“Tell me when to come.” They chat about the details and hug. Savannah unpins the ad and slips it inside her bag after Henrietta leaves.
Indiana is close to Iowa. Henrietta’s ad says all expenses are paid and who would be a better companion than a nurse? Savannah is smiling as she hurries back to meet her friends. Surely God’s hand is in this.
Chapter 3
Eli kicks off his boots on the front porch of the main farmhouse and removes his well-worn cowboy hat before entering. He smiles a tired smile and wonders what’s for dinner as he opens the door. The first thing he observes is silence. He sniffs and frowns; usually, the scents would strike hard, sometimes even before opening the door.
“Mother?” he calls and hurries to the kitchen. Empty. His Mother is usually helping the cook prepare dinner. The quiet house is unnerving him. Walking past the den to head up the stairs he skids to a stop. His mother is sitting in a quiet room, next to the fireplace, staring at the dancing flames. He walks forward and looks his mother over, from the top of her beautiful white curls down to her hands holding a letter.
“Mother, are you well?”
Red-rimmed brown eyes meet his. She sniffs, holding back a new wave of tears. “This letter came today.” Trembling hands held out a tear-stained letter.
Eli sits down next to her ignoring the fact that he’s dirty from a hard day’s work on the ranch. He reads the letter while his Mother takes his hand, squeezing it gently.
“What could she possibly have to give us?” His Mother asks and before he can answer she jumps to her feet and begins pacing. “I can’t do this, Eli!” Her skirt swishes as she continues her frantic pacing. “Do you think she wants money? Why now? Did Oliver make promises to her?” Her voice is shrill and grows louder with each question.
Eli stands and swiftly moves to reassure her. “Let’s go over this. S. Ward? I thought S. Ward was another soldier. This Savannah Ward was the one who paid for Oliver’s body to be returned to us.” Both of them fall silent as they think about what this means. “Mom, if she hadn’t taken care of him, we wouldn’t even know where Oliver was buried.” He holds his tongue and doesn’t say that Oliver would be buried in a field somewhere in a mass grave. As a former artillery soldier during the Civil War, he’d seen it all.
“A nurse?” She sniffs and wipes her eyes with a tissue. “It’s good to know he wasn’t alone.” Felicia sits heavily in the chair once more and tries to stem the flow of tears. “We owe it to her to say thank you. Because of her generosity, Oliver is home and resting in our family grave with your Father.”
Eli runs a hand through his short, wavy black hair. “I think we should at least see what Oliver left with her and say thank you. I can write to her.”
“No. I’ll do it. You have enough to worry about. What do you know about the nurses?”
“They were volunteers from the churches, widowers or women who followed their husbands. It was a requirement that they are unattractive, for a good reason. The things they would have seen would shock and horrify any normal person, but they stood and helped. In fact, the men usually called them Angels, because the conditions were deplorable.
“When I think of Oliver, dying alone,” she sniffs, “in a muddy field.” She covers her face and struggles to compose herself.
Eli reaches out and takes her hand. “To know that he wasn’t alone, is a gift, Mother.”
“Quite right,” she pats her son, “I’m feeling better, now. Will you pray with me?” she asks.
“Not now, I’m famished,” he stands to go clean up.
“Of course, I’m sorry that dinner isn’t ready. It was such a shock that I sent everyone away.”
Eli throws an arm around her tiny shoulders and squeezes gently. “There’s always hotcakes.”
“I can do that,” she laughs, “but first, go get cleaned up. You stink.”
“You always told Dad he smelled like sunshine.”
“He always smelled like heaven to me, but he still stunk.” Giving him a gentle shove, she hurries to the kitchen, enjoying his laughter.
Eli watches her go, and his smile fades. He doesn’t pray anymore. It only upsets his Mother to hear the words. His hope of a forever love like his parents had, was destroyed. Pain flashes in his dark eyes when he remembers his fiancé, Kristin. Chocolate eyes, dark hair and ruby lips, it has been weeks since he thought of her. Resentment fills his heart. He knows first-hand what the lengths a woman would go to in order to achieve her goals.
“I don’t know what you’re up to Oliver, but our Mother has been through enough. This Savannah Ward better have good intentions, or she’ll be sorry she ever came to Iowa.”
Chapter 4
Savannah stares up at the beautiful house before her. A four-story white brick beauty with black gothic rod iron touches and a massive black iron gate. The Kruger family is one of the richest in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Kruger has grown weak after a bout of sickness a few years before the war. From the news Henrietta shared with her she struggled after her beloved husband of thirty years passed away last year. This trip will allow Mrs. Kruger to visit her family in Indiana.
The door flies open, startling Savannah, and she stiffens her spine and runs a hand down her simple brown dress as a young woman stomps down the steps. Savannah helps open the massive gate and steps back to allow the other woman to pass.
“I hope
