Concealing Grace (The Grace Series Book 1) by Elizabeth Courtright

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    Eventually they reached the creek and spent a few minutes there before turning around to head back. The captain said, “Now it’s your turn to ask me questions.”
    “Okay,” Jessica said, but she didn’t ask him anything.
    Feigning distress, he teased, “You don’t want to know anything about me?”
    She liked his sense of humor and she liked how easy it was for him to make her smile. “You said you were from Virginia?”
    “Yes, that’s right. My father had a tobacco plantation, just outside of a little town called Norfolk.”
    Jessica took a breath. “When I first heard you speak, I thought from your accent you might be from Louisiana. It surprised me when you said you were from Virginia.”
    “Hmm,” he mused, “my mother was French. Perhaps I have some of her accent. No one has ever told me that before.”
    “Are your parents still in Virginia?” she asked.
    “No. They have both passed on.”
    “I am very sorry.”
    With a dismissive shrug, he said, “Time heals.”
    “Yes,” Jessica said, and then she asked, “When you retired from the army, why did you decide to come here instead of going back to your home?”
    “My home was burned during the war. I had the land but the house was gone,” he said. “I heard of Bent Oak Manor from an acquaintance in the army, and since I needed to start fresh, I thought why not? I like it here in Tennessee. Especially now that I’ve met you.”
    Jessica could feel heat creeping into her cheeks. She had to stay focused. “Do you… do you have any brothers or sisters?”
    He shook his head. “I am an only child.”
    “What about your friends and neighbors, and extended family?”
    “I was stationed in Northern Virginia, quite a distance from my home. It’s been years since I’ve seen any of my old neighbors. To be honest I don’t miss them. I have an aunt and uncle and some cousins somewhere, but I haven’t spoken with them for years either. I’m not sure where they live anymore.”
    How awful for him to be so alone, Jessica thought. He continued walking beside her as if what he just revealed about himself was nothing more than the time of day. She couldn’t imagine going through life with no close relative to depend upon. Without her father and Trent, she would be lost. “How long were you in the army?”
    “Thirteen years. Long enough,” he said dryly.
    “You joined before the war?”
    “Yes. I guess you could say I was troublesome when I was young. My parents sent me to a military academy. They thought it would straighten me up.”
    Lowering her eyes, Jessica dared to ask, “Did it straighten you up, Captain?”
    He laughed and Jessica turned to look at him. “Maybe,” he said. “Please call me Jon.”
    Jessica’s smile faded. “Yes. I keep forgetting.” Quickly, she added, “And please call me Jessica.”
    “I am honored,” he said.
    Eventually, as they meandered along, the barn behind the house came into view, and the captain asked, “Do you ride, Jessica?”
    “Oh yes. I love to ride. Would you care to see my horse?”
    “I would love to.”
    While they made their way toward the stables, she commented, “I’m sure your horses are very grand compared to ours. We only have five.”
    The barn door was open so Jessica led him through it. Trent was working the fields using their two draft horses. Jessica told the captain this, and then gestured to a small butterscotch mare chomping hay in her stall. “Her name is Jasmine.”
    The captain reached over the gate, rubbed Jasmine’s nose and cooed to her, telling her what a fine girl she was. It was clear by the way Jasmine leaned into him, she enjoyed the attention. Tickled by his actions, Jessica remarked, “You really do love horses?”
    His smile widened. “Oh yes, very much.”
    Jessica introduced him to Trent’s horse, Bullet, her father’s horse, Molly, and then she asked, “What’s your horse’s name?” As always, he’d left his huge, black stallion tied