A Love Story

By Doreen Milstead

A Widow & Her Sister & A Surprise Fiancé - After a widow’s farm is taken away she travels with her twin sister to Kansas, where her sister’s fiancé waits. They are both surprised as they stand on the train platform and the widow sees another man waiting with him, and the surprise is something that neither of them would ever have imagined.

A Well-Off Widow & Her Colorado Rancher - A destitute but formerly well-off widow decides to become a mail order bride to a rancher in Colorado – a man who is known to a neighbor and friend. With the memories of her late husband still fresh in her mind, she wonders how she can survive the daily life she is about to face, or even if she will survive and find love.

Beth & the Wounded Warrior - A woman decides to go to Texas, along with her sister, to become the wife of a man with two children, who was injured in the Civil War. Her life is idyllic, but not for long.

Riders From The Storm - The widow of a clergyman heads off to be a mail order bride to a Civil War vet with PTSD. She knows he’s troubled about the war and soon, she is drawn into his terrors; all of which appear to be focused on a tornado.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Hart
• Release date: Dec 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370196319

Book preview

A Love Story

By

Doreen Milstead

Copyright 2016 Susan Hart

A Widow & Her Sister & A Surprise Fiancé

A Well-Off Widow & Her Colorado Rancher

Beth & the Wounded Warrior

Riders From The Storm

A Widow & Her Sister & A Surprise Fiancé

Synopsis: A Widow & Her Sister & A Surprise Fiancé - After a widow’s farm is taken away she travels with her twin sister to Kansas, where her sister’s fiancé waits. They are both surprised as they stand on the train platform and the widow sees another man waiting with him, and the surprise is something that neither of them would ever have imagined.

Fair Play South Carolina

1887

Cassidy Jameson glared at the banker and sheriff. The two men stood, tall and proud, faces full of mock sympathy. She wouldn’t let them do this. Not while she had anything to say.

You can’t just take my land, sheriff. Mr. Nettles, you know me. You knew my husband. I’ve planted these fields and have lived on this land for four years. The two men looked at each other and when they turned back to her, any hint of kindness or sympathy was gone. Vanished like a fog.

Mrs. Jameson, your husband was a good man, but the law stands. Mr. Nettles’ voice was starting to grate on her nerves. A woman cannot own land without a husband, father, brother, uncle, or other male relative. You are not capable of caring for a farm anyway.

Cassidy felt anger flare up in her. She stood as tall as her five feet three inches would allow and stared down the two men.

Would you call me incapable? Truly? I cared for this farm all through the winter. I buried my own husband and then came back here and did enough work for both of us. I have my fields planted, for pity’s sake. I am more than capable of caring for a farm.

The sheriff wrapped an arm around her shoulders that was meant to be comforting. She pushed him away and gave him a look that dared him to find out what would happen if he touched her again.

Now, ma’am, you know as well as we do that the gentler sex just isn’t as hearty as men. You can’t possibly do the work of a man. It’s not right for a woman to own anything like land or a house, even. What kind of world would this be if you could own land?

What kind of world would it be if she could own land? The kind that made sense.

Gentler - You know just as well as I do that I am not some delicate little rose, Sheriff. I’ll show you how small an amount of gentleness I truly possess if you don’t get off of my land in the next minute.

The two men sighed, but did as told, the sheriff calling over his shoulder, You have one week, Mrs. Jameson and then you’re gone, like it or not.

Cassidy glared after them until they were out of sight. When they were, she fell to her knees as tears tried to leak from her eyes. She felt a stone dig into her right knee, but she didn’t move. The feeling of the stone was something solid. When nothing else was, that rock became an anchor.

God, what are you doing? Please, just show me what to do. I didn’t know how I could live without Leo and you took him from me. I don’t know what I’m going to do without our land and now I’m losing that as well. What is this? Is this a test? Are you trying to teach me something?

Cassidy gave a harsh laugh. If you’re trying to teach me that every man but my father and Leo are arrogant fools, then you’ve done it.

She buried her face in her hands, filled with an anger she’d never known before. Tears spilled down her face, adding to her mournful fury.

