Col. Nelson Majors looked up from where he sat in a padded chair and smiled. “My favorite nurse coming with my favorite breakfast.”
Eileen Fremont was a small woman with red hair and green eyes and was wearing a blue-and-white apron over a dark blue dress. She had undertaken the care of the colonel’s three-year-old daughter and then, when the colonel was wounded, had gotten him out of the military hospital, where care was sometimes terrible, to care for him at home. She had grown very fond of her patient. They planned to marry soon.
“I don’t know what your favorite breakfast is. Everything I bring, you gobble down like a bear.”
“You shouldn’t be such a good cook. Now, sit down and talk to me while I eat.”
“I have housework to do.”
“I’m your patient. I’m more important than any housework.” He reached out and took Eileen’s wrist as she set down the tray on the table next to him. “After all, I’m a sick man. You need to humor me a little bit.”
Eileen sat. She could not resist smiling back at the tall soldier. Nelson Majors was more than six feet, with very black hair and intense hazel eyes. He had a neat mustache and was close shaven.
“Now then, let’s see what we have here,” he said as he looked at the tray. “It looks like eggs, grits, biscuits, and sawmill gravy. Is that all I get?” he asked mischievously.
Eileen laughed aloud. “You’re going to be fat as a suckling pig if you keep on eating, Nelson.” She watched him pour coffee out of a china pot into a thick mug. “But I like to see a man enjoy his food. I’ve missed having someone to cook for.”
The colonel looked up quickly, swallowed a bite of biscuit soaked with gravy, and said, “It does get lonesome sometimes, doesn’t it?”
Eileen had lost her husband at Shiloh and shortly after that her two-year-old daughter. She smoothed her hair over the back of her head and nodded. “It’s good you have Tom and Jeff.”
“I won’t have them long. They’ll get married and be gone. That’s what young men do.”
“Fortunately you’ll still have Esther. She’s only three. She’s going to take a lot of raising.”
“And I’m an old man to be raising a little girl,” he said thoughtfully. He took a bite of grits. “These are good, Eileen. You’re a fine cook.”
“Anybody can cook breakfast. How can you mess up eggs and grits?” She leaned back in the chair and folded her hands. As Nelson continued to eat, she said, “Esther’s outside with Leah. I never saw a child who likes to dig in the dirt so much—except boys.”
“I guess she takes after me,” he murmured. Then he added, “She looks like her mother, though. Same blonde hair and blue eyes.”
He had lost his wife at the birth of this child. Eileen knew he was uncertain how he would do at raising a small daughter—and even more uncertain because of the battles that lay ahead.
“I just don’t know what would happen to Esther if anything happened to me in battle,” he said.
“Tom and Jeff would take care of her.” Even as she said this, however, Eileen knew that this was not the answer. Both of his sons were also in the army and were subject to the dangers of the war. She smoothed her apron over her lap and said, “The war is almost over. It can’t go on much longer, can it?”
“No, I don’t think it can. The South has just worn itself out. The best of its young men went at the first call, and now we’re down to just a thin line.” He looked out the window thoughtfully, then suddenly turned to her. “Eileen, would you take care of Esther—if anything happens to me before we marry?”
“But Nelson, don’t you have family who would want—”
“No, I didn’t have any brothers or sisters. My wife had one sister, but she’s far away in the North now. There’s really no one.”
Eileen hesitated. “That’s a large thing to promise—to take over a baby. Not that I wouldn’t love to. I still miss my own little girl.” Tears came to her eyes, and she dashed them away quickly. “Of course I will, Nelson. If that’s what you want—but nothing’s going to happen to you. We’ll just pray you through until this war is over.”
“I’ll agree with that.” He leaned back after finishing his breakfast and sighed with satisfaction. “Almost hate to get well,” he said. “Here I am being waited on hand and foot by a handsome woman, getting good food, treated like a baby. Not like it’ll be when I go back to the trenches at Petersburg.”
Eileen did not answer. She was thinking of the dangers that lay ahead for this tall man who had come to mean so much to her. She got up to take the tray. “Do you want anything else?”
