In the pursuit of a daring thief, he stumbles upon a desperate mother stealing to feed her child. Could his decision forge an unexpected family?
Eva, a widow marked by an abusive past and the relentless struggle to provide for her child, is driven to desperate measures. She finds herself pilfering from Carl’s remote mountain ranch to feed her kid, but she doesn’t go unnoticed.
Carl is a mountain man of few words. When he confronts Eva, he discovers not a hardened outlaw but a delicate woman. As the storm approaches, he offers an unexpected refuge, blurring the lines between captor and protector.
In the heart of the mountains, Eva and Carl’s lives intertwine in unexpected ways. Amidst accusations, rivalries, and the echoes of a haunting past, they find a family they never expected.
Great Bend, Kansas
1880
Eva Hall swept a hand through her chestnut brown hair and sighed, her eyes scanning the room for anything she might deem a necessity. Her chest was tight as she took stock of the items in the small home. The shelves her husband had made, his boots by the door. Things she wished with all her heart to bring with her but to which she couldn’t afford. She had her wedding ring on, and that was the only sentimental thing she could carry along; besides the pocket watch she was keeping for their son to have when he grew older.
She had always been pretty, or so people had told her. She was a small woman, petite and mannerly, and when she’d met Jim he had treated her like porcelain. At least at first. They’d had a storybook romance when they were teenagers, and she had always pictured a beautiful life together with him. He had been a dream come true to her, especially after her parents had passed away. Meeting him had felt like fate. She’d lost her family when she was so young, then met a man who wanted to do nothing but take care of her. The last thing she had ever expected was to be a widow at 22.
Jim had been young, healthy, and strong, but he still hadn’t managed to survive to see their son grow up. He’d changed a lot over the years, growing cynical and bitter the deeper into drink he got. He stopped treating her like porcelain and sometimes she was certain that he hated her; the way he spoke to her and handled her. He’d died just over eight months ago, and although she grieved the man he once was, it hadn’t hit her the way it might have if she had still been in love with him.
Jim’s death was an unexpected tragedy that had left her penniless. He was murdered in cold blood one night after drowning himself in booze, and it had changed everything. He had gone off drinking with his friends, but before he made it home, he was shot behind the saloon and no one had seen who had done it or how it had happened. Worse still, Jim’s friends could barely look his widow, Eva in the eye anymore. They felt responsible for being out with him that night and none of them would speak to her about what had happened.
Eva and Jim had already been behind on all of their bills. He had been out of work for a while; his fondness for drink becoming the focal point of his life. Eva had been doing her best to make ends meet without his help, but with their son, Charlie at home it hadn’t been nearly enough, and now, without Jim there at all, their debts had snowballed.
He might not have been killed if he hadn’t taken to the bottle. The alcohol made him irritable and mean, and Eva’s last years with him had been awful. She’d suffered at his hands more than once, and grieved the loss of the man she loved long before his actual death. Still, it had hit her hard, especially with their son to look after on her own.
It was hard enough emotionally to lose her husband and her son his father, but there had been another unforeseen consequence to his death. They were s also losing the house, the only bit of stability in their lives, and they had to leave. Now.
“Mama, he fell down!” Charlie exclaimed with a giggle.
Eva managed a smile for her three-year-old son, who was sitting on the floor with a small collection of soldiers his father had carved and painted for him to play with. The soldiers would be coming, of course, and it was time to pack everything up they could carry.
“Well, that’s okay,” Eva said. “It’s time to put them back in their bag anyway. Will you be a good boy for me and do that?”
“Why?” Charlie asked, his beautiful golden eyes fixing upon hers. They were her own shade, not his father’s, though everything else about him reminded her of Jim, as far as his appearance went anyway. In temperament, he was more like Eva.
“We have to go on a trip,” Eva said, struggling to keep the emotion from her voice. She didn’t want her son to see her break down. She would save her tears for a better time. They wouldn’t do either of them any good right now, that was for sure.
