The Traherns #1 (46 page)
Authors: Nancy Radke
We had twelve. Once she got started, she didn’t want to quit. We
had eight strapping boys and four beautiful girls during the years of the Great
Depression and World War 2. We always had chickens, cows, and a vegetable
garden, food on the table, hay in the barn, and several children in the local
school.
Samantha continued her doctoring, working free for those who had
no money. I even bought her a car when she assured me she could get home sooner
if she didn’t have to rest the team. I also paid to have a phone line brought
to our ranch.
Bear accompanied her for years, then his offspring, when he got
old.
Neighbors came, building ever closer to us. They had children,
whom Samantha delivered. She now gets letters from them, all over the world,
telling her what they are doing.
Our boys spread out, moving into Washington, Oregon, and
Idaho mainly. Ben took over the running of this ranch. Charlie, Glen, and
Matthew became farmers. We also have one doctor, two preachers, and a newspaper
editor in the family. One of our girls married a rancher, one an Oregon logger,
one moved to Alaska after the war and lives up there with her husband, and the
fourth lives in Canada.
Then the government made the land around the Umatilla into a
National Forest and cut our grazing area. We had to get grazing leases to feed
our cattle. Ben cut back the herd accordingly. We’ve had to contend with sheep
grazing on our land, huge cattle losses at times, and, at other times, large
herds. Forest fires and pine beetles. During all this, our family has survived.
Once a year we travel to Walla Walla to see my family and spend
time with the Webs. We meet at Pioneer Park, with its stately oak trees, as
there are so many of us. We sit and visit with Charlie Web and Kimana, now in
their nineties, and Mally. Trey is gone, a heart attack in his nineties, when
he went for a long walk on a 112 degree day.
My dad, James, still has his herd of Hereford cattle from Sir
Galahad, the bull that my mom, Brynn, brought out from Maryland. Like Grandpa
Trey would say, we were building strong.
And do I remember Becky?
Yes. As a cherished memory of a first love that was pure, and not lost forever,
because on it I built another life, one that she would have been proud of.
THE END
Thank you for reading
“The Trahern
collection.”
If you enjoyed these books, I would appreciate it if you'd
help other readers enjoy them too by recommending them to friends, readers'
groups, and discussion boards, or by writing a short review on Amazon. Thank
you.
Next in this series is the modern-day story,
Appaloosa Blues,
with Adam Trahern.
I am now finishing up a story about Shorty, whom you met in The
Happiest Man in the Territory. Shorty’s story is called,
The Tallest Man in
Texas
and should be out in May, 2013. I will continue to write more
Trahern
stories, as ideas come.
Also planned is another
series,
Brothers of Spirit
, with men in the CIA, FBI, and local law enforcement, with
stories featuring Owen Putman, Robyn Duvall, and others, some linked with the
Sisters
in Spirit
series. These will be full length novels. I don’t expect any of
these to be out until 2014.
RADKE
...
Sisters
of Spirit Series
Boxed set of
#1-4 of the Sisters of Spirit novels
.
This gives you four super
reads, ranging from a simple love story in
Turnagain Love
to a life and death
struggle in
Courage Dares
.
All are sweet, contemporary romances with lots of action but
without the language or sex offered by many authors. These are safe to give to
teenagers, grandparents, and anyone wanting pure romance.
There are eight full length
novels to this series, from 60,000 to 100,000 words. The last one,
Appaloosa
Blues
, contains the story of Adam Trahern, the great, great, great
grandson of Trey and Mally.
All sweet, all
ranch, the “end” book of both series. The Sisters of Spirit are here
again. Pick up
APPALOOSA BLUES
,
#8 Sisters of
Spirit
Sweet romance, contemporary.
This is the only Trahern story written in third person. It is a
contemporary romance, with the focus on the romance, but it is “sweet,” with no
sex scenes or strong language.
The
Sisters of Spirit
are a
group of girls who attended Virginia Tech around the same time and stayed in
the same dorm. The group was started by Stormy and Jo, and included mainly
western girls, although Jennel was an honorary member from Boston. Each has her
own story which can be read separately from the others.
Do you have little children? Captivate them with Bible stories.
“Tell me, I forget, show me, I remember…” Chinese Proverb
Vol. 1 The Books of Moses DVD
* Open up the
scriptures in a way they’ll never forget. 650 pictures covers the first five
books of the Bible, with English and Spanish subtitles.
Vol. 2 The Books of History DVD
*
850 pictures
from Joshua through Esther Covers every book and every story in every book.
