Beyond the Trail. Six Short Stories Read online

  ###

  Excerpt from Backwards to Oregon

  by Jae

  Independence, Missouri,

  April 27th, 1851

  Rough laughter and the thumping of booted feet across the boardwalk made Tess look up.

  “Soldiers.” Fleur groaned next to her before the first of them had even entered. In the three years that the young woman had worked for Tess, she had learned a lot about men—even identifying their profession by their footfalls.

  “Don’t sound so snide, girl,” Tess said. “Last time, they left you a nice tip.”

  “Last time, they also left me a nice black eye.”

  True. After long months of living in the shabby barracks of a secluded fort, with no break from their monotonous duties and bad food, soldiers tended to go a little wild on payday. “I’ll keep an eye on them,” Tess said.

  The door swung open. Loud voices and fresh air drifted into the brothel’s parlor, and for a moment, the smoke dispersed.

  Tess stepped forward to extend a flirtatious greeting, but her well-practiced business smile gave way to a delighted laugh when she saw the last man being dragged in by his comrades.

  Luke Hamilton was no longer the girl she had been five years ago. She had returned from Mexico after fighting for more than a year, wounded, commissioned on the battlefield to the rank of lieutenant, and more reserved than ever. The war had changed her. Tess had fought hard to break through that shield of bitter aloofness, and though Luke had shared her bed in the aftermath of the war, she had never really shared her thoughts and emotions.

  “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Lieutenant Luke Hamilton, visiting a house of ill repute,” Tess said. “Finally gotten lonely, soldier?”

  Her visitor took off a wide-brimmed hat and smiled down at Tess. “I’m no longer a soldier.”

  “What?” For the first time, Tess noticed that Luke’s navy-blue uniform had been replaced by worn civilian clothes.

  “I’ve resigned my commission,” Luke said. “My soldiering days are over.”

  Tess blinked. “How long have you been planning that?”

  Luke looked down, studying the tips of her scuffed boots. “A while.”

  She hadn’t mentioned anything on her last payday, and for a moment, that hurt, but then Tess reminded herself of her role. She was Luke’s friend and occasional lover, nothing more.

  “So what are you gonna do now?” Tess asked. “You got a position in town somewhere?”

  Luke shook her head. “I’m gonna be my own man now.”

  It was no longer strange for Tess to hear Luke refer to herself as a man.

  “I’ll head west in a few days,” Luke said.

  “West? Don’t tell me you’ve contracted that gold fever?”

  Luke smiled. “Lord, no. I prefer working with horses to digging in the mud. The Donation Land Claim Act grants one hundred and sixty acres of land to every male citizen,” she grinned at Tess, “and I hear the Oregon Territory would be a good place for a horse ranch.”

  “So you’re leaving for good?” Tess bit her lip. She was sad to see Luke go because she was a friend and one of very few people who had always treated her like a respectable woman.

  “Yes. As soon as the grass grows long enough that the oxen won’t starve on the way. Some of the boys dragged me in here for a memorable good-bye. I was wondering if you might be free tonight.” Luke looked up at her through dark lashes. A rare shy smile appeared on Luke’s lips.

  Tess rubbed her forehead and sighed. “No, I’m not.”

  “Oh. All right.” Luke was fast to hide her disappointment, as reluctant to show her feelings as ever.

  Tess touched her hand to establish some kind of contact and prevent her younger friend from pulling away. “I’m sorry. If I could somehow—”

  “No.” Luke squeezed her hand for a second. “You’ve got nothing to apologize for. You need to make a living. I know that.”

  Suppressing another sigh, Tess signaled Charlie to pour Luke a whiskey. “I have to go and play the charming hostess now, but I’ll make sure to see you before you leave, all right?” Tess made her way to the back of the room, greeting customers left and right. She stopped when she felt some gold dollars being shoved into her hand. “I’m sorry, but I’m already otherwise engaged tonight. Why don’t you—?”

  The bearded soldier laughed. “I wasn’t asking for myself. I want the services of your best girl for my friend over there.” He pointed to the bar. “He’s leaving town in a few days, and I want him to have a memorable send-off.”

  Tess looked down at the money in her hand. “Must be some friend,” she said with her well-practiced flirtatious smile.

  “He saved my life twice. So, you’ll arrange it?”

  Tess nodded. “Just point him out, and I’ll see to it.”

  The soldier turned and indicated—Luke Hamilton.

  Great. Tess mentally rolled her eyes. How do I get you out of this one, my friend? She was the only one Luke had ever trusted with her body and her secret, so she couldn’t very well send her off with one of her girls. But she also couldn’t ignore the bearded soldier’s request. Every unmarried man in town would jump at the chance to spend a few hours with a working girl for free, especially if it would be months until he saw another available woman. Refusing the generous offer would make Luke’s friends suspicious and could blow her cover. And I want to give her a memorable send-off too. She nodded at the bearded soldier. “I’ll make sure he has a good time.”

