Read Online Seneca Surrender by Gen Bailey - Free Book Online Page A

you without trying to make a soup out of you.”
    The squirrel looked at her as if to say, “I don’t believe you.”
    “It’s true,” Sarah ventured. “You’ve become my friend and I wouldn’t make a meal out of a friend.”
    The squirrel picked up a plum, which Sarah had deliberately left in a corner of the cave, and the animal stared back at Sarah as it began to munch.
    “It’s good, isn’t it? ”
    When the squirrel didn’t answer, Sarah sighed, and said, “Do you know that seven days have passed since I awoke here, and still I can’t remember my name or who I am or where I come from? ”
    The squirrel chomped happily on the plum, staring at Sarah as though it truly were her friend and would listen to her troubles.
    “Nor can I recall why I am here, or why I was in the woods, or if I were with someone or alone. But if I were alone, how had I come to be there? ”
    The squirrel threw down the plum and looked up at her as though it might answer. But instead of speaking, it picked up one of the berries that Sarah had also left, and it began to chew on it.
    “And what am I to do about Mr. Thunder? ”
    The squirrel stared at her as though to say it had no idea what she was talking about.
    “Who is he? Can I trust him? I certainly want to. Without him, I am doubtful that I would now be alive. So of course I want to like him. He is alien to me, though I must admit that I find him handsome. Do you know, Miss Squirrel, that if you promise to keep a secret, I’ll tell you that I find my gaze drawn to the look of the man’s chest more times than I ought.” Sarah smiled. “Indeed so much is this so, that had I the cloth, I would make the man a shirt simply to keep myself from wondering what it would be like if …” She paused. “Well, never mind.”
    The squirrel finished the berries and picked up another plum.
    “Dear Miss Squirrel,” Sarah said, “speaking of Mr. Thunder, I do believe that I have come to the decision that he is trustworthy. He certainly is kind, and is helpful to me. Nor does he offer criticism as a means to ‘assist’ me. He is the utmost in decorum and gentlemanlike behavior. Pray, I fear that from a woman’s perspective, her heart might be in danger with this man, for these qualities are said to be rare, indeed.”
    The squirrel shifted its head to the side, as if to get a better image of this person who spoke to it, and Sarah went on to say, “But there are problems, of course. He’s Indian. I’m not. But this I can understand and appreciate. What I don’t comprehend is why he appears to be … cold toward me. There are times when I fear he must be made of snow and I of fire, for he is always cautious when he touches me, even when he must do so in order to help me.”
    The squirrel sat down on her haunches, looking for all the world like she were more than a little interested in the conversation. She even offered some advice, chattering to Sarah in squirrel.
    “What was that you said? ” Sarah asked. “That perhaps I make more of this than I should because he is the only human being in my vicinity? Maybe you’re right, because it does seem to me that he is faithful to the image of his deceased wife, to a fault. Indeed, I am left with the impression that Mr. Thunder might never be unfettered of his former wife’s hold over him until … well, I little know until what. Perhaps he might never be free of her influence over him a’tall.
    “But this speculation could be the frivolous wonderings of a feminine mind. After all, I am in a position where he—and you, of course—are my whole world. I know more about him than I know of myself.
    “I have wondered: What if I am married? I could be.”
    “Do you speak to a ghost? ”
    Sarah jumped and her heartbeat leaped into her throat. She turned quickly toward the cave’s entrance.
    In a moment, however, the racing of her heart settled back to its normal pace. “Oh, Mr. Thunder,” she said, “I didn’t hear you enter. I’m