“Where are we going, ma?” Charlie asked in his soft, innocent voice, obeying his mother by placing the soldiers into the pouch she’d sewn him to keep them safe. Even as an infant, he had been a good-natured child. He had cried so rarely that at times she had been worried that something wasn’t quite right with him. Once he got a little older though, he had so far developed into a perfectly perfect little boy. His looks favored hers as far as complexion, as well as his light brown hair and golden eyes, and most of her physical features, but there was also an unmistakable look of his father about him. She saw it mostly in his serious eyes and the thoughtful expressions he made as he was learning or working something over in his mind. He was a very bright little boy and had learned to speak fast. He’d been painfully shy when he was younger, but he was growing more extroverted every day, especially without the looming, irritable figure of his father around.
She considered telling him the truth briefly, but she didn’t want to scare him. “You’ll have to wait and see!” she replied. The truth was, she didn’t know where they were going. But they had to go somewhere. If they stayed in that house one more day, she’d be dealing with the sheriff, and she’d risk losing Charlie to the orphanage. She’d do anything to keep that from happening.
She’d done everything she could to find somewhere to go, but with no work, no one would take her. Worse yet, she couldn’t make nearly enough money to support them on her own. There was no one to look after Charlie if she took a job, and although she had managed to make a little bit of money doing mending for people here and there, it hadn’t been enough. They were homeless, and Eva was terrified.
But she wouldn’t let herself lose hope. She took stock of her possessions; a large potato sack filled with food that she had sewn a strap to so she could carry it on her back with her rifle, two thermoses full of water, and a suitcase with a spare outfit for each of them, several blankets, and some other necessities. The food would last them around two weeks. She could only pray it would be enough.
People survive on far less for far longer. We’ll be okay.
It would give Eva enough time to try and figure something out, no matter what that something may have to be. Charlie collected the remainder of his toy soldiers and Eva held the suitcase with his little pouch hanging around her wrist, reaching for Charlie’s little hand with the other. They gave their home one last, long look before Eva took a deep breath and headed for the door.
They were hit with a gust of frigid wind that carried the scent of the nearby trees. They were nearing the end of autumn and had only one more week until the chill of October began. Winter in Great Bend was cold and unforgiving, and she could already see and feel the signs of its return. It was going to be a harsh one, and she fully anticipated another blizzard that year. She would have to figure something out quickly so that she and her son would be all right.
Great Bend was a comfortable town that had been established along the Santa Fe trail. All kinds came and went, and a lot of them brought trouble right along with them. She wondered often if some rowdy cowboys riding through had been the cause of her husband’s fate. Either way, what was done was done, and she had to keep moving forward.
Eva braced herself against the icy wind and bent down to make sure Charlie’s coat was buttoned and secured before continuing. She felt anxiety welling up in her chest as they began down the road, knowing that they had no set destination.
Eva’s swirling thoughts were interrupted by the gentle tugging of the little hand in hers. Charlie looked up at her with his bright eyes, so gentle and unaware of just how much trouble they were in.
“Can I carry my soldiers, ma?” Eva felt a heartbreaking pain in her chest.
“Of course, darling,” she said, ignoring the stinging tears in her eyes as she handed the little pouch to her son.
He took it with a dimpled smile, holding them dutifully in his other hand. She cleared her throat, willing herself once more not to cry as they continued their walk. She could head to town and see if there was something she could find.
But she was afraid if she did that, some busybody would know that they were homeless and insist on taking Charlie, separating them before she’d had a chance to figure out what to do. No, what she needed was a place where she could keep him safe, just for a little while, until something better worked out. Somewhere secluded.
A jolt of hope came rushing through her and she let out an audible gasp. An idea had come to her as if sent from heaven. Something that might allow them the opportunity they needed to get back on their feet. The lodge.
Several times she had gone on walks with Jim through the woods. He had always enjoyed nature and hunting and she had pointed out to him the old hunter’s lodge, sharing with him fond stories of the fun times she’d had with her friends there when they were children, playing in that very lodge. It had been abandoned for several years at this point, and hardly what you’d call a home anymore, but it was better than sleeping out in the cold, she hoped. Regardless of whether or not the wood was rotting and the weeds were overtaking its floor, it was still a sound shelter; a better option, anyway, than risking losing her son.
