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Grasping at Straws

Short Story

Prequel to Backwards to Oregon

By

JAE

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Grasping at Straws

Short Story - Prequel to Backwards to Oregon

Copyright © 2009 By Jae

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-934889

First Edition

eBook Format

November 2009

This electronic book is ePublished by

L-Book ePublisher

La Quinta, Ca. USA

Email: info@ L-Book.com

Web Site: http://L-Book.com

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* * *

This work is copyrighted and is licensed only for use by the

original purchaser and can be copied to the original purchaser's

electronic device and its memory card for their personal use.

Modifying or making copies of this work or distributing it to any

unauthorized person by any means, without limit email, CD, DVD,

memory cards, file transfer, paper print out or any other method

constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects

the violator to severe fines or imprisonment. Please purchase only

authorized electronic editions.

* * *

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and

incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used

fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Acknowledgments

As always, a big thank-you to my beta reader Pam. Thanks

also to Astrid and RJ for test reading and sending feedback.

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Author's Note

This is a prequel to 'Backwards to Oregon,' taking place

almost four years before Luke and Nora meet.

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Independence, Missouri

June 15th, 1847

A PITCHFORK OF soiled straw and horse apples almost hit

her in the face.

"Hey!" Tess flattened herself against one of the stalls. "Watch where you throw that!"

Willie, the stable boy, grazed her with an indifferent glance.

"Sorry," he said, not even trying to sound as if he meant it. Without another look at her, he continued to muck the stalls.

Tess's gloved fingers tightened into a fist. This wasn't the first

time Willie had treated her so rudely. He never fetched her horse

for her, never helped her into or out of the saddle, never even

greeted her when she entered the stable. He knew that as a fallen

woman, she had no way to enforce a more respectful treatment.

Or so he thought.

A smile curved Tess's lips as she marched down the center

aisle between two rows of stalls. Little does he know that it's me who's paying his wages. She passed one of the stalls, and her gaze fell on the water trough. Instead of fresh, clear water, she

encountered bits of straw and manure drifting on a murky sludge.

Seems he doesn't have any more respect for the horses than he

does for me. She sent a sharp glance back at the young man. Fool.

Her next stop would be her business partner's office. Before the

day ended, Willie would be an unemployed fool.

This was just the last straw. She had talked to Abrams about

Willie's carelessness before, but whatever action Abrams had taken

apparently hadn't been enough to change Willie's work ethic.

Tess continued down the aisle, checking the condition of the

horses and stalls. Many of the stalls were empty. Business was

slow, and not just for the stable but for the brothel too. The masses of emigrants heading west had left Independence weeks ago, and

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the soldiers stationed at nearby Fort Leavenworth were still

fighting in Mexico.

A picture of earnest gray eyes flashed through her mind, and

Tess sent a quick prayer to whatever God might be willing to listen

to a whore. Please, keep Luke safe.

Then she shoved the thought away. Her life had no room for

sentimentalities.

She reached out a hand to open her mare's stall when

something caught her attention.

In the empty stall next to her, right at the end of the aisle,

straw rustled.

Probably just a mouse stealing some corn for supper.

But the warning tingle at the back of her neck kept her hand

suspended over the stall door. Tess had learned to trust her

instincts.

There!

The rustle sounded again. Something scraped against the

wooden wall.

Tess tensed. The little revolver under her riding skirts rested

comfortingly against her thigh.

Tess's mare flicked her ears in the direction of the sounds but

didn't seem alarmed. Whatever was moving around in that stall, the

mare was familiar with it.

Maybe just a cat.

Tess took two quick steps and peered over the stall door.

The eyes that stared back at her didn't belong to a cat. In one

corner of the stall, a young woman was huddling behind the

feeding trough.

Tess's hand fluttered to her chest. She opened her mouth for a

surprised shout.

"No," the young woman whispered. "Please. Don't give me away. I have nowhere else to go."

"So you're living in my stable, stealing food from the horses?"

Tess pointed to the brownish carrot clenched in the girl's hand.

