Read Online Salvation's Secrets (The Loflin Legacy Prequel) by Catherine Wolffe - Free Book Online Page B

released a slow uneasy breath.
His father would do whatever necessary to clean up the mess
involving both of them. Surely, he’d understand Charles meant only
to protect the Comanche. Earl may not care about the reason. Seth’s
gut tightened with thoughts of his dire warning. He’d send them
both away to school if they fouled up one more time. Swallowing
hard, Seth realized this was the time.
    ***
    “You best act stricken. You’ve just lost
your brother.” Earl’s harsh rasp sounded near Seth’s ear. He
stiffened with the chill of the words. The charade they were
instigating played out in front of the good people of Tyler and the
United States Marshall who showed up a few days following the
stampede and shootings bode ill for Charles and him.
    Jake laid a supportive hand on his shoulder
effectively bringing him back. “It’s gonna be all right. You’ll
see.”
    “Yeah, right…” Seth hunched his shoulders
against the wind blowing in from the north. A sense of foreboding
swamped him. He understood the ramifications of going up against
anything Earl said. His father had him by the short hairs. His
future, his very life lay in what Earl Loflin wanted. No sooner did
the first dirt hit the coffin, before Earl turned and walked away.
Seth caught sight of the stage leaving the station. His longing for
her grew with each strike from the whip’s leather. Somehow, he
needed to see her. Time was running out for him.
    ###
     
     
    Excerpt from Comanche Haven:
    (The Loflin Legacy #1)
    by Catherine Wolffe
     

Chapter 1 – The Road Home
    Texas 1858
    Celia glanced out at the children running
alongside the stagecoach as it slowed. Their tiny feet evoked a
cloud of dust as they followed the newest visitor to their part of
Texas.
    “Have you been to Tyler before?” the young
blonde woman seated next to Celia inquired politely. Her name was
Claudette Harding. She had the most perfect golden curls Celia had
ever seen.
    “Yes, but it’s been a long time.” Celia
glanced back at the children, before examining the wooden buildings
dotting the street. Nothing had changed . Some were new and
some no longer stood. They’d been replaced in the name of progress.
Noting the result, she dropped the leather flap over the small
window, before swallowing a twinge of regret. A sharp realization
that nothing would ever be the same again moved through her.
    From the top of the stage, the Wells Fargo
Whip called out the name of the stop, “Tyyyler!”
    “I’m expecting my gentleman-friend to pick
me up.” Claudette glanced sideways at Celia as she gathered her
parasol along with her reticule. “Do you have someone picking you
up?” Tiny ringlets of gold bobbed about the woman’s creamy, oval
face. Celia smiled to herself as Claudette continued to prattle on.
The woman could talk. Claudette had boarded the stage in
Shreveport. Since she’d sat down, the three other passengers
listened to all manner of comments, stories and questions.
    “Yes, my cousin.” Celia peeked out of the
window again. Dust swirled around the opening, threatening to
engulf them all. The two men seated in front of the women waved at
the dust as if it threatened their lives. The one in a stylish
stovepipe hat started coughing. Reluctantly, Celia dropped the
flap, waiting instead for the stage to come to a complete stop.
    The wooden door of the stage opened. A
calloused hand reached in.
    Claudette took the hand, before winking at
Celia. “Enjoyed riding with you. Good luck.” Bending low in the
confines of the stage’s interior, Claudette exited through small
opening.
    Celia considered the young blonde woman’s
words. Luck wasn’t going to help her. She would need fortitude.
Digging deeper, she found her determination once more. Trouble had
driven her out of Texas. Now she was returning for the same reason.
The letter she’d received stated her father, the chief, had fallen
“gravely ill”. So she’d packed up the belongings she would need,
sold the