Her Silent Burden (Seeing Ranch series) (A Western Historical Romance Book) Read online

  Her Silent Burden

  Seeing Ranch series

  Florence Linnington

  Easy Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organisations, places, events and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2018 Florence Linnington

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Easy Publishing

  United States of America

  EDITED BY:

  Nicole d’Entremont :: Novel Treasure Publishing

  Book cover design by:

  Sanja Gombar :: www.bookcoverforyou.com

  Contents

  Also by Florence Linnington

  About the Author

  Newsletter for new book release

  Acknowledgments

  Tale 1

  Chapter 1

  1. Thea

  Chapter one

  Chapter 2

  2. Wakefield

  Chapter two

  Chapter 3

  3. Thea

  Chapter three

  Chapter 4

  4. Wakefield

  Chapter four

  Chapter 5

  5. Thea

  Chapter five

  Chapter 6

  6. Wakefield

  Chapter six

  Chapter 7

  7. Thea

  Chapter seven

  Chapter 8

  8. Wakefield

  Chapter eight

  Chapter 9

  9. Thea

  Chapter nine

  Chapter 10

  10. Wakefield

  Chapter ten

  Chapter 11

  11. Thea

  Chapter eleven

  Chapter 12

  12. Wakefield

  Chapter twelve

  Chapter 13

  13. Thea

  Chapter thirteen

  Chapter 14

  14. Wakefield

  Chapter fourteen

  Chapter 15

  15. Thea

  Chapter fifteen

  Chapter 16

  16. Wakefield

  Chapter sixteen

  Chapter 17

  17. Thea

  Chapter seventeen

  Chapter 18

  18. Wakefield

  Chapter eighteen

  Chapter 19

  19. Thea

  Chapter nineteen

  Chapter 20

  20. Wakefield

  Chapter twenty

  Chapter 21

  21. Thea

  Chapter twenty-one

  Chapter 22

  22. Wakefield

  Chapter twenty-two

  Chapter 23

  23. Thea

  Chapter twenty-three

  Chapter 24

  24. Wakefield

  Chapter twenty-four

  Chapter 25

  25. Thea

  Chapter twenty-five

  Chapter 26

  26. Wakefield

  Chapter twenty-six

  Chapter 27

  27. Thea

  Chapter twenty-seven

  Chapter 28

  28. Wakefield

  Chapter twenty-eight

  Chapter 29

  29. Thea

  Chapter twenty-nine

  Chapter 30

  30. Wakefield

  Chapter thirty

  Chapter 31

  31. Thea

  Chapter thirty-one

  Chapter 32

  32. Wakefield

  Chapter thirty-two

  Chapter 33

  33. Thea

  Chapter thirty-three

  Chapter 34

  34. Wakefield

  Chapter thirty-four

  Chapter 35

  35. Thea

  Chapter thirty-five

  Chapter 36

  36. Wakefield

  Chapter thirty-six

  Chapter 37

  37. Thea

  Chapter thirty-seven

  Chapter 38

  38. Wakefield

  Chapter thirty-eight

  Chapter 39

  39. Thea

  Chapter thirty-nine

  Chapter 40

  40. Wakefield

  Chapter forty

  Epilogue

  Epilogue. Thea

  Epilogue

  Tale 2

  Chapter 1

  1. Noah

  Chapter one

  Chapter 2

  2. Rosalie

  Chapter two

  Chapter 3

  3. Noah

  Chapter three

  Chapter 4

  4. Rosalie

  Chapter four

  Chapter 5

  5. Noah

  Chapter five

  Chapter 6

  6. Rosalie

  Chapter six

  Chapter 7

  7. Noah

  Chapter seven

  Chapter 8

  8. Rosalie

  Chapter eight

  Chapter 9

  9. Noah

  Chapter nine

  Chapter 10

  10. Rosalie

  Chapter ten

  Chapter 11

  11. Noah

  Chapter eleven

  Chapter 12

  12. Rosalie

  Chapter twelve

  Chapter 13

  13. Noah

  Chapter thirteen

  Chapter 14

  14. Rosalie

  Chapter fourteen

  Chapter 15

  15. Noah

  Chapter fifteen

  Chapter 16

  16. Rosalie

  Chapter sixteen

  Chapter 17

  17. Noah

  Chapter seventeen

  The story goes on…

  Newsletter for new book release

  Preview of next book…

  Also by Florence Linnington

  Seeing Ranch series: Mail Order Brides

  FEEL FREE TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER WESTERN HISTORICAL ROMANCE BOOK SERIES

  Click the link below

  Amazon Author Bio

  Book 1 - Her Winding Path

  Book 2 - Her Western Heart

  Book 3 - Her Wild Journey

  Book 4 - Her Rocky Trail

  Book 5 - Her Unexpected Destiny

  Book 6 - Her Silent Burden

  Book 7 - Her Fearless Love

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to Michelle and Chayce

  About the Author

  Hello to all my Readers, I hope you will enjoy reading my books. I truly derive joy and peace from my creative writings, and I hope my books can make my Readers happy.

  Feel free to get in touch with me and share with me your thoughts on my writings. I would love to hear from you!

  https://www.facebook.com/florencelinningtonbooks/

  [email protected]

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  Acknowledgments

  I would like to express my gratitude to Joy Christi and her team for all the
valuable advice.

  Tale 1

  Chapter 1

  peeper frogs and cicadas

  1. Thea

  Chapter one

  South Carolina, 1883

  The ivory was cool under Thea’s fingertips—the only cool thing in the cabin. She slid her hands across the piano’s keys, finishing the canon. She put every bit of her heart and soul into the remaining bars.

