Please... no..." came a choked moan from behind the couch. Linda was taken back but then her curiosity got the better of her."Yes, I believe I can han...le it Beverly. At least I THINK I can." She was obviously interested and she lifted her head a bit and stood on her toes trying to see where the noise had come from.Beverly led her through the room and around to the back of the sofa. When she first saw him she gasped and took a half step backwards. Then she caught hold of herself and walked a. I told her about our going dancing tonight. I'm afraid I let the good news get the better of me. I grabbed Mama O'Grady, lifted her up and spun around a few times. Of course when I let her down, I had to run to my room to avoid being hit with the kitchen broom. Mrs. O'Grady's arm had healed well and she was in fine form as she chased me up to the safety of my room.I had just the suit to wear tonight, so that I didn't embarrass Sarah. It was the suit I wore to funerals and weddings. When I came. Cassius wasn’t of age; so, he couldn’t claim his 40 acres. He also seemed to be one of the few freedmen who wasn’t interested in the schooling. He did understand farming, though, and Sam kept him on to tend the cornfield.After harvest time, he had thought that he would, at least, have the money for his needs. Now, though, he was less certain. That was one worry he could bring up with Deborah if he phrased it right.“More and more of my customers are asking for credit,” he said. “I didn’t mind. One of the perks of having no money worries was being able to buy a huge place. Five bedrooms, a garage for three cars and several acres of land. My wife spent her energies, landscaping the front and really making the place just so beautiful. She had worked very hard, almost to the point of exhaustion, but it was finished and to celebrate her creation and the fact she was about to become forty. I threw a big party, inviting all of our friends as well as many local people we had grown to know.