Sarah's Christmas Miracle
a short story in
Wolf Creek, Book 10:
Romancing The West is pleased to present a double feature: Wolf Creek, Book 9, A Wolf Creek Christmas, and Wolf Creek Book 10, O Deadly Night. Each volume contains six Christmas stories, all centering around Wolf Creek in 1871, written by award-winning western authors. Today, RTW features the story of western writer and radio announcer, Big Jim Williams.
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| Big Jim Williams |
Newcomer Big Jim Williams’ first Western Fictioneers stories are in part two of the new two-part Wolf Creek Christmas anthology, O Deadly Night and, The Dead of Winter, Wolf Creek book 12. His collected tales are in the audio books, The Old West, and, Tall Tales of The Old West, and single yarns in the new anthologies, Dead or Alive (La Frontera Press), and The Killer Wore Cranberry (Untreed Reed). His westerns have also appeared in Frontier Tales, Western Horseman, Texas Livestock Weekly, Rope & Wire, Cardroom Poker News, and Sniplits.
Big Jim's story:
Sarah's Christmas Miracle
Farmer Hutch Higgins — haunted by his own Civil War secrets, like many in Wolf Creek — must brave a snowstorm to find help for his sick little girl.
About Hutch Higgins
Hutch Higgins, a hardworking and respected young farmer, haunted by the ghosts of a violent Civil War past, lives quietly in a sod house with his family. On Christmas Eve, Hutch and his wife, Abigail, rush their critically-ill daughter, Sarah, believed to have pneumonia, to Wolf Creek from their remote farm. A wheel on their wagon collapses and their old horse dies near midnight during a heavy snowfall. Hurrying on foot to Wolf Creek, Hutch meets Rupe Tingley, the town drunk, who has fallen off his horse. Hutch sends the drunken Rupe to get Dr. Logan Monro, while he returns to his frightened wife, who fears an attack by Kiowa Indians who had stolen their good horses. Abigail fakes having smallpox, fires Hutch’s notched pistol, and scares off the Indians. When Doc Monro arrives at daylight he cannot explain Sarah’s miraculous recovery, thus the title, “Sarah’s Christmas Miracle.” There’s also Hutch’s surprise Christmas present for Sarah, a black-and-white pinto pony named Merlin, and a Christmas tree and snowman Hutch makes from stacked snow-covered tumbleweeds. A save-the-day, but temporally sober, Rupe Tingley, and Doc Monro, join Hutch, Abigail, and Sarah, for a wonderful Christmas morning and dinner.
I’ve created Hutch Higgins because I like the guy. At age 11, he was orphaned in Ohio, then, starving and on his own, jumped a freight train that ended up in the deep south where he spent the Civil War as a Yankee kid befriended by the notorious Rebel killer Champ Ferguson. Ferguson saved his life but made him kill for the Confederate Cause until Hutch escaped north with a notched pair of Ferguson’s deadly pistols. However, Sarah, who hates guns, used one of those pistols to drive off the Kiowa Indians who threatened her and Sarah Christmas Eve.
Dead or Alive
America's Newest Western Writers
Bring You Thrilling Tales of the West
When the law said bring 'em dead or alive, that's all some men needed to hear. Relentless, like a dog on the scent, they went where the law couldn't — or wouldn't — go, even into territory just this side of Hell. They were after robbers, murderers, and those whose crimes were too horrible to talk about.
Here for you are the works of Robert J. Conley, a Western Writers of America Spur Award winner; D.B. Jackson, a Wrangler Award winner and winner of the Will Rogers Medallion Award; W. Michael Farmer, a finalist for a Western Writers of America Spur award for best first novel and a New Mexico Book Awards Finalist for Historical Fiction; Doug Hocking, Big Jim Williams, Dave Fisher, Chris Perez, Jerry Guin, Westley Tallant and Phil Truman, Western writers who each have a unique story-telling talent.
Wolf Creek Book 9:
The Last Free Trapper
by Jory Sherman
A Savior is Born
by Meg Mims
That Time of Year
by Jerry Guin
‘Twas the Fight before Christmas
by Jacquie Rogers
A Kiowa Christmas Gift
by Troy D. Smith
Renewal of Faith
by James J. Griffin
Wolf Creek, Book 10:
Sarah’s Christmas Miracle
by Big Jim Williams
Irish Christmas at Wolf Creek
by Charlie Steel
A Home for Christmas
by Cheryl Pierson
The Angel Tree
by Chuck Tyrell
The Spirit of Hogmanay
by Clay More
O Deadly Night
by Troy D. Smith
I was intrigued as soon as I heard "Champ Ferguson"... And this is a great story. Hutch is a fine addition to our cast.
ReplyDeleteGreat story, Big Jim. I enjoyed it very much amid all that snow. Great atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading your story Big Jim.
ReplyDeleteJerry
Big Jim, I enjoyed your story very much! It kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning, because as a mother, losing a child would be the absolute worst thing that could happen. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but will say that the events you created certainly did forge the relationship between Sarah and Hutch even deeper than before. It was a wonderful story, and I truly did enjoy it. I'm looking forward to seeing more from this family.
ReplyDeleteCheryl
Jim and his characters are going to be a great addition to Wolf Creek. Glad to have you join us, Jim. Looking forward to working with you on WC Dead of Winter.
ReplyDeleteJim Griffin
Big Jim,
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading about Hutch, Abigail, and their daughter, Sarah. Sometimes a drunk like Rupe can be trusted. And good old Dr. Munro, once again comes to the rescue.
A good Christmas story!
Charlie.
Big Jim,
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading about Hutch, Abigail, and their daughter, Sarah. Sometimes a drunk like Rupe can be trusted. And good old Dr. Munro, once again comes to the rescue.
A good Christmas story!
Charlie.