Eva Rae's Song

Born just after the Civil War, Eva Rae is an old woman now, and her granddaughter wants some stories about her life.But what to tell?'There's the father who sold her into marriage at 13 to an an old Rebel who proved to be a better man than she ever expected. There's the strong and good man whose Osage blood marked her and her children for shame. And there's her life with a despicable man who harmed her family beyond measure.Certainly, there are tales of homesteading, railroading, outlaws, and deep friendships with a cantankerous boardinghouse madam and a remarkable black cowhand.But above all, there are the sins that she must face squarely: the choices she made to neglect her own children as she struggled to save a star-crossed orphaned nephew from a life of crime.Can others understand and forgive? Can she forgive herself?So Eva Rae sits, writes, and her song spills forth.