The Complete Oregon Series, page 108
Amy looked up. The rope was still tangled in the branch high up in the tree. “Careful down there!” Without hesitation, she kicked off her boots and socks, hoping to get better traction if she climbed barefoot. Slowly, taking care to hold on better, she made her way up.
But her fall had broken many of the branches that had helped her climb earlier. Wrapping one hand and both legs around the last safe branch, she stretched her arm as far as it could go, but the end of the rope dangled several inches away—inches that might as well be miles.
Another gust of wind shook the tree.
This time, Amy was prepared and hung on.
The rope above her started to slip free.
Amy leaped.
The branch beneath her broke as she kicked out with her feet to boost herself higher.
Her fingers closed around the end of the rope. Instead of falling, she felt herself being lifted up by the balloon, which was now drifting higher. Darn, darn, darn. The muscles of her arm protested, but she hung on.
Rika screamed somewhere beneath her.
“Climb up,” the balloon’s owner shouted. “You have to get into the basket and pull the cord.”
Amy managed to grab the rope with both hands. One glance down showed her that she was flying high above the fairgrounds now. A wave of dizziness overcame her, and her vision blurred. Oh, dear Lord. Don’t let go. Don’t let go. And don’t look down. She directed her gaze back up as she climbed higher.
Finally, she reached the edge of the basket and, with one last effort, pulled herself over it.
The boy screamed and stared at her as if she were the devil himself.
“Shush. Don’t be afraid. I’m here to help you down.” Amy sat with her back pressed to the basket for several seconds, trying to catch her breath, before she got to her feet and started looking around for a cord. There! She grabbed it and pulled carefully.
With a hiss, gas escaped from the balloon.
She glanced toward the ground. It’s working! They were sinking. She pulled the cord again.
Finally, when they were close enough, the men on the ground grabbed the rope and pulled them all the way down. The basket scraped through the mud.
Oh, thank you, Lord!
Samuel’s father lifted the crying boy from the basket, and Amy climbed out on shaky legs. Her heart was still pounding in her throat.
People crowded her, clapping her on the back, but she struggled to break free. Her only thought was for Rika. “Rika? Rika! Where are—?”
Then Rika’s arms were around her in a stranglehold.
Amy pulled her close and held on as if for dear life.
Music drifted over from the fairground’s biggest barn as the Aurora Colony Band began to play. Gentlemen and ladies, all dressed to the nines in frock coats and evening dresses, headed toward the barn.
Amy kept glancing at Rika. In the silk dress that Tess had given her, she looked like one of the fancy ladies from back east. The dress’s light yellow color made her eyes appear even darker and more mysterious. For some reason, Rika tended to think of herself as plain, but Amy thought she was beautiful. Truth be told, she was a little nervous about taking her to the dance. What if the men there kept asking Rika to dance, ignoring her betrothed?
Lord knows, I’m not an impressive sight. They had brushed out the frock coat and her trousers, cleaning it as best as they could, but a few dirt spots still remained. Her vest was ripped from climbing the tree, and she was barefoot in her boots, since they hadn’t been able to find the socks she had kicked off while hanging from the tree.
What would Papa say when she came home with her clothes all damaged? Maybe she should have taken the money Samuel’s father had offered after all, to pay for the damage to Papa’s clothes.
“Stop fidgeting,” Rika whispered as they approached the barn, which was decorated with garlands and flowers. “You look very fetching.”
Amy arched her eyebrows. “I look like a vagabond.” She glanced at herself again and sighed. “I wonder what Papa will say when he sees me like this.”
“He will say that he’s very proud of you for saving a child.” Rika pulled her to a stop in front of the barn’s entrance. “Do you really think he’ll care about a bit of dirt and some rips that will be easily mended? Do you think I do?”
People jostled them, trying to get past.
Amy shuffled her feet. “Let’s go in.” Feeling a bit better, she led Rika into the building.
The sounds of a cello, a clarinet, and a violin striking up a waltz greeted them.
Amy looked around. Papa had been right. Men clearly outnumbered the women here too. She squared her shoulders and tried to make herself look imposing so no one would approach Rika and ask her to dance.
Was it just her imagination, or was everyone staring at them—at her? Self-consciously, she brushed her free hand over the frock coat to remove any residual dirt from it. “People are staring,” she whispered. “My hair hasn’t come loose, has it?”
