CHARMED Boxed Set 1, Hero Hearts Historical
Inspirational Western Romance
Kate Cambridge
CHARMED Boxed Set Vol 1
This boxed set includes three clean & wholesome romance books:
Lawfully Charmed, ISBN: 978-1-947171-03-9
Reluctantly Charmed, ISBN: 978-1-947171-08-4
Patiently Charmed, ISGN: 978-1-947171-09-1
* * *
Charmed Boxed Set 1, Hero Hearts Historical Inspirational Western Romance, ISBN: 978-1-947171-10-7
Contents
Lawfully Charmed
Copyright
Introduction to Hero Hearts
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
It’s Not Quite The End & Notes!
Reluctantly Charmed
1. PRELUDE
2. ONE
3. TWO
4. THREE
5. FOUR
6. FIVE
7. SIX
8. SEVEN
9. EIGHT
10. NINE
11. TEN
12. ELEVEN
13. TWELVE
14. THIRTEEN
15. FOURTEEN
16. FIFTEEN
17. SIXTEEN
18. SEVENTEEN
19. EIGHTEEN
20. NINETEEN
21. TWENTY
22. TWENTY-ONE
23. TWENTY-TWO
24. TWENTY-THREE
25. TWENTY-FOUR
26. TWENTY-FIVE
27. TWENTY-SIX
28. TWENTY-SEVEN
29. TWENTY-EIGHT
30. TWENTY-NINE
31. THIRTY
32. THIRTY-ONE
33. THIRTY-TWO
34. THIRTY-THREE
35. THIRTY-FOUR
36. THIRTY-FIVE
37. THIRTY-SIX
38. EPILOGUE
Patiently Charmed
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
31. CIRCLE OF TRUST Bonus
About the Author
Also by Kate Cambridge
Copyright
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental. Bareglen Creek, Texas is a fictional town set near San Antonio, and part of the Heroes of Texas, a Christian Western Romance series.
Copyright 2018 by Kate Cambridge
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Property of Kate Cambridge
February 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-1-947171-03-9
Print ISBN: 978-1-947171-04-6
Dedicated to my uncle, S.L, a retired Navy SEAL who made untold sacrifices in service for our great country.
I love your heart.
You are my favorite hero.
Introduction to Hero Hearts
Welcome to Hero Hearts: historical and contemporary Christian romances featuring heroes.
Annie Boone, Kate Cambridge, Terri Grace, Misty Shae, Cat McGill and Natalie Dean have teamed up to provide you with clean romance reads about men and women who love, honor, and protect their families, all while having faith in God!
The authors of this series are committed to writing stories of faith, hope and love centered in fictional heroes who sacrifice daily to protect and save. A mix of historical and modern-day.
Our heroes and heroines promise to be both swoon-worthy and honest characters who will have you falling in love all over again.
With a mix of both contemporary and historical romance, there is something for everyone to enjoy!
These books are all written as standalone titles and can be read in any order – with the one theme that ties them together being – HERO HEARTS!
Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Bareglen Creek, TX
1885
He shifted in the saddle, his eyes scouring the landscape as though the source of the unease in the pit of his stomach would somehow manifest in the early morning horizon. Days like this didn’t end well, and he, Sheriff Sullivan “Sully” Clarke sat up straighter in his saddle, urging his mount forward. He’d learned the hard way that it was best to meet a challenge head on, and best to keep his premonitions to himself.
“Sheriff, what’s the rush?” Jim Hawarden, his deputy sheriff’s baritone voice boomed from behind him.
Sully raised his hand and pulled the reins, patting Cider’s neck as he came to a sure stop but then sidestepped and whinnied, shaking his mane. Did he sense it, too? “Easy boy.”
Jim pulled alongside, tipped his hat and wiped the sweat dripping down his face on the back of his sleeve. “Jeez, Sheriff, when are we gonna take a break?”
Sully sighed as he glanced at his deputy. Jim was just shy of his own height at six feet, and an impressive figure with dirty blonde hair that always looked like it needed a trim, and gentle brown eyes. He was a good man, but was he really cut out for this work?
