Confederate Lieutenant Anderson Blanks has grown weary of the War Between the States. He is all too aware of the tenuous thread that ties him to this earth -- as he writes a letter home to his sister, he realizes he may be among the dead by the time she receives the missive. His melancholy mood is shared by other soldiers in the campsite; in the cool Virginia night, the pickets claim to hear ghosts in the woods, and their own talk spooks them. Andy knows the "ghost" is nothing more than a wounded soldier left on the battlefield, dying in the darkness. With compassion, Andy takes the picket's lantern and canteen in the hopes of easing the soldier's pain. After a tense confrontation with the soldier, Andy is shocked to discover none other than Samuel Talley, a young man Andy's father had chased from their plantation when the romantic relationship between the two boys came to light. The last time the two had seen each other, Sam had been heading west to seek his fortune, and had promised to send for Andy when he could. Then the war broke out, and Andy had enlisted in the Confederate Army to help ease the financial burden at home. Apparently Sam had similar ideas -- he now wears the blue coat of a Union solider. Sam is severely wounded and infection has begun to set in. Andy can't sneak him into his own camp for treatment because all Union soldiers are taken prisoner. But Andy's Confederate uniform prevents him from seeking help from the nearby Union camp, as well. It's up to Andy to tend his lover's wound and get Sam the help he needs before it's too late ... and before Andy's compatriots discover Sam's presence.

A Heart Divided

Andy moved aside as Herbert stepped between the poles above Sam’s head. With Eli at the other end, the two of them lifted the stretcher, and Sam grabbed Andy’s hand before they could move away. “Andy…” 


Andy leaned down and silenced Sam with a tender kiss. “I’ll find you, I swear it. Give me another few months, that’s it. In the meantime, you get better, you hear me?” 


Sam nodded, his cheek damp with tears where it pressed against Andy’s face. His kisses were salty and sad, and he clung to Andy as if he’d never let him go. 


“We managed three years apart,” Andy whispered into Sam’s hair. “Another few months will be nothing. You’ll see.” 


“Every day will be an eternity without you,” Sam replied. When Andy grinned, he cried, “It will be! Don’t laugh.” 


“I won’t laugh,” Andy said, kissing him again. How could he? Sam’s voice was so earnest and tired. 


Chapter 26