Rika shook her head.
A bearded man headed toward them.
Amy clutched Rika’s hand to her arm and narrowed her eyes at the stranger. Don’t you dare ask Rika to dance.
But the man didn’t even glance at Rika. “You’re the fellow who rescued Ben Lander’s boy, aren’t you?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Folks!” the man shouted over the music and the stomping of feet. “This is him—the young man I told you about.”
Amy winced as people patted her on the back, jostling her bruised ribs.
A young woman sidled up to her. “That was a very brave thing to do.”
“I couldn’t let the boy float away,” Amy said. “Anyone would have done it.”
Another woman joined them. “Oh, no. It was exceptional.” She touched Amy’s forearm.
Dizzy from all the attention she was getting, Amy stared at the hand on her arm. By now, half a dozen young women had walked over.
“Excuse us,” Rika said. “This is my favorite waltz, and I want to dance with my betrothed.” Before Amy or the women surrounding her could say anything, Rika dragged her away.
For a moment, Amy struggled to assume the man’s position before she began to lead Rika across the dance floor. “What was that?”
“They were making eyes at you.” Rika scowled.
“No, they weren’t.” Surely no one would ogle her in her bedraggled state.
“Yes, they were.” Now a smile replaced Rika’s scowl. “Not that I can blame them. You’re a hero—and a handsome one at that.”
The waltz ended, and the next one began. Before they could resume dancing, a woman approached and handed Amy a piece of pie that they were selling at the edge of the dance floor. “No charge,” she said before she hurried away.
Amy stared at the apple pie. “I’m sorry. I brought you to Salem so we could dance together, and now we’re interrupted at every turn.”
“Let’s go,” Rika said.
“What? Now? But the dance has only just begun.”
Rika handed the piece of pie to one of the children running around and dragged Amy out of the barn, through the masses of people streaming in. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along. I don’t care about the dance.”
Amy blinked. “You don’t?”
“Please don’t misunderstand. Getting to dance with you was wonderful.”
“But?”
They headed away from the fairground and began to stroll along the Willamette River in the darkness.
“I don’t care about dances. I don’t care about going to the theater or about owning fancy dresses, cooking stoves, sewing machines, new hats, wax fruit, or any other luxuries. I don’t need any of that. I don’t want a luxurious life in Salem. And I don’t want a man.” Rika slid her hand up Amy’s frock coat until it came to rest on her bound breasts. “When will you get it into your thick head that all I want is to share my life with you on the ranch?”
Amy stopped and tried to make out Rika’s face in the darkness. She wanted to ask her if she was sure that was all she wanted from life, but Rika’s tone, full of determination, left no room for doubt. She wants me. Just me, exactly like I am, including life on the ranch. She threw her arms around Rika in a tight hug, ignoring her protesting ribs.
They stood together in the darkness, wrapped in each other’s arms until the voices of another couple strolling along the river startled them.
Amy wanted to pull back, but Rika didn’t let go. “One good thing about you dressing up as a man,” she whispered. “No one will think anything if I embrace my betrothed. Or even do this.” She leaned forward, bridging the remaining inches between them, and kissed her. When they separated, both breathless, Rika stroked Amy’s cheek. “Do you believe me now?”
Amy nodded. She felt as she had after the balloon had landed back on firm ground—dizzy with relief and happiness. “I thought you might be getting bored with life on the ranch. I was afraid you might…” She swallowed. “Leave.”
“Oh, Amy. No. Never.” Rika hugged her again. “The ranch is my home. You are my home. Don’t you know that?”
“I do. I just didn’t fully believe it—until now.” Amy kissed Rika’s cheek again and again.
Rika smiled. “What do we do now? Do you want to go back to the dance?”
Amy looked at the Willamette River running north, in the direction of Baker Prairie and their ranch. “No. I’ve had enough dancing for a while. Let’s go home.”
Still wrapped in each other’s arms, they headed for their wagon.
ABOUT JAE
Jae grew up amidst the vineyards of southern Germany. She spent her childhood with her nose buried in a book, earning her the nickname “professor.” The writing bug bit her at the age of eleven. Since 2006, she has been writing mostly in English.
