Tumbleweed Letters Read Online Free PDF

twisted his gut. A strong inkling told him this wasn’t going to be good. But maybe if he opened up about his past, she would, too. “All right. My parents and I moved here from Georgia when I was ten. We settled this land and named the ranch the Double-M. I was my parents’ only living son. They lost two older sons in the war.”
    “How sad.”
    “Both maw and paw thought the war would never end and feared I’d go off to fight, the same as Angus and Ian. They sold what they had, and we headed west trying to escape the misery of that war.”
    “Are they still living? Your parents?”
    “No. They died in the smallpox epidemic that swept through here last winter. I lost my wife then, too. Lost all three of them in the span of five days.” A small hand touched his arm, both surprising and soothing him.
    “That’s how I met Calamity Jane. She helped nurse a lot of folks around here. She and Madam Dora both took care of people, earning undying gratitude and respect. Their quick action, quarantining my parents and my wife, helped save Eli and me. My maw went first. Then paw, and finally my Amanda.” He swallowed a huge lump of pain and glanced off into the darkness.
    “I’m sorry for your loss. My, how you must have suffered. I know how painful that can be.”
    “Your parents are dead, too?”
    “Yes. My dad died in a cave-in. Mum died a month later from a broken heart. Dad worked the coal mines back in Luzerne County in Pennsylvania. Two men died that day. When their lives snuffed out, the Molly Maguires just grew stronger.”
    “Molly Maguires. I recall reading about them in the newspaper. A secret Irish organization. Right?” A dangerous organization, from what he’d read.
    “Yes, so secret I didn’t know the man courting me was a member.”
    “You’re speaking of your husband now?”
    “Yes. He came into my life when society claimed I was past my prime. Tommy was the only man who paid me any mind. So I felt if I didn’t grab onto Tommy Flannigan, I’d always be a lonely spinster.” She heaved an audible sigh. “He was a hard man, my Tommy, but he seemed to have a weakness for me. I responded to that.”
    “How long were you married?”
    “Three…three hours…” Her voice held a weepy quality, and she sniffed.
    He put his arm around her and drew her close. He could understand Tommy’s weakness for this woman; he seemed to have a weakness of his own where this redhead was concerned. “Three hours? He died on your wedding day?” My God, how awful.
    “Yes.” She sniffled in the darkness. “We couldn’t afford a party after the ceremony, small that it was. We’d gone back to the little house I inherited from my parents. We were…we were in bed…” Her voice trailed off, and he imagined she was remembering the scene.
    After heaving a great shudder, she pulled away. “Men—Pinkertons—broke down my front door. They charged into my home and dragged Tommy from our bed. Two days later, his body was found inside a mine. He’d been beaten and shot.”
    “Why?”
    “At his funeral, some of his friends—cohorts, really—took me aside and told me about his secret activities. Tommy was one of the Molly Maguires. They’d intimidated, beaten, and even killed some mine owners and managers. When the group started targeting the railroad owners, one of the railroad barons hired the Pinkertons to intervene. Something very precious had been stolen from a railroad owner, and he wanted it back. They suspected Tommy had it.”
    “Did he?”
    “I don’t know. I didn’t even know of his secret activities until after he was dead. Twice, men from the Pinkertons came to my house, insisting I give it back. One of them hit me a few times and…”
    Protectiveness surged through him. What kind of man would strike a woman? “This person was part of the Pinkertons?”
    “Yes, they carry a great deal of legal weight in some areas. Some handle the power well. Others do not. I figure I ran into one who allowed