Mysterious Miners: Book 3 - A Town's Perseverance

Mysterious Miners

A Town’s Perseverance

Desiree Love

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright 2016 ©

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means. This includes electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, scanning or recording, or by any electronic transmittal service or device, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Except for brief quotations or reference for the purpose of reviews or were permitted by non-commercial copyright laws. This novel is the original work of fan fiction. All characters’ names, places or any other aspects mentioned are trademarked and the sole property of those stated and their respected owners.

All Rights Reserved

© 2016

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 – The Funeral

Chapter 2 – Jailbird

Chapter 3 – Knock Out

Chapter 4 – New Friends

Chapter 5 – Speaking the Language

Chapter 6 – The Invite

Chapter 7 – New Customer

Chapter 8 – Taking Sides

Chapter 9 – Into Hiding

Chapter 10 – Freedom

Chapter 11 – What you Deserve

Chapter 12 – Married Bliss

Chapter 13 – Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 14 – Love is Blind

Chapter 15 – Suspicious Grounds

Chapter 16 – Footprints

Chapter 17 – Goodbye

Chapter 18 – Family Unknown

Chapter 19 – Caught Red Handed

Chapter 20 – Special Surprise

Epilogue – New Start

Chapter 1

The Funeral

There was a large cloud that seemed to hang over the whole town that day. Everyone slowly made their way towards the large building at the edge of town. It was a day that Emilee would look back on. A day of sadness that filled her heart with sorrow, although she knew what kind of man he was, and she could never find it in her heart to forgive him for the things he did. She felt herself take a huge breath. He was still her father. She knew that the bible said that you needed to forgive those for the wrong doings that they did in their life but all she could see when she thought of her father was the burning house where he had left her dead mother.

It was amazing how those things would creep up into her mind now. She was to be mother and she presumed that maybe that was why it did. She felt the normal turn in her stomach. It happened every morning now like clockwork. Looking up she smiled at the new preacher. He had come to town just as they needed a new person to lead. The funeral today held mixed feelings for many in the community. Her father had come to town as a great man in the beginning. He had showed the town what a good preacher looked like in the beginning and then he became a man that she would see learn to resent and hate. He was cruel in the end, calling her names and telling her how useless she was to him. Before they found him hanging in the church she had thought about trying to reconcile with him, but it was something that would never be.

She felt the squeeze on her hand and looked up at Garrett with a smile. They were going to be married. Well they were before this happened. Of course, she knew that they would be married but she didn’t really say when now. She knew that Garrett wanted to get married as soon as possible because of the baby. She looked over at the other pew where Adam McCrady sat. She would need to keep this secret from him for the rest of her life, or would she? She knew that Adam didn’t want a child.

Adam was a flamboyant kind of person who loved the night life. He didn’t slow down for anyone or anything. She looked at the woman beside him. She was small and petite. She had brownish colored hair and she held a handkerchief to her face as she cried silently. Emilee didn’t know the woman. She didn’t look familiar at all, but she was crying at her father’s funeral. Emilee decided that the woman must be one of those women that cried at all funerals not just ones where the people were someone that she knew. She must be the kind of woman with a soft heart. Emilee had no doubt that the woman knew her father. He was a cruel man, but he was also very righteous. He would never stoop so low as to speak to a night woman. This woman was apparently one of Adam’s working girls.

As Emilee sat there and watched them she was surprised to see something else going on. Adam leaned over and patted the woman’s knee. It was like he was consoling her in a way. Emilee thought about it and realized that this was the first time that she had ever seen Adam out of the saloon with one of his women. He was normally alone. What was the deal with this woman? She was apparently special to him. Emilee just wondered how special.

Turning back towards the front she looked at the preacher again and directed her attention elsewhere. It was none of her business. She felt Garrett’s presence beside her and it made her feel more at ease and safe. They were going to spend the rest of their lives together and raise their children together.

Let’s pray.

She bowed her head at the preacher’s words and as he said the last prayer before putting her father to rest, she said her own. She wanted her child to be protected. She didn’t know if it was something she could ever tell Adam and she hoped that nobody would figure it out. Yes. She thought. They would need to get married right away. She looked into Garrett’s eyes with the second squeeze on her hand. He smiled slightly then, and she returned it with a small one of her own. Turning, she faced back forward.