Filled with momentary relief, Eva looked down at Charlie with a smile. “I just realized that we’re going the wrong way,” she exclaimed. “Come on, darling. Let’s turn around. It isn’t too far to go.”
“That’s okay, ma, it’s hard to remember where things are sometimes,” he replied comfortingly, stroking her hand with his tiny thumb; a reassuring gesture that she had always done to his own little hand. She realized then that it didn’t matter whether or not she had tried to hide how she was feeling from him. He had noticed her worries anyway, and he thought it was because she couldn’t remember where exactly they were supposed to head. A surge of tenderness and that special kind of excitement only shown in a child’s innocent joy for life overtook him as they forged ahead.
“It sure can be hard to remember sometimes,” she agreed, smiling down to him. “Thank you for being so kind to your silly old ma. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Charlie smiled shyly at the ground and shrugged his shoulders as they continued on toward the hunter’s lodge. Now that she was beginning to formulate something of a plan, a lot of the pressure was lifted from her tense shoulders. The abandoned lodge wasn’t ideal, obviously, but it gave her hope.
They walked quietly for a while, shivering as the sun began to set and the chilling winds grew even colder. She did her best to ignore the discomfort in her tired arm, keeping her small son nearby until they finally approached the old hunter’s lodge. It was still standing, set deep in the forest, and surrounded by tall trees whose leaves had piled up on the ground at their feet, leaving the air perfumed with all that surrounded them as they dissolved back into the earth. She felt a twinge of nostalgia remembering the times she used to play here as a child of Charlie’s age. It was much different now, of course, neglected over time and finally forgotten, but it hadn’t disappeared altogether and remained a stable fixture. It was far from a home, but it was shelter.
Because of how far away the lodge was from town, there was rarely anyone passing by, which made Eva feel a bit safer. The whole situation was so shameful to her. She didn’t want anyone to know how dire her situation was, or to think that she couldn’t take care of her son. People were aware of the lodge, but it was clear that nobody had used it in years, based on its dilapidated state. It was nowhere near good enough for her son, long-term, but it was the best she could do in an emergency.
They stood outside for several long moments as the weight of the situation pressed down once again on Eva’s shoulders. She felt reluctant to go inside. She knew it could be dangerous inside, even though it had weathered the test of time. Still, it appeared just as she had seen it the last time she had been through the area with Jim. Its door was closed tight, the shingled roof a little less shingled than before. But still, it was a roof. She had no idea if she would be able to light a fire in the old place safely, but it was a darn sight better than sleeping on the ground.
“Wow!” Charlie exclaimed, in awe of what stood in front of them. “This place looks old! And fun!”
“I used to think the same thing when I was a little girl,” Eva said with a soft chuckle. “Hey, I have an idea. How about the two of us use it like a secret hideaway? We can pretend this is our home for a little while and have an adventure out here together. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
The little boy’s eyes lit up with excitement and he nodded enthusiastically, charging ahead to the rickety front porch. “Yeah! Let’s go inside!”
Eva laughed and followed her son, stopping him before he opened the door. “Now, I’m glad you’re excited, but first we need to make sure it’s safe inside, all right?”
Charlie nodded, holding very still. “Okay, ma.”
“Good boy. Now just stand here for a moment while your ma takes a look inside. I’ll make sure that it’s safe to stay here.”
Charlie nodded, making sure to not move a muscle while Eva pushed the door open with a loud creak, and stepped inside. “Stay where you are, all right? I just want to take a look around.”
“I will, ma.”
