Daybreak|| Jasper Hale {1}

Chapter Eight

  

July 1861

  "Couldn't stay away, Miss Leanne?" A voice teased, and I spun around, a smile on my face as my eyes cane to rest upon Major Whitlock.

  "I brought pie." I said, unwrapping the pie and handing it over. "I hope you like apple cinnamon."

  "It's my favourite actually." He said, and it was pathetic how much my heart began to beat, threatening to find it's way out of my chest as I spoke to the attractive Major.

  Charlotte had abandoned me the second we got to the camp, and I wished she hadn't so she would be able to keep my infatuation in check. It was sickening, trust me on this fact.

  The Major- Jasper brought the pie up to his face, smelling in a dramatic fashion. "You're the bakers daughter, right?" He asked, gesturing for me to follow him as he went inside one of the tents, placing the pie down on a desk.

  I sat in one of the wooden chairs in the desk, folding my skirts around me. "Yes, I am. Harvey Hollis is my Pa." I said, and Jasper smiled.

  "He's been good to us while we've been stationed here. He brings us bread free of cost. Your Pa's a good man."

  I was practically glowing with pride. I knew my father was a good and righteous man. He always tried to help everyone he could, even if it put us at a disadvantage. It still made me happy to hear though.

  "What about you Major, where are you from?" I asked, and he gave me a face, his eyebrows furrowing together.

  "I seem to remember asking you to call me Jasper." He teased, and my cheeks began to flush. He was sitting at his desk, or at least I presumed it was his desk, but he had turned the chair to face me.

"Sorry, Jasper." I said in the same tone, and he grinned at me, flashing his straight teeth. "Where are you from, Jasper?"

"Galveston."

  He was a Texan. I reveled in the new information, though it wasn't a surprise. The accent gave it away, a certain ring to it that only someone born and raised in Texas could have.

  "How old are you Major?" I asked, curiosity overwhelming me. He couldn't be much older than me, his youthful face containing a roundness seen only by those on the tail end of puberty.

  "Jasper." he insisted once again. "If we're going by my papers I'm twenty right now." He said, a smirk on his face, and I was suspicious. He didn't look like he was my age, and the way he'd phrased it made it seem like he wasn't. He was trying to show off, his smirk told me that much.

"How old are you really?"

  "I just turned eighteen." He confessed, and the smirk fell from his face.

  A man almost two years my junior was a major. He should be barely starting out with the troops, yet he'd most likely spent two years with them already.

  "Why did you enlist so early?" I found myself asking, hoping he wouldn't mind my prying.

  "I had to." He said, his blue eyes hardening, and I knew that thread of conversation was over the second I saw his steely gaze. He must have been poor, I deduced. He hadn't shown much pride for his position, though he carried himself like he had earned the right to be above people, his head held high.

  It was different from how Charlotte carried herself. Charlotte knew that whatever she asked for would be given to her, she hadn't earned anything except my friendship. When you were born into a position of power your outlook on life was lighter. He couldn't have been the heir to a plantation, his hands were too calloused and his skin was too tanned. He'd done hard work in his life. It was obvious.

  He'd started out with nothing and lied in order to rise above his station. It was respectable. I was always good at figuring people out, finding out their motives or reasonings from a few well played words.

  Pa had always said I would have made a great son.

  Jasper cut into the pie that I had given him, separating it into triangles, and he spoke with his back to me. "I'm very glad that I had the pleasure of meeting you before I left, Miss Hollis."

  I was confused, and the small part of me that had grown quickly attached to him didn't like him talked about leaving. It was like a kitten trying to roar, insistent that he didn't leave. "You are...leaving soon?"

  Jasper turned to me, handing me a slice of pie and the silverware I'd provided for only him, and I took the slice graciously. "We were just here to scout out the area, and stock up on supplies." He said, taking a small  bite of the pie and smiling. "Did you make this?" He asked, cocking his head.

  I nodded.

  "It's amazing." He said, before taking another bite, and I blushed at his praise.

  "Could we stay in contact?" I asked.  I'll admit to myself now that I was naive. After two conversations with the man I wanted to start up a correspondence, and truth be told it wasn't very appropriate. Jasper didn't seem like the type to care about conventions though, as he'd lied his way to the position he had now. I was thankful for that.

  Jasper gave me the information I would need to send letters to him, scratching it out in neat handwriting on some of his stationary, and I did the same. "When do you leave?" I asked, wanting to make sure I'd be able to say my goodbyes in person.

  "A weeks time." A week wasn't long, but I knew that I'd be able to see him at least twice in that time, given my schedule. I wouldn't miss his parting for the world, finding myself to be quite taken by the blond major.

  "I'll be here to see you off then." I said with a smile, rising off of the chair and dusting off my skirt, and he smiled right back.