Turn off the sound and you have a perfect flannelgraph for telling the story.
Use the pause button to keep one picture in view while discussing it.
This series
also has activity books and coloring pages, available at
http://www.showandtellbible.com
Kindle ebooks
available for children:
The Creation
,
Noah’s Ark,
Ruth
and
others. I don’t plan to do too many of these, as they are all available on the
DVDs and are much more entertaining that way. Also the DVDs are narrated and
subtitled in English and Spanish. Vol. 3 is currently being produced.
“A thorough
knowledge of the Bible is better than a college education.” Theodore Roosevelt.
WORKS
BY OTHER AUTHORS
:
KILL TO INHERIT
THE MAN IN
GRAY SERIES (MYSTERIES)
Prologue:
Enter
the Ghost
Sam Riley pulled off the narrow dirt road and stopped the
borrowed police cruiser on the edge of the ditch. Opening the door, he adjusted
the small Colt .380 in the holster under his left arm and glanced at the badge
clipped to his belt. The sun caught the window glass on the door of the new
1929 Durant, flashing the light across Riley’s face. He ducked his head
slightly to let the Fedora block the glare and then stepped out onto the packed
soil. Sucking in a breath of cold air, Riley scanned the tree line back to the
driveway he had passed.
From Washington to Washington was a long train trip. He’d
borrowed the police cruiser in Seattle to drive out to the Fonck mansion in the
foothills of nowhere. He wasn’t expected company, and he didn’t expect a warm
welcome. Especially once he started asking his questions. He tugged at the long
gray overcoat he wore, straightening it out, allowing easy access to his gun,
then started up the driveway.
Wind blew the branches and they rattled a little. Most of
the leaves had fallen, yet so many trees were evergreens that he couldn’t see
the house. When it finally came into view, it shocked him. It was bigger than
anything back East. He shook his head, knowing that there wasn’t anyone around
for many miles and that a lot of work would have gone into a home this size.
Four cars were parked in front of the house, all Fords. The grass near the
house had been cut short and a large barn could be seen out back.
He was still taking in the big picture when the front
door opened and a man stepped outside, a rifle cradled across his left arm. He
stood in the shade of the porch and didn’t appear much more than a shadow.
“Good evening.” Riley called out.
The man nodded.
“I’m looking for Mister Fonck.”
“Which one?”
Riley heard a window open and looked up. A rifle barrel
parted the curtain and then steadied on him. “I’d like to talk to Pierre.”
The man shifted a little and his rifle leveled off, pointing
directly at him. “I’m Pierre.” He nodded at Riley. “Who are you?”
Riley pushed his hat up a little as he thought of the
best reply, and when he decided on one, he answered, “FBI.”
He was staring at Pierre when he spoke
and from the corner of his eye he saw a flash of light from the rifle
protruding from the window. Instantly he was struck in the head with a
sledgehammer-like force. Lights exploded in his vision, followed by darkness.
Riley opened his eyes and blinked. He felt no pain, no
discomfort. He looked around in the pitch blackness, but didn’t see anything.
There weren’t any lights. Nothing. No sun, no moon, or stars. There were no
sounds either. Not even the background noise of wind. He concluded that he must
be in a cellar and reached out with his hand. He swung it gently around trying
to find something. He touched his fedora, but other than his hat, there was
nothing within his reach. He felt panic rise in his chest. Was he blind? Deaf?
He sat up, reaching farther out and still not finding anything.
He reached farther and farther into the darkness. Still
nothing. He reached out with a foot, then moved upright. Suddenly he was seeing
stars through the outlines of branches. He scanned the area around him. The
bushes. Water dripping from branches. Soggy soil.
Chest deep in the ground? Why was that?
Riley lunged forward and rolled over, pulling the rest of
his body from the earth. He scrambled to his feet and glanced back. There was
no sign of a hole or disturbed dirt. His clothes were clean.
He shivered, but not because he was cold. In fact, he
couldn’t feel a thing. Habitually he reached for his gun and found it, then
realized the badge was missing. For a long time he stood staring at the ground
from where he had crawled. Then the rain came as if to answer a question that
he was afraid to ask. The rain came and the droplets fell, but he didn’t feel
them. They passed through him and hit the ground.
The spot of soil that mesmerized him, hid his
body. He was certain of that. There was one other thing he was certain of
—he
wouldn’t rest until he found his killer.
Want the
rest of Riley’s story? Grab
Kill to Inherit
By Nolan Radke
A full length novel, first of
a series, about the ghost detective and his allies.