The Widows Choice Read online

  The Widow's Choice

  Brides of Colter Valley

  Hildie McQueen

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Pink Door Publishing 2015

  The Widow's Choice | Amazon Bestselling Author | Hildie McQueen

  Copyright Hildie McQueen 2015

  Other Works by Hildie McQueen

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Pink Door Publishing 2015

  The Widow's Choice

  Amazon Bestselling Author

  Hildie McQueen

  Pink Door Publishing

  Cover Artist: Robin Ludwig Design Inc.

  Copyright Hildie McQueen 2015

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without written permission.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

  This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

  If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it to your retailer and purchase your own copy.

  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Other Works by Hildie McQueen

  (In reading order)

  Brides of Colter Valley

  The Widow's Choice

  Christmas in Colter Valley*

  Sunrise in Colter Valley*

  Sunset in Colter Valley*

  Twilight in Colter Valley*

  Nightfall in Colter Valley*

  Heading West Series, Western Historical

  Where the Four Winds Collide

  Westbound Awakening

  Where the River Flows*

  Historical Western, Shades of Blue Series

  Big Sky Blue

  A Different Shade of Blue

  The Darkest Blue

  Every Blue Moon

  Blue Horizon

  Montana Blue

  The McDougalls, Highland Historical Novellas

  Highlander's Captive

  Seducing Her Laird

  Enticing Her Highlander

  Ravished by the Laird

  In the Warrior's Arms

  Moriag Series, Highland Historical Novellas

  Beauty and the Highlander

  The Lass and the Laird

  Lady and the Scot

  The Laird's Daughter

  Not published as if the publication

  The Young Widow

  Each day a step forward

  Every night a tear on my pillow

  Loneliness cannot be contained

  In the darkness of my dreams

  The morning brings new calm

  My heart rejoices in the day

  New life will bring forward

  From the depths of my heart

  Come to me again life

  Bring with you eternity

  For in the promise of love

  Do I find happiness again

  Chapter One

  Montana 1860

  Not exactly how he planned to die. Rafe Preston pulled his gaze from the barrel of the man's gun to meet the hard stare. "If you wanted me dead, you would've shot me by now."

  He should have known better than to sit down to the card game, when he'd had one too many whiskeys and now he paid for it.

  The gunman spit on the floor, his aim not wavering. "There's nothing I'd like more than to kill you right now. I'll just take the money instead. All of it."

  "It's my money. You well know I won it fair and square," Rafe said in spite of the warning look he got from his friend Jerrick who sat across the table. Jerrick rolled his eyes and shook his head knowing Rafe would not give the man what he asked.

  When the gunman gave him a pointed look, Rafe pushed the man's gun aside. "If you don't like it, that's your issue."

  The man was short and from the red veins on his bulbous nose, spent a great deal of time in the saloon. "The both of ya think you can just come into this town and do as you please. You're nothing but a couple of..."

  "Watch what you say about me, old man," Jerrick brought his gun to the man's temple. There was an icy tone under the calmly spoken words. "’Cause if you shoot off at the mouth once more or shoot that gun, you're gonna die whether you get lucky enough to kill my friend or not."

  There was dead silence in the room as everyone waited to see what the man would do. Rafe let out a breath not happy that Jerrick was coming to his rescue. He had things in hand...Mostly. He lifted a brow at Jerrick in silent question.

  The man lowered his gun and got to his feet, all the while Jerrick kept the gun at his head. Yellowed eyes met Rafe's then flickered to the stack of money in front of him. "This ain't the last of it." He shuffled to the bar and ordered a drink.

  Jerrick leaned back in the chair keeping his gaze on the man at the bar. "Damn sore losers. Can't stand them. If you can't afford to play, then don't."

  "Thanks for the help. Not sure if you meant for the man to shoot me or not." Rafe began dealing another hand to the other men at the table. "You in?"

  Jerrick chuckled. "I'd done something if he'd cocked the gun."

  "Hope so." Rafe played on, not wanting to give thought to the man's unfinished sentence. Bent Branch was not the town for him. It was time to move on, find a place to settle down and begin a cattle ranch. Move forward with his plans, not get held up in a backward town like Bent Branch.

  A huge cattle ranch was what he'd build. With a handsome house and plenty of land for the cows to graze.

  His mind was made up. No matter what the obstacles, he would accomplish it. Make his father proud, if he were alive.

  "No use in losing my life over something as useless as a card game," Rafe told Jerrick as they looked at the cards.

  Jerrick nodded. "Men die over stupid things everyday."

  Another man at the table cleared his throat. "You boys got that right."

  Rafe considered his father who'd run their ranch into the ground, lost everything he'd worked so hard for his entire life in the last few years after going deeply in debt in an attempt to save his wife's life. She'd died anyway, despite all the money his father spent on medical treatments. Just a year later, his father followed. A broken man, unable to face life without his beloved wife.

