Kissless in Kansas
Kissless in Kansas
Yours Truly: The Lovelorn, Book 13
By
Elissa Strati
Table of Contents
DEDICATION
Kissless in Kansas
COPYRIGHT
EDITION LICENSE NOTES
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1 – Abandoned
CHAPTER 2 – Dark Thoughts
CHAPTER 3 – Leaving Home
CHAPTER 4 – Promises
CHAPTER 5 – Where?
CHAPTER 5 – Why?
CHAPTER 6 – Dear Lovelorn
CHAPTER 7 – Jeremy
CHAPTER 8 – Kidnapped
CHAPTER 9 – Young Jeremy
Arrival in Green River
First Day of School
Learning to Count
CHAPTER 10 – Melody
CHAPTER 11 – Rejected
CHAPTER 12 – Dear Kissless
CHAPTER 13 – Fever
CHAPTER 14 – Melody’s Childhood
CHAPTER 15 – Dreams
Melody Creek
First Kiss
Second Kiss
The Legend
Mining
Third Kiss
CHAPTER 16 –Morning News
CHAPTER 17 – Searching for a Husband
CHAPTER 18 – Farewell
EPILOGUE
PLEASE POST A REVIEW
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DEDICATION
This is for my nieces
Kara Cherelaine (KC) Welch
and
Harmony Thea Lynch
And for strong women everywhere.
~~~
Strength comes from within and without.
Inner strength is boosted by self-confidence and determination.
Outer strength consists of the network of family and friends whose love and acceptance can help shore up that confidence.
~~~
May you always have the strength and courage to follow your dreams.
Kissless in Kansas
(Yours Truly: The Lovelorn Series, Book 13)
By
Elissa Strati
COPYRIGHT
Kissless in Kansas, Copyright © 2020 by Elissa Strati.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author, Elissa Strati, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, or events, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
~~~
EDITION LICENSE NOTES
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
~~~
Cover design by Black Widow Books, Virginia McKevitt, cover artist.
Series concept by Marie Higgins.
PROLOGUE
Dear Lovelorn,
I am heartbroken. I was recently left standing at the altar, quite literally, when my fiancé disappeared, and now must suffer well-meaning, but salacious enquiries into my well-being. I live in a small town and cannot get away from the harpies and gossips. How can I reorganize my life to ensure some privacy and, maybe, eventually find a partner I can trust?
Sincerely,
Kissless in Kansas
~~~
Dear Kissless in Kansas,
It is clear from your letter that your biggest concern is loss of face due to the inarguably disastrous outcome of your intended wedding ceremony. A missing bridegroom certainly does no credit to the bride, making her an object of pity and derision. However, you do not mention where he has gone or why he left you. Is he, in fact, actually missing? Why haven't you tried to find him? Are you more concerned with saving face or finding your love? If the former, go visit an aunt in Boston. If the latter, track down your fiancé and confront him so you can move on with your life.
Yours truly,
The Lovelorn
CHAPTER 1 – Abandoned
Melody Cooper sat in the closed carriage with her stepfather, Barnabas Schuyler, and her Uncle Charles. Charles Barnett was actually her father’s cousin, but all the kids had called him “Uncle” growing up, and it had stuck. Barnabas was widely known as Zeus—often preceded by Uncle or Papa, depending on relationship—a moniker he’d earned during the Civil War.
She glanced up at the sky and could see the sun starting to dip. Jeremy was late. While he was usually a tad careless about time, this was their wedding day and he had promised to be there early, knowing she'd be anxious.
Her older sister, Harmony, and her best friend, Emily Strong, were fluttering around, waiting for the time they would glide down the aisle in front of the bride. It was actually unusual to see Harmony that flustered, as she was usually the calm one of the two of them. Not that Melody was high-strung, but she was generally more outgoing and lively then her quiet sister.
Where was he? Melody was starting to get seriously worried, not to mention annoyed. Everyone she knew was waiting inside that church to watch her get married.
Charles cleared his throat. “Jeremy did know what time we were getting started, didn't he?”
She turned big eyes on him. “Yes, he did,” she insisted to her uncle.
Jeremy’s best man, Roger Taylor, came up to the carriage.
“I don't know where he is!” he exclaimed. “When he didn't meet me at my place, I rode back to his, and there's no one there. All his people are here in the church. I just peeked in.”
“Why didn't he leave with his family?” asked Barnabas.
“I don't know,” replied Roger. “Why don't I go in and ask his father to step out and join us?”
Ferlin Strong left the church and strolled over to the carriage, a worried look creasing his brow.
