Melinda and the Wild West

Copyright © Linda Weaver Clarke, 2006. Second
Edition, 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission in writing
from the author. Recording of this work for the handicapped is
permitted.

Red Mountain Shadows Publishing

Cover Design by Serena Clarke

Melinda and the Wild West

By Linda Weaver Clarke

Smashwords Edition

Names, characters, places, and incidents are
the product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is purely
coincidental.

A Family Saga in Bear Lake, Idaho

(Sweet Romances)

Melinda and the Wild West

Edith and the Mysterious Stranger

Jenny’s Dream

Sarah’s Special Gift

Elena, Woman of Courage

The Adventures of John and Julia Evans

(Mystery/Adventure)

Anasazi Intrigue

Mayan Intrigue

Montezuma Intrigue

Desert Intrigue

Non-Fiction Ebooks

Writing Your Family Legacy

Reflections of the Heart

To the memory of Gilbert
and Sarah Weaver (1835–1909), my great-great-grandparents, the
first pioneers who settled Paris, Idaho.

Melinda wanted to do some good in the world.
Perhaps make a difference in someone’s life. Maybe she could do
some good by teaching school in southern Idaho in a small town. She
had dreamed of going out West to visit her aunt and see how wild it
really was. She had heard stories of outlaws, seen pictures of the
scenery in books, and now her dream was coming true. She was going
to teach school and board with her Aunt Martha. Melinda was
floating on a cloud. Life couldn’t be better.

It was 1896 and women were more independent than
ever before. She had gone to college to be a teacher at a time when
women weren’t encouraged to do so. She fought for her rights and
received a degree at the age of twenty-six. Now she was on a train
headed for Paris, Idaho.

The train slowed down and she could see the
terminal up ahead. Peering out the window, she searched for her
aunt and uncle as the train came to a screeching stop.

Melinda picked up her carpetbag and carefully
walked down the steps of the train, holding her skirt up so she
would not step on them. As she stepped down to the ground, the
attendants and men at the terminal stared. It had been a long time
since they had seen a lady like her come into town. Melinda was a
strikingly beautiful woman with eyes as green as emeralds. She was
an unusually tall and slender woman, which caused many a head to
turn.

Melinda wiped a stray curl
from her brow and nervously smoothed a few wrinkles from her dress
with her hand. She was dressed in a violet muslin dress that was
gathered at the shoulder with puffed sleeves to the elbow and a
lace collar. To add to the elegance of her dress, she had plenty of
petticoats beneath to give body to her skirts, which accentuated
the slimness of her figure. Her creamy skin and slender throat were
empha
sized by her dark auburn hair, which was loosely piled
upon her head with three tortoise shell combs holding it in
place.

“Who are you looking for, ma’am?” the train
attendant asked as he placed her trunk beside her.

“My aunt and uncle. They were going to meet
me here.”

“Melinda!” Aunt Martha’s voice rang from the
far end of the terminal. She ran toward her and they met with
outspread arms.

Uncle William followed slowly behind with a
smile as he watched the two women embrace. He was a short, round,
heavy man with a salt-and-pepper mustache and thin graying hair. He
was a jovial fellow and was loved by all.

Aunt Martha was a slender woman and was as
tall as her husband, about medium height. Her hair was gray and
placed upon her head in a loose bun and she had a twinkle in her
eyes.

After hugging one another, Aunt Martha
asked, “Is this all of your luggage?”

“No, the attendant is coming with two more
trunks.”

“Two more?” Uncle William gasped. “Sure hope
they fit in our little carriage.”

After loading the three trunks, they headed
down the street for home. Aunt Martha smiled as she put an arm
around Melinda’s shoulders. “Melinda, it is so nice to see you. You
have really grown since I last saw you. My, you are so beautiful. I
just knew you would be, even after seeing you at fourteen years
old. You just had to be. The young men here enjoy dancing and I
know that you will not be sitting on the sidelines at the dance
socials, that’s for sure.”

Melinda blushed. She felt embarrassed from
her aunts compliments.

“The train terminal is in Montpelier, but we
live in a little community called Paris, just ten miles south of
here. That’s where you’ll teach.” Martha waved toward the mountains
with excitement as she continued. “This little valley is located in
the tops of the Rocky Mountains. It’s quite lovely, set between
these mountains with a large lake nearby called Bear Lake. It’s
only ten miles south of Paris.”

“Bear Lake?”

“Yes.” Excitement seemed to fill every fiber of
her being, simply because her beloved niece was finally here, a
dream she had long awaited. “It’s named after the bears that roam
around here. It was originally called ‘Black Bear Lake’ because of
all the black bears. But we’ve just shortened it to ‘Bear Lake.’
It’s seven-and-a-half miles wide and twenty miles long. Also, we
have something that other lakes don’t have and that’s the little
Bonneville Cisco fish and the great Bear Lake Monster.”

Melinda laughed. Her mother had told her about
the Bear Lake Monster, an old Indian legend. It was hiding away in
the depths of the Bear Lake.

“Hey,” said Martha. “Don’t be laughing. Many a
person has seen that ole monster. It’s just like the one in
Scotland. You know, the Loch Ness Monster.”

Melinda held back her laughter as she listened
to her aunt.

