Belle's Crossing

"Belle's Crossing"
B. J. Betts
Tornado Alley Publications
Prairie Rose Publications
September 2014
Kindle $ 0.99
60 pages

In 1909, three beautiful teenaged daughters spent their time preparing for a dance. With all the teasing and primping they quickly turned their household into temporary chaos. With this loving and caring family, they were delighted with the enthusiasm and were content to know that the girls would be safe being that they were together.

This was the annual dance and for their sister, Rosie, it would be her first time being allowed to attend a dance. The thrill of growing up and included with her older sisters made her nervous but also exciting as a new chapter in her life was about to open.

On their way home from the dance, Katy, Susie, and Rosie Clark died in an unfortunate accident while crossing a train track in the swampy area known as Big Lake Park in the rural area of northern Council Bluffs, Iowa on Halloween Night. Was it an accident or was it someone's idea of a prank?

If people die under unsettling circumstances does it mean their spirits are unsettled? What would allow them to rest in peace? Can they become angels waiting for destiny to fulfill their purpose

One hundred years later, Laynee Rodgers has almost an identical accident. However, she lived due to the help of three women who were dressed in old clothes. Who were these women? Where did they go? Why did they need to save her?

"Belle's Crossing" excels in bringing the past to life. In this haunting short story, the reader feels as if they are with accompanying Laynee with her investigation into the past. The history of past traditions and practices into Beggar's Night perfectly educates as well as delights in the tale by local storyteller, B. J. Betts.

B.J. Betts is Council Bluffs' born and raised while now residing close-by in Missouri Valley. She has published two novels Saigon Moon reflecting on the Vietnam War mixed with romance and Echoes in the Night also about two brothers who were drafted to fight in Vietnam. She is active in the Romance Writers of America and also the Romance Writers of the Heartland.

For a quick romantic story, B. J. Betts “Belle's Crossing” tells a haunting and memorable tale.