Page 93 of A Rugged Beauty
Hollis raised his brows at her.
"He couldn't have convinced the soldiers to come and help us any other way," she said matter-of-factly. "Probably kept it a secret. I myself think it was sharp and efficient. Got us the help we needed."
But Alice wouldn't. Alice was known for her upright morals. Maddie was probably right. Braddock had been tight-lipped about how he'd convinced soldiers to help. Alice didn’t seem to know.
Hollis chose a sprigged gingham and had several yards cut for Abigail, imagining the gentle joy on her face when she saw what he'd chosen. He was browsing the glass jars filled with candy when a voice from the past spoke somewhere in the near vicinity.
"—flour so expensive in all my life."
He turned on his heel, his breath caught in his chest.
Peter.
He hadn't seen his brother, two years younger, for several years. The brown skin, so close in color to Hollis’s own, and dark mop of close-cropped hair beneath his hat were unmistakable.
“Peter?” His voice was rough when the name passed his lips.
His brother jerked, his head coming up. Looking at him was like looking in a mirror, the image slightly distorted.
"You're all grown up," Hollis fought against the hot ball of emotion that lodged in his chest.
"Hollis? Is it really you?" His brother looked as if he'd seen a ghost, but he stepped closer, only barely glancing at the store proprietor who'd been speaking to him.
Hollis couldn't hold back. He embraced his brother. The hold was too short. He stepped back, looking his brother up and down. Peter appeared worn, tired lines bracketing his mouth.
"Are you traveling with the group that just arrived?"
Peter nodded. He watched Hollis with brows drawn, emotion gathering in his expression as if he'd only just realized that his brother was standing before him in the flesh. "I thought to see you in Independence. I wrote."
The hot ball of emotion lodged itself firmly in Hollis's chest cavity.
"I couldn't," Hollis admitted, eyes down. "I'd left behind everything in my life that had been touched by Dinah's presence?—"
"Including your family." There was a touch of anger in Peter’s voice.
"I was wrong to do it." Hollis could see now how deeply he must've hurt his family. "I just... couldn't." He shook his head. Realized they were surrounded by curious patrons, shopping and meddling and listening.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I've missed you." Love for his brother washed over him. Another piece of his life that he'd walled away.
Peter seemed to soften. "The journey has been more difficult than I anticipated. On Phoebe and the children, too."
Children. Peter was married, and had children.
"Can I meet them?" Hollis asked. "I'll bring my wife."
A short time later, he approached the new ring of wagons with Abigail at his side.
Nerves had tied his stomach in a knot, and he couldn't seem to unhinge his jaw or relax it. Or let go of Abigail's hand where he clung to it.
She knew. She jostled their linked hands back and forth. "Everything is going to be fine."
He found her words more reassuring than her telling him not to be nervous. His brother had seemed more amicable toward him by the time Hollis had left him in the store, but he couldn't predict what Peter might say when they came face to face again. Maybe having more time to consider what he'd felt seeing Hollis, Peter might've found his anger again.
Firelight flickered between wagons as Hollis and Abigail approached.
"Uncle Hollis!"
"Unca!"
