Annie And The Cowboy (Western Night Series 3) Read Free

before it was too late. “I have a job in Texas, as a schoolteacher. I leave on tonight’s train.”
    “But, what about me, the farm, your sisters, your brothers?”
    “What about them? The only part of that list that can’t take care of themselves is you, Father.” She hadn’t meant to sound so harsh, but it was true. Billy Givens was an excellent farmer, had been taking care of everything for years now, though her Father insisted he was a no good thief, always taking what wasn’t his. The sad truth was that the missing money from the farm accounts always seemed to end up in the till at the Saloon, and her Father would arrive home drunk yet again and denying his involvement, blaming anyone he could but himself for his misfortunes. Annie had given up trying to convince him not to kill himself in such a shameful way, but he didn’t seem to want to listen.
    He didn’t respond to her, just sat there shaking his head as the pastor finished his sermon. Annie stood primly as her sister and her new husband walked down the aisle and helped her Father to his feet. They walked behind them as if everything was perfect, a smile pinned to her face as if she hadn’t a care in the world. And for once she didn’t. Tonight she would be on the train, heading towards Texas to a new life working for her own money, her own future in the town of Stephenville. She was excited and nervous and had no idea what to expect. She just knew that anything at all had to be better than the last seven years of her young life.
    As the train crossed the border of South Dakota, she felt a sense of huge relief flood through her. The muscles in her constantly tight and uncomfortable shoulders seemed to relax, to release. All the anxiety and fear she had lived with, trying to do her best by her family was gone. Finally, she could put down the burdens life had given her, could decide what to do with her life without having to think about everyone else’s needs first. She wasn’t foolish enough to think of romance, had no desire to raise another family. But she couldn’t help but dream of adventure, new friends and a place in a community where she would be respected at last, would not be looked at with pity for what her life had become.
    She had to make a number of changes on the journey through Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma before reaching her final destination, but rather than grumbling about this like so many of her fellow passengers she took it in her stride, looking at it as all part of the big adventure she had set out on. She found the porters at each stop to be very friendly, helping her with her bags and making sure she found exactly the right trains for the next part of her journey. The more changes she made, the more she became convinced that she got good service because she herself was polite and kind to the young lads who scurried around at top speed trying to take care of everyone. Everything about her journey was a pleasure to her: the gentle rock of the trains, the billowing smoke, and the smart uniforms of the guards all enthralled her.
    She jumped from the train in Fort Worth, excited beyond belief, though more than a little tired. It had been a long journey through some of the most spectacular scenery she had ever seen. Mountains even higher than the Black Hills back home, blue rivers that snaked across the landscape, vast plains and prairies that looked almost barren, but when you looked closer held all manner of wildlife and vegetation. It had all been magical and wonderful and she couldn’t wait to teach her students about the glories of the natural world.
    She wondered if she would ever travel so far again. She wasn’t sure if she ever wanted to return home, to the scene of all those memories. But she knew she would. She would want to see her nieces and nephews as they joined the family, would want to be a real part of all their lives and not just a distant memory. She would be bound to do the long journey at some point in the