“I don't know where he is if he's not still at the house. Jeremy was coming in his own carriage so he would have it to drive Melody to the hotel after the ceremony. He decided at the last minute to weave some white ribbons through the reins to make it more festive, but was nearly done when we took off. We thought he would be right behind us. I don't know what could possibly have happened.”
“Roger,” Barnabas turned to the young man, “tell me what you saw when you went by the house. What exactly did you see?”
“Well,” he replied, “the house was closed up and when I opened the door to call for him I didn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary. So I went over to the stable and his carriage was gone and everything looked normal. I figured I’d missed him somehow, so I came on ahead to the church thinking I’d catch him on the road. But y'all are here and he's not!”
“Did you notice any tracks or anything that looked odd or out of place?” asked Charles.
“Oh yeah, the area was all tracked up, but the family would have been going in and out, so it really look no different than I would have expected.”
Melody had remained silent through all of this, hands clasped white-knuckled under her gloves. She truly didn't know what to make of this and had the look of someone who had been poleaxed.
Roger looked over at her sympathetically and his stare somehow got through to her.
She shook her head slightly as if to clear it, and asked softly, “Do you h
ave any notion where he might have gone?”
Roger shook his own head. “He was really excited about getting married and looking forward to being here. He couldn't wait to make you his wife. I don't know why he's disappeared. I don't have a clue what to make of this.” And, looking at her sorrowfully, still shaking his head, he backed away from the carriage.
Mr. Strong glanced at his pocket watch.
“The boy is already 45 minutes late and folks were getting restless when I came out to see you. What do you want to do?”
Melody knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to jump up and down and yell and scream.
“No, that's not acceptable behavior,” she could hear her mother murmuring in her ear. She glanced around to be sure the thought had just been in her head. The worry was still there, first and foremost, but anger was beginning to rise as well.
Gritting her teeth, she held onto every modicum of decorum her mother had carefully instilled in her boisterous brain, and managed to control her voice.
“Papa, Uncle Charles, it is quite sultry out, and asking people to stay indoors this long is rather cruel. Perhaps, since Jeremy has chosen not to attend his wedding, we should invite the guests to enjoy the repast we prepared for them, which is waiting in the church hall. I believe I would prefer, however, to return home. Do you think I should make an announcement?”
“No, honey, we will take care of that for you,” said Barnabas patting her on the hand.
“Ferlin, would you mind going in and explaining that the wedding will have to be postponed due to unexpected circumstances, and, as Melody suggested, invite our guests to partake of the wedding feast?”
Seeing the startled look on Ferlin’s face, Charles put his hand on Barnabas’ shoulder.
“At ease, Major, I think we need to work this out a little better. Roger, can you ask Harmony to get their mother? I think for now it is best if no further explanations are offered.”
Roger bobbed his head and strode off to the church, returning shortly with Dorothy Schuyler, Harmony and Melody's mother, and Dorothy’s sister Mary Barnett, Charles’ wife. They were accompanied by Barney Schuyler, Barnabas and Dorothy’s teenaged son, who was to have stood up with Roger to support Jeremy in the wedding.
Barnabas quickly filled them in on what had happened, or, rather, what would not be happening. Dorothy look closely at her daughter who appeared to be almost in a trance.
“Gentlemen, why don't I drive the buggy back home with the girls, and you can help Ferlin explain to our friends and play host to them, and perhaps determine just what has happened. Harmony, would you rather stay or come home?”
“Where would I be of the most use, Mother?” Harmony looked at her sister. “Melody, would you like me to come home with you?”
Melody’s body gave a short, slight shudder as she returned her focus to what was happening around her. Her stone-still body relaxed, and she looked at her sister and gave a wan smile.
“Thank you, Harmony. I would love to have your support at home, but I think you should stay and try to stave off rumors. I know I can trust you to keep things under control. Maybe Henry Monroe can help you entertain our guests.”
Harmony blushed slightly, but at her mother's nod, agreed to help in that way.
Charles and Barnabas descended and then helped Dorothy climb into the carriage and handed her the reins. Without a word, Emily had climbed in next to Melody and took her hands, grasping them firmly, shocked at how icy cold they felt. With another glance at her daughter and a nod to Charles and Mary, she snapped the reins and set the horse off at a trot. They were out of the church yard and on the road home by the time the congregation started coming out to see what was going on and why the wedding hadn't started.
CHAPTER 2 – Dark Thoughts
Nelly cackled to herself when she saw the carriage leaving. She had sidled out of the church when she spied Roger and Harmony fetching Melody’s mother.
Serves her right, that prissy stuck up girl. Thinks she's so special because she's from one of the “founding families.”
This will teach her she can't have everything her own way all the time. The least she could have done is invite me to be one of her bridesmaids, after stealing my beau. But no, she just had her sister and her best friend stand up with her.
