Once A Cowboy, Always A Cowboy: Four Historical Romance Novellas

By Doreen Milstead

Woman & Child Facing The Odds To Reach Her Cowboy - A widow with a child decides to move from her farm after struggling to make ends meet by herself, so she corresponds with a cowboy in California. She travels to meet him in a city that is at the end of one of his cattle drives, and they agree to marry. She returns to her home and then she and her son strike out west from North Carolina by wagon to meet her new fiancé. There are hazards and trials along the way, let alone the fact that her soon to be husband is often gone for months at a time.

Trying To Forget The Past & Embracing The Present - An English woman has moved to California to become the mail order bride of a former gold miner with a daughter who is lost to him. There are obstacles to overcome first, one of which is the man’s former drunken life and what caused it.

Herded West Like Cattle While Trying To Find Cowboy Husbands - A group of women, both contracted and uncontracted, travel west to seek out new husbands by means of a small wagon train run by an unscrupulous man and his cronies. One strong woman sticks up for everyone, conquers the challenges along the way, and defends one young girl with a mysterious and troubled past. At their last stop in Nebraska, the leader of the wagon train faces justice, and the remaining women, their new lives.

Shades Of Blue And Grey - 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: Mar 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370193844

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Once A Cowboy, Always A Cowboy: Four Historical Romance Novellas

By

Doreen Milstead

Copyright 2017 Susan Hart

Partial cover copyright: dmitrimaruta / 123RF Stock Photo

Woman & Child Facing The Odds To Reach Her Cowboy

Trying To Forget The Past & Embracing The Present

Herded West Like Cattle While Trying To Find Cowboy Husbands

Shades Of Blue And Grey

Woman & Child Facing The Odds To Reach Her Cowboy

Synopsis: Woman & Child Facing The Odds To Reach Her Cowboy - A widow with a child decides to move from her farm after struggling to make ends meet by herself, so she corresponds with a cowboy in California. She travels to meet him in a city that is at the end of one of his cattle drives, and they agree to marry. She returns to her home and then she and her son strike out west from North Carolina by wagon to meet her new fiancé. There are hazards and trials along the way, let alone the fact that her soon to be husband is often gone for months at a time.

Frank sat in a saloon relaxing after a long trek back to Arizona from Mississippi. He had been accompanied by his small crew; a wrangler, two other cowboys, and a cook. They had pushed over 600 cattle from his farm to the Eastern state for sale on the local market. The job had paid well and Frank was sitting on a stool drinking a beer.

He would typically enjoy a beer more than he was, but Frank was lost in thought. This drive had been a particularly troubling one. It wasn’t his company so much as his thoughts. Several times on the way back his companions had mentioned how much they were looking forward to coming home.

Both of the cowboys and the cook had families waiting for them. Frank wondered if his other cowboy companion had been sharing the same thoughts he was having as they lay under the starry sky that night. Would Frank ever have a wife and family?

Frank had come from a well-off family in North Carolina. His father was a skilled farmer and was able to earn a decent living. Frank, however, had always dreamed of the greater things in life. When the gold rush happened in 1849, Frank was very interested. His father told him he was being difficult and would never make it as a gold miner. However, Frank didn’t have anything holding him back.

He and his wife had tried for years to have a child. When they did finally conceive, both she and the child died during labor. Frank had always dreamed of having a family, but now dreamed of heading west and staking his claim.

Frank spent long hours working before he finally saved up enough for a boat ticket. He saved money for supplies, food and the other necessities he thought he was sure to need before he struck it rich. He sailed to California on The Senator in 1850.

When they pulled into port, Frank was one of the first to grab his belongings and leave the ship. He sought out lodging for the night and purchased a horse. The next morning, he packed up his satchel, purchased food and drinks for the trip and set off for the river.

