Possible Turbulence Ahead: Four Historical Romances

By Vanessa Carvo

Sofia Seeks Redemption Along The Oregon Trail, is a wonderful life-affirming story about a young woman with a tragic past who joins up with a doctor and heads out west along the Oregon Trail.

Our Family’s Wagon Train On The Oregon Trail: The Onion Fields Of God, is an inspirational story (with scriptures) about one family’s journey along the Oregon Trail, headed west on a wagon train to start their new lives.

The Dark Cowboy: When a distraught doctor can take no more of sickness and death in cholera-ridden New York City, he answers an ad in the Mail Order Brides section of the newspaper, from a woman seeking help on her ranch and friendship; but not marriage.

Sally The Orphan Meets Her Parents: A devout Christian orphan girl living simply in New York City until a friend handed her a letter, which would change her life forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 17, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365402975

Book preview

Possible Turbulence Ahead: Four Historical Romances

Possible Turbulence Ahead: Four Historical Romances

By

Vanessa Carvo

Copyright 2016 Quietly Blessed & Loved Press

Sofia Seeks Redemption Along The Oregon Trail

Synopsis: Sofia Seeks Redemption Along The Oregon Trail, is a wonderful life-affirming story about a young woman with a tragic past who joins up with a doctor and heads out west along the Oregon Trail. She learns a lot and everyone on the wagon train appreciates her help and she grows close to a young man also on the train, but she cannot summon up the courage to tell him about her past. When some men from her former life show up, they almost kidnap her and after one sick woman, also from her past and traveling in an until now wagon that no one has looked into, clears up the whole mess, Sofia forgives her and offers comfort to the woman in her last hours on earth. Through her belief and the reading of her small bible and her compassion towards others, Sofia finds her peace at last.

My name is Otto Springs, many call me wise old man and I figure I was called that because I was gifted for being able to tell if a person is lying or not. I was always able to tell if someone was being upfront and I got that nickname for this reason, and it stuck.

I was one of the many partakers in the Oregon Trail, a long hard journey headed for the west in 1854. There are many stories to tell about my journey, but for now I choose this one story about a certain young woman who accompanied us along our journey.

There are lessons to learn in this story for each one of us as we take a closer look into our own lives and the choices we make. I myself joined the wagon train in St. Louis, MO and had planned my trip for several years before I took the plunge.

I wanted to find a better life and opportunity and I would have to say that I did, along with finding some lifelong friends along the way. I met the young woman of this story on this trail and it is my pleasure to share with you her story of tragedy upon tragedy and how her own faith in God brought her through her trials.

This story is meant to open the heart, to soften the heart of all who read it and to look closer at ourselves to see what lies inside us and to be sure that we do not fall into being followers.

All it takes in a crowd is one to cause uproar of wrongful events and by the grace of God, Sofia’s story is able to be told. This is the story of Sofia Satterfield, a courageous young woman, strong in faith and innocent in heart.

In the early morning hours of a cool September day, Sophia Satterfield was trying to pick up the pieces of what was left of her life and as she scurried about her tiny cabin; she found herself in tears. She had lost her husband and her first-born child to Cholera and her losses were outweighing any hope that she could muster up.

Her husband Robert had provided her with a warm home, plenty of crops in the field, horses to pull plows, a few heads of cattle, a milk cow, a few chickens and a good old dog named Ray. They had met at a little old church on a Sabbath day, when her mother and father had taken her along with them into town.

Robert was about eleven years older than Sophia at the time and although her daddy was against them getting together, her mother was very supportive of their new found love. Robert would be a good provider for Sophia and back in those days, that much age difference was actually quite common.

After the initial disapproval of her father, he lightened up about them and finally gave his daughter in marriage.

They wed and Robert immediately set out to build his bride a fine cabin, to start their lives together. They had been together about a year and a half when Sofia became with child and Robert was extremely excited. He began at once preparing the home for the arrival of his new son or daughter, as he hurried about creating an extra room, building a cradle and other bits of furniture that Sofia would need to tend to the child.

