Love Held Captive
Page 28
Dunlap’s mouth pinched. “I believe so, sir.”
“All right, then, let’s see what he wants,” he mumbled as they left the room.
After the door slammed behind them, conversation stumbled forward again, each person guessing why the commander needed General McCoy.
“This ever happen before, Kelly?” the Georgian asked.
Ethan shook his head. “Not that I can recall.”
After another twenty minutes or so, conversation petered out and they all huddled together in silence. The tension in the room increased as each minute slowly ticked by.
After another thirty minutes passed, Ethan was so stressed out he picked up his stick and knife again.
Just as the door opened.
They turned as one to greet General McCoy, who quietly closed the door behind him. It was so silent, Ethan was sure he wasn’t only hearing his own heartbeat, but the hearts of the men surrounding him too.
McCoy stood at attention.
One by one, each man in the room got to his feet and stood at attention too.
General McCoy’s expression was carefully blank, though Ethan was fairly certain he had seen pain in his eyes before he hastily covered it up.
“Gentlemen, it is my duty, as the highest-ranking officer of the Confederate States of America here, to inform you that the War of Northern Aggression has ended. Last month, in the town of Appomattox, Generals Lee and Grant met and signed the treaty. Tomorrow morning Dunlap will take the lot of us on a boat to land, where we will be given tokens for a one-way train ride to Kentucky. After that, we are on our own.”
“It’s over,” Robert Truax murmured.
“Almost over,” Thomas said, never one to look at anything through an optimistic light.
General McCoy stared down the line of them. “I would be remiss if I didn’t say it has been an honor and a privilege to serve with each of you. God bless and Godspeed on your travels home.”
When he saluted again, every man assembled saluted him back, holding their hands and posture steady for several seconds.
After everyone relaxed, the general pulled cigars from beneath his cot. “My Mimi sent these to me months ago. I’ve been saving them for a special occasion. I can’t think of a better time than now. You’re all welcome to join me.”
Most of the men followed suit, opening boxes and envelopes and pulling out cheroots and cigars, packages of tobacco, and, in some cases, pilfered containers of whiskey and moonshine.
Soon, only a few men remained in the barracks. Ethan was glad of that. He needed time to think and to come to terms with the wealth of emotions rushing through him. After all, was there anything more disturbing than despair mixed with joy? So many men had died for the cause. Just as many were maimed and disfigured. Now many would say they’d died for nothing.
Had they? Ethan didn’t know. He supposed only history would tell that story.
He thought about all the hardships they’d endured. The things each of them had had to do, the women who had gone hungry and been at the mercy of the elements without their men at their sides.
The door opened, bringing in the crisp scent of fresh air.
“There’s quite a party going on outside, Major,” Devin Monroe said. “You coming?”
“I don’t know.”
“I think you should,” he said, his voice light. “The stars are out and the air is clear. We have much to celebrate. After all, tomorrow is a new day.”
“I don’t feel like celebrating much right now.”
Looking concerned, Devin eyed him carefully. “What’s on your mind?”
To anyone else, Ethan would have smirked and said something meaningless. But he couldn’t do that to Devin. Neither of them deserved that. “Everything. I’ve been thinking about how much we’ve all suffered.”
“You speak the truth. We have suffered.”
“We buried so many men here too. We’ll never see them again.”
“That’s true. We’ll only see them again in heaven.”
Ethan was incredulous. “Do you still believe in heaven?”
“I never stopped.” Devin breathed deep. “I might be wrong, but I like to think the Lord has something better for us than killing and sickness and captivity and pain. He’s already sent Phillip Markham there. Too many others to count as well. One day, if it’s his will, I’ll join them. And maybe you’ll be there too. And Baker. And Truax. And we’ll all stand together and look down upon this island and nod our heads.”
Devin wasn’t making sense. “Why? Why would we nod our heads when we see this place?”
“Because when that day comes, we’ll understand. We’ll understand why this war happened, why we were brought here to Johnson’s Island. Why we survived and lived for many years after.” Striking a piece of flint, he lit his cigar. He puffed on the end, illuminating the air with a faint glow, surrounding them with the faint scent of sweet tobacco.
And then Captain Devin Monroe continued. “One day we’re going to understand why he put us here.” He lowered his voice. It turned thick with suppressed emotion. “And when we do?”
Ethan Kelly knew the answer then. “That will be enough.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.The scripture verse from Luke (Luke 17, 5-6) about the mustard seed guided me while writing this story. Were you familiar with this verse also? How might it apply to your life?
2.This novel features four characters who suffered and yet survived during the Civil War. With which character did you identify most? Why?
3.The themes of coincidence and God’s will are explored throughout the book. How do you relate to these ideals? Have you ever experienced something that you considered to be particularly coincidental?
4.I really enjoyed writing about a band of brothers who vowed to be there for each other for the rest of their lives. Who might you consider to be part of your own band of brothers?
5.Did you find the flashbacks at the prison camp to be helpful or distracting to the story? Why or why not?
6.What do you think will happen to each of the four men now that they have found happiness?
7.Of the four couples in this series, Robert and Miranda, Thomas and Laurel, Ethan and Lizbeth, or Devin and Julianne, which would you be most interested in reading a novella about?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Although my name is on the book’s cover, there are a great number of people who made this book possible. I owe a great deal of gratitude to everyone who worked so hard to make this novel as good as it could be.
First, I’m so very grateful for my husband Tom who helped me create Captain Monroe and his remarkable band of brothers one evening while we were making dinner. He and I both loved the idea of creating a hero who was larger than life. I owe Tom my thanks, too, for visiting Johnson’s Island with me. I also want to thank my girlfriend Mendy who toured the Menger Hotel with me in San Antonio, and my first editor Becky Philpott who had tea with me at the Menger and encouraged me to set a novel there.
I owe a great deal to my editor Karli Jackson for her help in fine-tuning this book and Jean Bloom for helping me get the timeline and organize the many, many details in this story. Also important was my first reader Lynne Stroup, who spent a great many hours helping me turn in a very long book on time.
My heartfelt thanks also go out to Kristen Golden and Allison Carter. These ladies in publicity and marketing work wonders! I also want to extend my appreciation to all the bloggers and reviewers who have embraced this series and encouraged everyone to give it a try.
Last but not least, I would like to give a little shout out to my father, who has been camped out up in heaven for over twenty years. It’s because of my Dad’s love of Louis L’amour, old westerns, and Palominos that I love them too. Thank you, Dad, for instilling in me a love of all things Texas. I think this series would have made you proud.
With blessings and my thanks,
Shelley
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shelley Shepard G
ray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in Loveland, Ohio, where she writes full time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.
Visit her website at www.shelleyshepardgray.com
Facebook: ShelleyShepardGray
Twitter: @ShelleySGray