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The girl hung her head. A mass of fiery red hair escaped from

under a weather-beaten sunbonnet and fell like a curtain around her

face.

Heavy boots trudged toward them. "Who are you talking to?"

Willie shouted down the aisle.

The girl's head flew up. She stared at Tess with wide eyes. Her

full lips formed a silent "Oh, no."

Tess calmly turned around. "Just talking to myself. You know

how we womenfolk are."

Willie spat out his stalk of straw and grunted in agreement.

With one last glance back over his shoulder, he grabbed the

handles of the wheelbarrow and pushed it out of the stable.

When he had disappeared around the corner, Tess turned back

around and beckoned to the red-haired girl still clinging to the

feeding trough. "Come out of there, girl."

"Please, don't throw me out," the girl said. She didn't move from her hiding place. "Just one night. I promise I'll be gone by the morning."

"And then?" Tess asked. "Where will you go?" She shook her head at herself. What do you care? Don't you have enough girls to worry about?

Slender shoulders slumped for a moment and then

straightened. "I don't know, but I'll find a way." Determination gleamed in her eyes.

Find a way... In a town like Independence, there weren't many ways for a woman to survive on her own. Tess knew it better than

anyone else. Over the years, she had taken in more young women

down on their luck than she could count.

But not right now. At the moment, she could ill afford to feed another hungry mouth.

The girl shifted and half-rose from behind the feeding trough.

Tess's glance fell on her swollen belly. Oh, Lord. She sighed.

Make that two hungry mouths.

For a moment, she wondered how the young woman, pregnant

and all alone, had made it to Independence. The way she spoke

told Tess that she had grown up in a well-off family back east.

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Even the worn clothing and the hungry look in the girl's eyes

couldn't hide her manners and good education.

Same old story, Tess thought and sighed. I bet her family threw her out when they discovered she'd have a child out of

wedlock.

Soft-looking hands protectively covered her belly when the

girl noticed where Tess was looking. "You said 'my stable.' Does that mean you own all this?" Awe and skepticism mingled in her

voice.

Tess gave a tired nod. I wonder if there'll ever come a time

when people won't raise their eyebrows at the thought of women

owning a business.

The girl inched closer but stayed out of touching distance.

What happened to you to make you stop trusting people at

your young age? Tess silently wondered. Lately, she had thought that after working in brothels for so many years, she had lost the

ability to care about other people, but first Luke and now this

young woman were proving her wrong. She knew better than to

ask about the girl's past, though. Maybe that was why the girl had

come west. People here tended to ask fewer questions.

"If you own the stable," the girl glanced up at her, hope

dancing in her eyes, "then maybe you need someone to sweep the

floor and —"

"Girl," Tess said. "While I need a new stable boy, this is no work for a woman, especially not a woman who's with child." The citizens of Independence would never accept a female caring for

their horses, and business was dragging as it was.

"Then maybe —"

"The only job I have to offer is not something that you'd

want," Tess said.

Green eyes flashed fiery determination. "I'll do anything it

takes." The girl's hands pressed against her belly.

Tess took in the red hair, the pretty face, and the porcelain

skin. Underneath streaks of dirt and patched-up clothes, beauty

was just waiting to be discovered. The young woman would bring

in good money for the brothel once she was no longer with child.

"No," Tess said to the girl and to herself. "Not anything."

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"Yes," the girl insisted. "Anything."

The hopeful gaze resting on her sparked Tess's anger. "Don't

look at me like I'm your salvation. Don't you know who I am?

What I am? Don't you know why the stable boy can get away with

throwing horse apples at me?"

The girl blinked.

"Oh, for Christ's sake, don't you understand? I'm a whore, girl.

I own a brothel, and that's the only job I can offer you." She

already had a cook and a woman to take care of the laundry, both

former prostitutes who had become too old to entice men. She

couldn't afford to take in more women who didn't earn their keep.

Russet lashes lowered, and a blush spread over the fair skin.

"Oh."

Tess swallowed against the bitter taste in her mouth. "Yeah.

Oh."

