Cody's Montana Sweetheart: A New Montana Brides Ebook (The New Montana Brides) by Susan Leigh Carlton Page B

her, holding an empty liquor bottle.
    “What happened,” he asked.
    “Stay out of it, it’s none of your business. This is between me and my wife,” Samuel roared.
    “When you hurt my mother, it becomes my business,” he said.
    “Why you sniveling punk,” his father said, “I’ll teach you to respect your elders. I’ll teach you a lesson too.” He drew back the arm with the bottle and made as if to swing it. The motion caused him to lose his balance and he fell. This infuriated him even more. He drew back the arm again, and started to swing.
    Cody had grown to six feet tall. The farm work had made him strong and muscled. He caught the arm with his hand. “You are nothing but a drunk, and you will not hit me,” he said. “If you ever hit my mother again, I will kill you. Do you understand? I will kill you.”
    “Get out of my house,” his father said. “You are no son of mine, talking to me that way. Get out.”
    “Cody, go to your granny’s house for a few days. He didn’t mean that. Please, I’ll be all right,” his mother said. “Please.”
    Cody found a croaker sack and put his few belongings in it and began the walk to his Granny’s farm. When he arrived, he asked, “Granny, can I stay here for a while? Papa made me leave. I’ll do your chores while I’m here.”
    “Of course you can stay,” she said. “It will be nice having you here.”
    With Bethany the next day, Cody said, “I’m not going to be able to see you as often. Papa kicked me out of the house, and I’m going to have to find a job. I’m staying with Granny Wilson for now.”
    “You poor thing,” she said. “Let’s go for a walk, and I’ll make it all go away.”
    The news electrified Dayton. On December 20, South Carolina seceded from the Union. Six other states quickly followed. The war talk increased, exasperating Bethany. “If there’s a war, I’ll have to go,” Cody told her.
    “You’ll do no such thing, Cody Thompson,”  Bethany said. “You’re not going off to some war.”
    The talk continued. On April 12, 1861, South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. It had begun. The headlines in the Dayton Daily Empire screamed “WAR” in large black letters that filled half of the front page. The newly inaugurated President Lincoln called for all states to send troops to recapture Fort Sumter. Four more states joined the seven that had already seceded.
    “The president has called for troops, and I am going,” Cody told Bethany.
    “Don’t go,” she pleaded. I have a little bit saved. We can go to Cincinnati and get on a riverboat and go out west,”
    “Bethany, I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be fair to all of those that stayed behind,” he said.
    “Oh pooh, who cares about fair? If you go to the Army, I’ll never speak to you again,” she said.
    “You don’t mean that,” he said. “You’re just upset.”
    “You think I don’t mean it? Just you try me and see,” she said, and flounced off, leaving him standing there, wondering what had just happened.
    Cody was mustered in as a part of the 16 th Ohio Infantry. The recruits boarded the train in Dayton amidst a loud fanfare. A band was playing, flags were waving and the crowd cheered loudly. Cody knew of no one in the crowd that cheered for him. He had not seen or spoken to Bethany since the fateful day when she delivered her ultimatum. He would never hear from her again. As the train pulled out of the station, Cody finally saw a single face he recognized. It was Annabel Simms, Bethany’s older sister. She was waving a small flag. As he watched, she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. She did not appear to be enjoying the festivities. She disappeared from his view as the train continued to pick up speed.
    The troops from Dayton were assigned to the 12 th Brigade of the Army of Ohio and moved to Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati, on the Ohio River.
    The unit was constantly on the move. They saw their first action in West Virginia,