Mischief and Magnolias Read Online Free Page A

save what you loved so much.”
    She allowed herself the luxury of a few tears then took a deep breath and forced herself to stop. Crying never solved anything. Although her heart remained close to breaking, she would carry on, as she had done every day since the Civil War broke out, since burying her father and watching her brother march off to join the battle.
    Sean and Brenna Cavanaugh had not raised a spoiled child. Shaelyn had not been coddled overmuch, although she knew she had been loved deeply. Her parents always encouraged her to be confident and independent, spirited and outspoken—within reason—and she’d done her best to make them proud. She wouldn’t let the Union occupation of her home change her.
    A soft breeze rustled through the trees and several leaves fluttered to the stone path, the scent of autumn heavy in the air. For the moment, a sense of peace flowed through her, as if Sean Cavanaugh understood. “Thank you, Papa.”
    Her resolve once more restored, she rose and took two steps toward the kitchen door before a rumbling noise caught her attention. She looked up. Not a single cloud marred the darkening violet sky stretching into the distance. The sound grew in volume until it seemed to thunder all around her and the earth shook beneath her feet.
    Shaelyn followed the flagstone path around to the front of the house, her feet lightly skipping over the stones in her haste. She stopped and stared at the sight before her, unable to move a muscle.
    The entire Union Army filled her driveway. Or what seemed like the entire army. Wagon after wagon pulled to a stop on the circular path. Men in uniforms jumped over the sides and quickly set to work.
    The front door of the house swung open. Captain Davenport came out and stood on the steps, his hands on the wrought-iron balustrade. A wide smile parted his lips.
    “I see you found us without problem.” Shaelyn heard him say as several officers climbed down from the carriages. They joined him at the top of the stairs.
    One of the officers, a man with gray in his sideburns, shouted, “Start unloading. Bring the provisions into the house.”
    The men formed a line up the steps, past the officers, and into Magnolia House’s central hallway. Item by item, they unloaded the wagons. Sacks of flour, sugar, and coffee were tossed man to man down the line. Barrels were rolled up the steps and down the hall.
    Shaelyn raced up the curved staircase and pushed her way through the circle of officers on the veranda, her focus on Captain Davenport.
    “Are you in charge of this this chaos?” The temper she had tried so hard to control simply broke loose. She couldn’t help it, nor could she stop it. “You couldn’t have them pull around to the back of the house to unload the wagons? There is an entrance to the cellar, right off the kitchen, Captain. Look what they’re doing to my floor!”
    Captain Davenport turned and glanced at the dirt being tracked into the house. Scratches from the barrels marred the beautiful marble. “I beg your pardon. I didn’t realize—”
    “No, of course not,” Shaelyn exclaimed. “Why should you realize what you’re doing to my house? You’re only here for a short while. Why should you care if you leave my home in shambles? You won’t be here to make it right!” She threw her hands up in disgust and pushed past him, slamming the front door in the face of a young private tossing a sack of flour to the next man in line. The sack hit the door with a thump.
    “My word!” one of the officers exclaimed. The statement traveled through the closed door and open windows into the hallway, where Shaelyn stood trying to calm herself before she approached the major. She drew in her breath and watched the line of men standing in the corridor, waiting for the next item to be passed their way.
    Another voice, one she did not recognize, floated through the open window. “Who is that lovely young woman?”
    “That,” she recognized the clipped