Tag: farming

Wellspring of Love

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excerpt

Picking up a dry twig, she started to draw lines and figures in the
dirt around her. Her childhood did not seem as far away now as it
had just last week. Maybe Lyssa was right, maybe she was still a baby,
and maybe she needed to grow up. But if growing up meant going out
with guys and drinking and making out in the back seat of a car like
Lyssa did … well, did she really want to?
Rachael had overheard a group of girls from her church talking in
the school corridor. She had been about to close her locker door and
go over to join them when Julia spoke in a voice that carried further
than she probably realized.
“Well, I don’t think she should be hanging around with her cousin
so much. Everyone in school knows that Lyssa’s fast.”
Rachael knew they were referring to her and her cousin. Who else
would they be talking about? Fast? What exactly did that mean? She
wished there was someone she could ask. She could hardly broach the
subject with Lyssa, her closest confident. She’d like to ask her mom,
but then she would have to reveal what she’d heard, and that would
only add to her parents’ already poor opinion of Lyssa. Maybe she
should ask Ronnie; he wouldn’t squeal on her even if he guessed the
reason for her asking.
She heard a sudden thump on the wooden bridge. Looking up she saw
Tim Buckley striding in his lumbering gait from his side of the stream.
She sat up straight and waited until he was within hailing distance.
“Hi, Timmy. Whatja doin’?”
“Lo, Rachael.” He grinned as he lowered his large frame to the
ground beside her. His big face registered delight as he looked at her
then shifted his gaze to her schoolbag. “Comin’ home from school?
Whatya doin’ here then?”
Rachael shrugged and looked across the creek where two crows
danced among the debris from fallen branches. “Just thinking.”
“Yeah? I think all the time.”
She turned to look at him, smiling at his boyish naivety. “What
about, Timmy?”

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562917

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763327

Water in the Wilderness

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excerpt

Maybe they were still asleep. Opening the door, she walked cautiously down the hall but picked up her pace when she heard muted voices from the kitchen.
Moe and Ken sat at the table, fully dressed and with mugs of coffee in front of them. They turned towards her.
“Good morning, kiddo. You had a good long sleep.” Moe jumped to her feet. “Okay, first a cup of fresh coffee, then I’ll make your breakfast.”
Tyne glanced from one to the other, trying to read their expressions. But Moe, in spite of dark patches under her eyes, exhibited her old cheerful demeanor. Ken was smiling. “Morning, Tyne,” he said as he got up and pulled a chair out from the table.
Tyne hesitated. Did they have something to tell her? Were they acting normal to lessen the shock? Before she allowed herself to sit down and accept the coffee Moe handed her, she had to know.
“Have you heard anything?” Her voice was little more than a whisper.
Both of them shook their heads, and Ken said, “It’s a little soon. I’m sure they’ll be in touch with us today.”
Tyne’s sigh was louder than she expected. “I know, I’m being overanxious.” She sat down across from Ken and stirred cream into her coffee. “I didn’t mean to sleep so long. I told Bobby and Ronald I’d be back to the see them this morning, at least for a few minutes.”
“You’re too late, kiddo,” Moe said as she broke eggs into a bowl. “Aunt Millie left over an hour ago for the hospital. The boys are well looked after. Right now you’re going to have breakfast.”
“Thanks Moe, but I’m not really hungry.” Tyne took a sip of coffee. “I don’t think I can eat.”
“Nevertheless,” Moe said as she whisked the eggs, “you’re going to try. And I’m going to stand over you until you do.”
Tyne had to smile. “Do you realize you’re beginning to sound more and more like Aunt Millie?”
In spite of her assertion that she was not hungry, Tyne ate most of the scrambled eggs and toast Moe placed before her…

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562884

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

Still Waters

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excerpt

It snowed during the night, a good two inches which prompted
Cam to say when he came down to breakfast, “Is our skating party
off then? The lake will be covered with snow.”
“Heck, no.” Jeremy slapped butter onto his toast and glanced at
the clock on the kitchen wall. “Some of the guys’ll be out there already
clearing it off. We’d better hurry up and go help them.”
“Really?” Cam pulled a chair out from the table and sat down.
“What do you clear the ice with?”
“We put our skates on and push homemade snow ploughs along
the ice. Someone usually comes with a tractor and pushes the snow
to the side of the lake.” Jeremy helped himself to another dollop of
butter.
Tyne reached across the table and slapped her brother’s hand.
“Enough,” she scolded, thinking she sounded very much like their
dad. More gently she said, “You already have more butter than you
need on one slice of toast. Leave some for Cam.”
Cam grinned as he stirred his coffee. “Leave him alone, big sister.
He’s a growing boy.”
And one who’s used to having butter only when we have company,
Tyne thought. Usually, they had margarine which, until recently, had
been purchased in white unappetizing blocks that had to be mixed
with a capsule of orange colouring. Cam, she was sure, would have
no knowledge of such things. Nor would Morley, of course, since he
had always lived on the farm and had fresh cream and butter year
round.
Why does Morley always have to come to mind, even for the most
mundane things? I’m sure he never thinks about me.
They finished their breakfast and the young men went to their
rooms to change into their outdoor clothes. As Tyne began to clear
the table, her mother appeared at the pantry door, carrying a wicker
picnic basket.
“Leave the dishes, Tyne, and run along. I’ve packed you a little
lunch because I know you won’t think of coming home…

