Read Online Storm Clouds Rolling In by Ginny Dye, Virginia Gaffney - Free Book Online

Cromwell Plantation. My name be Sarah. I know y’all must be mighty tuckered out. And none of y’all look as if you’ve et at all today. We’re fixin’ to fix dat problem.”
    Her words were a signal to all the other watchers. Nameless shapes turned to disappear into their cabins. Moments later, they reappeared with corn cakes and large mugs of cold water. As Moses watched, two more women appeared with a basket full of fresh baked sweet potatoes. One man set up a primitive wooden table near the bewildered arrivals. The women deposited their bounty on the table and stood back with gentle smiles.
    It was all Moses could do to keep from bolting to the table. His last food had been a piece of bread early that morning, but he waited along with the rest of the new slaves.
    “Let’s pray,” Sarah said, lowering her still beautiful lined face.
    Moses watched in astonishment as others bowed their heads. Finally he allowed his head to bend down toward his massive chest in a gesture of respect.
    “Father, thanks for this her’ food. Thank you too, for the safety you done given our new friends here. Amen.” Sarah raised her head. “Y’all can eat now.”
    Moses didn’t need to hear anything else. With one giant stride he was at the side of the table, his towering frame dwarfing the tiny woman standing next to it. His eyes devoured the table, but he forced himself to look down at Sarah. “Thank ya, ma’am.” His duty taken care of, his work-worn hands reached down to grab several corn cakes and a couple of sweet potatoes from the piles waiting for them. He spotted a tall oak tree on the edge of the clearing and sank down next to it, allowing his long legs to stretch out for the first time that day. He had been careful to make eye contact with no one, save for his brief thank you to Sarah. He just wanted to be left alone. He wanted to eat, and he wanted to be left alone.
    “Hello, boy.”
    Moses jerked his head around. He had not heard Sarah’s approach. He looked up at her in confused anger and then lowered his head again. Taking a huge bite of a corn cake, he stared bitterly at the ground.
    Without a word , Sarah sank down beside him. Muted conversation floated through the air as newcomers conversed with the slaves of Cromwell Plantation. But beside the tall oak, silence reigned. Sarah said not a word until he had finished his meal.
    “What be yo name, boy?”
    Moses glanced up to meet her glowing eyes. He stared, wondering at the source of light in the old slave’s eyes. Then he looked back down.
    “Moses.” The silence stretched between them once again. Maybe she would catch the hint that he just wanted to be left alone. But she seemed content to sit there beside him.
    Finally she spoke again. “Where ya come from, Moses?”
    “Smith Plantation.” He recognized the look of sorrow that shadowed her face. She knew. In spite of the efforts to keep slaves from communicating with each other, the grapevine worked.
    Sarah placed a work-hardened hand on his shoulder gently. Moses flinched but didn’t pull away. The caring touch felt like balm to his battered spirit, but it also brought up too many memories. His own mama... Catching his breath, he jerked his eyes back down to the ground.
    “This here place ain’t like de Smith place, Moses.”
    Moses shrugged his shoulders. He had heard that slaves were treated better at Cromwell Plantation, but what difference did it make to him? His whole world had been torn from him just that morning. It didn’t matter how anyone treated him now. He had lost his reason to live.
    The dimly lit clearing seemed to fade before his eyes as his mind traveled back to the auction house. They had all been brought together from the Smith place, all of them to be sold at one time. That is what gave Moses hope—they were all still together. Maybe someone will... His hopes were short-lived. Who really wanted a whole family? Especially when the mother was old and bent from too much hard work