  As the final note rang out in the main room, Thea closed her eyes. She felt as if she had left her body and was riding through the air on the notes. Where it would take her, she did not know.

  “That was lovely.”

  Thea opened her eyes and turned around on the piano bench. Lost in the music, she’d completely forgotten Emily was in the cabin with her.

  Thea’s friend smiled at her from across the main room, but it was strained. “What song was that?”

  “I do not know,” Thea admitted. “A canon, maybe. That’s all Mrs. Gerald told me.”

  “She must have been a wonderful teacher.”

  Thea ran her fingers across the piano’s keys once more, tears filling her eyes. “She was.”

  Mrs. Gerald had died at least ten years earlier. Thea had long since done her mourning over the kindly neighbor who had taught her to play the piano. Today, her heart was heavy for another reason.

  “Thea,” Emily said. “Don’t cry. What is the matter?”

  “They are coming for the piano next week,” Thea said. “The purveyors from Charleston.”

  Emily did not answer, and Thea could not bring herself to look at the other woman’s face. She did not want to see the pity there.

  The whole town was talking about Thea, about how horrendous it was that she had lost her husband only three months into their marriage. If they’d only known the truth about Jeb, Thea thought, would they still feel bad for her?

  Thea herself did not even know how she felt. Her entire being had been a mixed bag of emotions since that fateful afternoon nearly three months earlier. Two neighbors had come and told her the news: there had been an accident while cutting logs for the Veeland’s new barn. One had fallen on Jeb. He was gone. Dead before the doctor had even gotten there.

  But, really, things had been complicated before then. Strained. Jeb had never been the husband others seemed to think he was. While he treated Thea so sweetly in public, gently laying his hand on the small of her back, whispering in her ear, smiling at her… things were vastly different at home.

  She’d met him a total of three times before their wedding day, an event that had been born out of necessity. Money had been tight at home for years, and Thea’s parents needed her to be taken care of. As she could not bear the thought of going to the city and working, leaving behind her parents and siblings, that meant there was only one option. Marriage.

  Why he had agreed to marry her, Thea will never know for sure. He was older by twenty years. Perhaps he liked the idea of having a younger person to exert control over. Or perhaps he wanted to show her off. Whatever the reason, Jeb had shown his bride little affection. Quite the opposite in fact. Indeed, he had not waited more than a week after exchanging vows before he put his hands around her throat.

  He’d been careful each time he struck her, making sure to never leave any bruises or markings. He was good at his craft, good at hiding his cruel intentions, good at making Thea wonder if she might actually be the problem.

  Sometimes, when she lay awake in bed at night, Thea thought God had done her a favor by taking Jeb away. That was likely a wicked idea, but knowing that didn’t change the relief Thea felt with him gone.

  However, now there were other things to worry about. With no husband, Thea was flat broke. Going home to her parents and asking them to take her back in, was not an option. They would accept her with open arms, but they could not afford her. Not with six children at home—one blinded from Scarlet Fever and one crippled from a wagon accident.

  Thea was on her own. It was up to her to find her way.

  “I am sorry about the piano,” Emily said mournfully.

  Thea forced herself to smile. “It is only a piano.”

  That was not the truth. The piano had been a gift from Mr. Ascott, who lived down the street. He’d been moving at the same time Jeb and Thea had married, and, unable to take the piano West with him, had gifted it to the new couple as a wedding present.

  The musical instrument had been Thea’s solace from Jeb’s abuse. It had been the one thing that had held her up in the face of adversity. She did not know how she would manage without it.

  Although she would have to, because, just like Mr. Ascott, she would be going West as well.

  Hopefully.

  “I have something to tell you, Emily.”

  Emily’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Something good?”

  “I… I hope you will think so.” Unease churned in Thea’s stomach, and she stood and went to the cabin’s open door. The cabin looked out into a wide field where Jeb had cleared and planted the year’s corn crop in. He would not be there to see the stalks shoot skyward. If all went well, neither would Thea.

  “Thea? You are worrying me.”

  Thea pressed her hands together and turned back to look at Emily, whose eyes were wide with concern. They had known each other since they were children and had been inseparable from the beginning. The two of them had walked to the schoolhouse together, bare feet kicking up dirt and lunch pails swinging against their skirts. Emily’s life, it seemed, had turned out quite well. She’d married the boy she had swooned over all throughout her school years, and the two of them lived in a little white house near the river.

  Sometimes it was hard for Thea to not be jealous of her dear friend.

  “Have you heard of mail-order brides?” Thea asked.

  Emily slowly shook her head. “What are those?”

  “Out west, where there are far fewer women than men, sometimes the men arrange marriages with women back east. The women travel westward to meet them. To Texas, California, the Wyoming Territory.”

  Emily frowned, the distaste Thea had feared already showing. “That sounds dangerous.”

  “Life here has become dangerous too,” Thea answered. “Poverty presents its own challenges. You know that.”

  Emily’s lips parted as the understanding sank in. “You are to be one of these… brides?”

  “Perhaps. If anyone will accept me. I already wrote the letter a month ago.”

  Emily’s shoulders sagged. “Oh, Thea.”

  “Do not be like that.”

  “An arranged marriage?” Emily cried. “What if the man you go to marry is horrible? It’s the West. He could be absolutely barbaric.”

  “He cannot be any worse than my late husband.”

  They both fell quiet at her words. Emily knew exactly what Thea referred to. When it came to her marriage’s difficulties, Emily had been the only person Thea had confided in.