New Beginnings Spring 20 Book Box Set

by Hope Sinclair

  The front porch overlooked the entirety of the hundred-acre orchard, which seemed to sprawl as far as the eye could see. In honor of the orchard’s star crop, the front porch was adorned with a pair of cherry-red rocking chairs, and that’s where Peter and Dylan took a seat.

  Dylan’s eyes got lost looking out toward the sea of cherry trees. The spring season had made the trees ripe with pale pink flowers, and soon the pastel petals would litter the grass, until the entire orchard was blanketed in a layer of soft, velvety pink snow.

  “Tell me what’s going on, Dylan,” Peter said sternly. He didn’t like beating around the bush, and he certainly didn’t like his friend’s strange demeanor.

  “There are some rumors that are spreading around town,” Dylan disclosed reluctantly. “Rumors about Sue.”

  “What sort of rumors?” Peter wanted to know.

  “They’re not good,” Dylan shook his head. “Rumors about… indecent behavior.”

  Peter’s face turned bright red. He understood exactly what Dylan was implying, and it made him furious. He wasn’t furious with Dylan, rather he was furious that the rumors existed in the first place. “Who told you this?” Peter demanded.

  “I overheard some of the workers talking in the field this morning,” Dylan admitted. “But I’ve also been hearing things back in town…”

  “I don’t understand.” Peter shook his head. “Where is this all coming from? Who started these rumors?”

  “I wish I could tell you that,” Dylan said. “But I’ve also heard that Sue has been making a lot of friends around town. At least, she’s been trying to…”

  “What are you implying?” Peter snapped. His anger multiplied, and he felt rage boil under the bone of his brow.

  “I’m not implying anything!” Dylan squeaked. “I’m just telling you what I’ve heard… I thought you had a right to know.”

  Peter clenched his jaw together. His hands were balled into fists, and when he looked out at the orchard, instead of seeing pink, he just saw pure red. “You should leave,” Peter said swiftly. “Tell everyone else to go home for the day, too.”

  “Peter—”

  “I just need some time to process what you’ve told me,” Peter said. “And more importantly, I want to talk to Sue about this.”

  “I understand.” Dylan nodded, and then he left.

  It was nearly time to meet Sue in town, but Peter was still shaking with anger. He splashed his face with cool water and took a walk around the orchard.

  It had been a long time since Peter had felt this way, but the feelings of anger and confusion triggered the memories that he had worked so hard to suppress over the years, the memories of what had gone wrong with Ellowyne.

  TEN

  The wagon ride back to the cherry orchard was the longest that Peter and Sue had gone without speaking when in each other’s company. It felt immediately abnormal to both of them, but neither felt particularly compelled to break the silence. They were both too dazed by the revelations that they had encountered earlier in the morning.

  When they finally arrived at the orchard, Peter offered a hand to help Sue down from the wagon.

  Feeling her soft hand in his struck a chord somewhere deep inside of him. It was the first time he had held her hand, and the sensation of her smooth skin was like butter melting against the heat of his angry flesh.

  “I need to talk to you about something,” he said slowly.

  “I need to talk to you about something, too,” she said.

  His eyes flicked up and his stomach sank. Immediately he feared the worst, that she had come to tell him that the rumors were true.

  Peter took a deep breath, and he held onto Sue’s hand as he guided her toward the front porch of his house. Even in that moment—when he felt like everything around him might come crumbling down in an instant—he couldn’t deny that he loved her.

  All he wanted was for Sue to tell him that the rumors weren’t true. That was all he needed. He loved this woman, and he trusted her… and if she gave him her word, that would be as good as gold to him.

  They sat on the red rocking chairs, where Peter had sat just an hour earlier with Dylan.

  Peter had imagined, many times, how it would feel to sit in the rocking chairs with Sue. He had imagined the sense of pride he would feel, showing her the orchard for the first time, and he imagined the sense of contentment he would feel, knowing that he had finally found someone to share everything with—his life, his work, his future.

  He still wanted desperately to feel all of those things… but did she?

  “Sue,” he said slowly. “It was brought to my attention earlier this morning that some… unflattering rumors have been circulating, regarding your past in Massachusetts.”

  Once he had choked out the words, he brought up his eyes to meet Sue’s. Her face was dark, and she wore the expression of a woman whose worst fears have just been confirmed.

  “I was troubled when I heard the rumors,” he said, keeping his eyes pinned on her. “But I want you to know… I don’t believe them. I’ll admit, I was scared… I had a moment of doubt. But looking into your eyes now, I see the same woman I fell in love with that day at the boat dock. I love you, Sue, and I know those things could never be true.”

  Sue’s face crumpled and she choked out a sob. “Oh, Peter!” she said. “Of course they’re not true! None of it is…”

  “I know that now,” Peter said. He felt his heart throb with guilt that he had ever doubted her in the first place. How could he have even considered that Sue might be capable of such things? His Sue?

  Sue regained her breath, then she spoke. “I think someone is spreading these rumors to hurt me,” she said slowly. Her voice was soft, like a kitten’s footsteps on snow. “Mrs. Sullivan informed me that she had been made aware of the rumors, and then she asked me to leave.”