Please, Lord, make a way for me. Guide me through this. I’m lost. Her voice broke at the last word and she turned her face to the clouds gathered in the sky. A drop of water splashed against her face.

Cassidy thought it fitting that the sky be dressed for mourning and that it shed tears with her. That it was just as unreachable and gray as the future seemed.

As she walked into the post office, Cassidy found herself feeling slightly heartened by the chance of a letter from her twin sister, Liana. They’d been writing more frequently since the last November, when Leo had died. Every week or so, even with the distance between them, Cassidy received a letter from Liana.

Good morning, Miss Vladd. Do I have any letters today? Miss Vladd smiled, giving her a grandmotherly look. Miss Vladd was an old maid who lived with her younger brother. It wasn’t that the woman had never been in love. She’d told Cassidy that the man she’d loved had died before they could be married.

Yes, of course I do. It’s Tuesday, isn’t it? Cassidy gave the older woman a smile, though she mostly felt like punching a hole through a wall or crying until she ran out of tears.

When Miss Vladd held out the letter, Cassidy snatched it eagerly and dashed from the post office in a way more befitting a child than a woman of twenty-two. She practically ran home, her sole purpose in visiting town seen through.

When she reached the house, she was breathing heavily and sweat trickled down her face from her hairline. Cassidy sat in one of the simple wooden chairs Leo had made for their table and tore open the letter, nearly ripping it in her haste.

Dear Cassidy,

Mr. Cage has sent the funds for me to meet him in Kansas! Oh, Lord knows I hardly would have believed such a thing to be possible. We are to be married the evening I arrive and then it’s happily ever after. Oh, I know that you always say that marriage is more than just flighty feelings and skipped heart beats, but honestly, you must admit that at least once you were sure that love was all you needed.

Anyway, I leave in three weeks and would love for you to visit before then. You could get on a train and be here in a day. I would like to see my twin, my reflection, my parallel self, just once more before leaving for good.

Please send word as to your intentions, which had better be to visit.

-Your loving and giddy sister, Liana Woodhouse

Oh, Lord. Please make her see that marriage is not happily ever after. Cassidy checked the date on the letter. Three weeks. That left Liana leaving a week from Monday, the day that Cassidy was to be forcibly removed from her home.

She sighed, going to her moneybox and counting what was there. She had enough money to get herself to Georgia and enough for the idea that was half formed in her mind. Cassidy smiled, closing the box. She’d have to ask Liana, but she thought her idea would pan out.

Monday came upon Cassidy like a bolt of lightning. She felt it coming, felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up in warning, but it had surprised her regardless. She didn’t want to get out of bed. She didn’t want to dress, eat, or do her chores.

If she rose, if she did her part, if she decided to live her life, then the sheriff would come. The deputy would come. The banker would come. They would make her leave. They would throw words like weak, gentle, delicate and silly female at her. They would hide their greed for her little farm behind laws and technicalities.

Finally, when the sun was fully risen and its light had lost the gold of early morning, she threw aside the quilt she’d shared with her husband. She put on her work dress and an apron as though nothing were changing. She brushed her hair and braided it.

When they came to rid the property of her, she’d be waiting with a triumphant smile. She would already be leaving. She would be heading for a train that would take her to her sister. She would hold her head high and show them that she didn’t care what they did.

Cassidy dragged her trunk out of the house, setting it beside the door. She strapped the holster of the revolver Leo had given her to her waist. She let a sly smile come over her face. Those men thought they were wonderfully clever; that they deserved her land because they were men and because they could force her away.

She told herself that she would never get herself into a position where a man had control over anything in her life. She wouldn’t let men tell her what to do, where to go, or who to be.

God, give me courage, patience, and swift travel.

When the men showed up, they brought a wagon, as though they expected her to be bringing along all of her worldly possessions. Though she mourned the loss of the things she and Leo had worked for, she couldn’t bring them.

Mrs. Jameson, the sheriff said as the wagon pulled to a stop in front of her, is there anything we need to move?

She smiled politely.

Just this, Cassidy said, nodding to her trunk. The sheriff raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t question her.

Where do you intend to go now? The question was posed by Mr. Nettles. Cassidy gritted her teeth, hoping God would help her hold her tongue.

