was wrong with her.” Surely even Graham couldn’t argue with that.
Sugar’s high-pitched whine drew Ellie’s attention. She looked down to find Betsy grabbing the dog by the tail.
“Not the tail, Betsy.” She gently pried the little fingers away, and Sugar retreated to a far corner.
Betsy’s face wrinkled, and she let out a long, low wail that sounded as if her heart had broken.
“Sugar, come,” Ellie coaxed, but the dog did her ceremonial dance of three circles and then flopped onto the floor, curling herself into a ball.
Ellie lifted the baby and held her against her shoulder, patting her back. “A wagon ran over Sugar’s tail last winter, and she can’t stand to have it touched.”
Graham strode to Sugar’s corner and bent down as if examining the tail. He must not have touched it, though. The dog would have let her know.
“Don’t you see that your schemes don’t work out because they aren’t based on logic? You have to think things through. You can’t expect a dog to sit with a baby all night long so the people in the house can sleep.”
Betsy’s sobs had dissolved into shallow, fitful breaths now, and Ellie lowered her from her shoulder and cradled her instead. The baby’s eyes drifted shut.
“Success,” Ellie whispered.
“Don’t forget how it went the last time she stopped crying.”
“I remember that Sugar quieted her, just as I thought she would. I wanted you to see that so you’d realize what a good idea my courtship plan is.”
“That’s not how it happened at all. Yes, Sugar momentarily distracted her, but that’s not what put her to sleep.” She could feel Graham’s exasperation in the air. “We’re not children anymore. I’m a grown man with a grown man’s responsibilities, and I can’t go along with you and play your silly games like I used to. This courtship of yours has to end.”
“Being an adult doesn’t mean you have to be gloomy all the time.”
“I’m not gloomy.”
Bless his heart. He didn’t begin to realize how much the war—and military school too—had changed him. “You used to be a lot of fun, but now everything is serious to you. The war’s over, Graham, and it’s time to stop fighting.”
A look of pain crossed his face, and although she used to know him better than anybody, she couldn’t understand that look or what had caused it. Was it her complaint about his seriousness? She couldn’t imagine that. Was he remembering the war, the suffering?
When he dropped his gaze to the floor as if unable to look at her, she knew. This powerful man, this war hero, had his mind on the past—their past—and she’d caused his pain with her careless words: You used to be fun. Her subconscious, underlying message spoke her truth: he wasn’t fun anymore.
But was that true? Considering how he’d spent the past eight years, was it fair of her to compare him to the carefree boy who’d proposed marriage to her?
She twisted the ring on her right hand. She’d give Mama’s best pearl if only she could take back those hurtful words. She wished she hadn’t said them, wished they weren’t true, wished she could somehow comfort him as she’d managed to comfort Betsy. She opened her mouth to say so, but he lifted one hand and shook his head.
“I can’t think about it tonight. I wasn’t this tired even after Chickamauga.” He strode to her side and took Betsy from her. “Let’s talk about it later. I’m going to put her in her crib.”
When he’d disappeared up the stairs, Ellie leashed Sugar and started for home, the mist of regret heavier in her mind than the settling fog.
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