Tag: cattling

Still Waters

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Excerpt

Jeff ’s head snapped up, and he looked full at Morley for the first
time that evening.
Unlike Millie, the young man did not wait to be asked for his opinion.
“I don’t agree with you either, sir,” he said quietly.
Tyne could not imagine whose face turned more crimson – her
own or her dad’s. She glanced helplessly at Millie, praying that her
wise aunt would quickly offer a word to diffuse the impending explosion.
But, to her horror, she saw Millie’s sparkling eyes riveted on
Morley’s face, her lips twitching upwards.
Tyne looked back at her dad. He sat with his mouth open, his fork
poised in mid-air. Beside him her mother tensed noticeably and stared
at her husband with wide, fearful eyes. Jeremy, prodded to life by Morley’s
statement, raised his head and looked from their dad to Morley
then back again, his features animated for the first time that evening.
“No sir,” Morley continued, although Jeff had not said a word, “I
believe we do need a hospital in Emblem.”
“Aye, do you now?” Tyne did not miss the sarcasm in her dad’s
voice. “And on what do you base this belief, if you don’t mind?” Jeff ’s
Northern England accent, usually barely detectable, became more
pronounced with the level of his irritation.
“I’m sure I don’t need to point out to you, Mr. Milligan, that our
community is growing.” Morley leaned slightly forward. “Some
towns, as you know, have been going backward since the end of the
war, but not this one. That’s probably because we’re becoming a bedroom
community of some of the larger centres.”
Jeff put his fork down. “Then let the larger centres build the hospitals
to take care of their own.”
“But that’s just it,” Morley said earnestly, “most of them already
have institutions. But they’re becoming so crowded that they’re
threatening to turn away patients from outside a radius of thirty
miles. And Emblem’s closest hospital, as you well know, is in Medicine
Hat, forty miles away.”
“The point is,” Jeff said, “why should the taxpayers of Emblem dig
into their pockets to finance an institution in order to accommodate
the people who’re moving out here?”
Morley looked at Jeff keenly. “Are you against progress, sir?”
“Certainly not! I have never even hinted at such a thing in any of
my editorials.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763068

He Rode Tall

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Excerpt

“Joel,” Mr. Lee replied calmly. “I met with our client’s entire
management team at the terminal yesterday and they are fully
behind the decision. In fact, they were very critical of me for not
acting on this earlier, but I thought I would just give you one
more chance. I know you are capable of so much more. It is so
frustrating watching you waste your talent and poison yourself
the way that you do.”
“Bloody hell, you bastard. What are you talking about? Just
because you don’t know how to have a little fun once in a while
doesn’t mean that other people can’t have a good laugh now and
again.”
“Joel, I can see that this conversation isn’t getting us anywhere,”
interrupted Mr. Lee. “But why should I expect it to be
any different than any of our other conversations? Everyone I talk
to on this addiction problem of yours tell me that you won’t be
ready to make the changes you need to make until you hit your
bottom. I just hope it doesn’t take you much longer to hit your
bottom. There might not be much left. Could you please give me
your key to the office and your security pass?”
“Screw you!” screamed Joel as he slammed his office key and
security pass on the desk in front of him. “You are going to be
very sorry. You’ll see. You will be crawling to me asking for me to
come back and clean up after the kid. There is no way I’ll ever
work for this damn rotten company ever again after the way
they’ve treated me. You’ll all be sorry,” he blurted to anyone who
cared to listen as he strode across the office, opened the door, and
walked into the sweltering heat of the day.
If Joel was feeling pretty rough at the start of the day, he certainly
wasn’t feeling any better now.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0980897955

Still Waters

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Excerpt

Millie grew quiet, apparently deep in thought. Tyne glanced at her
and wondered if, after all, she should enlist her aunt’s help. It was
an accepted fact in the family that Millie was the only one to whom
Jeff Milligan paid any attention. But would he listen, even to Millie,
when it came to his daughter’s friendship with a man of another
faith? “You know, Aunt Millie,” she said suddenly, “Dad would love
to see me dating Larry Warner again.”
“Of course he would, good Catholic boy that Larry is.”
“But he was never too happy when Larry and I were dating.”
“Your father,” Millie said dryly, “would not be happy if you dated
Prince Charming. Even if the prince happened to be of the Roman faith.”
Tyne gave her aunt a curious look. “You’re of the Roman faith,
Aunt Millie. How come you’re not as strict about such things as my
parents are? Is it because Uncle Emory was a Protestant?”
“Your Uncle Emory was neither Protestant nor anything else. That
was the heartache of it for me.”
Tyne nodded. “And yet, you married him.”
“I know, dear, because I loved him. And, I might add, I married
him against your dad’s wishes.”
“But Dad’s younger than you. What right had he to tell you what
to do?”
“When our father died, Jeff as the eldest son, became the head of
the family.”
“Archaic practice,” Tyne muttered.
“Nevertheless, my dear, that’s the truth of it. And I’m not so sure
it was all wrong. It kept some order in families, and provided stability
for women who had no education, and no hope of supporting
themselves adequately.” Millie sighed and took a sip from her glass.
“Our mother, at least, welcomed Jeff ’s guidance and support. Poor
darling Mum was never strong, and knew nothing but housekeeping
and raising children.”
“But you would have been strong enough to take over the family,
Aunt Millie,” Tyne said quietly. “I can’t see you needing guidance
from anyone.”
Millie laughed. “Am I so obviously a Tartar then?”
Tyne blushed and began to protest, but Millie waved her hand.
“No no, I’m joking, child. I know what you say is true.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763068

