Faith of the Heart Read Online Free Page B

Tomorrow I’ll put it in a better place . Tomorrow, tomorrow I’ll pay my respects at Ginny and Richard’s graves and have a look at my store. MY store. Oh my goodness.
    Fighting exhaustion, Claire went into the sitting room, banked the fire, and returned back to the bedroom. She pushed aside her dresses, removed her shoes, and lay down upon the bed. Within seconds she was asleep.                                                                                                                  
                                              C HAPTER THREE
                                              A New Day
                                  Omaha, Nebraska, April 1868                            
    “Cockadoodle do! Cockadoodle do!” With a start, Claire awoke to bright sunshine and the noise of a boisterous rooster. She stretched and peered at the bare window. Frowning, she decided it needed polishing and pretty curtains.
     
    In fact this entire little room needs some attention. If I’m going to live here ¼ .live here ! I don’t know if I can do this, I’ve never had my own home before , let alone run a general store.
    Yesterday’s memories came rushing back. The long train ride, the death of her aunt, Sheriff Maxwell’s kindness. Sheriff Maxwell—an unexpected warmth flooded her cheeks.
    If all the men in Omaha look like the sheriff, why, this could be an interesting place. Surprised at her own thoughts Claire pushed them away and climbed off the bed.
                  She stripped off her wrinkled navy dress and washed herself with water from the bedside pitcher and bowl. Grimacing at her reflection in the mirror, she unpinned her unruly hair and brushed it thoroughly. The repetitive strokes untangled her locks and restored their shine.                             The morning sunlight gleamed on the waist-long mass, revealing burnished red highlights. Claire deftly plaited the length into a single braid down her back. It was a relief to not pin the heavy hair at her neck. The sheer weight of it sometimes gave her a headache.
    That done, she stepped into her i vy green dress and slowly fastened the row of tiny jade buttons. Carefully , she tucked her gold necklace inside of the bodice. The pendant was one half of a heart. The other half hung on a chain around Caleb’s neck. Or, at least, it used to. On their last evening together Claire had presented the necklace to her fiancè. They’d both sworn to wear their chains until they and their hearts could be reunited. But the war had dragged on and Caleb had never returned.
                  Claire thought about the battles that had torn the nation apart. The Civil War was supposed to last only a few months. Men had joyfully joined up, anxious to whip the enemy and be home for Christmas. Ninety day enlistments turned into six months, then two years, and finally three . Heavy casualties on both sides meant longer commitments for the north and the south. Brothers were killing brothers, uncles were killing nephews, and there were even instances reported of fathers killing sons. Northern soldiers , commonly known as Billy Yank s , and southerners or Johnny Reb s , were both fighting for what they truly believed in . President Abraham Lincoln desperately wanted to keep the union together and free the slaves. His Union Army was larger, better equipped, and expected to win the war. But for the smaller and scrappier Confederate Army, the fierce commitment to maintain their homes, families, and way of life gave them an edge. For many that also included the right to own slaves. Truth was, though, that very few southerners actually owned slaves. Plantation owners held the majority of slaves. No one else