When the blush receded, the girl looked up and met Tess's

eyes. There was none of the disgust or shock that Tess had

expected in the steady gaze. "Anything it takes," the girl said again.

Guilt swept over Tess, and suddenly, she was the one who had

to look away. Could she really condemn this young woman to a

life like hers? But then again, was sleeping in stables and stealing food any better? If someone like Willie found her, there was no

telling what would happen to the defenseless girl. At least if she

kept an eye on them, the unborn baby would have a chance to

survive.

Tess stepped closer, and this time, the girl didn't move away

but stood her ground.

"All right," Tess said. "But if you work for me, there are rules involved." She forced herself to focus on being a businesswoman.

"Don't steal your silverware?" A mischievous grin danced

over the girl's face, then disappeared as she waited for Tess's

reaction to her quip.

Tess smiled. She's got spunk. Good. It would help her survive life in a brothel. "Be discreet," Tess said. "Keeping their secrets is what gives us power over our customers. A loose tongue can get

you killed."

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The girl nodded earnestly, and Tess felt another twinge of

guilt. "And you best not get any romantic notions about falling in love with a customer and being carried off to start a new life. That very rarely happens."

Once again, the girl nodded. Her full lips formed a line of pain

but then quickly relaxed when she realized Tess was still watching

her.

She's gonna be good at the kind of work we do. Maybe too

good.

"Don't worry," the girl said. "Love is not for me."

Tess had heard that before. Luke had told her the exact same

thing when Tess had warned her not to fall in love with her just

because they shared a bed.

"All right." Tess gave her a sad smile and opened the stall door that was still separating them. "Last chance to change your mind."

Instead of answering, the girl stepped out into the aisle. One of

her hands still rested on her belly. "Whatever it takes," she said again.

Tess sighed. "Then let's go before Willie returns." She grasped the girl's elbow and led her out of the stable.

Before they stepped out onto the street, the girl paused.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I'm not sure I'm doing you any favors."

Already, Tess began to regret her decision. The burden of

responsibility rested heavily on her. Maybe she could find some

light housework for the young woman until the baby was born, but

after that, the other girls wouldn't let her stay if she didn't entertain customers.

Faces of regulars appeared before her mind's eye, but she

discarded them as too rough. For a moment, she thought of Luke

and then laughed at herself. Aren't you forgetting a little

something? No, it was better to keep the girl away from Luke. She didn't trust anyone else with Luke's secret.

When they paused to let a wagon pass, the girl offered her

hand. "Nora Macauley," she said.

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"Tess Swenson." Tess laid her hand into the unexpectedly firm grip of the girl. "I think," she said as she steered Nora toward her new home, "you should use the name 'Fleur.'"

"Fleur? Why Fleur?"

It certainly wasn't because their customers were refined

gentlemen fluent in French, but maybe Nora didn't need to know

that just yet. "Maybe because 'straw' wouldn't sound as enticing as

'flower,'" she said and plucked one of the yellow stalks out of Nora's hair.

Nora smiled. "Fleur it is."

Her smile was contagious, and Tess hoped Nora would never

completely lose the sparkle in her eyes. "Come on. Hurry," she said and crossed the street, "I have a stable boy to fire."

The End.

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About The Author

I GREW UP AMIDST the vineyards and gently sloping hills

of southern Germany. I spent most of my childhood with my nose

buried in a book, earning me the nickname "professor" before I even finished elementary school. The writing bug bit me at the age

of eleven. The very first piece of fiction I ever wrote was a thirty-page western story that I still have somewhere (well-hidden

because it alternately makes me cringe and laugh when I read it

today). I wrote two dozen mostly novel-length stories (westerns,

adventure stories, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction – you name it, I've probably written it) in my "baby years" as a writer, but no one but my poor twin sister ever got to read them.

That changed when I discovered the Internet and the wondrous

world of FanFiction and online stories. My parents belatedly got

their wish – I took my nose out of my books and started to spend

my time glued to the computer screen instead. Soon after, I wrote

my first FanFiction, a Star Trek: Voyager story. Don't bother to

search for it on the web; even if there was still a copy in circulation somewhere, it's in German. Back then, I would have taken a

thousand oaths that I would never, ever be able to write more than

a grocery list in English. Then I took an intensive, free online

language course – almost eight years of constant fanfic reading.

