Read an Excerpt:
The Gift
Christine Young
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"Get in the house,
now!"
"Mama?"
Elice Weld shielded her eyes
and watched the ground fog rising in the distance. She didn't know what was
coming her way, but she could guess. The rumors that a Union cavalry unit was
in the vicinity had spread like a wildfire on a Kansas prairie.
Rain had fallen all morning.
Now the clouds had separated, and the sun heated the earth, causing the
evaporation of the water-soaked ground. The cavalry rode through the mist like
dark, avenging wraiths bent on the destruction of all mankind. She could see
seven men silhouetted on the horizon.
"Izzy, go." Elice
didn't want to frighten her daughter but the urgency of the moment could not be
denied.
"But mama?"
"Go to the cellar.
Now."
"It's dark."
Izzy's voice echoed in
Elice's head, filling her with a wild panic she didn't know how to stop. Every
time soldiers approached she was terrified. The last four years had been the
longest years of her life. "Do as I say, quickly." Elice hugged her
daughter, turning her at the same moment and with a gentle shove sent her through
the open door of her house.
"Izzy."
Elice knew the panic in her
voice would mobilize her young daughter. She despised the fear and the terror.
She loathed the war. She looked up. The fog was dissipating, and she could see
the dark blue of the Union coats. She didn't have anything left for the soldiers
to take. Good God, they'd taken everything already--everything save her
daughter and her hope for the future.
She inhaled a quick breath
then stood on the steps, hands folded together in front of her, watching the
dark wraiths inch closer. She knew from experience she couldn't fight these
men. She would do as they said and when they left, she would put the pieces of
her life back together.
Until the next time…
"Mama," Elice
jumped when her daughter tugged on her skirt before looking at her with sorrow-filled
eyes. "Are the soldiers going to take my doll?"
"No," Elice
ruffled her little girl's hair. "Go back inside. Go to the cellar and
don't come out until I tell you it's safe."
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine."
But Elice knew she might be lying to her child. She wasn't always fine when the
soldiers invaded their home. "Now go and don't make me say it again. Stay
there until I come for you."
Izzy nodded before she
turned and walked through the parlor to the stairs leading to the cellar.
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