- Romance
- Snowbound Ch. 01
Note: You can change font size, font face, and turn on dark mode by clicking the "A" icon tab in the Story Info Box.
You can temporarily switch back to a Classic Literotica® experience during our ongoing public Beta testing. Please consider leaving feedback on issues you experience or suggest improvements.
Click here
(So another "slow burn". If you expect action right away go find a different story.) ;)
Abigail. had to leave Boston. It wasn't just the terrible winters, she could handle those. After the war between the States, Boston had just become too crowded. She needed wide open spaces. Also she didn't have much family in the Boston area. Abigail knew she had to make it on her own she decided to head West. She figured she could teach somewhere on the unexplored prairies.
So she took a train from Boston to Chicago. In Chicago, she had to switch trains to head further west. There in Union Station she struggled to get her luggage on the westward bound train.
"Can I help you with your things ma'am?" came a kind voice.
"Yes, please. I don't have much but I can't seem to manage it." said Abigail.
"I'm Gavin and I'm the conductor on this track from Chicago, to Denver. Where are you headed?" asked Gavin.
"I'm Abigail..but everybody calls me Abby and I don't know where I'm headed. I'm from Boston and I want to teach somewhere out West that's not a big city. I don't suppose that you'd know of anywhere that needs a teacher?" asked Abby.
"As a matter of fact, Abby I do. It's my hometown, Antelope Hill, in the middle of Wyoming. It's a small town of only about 100 people. But, the kids do need a teacher. There's no ocean like Boston, but there's a nice lake nearby. So if you can handle a place like that, we'd be glad to have you." said Gavin eagerly.
"It sounds as good anywhere. I'd like the lake. I love the water and wide open spaces. If the kids need a teacher then I'm the lady to do it." Abby determainly said.
"Well, I'll drop you at the station there and when I have my week off next week, I'll get you all squared away with the school board."
Gavin drove the train across the unexplored prairie. The train stopped in Davenport, Des Moines and Omaha. Gaivin got food for Abby and himself in each city. It was early in the morning the second day, when Gavin woke Abby.
"So..early in the morning...sun's not up yet." said Abby sleepily and with a big yawn.
"I know Abby, but we're here in Antelope Hill. You gotta get off. I'll see you next week on my way back through town." said Gavin. He helped Abby with her luggage and left her on the train platform.
The train pulled away across the prairie and Abby was left all alone in a strange town where she knew no one. She knew she'd have to get things done by surviving on her own grit. She walked up the street looking for someone to speak too.
Halfway up the street she met a man. "Hello I'm Abigail Green, Gavin Lake sent me. He said this town was looking for a teacher. Well, I'm your lady. I can teach kids from kindergarten through eighth grade. I don't suppose you'd know someone I could speak to about the position or a place to stay in town until Gavin gets back from his job next week?
The rough looking man stared at this strange woman for awhile. Why would a lady like this come to a small irrelevant town in the middle of Wyoming? She must be out of her mind. Still she was very pretty, he could do something with her. He knew Gavin, didn't like him and knew that Gavin was out of town working as a conductor a lot. This lady would need a friend in town. Someone she could rely on. A man who could take care of her because she surely was incapable of taking care of herself. Just look at how she had struggled with her luggage. All women needed a real man to take care of them especially on the frontier like this. He was a real man who could do that.
"I'm Shane Ross, I own the saloon. I live right next to the school house and for $2 a month, I'd be more than happy to let you board with me. Gavin lives on the opposite end of town from the schoolhouse...right on the edge of the prairie. It gets very cold there and there's no protection from wild animals and Indians...it's not safe for a lady like you, especially since he's always gone. Stay with me and I'll speak to the school board about you being our teacher." Shane said to Abigail.
"Well, that's very kind of you Shane. I'll stay with you for now." Abby struggled to pick up her bags and followed Shane to his house.
Shane showed her around his bar before he took her into the house. He said he could "use a woman to help out about the place." Abby hoped he didn't want her to work at his bar. She wanted to be a teacher to the children of Antelope Hill...not a barmaid. Abby hoped that Gavin would be back soon. Even though they had only spent a few days together she missed him.
Her destiny in this new westward place lay before her...for better or worse.
- COMMENTS
Anonymousover 3 years agoPlease take these comments as constructive; which is my intention. A little research would definitely improve your story. Conductors on a train serve a number of functions. They are the boss of the train crew consisting of the engineer (who operates the train), a fireman to keep the boiler supplied with wood or coal, and often a person to staff the mail car; which railroads usually carried at that time. The conductor does not drive the train and since Abby meets Gavin in Chicago it is highly unlikely he would be on the train all the way from Wyoming to Chicago-- it was too great a distance in those days. So, your thesis to a knowledgeable reader is already flawed.
You need a great deal of help with basic writing skills. Take the time to write a few chapters at a time to improve the flow of the story before you post a chapter (be at least a chapter or two ahead). I might suggest you use the free spell and grammar checking program by Google called Grammarly. It will help you see where the most glaring errors are in your writing and will improve the reader's enjoyment of your story.
You have a good start, but remember, women were treated pretty well on the frontier by most men--they were a scarce commodity. That included women that worked in saloons according to the research I conducted a few years back.
And you should note, the county was already pretty well explored at the time your story appears to be set in. There was still a great deal of animosity towards the native American inhabitants by newly arrived European settlers who considered them somewhat less than human. Tribes all too often treated women as property, just as many other cultures did, including our own when it came to subjugate populations of blacks and other minorities. The Indians had lost much of their ability to feed themselves when the land was fenced or made off-limits and their game animal populations decimated.
hornier_bastardover 3 years agoanonymous comments should be ignored, and I wish you could eliminate them (not allow any anonymous posts)!
I think it's a good start... it's short, yet, but this is the setup. You did say that it's a slow burn, and I'm ok with that. I like the writing style. I got here when I saw part 2 posted here, and I'm going to read that one now.
Anonymousover 3 years agoI couldn't agree with anon more. There is a 750 word contest for stories like this. Save it for that. Nobody needs short teasers. It doesn't attract me back.
SouthernCrossfireover 3 years agoI enjoy westerns and romances, so this is a good start. I'm looking forward to seeing where you go with it!
The previous commenter complained about the length of this chapter; please don't let that anonymous person deter you from continuing to tell your tale. Getting to the heart of their complaint, yes, this chapter is pretty short, but it does its job of introducing the main character, two possible love interests (or are they antagonists? Guess we'll have to keep reading to find out!), the circumstances, and the scenery. You might try to cover more ground in subsequent chapters. A Literotica page covers about 3,500 to 4,000 words (I use 3,750 as an average), so you might try to have future chapters be at least a page or longer to give the reader enough so they go away hungering for the next chapter but not hungry from the current one being too short. Of course, you may prefer writing shorter chapters; If that's your preference and style, go for it and ignore any critics. Your writing is ultimately your decision and I wish you well with it.
