Miller An Ill Wind

1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-1-0983-6579-0
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet/DL/kein Kopierschutz

E-Book, Englisch, 296 Seiten

Emma Cooper is kidnapped when she is fifteen, and her kidnapper forces her to marry him. He takes her in a covered wagon on the Santa Fe Trail, farther and farther away from home. She feels that God has abandoned her, and wonders if she'll ever see her family again. Emma hates the winds that blow every day on the prairie, but learns that the winds are not all ill winds.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Miller, Pat

Leseproben

Chapter 1 1854 “Hannah!” Emma whispered excitedly as she backed away from the window. “You won’t believe this!” Hannah sighed. What now? Emma’s life consisted of one drama after another. “Why are you whispering?” Emma sat down next to her sister at the kitchen table and begged for attention. “I just saw Dad sell Rachel to that man, Clem. Mom hugged Rachel and then Clem helped Rachel get into his wagon. Then Clem gave Dad some money.” Emma owned a thirteen year old creative imagination. Hannah was seventeen and since their sister, Rachel, who was nineteen, was leaving, she would have to listen to Emma’s tales. “Did you know that Rachel was leaving? You must be worried like me. Why didn’t anyone tell me? Where’s she going? Why was Clem paying Dad?” Before Hannah had a chance to answer all the questions, Dad and Mom came in the kitchen door. The Cooper family, Martin, Clarissa, Rachel, Hannah, and Emma farmed the rich soil of the Missouri River near the town of Riverview, Missouri. Martin Cooper had lived on the farm his whole life, and when his father died, he inherited the farm and all the land that went with it. He would be rich if he just had the manpower to work the soil and help with the stables. He had hoped for a son to help and then take over the farm, but tragedy had taken away that hope. “I’m going to the meadow to ride for awhile,” Emma told her mother the next day. “Okay, but you have chores to do when you get back. And you better not be sneaking down to Becky’s.” Becky and Chet Turner were the closest neighbors to the Cooper family. Becky and Clarissa had been friends growing up. But they both had crushes on Chet Turner and Becky had won his love. Clarissa had been bitter about it ever since. It wasn’t that she didn’t love Martin Cooper, it was the idea that she hadn’t won. Clarissa had spent her whole life bitter about something, always placing blame on someone else for her own shortcomings, and making excuses for her unhappiness. Emma suffered the most for that bitterness. The day after Rachel left, Emma sneaked over to talk to Becky. Clarissa hadn’t been happy to find out about the friendship that had developed between Becky and Emma, and had forbidden her to go to the Turner’s without permission. Emma knew she shouldn’t disobey her mother, but she had no one else to talk to, so she always tried to find ways to visit without her mother knowing. Anyway, she doubted that her mom would give her permission. Communication was sadly lacking in the Cooper family. Becky was so pretty. She had blonde hair that was pulled into a knot at the back of her head, and she wore nice clothes even when she was working in the garden. When Emma complained about her mother, Becky never said an unkind word about Clarissa. Emma found Becky in the garden the day after Rachel’s departure. She wondered what her friend would say when she found out that her parents had sold her sister. Becky stood up, pulled off her straw hat, and wiped off her wet forehead with the back of her hand. “Emma, you must be mistaken. Surely Rachel wasn’t sold! Did you ask your dad?” Emma didn’t miss the fact that Becky mentioned her dad, not her mom. “Well, no. I asked Mom and she hit me . . . again. But I saw Clem give Dad some money, and I heard Mom say later that she was sure Clem would take care of Rachel. I think he was German because he sounded like some of the men in the store. He came to supper, and when we all sat down to eat, I could hardly understand him. He just kept staring at Rachel. That should have told me something. But I never thought my parents would sell their own child! Sometimes I think I hate my mother! I know that’s terrible but I can’t help it.” Becky stood up and brushed the dirt off her hands. “I need a break. Let’s go get some lemonade.” The Turner house was so different from the Cooper’s. Becky had all kinds