  “Thank you.” The soldier walked away.

  The question is just how. Deeply in thought, Tess looked up—and right into the forest green eyes of a girl passing by. That’s it. “Fleur,” she called.

  Out of the twelve girls working for her, Fleur was the one Tess trusted the most. At twenty, Fleur was only ten years younger than Tess, but she was like a daughter nonetheless. With her flaming red hair and her pretty, innocent face, she was popular with the men and brought in a lot of money for the establishment, but Tess hoped that she’d one day leave to begin a new life. She genuinely liked the young woman.

  Fleur casually disengaged herself from the man she had been leading toward the bar and stopped in front of Tess. “Yes?”

  “Are you about to head upstairs?”

  Fleur looked back at her customer, who had already found another girl. “Doesn’t look like it.”

  Tess hesitated for another moment, gazing deeply into Fleur’s eyes. She knew that Fleur was very discreet. Unlike some of the other girls who gossiped whenever they thought Tess wasn’t listening, Fleur never talked about what she did upstairs or about the secrets her customers might have let slip in the heat of passion. She was kind enough not to laugh at Luke and experienced enough not to run from the room screaming. And Luke would surely appreciate her soft beauty and feminine curves. In some respects, her friend was not so different from the man she pretended to be. “I have a customer I want you to take care of. The fee is already covered. He’s a friend of mine, so please treat him well.”

  Fleur tilted her head. “Are you sure you don’t want to entertain him yourself?”

  “I would, but I have to entertain a town official tonight.” Tess exchanged a meaningful glance with Fleur. The local authorities were willing to turn their heads in exchange for a few favors. For the most part, Tess as the madam of the brothel could pick her customers and saw only a few special guests, but she had no choice tonight. She had to ensure that town officials continued to turn a blind eye to her establishment.

  “And the one you want me to take care of? Is he a regular?” Fleur asked.

  Tess shook her head. “No. But he’s special, so I don’t trust any of the other girls to take care of him.”

  Fleur turned to look in the same direction Tess did. “The dark-haired, slender one standing alone at the bar? He doesn’t look like one of your special customers.”

  A smile played around Tess’s lips. “Oh, he is special, trust me.” She turned toward Fleur and lo
oked her in the eyes, her smile now gone. “You still remember the first rule I taught you?”

  “Don’t steal your silverware?” Fleur said with the mischievous grin she still hadn’t lost completely after three years.

  Tess suppressed a smile of her own. “Discretion.”

  A russet eyebrow rose, but Fleur didn’t ask what it was about this customer that required her absolute discretion. After a few seconds, she asked, “Is there anything I should be careful about?” A glimmer of fearful caution shone in her green eyes.

  “No.” Tess shook her head. “You’ve got nothing to fear from him. He’s a real gentleman.”

  One corner of Fleur’s lips lifted into a humorless half-smile. “That would be a first. But all right. I’ll take care of him.” She turned and made her way toward the bar.

  “I hope I did the right thing,” Tess whispered as she watched her go.

  The revised and expanded edition of Backwards to Oregon is now available at many online bookstores as an e-book and in print.

  About Jae

  Jae grew up amidst the vineyards of southern Germany. She spent her childhood with her nose buried in a book, earning her the nickname “professor.” The writing bug bit her at the age of eleven. For the last six years, she has been writing mostly in English.

  She works as a psychologist and likes to spend her time reading, playing board games with friends, spending time with her nieces and nephew, and watching way too many crime shows.

  Connect with Jae online

  Jae loves hearing from readers!

  E-mail her at [email protected]

  Visit her blog: jaefiction.wordpress.com

  Visit her website: jae-fiction.com

  Follow her on Twitter @jaefiction

  Other books from Ylva Publishing

  http://www.ylva-publishing.com

  Backwards to Oregon

  (revised and expanded edition)

  Jae

  ISBN: 978-3-95533-026-2 (paperback), 978-3-95533-028-6 (mobi), 978-3-95533-027-9 (epub), 978-3-95533-029-3 (pdf).

  Length: 138,000 words (novel)

  “Luke” 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.

  L.A. Metro

  RJ Nolan

  ISBN: 978-3-95533-038-5 (epub), 978-3-95533-039-2 (mobi), 978-3-95533-040-8 (pdf), 978-3-95533-041-5 (paperback)

  Length: 96,000 words (novel)

  Dr. Kimberly Donovan’s life is in shambles. After her medical ethics are questioned, first her family, then her closeted lover, the Chief of the ER, betray her. Determined to make a fresh start, she flees to California and L.A. Metropolitan Hospital.

  Dr. Jess McKenna, L.A. Metro’s Chief of the ER, gives new meaning to the phrase emotionally guarded, but she has her reasons.

