The Quiet Cowboy: Four Historical Romance Novellas

By Doreen Milstead

The Shy Woman From Virginia & The Man With A Secret From North Dakota - A very shy woman from West Virginia leaves her home to head west to a man she’s never met, who lives in a small sod house in North Dakota. He tries to hold off telling her about his past, until someone from that dark past shows up to haunt him.

Abby Tames Two Mustangs: A Man & His Horse - When Abby saved a man who fell from his horse, little did she know as she looked into his gray eyes, that his past would hold a secret which almost drove them apart; from idle gossip and his lack of faith.

Jousting In The New Mexican Desert - A woman’s father sends her off via a matchmaker to a man with a castle in New Mexico. Diego takes reenactments and old Spanish artifacts to the extreme. He holds frequent jousts, with his cowboys as participants, and has decorated his castle in a medieval style. One day, a chalice is discovered in an ornate wooden box buried in the desert. Then, the miracles start to happen.

From Mother Russia To The Old West, is about a woman traveling across country from Moscow, to meet a rancher and become his bride. Unfortunately, when she gets to his town she cannot see anyone fitting the description he’d put in his letters to her. She is stranded in a new, and to her, strange country, with no hope of returning to her old life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Hart
• Release date: Mar 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370908608

Book preview

The Quiet Cowboy: Four Historical Romance Novellas

By

Doreen Milstead

Copyright 2017 Susan Hart

Cover photos copyright: ysbrandcosijn / 123RF Stock Photo AND arcticphotoworks / 123RF Stock Photo

The Shy Woman From Virginia & The Man With A Secret From North Dakota

Abby Tames Two Mustangs: A Man & His Horse

Jousting In The New Mexican Desert

From Mother Russia To The Old West

The Shy Woman From Virginia & The Man With A Secret From North Dakota

Synopsis: The Shy Woman From Virginia & The Man With A Secret From North Dakota - A very shy woman from West Virginia leaves her home to head west to a man she’s never met, who lives in a small sod house in North Dakota. He tries to hold off telling her about his past, until someone from that dark past shows up to haunt him.

Belle Haven, Virginia

June, 1871

They called her Mouse. Unkind though it was, it seemed fitting to Jacqueline Abbott that people thought she was a mouse. Quiet, unobtrusive -- that was her. She was so shy, someone had once thought her father beat her, though he was the best man she knew.

Jacqueline stood in the mercantile, listening to two ladies gossiping about her while they sorted through the fabrics that slid smoothly between their hands.

You know, she’s never once had a suitor, said one woman to the other.

So what if she’d never had a suitor? A man was not the only thing that could make a woman happy.

Yes, but did you also hear what she and her father have set up?

No, what?

The voices were far too eager to spread rumors. Jacqueline would never say something bad about someone behind their back. Of course, she would also never say anything to someone’s face.

Well, I heard that Mr. Abbott answered an ad from North Dakota. I heard the man’s a farmer named Flynn Locksley. For some reason, the name sounds familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it.

Jacqueline couldn’t either, though it rang a bell. She picked up the bottle of kerosene for her father and set it on the counter. Mr. Frankly smiled and she handed him the money. As Jacqueline walked home, she thought about what she and her father had set up.

On her twenty-second birthday two months ago, her father had told her that he’d been praying about something. That something turned out to be shipping his only child to North Dakota to marry a man she didn’t know. She could hardly handle meeting people normally. How on God’s green earth was she going to do this?

Killdeer North Dakota

Flynn Locksley felt his stomach turn over as he looked at the two papers on the table. One was a letter from Ms. Abbott. The other was a wanted notice. He thought all of this was over years ago. As it turned out, rumors fueled a lie like kerosene to a lamp. He pushed a hand through his already messy hair and closed his eyes.

When he was seventeen, he would have prayed. Not now. He couldn’t even be sure there was a God, let alone the he cared about a criminal. Flynn balled up the wanted notice and threw it across the room. What was he going to do?