of quilts and doilies adorning the home. She was teaching Emma how to knit and crochet. They took the yarn out to the front porch and sat and knitted in the heat of an afternoon. Emma had helped to put together a quilt for the church silent auction. Her mom and dad didn’t even go to church. She had asked if she could go with Becky and was given a resounding “No!” But Hannah had friends at the church in town and she took Emma along with her. Dad had insisted that even though he and Clarissa didn’t attend, his girls should have some knowledge of the Bible. “Emma, grab my Bible that’s sitting on the table by the window.” Becky washed and dried her hands leaving garden dirt in the sink. Then she met Emma on the front porch. “I want to read something to you in Matthew.” Becky’s hands moved quickly to find the passage and then read: ‘Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.’” Emma multiplied seven by seventy. “But that’s 490!” Becky smiled. “It means that God takes forgiveness very seriously. If you let unforgiveness take root in your heart you’ll be miserable. Every principle that the Lord spells out for us is for our own good. Forgive your mother, Emma, for your own good. Those hateful feelings will soon be gone in the light of forgiveness.” When Emma left Becky that afternoon, she felt a little better. Rachel was still gone and she still didn’t know why. But she never left her friend without some semblance of peace. Becky always took her hands and prayed for her and the rest of Emma’s family. One time, Chet came in from the barn and sat down and prayed, too. Chet Turner was so handsome. Emma could see why her mom had had a crush on him. But Martin Cooper was handsome in his own right - tall, lean, with coal black hair and twinkling eyes. Emma loved her dad. She knew her dad loved her, but she couldn’t understand why he would allow Mom to be so harsh with her. A few weeks after Rachel left, Emma found a way to visit Becky again. As she rode her horse over the hill and down to the Turner farm she saw Becky waving to her from the barn. She felt somewhat guilty at the lies she told her mom in order to visit Becky. “I’m so glad to see you, Emma. Come with me to the porch. Chet will take care of your horse.” Emma was surprised as she handed the horse off to Chet. That man winked at her as he pulled the horse into the barn. Becky brought out glasses with iced tea and a plate of cookies and set them on the small table between two wicker chairs on the front porch. Emma helped herself to a cookie as Becky took the bottom of her apron and waved it in her face. “Isn’t it hot today?” she asked. “I have something to tell you and I know you’ll be relieved to hear it. I found out something at church yesterday. I’ll tell you and hope it won’t be regarded as gossip.” Gossip could get out of hand in a small community, and although the Coopers and Turners lived out a ways from town, stories eventually caught up with them. “I know you’ve been worried about Rachel, but you don’t need to be. My friend, Nora, has a brother who was here visiting last month and saw Rachel in church one Sunday. Well, Clem had lost his wife in an accident at his place in Dakota Territory. He has two little ones, and has been grieving while trying to take care of his children and farm.” Becky stopped to take a long drink of her iced tea. “Anyway, Nora said Clem had to take a break from all the misery so he could try to face life without his wife. So he came here for a few weeks while his wife’s mother took care of his kids, and his brothers took care of his farm. Emma, he and Nora are from Germany. I have trouble understanding Nora sometimes so I can understand why you couldn’t keep track of the conversation at the dinner table.” “But Clem didn’t even hardly know Rachel. I saw him in church and before I knew it, he was sitting at our table!” “Just wait a minute, Emma. I’m not done yet. Rachel is friends with Nora’s daughter, Alice, and she asked who was sitting with her parents in church that day. And after church, Clem asked who was sitting with Alice! Nora didn’t want to seem like she was matchmaking, but told your mom, and Clarissa invited him for supper. Now I don’t know how Rachel felt at first, but I do know she wouldn’t have gone with Clem if she didn’t want to. Nora said her brother was quite taken with Rachel. You know how quiet and modest Rachel is . . . really, just a lovely young woman.” Yes, Emma knew what her sister was like, and Emma was nothing like...