  “She did?” Peter’s face turned into a frown, and he felt himself grow angry again. “How dare she! These rumors are completely unfounded! What justification did she have to do such a thing?”

  “She received a letter,” Sue said. Her voice was shaking.

  “A letter?” Peter repeated. Sue nodded, then she reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter that Mrs. Sullivan had given her.

  The thought of Peter reading the letter sent a pang of humiliation and revulsion through her spine, but she reminded herself of what he had just said, that he loved her, and he trusted her.

  That’s all that matters.

  She handed Peter the note, and he tore it open. His eyes had barely glanced at the page, when his face suddenly lit up with understanding. He didn’t even finish reading. Instead, he looked back up at Sue.

  “I know what this is about,” he said. “I know who wrote this letter.”

  “You do?”

  Peter nodded, and his face colored—this time with humiliation instead of embarrassment.

  “Oh, Sue,” he said. “This is all my fault. There’s something I should have told you a long time ago. I intended to, believe me, I just… couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

  “What is it, Peter?” Sue asked breathlessly.

  Peter took a deep breath, then he began, “A few years ago, I became engaged to a woman named Ellowyne Fisher,” he said.

  Sue’s brow wrinkled into a frown, but she said nothing.

  “Ellowyne happened to be the daughter of my father’s business partner, Wiley Fisher,” Peter explained. “Because of my father’s dealings with Wiley, I had known Ellowyne for several years. And, in those years, I had learned many things about her that caused me to have reservations.”

  Peter had never told this story before, and he found himself reliving the emotions as he put the experience into words.

  “One day,” he continued, “my father came to me and asked for a favor. He had gotten into some sort of dispute with Wiley—the details of which were never made clear to me—and as a resolution, the men had agreed that their children should be bound my marriage.”


  Sue frowned, but she nodded at Peter to continue with his account.

  “I was young,” Peter said. “And I was loyal to my father. I did what was asked of me, and I didn’t ask questions. I agreed to marry Ellowyne.”

  “But you didn’t love her?” Sue questioned.

  “No,” Peter admitted. “I wasn’t entering the marriage because of my love for Ellowyne, I was entering the marriage because of my loyalty to my family.”

  Sue nodded slowly, understanding.

  “A month before we were set to be married, I learned that Ellowyne had been entertaining another suitor behind my back,” Peter said. “And worse yet—she was pregnant with his child.”

  Sue gasped, and her eyes went wide.

  “I knew that there wasn’t a chance in the world that the child could be mine,” Peter assured Sue. “As far as I was concerned, Ellowyne’s purity had been uncompromised.”

  “What did you do?” Sue asked. “When the truth came out, I mean?”

  “The truth didn’t come out,” Peter said. “When I told my father that I intended to call off the wedding, he confessed to the terms of my engagement: if Ellowyne and I didn’t marry, my father would lose everything he had worked for.”

  “But you couldn’t marry Ellowyne,” Sue said. “She was pregnant with another man’s child!”

  “I didn’t know what to do,” Peter confessed. “In the end, it wasn’t my decision to make. Ellowyne fled town.”

  “Did that mean your father was out of the deal?”

  “Sadly, no,” Peter shook his head, his face wincing in pain. “My father begged Wiley to renegotiate the terms of their agreement, but Mr. Fisher wouldn’t budge. No wedding, no deal. My father lost everything.”

  “That’s not fair!” Sue protested. “It was Ellowyne’s fault…”

  “My father didn’t care. In his eyes, it was my fault. He never spoke to me again after that,” Peter shook his head. “Worse, when rumors spread that Ellowyne had fled town because of a pregnancy, all of the blame was placed on me. Everyone assumed that I had left Ellowyne alone to raise our child… and I’m positive that she has fueled those rumors over the years.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  Peter shook his head wearily and sighed. “I’m not sure what her motive is,” he said. “But I do know that she has done her best to harm my reputation in this town, and assure that I never find another bride.”

  The dawn of clarity illuminated Sue’s face, and she nodded slowly. “Is that why you looked for a bride in the Matrimonial Times?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Peter confessed. “I wanted to find someone whose opinion couldn’t be tainted by Ellowyne. I meant to tell you sooner, Sue, I swear…”

  Sue held up her hand, stopping him. “I’m not upset,” she told him. Then she glanced down at the note. “Is Ellowyne behind this?”

  “Yes.” Peter nodded again. “I recognized her handwriting as soon as I opened the letter. It’s her.”

  “How did she know about me?”

  “I’m not sure,” Peter said. “After she fled town, she continued to watch me from a distance… but I was sure she had grown tired of playing the games and given up. This letter proves otherwise.”

  “She can’t get away with this,” Sue said. “We need to stop her.”

  Peter nearly groaned, then he stopped himself. His eyes lit up, and he turned his gaze toward Sue.

  “Did you say… we?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Sue frowned. “We.”

  A smile spread across Peter’s face, and he felt like he had swallowed the sun. “You mean… you still want to marry? Even after all of that?”

  “Of course I do!” Sue gasped. “I love you!”

