Read Online Bouquet for Iris by Diane T. Ashley - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Diane T. Ashley
Ads: Link
recede.
Margaret had finished singing when he struggled up from his stool. Adam made uneven progress across the tavern floor, pushing through the door and taking a deep breath. He smiled as he thought of the tall woman with flyaway hair who’d been stranded right here a week earlier. She’d looked so lost and abandoned, like a puppy looking for someone to feed and care for it. Some sentimental part of him had surfaced briefly that night, wanting to protect her and make sure nothing destroyed the innocence in her gaze. But she’d accepted Nathan’s offer of help, instead.
Smart girl
. Adam wondered if it was the alcohol that had made her appear so beautiful and pure.
Most likely
.
Adam banished thoughts of her from his mind and concentrated on keeping his gait even, a challenge ever since he’d been attacked and left for dead after the treaty signing in New Echota. Although the pain in his leg didn’t trouble him when he was drinking, his ability to walk suffered greatly. But he didn’t have far to go. His office, one of the few commercial buildings on the main street of Daisy, was only a few feet away.
Opening the door, he shuffled past a large oak desk. A second door took him to his apartment, the room where he slept and ate. Had he locked the front door? He shrugged. He was safe even if the door was standing open. Who would want to disturb a broken-down lawyer with no future and too much past?
With a grunt, he removed his coat, boots, and pistol before falling into bed and embracing oblivion.
six
“Tell me about the Spencer family.” Iris glanced at Lance, wishing Camie had been able to come with them this morning. But that was selfish on her part. Camie was at home, caring for her daughters. Little Erin had a cough, and Camie had not wanted to risk the croup.
The cold air nipped at her cheeks and made her thankful for the thick fur that covered her legs. This part of Tennessee was so different from home. Instead of gentle hills dotted with farms and streams, the ground rose up and reached for the clouds scuttling across the sky.
Lance guided the wagon down a slope toward the river that bisected the valley and formed a natural barrier between Indian land and American soil. “Well, you already know he’s a Cherokee. He moved to this area before it was Hamilton County and built a home on land granted to him by the state of North Carolina. He had one daughter, who married and had two little girls, June and Anna.” He paused and looked at Iris. “Everything seemed to be going well for the family until Mr. Spencer’s wife, daughter, and son-in-law died.”
She met his gaze, unsurprised by the empathy she saw in it. “What happened?”
“Cholera.”
Iris’s eyes closed briefly. The word brought nightmare images of sickness and death. An outbreak of cholera had swept through Nashville last year, leaving many dead in its wake. Iris’s heart ached for the family. “What a blessing the little girls didn’t die.”
“They stayed home with the house slave while Spencer took the others to the village on Lookout Mountain where they became ill, not knowing that the disease was spreading through the Cherokee tribe. He was the only one who came back.”
“Those poor little girls.” Her eyes filled with tears as Iris considered what it would have been like to lose her ma and pa so suddenly. “How old were they?”
“Anna was just a baby, and her sister was about two.”
“They probably don’t even remember their ma.” She turned to Lance. “It must have been hard on Camie to have to stop caring for them.”
“Yes it was. She was so glad when your parents wrote to us.”
Iris looked about for another topic of conversation. “Does that mountain have a name?”
“That’s Lookout Mountain. It’s the tallest peak in this part of the world.”
It reminded her of a cantankerous old man with hunched shoulders, and the leafless trees scattered across its summit made the peak appear to be his balding
Margaret had finished singing when he struggled up from his stool. Adam made uneven progress across the tavern floor, pushing through the door and taking a deep breath. He smiled as he thought of the tall woman with flyaway hair who’d been stranded right here a week earlier. She’d looked so lost and abandoned, like a puppy looking for someone to feed and care for it. Some sentimental part of him had surfaced briefly that night, wanting to protect her and make sure nothing destroyed the innocence in her gaze. But she’d accepted Nathan’s offer of help, instead.
Smart girl
. Adam wondered if it was the alcohol that had made her appear so beautiful and pure.
Most likely
.
Adam banished thoughts of her from his mind and concentrated on keeping his gait even, a challenge ever since he’d been attacked and left for dead after the treaty signing in New Echota. Although the pain in his leg didn’t trouble him when he was drinking, his ability to walk suffered greatly. But he didn’t have far to go. His office, one of the few commercial buildings on the main street of Daisy, was only a few feet away.
Opening the door, he shuffled past a large oak desk. A second door took him to his apartment, the room where he slept and ate. Had he locked the front door? He shrugged. He was safe even if the door was standing open. Who would want to disturb a broken-down lawyer with no future and too much past?
With a grunt, he removed his coat, boots, and pistol before falling into bed and embracing oblivion.
six
“Tell me about the Spencer family.” Iris glanced at Lance, wishing Camie had been able to come with them this morning. But that was selfish on her part. Camie was at home, caring for her daughters. Little Erin had a cough, and Camie had not wanted to risk the croup.
The cold air nipped at her cheeks and made her thankful for the thick fur that covered her legs. This part of Tennessee was so different from home. Instead of gentle hills dotted with farms and streams, the ground rose up and reached for the clouds scuttling across the sky.
Lance guided the wagon down a slope toward the river that bisected the valley and formed a natural barrier between Indian land and American soil. “Well, you already know he’s a Cherokee. He moved to this area before it was Hamilton County and built a home on land granted to him by the state of North Carolina. He had one daughter, who married and had two little girls, June and Anna.” He paused and looked at Iris. “Everything seemed to be going well for the family until Mr. Spencer’s wife, daughter, and son-in-law died.”
She met his gaze, unsurprised by the empathy she saw in it. “What happened?”
“Cholera.”
Iris’s eyes closed briefly. The word brought nightmare images of sickness and death. An outbreak of cholera had swept through Nashville last year, leaving many dead in its wake. Iris’s heart ached for the family. “What a blessing the little girls didn’t die.”
“They stayed home with the house slave while Spencer took the others to the village on Lookout Mountain where they became ill, not knowing that the disease was spreading through the Cherokee tribe. He was the only one who came back.”
“Those poor little girls.” Her eyes filled with tears as Iris considered what it would have been like to lose her ma and pa so suddenly. “How old were they?”
“Anna was just a baby, and her sister was about two.”
“They probably don’t even remember their ma.” She turned to Lance. “It must have been hard on Camie to have to stop caring for them.”
“Yes it was. She was so glad when your parents wrote to us.”
Iris looked about for another topic of conversation. “Does that mountain have a name?”
“That’s Lookout Mountain. It’s the tallest peak in this part of the world.”
It reminded her of a cantankerous old man with hunched shoulders, and the leafless trees scattered across its summit made the peak appear to be his balding
Similar Books