He was eager to help—driven to help, even, but part of Sully believed he’d be better off full-time at his sister’s farm. The man was simply accident prone, and for a man who’d chosen Texas, he hated being out in the heat. But then again, when his sister, Mary Trost, lost her husband, she’d needed help with the small farm they’d purchased. She never could have run it alone. Jim may not love the Texas heat, but he clearly loved his sister, and his business degree and savvy is probably what saved her from having to sell.
“We’ve only been riding for an hour, J—”
A shot rang out, echoing like thunder across the hills. Cider reared as Jim’s steed raced past them without his rider. Sully fought to spin Cider around, leaped off and raced toward his deputy—now prone on the ground, a red circle sprea
ding on his chest. “Jim, Jim, can you hear me?” Fear tightened his chest as he reached his side.
His deputy groaned, opening his mouth to speak, but fell silent.
Sully felt for the pulse at his neck. It was there, but weak.
“Stay with me, buddy,” he urged as he hefted him over his shoulder. The low moan was a welcome sign that he was still alive, at least for the moment. A movement in the trees to his left caught his eye. He quickly flung Jim over the saddle, leaping up behind him in one swift move, spurring Cider on, who responded as though he’d been born to race.
He leaned forward, covering Jim’s body with his own, tightening his legs around Cider’s belly; instantly Cider ran harder and faster. A second shot rang out, this time taking Sully’s hat with it as they crested the hill and Cider flew down the backside.
Sully guided Cider along the ridge to the right, pushing him harder, backtracking toward town and out of the gunman’s sight. He glanced back to see if the gunman was in pursuit.
“Stay with me, Jim, stay with me,” he whispered in his deputy’s ear, still leaning over him as Cider pounded toward town. He wasn’t sure Jim would still be alive when they reached Doc Holloway’s, who was not to be confused with the gunslinger Doc Holliday who was in fact a dentist. But if ever there was a man who had nine lives, it was Jim Hawarden.
He found himself mentally counting the number of times Jim had been shot or injured—hoping this wasn’t number ten—as blood seeped onto the hand supporting Jim’s chest. Cider seemed to know where they needed to go as they entered town and he came to a quick stop in front of Doc’s house.
Two men rushed forward to help him, John Barker and Evan Dow. “Evan, help me get Jim into Doc’s. John, let Doc know we’re coming,” he barked, as a third man, Joseph Cane, stepped up and took Cider’s reins.
John and Sully eased Jim from the blood-soaked saddle, and the three carried him quickly inside. The look on Doc’s face spoke volumes. “Just do what you can, Doc. If ever a man could survive the impossible, it’s Jim,” Sully demanded as he turned and stormed back through the door.
He was met outside by four men on horseback, John Barker, Evan Dow, Joseph Cane, and Adra Dudley, a Texas Ranger, who held the reins to a fresh horse from the stable.
Sully’s breathing slowed as his eyes acknowledged each of the men. “Good of you to join us, Adra,” he addressed the Texas Ranger. “I don’t know who shot Jim, but from what I could tell, it appeared to be a lone gunman. He was hiding in the tree ridge just outside Kneeman’s Pass. He took a shot at me, too, narrowly missed,” he said as he absently rubbed his hat-bare head and pushed the bangs that had fallen onto his forehead back. “Now let’s go find him.”
“You’ll need a hat in this hot sun, Sheriff,” John Barker added.
“It will have to wait.”
“I’ll get one from my store and meet up with you. You headed straight to Kneeman’s Pass?” John asked.
The sheriff nodded. “Meet us there,” he said as John turned his horse north toward the store he and his wife owned. Sully addressed each of the remaining men. “I don’t have time to make this official, or give you a badge, Evan or Joseph, but for the sake of finding the man or men who shot Jim, consider yourselves deputized. You men know the way I work—I prefer to capture him if possible—but I also don’t want to lose any of you. If you’re in danger, take the first shot.”
“I’ll follow your lead with this one, Sheriff,” Adra conceded. As a Ranger, he could have demanded the lead, but that wasn’t the way he worked. Jim was one of Sheriff Sully’s men, and he deserved to lead them. All of them.
“I appreciate that, Ranger.”
