Adams Mourning: A Christian Historical Romance (The Adams Series Book 1) Read online

  Adams Mourning

  A Christian Historic Romance

  Dawnya Sasse

  10TenLiving

  Contents

  1. Want A Free Book?

  2. The Real Adams, Kansas

  3. Family Ties

  4. Finding Sadie

  5. The Eaterie

  6. Office Of Law

  7. The Plan

  8. When Trouble Calls

  9. Mr. Calloway’s Secret

  10. When Dreams Come Crashing Down

  11. Faith And Hope

  12. Resurrection Day

  Epilogue

  Read The Series

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2016 by Dawnya Sasse

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or based on a truth and reinvented in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  To learn more about the author and her books visit her at www.AdamsKansas.com

  Want A Free Book?

  Dawnya is giving away a very special free book (with no strings attached). This historic cookbook contains Sarah and Sadie’s Kunz 1880s recipes (you can use today!) and exclusive mini stories about the characters within the Adam’s Series.

  Don’t wait! Grab your free book today. Visit: http://freebook.adamskansas.com

  Please, Would You Leave Me A Review?

  As an author I highly appreciate the feedback I get from my readers. If you enjoy reading this book, please leave me a review. Your effort helps other readers to make an informed decision before buying this book. Please leave a short review CLICK HERE

  Read The Whole Story:

  The Adam’s Series continues in the following books soon to be released.

  Adams Mourning

  Adam’s Poison

  Adams Windstruck

  Adams Blizzard- A Christmas Short Story

  Experience Adams For Yourself

  Read the story behind the story. Visit www.AdamsKansas.com

  The Real Adams, Kansas

  In 2007 I moved from the fastest growing city in America to a town of 1200 in the Great Plain. I wanted to help save a town and experience a great adventure. I got it.

  Life in a rural community was anything but familiar and while searching for solace I stumbled across the personal stories of many of the original women pioneers.

  In books like “Pioneer Women: Voices From The Kansas Frontier” by Joanna Stratton, I saw myself, 120 years later struggling with issues common to the pioneers. I was lonely, frustrated and often confused. I made due when supplies weren’t available. I was amazed by the power of a storm. I experienced great sacrifice and loss. I learned to truly pray.

  The result of my research was a sense of profound gratitude for the women who had gone before. I am thankful to those women who left everything, to civilize the prairie and leave a lasting legacy.

  While I no longer live in rural Kansas, I will forever hold the stories of these pioneers close to my heart. The Adams Series was written as a testament to the women who helped establish the communities of the Midwest through sheer determination and prayer.

  FREE GIFT: Visit http://freebook.adamskansas.com and download the official “Adams Cookbook” based on the 1880s recipes of Sarah and Sadie Kunz. Don’t wait. Grab it now.

  Family Ties

  Papa was dead. For six long months, grief had wrapped the unfinished building like a dark wallpaper affixed to every wall. Sarah seemed to stumble from room to room, her heart filled with bitter sorrow impossible to let go. Today, Mama was laid to rest in the same cold ground as Papa. Now, they were together again just as the tombstone read: “Together Forever.”

  Sarah sat numbly on the hard wooden bench inside the Little White Chapel. Her small gloved hands trembled with emotion as she smoothed her black crepe skirt. Mindlessly, she raised her left hand to straighten her tilting hat.

  For 19 years, her mass of fine dark hair had struggled to keep a hat on straight. Today was no different. Sarah shifted the little teardrop cap and rearranged her hair pins, taking comfort in the simple routine of life.

  Slowly, she raised the black netting of her veil and dabbed her eyes with her mother’s embroidered handkerchief. She could still smell the scent of cedar and mothballs. This was Mama’s scent. A scent she would never forget.

  Shifting in her seat, Sarah looked around the small white chapel. It was empty now, with only a few hymnals remaining on the oak benches.

  She felt alone. With Mama and Papa’s passing, her blue eyes had shed a sea of tears. Now, sitting in the silence, her mind wandered back to better times.

  Sarah was the youngest of seven children. Mama bore seven little ones but buried four along life’s way. If it hadn’t been for Papa, Mama might not have lived to be 50. She kept living for Papa. He was her life.

  Papa and Mama had raised their family in Kansas City, Missouri. Sarah completed the clan in 1870 and had always had a special place in her Father’s heart. Their large brick home lay nestled near the Kansas City Union Station because Papa loved the sound of the steam engines traveling to and fro. Someday, he promised Sarah; they would take a train west to create a new life filled with adventure. In 1888 they did just that.

  With the rest of the family grown and established, Papa packed Mama and Sarah on a train bound for central Kansas in the spring of 1888. There was no looking back. Papa sold the house and much of the furniture, and the three set out on a new beginning, one hundred and sixty miles west of Kansas City. Eventually, Papa found Adams, Kansas the perfect place for a new family home.