  When Kim and Jess meet, the attraction is immediate. Emotions Jess has tried to repress for years surface. But her interest in Kim also stirs dark memories. They settle for friendship, determined not to repeat past mistakes, but secretly they both wish things could be different.

  Will the demons from the past destroy their future before it can even get started? Or will L.A. Metro be a place to not only heal the sick, but to mend wounded hearts?

  Hot Line

  Alison Grey

  ISBN: 978-3-95533-015-6 (epub), 978-3-95533-016-3 (mobi), 978-3-95533-017-0 (pdf), 978-3-95533-048-4 (paperback)

  Length: 27,200 words (novella)

  Two women from different worlds. Linda, a successful psychologist, uses her work to distance herself from her own loneliness.

  Christina works for a sex hotline to make ends meet.

  Their worlds collide when Linda calls Christina’s sex line. Christina quickly realizes Linda is not her usual customer. Instead of wanting phone sex, Linda makes an unexpected proposition. Does Christina dare accept the offer that will change both their lives?

  Something in the Wine

  Jae

  ISBN: 978-3-95533-006-4 (epub), 978-3-95533-007-1 (mobi), 978-3-95533-008-8 (pdf)

  Length: 99,100 words (novel)

  All her life, Annie Prideaux has suffered through her brother’s constant practical jokes only he thinks are funny. But Jake’s last joke is one too many, she decides when he sets her up on a blind date with his friend Drew Corbin—neglecting to tell his straight sister one tiny detail: her date is not a man, but a lesbian.

  Annie and Drew decide it’s time to turn the tables on Jake by pretending to fall in love with each other.

  At first glance, they have nothing in common. Disillusioned with love, Annie focuses on books, her cat, and her work as an accountant while Drew, more confident and outgoing, owns a dog and spends most of her time working in her beloved vineyard.

  Only their common goal to take revenge on Jake unites them. But what starts as a table-turning game soon turns Annie’s and Drew’s lives upside down as the lines between pretending and reality begin to blur.

  Something in the Wine is a story about love, friendship, and coming to terms with what it means to be yourself.

  Coming from Ylva Publishing in summer and fall 2013

  http://www.ylva-publishing.com

  Walking the Labyrinth

  Lois Cloarec Hart

  Is there life after loss? Lee Glenn, co-owner of a private security company, didn’t think so. Crushed by grief after the death of her wife, she uncharacteristically retreats from life.

  But love doesn’t give up easily. After her friends and family stage a dramatic intervention, Lee rejoins the world of the living, resolved to regain some sense of normalcy but only half-believing that it’s possible. Her old friend and business partner convinces her to take on what appears on the surface to be a minor personal protection detail.

  The assignment takes her far from home, from the darkness of her loss to the dawning of a life reborn. Along the way, Lee encounters people unlike any she’s ever met before: Wrong-Way Wally, a small-town oracle shunned by the locals for his off-putting speech and mannerisms; and Wally’s best friend, Gaëlle, a woman who not only translates the oracle’s uncanny predictions, but who also appears to have a deep personal connection to life beyond life. Lee is shocked to find herself fascinated by Gaëlle, despite dismissing the woman’s exotic beliefs as “hooey.”

  But opening yourself to love also means opening yourself to the possibility of pain. Will Lee have the courage to follow that path, a path that once led to the greatest agony she’d ever experienced? Or will she run back to the cold comfort of a safer solitary life?

  Crossing Bridges

  Emma Weimann

  As a Guardian, Tallulah has devoted her life to protecting her hometown, Edinburgh, and its inhabitants, both living and dead, against ill-natured and dangerous supernatural beings.

  When Erin, a human tourist, visits Edinburgh, she makes Tallulah more nervous than the poltergeist on Greyfriars Kirkyard—and not only because Erin seems to be the sidekick of a dark witch who has her own agenda.

  While Tallulah works to thwart the dark witch’s sinister plan for Edinburgh, she can’t help wondering about the mysterious Erin. Is she friend or foe?

  Second Nature

  (revised edition)

  Jae

  Novelist 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 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.

  See Right Through Me

  L.T. Smith

  Trust, respect, and love. Three little words—that's all. But these words are powerful, and if we ignore any one of them, then three other little words take their place: jealousy, insecurity, and heartbreak.

  Schoolteacher Gemma Hughes is an ordinary woman living an ordinary life. Disorganized and clumsy, she soon finds herself in the capable hands of the beautiful Dr. Maria Moran. Everything goes wonderfully until Gemma starts doubting Maria's intentions and begins listening to the wrong people.

  But has Maria something to hide, or is it a case of swapping trust for insecurity, respect for jealousy and finishing with a world of heartbreak and deceit? Can Gemma stop her actions before it's too late? Or will she ruin the best thing to happen in her life?

  Given her track record, anything is possible …