The two boys in the class were sizing him up. Caleb was taller than the other boys. He was wiry, and had red hair, an uncommon trait in Burlington. He would be their competition for the girls.
The girls whispered among themselves. “He’s nice looking,” Betsy Hawkins said.
“Better looking than the clodbusters still here,” Linda Pearl agreed.
“Let’s settle down,” Miss Haynes said. “Caleb, find an empty desk, while I get your books.”
He took an empty desk in the third row. “You can’t sit there,” one boy said. “I can’t see the board.”
“Sorry,” Caleb said, and moved to a desk behind a girl with long blonde hair. When he sat down, she turned and smiled. Her blue eyes twinkled in the sunlight.
“Are you a damnyankee?” the other boy asked.
“I’m an American,” Caleb replied.
“I say you’re a damnyankee and a coward to boot.”
“Ignore them,” the girl said. “They’re troublemakers.”
The teacher returned. “Clem, you get back in your seat. You too, Rafe.”
“Miss Haynes, we don’t want no damnyankee in our class,” Clem said.
“There will be no more talk of that nature in my classroom. Do you understand?” Miss Haynes said. “Now take your seats.”
“This ain’t over, Yankee,” Rafe warned.
“Not one more word, Rafe, or you will spend the rest of the day at the principal’s office.”
After the class ended, the blonde-haired girl said, “I’m Janie Collins. It’s nice to have someone new join the class. We’ve had too many that had to quit. It’s sad their education stops so soon.”
“I’m Caleb Lewis,” he said.
“Do you live in town?”
“I lost my Dad in the war, and the bank took our farm in Maryland, so we had to move in with my grandparents. Grandpa is the new station master for the railroad.”
“That’s too bad about your dad. I was a little girl when Pa went off to war, but he came back. Not many around here did. Clem and Rafe both lost theirs. Was your dad in the Union Army?” she asked.
“Yes. He died at Gettysburg.”
“My dad doesn’t talk about the war,” she said. “It must have been pretty bad.”
“I guess so; there was a lot of fighting near where we lived.”
“Where was that?” she asked.
“Frederick, Maryland. It’s close to Washington.”
“Then you are a Yankee,” she said.
“I guess so, but I prefer to say I’m an American. The war’s been over for ten years now.”
“Not for a lot of the people around here. For them, it won’t ever be over. The hurt runs too deep,” she said.
“Thanks for talking to me,” he said. “It’s not going to make you popular with the others.”
“I don’t care,” she said. “If my being friendly upsets them, it’s their problem, not mine.”
“Well, I appreciate it anyway.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Susan Leigh Carlton lives just outside Tomball, Texas, a suburb twenty-six miles northwest of Houston. She began writing and publishing on Amazon in August of 2012.
Susan observed the eighty-first anniversary of her birth on April 17th. She says, “I quit having birthdays, because they are depressing.” Susan and her husband celebrated their forty-ninth wedding anniversary on April 16th, 2015, the day before her birthday.
Susan has said many times, “One of the joys I get from writing is the emails I receive from readers that have read and liked my books. I even like the letters that are critical of the writing because it means the writer cared enough to take the time to write.
“I intend to keep writing as long as the good Lord allows me to have a clear mind and fresh ideas.”
Contents
Rekindled Love
The Saddest Day
She’s Gone
The Final Prayer
War
Your Intentions
News
Ben’s Grief
Making Amends
Ben and Becky
Renewing an Old Acquaintance
Caroline’s Letter
More Letters
A Nudge
Caroline
You’re Here
Caroline and Ben
The Promise
A Wedding
Ben and Becky
All One Family
A New Page
Life Together
Getting Ready
How is He?
A New Addition
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Copyright © 2016 by Susan Leigh Carlton.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
Susan Leigh Carlton/Amazon
Tomball, TX 77377
www.susanleighcarlton.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Rekindled Love/ Susan Leigh Carlton. -- 1st ed.