Belle Haven Virginia

I know you’re worried, love, but I would never send you somewhere I thought you’d be unhappy.

Jacqueline smiled at her father. He’d left England years ago because he’d fallen in love with a Yankee girl from New York. He understood to some degree, how this would be.

I know, Papa. I’d just hoped that when I married, it would be for love.

Mr. Abbott let out a cough, covering his mouth with a handkerchief. He’d been doing poorly since Jacqueline was five. Her mother and father didn’t have her until they were almost fifty and Jacqueline had taken her mother’s life at birth. Mr. Abbott had been worrying for more than seven years about what would happen when he went to be with Jesus. Jacqueline had always just tried to ignore it.

You’ll come to love Mr. Locksley. I know it. Most women don’t even get to go on an adventure to fall in love. They usually just sit around and knit socks.

Jacqueline giggled, despite the heaviness of having to leave her father.

I love you Papa, she said, unaware of the way her quiet voice sounded like her mother’s.

Jacqueline picked up a pair of her father’s trousers to hang on the line, shaking them out in the breeze. There were already a dozen articles of clothing flapping in the wind and casting shadows on the grassy earth. A vague sadness had hung over her head for the past few days. Not much longer, and she would be on a train, rushing towards her future. Her father said it was an adventure and a change of pace.

She said it was dangerous. There were Indians. Maybe they were nice, but what if they just didn’t like her? Jacqueline picked up the now empty basket and walked into the house, mousy brown hair blowing in her face.

God, help me trust You in this, she whispered, closing the creaking door behind her.

At Sunday service, Jacqueline sat in the middle pew beside her father. She always preferred the back row, but he always insisted she needed to sit amongst the others. She wasn’t convinced. People were never as great as you’d think.

God saw the needs of the Israelites as they traveled. He fed them, watered them. Never was there a people more cared for than those of the Lord our God. He sees us, even when we don’t see ourselves.

Jacqueline stared at her hands, clenched tightly on her Bible. Did God see her? Would he care for her? Something in her heart told her he would. God would never abandon her.

After the service, Jacqueline sat at the table in her father’s kitchen, eating Sunday dinner for the last time. She didn’t speak, though this was the norm.

Jacqueline, her father said.

She looked at him across the table, smiling slightly.

I know you are given to worry, but you’ll be fine. How could Mr. Locksley not love you instantly?

Jacqueline smiled as her father patted her hand.

Besides, you have God on your side.

Jacqueline packed her clothing away in the small trunk, heart hammering. Tomorrow was the day. She would leave Belle Haven and never return. She’d likely never see her father again. Tears dripped off her face, darkening the fabric of the blue skirt in her hands. She wiped her face and set the skirt in the trunk. She sat down on the bed, burying her face in her hands.

The idea of speaking to any of the men she already knew was bad enough, but marrying Flynn Locksley? Every time she spoke to a person, her palms got damp and her voice got stuck in her throat. She wondered what it would be like to have someone love her, though. To have someone who wants to be with you even when your hair is gray and your face wrinkles. What would it be like to have someone you couldn’t bear the thought of living without?

Jacqueline’s stomach wouldn’t hold any food. It churned at the idea of ingesting even the barest of morsels, so she skipped breakfast. Mr. Abbott took her to the train station, neither of them speaking. The two couldn’t manage a single word between them.

When they got to the station, Mr. Abbott stood beside his daughter, holding her hand. Jacqueline would never have admitted it, but she was glad for her father’s presence. No matter how old a girl gets, everything just seems to be all right when her father is there, she thought.

The train came screeching in and with one last squeeze of her father’s hand Jacqueline boarded the train. She stared out the window as her smiling father grew smaller and smaller. When she could no longer see him, only then did she dry the tears dripping down her face.

The steady chug of the train was the only thing that left Jacqueline with any sort of sanity. She hadn’t left the train in three days. It had made several stops, but she was so afraid that it would leave without her that she never got off. The train rattled on for what felt like forever, creating an even greater distance every minute between Jacqueline and West Virginia.

