Her cheeks warmed even more. She knew she should take offense, but somehow she could not. “You’re a shameless liar, Mr. Shipman.”

“I only lie when there’s a good reason for it. And I’m generally ashamed of myself afterwards.”

“I should think you would be.”

“But I’m not this time. There ain’t nothin’ wrong with the notion, except for the marryin’ part.”

She pointed toward the door. “You’d better go lie back down, Mr. Shipman, before your notions get you in worse trouble than you’ve already been.”

Shipman went, and Annie was glad, for if he had stayed another few seconds he would have seen her laugh in spite of herself.

Mordecai was not sure how to take it all. “Are you really his sweetheart, Aunt Annie?”

“If I were lookin’ to be somebody’s sweetheart, don’t you think I could do a lot better than him?”

Mordecai shrugged. “I don’t know. I like him.”

XVII

JAMES TIED Mordecai’s horse back out of sight in the timber, then worked his way carefully to the edge where he could hide behind some underbrush and watch the cabin. He was vaguely uneasy, but the soldiers did not put fear into him as they might have done a year or two earlier. He had dodged enough of them by now that he could take them in stride. They did not stay long, which surprised him, and they made no move to search the woods, which surprised him more. He was unable to count them, either coming or going, so he could not safely assume that none had been left behind to watch for him. Prudence would demand that he remain out here until dark.

James had not always been on speaking terms with prudence. He waited a while, then fetched the horse and crossed back over the river. Mordecai came walking out to meet him. “They’re gone, Uncle James.”

“You sure they didn’t leave any spies behind?”

“I watched them awful close. They’re gone. They’re on their way to Mexico to fight a revolution. Said they got hornets to worry about, and they can’t be bothered with gnats.”

“So I’m just a gnat, am I?”

Mordecai smiled. “That was him said it, not me.”

Annie had returned to fixing supper and asked Mordecai to stay. He shook his head. “I better not. Since my daddy’s not home, I’ve got more chores to do, and Mama to watch over.” His eyes were serious. He was still only a boy, but he knew his responsibilities.

James held the tall horse and gave Mordecai a boost up into the saddle. “Thanks, Mordecai, for comin’ to warn me. You’re a credit to the Lewis family.”

Mordecai broke into a broad smile. “I don’t think anybody ever told me that.”

“I’m tellin’ you. Your old granddaddy would be proud to know you’re carryin’ his name.”

James had feared that Annie and Shipman would not get along. Shipman had a tendency to say the wrong thing at the worst possible time, and Annie often said exactly what she thought, no matter the cost. To his surprise, however, they appeared to tolerate each other quite well. Annie changed some of her cooking methods to accommodate Shipman’s tastes, and Shipman went out of his way to compliment her on everything from the way she combed her hair to the way she fixed corn dodgers. Shipman seemed to heal visibly day by day. He would walk out a little farther each time he ventured from the cabin. He even picked up a hoe to help James weed the field, though James made him put it down.