Read Online Rachel's Choice by Judith French - Free Book Online Page B

Chance.”
    The big black dog moved reluctantly past her and fixed Chance with a malevolent glare.
    â€œAfraid I’ll make a run for it?”
    â€œNo.” She chuckled. “Just afraid you’ll get bitten by a blacksnake, Reb. You’ve already been attacked by a cow.”
    He scowled at her. It was hard to be cross with a red-cheeked woman with flour on her nose and a dimple on one rosy cheek, but he gave it his best shot. “I asked you not to call me Reb. It was part of our bargain. If you break yours, what’s to hold me to mine?”
    She nodded. “You’re right, I suppose. It just comes natural. It’s not like I was saying something that wasn’t true. You are a rebel, a traitor to your country.” She regarded him intently.
    â€œThat’s incorrect. I’m a Virginian, not a citizen of the United States. We seceded from the Union, remember? Officially I’m a citizen of the Confederate States of America. I could only be named a traitor if I enlisted in the Union army and then deserted to the opposing forces.”
    â€œYou talk pretty,” she said. “But all those words don’t amount to a hill of beans.”
    â€œMy name is Chance. Is that simple enough for you?” he countered.
    Her cheeks flushed a darker hue. “What kind of name is that for parents to give an innocent baby?”
    He stroked the stubbly beard along his jaw. “I told you before, Chance is a nickname. I was christened William Chancellor.”
    â€œSounds more likely,” she granted him. “They must have guessed you intended to read for the law.” Turning away, she rattled in a drawer and produced a shaving brush and mug and a straight razor. “These were my granddad’s,” she said. “You’re welcome to borrow them for as long as you’re here.”
    â€œThank you, ma’am.” He touched an invisible hat in mock salute.
    She sniffed indignantly. “You may win at words with me, but you and your kind will never win this war. And all the dying and the lives destroyed and farms burned and children left without fathers will be for nothing.”
    The easy camaraderie between them suddenly evaporated. “We didn’t start this,” he said, thinking back to the fields of fallen men and the sky so black with smoke that you couldn’t see the sun. He could almost smell the stench of blood, the spilled bowels, and the charred grass and timbers.
    â€œDidn’t you? Didn’t your people attack Fort Sumter, South—”
    The odor of burning bread drifted through the doorway.
    â€œSomething’s on fire!” he said, breaking free of his haunting memories.
    â€œMy biscuits!” She turned back to the stove and snatched open the oven door.
    â€œDon’t burn your—” he began.
    â€œOuch!”
    A metal pan bounced off the floor, and Chance dropped the clothing and the shaving articles onto the ground. When he reached Rachel, she was standing amid scattered chunks of bread holding out a fastreddening hand.
    Chance took hold of her waist and steered her toward the sink. He saw tears in her eyes, but she bit her bottom lip and didn’t cry. “Put your hand out,” he ordered. He pumped cold water over her burned palm. “That should take some of the sting out of it.”
    She nodded. “Yes, that’s better.” She held her handunder the spout again. “It’s all right. See, it’s not even blistering.” She spread her fingers for his inspection.
    â€œGood,” he said. “I was afraid you’d really burned it badly.” He handed her a clean tea towel, and as he stepped closer, so did she. Her protruding belly brushed against him, and as it did, he felt the strangest sensation.
    Their gazes met, and she sucked in her breath sharply.
    â€œWas that what I thought it was?” he asked.
    â€œThe baby kicked you. Haven’t you ever felt one