“No. That’s a surprise.”
“So surprising, Mama fainted again.”
Neil chuckled.
Chase walked up. “We finally found Butler.”
Olivia tried not to smile. “Where was he?”
“He was tied to the Grandfather.”
Neil looked confused, so Olivia explained, “Grandfather is a big old oak tree. Only tree around here for miles.”
Neil said, “Tying him to an oak doesn’t sound real playful.”
Chase said, “I’m not done. Picture this: He’s seated on the ground. The rope binding his wrists is connected to a long rope that is tied to one of Grandfather’s low branches. Just beyond the reach of his tied hands is a knife and a full canteen of water. Now if Butler can reach the knife he can cut himself free, but—”
“But—” Olivia echoed.
He started to grin. “On the branch that the lead rope is tied to is the biggest hornet’s nest in the state of Kansas. If Butler moves, he rattles the nest.”
Olivia began to chuckle. She felt sorry for him. Almost. “Was he stung badly?”
“No. I guess after the first few stings he was too terrified to move. He was in tears when we found him.”
Neil laughed. “Bet he wishes he’d never left Chicago.”
“Well, he’s going back. Seems your wife’s former fiancé has been embezzling funds from her father.”
Olivia was shocked. “That must have been what Papa was checking into when he went to the telegraph office yesterday.”
Neil looked confused again.
She patted his hand. “I’ll explain later.”
Neil grinned. “So can we charge him with attempted kidnapping?”
“Only after the courts in Chicago are done with him. Olivia’s father said he wants Butler prosecuted to the teeth, so it may be a while before the Illinois penal system turns him loose so we can get a chance at him.”
Olivia said, “Job well done, Sheriff.”
“Thanks, Olivia. Oh, Dix and the others headed out after we found Butler. Since Jack’s on his way to Chicago for business, he’ll make sure Butler reaches the authorities. The others said they’d all swing back this way sometime soon and bring their wives.”
Olivia thought that would be a wonderful idea.
Chase then looked out over the folks filling the ballroom. “Now I need to find my wife. She’s going to have my hide if she doesn’t get to dance at least once tonight. You two have a good evening.”
After his departure, Neil said, “Well, guess that’s everything, Madam Mayor.”
“Sounds like it.”
The orchestra started up another waltz and Neil asked, “Shall we dance?”
“I’d love to.”
As he led her out onto the floor and took her into his arms, Olivia savored his strength and his love. In the last year, she’d run away from home, been robbed by an outlaw, become a mayor, and married said outlaw. As Neil remarked yesterday, it was a strange world, and Olivia couldn’t wait to see what else it had in store. In the meantime, she looked up at the man whose life was now entwined with her own and said, “I love you, Neil July.”
He held her eyes. “I love you, too, querida….”
Author’s Note
The all-Black town of Henry Adams Kansas, is a fictional one, but the towns upon which it is based are not. Nicodemus, Kansas, was established during the Great Exodus of 1879 and at one time was the most famous Black settlement in the country. Although its population has waned in the years since its founding, Nicodemus continues to be a source of pride. It is also a national historic site.
I created Henry Adams for my first Avon novel, Night Song—Chase and Cara Lee’s story. In the ten years since its publication, I’ve received many letters asking about their fates. I hope their small role in Neil’s story satisfied that curiosity and made all the Night Song lovers smile.
We first met Neil July, Two Shafts, the Preacher, and Griffin Blake in the Taming of Jessi Rose. Griff’s brother Jackson played a small role in Marshal Dixon Wildhorse’s story, Topaz, and he had his own story told in Always and Forever.
Writing Neil’s and Olivia’s story gave me the opportunity to not only give this outlaw his own book but also to revisit the fascinating history of the Black Seminoles first explored in Topaz. Presently, the Black Seminoles of the twenty-first century are still fighting to reclaim their heritage, but like their ancestors, they are determined to prevail. One of the most interesting and complete books I’ve come across on the history of Neil’s people is Africans and Seminoles by Daniel F. Littlefield Jr, published by Banner Books, University Press of Mississippi.
Other sources that aided me in writing the history were:
William Loren Katz. Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage (New York: Atheneum /Macmillan Co., 1986).
William Loren Katz. The Black West (Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1973).
Edwin C. McReynolds. Seminoles (Norman Okla. University of Oklahoma Press, 1957).
Scott Thybony. “The Black Seminole: A Tradition of Courage,” Smithsonian 22, no. 5 (August 1991).
August Meier. Negro Thought in America: 1880–1915 (Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, 1995).
K. Porter. “The Seminole Negro-Indian Scouts, 1870–1881,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly LV, no. 3 (1952): 359–76.
For more info on the founding of the all-Black settlements and the conditions that fueled the Great Exodus of 1879, these sources are key:
Nell Irvin Painter. Exodusters: Black Migration to Kansas After Reconstruction (Lawrence, Kans.: University of Kansas Press, 1986).
Eric Foner. Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution 1863–1877 (New York: Harper and Row, 1988).
Acknowledgments
When my husband, Mark, died of cancer in November 2003, his passing shattered my world. I’d like to take a few moments to thank some of the people who helped me out of the darkness and back into the light: My family, friends, and the good people at Trinity Episcopal. The Diva whose care and concern never faltered. Debra, Donna, and Mrs. Anne Denny. Alicia. Cynthia Smith and the ladies in Peoria. Sarita Brewer and the East Coast crew—the daisies were gorgeous. My L.A. crew: Shareta, Angie, Linda, and Cheryl. The Escapade Book Club in Oaktown—thanks, Christine and Fedelies. Michele from Philly and the great ladies aka the Hotties on COL. My fans in Dallas, Atlanta, Austin, and Shreveport. Carrie Miller. Shirley Bolden and the members of the African American Book Club in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Fran in Plano. Nancy Copeland. Ava Williams and Gloria Larkins—my angels. Lareeta Robinson and the wonderful and caring ladies of Little Rock. Bette Ford, Francis Ray, Felicia Mason, Evelyn Palfrey, Bridget Anderson, and Carla Fredd took time out of their writing to send me love. Rochelle Hardy aka The First Fan, her mom, Darcy, and her sister Stacy. All the attendees of PJ 03—the prayer ring on Sunday morning strengthened me for the battle. The ladies in Beverlyland, my Yahoo Web site. Every day, no matter how bad the day had been or how heavy my burden, I knew I could log on and be soothed. They laughed with me, cried with me, and prayed with me. My agent, Nancy Yost, for her special prayers and for having my back.
Last but not least, a big thank you to my editor, Erika Tsang, and the folks at Avon for their understanding, patience, and support. Even though this book was turned in five months late, they knew what was most important.
In closing, I’m sure I left some people out, but to all of you listed above and any who were not, you are a blessing in my life. Yes, I miss Mark dearly, but as my mom’s friend Edna told me, “Wipe your tears so that you can see where God is leading you next.” Wise advice.
About the Author
BEVERLY JENKINS has received numerous awards, including three Waldenbooks Best Sellers Awards, two Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times magazine, and a Golden Pen Award from the Black Writer¹s Guild. In 1999, Ms. Jenkins was voted one of the Top Fifty Favorite African-American writers of the 20th Century by AABLC, the nations largest on-line African-Am
erican book club. To read more about Beverly, visit her website at www.beverlyjenkins.net.
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Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SOMETHING LIKE LOVE. Copyright © 2005 by Beverly Jenkins. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition January 2007 ISBN 9780061736810
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