  Peter smiled, and he felt at peace. Whatever struggles may await him, and whatever obstacles he might encounter on the path to justice… he wasn’t afraid anymore. Because he knew that he’d be facing them with Sue by his side.

  “I think I have an idea,” Sue smiled slowly.

  “Oh really?”

  “Yes.” Sue smiled. “I think it’s time we write a letter of our own…”

  EPILOGUE

  In his prime, Mr. Wiley Fisher had been a shrewd and conniving businessman, but his instincts had softened with old age. As is the case with many sinners who have grown old enough to fear the imminence of death, the man was eager to repent for the wrongs of his past, eager to make his atonement for the pain he had brought unto others.

  It hadn’t been hard at all to convince him to publicly deny his daughter’s allegations against Sue Wilt and Peter Swift. In fact, Mr. Fisher paid a handsome sum to reserve the front page of the Hood River Gazette for the sole purpose of publicly denouncing his daughter’s claims.

  The front page caused quite the scandal—for Ellowyne, rather than Sue and Peter. And after that story ran, Ellowyne knew that she would never again be welcome in the town of Hood River.

  As for Sue and Peter… they were warmly embraced by the community, and their wedding was attended by all the townspeople.

  Sue and Peter celebrated their first harvest season as husband and wife, working side by side in the orchard. Come spring, the Swifts decided that it was time to expand. After a visit to her family’s farm in Massachusetts, Sue returned to Hood River with a parcel full of apple seeds. She planted them lovingly along an empty plot of land behind the cherry trees.

  It would take years for the seeds to grow to fruition, but that was ok. Sue had years and years to wait.

  The orchard wasn’t the only thing expanding. Shortly after planting the apple trees, Sue and Peter learned that they would soon be welcoming a new addition to their family: a baby.

  Sue was content. She was living the life she had always wanted, alongside the man of her dreams. The Lord had been good to her, and when she looked out at the cherry orchard, she couldn’t picture anything sweeter.

  THE END

  19. THE STORYTELLER’S bride

  Copyright © Hope Sinclair 2018

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher and writer except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a contemporary work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.

  For queries, comments or feedback please use the following contact details:

  hopesinclair.cleanandwholesomeromance.com

  info@cleanandwholesomeromance.com

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  Contents

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ONE

  “Bravo!” one man shouted.

  “Hooray!” another exclaimed.

  “How wonderful,” a plump older woman said as loudly as she could, wiping the tears from her eyes.

  Sally Sugar looked out at the faces in front of her, and their smiles and other pleased expressions warmed her heart. But still, she didn’t let that, or their words, go to her head.

  “Thank you,” she said politely, nodding.

  “And thank you, Miss Sugar,” a spectacled man said as he swiftly walked toward her. Once he was beside her, he smiled before turning to the audience to say more.

  “Sally Sugar will be back here in four days’ time, to tell another of her marvelous stories,” he added. “She’ll take the front of the room at two o’clock sharp. But I suggest the rest of you get here much earlier than that… We had to turn about twenty people away tonight, as there wasn’t enough room in this hall to accommodate them. So get here early, or run the risk of being left out.”

  The man tipped his head and stepped to the side, and the audience broke out into pockets of conversation.

/>   “What a moving performance,” the man said in a quieter tone, addressing Sally again. “I can’t wait till your next one.”

  “Thank you,” Sally smiled. “I can’t wait either, and I assure you it will be just as moving, if not more.”

  “I’m sure it will be,” the man replied. “Every story you’ve told here these past several weeks has been amazing.”

  Sally wasn’t a proud woman. But at this point in her vocation, she’d become accustomed to compliments and flattery, and she no longer turned red and warm when praised, but rather remained levelheaded.

  “You’re too kind,” she answered. She moved to step away, but the man moved too, to stop her.

  “I was wondering,” he said, leaning down and bringing his lips to her ear, “if you’d like to have dinner with me this evening… Or perhaps we could go back to my office and talk privately over a few thimbles of whiskey?”

  “I don’t imbibe,” Sally retorted back, pulling away from him. “And I don’t think it wise that you and I dine together either. You’ve hired me to perform here, after all, and we wouldn’t want rumors to spread that could destroy my reputation, as well as yours.”

  “Very well,” the man sighed with a frown. He went on to discuss a few practical matters with Sally, then left her to go about his business.

  The man’s name was Mr. Henry, and he was the owner of the entertainment hall in Carson City, which was well known as the premier entertainment hall in all of Nevada, if not all of the western U.S. He was a middle-aged man of average appearance and above-average wealth, and he had powerful standing in Carson City. So it wasn’t that Sally found him uninteresting or unappealing. It was just that, at this point in her profession, she’d also grown accustomed to the other types of compliments and flattery she frequently received.

  Over the past several months, as she’d taken to telling her stories in various entertainment halls, Sally had been approached by at least a dozen men, all of whom, like Mr. Henry, wanted to spend some one-on-one time with her. At first, she liked the attention, and she even entertained a few of the offers she received. But soon enough, she discovered that the men who were coming at her, and their intentions, were not honorable or sincere.