knowledge about horses made perfect sense now.
Mitch’s brows went up. “You’re a long way from home.”
“I am, yes.”
“And—pardon my curiosity, but how is it that you are a Union sympathizer, ma’am?”
Justin fought back a groan at his brother’s bluntness.
She shifted in her chair, for the first time looking the slightest bit uncomfortable. Justin would have told Mitch to mind his own business, but he was curious about her too and stayed silent while she answered. “Kentucky is a border state, so there are plenty of Unionists. I’m proud to say my brother, Morgan, is a Union cavalryman too.”
Mitch didn’t know when to leave well enough alone. “So then you have family fighting for the South as well?”
The barest tension pinched her expression. “Yes. My father.”
It wasn’t an uncommon story, yet Justin couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have his family divided by the war. From her closed expression and body language, he sensed she was uneasy with the turn in conversation. He aimed a warning glare at Mitch, who didn’t seem to notice her distress.
“And your husband?” he pressed, apparently having noticed her wedding ring. “Did he enlist as well?”
Brianna’s expression froze, something like grief flashing in her eyes.
“Mitch,” Justin warned, longing to smack him.
“No, it’s all right,” she answered. She lowered her eyes, paying a lot of attention to a pleat in her skirt. “I’m a widow. Three years this summer. But yes, he served in the army. The Union army,” she clarified.
Justin’s gaze automatically went to the gold band on her finger. The significance wasn’t lost on him. She might have lost her husband at the start of the war, but she hadn’t let him go yet. The realization was damned discouraging.
“Oh, sorry,” Mitch mumbled then cleared his throat. “Any other family?”
She shook her head, this time with a delicate blush staining her cheeks. Mitch frowned and exchanged a puzzled glance with him.
Still fussing with her skirt, Brianna responded. “My mother died before the start of the war and I haven’t seen my father since it started, so other than my brother, I don’t really have any family left.”
The flash of sadness on her face made Justin long to stuff his brother’s booted foot into his flapping mouth. He aimed a withering glare at him instead, silently commanding him to stop talking.
“I’m sorry,” Mitch said, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t have asked you had I known—”
She waved his concern away, the sadness evaporating into a calm, almost remote expression. “That’s all right. It’s all in the past now. What about you two? Do you have any family?”
“Our mother lives at home in Detroit,” Mitch answered.
She looked at Justin. “And your father?”
“Was killed in the Mexican War,” he said.
There it was again, that spark of understanding in her eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
He shrugged, but before he could say anything else, Mitch broke in.
“That’s partly why we didn’t enlist right away when the war broke out. After what happened to him, our mother was beside herself at the idea of us going to the front.”
She looked pointedly at Justin’s chest wound, then Mitch’s injured arm. “I wonder why?”
Mitch barked out a laugh. “You sound just like her. We’d be getting an earful right now if she were here.”
“I would be happy to perform the honors in her absence,” Brianna offered, a teasing glint in her eyes.
Justin declined with an upraised hand. “I’ll be hearing it soon enough, I fear.” He envisioned the scene when their mother laid eyes on her wounded boys. The wails, the hysterics… He grimaced.
“She sounds like a very wise woman.” With a quiet sigh, Brianna pushed to her feet. For a moment she looked weary, and Justin wished he could do something to lighten her burden. She worked hard. Too hard, from what he’d seen. And from the sounds
Mitch’s brows went up. “You’re a long way from home.”
“I am, yes.”
“And—pardon my curiosity, but how is it that you are a Union sympathizer, ma’am?”
Justin fought back a groan at his brother’s bluntness.
She shifted in her chair, for the first time looking the slightest bit uncomfortable. Justin would have told Mitch to mind his own business, but he was curious about her too and stayed silent while she answered. “Kentucky is a border state, so there are plenty of Unionists. I’m proud to say my brother, Morgan, is a Union cavalryman too.”
Mitch didn’t know when to leave well enough alone. “So then you have family fighting for the South as well?”
The barest tension pinched her expression. “Yes. My father.”
It wasn’t an uncommon story, yet Justin couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have his family divided by the war. From her closed expression and body language, he sensed she was uneasy with the turn in conversation. He aimed a warning glare at Mitch, who didn’t seem to notice her distress.
“And your husband?” he pressed, apparently having noticed her wedding ring. “Did he enlist as well?”
Brianna’s expression froze, something like grief flashing in her eyes.
“Mitch,” Justin warned, longing to smack him.
“No, it’s all right,” she answered. She lowered her eyes, paying a lot of attention to a pleat in her skirt. “I’m a widow. Three years this summer. But yes, he served in the army. The Union army,” she clarified.
Justin’s gaze automatically went to the gold band on her finger. The significance wasn’t lost on him. She might have lost her husband at the start of the war, but she hadn’t let him go yet. The realization was damned discouraging.
“Oh, sorry,” Mitch mumbled then cleared his throat. “Any other family?”
She shook her head, this time with a delicate blush staining her cheeks. Mitch frowned and exchanged a puzzled glance with him.
Still fussing with her skirt, Brianna responded. “My mother died before the start of the war and I haven’t seen my father since it started, so other than my brother, I don’t really have any family left.”
The flash of sadness on her face made Justin long to stuff his brother’s booted foot into his flapping mouth. He aimed a withering glare at him instead, silently commanding him to stop talking.
“I’m sorry,” Mitch said, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t have asked you had I known—”
She waved his concern away, the sadness evaporating into a calm, almost remote expression. “That’s all right. It’s all in the past now. What about you two? Do you have any family?”
“Our mother lives at home in Detroit,” Mitch answered.
She looked at Justin. “And your father?”
“Was killed in the Mexican War,” he said.
There it was again, that spark of understanding in her eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
He shrugged, but before he could say anything else, Mitch broke in.
“That’s partly why we didn’t enlist right away when the war broke out. After what happened to him, our mother was beside herself at the idea of us going to the front.”
She looked pointedly at Justin’s chest wound, then Mitch’s injured arm. “I wonder why?”
Mitch barked out a laugh. “You sound just like her. We’d be getting an earful right now if she were here.”
“I would be happy to perform the honors in her absence,” Brianna offered, a teasing glint in her eyes.
Justin declined with an upraised hand. “I’ll be hearing it soon enough, I fear.” He envisioned the scene when their mother laid eyes on her wounded boys. The wails, the hysterics… He grimaced.
“She sounds like a very wise woman.” With a quiet sigh, Brianna pushed to her feet. For a moment she looked weary, and Justin wished he could do something to lighten her burden. She worked hard. Too hard, from what he’d seen. And from the sounds
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