Read Online Scarlet Fever - Hill Country 2 by Sable Hunter - Free Book Online Page A

tower and the huge football stadium where Bobby played.   They couldn’t drive down Sixth Street, but he showed her what he could and she enjoyed every moment, mostly because she was with him.   It was at that moment it hit her.   Her days with Alex were numbered.   Her days were numbered, period.   Total dismay clutched her insides like a vise.   She wrapped her arms around her middle and tried to hide her sudden inability to breathe.
    “What’s wrong?   Are you hurting somewhere?”   Alex looked at her with concern, ready to pull over to the side of the road if she needed to.
    “No, somebody just walked over my grave.”   She really didn’t know what that meant, but it sounded good.   Attempting to steady her nerves, she focused on the billboards that lined I-35.   One caught her eye.   “Look, Alex.   A Civil War battle display is going to come to Austin!”   The Civil War was one of her greatest interests.   “I wonder what that’s about.”
    “Are you intrigued by the Civil War?”   Alex looked at her sort of funny.
    “Obsessed.   I read everything I can get my hands on about it.   I even have a few artifacts.”
    Alex ran his eyes up and down her shapely body.   “Are you for real?” he asked her, fascinated.
    “What do you mean?”
    “We have so much in common, it’s sort of scary.   I love the Civil War.   The display that’s coming to the capitol next month is one of my pet projects.   I’m on the Austin Historical committee and the Civil War is my main focus.   This display that you saw advertised is concerning one of the last battles that took place in the war, and it happened at the Palmetto Ranch near Brownsville.”
    “John Salmon Ford was the commander.   He was a Mexican War veteran, former captain of the Texas Rangers and one time mayor of Austin.”   Her recitation of those little known facts amazed Alex.  
    “Will you marry me?”   He was joking, maybe.  
    “Don’t tempt me,” she laughed.   “You’ll never guess what I have in my collection.   Not in a million years.”
    “What’s that?”   He couldn’t get enough of looking at her face.
    “I have a presentation sword that was given to Lt. Col Porter Cox in recognition of his killing of Bloody Bill Anderson.”
    He was suitably impressed.   “I know who Bloody Bill was.   He sometimes rode and fought with Quantrille’s Raiders.   How in the world did you get your hands on that?   It must have cost a fortune!”
    “I don’t have any money,” she scoffed.   “This little old man at church was a first-class Civil War collector.   He had no family, and I adopted him, more or less.   I visited him every day and when he got sick, I helped take care of him.   We spent many hours discussing the siege of Vicksburg, Sherman’s march to the sea, Gettysburg – everything you can think of – and when he passed away, he left me the sword.”
    Alex took her hand in his.   “You are a very sweet person.”   He squeezed her hand.   “But, I am so jealous.   The sword that killed Bloody Bill Anderson!”
    “If I’d known that you were into the Civil War, I would have brought it to show you.”
    “I would love to see it.   You can bring it next time,” Alex said with confidence.
    Next time.
    She knew there would be no next time.
    “Let’s go home, sweetie.”   He brought her hand to his lips and she almost cried.
    ************************
    It was a good thing the kitchen at Lost Maples was huge, because Scarlet needed every square inch.   Delicate roses and hydrangeas made of tasty fondant were spread out everywhere.   Twice, Scarlet had snuck out and lay down for just a few minutes.   She was careful to not let anyone know that she wasn’t feeling well.   Annalise was on cloud nine, and Scarlet was determined that she would   do nothing to put a damper on the excitement.      
    Alex had company business to take care of, but he had kissed her before he left and