Frank did find gold here and there. It was enough to purchase food and supplies, but not enough to make a decent living. Then, about a year after his arrival, Frank brought in a particularly large haul of gold. Instead of reinvesting this in the food and supplies he would need to keep mining, Frank made the decision to purchase himself a piece of land and build a small house.

He then built a stable, a corral, and a few horses. Frank also grew some vegetables on his land. He had worked on a farm for years, and knew he could grow his own sustenance until he managed to make a living as a cowboy.

It was now twenty years later. Frank was forty-two years old, a fairly successful man, and now missing the one thing that money couldn’t buy—a family.

May sat at her table writing in her journal after a long day of work. It was her birthday. Today was a particularly stressful day. She went to the market to try to sell some of the potato crop from the current year and made some money, but not nearly enough. She was fearful of losing the house and finding work was hard, especially because she had to care for Joseph during the day.

She had just turned thirty and was fearful of becoming an old spinster, and just a burden to her Joseph. He would be able to start working in a few years, but she didn’t expect him to support her in her old age. Even with his companionship, she felt destitute and lonely. She had needs that only a husband could satisfy. She didn’t see a lot of hope for herself though. No man would be interested in a widowed woman with a child, especially one of her age.

May had her own property, but only because she had lost her husband in 1862. Joseph had been just a baby then and May worked as hard as she could to keep up her husband’s farm. The Civil War had also taken her brothers and father, leaving her mother alone. She had died just a few years later even though she was in perfect physical health, probably because of a broken heart. May now had no one but Joseph and was not sure how long she could take care of her son.

She worked hard to keep up the farm, but her horses and cattle had died after contracting Texas Fever. She still sold fruits and vegetables at the market and worked long hours as a seamstress, but it was hard to make ends meet.

While May was in the market that day, she had been speaking with some of the other women from surrounding farms. One had spoken of heading out west, where she had heard there were thousands of men looking for wives. She also spoke of a reading material called Matrimonial News. She said it published ads from men and women looking for companionship out west. It was a long shot, but May couldn’t stop thinking about having a family again. She knew there was little chance because of her age and marital status, but still had hope.

After finishing her seamstress job the next day, May went out and bought paper and some ink. She sat down with her quill and began writing her advertisement for the Matrimonial News. After several tries, May came up with this:

A hard-working widow of 30 seeks marriage to a man out west. She stands 5’1", knows her way around a farm, and can also earn her keep as a seamstress.

With this short written letter, May attached a photograph. It was an older photograph, one that showed May at a happier, less stressful time. She still had the same twinkle in her eyes, but the stress of life had left her face worn and somewhat wrinkled.

Now, she almost always wore wrinkles of worry across her forehead. She was unsure of how to contact Matrimonial News, but hoped someone at the post office could help her. May went to tell Joseph she was parting for the railway post office. She saddled up the last horse on the farm, packed her letter, picture, and money safely in the satchel, and departed for the post office.

Once she was there, she found that the post office staff was very knowledgeable about Matrimonial News and assured her that her letter would arrive safely. She handed over a coin for postage and thanked the man graciously for his help. She also included the fee for the ad being published in the paper. May then continued home for one of the longest waits of her life.

It wasn’t until three weeks later that the post was finally published in Matrimonial News. Frank had just finished yet another cattle run and was sitting once again in the same saloon drinking a beer. He looked up and caught his reflection in a dusty mirror. Frank’s face had been worn with time. Though he was in his early forties now, his youth could still be seen in his eyes.

They were a bright blue that sparkled every time the light hit them just the right way. They reflected a happier time in Frank’s life, an easier time. His hair was black, with streaks of silver throughout. Frank was a good-looking man for his age. It was the competition with the younger men and the lack of women in California that left him going to bed alone night after night.

Frank looked down at the table, still lost in his thoughts. He noticed a greyed piece of print out of the corner of his eye. It read Matrimonial News. This is just what I need, he thought to himself. A piece of paper boasting the happy lives of wed couples. He tossed it to the side and continued to sip his beer. He signaled to the barkeep when he finished.