She used to work as a psychologist but gave up her day job in December 2013 to become a full-time writer and a part-time editor. As far as she’s concerned, it’s the best job in the world.
When she’s not writing, she likes to spend her time reading, indulging her ice cream and office supply addictions, and watching way too many crime shows.
CONNECT WITH JAE
Website: www.jae-fiction.com
E-Mail: jae@jae-fiction.com
OTHER BOOKS FROM YLVA PUBLISHING
www.ylva-publishing.com
Shaken to the Core
Jae
ISBN: 978-3-95533-663-9 (mobi), 978-3-95533-664-6 (epub)
Length: 368 pages (126,000 words)
Kate Winthrop, the only child of a wealthy shipping magnate, has the course of her life charted for her by her parents. She’s expected to marry well and produce a successor to the Winthrop empire. But Kate has a very different path in mind. Her true passion lies with photography—and with women.
Alone in the city after losing her brother, Sicilian immigrant Giuliana Russo starts working for the Winthrops as a maid. Despite their different social status, Kate and Giuliana become friends, much to the dismay of Kate’s parents.
As the connection between the two women grows, a devastating earthquake hits San Francisco and ignites fires that sweep through the city for three days and nights.
Will the disaster shatter their tentative feelings for each other, or will they find the courage to save each other’s lives—and their hearts?
Join Kate and Giuliana on a journey of danger and discovery in the action-packed historical romance Shaken to the Core, set against the backdrop of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Kicker’s Journey
(2nd revised edition)
Lois Cloarec Hart
ISBN: 978-3-95533-057-6 (mobi), 978-3-95533-058-3 (epub)
Length: 472 pages (157,000 words)
In 1899, two women from very different backgrounds are about to embark on a journey together – one that will take them from the Old World to the New, from the 19th century into the 20th, and from the comfort and familiarity of England to the rigours of Western Canada, where challenges await at every turn.
The journey begins simply for Kicker Stuart when she leaves her home village to take employment as hostler and farrier at Grindleshire Academy for Young Ladies. But when Kicker falls in love with a teacher, Madelyn Bristow, it radically alters the course of her tranquil life.
Together, the lovers flee the brutality of Madelyn’s father and the prejudices of upper crust England in search of freedom to live, and love, as they choose. A journey as much of the heart and soul as of the body, it will find the lovers struggling against the expectations of gender, the oppression of class, and even, at times, each other.
What they find at the end of their journey is not a new Eden, but a land of hope and opportunity that offers them the chance to live out their most cherished dream – a life together.
Charity
(The Charity Series – Book 1)
Paulette Callen
ISBN: 978-3-95533-076-7 (mobi), 978-3-95533-077-4 (epub)
Length: 334 pages (94,000 words)
The friendship between Lena Kaiser, a sodbuster’s daughter, and Gustie Roemer, an educated Easterner, is unlikely in any other circumstance but post-frontier Charity, South Dakota. Gustie is considered an outsider, and Lena is too proud to share her problems (which include a hard-drinking husband) with anyone else.
On the nearby Sioux reservation, Gustie also finds love and family with two Dakotah women: Dorcas Many Roads, an old medicine woman, and her adopted granddaughter, Jordis, who bears the scars of the white man’s education.
When Lena’s husband is arrested for murdering his father and the secrets of Gustie’s past follow her to Charity, Lena, Gustie, and Jordis stand together. As buried horrors are unearthed and present tragedies unfold, they discover the strength and beauty of love and friendship that blossom like wild flowers in the tough prairie soil.
The Complete Oregon Series
© 2019 by Jae
ISBN (mobi): 978-3-96324-233-5
ISBN (epub): 978-3-96324-234-2
ISBN (pdf): 978-3-96324-235-9
The box set includes:
Backwards to Oregon © 2017 (revised edition)
Beyond the Trail – Six Short Stories © 2019
Hidden Truths © 2019 (revised edition)
Lessons in Love and Life © 2019
Published by Ylva Publishing, legal entity of Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.
Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.
Owner: Astrid Ohletz
Am Kirschgarten 2
65830 Kriftel
Germany
www.ylva-publishing.com
First edition: 2019
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Credits
Edited by Judy Underwood, Debra Doyle, Genni Gunn, and Floyd Largent
Cover Design by Streetlight Graphics
Jae, The Complete Oregon Series
