No More Strangers

By Marsha Ward

Prose and Poetry of the West from acclaimed Western novelist Marsha Ward. Six short stories, three poems, and an excerpt from a forthcoming novel make up this collection of Western treasures, including the never-before-published "Thumps in the Night."

"Marsha Ward does a great job of putting you in the place and time and making you care about the [characters] you're reading about. That's storytelling at its best." ~Liz Adair, author of "Counting the Cost"

"Marsha Ward follows the great tradition of Louis L'Amour." ~Darrin Gray

"gritty realism, exciting action, compelling characters" ~C.K. Crigger, Western Author

"Marsha Ward's writing is vivid to the point of
breathtaking." ~Kerry Blair, author of "Ghost of a Chance"

"Marsha Ward has one foot in the 21st century and one in the 19th. Her characters hew closely to those wild days, portraying their lives and times. Readers love her for that. Other writers marvel at her use of the most modern of means to present her stories." ~Gary Svee, two-time Spur Award winner

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marsha Ward
• Release date: Apr 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458178527

Marsha Ward

Marsha Ward was born in the sleepy little town of Phoenix, Arizona, and grew up with chickens, citrus trees, and lots of room to roam. She began telling stories at a very early age, regaling neighborhood chums with her tales over homemade sugar cookies and milk. Her love of 19th Century Western history was reinforced by visits to her cousins on their ranch and listening to her father's stories of homesteading in Old Mexico and in the Tucson area.Over the years, Marsha became an award-winning poet, writer and editor, with over 900 pieces of published work. She is the founder of American Night Writers Association and a member of Western Writers of America, Indie Author Hub, and Arizona Professional Writers. She makes her home in a tiny forest hamlet in Arizona. When she is not writing, she loves to give talks, meet readers, and sign books.

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From the Back Cover

Prose and Poetry of the West from acclaimed Western novelist Marsha Ward. Six short stories, three poems, and an excerpt from a forthcoming novel make up this collection of Western treasures, including the never-before-published Thumps in the Night.

Marsha Ward spins an authentic yarn of a good ol' Western tale. ~Joyce DiPastena, author of Illuminations of the Heart

No More Strangers

Marsha Ward

No More Strangers

Copyright 2011 Marsha Ward

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

WestWard Books

P O Box 53

Payson, Arizona 85547

westwardbooks.com

Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

Cover Photo Copyright Laura A. Hardesty

Ebook ISBN 9781458178527

Smashwords Edition

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Table of Contents

Dedication

No More Strangers

Superstition Song

Trail's End

Cottonwood Cowboys

Badlands

The Usual Game

Custer

Going West

Thumps in the Night

Preview: Excerpt from Spinster’s Folly; Book Four - The Owen Family Saga

Author's Afterword

Connect with Me Online

Dedication

To the wonderful members of ANWA—American Night Writers Association—who have followed, led, challenged, pushed, and inspired me for many years. This anthology would not have been finished but for you. Thank you! ~Marsha Ward

No More Strangers

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.

~Ephesians 2:19

She was a lone woman in the wagon train now, and it made my heart ache to see her standing there by the flickering campfire, leaning slightly forward in her anxiety to learn the captain’s decision. Hers was a slim figure in the uncertain light, and that was as it should be, for she couldn’t be over eighteen, and had only borne one child that I knew anything about.

Her husband had taken sick with a fever a few days back, and it had worsened until last night. Now he lay out under the prairie sod, and she was left a widow with a son just beginning to walk.

She stood there, trembling slightly, as the captain of ten families, John Armstrong, looked up at her from under his bushy eyebrows as he sat on a keg of flour. He had an air of resignation about him as he tossed the stick he had been whittling into the fire.

Sister Porter, you may think it a harsh thing, but I got to think of all the families in my care. Now that Brother Porter’s gone, I got to turn you back to Winter Quarters. It’s just two weeks back, and I’ll send a couple of men along on horseback to see you get there safe. He stopped and looked into the fire, then shrugged his shoulders. You can go to Zion next season, when you get someone to take charge of your wagon.

Captain Armstrong fumbled with his clasp knife, then stuffed it into his vest pocket. Sister Porter twisted her hands in the cloth of her apron. The captain looked miserably up at her bleak face, then cleared his throat.

It’s not that I don’t want you to go to Zion, but a lone woman can’t manage this trek by herself, he said.

I don’t know what pushed me out into that firelight. Maybe it was the look of despair on her face. Maybe it was