***
It took Eva’s eyes a few seconds to adjust to the darkness inside. The windows were shuttered closed and the last remaining bit of sunlight was fading fast, peaking through gaps in the shutters and through the opened door, casting the room in deep shadows. Once Eva’s eyes adjusted, however, all the familiar furniture came into focus. There was the same old table sitting off to the side of the room, and the little fireplace. The cast iron wood stove was still there too, but she could tell it was in bad shape and she wouldn’t be using it. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be here long enough to need it anyway. Winter was well on its way, and in a matter of weeks, the snow would settle in.
If she could just use the time until then to figure out her next step. She would take care of her son, no matter what.
“Look!” Charlie shouted, pointing at the gun rack on the opposite wall. “It’s just like pa’s at home! Hang the rifle up on it!”
He was so excited that Eva couldn’t help but laugh. She was satisfied enough that there weren’t any other people staying there, or animals that had nested inside, so she reluctantly sat her suitcase and the bag of food down, surprised by the relief she felt. “Come on in son” she requested. “It’s getting mighty cold out there.” Her back ached, but she had hardly registered it until now. Her concerns had been elsewhere and her emotional pain had clouded the physical ones.
Eva surveyed their new surroundings. It was filthy, full of cobwebs, dust and dirt tracked in by a great many muddied boots passing through on their adventures. She immediately opened the dusty shutters to quickly air the place out before the biting wind would require them to be closed again, wishing that she had thought to pack some cleaning supplies. But she would make do, just as she always did.
“It’s perfect,” Charlie said with an approving nod as Eva placed the rifle on the gun rack. “Just like home.”
Eva felt another twinge in her chest, but she wouldn’t let her smile falter. “Just like home,” she agreed, despite being inwardly ashamed that Charlie thought this filthy place even compared. She had always prided herself on keeping a tidy home for her husband and son. But it was a silly reaction, she knew that. He was just a small boy optimistically viewing the world through rose-tinted glasses, and that was for the best. “Now, what do you say we have some supper? That was a long walk and I bet you’re as hungry as a horse.”
Charlie nodded enthusiastically and soon she was busying herself, getting the small lodge as clean as possible before preparing their meal. She made some sandwiches for them both, and then set to work trying to clean the old fireplace so that they would be able to rest in its warmth. But when she peered up the chimney, her heart sank on discovering that it had collapsed and the smoke would have nowhere to escape. A fire was out of the question, too. She would have to set up a campfire outside to cook on. It would be all right for now, as long as she and Charlie found a place to go before the snow arrived.
Their first evening in the lodge passed by like a blur, and when it finally came time for her to blow out the solitary candle lighting up the room and say good night to her son, tucking him in with the one warm blanket she managed to pack along with a pair of long johns, she was relieved to find that he was already sound asleep.
Eva kissed him on the forehead and smoothed the hair back from his face, finally giving herself permission to softly let out the stream of tears that she had been holding back for days. She was grateful for the lodge. She was, truly, but to see her small son, the boy who depended upon her for everything and deserved the world, to see him lying in this decrepit old place with nothing but one warm blanket thrown on top of a musty mattress worn out decades ago, well, she couldn’t help but feel like a complete failure.
But she wouldn’t dwell on it. No, Eva was made of stronger stuff than that. And she would prove it to everyone. She was going to get herself and her son out of this mess and get him the life that he deserved. Just as soon as she figured out how.
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I enjoyed the preview.
I’m glad to hear that Karen! 😊 Can’t wait to hear your overall opinion when you finish it!
Can’t wait !! great beginning!!
Thank you so much Celia! I’d love to hear your thoughts when you finish it!! 🌟
Thumbs up on first chapter! High expectations for a great story.
Thank you Dianne! 😊 I’m glad you enjoyed the first chapter! 📖✨ I hope the rest of the story lives up to your expectations! If you have any thoughts as you continue reading, I’d love to hear them! 🌟
Can’t wait to find out how the story ends
I’m so glad you’re excited, Gertrude ! 😊 Enjoy the journey, and I can’t wait for your overall opinion when you finish it! 📖✨
Love the first chapter. Looking forward to reading this book.
That’s wonderful to hear, Kathy! 😊 I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the book! When you’re done, I’d love to hear your overall thoughts! 📚✨