After the Ashes(68)

“She twisted my arm,” Christopher said flatly, closing the subject.

“So how’d he save your life, Jay?” asked Corey.

Lorelei suspected Corey asked to annoy Braddock more than out of any curiosity.

Alice raised her gaze to Corey. “My pa was crossing a field to get to a farmhouse where some farmers were hiding.”

“They weren’t farmers, Ali! Let me tell it,” exploded little Chris.

Beth brushed back her youngest son’s blond hair. “Your sister was talking, sweetheart.”

Alice’s cheeks rivaled the apple red background of the calico tablecloth. She stared down at her plate, looking like she wanted to crawl under it.

Corey encouraged her with a coaxing smile. “Then what happened, Alice?”

She blushed even harder but grinned from ear to ear when he said her name. “They weren’t farmers, they were—

“Bounty jumpers!” Little Chris practically leaped out of his seat.

Alice shook her head, but her giddy grin remained.

“Chris’s heard this story a thousand times. He can tell it better than I can. He’s always wanting to hear stories about his namesake.” She nervously darted her gaze to Braddock, as if the mere mention of him might get her into trouble.

Christopher managed a tight grin for the shy girl, but Lorelei could tell the effort pained him.

“Maybe little Chris should hear the story from big Chris.” Corey slung an arm over the back of his chair and smirked triumphantly.

Christopher met her brother’s challenge with a look that promised it wasn’t too late for him to follow through with some of his earlier threats.

“I’ll tell the story,” said Jay from the other end of the long table. He leaned forward, capturing everyone’s attention. “It was just a few of us, not the whole regiment. We were looking for some bounty jumpers.” He turned to Lorelei. “Those are men that sign on for an enlistment bonus. It was up to three hundred dollars in ’sixty-four. That kind of money makes some men greedy, and we had quite a few who signed up, then deserted first chance they got. The fellas we were looking for had taken off two days before, right at the start of the Cold Harbor mess. Stole some ammunition to boot. Cap’n Braddock was spitting mad.” Jay chuckled.

Braddock hooded his eyes and played with a spoon, flipping it face up, then facedown.

Jay’s humor faded. He looked directly at Lorelei. “One of those fellas was Rowen Mulcahy.”

Lorelei’s gaze whipped to Corey, her mouth already open in accusation.

“I didn’t know,” he said.

Jay’s smile held more sympathy for Corey than Lorelei thought her brother deserved. “Don’t feel bad, Corey. He fooled us, too.”

“He didn’t fool me,” mumbled Braddock to the tablecloth.

Jay snorted. “Well, he sure fooled me. I was the one who was supposed to be keeping an eye on the new recruits.”

“It was my responsibility. It was my regiment.” Braddock glanced up.

Jay shrugged, then dismissed Christopher as if they had had this argument before. “Back to the real story. We were sneaking up on the farmhouse around early evening. After three days of fighting, it was the first chance we had to go after deserters. Usually we just let them go, but not this time. Braddock was too damned riled.”

Beth’s brow wrinkled. “Jay.”

Jay nodded at his wife’s reprimand. “I’ll try to keep it clean. Anyway, we were all spread out, walking through this field that looked like it had just been turned for planting. At the time I remember thinking, this farmer’s seeds are going to be trampled by all the troops. That was the last thing I thought before I was flying through the air.”

Lorelei gasped. “What happened?”

“They buried shells. Step on one and you’re done. I think Jay must have set one off by kicking a clod of dirt. I never expected it.” Christopher’s voice was so flat and unemotional, he gave himself away. His pain was unbearable. Lorelei hugged Rachel to keep from grabbing his hand.

“How could you have known they meant to kill us? Bounty jumpers usually just ran.” Jay took a swig of his coffee. “Thought I was dead for sure.”

Beth stood. “I hate this part. Alice, help me clear the table, please.”

Lorelei stood, a sleepy Rachel in her arms. “Let me help you.”

Beth urged her back down with a hand on her shoulder. “Oh, no, you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing Jay’s war stories.”

“Sit down, Beth. I’m not going to tell it in detail.”

“All right. But the first word about blood loss and I’m leaving the room.”