by Chloe Carley
“I don’t know how to take care of children, especially not babies,” she told him, near tears once more.
“Then we’ll figure it out and ask for help, just like Lily is getting help now. No one is prepared to become a parent until they actually become one. But we’ll figure it out together.”
“You keep saying that, but you haven’t …”
“I haven’t what?”
Sara Jane looked at him and then away, fighting the urge to tell him what was really bothering her.
“Sara Jane?” He dipped his head, making sure he kept eye contact with her. “What haven’t I done?”
“You ... you said … but …” she let her voice fade away. She needed to know what lay ahead in their future, but she couldn’t get the words out.
Thankfully, it seemed that Carl was able to guess where her thoughts were. “I haven’t asked you to marry me?” When she nodded, he continued, “I’ve been waiting so as to give you time to realize I’m not marrying you for any reason other than because I’m in love with you.”
Sara Jane heard the sound of feet on the floorboards and looked up to see Gideon staring at them. “Everyone else is outside ready to head back home …”
“Give us a few minutes,” Carl told him without even looking at him.
Sara Jane met her brother’s eyes and nodded. When he turned and left, she looked at Carl. “We shouldn’t be having this conversation here, of all places.”
“Why not? You’re going to marry me before God. I would think this is the perfect place. I was going to wait until tomorrow, but now seems like the perfect time.” Carl stood up and reached into his pocket and withdrew a small fabric wrapped bundle from his pocket. He unwrapped it, and in the center lay a small band of gold.
“This belonged to my grandmother.” He sat back down and searched her eyes. “I won’t marry you until I’ve built our home, sometime this coming summer. But, Sara Jane Lawson, I don’t want there to be any questions in your mind that you belong with me. I’ve loved you for years, and while I know your brothers might want to thrash me for having those thoughts when you were just out of the schoolroom, I can’t change the way I feel about you.
“I love you and I promise to stand by you, no matter how you choose to spend your time. If you want to mend fences, I’ll learn to cook and clean. If you want to have babies, I’ll do the hunting for a time. There’s nothing we can’t do if we work together as a team.
“Will you marry me? Be my helpmate and friend? The mother of my children and shooting partner?”
Sara Jane felt her tears spill over her cheeks. “Are you sure? I’m not …”
“I don’t care what you’re not. I care only about what you are and choose to be.”
Carl lifted a hand to her cheek and then searched her eyes. “Will you marry this coming summer?”
Sara Jane swallowed and suddenly the confusion that had been plaguing her started to fade. With Carl, she wouldn’t have to worry about changing to be someone she wasn’t. He would accept her for who she was and if she wanted to learn to do new things, he would be there supporting her.
She nodded once and then he was kissing her. She forgot that they were sitting inside the church, her heart was bursting with so much joy. She didn’t even hear her pa say her name until he cleared his throat and tapped both of them on the shoulders.
Carl released her and looked nervously up at her father. He stood up, his hat in his hands as he tried to explain.
Pa shook his head and stopped him. “Just tell me if I’m going to have to go get my shotgun, or if Pastor Russell will be performing a wedding in the near future?”
“I’ve asked her, sir, but I’ve yet to hear the words from her lips.”
“Maybe because you were so busy kissing them, she couldn’t speak. Well, daughter. What say you? Gonna marry this boy and put him out of his misery? He’s been wandering around like a lovesick cow for almost a year now.”
Carl gave Pa a sheepish look. “I thought I was hiding it better than that.”
“Oh, you hid it well enough, but Pearl and me knew what was happening. We’re happy for the both of you, but I think the boy still deserves to hear the words, Sara Jane. You’ve got two minutes and then I will be coming back in here with whatever gun I can get my hands on.”
James turned and left the church and Carl pulled Sara Jane up to stand beside him. “Will you marry me?”
“I will. In the summer, you said.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Good. I have some things I want to learn before then, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to still practice enough to outshoot and outride you.”
“I hope not. Will you wear my ring now? As a symbol of the life we’re going to share together?”
“But … people don’t wear rings until after they’ve said their vows,” she whispered to him.
“We are not everyone else. You are not every other woman.” He held up the ring and she nodded and held out her hand. He slipped it over her finger and then kissed her lightly on the lips before he stepped away and pulled her from the pew. “I really don’t want your pa coming back in here with a gun.”
Sara Jane laughed and together they stepped out into the cold winter afternoon, to see their friends and family all gathered around ready to celebrate with them.