Even though she was eager to be off the train, she wasn’t eager to meet her fiancé. What if he thought her homely? No man had ever called her beautiful. Of course, she never spoke to men. Jacqueline felt someone sit down beside her and her entire body stiffened. She slowly turned her head. It was a man who’d sat down. He had white hair and looked like he might collapse on the floor at any moment.

Um, excuse me, she managed to squeak out after a long, awkward moment.

Are you in the right seat, sir? The words were little more than a mumble, but the old man barked a laugh.

I’m in the right seat alright, missy. Delroy Banks only goes where he intends and sits with whom he intends to sit.

Jacqueline nodded slowly, relaxing only slightly.

Nice day, ain’t it? Mr. Banks elbowed her in the ribs.

I suppose so, she muttered, praying that the man would move.

Her heart was trying its best to beat through her ribs just because of a little small talk.

Mr. Banks scratched his arm and licked his lips. A drop of glistening saliva slid down his chin.

Where ya headed, girly?

Jacqueline took a slow breath, noting the scent of tobacco on the man.

Killdeer North Dakota.

Mmm. Now what’s a nice young lady like you going to some tiny little town like that for?

I’m going to meet my fiancé so we can marry.

Mr. Banks nodded, all seriousness. Jacqueline was still staring at the drool on his chin.

Do you know this man?

No, sir, not personally.

Why would you go and marry him then?

Jacqueline hesitated, not sure how much information a woman should share with a stranger.

Well, my father is getting older and he’s been worrying about me. He answered an advertisement for me.

The two sat in silence and Jacqueline wanted nothing more than for the man to leave.

When he finally stood, Mr. Banks said, Keep yourself outta trouble, missy.

Jacqueline watched him leave, feeling vaguely sorry she had been slightly rude to him.

Alright, everybody off!

Jacqueline started at the shout of the conductor. They were maybe an hour from Killdeer, and the train had stopped in the middle of nowhere. Everyone hopped off the train, doing as told. Jacqueline watched parents nudge their children off the train.

When she walked past the conductor, she couldn’t help but say something.

Why do we have to get off?

The conductor rolled his eyes.

The train broke down. We can’t fix it. You’ll have to walk to Killdeer.

Jacqueline’s face paled. Walk?

But it’ll be dark in a few hours and Killdeer is too far to make it in time.

The conductor gave her a shove towards the door.

That’s your problem, lady.

Jacqueline followed the crowd to the flat with their entire luggage on it. She took down her trunk, dragging it over the edge. It slammed down on her foot, making her cry out. She grabbed a handle on her trunk and began to follow the tracks towards Killdeer.

Flynn Locksley stood on the platform beside his older sister, Wendy, waiting for the train to pull in. It should have arrived more than an hour ago and he was starting to worry, despite his determination not to care.

Where do you think the train is? Flynn glared at his sister.

If I knew, would I be standing here like a fool?

Wendy glared right back.

Why don’t I go find Kent and you can ride down the rail and see where your bride is, hmm?

Flynn grinned and mounted his horse.

Excellent idea, sister dearest.

Jacqueline’s back had begun to hurt after the first three miles. By mile four, her feet were blistered. By mile six, it was getting dark.

Oh God, she said, barely managing to place one foot in front of the other.

Please help me get there before the wolves get me, or the Indians. Are there even wolves here?

Jacqueline’s foot caught on her skirt and she fell, catching most of weight on her hands. She stood slowly and kicked her trunk, then winced at the pain of the impact. She unlaced her shoes and took them off, along with her stockings, placing both in the trunk. She plopped herself on the ground and leaned back against the trunk, staring up at the darkening sky.

She had probably fourteen miles to go. She was not getting to town before dark. She wouldn’t even make it before morning.

You know what God she yelled into the night, if this was a bad idea, you could have broken the train down in Belle Haven.

The only answer was the breeze and an odd clumping sound. She finally determined that it was a horse. Jacqueline couldn't bring herself to stand, but turned her head to look at the horse and it’s rider barreling towards