Water in the Wilderness

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Excerpt

As she entered, she could see the night staff hurrying along the corridor which stretched out before her. They were in the midst of morning care, preparing the patients for breakfast. She picked up her pace as she headed to an alcove to leave her handbag and retrieve her nurses’ cap.
After pinning the cap in place in front of the one small mirror in the cubbyhole that passed as a staff cloakroom, she returned to the corridor and hurried to the nurses’ station where report would be given to the day staff in less than five minutes. She saw Inge Larson, the matron, walking towards her with a grim look on her usually pleasant features.
“Mrs. Cresswell,” Miss Larson said quietly when she reached Tyne, “I would like to see you in my office. Never mind report. You can catch up later.” She turned and led the way.
Tyne’s heartbeat quickened as she followed. What have I done wrong? Did I do something on my last night shift? Frantically, she tried to recall exactly what she had done that night, and which patients had been ill enough to require extra attention. Had she messed up? She remembered that she had been preoccupied with thoughts of Morley alone with the children, and Bobby’s fretting at bedtime. She also remembered she couldn’t wait to get off duty so that she could go home.
“Please close the door, Tyne, and sit down,” the matron said as she seated herself at her desk.
Tyne found some reassurance in the friendly tone, and the fact that Miss Larson had called her by her first name. She sat in a chair facing the desk, and waited.
Inge Larson placed her arms on the desk top and folded her hands which Tyne could see were not entirely relaxed. “Tyne, I have bad news, shocking news really.” She took a deep breath and let it out on a long sigh. “Lydia Conrad died last night.”
Tyne did not know how long she sat in stunned silence, staring at the woman who seemed to recede into a fog in front of her eyes. Finally, she choked out the words, “Why? How? What happened? Oh, dear God, no.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/192676319X

He Rode Tall

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Excerpt

Especially this morning as he stumbled to
the toilet, dropped to his knees, and wretched his guts out. For
maybe ten or twenty minutes Joel, continued to engage in the ritual
of dry heaves. And every time he thought it was over, because
he needed to get to his office, his entire body would be overcome
by yet another compelling desire to puke and he would once
again gag into the toilet. Once the heaves subsided, Joel was
wasted of whatever strength he might have. The coolness of the
porcelain toilet bowl on his forehead was a comforting feeling as
he rested to regain his strength to rise. Eventually, knowing that
he just could not afford to be late again, Joel rose, brushed his
teeth, and shaved. Lately, Joel had taken to simply using the
razor every other day. But looking at himself in the mirror this
morning, Joel realized that it had probably been three and maybe
even four days since his face had been visited by the razor. Knowing
that with his hands shaking as they were and realizing that he
was going to be late again, Joel opted to quickly shave his upper
lip and race to the office. A shower would have been nice. No, a
shower would have been wonderful, but he couldn’t afford many
more reprimands from the office manager, Mr. Lee, for being late.
Even if he was the best damn engineer on the waterfront, Joel was
pushing his luck.
After throwing his old rumpled suit on, Joel rushed down the
stairs to the teeming street below where he quickly hailed a cab and
twenty minutes later rushed into the offices of Empire Engineering
Works. Empire was one of those harbor-based engineering firms
that specialized in all kinds of projects on the Hong Kong waterfront.
Joel had been with Empire for many years now, including
postings at the home office in London and an endless string of
assignments around the globe that usually lasted anywhere from
twelve to twenty-four months. He had actually spent nearly three
years at one posting in Amsterdam, but that was only because of
overlapping projects, and once the first project, a new dry dock facility,
was completed, he was asked to finish up a project with another
team of engineers who were designing a new pier for the ferry fleet.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0980897955