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

Water in the Wilderness

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excerpt

Tyne did not know what to say. If Morley were here, he would know how to respond to Ruby’s outrageous suggestion. She lowered her head and mouthed a silent prayer. “Oh God, help me say the right things. Give me wisdom, Lord, because I’m scared. I’m scared for Morley because I don’t know what’s happened to him. And I’m scared for these children you have seen fit to bring into our lives. But God, I’m not ready for all this; too much has happened too fast. Please keep Morley safe and send him to me.”
She looked up to find Ruby staring at her. Tyne shook her head. “I can’t give you an answer, Ruby. You know I’ll have to talk to Morley about it.”
Ruby nodded. “Yeah, sure I know. But I also know I can’t take him back, Tyne. I’m just dreaming when I say he has to come home.” She burst into tears.
Tyne jumped to her feet. Crossing to the sofa, she sat down beside the distraught woman and put her arms around her. “Hush, it will be all right, I promise. We’ll work something out.”
In a few minutes Ruby dried her tears and stood up. “I have to see Ronald again before it’s time for my bus. I have to go home tonight.” At the door she turned with a half smile. “Thanks for listening.”
Tyne watched her leave, her thoughts in turmoil. Another promise … she had just made another promise that she didn’t know if she could keep. Her life was spinning out of control. She and Morley had been married for less than half a year when their world was rocked by that first promise she had made the night Lydia Conrad had come to the nurses’ station in Emblem Hospital. As a result of that brief encounter with her patient, she and Morley had known the joy of loving two small children; they had known panic when those children went missing; and they had known the heartache of losing their own unborn child.
And now, Morley was missing after going on a mission of mercy to find the children’s father and bring him to them.
What more do you want of us, God? Tyne cried in her heart. What more do you want us to do?

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562884

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

Fury of the Wind

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excerpt

He threw his head back and laughed. But it wasn’t a mirthful
sound. “In Nimkus? That’ll be the day.”
He gulped his coffee, pushed his chair back roughly and went
out. Sarah stared after him, unaware that two tears were sliding
down her cheeks. O
The road to the neighbours proved to be little more than a cow
trail across the adjoining farms. Flicka’s hooves scattered yellow
petals of black-eyed Susans as she trotted over the dry pasture land.
Due to Ben’s warning, Sarah became especially cautious when they
reached the path along the ravine. But she need not have worried,
because Flicka navigated it with a sure-footed gait, and ignored the
brush covered bank that fell away to the gully a hundred feet below.
Only a thin ribbon of murky water was visible at its base, but Ben
said that after a heavy rain it became a gushing river.
Another quarter mile along the path, after rounding a poplar
bluff, Flicka came to a halt at a barbed wire fence that obviously
divided the Fielding and McNeill properties. Sarah dismounted to
open the prairie gate. The farm site was now visible, and she could
see that they were approaching it from the back. A country road ran
close by the front of the two-storied white frame house. The house
itself stood in the shade of a grove of maple trees.
A windmill stood sentinel between the house and the outbuildings,
and Sarah felt a pang of envy when she realized that their
neighbours had electric lighting. This farm seemed a sharp contrast
to the ones she had seen on the road from Nimkus. Every outbuilding,
from the smallest shed to the imposing hip-roofed barn,
sported a dark red coat of paint.
They came to another gate and, as Sarah prepared to dismount,
she saw a man wave to her from where he had been bending over
the engine of a red tractor.
“Hold it,” he called, “I’ll get the gate for you.”
As he walked towards her, closely followed by a brown and white
mongrel dog, Sarah could see that this was not Dave McNeill. Although
tall, he appeared shorter than Dave, and his curly hair was
darker although definitely auburn. But when he grinned up at her
where she sat astride Flicka, she could see the features were …