Pastor Russell met them at the bottom of the stairs and after a scolding look, he smiled. “Congratulations. I look forward to marrying the two of you when the weather is warmer.” A gust of wind threatened to remove his hat and he reached up to hold it in place and repeated, “Definitely when the weather is warmer.”
“Thank you, Pastor. Merry Christmas,” Sara Jane told him.
“And to you, Sara Jane. Merry Christmas to all of you. Get home before the storm hits and remember to celebrate the true joy of Christmas.”
*****
Christmas Day
Sara Jane watched anxiously as Lily and Jace opened her gifts. Lily was the first one to extract the baby blanket, holding it up and marveling at the stitching and delicate border that had been added. She looked at the blanket her husband opened and then sought out Sara Jane’s eyes.
“These are beautiful. Did you make these?”
Sara Jane nodded, fighting back her nerves as she waited for everyone to judge her. Lily handed the blankets around and everyone complimented Sara Jane, making her cheeks heat in embarrassment. Everyone was gathered together: the women from the boarding house, the ranch hands and family. No one judged her harshly, only giving her praise for a job well done.
Carl sat next to her and whispered, “See, you can do anything you put your mind to.”
Sara Jane watched as everyone continued to share their gifts. Scarfs that had been knitted. New gloves for the men. Packets of garden seeds for Ma, and baby clothes for the newest members of the ranch family.
It was a beautiful Christmas and supper was a mixture of good food and fellowship. As everyone sat around, their bellies full, and peace in their hearts, Sara Jane managed to slip away for a few minutes.
She headed out to the porch, tucking her hands into the pockets of her apron as the wind brought a chill to her skin. She looked up at the sky, dotted with snow clouds and only a glimpse of the sun hiding behind.
God, thank you for your gift. Thank you for the blessings in my life. So many things have happened in the last few months … I don’t even know where to begin. I never realized that my encounter with the Apache affected me so much. Carl helped me see that. I never realized that I would want to know how to cook or garden or be a mother. These last weeks … I finally figured out that I can be all of those and more. Thank you for that and everything else good in my life.
“Here you are.” Carl came up behind her, dropping her duster over her shoulders. “Am I going to always have to bring you a coat when you leave the house without one?”
Sara Jane looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Will you mind?”
Carl kissed her temple. �
�Not at all.”
“Good. I probably will leave the house without my boots a time or two as well.”
Carl turned her around and hugged her close. “What are you doing out here?”
“Saying thanks.”
She didn’t need to tell him she’d been talking to God. He seemed to know and simply nodded. “Are you finished?”
She slipped her arm around his waist and headed for the door with him. “I don’t think I’ll ever be finished giving thanks, but for now … yes.”
THE END?
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Blurb
He was the only one that had faith in her. What will he do now that they have taken her away?
Riley Sewell is a determined young woman who has been orphaned in St Louis and heads out for El Paso to reunite with her older brother. But after discovering that he has turned to crime, she intends to stop his plans and help him through Faith to find himself and live a righteous life.
Gideon Lawson is a young rancher who grew up in a loving family in Texas. Instead of helping out, he misspent years as an outlaw. After a narrow escape, he returns home to turn over a new leaf.
As they randomly meet at the edge of a river, Gideon is the only one who believes Riley’s claim that her brother’s gang is about to attack the town.
In an effort to make amends with his family, Gideon confesses his outlaw past and seeks forgiveness from his family and himself. An action that brings him closer to God and to Riley as well.
While they both develop feelings for each other, her brother and his gang arrive in town to raid it. As things begin to get dangerous, Riley’s life is endangered by a person they all trusted, causing Gideon to walk willingly into a trap to save her.
How can Riley and Gideon reunite into safety and come closer to their families?
"A Feisty Gracious Bride for the Rancher" is a stand-alone Christian Historical Romance Novel with no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after. Buy it now to discover Riley's inspirational story today!
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A Feisty Gracious Bride for the Rancher
LAWSON LEGACY: BOOK ONE
A Christian Historical Romance Novel
by
Chloe Carley
Prologue
Northern Texas, May 1856 …
Gideon Lawson, aka Red—for his dark red hair—hunkered down behind the corral, wishing he and his gang had left the area at sunrise like they’d originally planned. It was a tight fit for his broad shoulders and tall height, and he forced his legs to bend a bit further, not wanting to ruin a perfectly good hat by getting bullet holes in it.