The child was born a son, without any complications and their lives began a wondrous journey as a family. However, at the age of ten her young son came down with Cholera, as well as her husband. Trying to save them both to no avail, her heart sunk into a breakage she had never known.

A tragic event had changed the entire course of Sofia’s life.

As her neighbors took her in, she had a temporary place to stay, but as time grew on; a sickness fell upon this family that she was staying with and the entire family fell ill and not one of them survived. As Sofia tried to make sense of all the tragedy in her life, she remained in their home as long as possible.

But, it wasn’t long until the bank came to collect its debts. The family she had been staying with had gotten loans against their home and their land and now it was pay up time. As they moved in, Sofia was cast out with nowhere to go and no family to take her in. With only a horse and a few sets of clothes, she set out into town with hopes of a miracle.

As she arrived in town, she was seen by several of the women in town and to them, Sofia was a threat. She was a widow with stunning looks and these two qualities were not welcomed in this town.

She went into a hotel hoping for a room out of charity, and she offered the owner that she would work for room and board. But, he wouldn’t hear of it when his wife caught glimpse of Sofia, so she was turned down and back into the street.

Just when her hopes were gone, a well-known lady in town let out a holler and told her to come and see her. Sofia, being destitute with no other options, went to the woman. She was offered a place to stay, food and a small wage, if she would take a job as one of her girls.

Sofia knew what this meant and had no interest in this kind of pay.

She declined the offer and walked away. As Sofia was making her way around town, the night began to fall upon her and as she was trying to find a place to hide, and to get out of the elements, she was seen sneaking into a stable.

As she crawled in and thought that she would just hide in the hay for the night, she settled into a sleep. But, she had been seen by a group of rustlers and they made their way into the stable, took advantage of a helpless woman and left her for dead, along with a good beating.

She was found by the keeper of the stables and as he went running for the Doctor in town, the same lady that offered the job overheard Woman about dead in the stables! She ran out to the stables, and she at once picked up Sofia and when the Doctor arrived, this lady claimed that Sofia was one of hers--a new young one that had gotten off the coach only days ago.

After treating Sofia, the doctor then released Sofia into the madam’s care and Sofia had found a new home, a new job and a new life, whether she liked it or not.

As she opened her eyes to the new style of her life, she cried and begged this woman to please let her go and that she could not do this. Soon, a band of rustlers came to town and they were high payers and Madam Scarlet handed Sofia over with pleasure to these men.

She could agree to be with one, or she could be taken by all. As Sofia refused, she was then taken by the group. After a time, there was the last man left and this one was no stranger to force and as he beat Sofia, in the midst of the beating, Sofia decided to fight back.

She managed to grab a whiskey bottle and as he lunged at her the last time, she brought it crashing down on his head, knocking him out and leaving him lying on the floor.

Sofia ran out and went to Madam Scarlet to tell her what had happened. Madam Scarlet knew too well that Sofia would be telling the truth, because she knew of these men and she should have expected something like this.

Madame Scarlett knew that this would also be bringing trouble to her so she told Sofia to stay in her room and she paid a visit to where Sofia had left the man.

As she peeked in, she saw the man--he had come to and was sipping his whiskey and she knew that he was all right.

Later that evening she was paid a visit by the Sheriff and the Sheriff told her that the man had died and that there had been a witness that claimed that one of her girls had killed the man. Knowing that this was a lie, Madam Scarlet waited until the Sheriff was gone and then she gathered Sofia up and gave her enough fare to board the stagecoach in Mount Jackson, but it was a town away.

Getting her to that stagecoach would prove difficult, so she found a young boy who would deliver Sofia to it. As they hid her in the back of a corn wagon, the young boy delivered Sofia to Mount Jackson to catch the next stagecoach.

Madam Scarlet, feeling guilty for turning Sofia over to the men, had given her money for her escape and enough for her to get started somewhere else. So, Sofia was hauled off in the back of a wagon and taken to the next coach that would then head off in a new direction.

Being dropped off a town away, gave Sofia the time she needed to collect herself and change into clothes that Madam Scarlet had given her. They would be clothes of a different stature.