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0981073530

Still Waters

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“You mean with tax collectors and sinners,” Tyne had said, tonguein-
cheek.
“Well, I didn’t mean it quite like that,” Morley said, grinning, “but
how can people be saved if they don’t hear the Word? And how will
they hear the Word if no one tells them?”
Morley may not be preaching the Word as he mixed with people
but, Tyne was quite sure, his life and the way he lived it would be a
testimony in itself.
Tyne had spent a troubled week, and it was only because of Aunt
Millie’s persuasive powers that she was here tonight. Since the morning
her dad had dropped the bombshell of Morley’s involvement
with Jennifer Sears, she had been determined not to attend this
meeting. Now she knew why the schoolteacher had suggested a combined
meeting with the Building & Grounds Committee. Although,
Tyne had to admit, Aunt Millie had been receptive to Jennifer’s idea,
so she must have thought it had merit. Unless ….
Why had the schoolteacher’s suggestion appealed to Millie? Had
Jennifer played right into her hands? Without any effort on her part,
had Millie seen the perfect way of getting Tyne and Morley in the
same room together?
Tyne’s thoughts were jumbled. Why would Aunt Millie want to
throw us together again? Doesn’t she know how much it hurt me
when we broke up? And even if she’s entertaining hopes of us getting
back together, can’t she see it’s all so hopeless?
Tyne was jolted from her thoughts when she heard her name spoken.
Startled, and not a little disoriented, she looked up.
“I’m sure you all know my niece, Tyne Milligan,” Millie was saying.
“She came home to look after her father when he had a stroke.” Millie
turned her head to look fondly at Tyne. “Since she’s now a graduate
nurse, I’m sure she’ll be a great asset to our committee.”
There were murmurs of assent around the table, particularly from
the men who had been unaware of Tyne’s involvement. She tried
to avoid looking directly at Morley, but her eyes were drawn to his
face. His look was inscrutable as he said, “Welcome, Tyne. We can
certainly use all the help we can get.”

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

Water in the Wilderness

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excerpt

Tyne sat on a chair across from her. Several seconds passed in silence. Tyne did not intend to make it easy for the woman.
Finally Ruby said, “I know you’re mad at Bill and me because the kids ran away. I know you didn’t want us to have them in the first place. But we … I did my best for them.”
“Did you?”
Ruby looked up sharply. The fire that Tyne remembered from their encounter in Emblem Hospital had returned to her eyes. “Yeah, I did, no matter what they … what Rachael says.”
Tyne sat forward, her eyes riveted on Ruby’s face. “And was doing your best making Rachael work like a woman in the house? Letting your daughter bully her – even going so far as to mutilate the doll? Telling her that she and Bobby would be sent to an orphanage?” She took a deep breath. “Was that doing your best for her?”
Ruby sat straight, ready to defend herself. “I didn’t know a lot of that stuff until later when Lark told me. And anyway, I can’t see it’s any of your business because they’re not your kids. You’re not even related.”
“No,” Tyne said quietly, “we’re not. But your sister left them in our care, and I promised to look after them for her. And both Morley and I have grown to love them which is what you don’t appear to do, even though they’re your own flesh and blood.”
Ruby’s face turned red and she lowered her head. “I do love them,” she whispered, “an’ I’m sorry about what Lyssa did. I try, but I don’t have any control over her.”
Tyne tried to quell the unexpected twinge of compassion. “Okay Ruby. I’m sure it’s difficult at times. But what about Ronald? You don’t deny his dad beat him?”
Still looking at the floor, Ruby shook her head from side to side. “No, I don’t deny that. Bill is hard on him, always has been.”
“Couldn’t you stop him?”
There was a long pause, during which Tyne became aware that someone stood nearby. She looked up to see a middle-aged woman hesitate in the doorway, then move on when Ruby spoke. “I tried to stop him at first, but he’d turn on me. I couldn’t stand up to him; he’s a big man.”
Tyne felt revulsion. “Did he hit you?”

