Cowboys and Angels

Chapter One

(Author's note: Thanks for reading my book, first of all. Second of all, some parts here might be a little different than the game because I have different characters and I need to make room for them. Second of all, I'm going to give each chapter a song and a lot of them might be kinda YEE HAW country songs but it kinda fits the theme of Red Dead. Third of all, ENJOY ❤️)
this chapter's song is "Dirt" by Florida Georgia Line. I'll link it above.

1899

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The whistle of the train pulled Adeline out of her deep slumber. When she opened her eyes, the train was slowing to a stop in some station she had never seen.

"Valentine Station!" The steward announced to the rest of the car.

'Valentine... Valentine... why does that seem important?' Adeline thought to herself. She looked down at her ticket and it hit her, this was her stop. "Guess my brain hasn't woken up from that nap," she mumbled to herself. She picked up her bag and made her way out of her train compartment and into the bustling station.

This tiny town of Valentine was nothing compared to New York. People here walked slowly and leisurely whereas people in New York walked quickly and with purpose. She approached the ticket master.

"Hello, Sir!" She greeted him.

"Hello, Miss. How can I help you?"

"Would you be able to point me in the direction of Whitewater creek?" She asked.

"Whitewater? You'd leave civilization for the middle of nowhere?" The driver seemed shocked.

"I sure would." Adeline answered.

"Well if you're sure. I can point you there." He hopped off his chair and pointed just beyond the edge of town. "You'll take that road there until you come to a crossroads. Go right there and it will run you right into the creek."

"Thank you sir!"

He smiled at her and hopped back up to his seat.

Adeline took note of her new surroundings. The setting sun bathed the world around her in an orange glow as the gentle breeze moved through the tall grasses. It was almost to the point of a whisper as if the long grass moved in response to a gentle caress from the wind. It was peaceful and unnerving all at once. There was nobody around but her and the coach driver for what seemed like miles. It was so quiet.

She dead ended at the creek. She saw it. Her old home-across the creek. It sat there. The same as it was years ago- with only a few wobbly-looking boards. This is where she was born. This is where she was raised. And this is where her parents died. She looked around it before setting her small bag on the porch. She opened the door with a creak and walked in. It was empty. No people were left and what furniture was left, was nearly destroyed. She picked her bag up again and closed the door from the outside. The house wasn't ready to be stayed in yet. She would go back into town, get herself a hotel room, and buy all the materials she would need to fix it at the general goods store.

She stepped up onto the porch of the hotel and opened the door. A small bell rang as she stepped in and a clerk came running from a separate room in the back.

"Oh, a visitor!" The old man exclaimed. "Goodness, dear, how can I help you?"

Adeline was slightly taken aback by his enthusiasm but touched nevertheless because of it. "I would like a room to stay in for tonight, if there are any vacancies, please?"

The man laughed again. "If there are any vacancies," he began through a laugh. "Dear, there are always vacancies at the Valentine Hotel."

"Then I guess it is my lucky day," she said.

"That it is. I will show you to your room tonight as I am sure you are eager to get some rest and put down your bags."

"Thank you, Sir."

~~~

Later that night, Adeline sat in her small hotel room with the window open and a soft breeze blowing in.
She opened up one of her two bags from the train and pulled out an old envelope whose seal had been wrinkled from being opened and closed many times. Inside of this envelope was Adeline's most prized possessions- her only memories of her childhood. It was just outside the town of Valentine that she was born.

The envelope held a grainy daguerreotype photograph of Adeline's mother and father, standing in front of their small prairie home holding Adeline as a baby. There was also a small journal that four year old Adeline pressed wildflowers into. And lastly, Adeline's favorite part, the love letters shared between her parents before she was born.

Adeline's mother, Amelia, was a wealthy heiress from New York City who fell in love with a poor railroad worker named Joseph. Her wealthy parents, not approving of the couple, forbid them to get married. Her father joined the Union army during the civil war to save up money to support his family. When the war was finally over, the lovers eloped, moved to the town of Valentine and tried for years to have a baby.After several years of trying, Adeline was finally born.  The love letters were dated back to the Civil War when Joseph was away serving and Amelia was at home. They were romantic and a great comfort to Adeline.

Only five years after Adeline's birth, both of her parents fell ill with scarlet fever. She was taken care of by a neighbor while her parents were sick and dying so that she would not also catch it. They died shortly after, leaving young Adeline with only vague memories of them. They were buried further up the nearby mountains. Adeline was soon sent back to New York to live with her grandparents who were fair and civil towards her but never completely warmed up to her because of who her father was. They passed away from old age ten months ago and Adeline, with no one left in the world, returned to the place she knew she once called home, though she may not remember much of it. Valentine.