Chapter 7

They rode in silence. He could tell she was crying. He could feel the wetness of her tears on his shirt. He wished they would have left sooner. Billy was nothing but trouble, and once he made his way back to Colin, things would get nasty for the townspeople. If Garrison had heard about the group of coloreds that tried to make it to the ballot box in Tennessee, he was pretty sure they had, too. His people were getting much bolder when it came to claiming their rights. The black code methods that should have been dissolved years ago were a huge part of the people here reality. Colin Clinton wasn’t going to let anything like that happen in his county. The coloreds would stay in their place under the white men’s rule.

He rode harder to make sure they made it to the hidden horse and buggy before sundown. He looked down at the top of the girl’s head again. He could tell she was now asleep, which was probably for the best. If she thought this was the hardest part, she was in for a hu