Free Wilderness Trail of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 1) by Dorothy Wiley Page B

one of them. If he comes back, what do you think he is going to do to you? I promise you rape would be the easiest part.”
    “Don’t threaten me with what Bomazeen might do. I
know
what he’s like. I felt his hot stinking breath on my face and my breast still bears his filthy mark. He nearly killed my baby,” she screamed. “But I won’t turn tail and run like a frightened rabbit. This is our home.” She choked back a sob.
    “Settle your temper. The girls will hear you. They’ve been through enough. And so have you. I don’t want you to go through that again.”
    She lowered her voice, but not her obvious anger. “Would you have decided to go if this hadn’t happened—if Bomazeen had never come here?” She glared at him, her green eyes nearly burning a hole through him.
    It seemed everyone had the same question for him. “Yes. I already made up my mind that I wanted to go. I think this is something my father would have wanted for me. And I hoped you would too.”
    “When did you plan to talk to
me
about upsetting our whole world? I don’t care what your father wanted.”
    “But I do,” he said simply. He swallowed his frustration. “And I care about what you want too.”
    Stephen decided to try to calm her. “You’re correct, of course. With all of our futures at stake, we must decide this with great care. There will be only one chance to make the right decision.” He tookher hand and squeezed it. He could tell she was a long way from committing to leave. There was little conviction in her grip.
    He let go of her hand and started to pace again, but then stopped abruptly and faced her. “I want your happiness Jane—more than my own. You mean everything to me.”
    “Then think about this. We have been so happy here. It would be a terrible sacrifice to leave our home, everything we have worked so hard to build. It might not be much, but it’s ours.”
    He set his jaw and moved closer to her. “Our forefathers made sacrifices and endured misfortunes to come to the New World. They didn’t seek ease and comforts in coming here. They expected hardships and discouragements. I don’t think they did it just for themselves. They did it for us. They faced exactly the same choice we face, stay or go. They let God’s will guide them.”
    She threw her hands in the air and looked up. “How does anyone really know what God’s will is?”
    “I don’t know,” he admitted. He considered her question for a moment, and then said, “I do know that we’re not here to just exist—to just get by. We’re here to accomplish what He puts in our hearts, even if it’s difficult. I think those sparks, those ideas that give us hope, that make us want to open a new door, come from Him. If we don’t accomplish anything, why are we even here? We must always try, even though we won’t always succeed. I know I would rather die trying, than die without ever having tried.”
    She appeared confused.
    “Kentucky offers a chance for a better life. Don’t we owe that to our daughters?” Worn out by their argument and lack of sleep, he collapsed in his favorite chair and yanked off his boots. He noted he would need to see the cobbler for a sturdy new pair before theyleft for Kentucky. “You’ve been through an ordeal and might not want to think about this now. But at least consider how much opportunity lies out there waiting for us before you make up your mind.”
    Jane didn’t respond. Instead, she fetched a pot of coffee from the stove and poured them both a cup. “Stephen, if it were just us, I wouldn’t hesitate. This is not about what’s right or wrong—it’s about choosing between two rights.” She stomped back to the kitchen to resume cooking for the moment.
    He hoped the streaming brew would refresh him, while he pondered what she had said about two rights.

    Jane’s head spun with dozens of questions, a myriad of doubts.
What if we get there and he can’t find the kind of land he wants? What if the good