​Satin Boots: Six Short Western Romances

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n n nn n n n

n nEnjoy these sweet, clean romances set in the American Old West: n nANGELS HIGH: A woman who makes her living by winning at a man’s game learns to expect trouble, especially when the stakes are high. But when trouble finds her this time, Angelica Durant gets more than she bargained for. n nTHE MAIL ORDER BRIDE’S CHOICE: Looking to improve her circumstances, an indigent woman travels across the country as a mail order bride to meet a fiancé who has plans for her other than marriage. n nCOMING HOME: Life is hard. No one knows this better than Dessie Humphrey who’s trying to hold onto the family farm. When aid comes in the form of a wanted gunslinger, she’s in no position to refuse. n nPRIDE AND PEACE: It’s an open secret on the Lazy Five that Jessie North is a woman, but that doesn’t stop Daniel Harper from reacting badly when he learns about it. Can he overcome his prejudice when the proud half-breed saves his life? n nRESURRECTION: Undertakers bury the dead; they don’t resurrect bodies left for dead. But that’s exactly what Antonio DiCarlo does when a lovely Swedish immigrant lands on his doorstep. n nTHE RANCHER’S FIRST LOVE: When a gravely wounded Chinese woman collapses on Clint Cheswick’s front porch, he doesn’t expect to compete with his half-breed foreman for her affection.n n

n

n

n

n

n

nExcerptn

n

n​“Var är jag?” she muttered. “Är jag död?”
n
nTony set down his plate and gaped at the prettiest green eyes he’d ever seen. Although he did not understand a word she said, he assumed she was confused as well as in pain, and probably thirsty. 
n
nHe held a cup of water to her lips and said, “Drink.”
n
nHe slid his hand behind her head to help her drink. She took a sip, then another. Water dribbled from her lips and trickled over smooth, pale skin. He gently lowered her head back to the pillow. She blinked again.
n
n“Vem är du?”
n
nGuessing as to her questions, he pointed to himself and said, “Antonio.” He pointed at her and said nothing, but gave her a small smile of encouragement. He pressed his fingertip to his chest and repeated his name, then pointed at her. Awareness flickered in her eyes. He pointed to himself and she said, 
n“Antonio.” Tony thought her accent charming. He pointed to her and she said, “Linnea.” He repeated it, savoring the syllables on his tongue and giving them a Latin inflection she thought charming.
n
n“Ja.”
n
n“Sì.”
n
n“Är du spansk?”
n
nTony shook his head, not understanding the question. He held up the cup and offered it to her. She nodded and he helped her drink.
n
nConsuela returned with her arms filled. She smiled when Tony told her that his guest had awakened and spoken with him. She chuckled with him when he informed her that they hardly understood each other. She agreed to look after the girl, because it just wasn’t seemly for a bachelor to do so. The undertaker had a respectable reputation to maintain.
n
nTony returned his attention to business. He sold two of his premade, elegant caskets to the two most prominent families in the area. He took his dinner on a tray at his guest’s bedside and enjoyed a slow exchange of words to communicate before thinking to ask her if she spoke English.
n
n“Ja, a little,” she replied.
n
nHe smiled. “Oh, good.”
n
nHer expression took on the desperation of hope. “My mamma? Pappa?”
n
nUnderstanding that question, Tony shook his head.
n
n“Dead.”
n
nShe closed her eyes and looked away from him. Tears trickled.
n
n“I am sorry,” Tony said.n

n

n

nn

n

n

n

nn

n n

n

n

n

nIn 1497, Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola inspired the populace of Florence, Italy to burn their vanities. He was not the first to attempt to impose his ideas of what was right and good upon the people. Since history began, regimes and religions have sought to direct and restrain ideas and thinking by controlling what people read and see. Many classic books schools now often require students to read include formerly banned books.
n
nDigging a little more deeply into Monday’s LinkedIn post on this subject, I repeat the opinion that censorship is alive and well, even in the USA today. The general concept of censorship hinges upon the idea of access to words and ideas being restricted by an outside authority or force. With the capabilities afforded by social media, people today exercise even more thorough censorship upon themselves.
n
nWe use social media to filter the news we receive so that contradictory ideas and controversial concepts might disturb us. We’re happy in our little ruts of thought; change and expansion hurt. Echoes of our own opinions and convictions validate them and comfort us. I’m guilty of that and so are you.
n
nOne easy and frequent method by which we exercise self-censorship is through the DNF (“did not finish”) of the books downloaded to our e-readers. We justify deleting unfinished books from our e-readers because of poor writing, poor storytelling, disjointed or nonsensical plots, factual errors, displeasing protagonists, or abhorrent themes. Some readers cannot and do not tolerate explicitly sexual material. Others clutch their pearls when faced with profanity. Disappointed or appalled readers self-censor their reading by removing offending material from their e-readers and then attempt to dissuade others from those same books by leaving reviews warning potential readers of the objectionable or lackluster material. I’m guilty of that and so are you.
n
nIn short, we hope to influence others to our ways of thinking even as we protect our own fragile minds from the material that disturbs, disgusts, or offends us.
n
nThat said, I do not consider every book I download and open to be worth my time. My time is valuable and my limited leisure time even more so. It’s mine to do with as I wish, just as yours is. We exercise choice which lends itself to self-censorship.
n
nTo make self-censorship palatable and at least rational, one must engage in critical thinking to evaluate the verbiage dumped into our minds. A former coworker once accused me of being close-minded. An open mind is like a ditch, it accepts everything that falls into it, I rebutted. I have filters. I judge the ideas and words flung at me and then decide whether they’re worth keeping. Not ever idea has worth. Not every concept withstands critical evaluation. Some we accept anyway, because they entertain us or make us feel good or for whatever other reason. As long as we know why we accept such things, we understand the influence they may (or may not) have upon our thoughts and actions. Those we determine as unworthy and unacceptable, we toss, but it’s important that we know why we discard them.
n
nHumans mostly make decisions with their emotions or gut feelings. We are not always, mostly, or even necessarily rational creatures. Like our pets, we prefer comfort and toss into the bonfires of our vanities that which discomforts us.
n
nWhat are we discarding that, perhaps, we ought to reconsider keeping?n

n