  Rafe understood the love and dedication, he loved his mother after all. But she suffered too long, hanging on through all kinds of painful treatments, which only served to make her linger in horrible pain. In the end, he'd almost been relieved at her finally finding liberation in death.

  With distaste, he scanned the dim interior of the saloon in the small Wyoming town of Bent Branch. A restlessness had bothered him for days. Rafe put a card down and looked at Jerrick. "You know when we arrived a few months ago, I considered that perhaps this was a good place to settle. But I've got an inkling it's not."

  "I'm thinking Montana," Jerrick, two years younger than Rafe's twenty-eight, said while looking a
t his cards. "It's time to go. Lots of land there, plenty of lush land where we can let cattle roam. We can build big houses with stables and barns." It was uncanny how well his childhood friend seemed to read his mind.

  He agreed with Jerrick. "I think you're right. This town has nothing for us."

  Two days later, they packed up and left Bent Branch without a backward glance. The promise of a new start making it easy to leave the dreadful town. Rafe wasn't sure exactly where he'd finally decide to settle, but he heard of a blossoming town in a Montana valley where people were prospering at ranching and farming thanks to the rich soil and pleasant weather. He wasn't interested in farming, but cattle needed to graze on good grass and if it was plentiful there, then it would ensure an abundant healthy stock.

  The first night on the trail, they settled into bedrolls next to a campfire. Rafe looked up at the star filled sky and mused at the beauty. Perhaps tonight somewhere in the world, his future wife did the same. Not prone to fanciful daydreaming, he scowled at the direction of his thoughts.

  It would be a long time before he married, if ever. The farther west one went, the more scarce women of a marriageable age were. "You reckon we'll settle in that valley in Montana?" he asked Jerrick while knowing the cowboy had no more idea than he did.

  "Yeah. I've got a good feeling about it. Don't know about you, but I am ready to find a small parcel and get to working it." Jerrick pulled out his harmonica and began to play, the melody wafting into the air joined by the sound of the wind's soft whisper as it blew through the trees.

  Jerrick never aspired to more than a simple life. In a way Rafe envied his friend's modest dreams. Not that Jerrick lacked ambition; he'd been raised in an affluent family and knew the life money could bring. Unfortunately what his family had in wealth, his parents lacked when it came to love, caring, or support for each other. Rarely did they spare a kind word or any demonstration of love.

  When Jerrick was eighteen, his ruthless father banished him from the family fold over the simple transgression of falling in love with a business rival's daughter. The sad thing was after he'd been ostracized from the family, the young girl cut ties with him. She'd only been interested in him when he had money and social stature.

  Rafe felt his eyes get heavy. "I have a good feeling about the valley, too. Both of us will find what we're looking for and twenty years from now we'll remember this day. Out here without a care in the world except our horses and our bellies."

  "Yep."

  The following days were a repeat of the one before. Upon waking, they gathered up their bedrolls after washing up in a nearby creek and continued on. The days were warm, but the mornings still had a cold chill to them, which made them move at a hurried pace.

  "Sure would like a hearty cup of coffee," Jerrick muttered as he mounted one morning. "Hope there's a town near by."

  Rafe looked up at the sky and nodded. "I agree with you. I can hardly call what we drank this morning more than muddy water." He shuddered at the thought. "We need more provisions."

  The sun was high when they finally spotted a small smattering of buildings. Looked to be a prospecting town by the lack of care in which the buildings were erected and small tents scattered along a shallow creek.

  Rafe maneuvered his horse around deep muddy ruts. No one greeted them when both walked into what looked to be a makeshift eatery. The woman beside the stove shuffled over. "If you got money, set on down. I'll get ya some coffee. Got eggs and bread comin'."

  Jerrick answered for them both. "Thank you, ma'am. Can you tell us what the name of this town is?"

  The woman wiped her hands on her apron. It was hard to tell her age, as she seemed to have lived a hard life. Her thin dreary brown hair was pulled back from her round face as she made her way back to them with two mugs and a kettle of coffee. "Gunner's Creek," she replied dryly. "Not much to it. My husband and I are leaving as soon as he finds gold."

  Rafe and Jerrick exchanged looks, not sure how to respond.

  In spite of the lack of character to the place, the food was flavorful, the coffee strong.

  "How far from the Montana border are we?" Rafe asked when the woman began to clear their plates. "We're headed to Colter Valley."

  She got a wistful look and lowered her head as if fatigued by life. "You're in Montana, just crossed over when you got to Gunner's. A family passed through not but a day ago headed there to Colter Valley. Sure wish it was me. I'd like to leave this decrepit place."

  Lightness entered his chest at the woman's wistful statement. They were on the right track and soon would arrive at their final destination. His anyway. Although he assumed Jerrick was more than ready to settle down after all these weeks on horseback.

  "Is there a place to purchase some supplies here?" Rafe asked.