The preacher finished the ceremony before directing everyone outside at the grave. Emilee had a feeling. It was an eerie feeling. Not the kind that you would feel at a funeral but a feeling of dread. It felt like something bad was going to happen, that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach that never seemed to go away. She couldn’t help but glance around slowly. She didn’t want to make it obvious. Her eyes fell onto Adam’s friend. Her eyes seemed to hold something in them. Recognition maybe. Emilee shook her head then. Beth had been in the town a while, but Emilee had never met her and didn’t know her at all. She seemed nice though. Shaking her head to clear it, she continued to look around. When her eyes came back to land on Beth, the woman was looking up at Adam. If Emilee was sure of it, then she would think that the woman had been looking at her with hostility.

She realized as the woman hung on every word that came from Adam’s mouth that being employed in the Whiskey River, she would have heard of Emilee’s night with Adam. Maybe she was jealous or angry because of what happened between Emilee and Adam. She was awfully clingy to him. As Emilee looked up at his smiling face, she realized that he didn’t mind it one bit either. He was smiling down at her as well. Shrugging, she turned to look forward in front of her again where the preacher was talking again. He was directing the people out of the church then and into the warm air.

Emilee knew that the air would be starting to get cold soon. It was almost fall after all. She watched as the men started to lower the casket down into the ground then. Her mind was spinning then. She could blame it on the pregnancy, but she knew that it was really a mixture of things. Everything going on in the last couple of weeks seemed to all come rushing at her then. She knew that there were some people in the town who didn’t know her father the way she did. They didn’t know the sort of person he was.

She made her way over to the fresh grave then. Everyone else had started to clear away from the funeral at that point. It was just her then. She looked down at the dirt, freshly turned and wiped the tear from her cheek. He didn’t deserve her tears.

You want to go get something to eat? I can wait with you.

She looked up at the man beside her with a smile. How did she get so lucky? She would never know how she was lucky enough to have a man like Garrett. Any woman would be lucky to have him. She shook her head slowly with a small smile. No. You go ahead. I will be there in just a few minutes. I just need some time alone right now.

Ok honey. I’ll get you some tea.

She nodded and lifted her head to accept the light kiss he gave her then. She stood there and watched him walk away from her after that, her heart in her throat. She was so happy. She couldn’t think of a time when she had been so completely happy. She turned back to the ground and sighed. She knew she shouldn’t care. She shouldn’t really give him the time of day. She should just walk away and never look back. There was something inside her however. Something that pushed her to be the person she was and forgive. She knew that deep in her heart it would only hurt her in the long run if she didn’t forgive him. She still had a hard time with it however and knew that it would be some time before she could completely forgive him for all the wrongs that he had done to her.

Turning, she slowly made her way to the middle of town and where she knew that Garrett would be waiting. She stepped through the doorway and instantly saw him in the corner of the room. She smiled slightly.

She doesn’t even seem upset. She heard the words and turned in the direction where she heard them to see a small group of older women. Cocking her head to the side she gave them a look with a small smile. She knew who they were. They were some of the only people who still believed that her father was a good man. That he was true to his word and a good preacher. She tried to ignore them and keep walking, but her nerves were on edge. She hadn‘t eaten yet that morning since the morning sickness was coming in full swing and she was irritated above everything else. She took another step forward.

He was a good man. Didn’t deserve a little slut for a daughter.

It is just obscene the way she is acting, and her father isn’t even cold in the ground yet.

She turned towards them then and cocked her head to the side. There were numerous people there in the restaurant and many of them turned towards her and the women. Her voice rose in pitch as she began to talk.

"You say he was a good man? Was that before or after he pushed my mother down a flight of stairs and snapped her neck because she wanted him to stop drinking. Or was that after he set our house on fire before we left so people would think that was how she died. Was it when he kept me locked up in the church and would never let me even talk to anyone? They you say I am a slut. Was that before or after he would get drunk enough to come pound on my door and try to break in thinking I was my mother. And furthermore ladies, I