To Have and To Hold by Tracie Peterson, Judith Miller Page B

of biscuits emptied, she jumped to her feet and hurried to the kitchen. Aunt Thora was sitting at the small table by herself. Since “the invasion of Yankees,” she’d refused to eat her meals at the dining room table. Audrey set the platter on the table and waited until the old woman looked up. “I think Mr. Morley is going to hire Marshall Graham, which means we’ll have another Yankee moving into the house.” Audrey hoped her reference to Marshall as a Yankee would win Thora to her side. “I think he’s going to be one too many boarders for us. Maybe we should figure out a way to keep Mr. Morley from hiring him—or at least from having him move into Bridal Fair.”
    Thora hunched forward and reached for the jam. “Don’t know how you ’spect me to help. You and your papa spread the welcome mat for those Yankee invaders, and now you want to yank it back?” She popped a piece of biscuit into her mouth and wiped her lips. “I say the best thing to do is shoot a round of buckshot into the dining room and clear them all out of there. I don’t figure Mr. Graham’s any worse than the rest of those Yankees sitting around your grandmother’s table.”
    â€œAunt Thora! How can you even suggest such a thing?”
    The old woman looked up, her blue eyes as clear as a summer sky. “You asked for an idea. That’s all I got to offer.” She downed her tea and pushed up from the table. “You oughta give my suggestion a little more thought. Matter of fact, I’d be pleased to go and load the gun right now.”
    Audrey patted the woman’s shoulder. “I appreciate your offer to help, but I think I’ll need another plan. One that doesn’t involve guns.”
    Aunt Thora looked up at Audrey. “There’s a possibility we could overtake the Yankees with knives, but knives are risky, and we’re not as strong as some of those men.” She pointed a crooked finger at the dining room. “And we’re outnumbered.”
    Audrey shivered at the suggestion. She’d made a dire mistake seeking advice from Aunt Thora. If she didn’t redirect her, Thora would soon be gathering knives and attacking their boarders. “I believe we may need some additional biscuits, Aunt Thora. Would you mix up another batch?”
    Thora’s thick white eyebrows drooped low above her eyes, and her lips tightened into a thin line before she finally spoke. “One minute you’re talking about wiping out the enemy, and the next minute, you’re wanting me to feed ’em.” Frustration shone in her eyes as she yanked off her apron and slapped it on the chair. “I’m not sure which one of us is crazy: you or me. I’m going down and sit by the river for a spell. Maybe by the time I get back, you’ll decide what you want to do about the invaders.”
    For several minutes after Aunt Thora disappeared from sight, Audrey stared out the window. Her aunt was right: She didn’t know what she wanted. While they needed the income from the workmen, she certainly didn’t want the likes of Marshall Graham moving into their home and influencing her father to return to his old habits. Even though her father had given up drinking and grown in his faith throughout these past years, she didn’t know if he had the strength to resist his old ways if lured by the appeal of a so-called friend offering liquor.
    She couldn’t guess how much sway Marshall might have over her father. Guilt still occasionally plagued him when he remembered the incident that had taken Wilbur Graham’s life. Her father had been the one who’d convinced Wilbur to stop for a drink after work the night he’d been killed. If Marshall should happen to dwell on that topic for long, Audrey couldn’t be sure if her father would turn to prayer or down a bottle of liquor instead.
    When she finally returned to the dining room, the