“No, this is fine.”
She touched a lock of his glossy, black hair. “You’re getting shaggy. I’ll have to give you another haircut.”
The colonel took her hand, and before she could move he kissed it and said huskily, “Thanks for all you’ve done for the Majors family. For Esther and for me.”
“Come on in, Jeff.”
Leah stepped back from the doorway to let him in. Jeff was wearing his oldest uniform, which was far gone.
“How’s Pa today?”
“You’ll have to ask his nurse. Eileen’s just about taken over.”
Jeff frowned. For a long time he had been jealous of Mrs. Fremont. He had loved his mother deeply and resented the idea of his father’s being interested in another woman. Somehow it had seemed disloyal to him. He still occasionally felt a little strange at the idea. “I thought Tom would be here.”
“I am here!” Tom walked in from the kitchen, a piece of pie balanced on one hand. He limped slightly, and the wooden leg that replaced the real one that he’d lost at Gettysburg made an uncertain cadence on the floor. “What are you doing here, Jeff?”
“I came looking for something to eat. We’re about to run shy in camp. What kind of pie is that?”
“My favorite kind!”
“I’m glad to hear it. This is the last piece,” Tom said and winked at Leah.
Jeff groaned. “You didn’t eat it all!”
“Don’t let him tease you, Jeff,” Leah said. “I made two. We’ll have some after while.”
“How’s Pa?” Jeff asked his brother.
“Real good.” Tom licked his hand and took another bite of pie. “Somehow pie always tastes better if you eat it off your hand. A fork kind of spoils the taste.”
Leah said, “I’ll get you a piece, Jeff, and maybe we have some sassafras tea.”
“That’d be good.” He waited until she was gone and then sat down, looking at his brother. “You think Pa will be able to get back into the fight pretty soon?”
“You know Pa. He’ll get back as quick as he can. As a matter of fact, I wish he’d stay out of the whole thing.”
“It looks pretty grim, Tom. I don’t know how much longer we can keep those Yankees out. We’re spread real thin.”
“And our fellows aren’t doing much better out west of here. Hood’s left Atlanta now, so the word is. But Sherman will catch up with him. Johnston should have stayed in command.”
“Well, he wasn’t doin’ anything much to stop General Sherman!” Jeff protested.
“Sherman’s got too many men. All Hood will do is make some kind of a crazy charge and lose half the army.” Tom finished his pie and wiped his hands with a handkerchief. “I’m going outside and split some wood. After you get through with your pie, you can come out and help me with the buck-sawing.”
“All right, Tom.”
Jeff met Leah coming out of the kitchen with his pie. “I can just eat it out here in the kitchen,” he said. “It’ll save you bringin’ me another piece.” He grinned at her, took the plate and fork, and said, “Tom, he’s a glutton. He gobbles pie down like a pig. Now me, I got taste.” He took a small bite, put it in his mouth, then lifted his eyes toward the ceiling with appreciation. “Now, that is pie!”
Leah smiled. “Do you really like it?”
“I never saw an apple pie I didn’t like—especially yours.”
They sat at the kitchen table, talking and laughing, until finally Jeff said, “Go take off that dress and put your old overalls on. It’s time to go fishin’.”
“Why, Jeff, you didn’t say anything about us going fishing.”
“I thought you knew,” he said in surprise.
“I can’t go with you, Jeff.”
“Why not?”
“Because—I’ve got somebody coming.”
Jeff stared at her. He suddenly realized she was wearing her silk Sunday dress. It was a peach color and old, but she still looked good in it. “What do you mean, somebody’s coming?”
Leah hesitated, then smiled roguishly. “Cecil is coming by.”
“Cecil Taylor? Why’s he coming here?”
Leah’s eyes gleamed. “He’s coming to see me!”
“Why’s he coming to see you?”
“Does it come as a complete shock to you, Jeff,” she asked demurely, “that a young man would like to come and spend some time with me?”
He felt foolish. “Well …” He floundered for a time. “Well, of course not, but how does he have time to come out here and see you?”
“How do you have time?” she asked quickly.