They were pieces that someone an upstate woman would wear, someone from the East; and that Sofia, dressed in these clothes, could buy time with and possibly hide from her past. Changing into her new clothes felt good to Sofia and she had hopes again at some kind of beginning.

As she rode the coach, she was able to get all the way into Baltimore, Maryland.

She shared the ride with a family of three, and as she sat there watching this family, tears began to roll down her face, remembering her own husband and son who had died in the fire.

Trying to keep her composure, she wiped her tears quietly. After a long ride and a face filled with tears, Sofia arrived in Baltimore.

She was able to find a hotel and with the money that Madame Scarlett had given her, she got herself a room for the night. She knew that she would be facing an even longer ride and sleep was a necessity, so she curled up in a ball in her bed and finally fell asleep.

As the stagecoach arrived on time the next day, Sofia loaded up her small bag of belongings and headed for New York. There, she was hoping that she could start a new life and be able to find some comfort from all she had been through.

So, she was on her way, not knowing what could be ahead of her.

Early the next morning Sofia boarded the stagecoach headed to New York. She knew that it could not bring anything worse than she had already been through. Getting away from Virginia seemed the best thing to do and she was optimistic of being able to put all of the past behind her.

She had many losses, her husband and son lost to Cholera, her dear friends also to sickness and she had lost her pride due to the woman that entered her life for only moments and turned her world upside down.

Now she was forced to run like a criminal with a past that she feared would only follow her for the rest of her life. Being accused of murdering a man that had attacked her, only to find out that there was no way to prove that she had not, was something Sofia never dreamed would happen to her. Now she was alone, totally alone, with nowhere to go and no one to run to.

But, she would give it her best to try to get over what had happened and she would move on. Riding in the coach gave her time to think over her life and to try to figure out what she would do with the rest of her life.

She felt helpless and she knew that she had to find some inner strength somewhere inside her. As she sat and stirred in her seat, she remembered something her mother had given her long ago, something she had not looked at since; and she reached slowly down into her bag and pulled out a small bible that had her name scribed in the first page, written by her mother: ‘My dear Sofia, a time will come when this little book will be all that you seek and all that you need.

‘Hold onto this for dear life, because it will lead you and comfort you on your way’ and it was signed by her mother. Sofia felt the tears flow as she began opening the pages to this tiny book and she wondered what she could ever find in such a small book.

And, with the long ride ahead of her, she settled into the corner of her seat and began to read. As she read, she began feeling a way she had not felt since she lost her husband and her son, and a sort of peace began to overtake her and as she wiped the tears from her cheeks, she began to think about the Jesus her mother spoke about.

She began bringing back to memory some of the things her other would say and even some of the scriptures her mother read from that tiny book. She remembered her mother loving the book of Psalms and she turned the pages until it lay open to Psalm 91.

Hoping to find something there, she began to whisper the scriptures aloud and with each word said, she cried and she smiled and she cried and smiled some more. She found herself being comforted by the words, like a warm blanket had been placed around her shoulders.

She sat in the stagecoach and she read that little book until she fell asleep, still holding it near to her chest.

Waking up, Sofia had a few minutes before the stage pulled into New York City, and she gathered herself together and her belongings close to her and she let out a sigh and then found herself taking a very deep breath.

She suddenly felt fear and about as quickly as the fear came, she found herself relaxing as she remembered the words in that book that the Lord would provide to those who believe and she felt like she was entering the valley of the shadow of death, as she looked up and saw the biggest place she had ever seen.

Sofia clutched that bible close to her, held it tight, and found herself in prayer, asking the Lord to protect her and to keep her safe in such a place. And, with the last word said, the coach door flew open and a man reached for her hand, to help her down and out of the coach.

She took his hand and stepped down, looking into his eyes as a child would look. The man looked back at her and he told her that she would be fine in no time, that she would learn her way around this city and would grow to love it.

Somehow, Sofia did not believe him.

The stagecoach dropped the passengers’ right in front of a hotel which was very convenient for Sofia