Page 86 of After 5
There was too much death. Bullets thudded as they cut through flesh, gunfire echoed in the distance like a thousand men chopping wood. The wail of the injured men and animals accompanied by the occasional boom of the cannons had me covering my ears and curling into a tight ball. My stomach clenched, and I waited for calm.
As I raised up in the dusty pink of the cannon dust, that’s when I saw him, creeping through the trees toward my landing area. He was dressed in federal blues. Caiyan, a few feet from Marco. The two men I loved most were on opposite sides of the proverbial Mason-Dixon line and the battle raged on.
Chapter 17
Marco and Gertie were waving me toward them. Another cannon blast hit close to the trees, and they disappeared in a thick cloud. I circled around behind the neck of the woods where I had last seen Caiyan. Thankfully, the shooting had stopped, and the sound of cannons rumbled further into the distance.
I took cover behind a giant spruce and peeked at my pocket watch. Seven thirty. The battle for Culp’s Hill now occupied the attention of the generals—except General Lee, who, because of me, was AWOL.
The air settled into a hot, soupy haze that clung to my clothes and dampened my hair hidden under the dark wig. Keeping a lookout for the Mafusos, and my head down in case the ceasefire decided not to cease, I moved inward.
If what Ace said was true and Caiyan had been to this time before, I wasn’t sure which Caiyan I was dealing with. My heart pained if the Mafusos dropped him here and I was too late. Had his young self appeared and ripped the man I loved from the fabric of time? I pushed the thought aside.
I moved stealthily through the trees. He stood, foot propped up on a boulder, transferring the weight of his pack by leaning with an elbow on his knee. He used a handkerchief to mop his brow. He pocketed the handkerchief, took a drink from his canteen. Replacing the cap, he began to move toward my landing area.
The age seemed right. Certainly, older than the man who took the sword from Mr. Raney in Purley. If the man I saw was my Caiyan, he wouldn’t recognize me in this getup, dressed as a man, and that could be dangerous.
I removed my hat and wig, shaking my hair free.
Caiyan disappeared from my sight.
I hastily manscaped the beard and tucked the disguise into my hat. Securing the hat in the crook of my arm, I hurried after him. At least he’d take a second look before shooting me.
From the looks of things, he’d been busy confiscating gear after he arrived. He didn’t carry the rifled musket, standard issue for a soldier, but instead holstered a handgun in the front of his belt. A far cry from the tuxedo he wore only hours earlier.
The last image of him standing at the altar with Mahlia sent the mercury climbing. When I was a few feet from him, my mouth took over, leaving my brain behind.
“You were going to marry her!” I couldn’t help myself. The words came out before I could stop them.
He whipped around, drawing his Colt Remington revolver, and aimed it my way. His eyes grew wide at my disguise, then sparked with a familiar anger.
“Sunshine, I asked ye to trust me. Yet here ye are.” He waved the gun horizontally in front of him. “This is not jest dangerous, ’tis suicide. These men don’t care tha’ yer a woman, although they willnae be able to tell.” He eyed my uniform. “Is that a mustache?”
My hands flew to my mouth. I had forgotten to remove the furry upper lip. I lifted my chin and puffed out my flattened chest. “Who gives a rat’s ass if I’m a woman? I can defend myself. Besides, you’re the bad guy now, I’m here to arrest you.”
“Arrest me?” He laughed and lowered his weapon. “Go home, Jen. I order ye to go home.”
“You can’t order me around. You’re not my defender anymore.”
His shoulders slumped and the hard muscles in his jaw tightened. “I dinnae want ye here. Thought I took every precaution to keep ye safe.”
“I found the sword.”
His brow furrowed and he pressed his lips tight, pausing from his lecture.
“My shoe closet was a terrible hiding place.” I wafted my hand at him nonchalantly. “It was the first place I looked.” Not entirely true, but whatever.
“Go home!”
“I’m not going home without answers, and…Marco and Gertie. We got separated and I need to find them.”
“Ye brought Gertie here? Has the entire bunch of ye gone mad?”
“Gertie is a competent authority on Gettysburg.” I wagged a finger at him and met his glare.
“You go home now!” he shouted at me.
“I have to complete my mission and find my defender.”
