s just down the street.”
“I thought you liked to read.”
“I do.” Journey eased on down the road a few blocks. “There are still many people who use libraries, but the internet and ebooks have transformed the way we read. They are still necessary for local research, however. Not all of the old documents and letters have been uploaded onto the internet.”
“You need to teach me how to use a computer.”
His interest pleased her. “I will.” He sounded as if he might be accepting the possibility of being a permanent resident of the future.
When they arrived at the library, Reno opened the door for her once more. As they stepped inside, he took a deep breath. “I’ve always loved the smell of books.”
She breathed in, more aware of what she was sensing. “Yea. Leather. Wood polish. Knowledge.”
“I don’t think you can smell knowledge.” He tugged on a lock of her hair. “I forgot to tell you something this morning.”
“What was that?” she whispered as they tread softly across the large rugs on the hard wood floors.
“I really like what you’re wearing. You look nice in that red dress. You’re very beautiful.”
Journey felt warmth envelop her. “Thank you, Reno.” She felt her nipples tingle and swell. As they neared the information desk, she held her purse up in front of her breasts to hide their reaction to his compliment.
“How may I help you?” A harried older lady wearing a pink suit several sizes too big for her peered at them over a pair of gold rim spectacles. Her tag read ‘Miss Stanberry.”
Journey glanced at Reno to see if he wanted her to speak for them. When he nodded, she leaned in a bit. “We’d like to see any historical documents you might have on skirmishes or battles between the local settlers and the Native American tribes who lived in the area. The time frame we’re interested in is between early 1869 and 1873.” She met Reno’s gaze and he smiled his approval.
“Let me think.” She tapped the side of her sizeable nose. “We might have a book or two. Fredericksburg didn’t have a newspaper until 1877 and Austin didn’t have one until 1873. There might be some personal papers, however.” She held up a finger. “Let me go check.”
While Miss Stanberry was gone, Journey turned to Reno. “I should phone Apple. She said she’d look through the Ramsay family papers.”
“If we come up short here, let’s do that.”
Journey nodded, liking how he mentioned them as a team. “How about your brother? Do you want to ask if there’s any record that mentions him?”
He held her gaze, his jaw tensing. “Do you think they’d have anything? I thought I might have to contact the army.” A wistful look came to his eyes. “Unlike me, he might have descendants to ask.”
“We’ll think of something, some way to find out.” She didn’t want him to be sad. “You’re only twenty-six. There’s no reason you won’t have any children. If you don’t go back and get married in the past, you can get married and have children in this time.” As soon as she made the statement, Journey realized how he might take her suggestion. “I didn’t mean…”
“Sorry it took so long.” Miss Stanberry passed them a slip of paper. “Here are the file numbers for some things you might find interesting. Go upstairs to the archive room and give these numbers to Miss Winkler. You can’t take anything out of the room, it’s climate-controlled for protection. You can, however, spend whatever time you need studying the documents. Take notes. We don’t subject those books and papers to a copier. They’re very valuable. One day we’ll have them scanned onto a computer…when our budget increases and we have some decent help.”
“Good. One more thing.” Journey picked up a pen and a small notepad lying on the counter and wrote out the name of Cole Black. “Could you see if this name is mentioned in any Civil War records? He fought for the Union in Major General Gouverneur K. Warren’s Fifth Corp.”
Ms. Stanberry looked put out, but an encouraging smile from Reno made all the difference. “Go on up. I’ll see what I can find and if I do, I’ll bring the number up to Miss Winkler for you.”
“Thank you,” Journey told her, then raised her eyebrows to