For the last three years he’d been riding with a group of misfits that had turned into outlaws in order to survive. It wasn’t the life he’d planned for himself when he’d left his father’s ranch, but he’d learned that life didn’t always go the way you hoped. It sometimes took a drastic turn that left you feeling like you were headed for a waterfall with no way to stop. That’s what he felt like today.
For a few minutes, he allowed himself the luxury of thinking about how he’d come here. At first, he had only been a gun for hire. Gideon had enlisted him to search for other outlaws, excited over the adventures he was going to have. Rustlers had been killing and stealing cattle from a ranch down by where Arizona and Texas met. He’d loved the excitement and the hint of danger, and with his sharp shooting skills, it hadn’t taken long to apprehend the outlaws and hand them over to the authorities.
That’s when things had taken a wrong turn. His skills had no longer been needed and he’d set out for the next town, hoping to find similar work. He’d come up with nothing. He’d hooked up with his current friends outside of town, and together, they’d tried to make a life for themselves--but with no jobs, no lands, and no prospects, things had gotten bad. So bad, that two of his new friends had robbed a stagecoach, killing the driver and terrorizing the passengers. Gideon had been horrified when he’d ridden into town a few days later and found all four of them were `wanted for the murder and robbery.
He’d hightailed it back to their camp with a posse hot on his tail. Thus had begun two years of criminal behavior. Stagecoaches had been robbed, wagon trains had been detoured and robbed, and the four friends had become a tight knit group of outlaws, roving the Texas countryside and trying to survive. It wasn’t the life Gideon had ever dreamed of having, but it was his only means of survival. Gideon had left his father’s ranch, abandoning his birthright and his brother, in search of fame and fortune in the untamed territories of the Wild West.
The dime store novels he’d been reading about Marshalls and Texas Rangers had blinded him to the harsh realities that awaited him. Feeling like a failure, and ashamed of his criminal actions, he slink back home. He didn’t think he could bear to see the disappointment in his parents’ eyes.
“Red, they’ve got us pinned down,” Lou called from behind a cluster of rocks. They were currently at a small homestead cabin with a box canyon behind them.
Red pulled his thoughts back to saving his backside, turned around, and peered over the wood of the corral, ducking down when a bullet shattered the post mere inches from his head.
He pulled off his hat, looking for holes, and breathed a sigh of relief when he found none. “Boys, we’re going to need to make a run for it.”
“How are we supposed to do that? The horses are on the other side of that lynch mob,” Hobbs pointed out. The man was the oldest of the bunch and had seen his fair share of gunfights before he’d hooked up with Gideon and the others. Dark, weathered skin told of the hard life he’d led; the black braids spoke of a Mexican heritage common in these parts of Texas. Hobbs’ mother had been from Mexico and had fallen in love with a cavalryman. He spoke fluent Spanish and more often than not was mistaken for an Indian until people got right up close to him. He was a good fella to have around and was full of wisdom about living off of the land.
“Well?” Hobbs demanded, waiting for Red's orders.
Red was their unofficial leader and he felt a responsibility to come up with a plan to get them out of this pickle. They’d been lying low since robbing the stagecoach headed for Santa Fe over a week ago. They’d thought they were in the clear, but Hobbs had ridden into town the day before and then raced back with news that a lynch mob had been formed and was thundering after them. He thought he’d gotten away without anyone seeing him, but the presence of the lynch mob here this early in the morning told a different story.
“Hobbs, you and Lou go around to the east. I’ll make a dash for those trees and draw their fire. Grab the horses and Finn, and I will climb out of the canyon and meet you at the river by the washout.”
Hobbs gave him a dubious look, but a fresh volley of bullets provided all the motivation he needed. He crawled to where Lou was taking shelter and once he’d explained the plan, he nodded at Red.
Red took a deep breath and then fixed his eyes on the trees where Finn was hiding. The spot was only about thirty yards off, but he’d be dodging bullets the entire way.
He cracked his neck and bolted for the trees, his long legs eating up the distance. Bullets hit the dirt all around him, sending up shards of rock pelting his body as they returned to the ground.
A sharp pain in his shoulder told him he’d taken a bullet, but he didn’t have time to stop and evaluate the injury. He still needed to reach the shelter of the trees so that the others could get to the horses. He dove the last ten feet. His breathing rushing out as he hit the dirt hard, but he turned his head at the last moment and saw Hobbs and Lou silently leading their horses away.
“Red, are you plum crazy?” Finn asked.
“It was all part of the plan,” Red told him. “They’ve got the horses free. We need to make a run for the back of the canyon and climb our way out of here.”