Uncle William gave Martha a sidelong glance
and chuckled jovially. He could tell that his wife was excited to
tell Melinda everything about the area. He gave her a hug and
Martha leaned against his shoulder and squeezed his arm
lovingly.

After traveling over a dusty and bumpy road,
they arrived at their home in Paris, near the West Mountains. Uncle
William took the trunks out of the carriage and put them in the
spare bedroom upstairs while Aunt Martha showed Melinda around the
house.

Martha’s house was a
comfortable and charming home. The living room had an attractive
fireplace with a sofa and four soft chairs placed evenly around the
fireplace, and a piano was set on the opposite end of the room.
There was a white-framed door that led into a large roomy kitchen
with a table and six chairs. A staircase with a white railing led
up to the bedrooms. As Melinda ascended the stairs, she noticed
pictures of family members hanging on the wall of the staircase
that were placed evenly apart. She realized that her aunt
was
meticulous in all that she did.

After Melinda freshened up, she put on a simple
pink-flowered muslin dress and Aunt Martha took her to the tiny
one-room schoolhouse that was located in the center of town. It was
a quaint, wood-framed schoolhouse and she noticed that it had a
fresh coat of white paint.

Melinda reverently walked up the steps of the
schoolhouse and opened the door. When she entered, the floor
squeaked under her feet. She looked around and saw that the desks
were lined up evenly in four rows with five desks in each row. The
wooden desks each had a hole in the upper right hand corner for a
glass inkwell. Right away, Melinda thought she would have to assign
someone the job of “inkwell monitor.” This person would keep the
inkwells filled. She smiled as she noticed a few blue stains on the
wooden floor where some of the ink had spilled.

Next, Martha decided to show Melinda their
magnificent lake. As they rode, Melinda was in awe at the majestic
Rocky Mountains before her. The jagged cliffs were magnificent and
she could not take her eyes off the inspiring view. The flat, rich
meadowland spread out for miles and miles between the mountains,
exhibiting more shades of green and yellow than she could ever have
imagined; and among all this were patches of bright red Indian
paintbrush that seemed to set the land on fire. She had never seen
such splendid scenery in her life, and certainly not something as
grand as this. She was used to the city life with all its hustle
and bustle, the street noises, and the towering buildings.

They passed acres of
farmland, and she saw hundreds of cattle that were grazing in
fenced pastures. When they came upon the lake, her eyes widened at
its beautiful aqua color. It was not the color of the blue sky, but
the most beautiful pristine aqua color that she had ever seen in
her life and it shimmered as the sun sparkled upon it.
Peacefulness overtook her as she listened to the
waves softly lapping against the shoreline.

Melinda realized that she would need to explore
this valley with short walks each day. This was now her new
home.

The following morning, Melinda took a stroll along
the countryside to enjoy the fresh air. She knew she would not have
much spare time after school started because of the
responsibilities as a teacher. It did not take long until she found
a lush and beautiful field with a cool stream nearby. So, lifting
her skirts, she carefully climbed the fence so she could
investigate this beautiful scenery.

Melinda felt a freedom she had never felt
before. As the breeze gently brushed past her cheeks, she suddenly
felt an exuberant need to run. Lifting up her skirts, she ran
through the field toward the stream, where she tossed aside her
shoes and socks. Melinda gathered her skirts with her left hand and
held them up as she walked down the middle of the stream, her right
hand poised to keep her balance. The fresh, cool water trickled
against her ankles and it felt so refreshing.

Melinda stopped for a moment and watched a
couple of birds flying and swooping in the air, chasing one
another. Is this a form of courtship or are they having a lover’s
spat, she wondered. The thought made her laugh out loud and her
long eyelashes seemed to flirt with the breeze as she waded through
the stream.

Melinda noticed the ditch curved to the
right. Looking up, she was startled to see someone watching her in
the middle of her reverie. She stopped abruptly where she was and
her lips parted with surprise. She brushed a loose curl from her
eyes with the back of her hand and smiled.

In a most subdued manner, she said,
“Hello.”

The man stared at her with piercing brown
eyes, as if he were searching for an explanation. He was an
imposing figure, six-foot-two inches tall and every inch of him was
muscle. He had broad shoulders, dark brown hair, and was ruggedly
handsome. His arms were tanned from the sun and his shirt could not
hide the bulging muscles rippling across his shoulders and
chest.

He looked about thirty years of age and the
sight of him took her breath away. His thumbs were tucked behind
his belt as he stood watching her and he had a slight smile on his
face, as if he were amused.

Here she was, a grown woman, wading in a
stream of water. She was so embarrassed. Suddenly she felt warmth
creep into her face. Melinda worried that she might have intruded
somehow. Feeling a bit intimidated by his stature and muscular
build, she tried to get her courage up. She took a deep breath and
then plunged in with her first question.

“Have I trespassed onto private property,
sir? If so, I didn’t mean to.” She waved a hand in the direction
she came from and explained, “I climbed the fence back there. I
guess I should have known better.”

When the man realized he was staring, he
looked embarrassed about it and quickly answered in a soft, deep
voice. “No, no. It’s all right. My cows graze in this pasture and I
was going to round them up for milking. I’m sorry if I startled
you.”

Melinda noticed that his tone was apologetic
and could not think of a thing to say.

“Don’t worry. Everything’s fine. Please stay
as long as you like.”