Read Shifted By The Winds for Free Online

but didn’t look away. “I’m figuring Boss McMullin’s men set the fire. They were the first on the scene. They set up short hoses so the water couldn’t reach the fire, and then his men cut the hoses when the other fire companies arrived.”
    “We’ll talk about all that later,” Biddy replied, still grasping Elizabeth’s hands. She managed to sound calm in spite of the anger flashing in her eyes. “Right now we have some guests to take care of.” She fastened her eyes on Elizabeth. “I bet we have about the same amount of questions for each other, but there is nothing that can’t wait until the morning. You girls all look done in. You need some rest.” She glanced up the stairs. “I won’t be having much to offer you, but three of you can sleep in a bed. The other two will have to sleep on the floor. I’m real sorry about that.”
    “I’ll sleep on the floor,” Carrie answered quickly. She realized they could he halfway home by now if she hadn’t turned around to run back to the fire. As she followed Biddy up the stairs her mind was racing with questions, but she knew they would have to wait until the morning. Her brain was too fogged with fatigue to think any further than the appeal of sleep.
 
     
    Robert was up early the next morning, drawn downstairs by the smell of frying bacon and fluffy biscuits. His mouth was watering when he entered the kitchen.
    Annie looked up at him and smiled. “I figured you would be the first down.”
    Robert smiled back at Moses’ mama. “Aren’t I always?”
    “You got a real good appetite,” Annie agreed as she handed him a steaming cup of coffee.
    “I don’t normally wake up to tantalizing odors in the summertime. They pulled me out of bed.” Robert took the cup and settled down into a chair next to the cavernous fireplace that was mercifully empty. Annie usually prepared meals in the cookhouse during the hot summer months, but an unusually cool night, combined with a strong breeze blowing through all the windows and open doors, had convinced her to fire up the woodstove in the kitchen.
    “Looks like a storm is on the way,” Annie commented as she pulled the biscuits from the oven, their golden tops confirming they were perfectly done.
    “I hope so,” Robert replied, his eyes locked on the biscuits. “We need the rain, and it will cool things off even more.”
    Annie nodded, handed him a hot biscuit wrapped in a napkin, and then fixed him with her gaze. “I heard what you did for Amber yesterday, Robert. That was a right wonderful thing to do.”
    Robert grinned. He had seen Amber slip into the barn just after the sun rose. Right before she had entered, she had turned and given him a big wave of happiness. “She’s a wonderful little girl. It was the least I could do.”
    Annie didn’t comment, but just kept gazing at him.
    Robert finally squirmed under her examination. “Is there something you want to say, Annie?”
    Annie studied him a few moments longer and then started pulling bacon out of the pans on the stove. “You just keep right on changin’.”
    Robert didn’t pretend not to know what she was talking about. “I suppose I do.” The lines between whites and blacks faded a little more every day.
    “That be causin’ you any problems?” Annie asked shrewdly.
    Robert tightened. He had told Moses about the horses in confidence. “What did Moses tell you?” he asked, trying to temper the sharpness in his voice.
    “Moses ain’t been tellin’ me nothing,” Annie replied. “I don’t need nobody tellin’ me somethin’ to know there be trouble brewin’.” She held him with her eyes. “I also ain’t seen nobody comin’ down that drive to buy horses. I was owned by a horseman for a right long time. This be the time of year folks should be comin’ around to look at them fine babies.”
    Robert sighed, relieved in spite of himself that Annie suspected his problem. “People aren’t keen on buying Cromwell horses,” he