Chasing the Sun by Tracie Peterson Page A

in his chair. “What do you suggest we do about it?”
    This question seemed to surprise Pritchard. “Well, I don’t know. What can be done?”
    “Seems to me the man is trespassing. Maybe he’s coerced Miss Dandridge into allowing him to take up residence at the ranch. It’s difficult to say, since he doesn’t seem to leave her alone for long.”
    Pritchard nodded and took a seat across from Lockhart. “I thought that, too. Seemed he was just a bit too friendly with her.”
    Lockhart let out a heavy breath. “Perhaps it’s a matter for the sheriff.”
    “Do you suppose so? What kind of charge would you put on Barnett?”
    “I’m not entirely sure. I’ll have to give it some thought.” Lockhart wanted to figure something out that would get Barnett out of his hair permanently. Pity he couldn’t pin Dandridge’s death on him.
    “Folks around here aren’t going to be too sympathetic to Barnett. His father was a traitor, pure and simple. Ain’t gonna tolerate that.”
    “I agree, Nels. I completely agree. This republic . . . state . . . wasn’t created with folks making allowances for such things. Now with the Comanche problems worse than ever, we need to present a united front and stand together. William Barnett and his kind would do better to head north and stay there. Once the war is over and we’ve won the right to govern ourselves, we’ll have an easier time throwing folks like that out of the state.”
    “Can’t come soon enough for me,” Nelson muttered. “I don’t abide cowards or traitors. Seems to me there’s a lot of both.”
    “You’re right, but it’s a necessary evil that we’ll have to tolerate for the moment. Half the local army is made up of men who didn’t want to take a stand in the war. At least they’re here to kill Indians, but that doesn’t mean we’ll need them once our good men return.”
    “No, sir. We won’t have use for them at all.”
    Lockhart considered the man for a moment. “You know, you would be within your rights to refuse him service at the store. If everyone acted accordingly, Barnett wouldn’t find it so easy to remain in the community.”
    “That’s a good idea, Herbert. A good idea. I’ll get the word out to folks. There’s no sense in encouraging him to stay. Once he sees we all feel the same way, he’ll have to go.”
    Smiling, Herbert Lockhart nodded. “Sounds like the start of a plan, Nels.”

     
    Hannah stood in the storeroom just off the kitchen and took inventory of their supplies. Things were getting harder and harder to come by. The blockades in the Gulf and along the Mississippi, not to mention the fact that the Comanche now controlled the Santa Fe Trail, had left Texas struggling to get by. There was plenty of beef, but it was too warm most of the time to keep the meat from spoiling. It didn’t salt as well as pork, although it could be jerked, and smoking it didn’t keep beef as long as it did pork.
    They did have the blessing of gardens, and the state was full of fruit trees. It wasn’t all that hard to get oranges up from the south or pears, apples, and figs from nearby. Pecans grew wild down by the river and wild hogs were plentiful, especially to the east of them. Hannah supposed they suffered far less than most in the South. Texas offered a wide variety of benefits within its own borders, and if they could hold the Union Army at bay, they might survive the war with less difficulty than the rest of the country. Sadly, Hannah knew that folks east of the Mississippi were truly suffering. She read about it whenever a newspaper made its way to the ranch, and she feared that if the North had their way, the entirety of the Confederacy would be starved out.
    The very thought made her all the more determined to work hard to put aside food for her family. Throughout the summer, Hannah had helped Juanita and Pepita to garden and can what they could. They had managed to raise a nice variety of vegetables, and those would surely