  Adams, an up and coming prairie community, boasted a beautiful brick courthouse and a thoroughly modern railroad station. Papa said there were possibilities as far as the eye could see.

  To Sarah, Adams appeared like a typical western town with an extensive Commercial Street that wrapped around the courthouse in a square. A combination of newly built brick buildings and wooden structures built for speed sat in rows on each side of the plaza. Most of the buildings were two stories with the business owner conveniently living above their shops.

  Adams had morphed from a trading post along the Pony Express to a railroad town in 1873. By 1888 most of the downtown was complete. The prairie town boasted five newspapers, four mercantile, two lumber stores, a barber, bathhouse, ten saloons, an Opera House, four banks, one doctor, one dentist, and a newly built boarding house. Behind the square sat a broom factory and a blacksmith.

  Adams Washington Valley was filled with homesteaders eager to make Kansas their home. Most were immigrants of German or Swedish descent who spoke little or no English. With the railroad came Chinese workers eager to labor for low pay. These Chinese workers lived together in small camps on the outskirts of Adams.

  The lack of housing combined with a rapidly growing city gave Papa a chance he had waited for. In Adams he saw a need for a boarding house and restaurant and wasted no time in making it happen. He immediately purchased the last remaining property directly across from the courthouse and began to build. Papa couldn’t believe his luck. He had been in the right place at the right time. The land was his opportunity, and he threw himself into the work.

  T
he Kunz building would be a massive four story brick structure with huge windows that overlooked the square. As plans went, it was an ambitious endeavor for Adams. The structure featured a cellar made from real concrete and a restaurant on the main floor opening onto the street. The mezzanine level offered space for five guest rooms, and the top floor would become the Kunz family’s new home.

  In June of 1889, the exterior shell was complete and work began in earnest during the heat of the summer. Then it happened. Papa’s heart gave out. One moment he was shouting and laughing with the men and the next he was falling from the ladder grabbing his shirt pocket. It was over in a moment. Papa was gone.

  Losing Papa was more than Mama could handle and she took to her bed in grief. During their years together she had buried four little ones, now she would be asked to bury her beloved husband. It was just too, too, much.

  Sarah longed to comfort her Mother and bring her hope. Letters came from home begging Mama to return to Kansas City and be near her grandchildren, but she would not go. Mama had stopped living, and there was nothing anyone could do to help change her mind.

  Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. For six long months, Mama lingered in this life, miserable and defeated. In the seventh month, she went to be with the ones she loved. Sarah felt a flood of grief followed by relief. She hated watching Mama die a slow miserable death. Those days and months had drug on for what seemed like forever.

  Sarah fingered a wrinkle on her black crepe skirt and was ushered back to the moment. Now, Mama and Papa were together again, side by side. It seemed right. Cold air swept through the wooden chapel walls, and slowly Sarah realized she was shivering.

  Outside, the December temperature dipped below 15 degrees. Sarah couldn’t stay inside these walls. She had to move forward. It was time to make decisions about her future. Somehow, she must find a reason to keep living without her beloved Papa and Mama.

  Sarah’s oldest sister, Eleanor, had made the journey to Adams with her husband and their oldest child. Eleanor, a no-nonsense woman, was bound and determined to wrap Sarah up and take her home. She was probably packing Sarah’s bags and sorting Mama’s personals right now. Her sister had long thought Papa’s ideas were foolish. The early death of her parents seemed to prove her point.

  Matthew, Eleanor’s husband, a soft-spoken, pale-faced man, placed a hand on Sarah’s shoulder. “Won’t you come and eat with us, Sarah? You are skin and bones. There’s nothing you can do right now, let’s get some food in you.”

  Sarah stood and silently followed her brother-in-law out of the church. On the bustling, wooden sidewalk men tipped their hats and women called out condolences. She nodded and smiled, appreciating each effort to comfort her profound grief.

  Within moments of entering the Harold House dining room, Eleanor took charge. She helped Sarah sit down, poured her a cup of bracing tea and placed a slice of cake in front of her. "Start with this. You always did like sweets."

  Sarah absently took a bite of the moist vanilla cake with its sweet brown sugar icing. A tear slid down her cheek as she remembered the final time she and Mama had eaten cake together. It was something they both had loved.

  Matthew cleared his throat. "Sarah, I have spoken to several of the local men. Rumor is Mr. Andrew Saner is interested in your Papa’s building. Now, we won't get what he put into it, but we will get it off our hands. Mr. Saner will contact us later today." He paused for a moment to look into Sarah's dark blue eyes. He patted her hand. ”There will be a tidy little sum, and you will have more than enough to take care of you until you find a husband."

  “As you know, Eleanor and I are happy to have you live with us. We can introduce you to men of society with the means to provide for you. You need not worry.”