Jeremy would have been glad to have all of her friends be her bridesmaids. That fool would do anything for that girl. Maybe once the town sees her for what she is, Jeremy will look at me again. I know he was the one who was sending me those sweet notes last year. Of course they stopped when that Melody really got her claws into him and made him propose to her. Once she was an engaged woman she became intolerable. Of course she’s always been an uppity type, barely condescending to the likes of me.
I should have been the bride today. But if I can’t be, neither will she!
CHAPTER 3 – Leaving Home
When Nelly Weaver was maybe fourteen or fifteen years old—she was never sure because she’d never learned to count, and besides no one had ever celebrated birthdays so she even didn’t know when hers was—she came out of the hills with her father and uncle and walked to Kansas.
Before they left, Nelly's mother had taken her down to the creek and helped her take a thorough bath and washed her hair. She had really scrubbed until Nelly had never felt so clean and new. It was a gorgeous day with the sun shining brightly and her hair shone in a soft cloud of golden silky curls, like the tassels at the top of corn.
“You are beautiful like sunshine,” her mother said as she found a somewhat still spot along the edge of the river in which her reflection could be observed.
“Why Mama, I'm pretty!” exclaimed Nelly, having rarely ever seen her reflection.
“Yes, my darling daughter, you are very pretty and I need to explain to you how to be careful around boys, because they will think you're pretty too and tell you nice things and want you to be nice to them. But don't you ever be more than just polite. Boys might want to be courting you, but they need to have your paw and uncle's permission, and you never go off with a boy alone.
“You always make sure someone is with you, either kin or a lady friend you can trust. I'm sorry I can't be coming with you now but there's too many young’uns to travel with and you'll need to take care of your uncle and father and keep house for them until they find you a beau to marry. And honey, you're still very young. If there's a school where you get to, be sure to go. You need to learn your letters. You're smart and you should be able to go far in life, but people can take advantage of you if you don't know your letters. God go with you and keep you, my daughter,” her mother blessed her, giving her a last, long hug before walking back to the house.
The next morning they were on their way.
Her brother Jose had wanted to come too and he was older and could have been right useful. But Paw and Uncle Levi had decided he needed to stay and protect the family and she was the one who should come with them. She was young and strong and could cook.
They left on foot out of the mountains, hunting and foraging for food and drink as they went. Each had water flasks which they filled at every opportunity and Nelly’s own pack was as heavy as the men's with foodstuffs, plus one thin blanket she had woven herself, which also served as a shawl. They walked and walked and walked. After a few weeks it seemed like walking and the outdoors was about all there was to the world.
Things kept changing. Mountains gave way to valleys and eventually the terrain got downright flat. Where it was really flat, Nelly was downright uncomfortable. It just didn't seem natural.
The rocks gave way to grass and the trees disappeared and dirt trails and planted fields came into view when they came upon towns that had already been settled. They tended to skirt the towns, settling in just close enough for the men to tuck her someplace safe for the night and then they would sneak into town and returned with some supplies. When possible she would climb into a tree that was the right shape for her to curl into until they returned.
&nb
sp; Where it was more civilized, they followed the road and avoided the fields, but as soon as they found woods again they took off cross-country, heading ever westward. And then they came to the mighty Mississippi. This great body of water stopped them, and yet they knew they needed to get across because where they were seeking was further west. That was what they had been told.
So they followed the tracks that were the strongest and finally came to a ferry and were able to negotiate a crossing, trading some of the items picked up along the way, including a few furs of animals whose meat they had long eaten.
Once across the Mississippi they just kept on walking, and several days later they came to the Green River.
“This is the place,” said Paw, “I feel it in my bones.”
They followed the track along the river, now a well-traveled road, past farms and ranches, large and prosperous-looking spreads reaching out on both sides of the river. And they went into the town, which was small but seemed prosperous. Paw entered the Land Office to find out where he could make his claim.
CHAPTER 4 – Promises
When Nelly, her Paw, and her Uncle Levi had set out from the hills to go west, their goal was to grab some of the land that was free for the asking. They managed to get across the Mississippi and found themselves in southeast Kansas in a little town called Green River. Folks seemed nice enough and they were tired out from traveling so, finding some hillsides that weren't as proud as their home mountains, but might be easier for farming, they set out to stake a claim on some land.
Lots of people were heading west now. The war was long over, but many were looking for new places and new lives. What was a little different about this place is that people had already found it much earlier than it had been opened up to settlers. People were starting to call the earliest arrivals the “Founding Families.” There were about a half a dozen of them who had set up along the river, naturally claiming all the best land, thought Uncle Levi wryly. But then, he had to admit that even the lower quality land further from the river was a whole lot nicer than what he’d tried farming on where he grown up.