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562884

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

He Rode Tall

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“That may be true, but we have to be at the top of our game.
We won’t have a chance to do much training in Oklahoma City,
you know.”
“Tell you what, Joel. If you think this horse of yours needs
training by the time you get to Oklahoma City, then you are riding
the wrong horse, cowboy. This horse has every move in it
right now that it will ever need in Oklahoma City. The only question
is about your ability to draw those moves out of the
horse—how to ask for the right maneuver in the right way at the
right time. And none of that has anything to do with constant
rundowns and long slides. It is all about being in tune with your
horse. You have never seen me mad, but if you don’t take that
horse out to the pasture for a nice gentle ride, you are going to see
one very upset horsewoman. Do you understand me, Joel
Hooper?”
It was Tanya saying his full name that really got his attention.
He knew she was speaking from the heart. But he was the mature
adult here, and up until a few months ago, she was a struggling
teenage horse trainer, but he knew she was right.
“Tanya, you just amaze me. So much wisdom and so much
power in one young woman. I can’t wait to see what happens to
you when you grow up. Whatever it is, I know that it is going to
be something very special. And I am going to be able to say that I
knew Tanya way back when she was a nineteen-year-old just out
of high school.”
“Get out of here, Joel Hooper. Go ride your horse.”
And he did. Not only did he take it easy for the rest of the week
but also for the rest of the month as they prepared for the show.
Sure, there were days when he would run the patterns on the big
buckskin gelding, but even then he was only going at three-quarter
speed and saving the extra for when it was really needed.
For Tanya, it was pretty much the same: she would work hard
some days, but most days Tanya would lope a few circles with her
horse, work on something specific, like a spin or a lead change,
and then head straight for the hills.

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562862

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

Still Waters

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Tyne pursed her lips and looked down at the table. Several seconds
passed in silence while she moved her mug of tea in circles in front
of her. Then she looked up. “All right, Auntie, tell me what I’ll have
to do.” She could not hide the excitement in her voice. 
She attended her first meeting of the Furnishings Committee of
the Emblem & District Hospital the following Thursday evening at
Millie’s home. Three other members greeted Tyne with enthusiasm.
“Your help will be invaluable, Tyne,” Laura Charters said. “I’m so
glad your aunt persuaded you to come. How’s your dad, by the way?”
“He’s doing well, thank you,” Tyne told the mother of the girl who
had been her best friend through high school. “He’s determined to
fight this thing, so that helps.”
Jennifer Sears, a young school teacher whom Tyne had not previously
met, nodded her head in agreement. “I’m pleased to hear he’s
getting better, Tyne. I met him when he came to see me about Jeremy’s
grades. I like your dad.”
Goodness, could this be one of Jeremy’s teachers? She looked far
too young.
The third member of the committee was the wife of the Royal
Bank manager. Edith Siebold was getting on in years being, it was
said, at least ten years older than her husband. Tyne had always had
the greatest respect for her, and regarded her as one of the most
charming and cultured women she knew.
Tyne helped her aunt serve coffee as the women gathered around
the kitchen table. Then Millie called the meeting to order. Catalogues
with information on everything from hospital beds to overbed tables
to stainless steel supply carts were spread out over the Formica top.
Even after the first hour Tyne was overwhelmed by the number
of decisions and the amount of research the committee had to face.
She wondered how they even knew where to begin, but was pleased
when, a number of times throughout the evening, they called on her
for advice.
“After all,” Laura Charters pointed out, “who is better equipped to
deal with these things than a recently graduated nurse?”

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

Fury of the Wind

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Back in the Saddle
Two weeks after her marriage Sarah Fielding had a visitor. She
was cleaning and rearranging cupboards in the pantry when she
heard the thud of a horse’s hooves in the backyard. Through the
window she could see that it was not Ben as she had expected, but a
stranger dismounting from his horse.
He stood for a moment and looked towards the stables before
walking to the back door. When Sarah opened it, the young man
removed his hat to reveal a head of curly auburn hair. His smile
reached to his eyes and lit up his face.
“How do you do, Mrs. Fielding? I’m Dave McNeill. Live over there
about a mile.” He jerked his thumb in a south-westerly direction.
“I’m pleased to meet you, Mr. McNeill,” Sarah said cheerfully,
“you’re the first neighbour I’ve had the privilege of meeting.”
“It’s Dave, please. Is Ben around?”
“Yes, I believe he’s gone over to that field behind the stable.” She,
too, pointed.
“Oh, the north pasture. Thanks, Mrs. Fielding, I’ll see if I can find
him.”
He replaced his hat, and was turning away when Sarah, surprising
even herself, said quickly, “But won’t you come in? I was just
going to make a cup of coffee. Would you like one? And,” she added
stepping aside to let him enter the kitchen, “I’d be pleased if you’d
call me Sarah. I’m not used to Mrs. Fielding yet.”
“Right, Sarah it is then. We’ve been anxious to meet you, Penny
and me.” At Sarah’s questioning look, he added, “Penny’s my wife.”
Sarah bustled from the pantry to the kitchen and back again,
anxious to get the coffee started before her visitor should become
impatient and decide he had to go. But he seemed in no hurry.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0981073530