  Some said Adams owed its growth to Andrew Saner. Others said Andrew Saner owed his business growth to Adams. Both statements were correct. As a railroad investor, Andrew Saner opened the doors to trade, religion, and politics as far as the eye could see. He owned three of the five newspapers and most of the buildings on Commercial Street.

  Andrew Saner sat behind his oversized mahogany desk drumming his fingers on his thigh. He was a tall, imposing man of unusual size and stature. People noticed Andrew when he came into the room. At 45, Mr. Saner was neither young enough to make careless mistakes, nor old enough to forget who had crossed him.

  Saner knew the daily pulse of Adams and made it his mission to control it. That is, until Mr. Kunz built his building, purchasing the property out from under Andrew Saner. “The building” as Andrew referred to it, was the only establishment on Commercial Street that the Saner Company didn’t own. Now, with Mr. Kunz’s passing, his daughter Sarah had it in her head that she, an unmarried woman, would run a business WITHOUT the help or guidance of Mr. Saner. This thought was a continual thorn in his side.

  Sarah stopped listening to Matthew. She did not want to sell the building. Building this business was her Papa's dream. He had talked of serving travelers from near and far for many years. He longed to live and work in the West and for years had spoken of nothing else. It was all planned out. Mama would take care of the rooms, and Sarah would do the cooking. She paused. The truth was, Sarah couldn't imagine leaving Adams and letting that building go.

  In that moment, Sarah discovered it wasn't just Papa's dream. It was her ambition too. Sarah and Papa had planned this adventure step by step since she was seven years old. It was both of their dreams, to own a family business and influence a town for the greater good.

  Together, both father and daughter, wished to contribute to a community in a positive way. Adams had potential, but it needed honest business people with a vision for its future. Hadn’t she and Papa spoke of that a hundred times over?

  Sarah’s aspiration rose, she knew this was not the time to give up.

  Finding Sadie

  It was a long week filled with discussions, arguments, and frustration. In the end, Sarah had stood her ground and won, at least for now. Eleanor and Matthew were against Sarah's desire to stay in Adams, but Papa got the last laugh. Without Sarah knowing, Papa and Mama had written a will. Papa left Sarah the building and assets to do with as she saw fit. Papa knew the rest of the family lacked his entrepreneurial spirit. He decided to put his wishes on paper to help support Sarah in her time of need.

  He wanted her to finish the work. It was the last thing Papa could give Sarah. He gave her a challenge and hope. She would not let him down. Reading the will gave Sarah a new found strength to fight. When Mr. Saner came calling, Matthew had to turn him down. The building was not for sale.

  In the end, Eleanor insisted, Sarah could only stay if a suitable companion could be found. Even in 1889, an unmarried woman could not expect to live as she pleased. Her reputation could not be open to sordid gossip. While the restaurant would go forward, the boarding house would be set aside. An unmarried woman renting upstairs rooms would send the wrong message. Sarah would complete the restaurant on the main level and live with a hand-chosen chaperone overhead.

  Sarah sighed with relief. Her long wavy hair tumbled to her waist as she methodically brushed it again and again. She was going to stay. Tonight would be the first real rest she’d experienced in many months. She had chosen her fate. She would be a business woman and carry on Papa's dream. Marriage was a future possibility, but for now, she would make her own way. This decision was a turning point and deep down it felt right.

  Finding a suitable companion, however, proved a difficult task. Still, Eleanor would not be beaten. Sarah asked her sister to find someone who could help her run the business. She was not willing to play nursemaid to an invalid widow. Sarah needed someone with determination and grit. In response, Eleanor sent a telegram to Papa's sister in law, Auntie Sadie.

  Sadie, a widow for 20 years, knew what it was like to make her way in the world, never borrowing from friends nor family. She often wrote to Papa for advice, but she had never asked for a dime.

  In the interim, Matt
hew stayed with Sarah in Adams. Together they oversaw the final construction on Papa's building. Meanwhile, Eleanor returned home to care for their six children. By March 1890 the building was complete except for stocking the shelves and hanging the sign. Soon the restaurant would be open, and Papa's dream would come true.

  

  Auntie Sadie arrived by the midnight train late March of 1889, and Sarah felt that all of the pieces of her new life were finally coming together. It had been many years since Sarah had laid eyes on Auntie Sadie, but she remembered Sadie’s gentle letters to her father. Papa was always fond of Sadie and gave her his best "wisdom" as he called it. After Obadiah’s death, the Kunz family had hoped she would remarry, but Sadie claimed she had but "one true love" and would not abandon him.

  Sadie now 47 years old had married Obadiah at 16, living longer as a widow than she had as a wife. She was a tall, lean woman with handsome features and a big bright smile. Her dark eyelashes complimented her brown eyes. She was tan but not sun worn, and her hands were calloused from hard work. She dressed quaintly in a green floral calico with a big brimmed straw hat and a funny little stuffed bird perched on the crown. Sadie had personality, and it showed.