The Drifter'sPromise
Book Twenty of Brides of the West
By Rita Hestand
Copyright © 2019 by: Rita Hestand
All Rights Reserved
ISBN#: 9780463552926
Cover Design: Sheri McGathy
License Note
This book The Drifter's Promise islicensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be copied orreproduced in any manner without express written permission of theauthor. If you would like to share this book with another person,please purchase an additional copy or copies. Thank you forrespecting the hard work of this author.
The Drifter's Promise is a work offiction. Though some of the cities and towns actually exist theyare used in a fictitious manner for purposes of this work. Allcharacters are works of fiction and any names or characteristicssimilar to any person past, present or future are coincidental.
Dedication
The Drifter's Promise is dedicated to all theabused women of this world, who went from dreams to horrors. Thisbooks means to give you hope and comfort that Mr. Right is outthere. Just keep your faith.
Blessings
Rita Hestand
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
ChapterSix
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
About theAuthor
Rita's OtherBooks
Far East Texas
1885
Chapter One
Kate Marley stared through the pouring rainas they lowered her husband into the ground. She wondered why therewas nothing inside her to give him now.
Although she wore a slicker, and a hat, therain was quickly soaking her clothes. It didn't matter, thealoneness she felt was closing in on her now. Tears wouldn't comejust yet. She was too numb to realize the gravity of the situation.She was still in shock.
One day her husband was alive, the next dayhe wasn't. It struck her that a life could change that quickly.
She suddenly realized she should be crying.Most young wives would mourn their husband. Problem was that Katewasn't sure how she felt about it.
The rain made a sad music all its own. Theconstant patter of it dulling her senses. She watched silently asthe rain pelted the casket.
The reverend said pretty words over him, hisvoice was calming, and patient, as his gaze lingered on the casket.So when the grave diggers sloshed the mud on top of the cheapwooden casket, Kate jumped. It was the constant slosh of mud thatroused her attention, and she reached up to feel one solitary tearslip down her cheek, and blend with the rain. There were only fourof them there, the Reverend, her and the two men who dug the grave.The undertaker had already gone home. There should have been morepeople to mourn him, she thought dully.
The Reverend spoke to her in soothing tones,but she was unaware of what he said. She barely knew the man. Thatwas the problem, she didn't know anyone around here. She'd livedhere a year, and yet she barely knew what her neighbor's nameswere.
But she knew Jim well enough. He was onlythirty-two when a Cougar jumped him on the property as he waschecking fence lines. He'd been ripped up badly and had bled todeath before Kate could even get him back to the house the nextday. What an insane struggle she'd had, trying to get him back tothe house. Her dress had been soaked with his blood from trying tolift him, but the mule was big, and she wasn't. the blood smelledstrangely, gagging her.
She didn't want to think of it now. Thatharrowing moment was over. She had no time to dwell on self-pity,there was work to be done, and only her to do it.
All her hopes and dreams were buried withhim, and she hadn't a clue what she would do now. She couldn'tthink on it. Things seemed so hopeless.
She thanked the Reverend and turned to walkback to the house. Everything was an obligation, a responsibility,but where was the feelings?
"What are you gonna do, ma'am?" The Reverendasked her as she was walking back to the house.
"About what, sir?" She asked looking at himover her shoulder.
"About the farm ma'am. You can't work italone."
She looked over her shoulder and shook herhead, "I don't know. I'll think about that later."
"Yes ma'am." The Reverend nodded.
She had a sizeable farm, and no one toharvest it for her. But she was more concerned about the lack ofsorrow she felt at this moment.
It wasn't as though she didn't care for Jim,she had. But their marriage wasn't based on wild and passionatelove. So what was it based on? Had she ever really consideredthat?
They'd only married a year ago. They'd movedhere in a remote area of far east Texas, not far from the Louisianaand Texas border. The tall pines formed a border around herproperty.
It was good land, but isolated from townsand many people. Jim had cleared every stump himself. He'd workedlike a dog to make something of this place. It was pretty here, notlike the open prairies of the west, where water was scarce in thesummer and the land was hard.
But Jim had never once asked for help. Hehad too much pride, and he was too cheap to hire help. That's theway Jim preferred it. Her nearest neighbor was fifteen miles awayto the west of her, and she didn't much care for them as there wasone old man and four unruly sons working a broken-down farm. FrankSmith and his boys drank all the time and were very lazy.
Jim had no use for them, considering themno-accounts. But then Jim didn't have much regard for anyone.
Their marriage was built on knowing eachother so well they didn't have to talk or even have relations. Itbordered on a strange kind of friendship, not love. Jim was tenyears older than Kate. When Jim had proposed to Kate it wasn't asthough she were giddy with all kinds of plans for the future. Sheknew something was lacking, but at the time she didn't knowwhat.
She'd married him out of loneliness, sherecognized that now. But had she done herself any favors?
Could a couple know each other too long, toowell? Or had she known him at all?
The moment they married Jim seemed tochange, though. Gone was the sweet, flirty man who adored her,replaced by a