Another beer over here, he said.

When the barkeep delivered his beer, Frank gestured to the reading material.

Who prints this smut? Frank asked him. So many men out here are lonely and people just advertise their happiness in papers like this.

Actually, this paper is about the single people. It has ads of men out west and women in the east who are looking for companionship. It is well worth a read if you are willing to take a risk, the barkeep told him.

Frank thanked him for the beer and his information. He sat down and sipped his frothy mug, and once again peered over at Matrimonial News. He saw pictures and short descriptions, all of beautiful, young women in their twenties. None of these women would be interested in me, Frank muttered to himself. It was at that time his eyes landed on the picture of May.

May wasn’t extraordinarily beautiful, but did have a petite body and frame and kind eyes. He could tell that the picture must have been older. There was no way the woman could look that good at the age of thirty. However, he held faith that she just might be the kind-hearted person that could overlook the face of an older man. He asked the barkeep for a quill, ink, and paper to write down the information.

Just take the whole paper, the barkeep told him. I wish you luck in finding whatever it is you are looking for, he continued. Just take heed. There are many women published here who falsify their abilities. They even use misleading pictures! Be careful, partner.

Frank left the bar, mounted his horse, and headed for home with thoughts of the woman in the picture dancing in his head. He could only hope that the barkeep was wrong about this woman in particular.

By the time Frank had arrived at his humble ranch house, he had made the decision to contact the woman from Matrimonial News. This decision made him quite anxious. Frank had not had contact with a woman for a very long time. Aside from small talk made in saloons and at the local market, he had not spoken with a woman since the passing of his wife and son.

Frank’s anxiety kept him awake for most of the night. When he did drift into sleep, the face of the woman he had seen soothed him. It wasn’t her facial features as much as it was her eyes. Frank saw that her eyes told of a happier time. They showed kindness, not unlike the kindness that people saw when they looked Frank in the eyes.

The next morning, Frank rose early. He ate a quick breakfast of coffee and bacon and saddled up his horse to ride into town. He purchased paper, a quill, and some ink, tools which cowboys did not often have use for. Frank had nobody to correspond with. His family had disowned him when he set out for the west. This was the lonely life of a cowboy.

After Frank stopped in town, he began his daily tasks. On his way back to his small farm, he stopped to pay the teenage boy he paid to tend to his garden while he was away on cattle drives. He then continued to his farm, where he fed the horses, tended to his garden and made repairs to fencing around his land. He also cleaned and polished his riding gear. It wasn’t until late that night, long after dinner, that Frank sat down at his kitchen table to write the woman a letter. He lit a lamp and began:

Hello,

I am writing you in response to your ad in Matrimonial News, in the hopes that you are still looking for a desirable suitor. I saw your picture and was taken aback. I am sure it is an older photo based on your age, but what really struck me as beautiful were your eyes. You have some of the kindest eyes that I have seen. I will be sending a photo of myself. It is not very current, my hair is now streaked with more silver and my face has become older. I like to think of myself as an attractive man, but cannot compete with the younger men around me, and the short supply of women out west.

I am looking for a woman to make my wife. My life has been a lonely one for the last twenty years or so, and I am tired of coming home to an empty house. Pardon me for my proposal if it comes across as crass, I am just being direct. I know you are seeking marriage too and I would like to make your acquaintance.

I would like to tell you some things about myself, so that I do not waste your time, nor your postage. I grew up out east in North Carolina on my parents’ farm. My life is a very lonely one. Today, I do not even know if my parents are alive. I set out in my early twenties with the hopes of striking it rich in the California Gold Rush. While I struck gold here and there, it was never anything spectacular.

Once I did get rich, I made the decision to invest my money in some land instead of continuing the tough life of gold mining. I now make my living as a cowboy and I have a small farm where I grow my own food for nourishment. I am not extremely wealthy, but I do well for myself.

It was not until recently that I really began to wish that the life