  "Just down a couple buildings on the right. The mercantile is small but well stocked." The woman watched them stand and gather their hats with a longing expression. "Have a safe trip, gentlemen."

  A couple miners lingered in front of the mercantile, both looked to them with suspicion, no doubt seeing them as competition for prospecting.

  "Gentlemen," Jerrick tipped his hat and granted them a wide smile. "Passin' through, just looking to get some supplies for the road."

  The men relaxed and nodded in return. One of them pointed into the store. "Henry's got what ya need in thar."

  Once they rode away, Rafe looked back to Gunner's Creek. "Not a place where I could see myself living."

  "It's a hard life. Hoping daily to strike it rich while you lose everything to survive day to day," Jerrick replied.

  Several children ran around a patched tent, playing in the water, their ragged, dirty clothes nor bare feet interfering in their glee while their mother looked on washing clothes nearby. "Not the life I'd want for my family," Rafe said and urged his horse to a trot.

  Chapter Two

  Mornings were her favorite time of day. Charlie Preston made her way from milking the cows to her house. She stopped midway and looked across the fields in an effort to locate her ranch hand Joe. He hadn't been in the stables, nor had she'd seen him feeding the pigs or mending any fences, as he was prone to do early in the day. Once the day progressed he'd saddle up and see about the cattle.

  Old Joe had been at Horseshoe ranch since a youth. He knew the land and the area like the back of his hand, so she didn't normally worry much about him. But today it bothered her not to see him. He was getting older and couldn't keep managing this large ranch on his own.

  Just the day before, he'd gone into town to post a notice in hopes men would come and apply for ranch hand jobs there at Horseshoe, her dead husband's homestead.

  She waited a few moments and then rushed to the house.

  Her friend Mary Ellen was in the kitchen when Charlie entered. "I don't see Joe anywhere. Did he mention what he planned to do today?"

  Mary Ellen looked out the window, her pretty face forming a scowl. "That old man needs to slow down and not run around without informing us. Something could happen to him and we wouldn't be the wiser."

  Charlie poured the milk into a pitcher and placed it into the larder to keep cool. Then she washed her hands and once again peered out the doorway toward the fields. It was a beautiful day. The new tall grass waved lazily in the breeze, the birds chirped and flew into a nearby tree settling into the branches then taking turns fluttering to the ground to forage for food.

  A squirrel scampered up a tree, its fluffy tail twitching as it found a perfect place to settle and eat whatever it held in its mouth.

  She smiled in spite of the nagging worry about where Joe could be. Life continued it seemed, not caring about the woes of humans.

  "I'll saddle up my mare and see about him."

  Mary Ellen nodded, drying her hands. "Be careful, don't go too far alone."

  Charlie went outside intending to head toward the stable. Then on a whim went in the opposite direction to the clearing between trees that served as the family graveyard.
r />   Joe kneeled in front of her husband's grave. He'd cleared the area and spoke in low tones. Whatever he said, she wasn't able to hear. Her eyes misted at the sight. She knew he'd cared a great deal for Daniel. His parents as well.

  She remained watching in silence as Joe paid his respects thinking of the day when her husband had been killed. There was speculation of someone being responsible, that there had been foul play in his death. But Charlie preferred to think it had been a horrible accident. That Daniel had fallen off his horse after it was spooked by a snake or loud sound. He'd died when falling and the back of his head hit a rock.

  The news had hit her hard. She was only twenty-three when he died two years earlier. Much too young to be a widow.

  They'd only been married a little over a year. Not enough time to get to know everything about him. They'd had a hard time in the beginning with Daniel being so reserved, but little by little she'd gotten to know him. He was a kind and patient man. Ten years older than her, and set in his ways, they'd battled as he considered Charlie independent and stubborn.

  She smiled at remembering how often he tried to speak to her about not riding alone or remaining to more womanly duties and not rushing out to help with the animals and such. During that time they had several ranch hands and she understood later, he'd been attempting to keep them from noticing her. Perhaps he'd been a bit possessive, but he'd never been cruel.

  "Joe. I was looking for you. Had me worried when I couldn't find you," Charlie said nearing the older man and lowering to sit on the grass. "Visiting Daniel this morning, are you?"

  The older man nodded and let out a breath. "Tellin' him how well you're managing, but we need help. Maybe he can nudge the good Lord to send you a new husband."

  Her eyes rounded and her mouth fell open. "A husband? I don't need one, thank you very much." She shook her head. "Don't listen to him Daniel. Ask the Lord if he can help by sending some ranch hands and a bit of rain."

  Joe chuckled, his keen eyes twinkling. "We could use the help of both, true enough."

  They remained for a few moments longer talking about this and that. Charlie cherished moments like these when she could think of Daniel without feeling regrets or anger for the unfairness of life. It was mid May and spring was in full swing. The clear sky and soft warmth of the sun much welcome after a long cold winter in the valley.