Still Waters

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Excerpt

Tyne fought back a wave of anger. “Thank you,” she said stiffly.
Her mother’s voice followed her up the stairs. “He said he’d call back
after supper.’’
In her bedroom, Tyne threw off her damp clothes, grabbed a light
dressing gown and headed for the bathroom. That boy, she muttered
under her breath. That Cresswell boy. Her mother was beginning to
sound just like her dad. At twenty-four Morley was hardly a boy.
That boy, indeed.
She bent to turn on the bathtub faucet, and jumped when her
mother suddenly appeared in the doorway. A small woman, Emily
had mousy blonde hair pulled back severely into a bun at the nape of
her neck. Tyne often thought that her mother must have been pretty
as a young woman, but the years had taken their toll. Deep frown lines
creased her forehead, but no soft laugh lines appeared around her
mouth and eyes as there should have been in a fifty-year-old woman.
“If you persist in seeing this boy, Tyne,” Emily said, “you know
what it will lead to, don’t you?”
Tyne straightened her back. “Yes, Mom, it already has. Morley and
I are planning to marry.”
As soon as she said the words she wished she could take them
back. She had not meant to drop such a bombshell in this way, especially
to her timid, anxious mother.
Emily’s hand flew to her mouth, too late to hide the trembling of
her lips.
When she spoke Tyne could barely hear her over the running bath water.
“Oh, Tyne, how could you bring disgrace to our family like this?”
“Disgrace? Disgrace? Is that your word, or Dad’s?”
Emily’s face tightened. “Be careful, Tyne.”
“I only mean … Mom, I can’t believe you would think that by marrying
a good Christian man like Morley I’ll bring disgrace on the
family.”
“He’s not our kind of Christian, Tyne. You haven’t been raised that way.”
“What way? Are we so special? Why should this be an issue between
us? Morley is a good man and a fine Christian. There is no
issue.”
Emily’s voice rose. “I won’t stand here and listen to this. You’re not
my daughter anymore. You’ve changed. That boy has changed you
already.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763068

He Rode Tall

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Excerpt

Maybe it was more fun trying to guess. All they knew was
they were blessed to have him. From the time he locked up his
one room classroom and left town at the start of summer until he
returned a day or so before the start of the next school year, there
always was plenty of speculation on where he went every summer
and whether or not this very strange and very private man
would return.
Joel had developed his own theory about why no one asked Mr.
Johansson why he was doing what he was doing when he could
obviously be employed in some more prestigious task. The way
Joel had it figured, the teacher was on the run. On the run from
who knows what. Maybe himself. Maybe the law. Maybe his
family. And people in the community didn’t ask for fear of chasing
away the man that had become recognized as the best teacher
this part of the country ever had. What they didn’t know was that
Mr. Johansson was actually Dr. Johansson, PhD, and yes, he was
on the run. On the run from an east coast college and his appetite
for eighteen-year-old freshmen girls.
Mr. Johansson had provided a great start for young Joel. Right
from the tenth grade, when the teacher first arrived in Willow
Springs, he had given Joel some very special attention. Not one to
comment on anything other than those of scientific or mathematical
significance, the teacher did mention to Joel toward the end of
his final year in high school that he had been an excellent student
and would do very well in university. When Joel indicated that
university probably wasn’t in the cards for him, with the cost of it
being what it was, Mr. Johansson made a point of phoning the
ranch and asking to meet his parents. Both his mother and father
were amazed when Mr. Johansson visited their home and suggested,
very strongly, that it would be a crime if Joel did not go to
university. The money issue raised its head and the meeting took
a bad turn when the teacher suggested to Joel’s dad that if he
couldn’t afford to send Joel to university then he would most likely
be able to get some help from the government or some kind of a
special foundation for talented, underprivileged children.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0980897955

He Rode Tall

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Excerpt

Not many came to the funeral. Some said it was because
of the time of the year—calving and all. Others recognized that it
was because not many really knew Edward Hooper. He would
have turned ninety later that summer and the reality was that
there just weren’t that many ninety-year-olds around this country
any more. It was almost as if he was the last man standing.
Maybe he was, in this part of the country anyways.
A few of the nieces and nephews from the city came for the
funeral—not that the old man would have recognized any of
them unless they had introduced themselves, and that certainly
wasn’t happening that day. And there were a few Native American
riders who had worked for him on and off over the years,
especially in the early years when he had more cattle and actually
needed cowboys for something other than just company. It
was a small group of maybe a dozen or so who congregated on
that lonesome knoll to pay their respects and say goodbye to
Edward Hooper.
And that is why Joel Hooper was making his way on horseback
through the lush pasture this beautiful morning—to pay his
respects to the man he knew as his father. Their lives together
had been both brief and hard. Especially hard. It was difficult for
Joel to even see the man as his dad. As Joel rode along the ridges
to the corner of the pasture where the family graveyard stood, he
knew that he was just as much going there to pay his respects out
of his concern as he was for what others would say if he didn’t.
The way word traveled in the hills, sooner or later someone
would hear that he hadn’t visited his father’s grave. Then what
would they think of him? And who were they anyways?
Eventually, Joel arrived at the family plot—a small knoll set
back in the hills sheltered on the backside by the even higher hills
and with an open view to the vast valley floor far below. After dismounting
the orange gelding and being unable to find a place to
tie the horse, Joel realized that he could simply drop the reins;

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QG9MOM