Beyond Betrayal
Authors: Christine Michels
PRAISE FOR
CHRISTINE MICHELS’
“What a GREAT STORY! . . . Fast paced, great plot, and intrigue keeps you turning page after page. Ms. Michels brings readers an outstanding story. . . FANTASTIC!”
— Bell, Book and Candle
“As each chapter unfolds, one cannot help but laugh with the delightful characters. Christine Michels has a great sense of humor. Her creative BEYOND BETRAYAL gives a happy ending to [two] of history’s most tragic names: Samson and Delilah.”
— Romance Communications
“In BEYOND BETRAYAL, Christine Michels has created characters you laugh with, cry for, and care about—characters with heart and soul who spring to vivid life on the page. They live on in your imagination long after the last page is turned.”
—Anne Avery,
Author of
The Snow Queen
“Readers better set a block of time before plunging into this fast-paced western: they will keep turning pages until the delightful end! The snappy, sparkling dialect gives a sense of realism to the [] characters.”
—Calico Trails
“Christine Michels does a great job of creating deep, multi-layered characters. BEYOND BETRAYAL is an entertaining fast paced read.”
— The Literary Times
“. . . a tremendous reading experience. . . BEYOND BETRAYAL is a crafty retelling of the biblical story of Samson and Delilah, but in a. . . frontier [] background. Ms. Michels is one of the top guns of American romance.”
— Harriet Klausner, Reviewer
“. . .a real adventure set in the Old West, with a strong, intriguing heroine and a secret-past, to-die-for hero. . .it will become one of your keepers.”
— Trana Mae Simmons,
Author of
Winter Dreams
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Samson shrugged off Delilah’s restraining hand. "It's okay," he murmured without taking his eyes from the man who faced him. He let his gunbelt drop to the ground. Almost immediately, the two men who'd dismounted kicked Samson's gun aside and then grabbed him by the arms, roughly turning him around to secure his hands behind his back. Casey saw the badge on Samson's shirt and removed it. "You won't be needing this anymore," he said with a smirk as he threw the piece of metal to the ground.
Samson turned and looked at Delilah. The sadness in his charcoal-hued eyes was enough to make her heart bleed. "Thanks for. . . the time we had. It meant a lot. Take care of yourself, Delilah.”
"Delilah?" Casey repeated, looking at her and moving forward before Delilah had a chance to respond. "Are you Delilah Sterne?"
She wanted nothing more than to deny her identity, but she saw by the confusion in Samson's eyes that it was already too late. "Yes," she murmured, not taking her eyes from Samson's.
"Mr. Telford wanted me to thank you personal like for sendin' that telegram.” A horrible stillness came over Samson in that instant, like the heavy stillness before a ferocious prairie storm. Denial and disbelief flared to life in his eyes, replaced only a moment later by a terrible bleakness that cleaved her heart in two. "It's taken a long time for us to collar Towers, here," Casey went on. "And we might not'a ever done it without your help. Here's the rest of the reward Mr. Telford promised ya.” He held out a thick brown envelope.
Delilah shook her head. "I. . . I don't want it."
Casey's eyes widened. "Well now—"
"Take it!" the voice was Samson's.
~~~***~~~
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~~~
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BEYOND BETRAYAL
BY
CHRISTINE MICHELS
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“
Beyond Betrayal
” is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are entirely the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
BEYOND BETRAYAL
Copyright © 1998 by S.C. Michels
Originally published in mass market paperback edition by Leisure Books, an imprint of Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
Cover Art © 2011 by Esther’s Creations
All Rights Reserved. With the exception of brief passages used as quotes in reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled or used in whole or in part by any means existing without the express written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law.
Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
~~~***~~~
Kindle Edition
Published by
Northern Fire Publishing
PO Box 153 Redcliff, AB. Canada T0J 2P0
January 2012
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ISBN: 0-505-52264-0 (Paperback Edition)
eISBN: 978-0-9876883-5-4
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DEDICATION
In memory of some dearly missed four-legged family members,
First, three precocious pooches:
Candy, the Yorkshire terrier, who inspired Poopsy. I’ll never forget her smiles.
Nikki, the faithful and brilliant Maltese terrier, who was my constant companion for 13 years.
And, Dusty, a wonderful red sable Pomeranian whose loving antics I’ll always remember.
Also in memory of Pugsley, a Himalayan cat with natural acting ability,
Buddy, a lab-chow mixed breed who liked to play with ponies,
Princess, an aristocratic and reclusive Persian cat,
and Spikey, a small hedgehog who wasn’t afraid of cats in the least.
~~~~
Montana Territory, May 1887
Immune to the soothing clackety-clack rhythm of the train, Delilah Sinclair tightened her black-gloved fingers on her reticule as she fell prey once again to anxious thoughts. The paper on which her sister's letter had been written crinkled beneath her grasp. She'd read it so many times she had it all but memorized. Still, with disquiet in her mind and a chill in her heart, she removed it and read it again.
~~~
Dearest Delilah,
I hope this letter finds you well. It seems that it has been much more than a year since we last saw each other, though I know it has not. I think of you often, and miss you dreadfully.
I wish I could tell you that good news had prompted the writing of this letter, but I cannot. Although the hellish winter is thankfully over, the recovery process continues. The brutal winter hit us hard here in Montana. We lost much of our stock. Some of the cows calved too early, and Tom broke his leg badly when he and some of the men were out trying to rescue the little beasts from the terrible cold and waist deep snows.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, we lost to rustlers a number of the cattle that had survived the winter. These were cattle that we had planned to sell ourselves. Many of our neighbors have suffered similar losses. The sheriff is investigating, but thus far the rustling continues.
In addition, the annual mortgage payment is due on the ranch in June. Having already spoken with the banker on numerous occasions, I can tell you that he is not in the least sympathetic to our situation. There are simply too many others whom hardship has hit as severely. In fact, some of the larger ranchers, not having had any hay stores at all, are even worse off. So I guess I shall be grateful for small blessings.