need fanciful. She needed the security of four walls and a roof over her head, and Jim had provided them.
Just as he had provided her with a name and a father for her child. Lily turned away from the window and stared at the low-slung rope bed she had shared with her husband of nearly nine years. Her childish dreams of love and romance had been permanently killed before she had even met Jim. Except for children, he had given her just precisely what she wanted. Why did it feel as if he had never existed now that he was gone?
And she was quite certain that he was gone. Practical Jim wouldn't even have a ghost to come back and haunt her. If he were alive, he would have found some way to send her word. Lily knew that as well as she knew her own name. Jim was gone and he wasn't coming back.
Staring at the empty bed, Lily felt the loneliness curl around her like the notes of the flute in the dry air outside.
Flute?
Grateful for this distraction, Lily stared out the open window. Music was a rare commodity in these parts. Her heart hungered for it, grieved for its absence, and longed for it more than she had ever desired or wanted love. Love was an ephemeral thing, but music was real, so real she could almost taste the notes floating over the still night air.
Knowing sleep would elude her anyway, Lily sought the source of the unusual sound. Not wanting to disturb the rest of the household, she slipped through the window to the ground. Men's trousers had many advantages—getting in and out of tight spots was one of them.
Following the notes of the flute through the quiet night wasn't difficult. She could hear the restless shuffles and low nickers of the horses in the paddock. The music came from the opposite direction, from the low knoll ahead. Loblollies and oaks shaded the grass there. She and Roy used to picnic beneath the trees, before Roy decided he was too big for "baby stuff." She would have to take Serena up there one of these days.
She didn't want to think about Serena either. Cade could take the child away any day, and there wouldn't be a thing Lily could do about it. She was trying to be practical, giving the care of the child to Juanita for much of the day, but Serena was so much like the child Lily had always wanted that it was impossible to ignore her entirely. That was one more piece of the day she didn't have to think about tonight.
Her goal was to find the music. A breeze lifted the loosened strands of her hair as she floated across the yard and toward the hill. The moon was just appearing on the other side of the barn, a silvery spectacle against the black of the sky. It wasn't full yet, but she could feel its pull. Lily shivered and listened to the night creatures harmonize with the notes of the flute as she progressed up the hill.
By the time she reached the top, Lily knew what she would find, but she didn't hesitate. The magic of the music was a rarity for which she would defy the laws of mankind. Already the throbbing in her head had lessened, and her body felt loose, at one with the world. This was the way it had once been and never would be again.
Tears formed at that thought. She didn't allow them to fall. Without a word, she sat down near the man who skillfully poured his talents into the crude reed instrument.
Cade had seen her coming. The overlarge white shirt she wore caught in the silver rays of the moon and gleamed like a ghostly image. He had thought the household asleep. He hadn't meant for any to hear but himself and the stars, but she didn't disturb the oneness between them. The music accepted her into its tightly drawn circle, and he continued to play until the song wended its way to the end.
Then he put the flute aside and turned his gaze to her.
It was impossible to conceive that this incredibly large man could produce such delicate music, but Lily knew better than to speak of miracles. She held out her hand in a pacifying gesture for her intrusion. "I miss music more than anything
Just as he had provided her with a name and a father for her child. Lily turned away from the window and stared at the low-slung rope bed she had shared with her husband of nearly nine years. Her childish dreams of love and romance had been permanently killed before she had even met Jim. Except for children, he had given her just precisely what she wanted. Why did it feel as if he had never existed now that he was gone?
And she was quite certain that he was gone. Practical Jim wouldn't even have a ghost to come back and haunt her. If he were alive, he would have found some way to send her word. Lily knew that as well as she knew her own name. Jim was gone and he wasn't coming back.
Staring at the empty bed, Lily felt the loneliness curl around her like the notes of the flute in the dry air outside.
Flute?
Grateful for this distraction, Lily stared out the open window. Music was a rare commodity in these parts. Her heart hungered for it, grieved for its absence, and longed for it more than she had ever desired or wanted love. Love was an ephemeral thing, but music was real, so real she could almost taste the notes floating over the still night air.
Knowing sleep would elude her anyway, Lily sought the source of the unusual sound. Not wanting to disturb the rest of the household, she slipped through the window to the ground. Men's trousers had many advantages—getting in and out of tight spots was one of them.
Following the notes of the flute through the quiet night wasn't difficult. She could hear the restless shuffles and low nickers of the horses in the paddock. The music came from the opposite direction, from the low knoll ahead. Loblollies and oaks shaded the grass there. She and Roy used to picnic beneath the trees, before Roy decided he was too big for "baby stuff." She would have to take Serena up there one of these days.
She didn't want to think about Serena either. Cade could take the child away any day, and there wouldn't be a thing Lily could do about it. She was trying to be practical, giving the care of the child to Juanita for much of the day, but Serena was so much like the child Lily had always wanted that it was impossible to ignore her entirely. That was one more piece of the day she didn't have to think about tonight.
Her goal was to find the music. A breeze lifted the loosened strands of her hair as she floated across the yard and toward the hill. The moon was just appearing on the other side of the barn, a silvery spectacle against the black of the sky. It wasn't full yet, but she could feel its pull. Lily shivered and listened to the night creatures harmonize with the notes of the flute as she progressed up the hill.
By the time she reached the top, Lily knew what she would find, but she didn't hesitate. The magic of the music was a rarity for which she would defy the laws of mankind. Already the throbbing in her head had lessened, and her body felt loose, at one with the world. This was the way it had once been and never would be again.
Tears formed at that thought. She didn't allow them to fall. Without a word, she sat down near the man who skillfully poured his talents into the crude reed instrument.
Cade had seen her coming. The overlarge white shirt she wore caught in the silver rays of the moon and gleamed like a ghostly image. He had thought the household asleep. He hadn't meant for any to hear but himself and the stars, but she didn't disturb the oneness between them. The music accepted her into its tightly drawn circle, and he continued to play until the song wended its way to the end.
Then he put the flute aside and turned his gaze to her.
It was impossible to conceive that this incredibly large man could produce such delicate music, but Lily knew better than to speak of miracles. She held out her hand in a pacifying gesture for her intrusion. "I miss music more than anything
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