“Sheriff!” A short, stocky man, Hank Adams, Deputy Sheriff, yelled as he stepped out of the jail across the street. “You just got a telegram with an urgent message. You might want to read it before you take off. Want me to join you?”
Sheriff Sully leaped onto his horse in one fluid move and kicked him into a trot, crossing the dirt street toward the jail; the other men followed. “No, Hank. Stay here and mind the town. I’ll read the telegram when I get back. Find someone who can get a message to Jim’s sister, Mary. She should be here with him.”
Hank opened his mouth as if to argue but closed it just as quick. Everyone knew there was no point in arguing with Sully when he used that tone, so he simply shrugged, turned, and sauntered back to the jail.
John Barker pulled up beside Sully and handed him a hat.
“Thanks, John. Let’s go, men.”
As they galloped past the stables, he heard Cider whinny. I wish you were with me, too, buddy, but you deserve a rest after that hard ride. Wish me luck.
Chapter 2
Philadelphia Train Station
Philadelphia, PA
“Oh, mother, seriously!”
“Claire Marie Hawarden—I am quite serious.” It was all Claire could do to not roll her eyes. “Just last week a train was robbed in Texas, and I fail to understand why you feel the need to visit with your sister now of all times. It’s dangerous.”
“Mother, we’ve been over this a thousand times, and rehashing it won’t change anything. We’ve purchased the tickets, and Mary is expecting me. You know how hard it’s been on her since losing Mike. She needs my support now more than ever.”
“She never should have gone to Texas to begin with. She belongs here in Philadelphia, and I hope you can talk some sense into her while you’re there. She could easily sell that little piece of land they call a farm and come back home to find a suitable husband. It’s bad enough that your brother Jim visited her to help out—and decided to stay!” Her mother’s raised voice had the beginnings of hysteria.
Claire bit her lip. She didn’t want to exasperate her mother further, and there was no point in trying to make her mother understand Mary’s heart in moving there to help the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word with homeless and orphaned children. If the truth were known, Claire had been more than a bit surprised when her sister decided to stay in Texas permanently. She couldn’t understand the draw to live in a land so wild and untamed—and uneducated.
“I’ll do what I can, Mother, but you know how Mary is...” She bit her lip again.
“Just promise me. Promise me, Claire, that you will return as planned in four weeks. I couldn’t bear to lose another one of my children.”
Claire took both her mother’s hands in hers and kissed her cheek lovingly. “Your children are all very much alive, Mother, and trust me— No one will have to convince me to return to Philadelphia. It’s only been a few weeks since my graduation from Bryn Mawr, and already I’m going stir crazy. I need to get back so that I can begin looking for work.”
“Hrmph. Work? You don’t need to work, darling, Edward is quite capable of taking care of you, and in fact has expressed the desire to do so several times. Why must you put off his advances? It has been a dream of your father’s and mine to connect our family with the Woodbury’s, and you must admit—Edward is a fine catch.”
“Yes, Mother, I’m well aware of Edward’s standing…” her voice trailed off, but then she brightened as the train whistle blew the final warning for boarding, a welcomed distraction to her mother’s reproach-filled eyes. “Well, I must be going or I’ll miss the train. Give father my love, and I’ll telegram as soon as I’ve arrived.”
“Don’t forget! Your father hired a sheriff to protect you once you reach Texas. Do be looking for him, won’t you?” Her mother’s voice trailed off as Claire reached the train steps, and the conductor offered a hand to help her board.
“Goodbye, Mother!” Claire waved as she turned to instruct the porter on where to deliver her baggage. Her parents had insisted on a private Pullman sleeping car, and she would likely need the space to accommodate her luggage and the gifts she’d brought for Mary.
Yes, it was adequate, if a bit small. Suddenly she was grateful she didn’t have to share this small sleeping space with a complete stranger. She tipped the porter, an
d he closed the door behind him.
She had traveled by train in the past, but never a trip so long as this. She couldn’t deny the flitter of excitement that rolled through her stomach, resulting in goose bumps across her arms. The movement of the train startled her, and she reached for the wall to steady herself as she moved toward the small window in her compartment to watch their departure.
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