Snow Angel

Winter was no hardship for Ethan Beck. Plenty of firewood to heat his cabin, oats and hay for his horse, Zephyr, for Rebecca's dapple-gray pony, Starlight, and for Moo, his Jersey cow. What's hard was losing his wife and son to the fever two years ago. So when the skies turned an ominous dark purple, and the sun went down, and the wind picked up, and any animal with half a brain took shelter from the coming storm ... Ethan stepped up onto the porch. He checked the latches on one set of shutters and then the other. Satisfied, he turned toward the door. An unfamiliar sound blew to him on the gale - a high-pitched wail, barely audible above the howling of the wind - not the steady whistle of wind through a crevice, but the varying pitch of ... what? A cat? A wounded dog? Something - some poor creature - in distress. He stepped to the edge of the porch and held his lantern to the side so it would not blind him. Nothing. Nothing but snow rushing at him. Then he heard it again A wild animal? No, a human voice Calling for help. He stepped forward, out of the safety of the porch, into the storm. He lifted the lantern high, but could see nothing beyond the driving snow. He shifted the lantern to his other hand and held it low, but still he could see nothing but a few feet of snow-covered ground before him. Ten paces now, he thought. This is madness, to leave the safety of the cabin to get lost in a storm. But there came the wail again, and he imagined he could hear his own name, Beck A ghost? Or a siren, calling him, the way the sirens called Ulysses' men to their doom? He lifted the lantern high again, hoping to see the source, to see anything but snow. "Please, Mr. Beck " The ghost, the siren, formed itself into the figure of a human, reaching out of the snow, reaching for him. And then it fell into him, onto him, against him, clutching at his coat and at his knees. The ghost had turned solid in the form of a young woman, shivering from cold, crying, "Please help me " = = Snow Angel is a novella-length love story set in 1870's Colorado Territory. 22 chapters, approximately 37,700 words Content advisory: Due to some coarse language and mature subject matter, this book is recommended for ages 16 and older. Keywords: western, homestead, settlers, love, mild relationship content, rescue, winter, cabin, farm, ranch, cowboy, settlers