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    A Place in Time: The Red Diary
    A Place in Time: The Red Diary
    A Place in Time: The Red Diary
    Ebook100 pages1 hour

    A Place in Time: The Red Diary

    By Debra Joy Finley

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    About this ebook

    Leaving Chicago to move to his aunt and uncles dairy farm in the Ozarks was going to be a huge change for Nick. With his mother down on her luck and moving in with his grandparents, the only viable thing for him to do was to leave Chicago. He knew that he would never survive sharing a room with his mother. Moving to the Ozarks, though, forces Nick to put his dreams of going to college on hold.

    Living on his uncle's dairy farm, Nick learns to milk cows, feed calves, and clean pens. Not exactly his dream job, Nick doesn't think his life could get any worse; but then he meets Elmer, a Jersey bull who has a mind of its own, and Rob, the ghost of a Confederate soldier who challenges Nick in ways he never imagined. Nick learns to do things that he never thought possible with Robs guidance. But what will that mean for his future?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateOct 6, 2010
    ISBN9781452074795
    A Place in Time: The Red Diary
    Author

    Debra Joy Finley

    Debra Joy Finley is a high school English teacher who began writing books to encourage her students to read, and to motivate them to follow their dreams. When ever possible, Finley travels with her truck-driving husband, rides horses, bikes, and spends time with her daughter and family. Illustrator Tiffany Joy Hines lives on a farm in the Ozarks. She uses her scenic surroundings for an abundance of ever-changing material. Hines enjoys horseback riding and camping with her friends and family. Debra Joy Finley is a high school English teacher who began writing books to encourage her students to read, and to motivate them to follow their dreams. Whenever possible, Finley travels with her truck-driving husband, rides horses, bikes, and spends time with her daughter and family. A PL ACE

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      Book preview

      A Place in Time - Debra Joy Finley

      AuthorHouse™

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.authorhouse.com

      Phone: 1-800-839-8640

      © 2010 Debra Joy Finley. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      First published by AuthorHouse 9/30/2010

      ISBN: 978-1-4520-7479-5 (e)

      ISBN: 978-1-4520-7480-1 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4520-7481-8 (hc)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2010913406

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Illustrated and Cover Photo by: Tiffany Joy Hines

      Other books by Debra Joy Finley

      A Place in Time Series:

      The Amber Necklace

      The Silver Sword

      The Red Diary

      Next to be published:

      The Gold Nugget

      To my daughter and her family,

      living in the Ozarks,

      loving every minute of it.

      Although the characters in the story are fictional, the places are real and located in the Missouri’s Ozarks.

      Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      missing image file

      Prologue

      Western Fever

      Oregon, 1850

      Beth sat on a stump next to a wooden cross marking the fresh grave of her husband. The tall, dark trees of the Oregon forest cast long shadows shading her from the direct sunlight. A large bulge under her skirt marked a baby developing in her tummy. Her ankles were swollen and she was warm even on this brisk October day. Gold, red, and yellow leaves, swirled by the wind, blew around her feet.

      Beth loved this time of year and inhaled the crisp air. It was scented by wood smoke. A long, white plume of smoke snaked from the chimney of her cabin into the clear blue sky. From the top of the hill where she sat she could see over the eighty-acre tree farm her and Jed had staked- calling it home. It was their dream that had carried them over 2,200 miles. It was their dream that had killed him so quickly.

      Beth pulled a pencil from a pocket she had sewed in her apron, and with cracked and calloused hands, she opened the red diary sitting on her lap. The book was a gift from her mother. Beth remembered her mother placing it in her hands the day they had left Illinois in their covered wagon.

      Write down your adventures, dear. Someday your children will want to know how you traveled to Oregon. She kissed Beth on the cheek and held her close for the last time.

      Beth, her husband Jebidiah, and his brother, Adam, had traveled to Independence, Missouri to join up with a wagon train heading West. They had carried with them all that they would need to set up housekeeping in their new cabin. A stiff wind blew, flipping open the diary to her first entry. It seemed like a lifetime ago, even though it was only six months. She began reading:

      April 3rd, 1850

      Married three days now. Ma and Pa gave us six oxen for a wedding present. The heavy beasts would proudly pull the wagon Jed and Adam worked all winter building. I wish Adam’s wife were still alive. She died last winter giving birth to their first child. I could use her company, advice, and help. Feeding two hungry men over a campfire is quite a task.

      Ma and Pa cried as they kissed me goodbye but I go with their blessings. I’m 18, almost considered an old maid. Their eyes shone when Jed proposed to me last fall and shared with them his plans to travel west. They wished us luck finding fertile land and strong timber for Jed’s dream of opening a sawmill. Jed talks of building us a warm cabin before winter sets in. (Adam will live with us until he has time to build a place of his own.) Jed wants a large family. Is it possible that I could already be with his child?

      Beth turned a few pages and read the next entry.

      April 20th,

      We crossed the Platte River yesterday. We are making good time. Almost fifteen miles a day. The river is muddy, barely fit to drink. We’ll follow it for the next 450 miles. Hope I packed enough food. When I first saw the list Jed handed me last winter, I laughed at needing 600# of flour. Now I carefully measure out each meal. There are no stores or forts to replenish our supplies. The prairie is endless.

      I wish Jed and I had more time to share together. Our days seem endless but we hardly have time to steal a kiss. At night, we fall asleep as soon as our heads hit the ground. We are so tired from walking, hauling water for the livestock, cooking, and making repairs to the wagon and harnesses. Some nights it’s Jed’s duty to stand guard. We are heading into Indian Country.

      Beth sat for a minute remembering the hardships of the five-month journey and of all the fears that she had lived with daily. Fear from Indian attacks. Fear of going hungry. Fear from fierce storms; one which ripped apart the canvas of their wagon. She thought back to the endless sea of buffalo she saw grazing on the plains. She thought about the rugged terrain they had crossed, the cruel mountain passages they had tackled. Two of their oxen had died forcing her to lighten the wagon. She had to leave her mother’s rocker, some clothes, and their cast-iron wood stove. Jed had promised her that a rock fireplace would work just as well.

      The wind rustled the pages of her diary and she quickly turned to the back where only two empty pages remain. She griped the pencil between her fingers and began to write in small letters in order to fit all her thoughts between the lines.

      October 10th,

      The baby is six months along. I feel it moving, sometimes he gets the hiccups. I can’t stop missing you, Jed. Every time I see the snug cabin you built for us or the stack of wood you had cut for fuel to keep us warm, I think of you and your strong hands. I remember your warm laugh and how you used to look at me. If only we had time to enjoy our love instead of the hardships we were forced to endure instead. I hope that someday, there will be a place in time for lovers to

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