Well, I intend to go be with my family. If you . . . gentlemen would be so kind as to help me to the train station, I would appreciate it. Mr. Nettles nodded and the sheriff offered her a hand to help her into the back of the wagon. She ignored him. The deputy hauled her trunk into the wagon. She smiled at the effort it took.

Cassidy thought carefully on the things she’d placed in her trunk. She only had three dresses and a nightgown, so there wasn’t a lot of clothing in it. She’d put the hair combs that Leo had given her as a wedding gift in the trunk, along with her Bible, several treasured books, her husband’s favorite hat, her coat and thick leather gloves, and a big, heavy rock, just to be difficult.

When they arrived at the train station, Cassidy watched the sheriff struggling to lift her trunk into the luggage car. She knew the rock had been immature. She knew that she was a grown woman and therefore above such things. She didn’t care.

She watched passengers swirl into the cars, the conductor waving them in, asking how their days had been, where they were head. She laughed when an old woman hit the deputy with her reticule for staring at her just a moment too long. The best part was that he had been looking the other way.

Alright, Mr. Nettles said when the conductor declared it time to leave. It’s been wonderful knowing you, Mrs. Jameson, but I’m afraid you must depart. She held out a hand for him to shake and he stared at it as though it were poisoned.

When the banker finally shook her hand, Cassidy shook hands with the sheriff and his deputy. She tsked-tsked at the lot of them, folding her hands in front of her. She shook her head.

And not a callus amongst you. Shameful. A man whose hands have never known hard work is hardly a man at all. She sighed, and then waved cheerfully. Good-bye, now.

Cassidy rushed onto the train and found a seat near the back of the last car. When the conductor came around for her ticket, she smiled pleasantly, despite the ache in her heart and despite the two empty places where she’d once had a husband and a place to belong.

One thing that people have always refused to understand is that when someone takes a seat that is isolated, they don’t want company. They don’t want to make small talk. They want to be alone. Cassidy couldn’t understand why it was so hard to believe that a woman was not in want of companionship.

A boy who couldn’t have been more than ten sat beside her. She noticed that though he was young, he was at least as tall as she was. He seemed like a cheerful boy, but cheerful wasn’t what Cassidy wanted. What she wanted was quiet. Solitude.

How ya doin’? She sighed, turning a sarcastic smile on the boy.

Oh, just dandy. My husband is dead, my land is gone, I have nowhere to live, and I’m being forced into conversation. The boy nodded solemnly, folding his hands in his lap. He leaned around her to peer out the window, and then grinned.

Things could be worse. You could be all alone right now and now you have company. Cassidy gave the child a look that she hoped conveyed her lack of desire for any such thing.

I’m Danny. What’s your name?

She sighed, slumping in her seat. Cassidy Jameson. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Danny.

The boy’s face burned red and he slumped into his chair as well. What kind of child didn’t know when he wasn’t wanted?

Listen, Danny, we’re having a wonderful time here, but maybe you should go back to your mother. She’s probably worrying about you just now. Danny’s face fell into a look of sadness.

My mother isn’t here. She sent me on the train to go be with my father in Atlanta. He recovered his smile as guilt flooded Cassidy. She really wasn't gentle. Where are you going?

Well, my sister and my parents live in a little town that’s about an hour from Atlanta on foot. Liana is leaving soon and I’m going to visit her. Danny’s face grew thoughtful.

I always thought it would be nice to have a sister or brother. Papa left for Atlanta though, so I never got any. Are sisters fun?

Cassidy smiled. The boy was getting to be endearing, now that she’d accepted his presence.

Oh, it’s alright. I suppose I could be a bit unqualified to tell you, though. My twin is my only sibling and we’re more like two halves than two people sometimes.

Danny’s eyes grew wide with interest.

You’re a twin? She nodded. I would have thought there was only one of you. Your eyes are kinda strange, so I thought nobody else had ‘em.

Cassidy did have strange eyes -- an odd color of dark blue that was nearly purple. Her sister’s eyes were actually several shades lighter, but hardly anyone ever noticed the difference between them anyway.

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