All Chapters of Cordia's Will: A Civil War Story of Love and Loss: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Cordia’s mother had awoken her around seven o’clock, just before she and her father left to visit some friends of theirs for dinner. She had invited Cordia to come along, but she explained that she wasn’t feeling well, and Jane could see that certainly did not look up to coming. She had volunteered to stay home with her, considering that Frieda was out with her friends at the quilting bee, but Cordia insisted that she would be all right, so her parents had left her alone for the evening.An hour or so after they left, Cordia descended the stairs in search of something to eat, realizing she had not eaten anything all day. She lit a lantern, but the house was mostly dark except for the fire in the hearth in the parlor. The kitchen was toward the back of the house, and as she made her way into the room, she began to hear the floorboards creaking behind her. At first, she thought she was imagining things, but the further she walked, the mores she realized someon

Carey Adams was not a man to be trifled with. Even before he had left the Pikes’ yard, he was already formulating a plan to seek his vengeance. He galloped off in the direction of the county jail, seeking Sheriff Don Dickerson, intending to let him know that he had walked in on Will Tucker accosting his fiancée. He knew Cordia would deny it, of course, but if he could find a way to have Will arrested for even a few days, perhaps he would find the opportunity to make Cordia pay for rejecting him. Otherwise, he would have to take his vengeance a step further. Will needed to be eliminated, one way or another, and if he needed to call out the militia to do it, so be it.By the time Cordia and Will left her house, Sheriff Dickerson and his men were already on the way, riding at full speed toward the Pike house, intending to rescue Cordia from her attacker. Upon their arrival, Sheriff Dickerson charged into the home, his gun drawn. After a quick survey of the house, he

Cordia laughed at Will’s teasing statement about no one being close enough to hear his scrams, but it did raise a question for her. “What are the chances we’re going to run into marauders?” she asked.“Tonight?” he clarified. “Not very likely. We should be able to hear them coming, same as anyone following us from town. I will admit I worry about them coming back, though, when I’m at the house, probably because the memories I have of the morning Nolan was killed are so vivid. But you don’t need to worry, Cordia. I will protect you.”“I know you will,” she said, believing it wholeheartedly. Off in the distance, she could see a cluster of lights from what appeared to be a small town. “Is that Nevada?” she asked.“Yes,” he replied. “There’s a road up here that turns left and it goes back toward the house. If we go the other direction, we will arrive in Nevada

Each time Will stopped to consider the spot in the yard near the door to the diminutive log cabin, the place where Nolan had fallen and lost his life, he was taken aback. It was never easy to cross by there, and even tonight, with his new bride, he was consciously aware, as he led Cordia to the door, of what had transpired here such a short time, an eternity ago.Cordia was also aware that this may be difficult for him, and she said nothing as they approached the house. He was carrying her bag and held her hand. As he drew near the door, he opened it, setting her bag inside, and turning back to face her. She looked into his eyes, confused as to why he had not entered.“Cordia,” Will said quietly. “This house isn’t much, not yet, but I intend to make it a nice home for you and for Julia.”Cordia smiled. “Will, it doesn’t matter to me where we live, as long as we are together.”He leaned in and kissed her soft

“Did you have to do a lot of cooking for yourself when you were encamped?” Cordia asked, finishing up the rabbit stew Will had prepared for her while she was out scrubbing the bedding. The sheets were hanging on a makeshift laundry line now, her efforts successful.“Sometimes, if we could find something to cook,” he replied. “Spent most of the time eating hardtack though.” The memory made him grimace, and he was thankful, once again, that the army life was behind him.“Well, this was very tasty,” Cordia said, finishing up and wondering what she was supposed to do with her dishes. At home, they had a sink with a water pump. Clearly, she would be doing more washing in the basin outside.“Thank you,” he said smiling. “You like to cook though, don’t you?”“I do,” she said, nodding. “But we’re gonna have to figure out how to get a stove in here if you want me