{"id":6040,"date":"2014-12-22T00:58:42","date_gmt":"2014-12-22T06:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/?p=6040"},"modified":"2017-11-10T09:19:18","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T15:19:18","slug":"christmas-eve-old-ft-bowie-flash-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/flash-fiction\/christmas-eve-old-ft-bowie-flash-fiction","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Eve at Old Ft. Bowie, Flash Fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Merry<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear blog friends, Here’s my Christmas Gift to you. Flash Fiction is a very short story. I hope you enjoy~~<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Christmas Eve at Old Ft. Bowie\u00a0 by Lyn Cote<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Gazing out at the scrub-covered mountains, Emmeline dabbed her eyes.\u00a0 In spite of her efforts, her husband had sensed her unhappiness at breakfast.<\/strong>
\n \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, dearest?\u201d he\u2019d asked.<\/strong>
\n She\u2019d forced a smile. \u201cHomesickness. I doubt we\u2019ll have a Christmas tree.\u201d<\/strong>
\n Yes, Fort Bowie, Arizona, was nothing like pine-forested Wisconsin. But six months ago, she\u2019d chosen to trust God to lead her to a good man. He had through a letter sent to the Milwaukee newspaper, asking if any brave woman would take a chance on marrying a lonely soldier in the West. After many letters and an arduous railroad journey, she\u2019d married Captain Gardner Winslow, becoming an army wife with all its worries.<\/strong>
\n Their fort guarded a natural spring, life itself here in the desert. With Geronimo on the loose, her husband was again out keeping the stage route safe. And that\u2019s why I\u2019m foolish to be sniffling over a Christmas tree. Gardner is protecting lives.<\/strong>
\n Emmeline hurried to her kitchen. She\u2019d have a tasty meal waiting for whenever her captain returned tonight!<\/strong>
\n Much later dozing in the chair, she awoke in near darkness.<\/strong>
\n Gardner stood before her with—<\/strong>
\n \u201cI know it\u2019s the sorriest excuse for a Christmas tree ever.\u201d<\/strong>
\n The tree was a scraggly scrub all right. Rising, she hugged him with the fragrant pine between them, pressing against his firm chest. \u201cI\u2019m sorry I even brought it up.\u201d<\/strong>
\n \u201cEmmeline, you gave up a fine life for me.\u201d<\/strong>
\n \u201cI gave up a fine life for a finer man.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

copyright Lyn Cote 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’ve enjoyed this, please wish me a Merry Christmas in the comments section. If you’d like to read three more Christmas short stories, click here <\/a>and subscribe on the Facebook page or click here on the blog<\/a> to the Sweet Romance Reads enewsletter. And I WISH YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!–Lyn<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear blog friends, Here’s my Christmas Gift to you. Flash Fiction is a very short story. I hope you enjoy~~   Christmas Eve at Old Ft. Bowie\u00a0 by Lyn Cote Gazing out at the scrub-covered mountains, Emmeline dabbed her eyes.\u00a0 …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[904],"tags":[619,905,808],"class_list":["post-6040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-flash-fiction","tag-christmas","tag-mail-order-bride","tag-western-romance"],"yoast_head":"\nChristmas Eve at Old Ft. 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