Brides of Ohio Read Free Page A

gruff-looking man filled the doorway, and fear gripped Katherine as she saw the rifle in his hand.
    But Mary knew the stranger. “Mr. Carr,” she said calmly, far more calmly than Katherine thought her capable of just a few minutes after her sister’s death. The older woman stood, handkerchief in hand.
    Surprised, he said the name almost under his breath. “Mary O’Neal!” Clearing his throat, he took his straw hat from his head. Long strands of gray hair tumbled clumsily into his eyes, and he immediately pushed them back. “Mrs. O’Neal, I—I wasn’t expectin’ you.”
    “I understood from Ruth Decker you were helping Dolly run the farm.”
    Mr. Carr nodded. “Yes, that’s right. Since that rascal Toby took off.”
    “I’ll thank you not to speak ill of the dead, Mr. Carr.”
    “Sorry,” he mumbled gruffly and nodded toward the bed. “How’s your sister?”
    “Mrs. Kirby has passed,” Mary said softly as she turned back to her sister. As she did so, Katherine thought she caught a brief gleam in Elijah Carr’s eye.
    “If you want to gather up a few things, I’ll wait outside for you.” His voice strained not to sound eager.
    “What on earth for?” Mary asked suddenly, turning from her sister.
    “Well …,” he began hesitantly. “Thing is … Dolly promised the farm to me.”
    Mary stared at him. “I’m quite sure that must be a misunderstanding. Dolly would never give up this land. Joseph always intended it for the boys.”
    “Jonah and Toby are gone, Mary. Died fighting the war.”
    “But Daniel is still alive and well, Mr. Carr.” She walked up to him. He towered over her, but she paid him no mind. “I read a letter from him this morning. He’s with General Grant in Petersburg.”
    “Daniel always had a head for book learnin’. He was already an instructor over at that college of his. He was never a farmer. Dolly said, with Jonah and Toby gone, he would most likely sell me the land.”
    “Dolly said that?”
    “She surely did.”
    Mary looked at him carefully. “Be that as it may, whether or not to sell the land to you is for Daniel to decide. And until he comes home, we’ll stay right here and keep the farm going.”
    Katherine took a step forward to stand right behind Mary, backing up her words. She grasped the older woman’s hand and squeezed it. She had no idea how to run a farm, but she was more than willing to try.
    Her movement attracted Mr. Carr’s attention, and he looked at Katherine as if just noticing her. “Who are you?” he asked gruffly.
    With a pounding heart, she raised her chin. “My name is Katherine Wallace, sir.”
    At the sound of her voice, Mr. Carr glared at Mary. “What do you mean bringing a filthy little secesh up here? Dolly most likely died of shock from you letting her step foot in her house.”
    Mary glared right back at him. Secesh, short for secessionist, was a word they had both heard spoken in anger far too often since coming north. Mary thought it a cruel name, but Katherine felt it was an accurate one.
    “Miss Wallace is my dear friend, and I had my sister’s permission long ago to bring her here.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Dolly would have more of a fit if she could see the state the farm is in right now.”
    Mr. Carr looked uneasy. “Been hard,” he finally muttered. “When she took ill, she insisted on stayin’ here. I’ve been goin’ back and forth to take care of my lands, too.”
    “So you were at your farm all morning?”
    Carr looked at Mary rigidly. “Had business up in Delaware this morning that wouldn’t wait.” His excuse that he’d had to drive nearly nine miles to the county seat clearly did not convince Mary. “She made me go,” he said defensively. “Said she’d be just fine.”
    Mary’s shoulders fell wearily. She seemed either out of arguments or too tired to continue sparring with him. She turned and sat down next to her sister’s still form. “I guess I should thank you for being so