by Linda Broday
Watching other folk’s kids? Maybe all those he’d seen weren’t hers.
“It’s tough. How many brothers and sisters do you have?”
“It’s just me and my little sister.” Jeffrey skipped a rock across the water. “She’s six.”
They sat in silence for minute. Finally, Logan spoke in a quiet voice. “So why are you making things even harder for your mama? Doesn’t she have enough to worry about?”
“I’m scared, Mr. Bartee. Real scared. If she dies, what will me and my sister do? We’d have to go to an orphanage.”
“That won’t happen as long I’m alive,” Logan said, his voice gruff. He thought a minute. “If I can find you a job, you’d be helping.”
Jeffrey’s head whipped around, hope on his face. “Do you think anyone would hire me?”
“Sure. I noticed a sign yesterday in the general store wanting help. You could sweep the floors and tote boxes. When we get tired of fishing, we’ll head into town. I’ll talk to old man Jenkins for you but I’m sure he’ll hire you on the spot.”
“Thanks, Mr. Bartee. I feel a lot better now.”
Logan draped an arm across the kid’s skinny shoulders. “Good. Come talk to me when you start letting anger and despair roll over you. Deal?”
“Deal.” Jeffrey’s grin stretched across his face.
The kid just needed someone with a listening ear. Maybe that was all anyone needed. He thought of Jewel. When he took Jeffrey home, if she asked him to come in he would.
Hard luck wouldn’t follow anyone who was willing to look beyond the surface. Now that he thought on it, Jewel couldn’t be a bit older than his twenty-eight. Why he remembered his mother saying that Jewel had married at sixteen. She wasn’t old at all.
A chuckle broke the silence. He’d worn blinders his whole life. But no more.
Letter to the Reader
Sometimes stories come to me in novel form and other times they’re short and simple but hopefully with a powerful message. I never know what I’m going to do with the shorter ones but I write them and trust God to put them in the right hands. Each story here reveals the hopes and dreams of people who have little else. They share a kinship with those settlers who came West looking for a better life. Some are missing pieces of themselves and needing something to fill the hole in their heart. All are lonely and at times want to give up and quit. But they don’t. Something deep inside prods them to keep living and trying.
I think I have much of the pioneer spirit inside me. So many times life has knocked me to my knees but I got up. Maybe I’m just stubborn. I really don’t see myself as having exceptional courage. I’ve been homeless twice in my life and it’s nothing I want to repeat again.
For the first years of my life, I lived in a tent with my parents and three siblings. No running water. No bathroom. No space to wiggle. We were long on poverty and short on hope. But, my parents who went through the Depression didn’t quit either so maybe that’s where this almighty stubbornness comes from.
In 1998, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and life took another huge turn and I had to reach deep inside and find strength I didn’t know I had. It was about that time I published my first book and I remember how excited I was to have reached the dream that I’d carried so long. It was like life gave me good to offset the bad. But I’ve never complained. I don’t have that right. There are lots of others who have worse things. I’ve always been taught to take the hand you’re given and make the best of the situation. All in all, I’ve been immensely blessed.
My brother told me that MS stands for Mighty Spirit. I don’t know about that, but I like to think it does. Maybe you have Mighty Spirit too.
I pray you enjoy these stories and maybe they’ll bring a laugh or find a place in your heart. You can contact me through my website LindaBroday.com. I’m also on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, BookBub and other places. Write me. I love to hear from readers!
About Linda
I’m a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of full-length historical western romance novels and novellas.
I set all my stories in Texas because the history and people of this state runs bone-deep. This land is old and stained with blood of those who wanted to live free. I live in the panhandle on land the American Indian and Comancheros once roamed and I can often hear their voices whispering in the wind.
Watching TV westerns during my youth fed my love of cowboys and the old West and they still do. I’m inspired to tell stories of the heroism and courage of these valiant men who ride the range. As Willie Nelson says in his song “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys”: Sadly, in search of, but one step in back of themselves and their slow movin' dreams.
Next to writing, I love research and looking for little tidbits to add realism to my stories. I’ve been accused (and quite unfairly I might add) of making a nuisance of myself at museums, libraries, and historical places. I’m also a movie buff and love sitting in a dark theater, watching the magic on the screen. As long as I’m confessing…chocolate is my best friend. It just soothes my soul.
Contact Links:
Visit me at: www.LindaBroday.com
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On Twitter: http://twitter.com/lbroday
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Linda-Broday/e/B001JRXWB2
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1204489.Linda_Broday
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