Jeff saw that he was trapped and somehow felt put out. “Well, I planned to go fishing with you …”
“We can do that tomorrow—unless Cecil comes back.”
“Oh, I’m good enough to go fishing with if there’s nothing better to do.”
Moving around the table to where Jeff now stood rigidly, she put a hand on his arm and looked up into his face. She said sweetly, “I’m sorry, Jeff. I didn’t mean to say it like that. You know how much I like to go fishing with you. I always have. But Cecil wanted to come over, and he gets lonesome sometimes.”
“Well, I get lonesome too.”
“Do you, Jeff?”
“Of course I do. Do you think I like being in trenches with those dirty, smelly soldiers? I’d much rather be here with you.”
“I guess that’s a left-handed compliment.” But Leah again smiled. “You like me better than dirty, smelly soldiers.”
Jeff felt he was in over his head. “I can’t say anything right today,” he said finally. “So what are you two going to do?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I thought we would look at some picture albums. Maybe we’ll sing some. Cecil has a beautiful singing voice. And I need to give him some more dancing lessons. He’s not very good at dancing, but he’s getting better.”
At that moment, a knock sounded on the door, and Leah said, “That must be Cecil now. He’ll be glad to see you.”
As it happened, Cecil seemed not particularly happy to see Jeff. And Jeff was rather grumpy as he said, “Hello, Cecil.”
“Well, hello, Jeff. I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“I didn’t know you’d be here either!” He saw that Cecil had on his best uniform, and he asked rather wickedly, “Are you going to another ball?”
“No, I just came to call on Leah.”
She said, “Why don’t both of you come into the sitting room? Jeff, you’ve already seen all the pictures, but Cecil would like to see them.”
Jeff said stubbornly, “No, I’m going fishing.”
He left the house, slamming the door slightly harder than was necessary.
Immediately he heard his father’s voice. “Jeff, come here!”
Jeff lifted his head and saw the colonel leaning out a window. He stomped over to him and said, “What is it, Pa?”
“Where you going?”
“I’m going to get a pole and go fishing.”
“Why don’t you take Leah with you?”
“I came to do that, but instead Cecil Taylor came to call on her.”
Nelson grinned. “You better watch out. That young fellow’s gonna to beat your time.”
Jeff flushed. “Who needs an old girl anyway?”
Tom leaned over the windowsill beside his father and studied Jeff. “I reckon most of us do.”
Jeff and his father both glanced at Tom. Jeff knew his brother was thinking of Sarah, Leah’s older sister. Tom had been deeply in love with Sarah before the war. Now Tom’s face was sad, and his thoughts seemed to be a million miles away.
“I guess most of us do need a lady to make our lives bright,” their father said.
Jeff stared at the colonel. He knew that the object of his thoughts was Eileen Fremont.
“I’m going fishing!” Jeff said. He turned around and went toward the barn.
From his window Colonel Majors watched Jeff come out of the barn with a pole over his shoulder and a can of worms dangling from one hand. Then he turned to Tom.
“I guess you think about Sarah a lot.”
“Yes, I do, Pa. I miss her more than I can say.”
“I know about that. It’s the same way I miss your mother.”
When Eileen came into the room, the men were playing checkers.
Tom got up in disgust. “I can’t beat you at this game!”
“You’re too impulsive. You’ve got to think out your moves,” Nelson said.
“I’m going out to chop more wood. It’s more fun than getting beat at checkers.”
After Tom left, Eileen sat down at Nelson’s bidding, and they began another checkers game. She was not very good, and Nelson was an excellent player. Nevertheless, he used the game as an excuse to keep her in his room.
Eventually they began talking about the boys, and Nelson laid out their problems. His brow furrowed as he talked of Tom’s love for Sarah Carter and his recurring uncertainty about marrying her because he had lost a leg. “And now Jeff’s growing up,” he added, “and you know how hard it is to raise a young boy. I was hard to raise myself.”
Eileen smiled. “They’re both fine boys,” she said. “You have a fine family, Nelson, and they’re all going to turn out well.”