Let's just say that I learned some words I later had trouble

explaining to my friends why I would know such expressions.

So in the beginning of 2006, I finally put my newly acquired

knowledge of the English language to good use and wrote a series

of three Law & Order: SVU fanfics in English. As my confidence

grew, I wrote a longer FanFiction and then my first English

historical fiction. In some ways, I've come full circle – because

"Backwards to Oregon" takes place on the Western Frontier. Other than the setting I promise that it doesn't have much in common

with my first childish attempt at writing.

I still live in Germany, where I work as a psychologist. When

I'm not working or writing, I like to spend my time reading,

cooking for a bunch of friends, spending time with my nephew and

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niece, and watching way too many crime shows. I also enjoy

learning new languages (Russian is my latest project. I haven't

found any lesbian online stories using the Cyrillic alphabet to help me learn, though).

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Other Titles By This Author

Backwards To Oregon – Lesbian: Historical Fiction, Romance

Summary

" L UKE" HAMILTON has always been sure that she’d never marry. She accepted that she would spend her life alone when she

chose to live her life disguised as a man.

After working in a brothel for three years, Nora Macauley has

lost all illusions about love. She no longer hopes for a man who

will sweep her off her feet and take her away to begin a new,

respectable life.

But now they find themselves married and on the way to

Oregon in a covered wagon, with two thousand miles ahead of

them.

* * *

Conflict of Interest – Book I – Lesbian: Romance, Crime

Summary

W ORKAHOLIC detective Aiden Carlisle isn't looking for

love... and certainly not at the law enforcement seminar she

reluctantly agreed to attend. But their first lecturer is not at all what she expected.

Psychologist Dawn Kinsley has just found her place in life.

After a failed relationship with a police officer, she has sworn to

herself never to get involved with another cop again, but she feels

a connection to Aiden from the very first moment.

Can Aiden keep from crossing the line when a brutal crime

threatens to keep them apart... before they've even gotten together?

* * *

Next of Kin – Book II – Lesbian: Romance, Crime

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Summary

S EX CRIMES Detective Aiden Carlisle is slowly getting used

to being in a committed relationship with Dawn Kinsley – a

relationship that isn't always easy since Dawn is not only a

psychologist but also a former victim in one of Aiden's cases.

Aiden’s private and professional lives collide when Dawn's newest

patient gets in trouble with the law. Will she be able to stay

objective enough to solve the case without pushing Dawn away?

The same case also throws Deputy District Attorney Kade

Matheson's well-ordered life into chaos. In the last few years, Kade has taken case files and law books, not lovers, to bed. She has been focused only on her career and fought hard to win cases like

Dawn's, but now the case forces her to finally face her attraction to women. She suddenly finds herself with two secret admirers – but

which one is more dangerous, the threat to her life or her heart?

* * *

Second Nature – Lesbian: Shape-Shifter Romance

Summary

N OVELIST JORIE Price doesn't believe in the existence of

shape-shifting creatures or true love. She leads a solitary life, and the paranormal romances she writes are pure fiction for her.

Griffin Westmore knows better — at least about one of these

two things. She doesn't believe in love either, but she's one of the not-so-fictional shape-shifters. She's also a Saru — an elite soldier, investigator, and if need be an assassin with the mission to protect the shape-shifters' secret existence at any cost.

When Jorie gets too close to the truth in her latest shape-

shifter romance, Griffin is sent to investigate — and if necessary to destroy the manuscript before it's published and to kill the writer.

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Thank You

L-Book ePublisher, LLC

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Document Outline

Grasping at Straws

Independence, Missouri June 15th, 1847

About The Author

Other Titles By This Author

Table of Contents

Grasping at Straws

Independence, Missouri June 15th, 1847

About The Author

Other Titles By This Author

Table of Contents

Grasping at Straws

Independence, Missouri June 15th, 1847

About The Author

Other Titles By This Author