Saturday Snippet: You Plannin' on Keepin' Her?

The following is from my third book in my Eastern Sierra Brides 1884 series, Her Independent Spirit.

          “Wasn’t nary no bother. I was right pleased to do it. You still got Sophie Ann with you, then?”

          “Yes. Yes I do. Although…” Lulu’s voice faded as she searched in her mind for the best way to bring up the subject she really wanted to discuss with this woman. She blurted out, “Mrs. Dodd, did you mean what you told me the day Sophie Ann was born? If I keep my baby and leave the Blue Feather, will you help me?”

          “You plannin’ on keepin’ her?”

          “I want to,” Lulu forced the words out with a hoarse whisper as she fought back tears. It annoyed her that she still easily erupted into crying jags like she had while she was pregnant. “I can’t bear to give her up. But, I have to have someplace to go and a way to take care of her. Not-not everyone in this town is willing to give me a chance, and Miss Flora is serious about me not being able to keep her here.”

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Saturday Snippet: What Exactly Is There to See?

The following is from my Lockets & Lace novel, Otto’s Offer. Enlisted in the Sixteenth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, Otto an two other soldiers take a few days leave and visit St. Joseph, Missouri.

          When they stopped midday to rest the horses, Otto quizzed his companions about the city. “What exactly is there to see?”

          Ellis spoke first. “The city itself. It’s up on a bluff overlooking the river. Quite a scene.”

          Carter interjected. “You see a lot of that kind of thing up and down the Missouri and Mississippi.”

          “Ho! The world traveler, are we, Carter?”

           Carter shrugged with nonchalance. “I’ve been around a few places—before the war, of course. However, St. Joe is close enough for us to see the bluffs without getting shot at for our trouble.”

          Not to be outdone, Ellis jumped in. “They say it’s the farthest point west you’ll find a railroad. In fact, there are several that all meet up in St. Joseph.”

          Otto raised his eyebrows with a questioning look. “What about the transcontinental rail they are building out of Omaha? That’s west of the Mississippi.”

          Ellis nodded. “That’s just it, Atwell. They’re still building it. Planning to build it is probably more like it. Of course, I’ve heard there are railroads out west in California and the like. They ship those big engines and the rails around the Horn, if you can believe that. However, there is nothing yet that connects those western states to the East. St. Joseph is the most westerly point you can travel by rail if you are coming this direction from the East.”

          “That’s why the Pony Express had its eastern terminus in St. Joseph. Once the rider took the ferry across the river, the mail could go by rail from there.”

Today, Saturday, May 12th, is the last day of the Lockets & Lace Mother’s Day special where I am offering Otto’s Offer at the sale price of $.99.

Saturday Snippet: She Said No Matter What

The following is from my third book in my Eastern Sierra Brides 1884 series, Her Independent Spirit.

          Albert, the muscle Miss Flora hired to enforce order in the brothel, entered the room holding what appeared to be a small folded bundle of flannel. “Miss Lulu, this is for your baby.”

          “Who would bring the baby a gift? Not that many people know me, let alone know I have a baby.”

          Bewildered, Lulu reached for one edge of the fabric and shook it free of its folds. One side was solid white flannel. The other side had a checkerboard patchwork design of striped blue blocks and red flannel blocks alternating with white flannel blocks. It was a quilt with a thin fabric center instead of heavier cotton filling. It was not the most artfully designed quilt Lulu had ever seen, but the corners of the squares matched up and the stitches that held all the layers together were neat and even.

          “It was the midwife. She said no matter what, baby Sophie Ann needs a blanket.”

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