Blessed With a New Beginning: An Inspirational Historical Romance Book

by Lilah Rivers

  “Ah, yes. I thought that might be the one. It is my favorite as well,” he said.

  After looked at a few silhouettes, they came up with a design and Clementine was quite satisfied with what she imagined for the final product. From there, Wriggley sent her on her way, promising to have it finished as quickly as possible.

  Clementine left with her heart full to bursting with excitement. She couldn’t imagine how exciting it was going to be to wear the dress for the first time. All she could think about was how wonderful her aunt was and how grateful she was for this amazing gift.

  But just as Clementine was nearing the edge of town, she saw Tabitha coming towards her with that awkward, determined gait. She looked around for a moment, hoping that it was someone else that Tabitha was coming for, but there was nobody. It was definitely her.

  “Hey!” Tabitha shouted, sounding angry.

  On instinct, Clementine looked around again, this time to make sure that nobody saw Tabitha yelling at her for some inexplicable reason.

  “Tabitha? How are you?” Clementine asked in as polite a manner as she could ascribe.

  “You don’t need to pretend to greet me like we’re friends,” Tabitha said, rather abruptly. Her rudeness continued to astound Clementine.

  “Okay, I’m sorry,” she said, somewhat timidly.

  “I just want to warn you to stay away from my betrothed,” Tabitha insisted.

  “Your betrothed?” Clementine asked.

  “Yes, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t deny it. You keep away from him. I know what sort of games girls like you might play and I am in no mood for it,” Tabitha said.

  Clementine took in a deep breath, trying to steady herself.

  “Miss Tabitha, I’m afraid I don’t understand. I haven’t been after anyone’s betrothed. I don’t even know who your betrothed is. Remember? You didn’t tell us. So how can I know if I am interacting with him?” she tried to reason.

  “You can say what you like, but I know what you’re doing. I saw you laughing with him after church,” Tabitha said.

  Clementine’s eyebrows squished together.

  After church? She had only really interacted with David, Hank, her Aunt, and Chelsea after church. So for men, that was only David and Hank.

  While she had spoken with Hank a little bit, she also knew that he was not interested in Tabitha. Not only that, but they had a pretty ugly history of her caring for him and it had ended with her being rather bitter.

  Which left David.

  Had she been a fool? Was there any chance that David and Tabitha were interested in one another?

  Clementine was sure that it had to be a misunderstanding, but the frightening presence of Tabitha before her left little possibility for any peace to be found in this matter.

  “I am afraid that I have to deny knowing what you’re speaking of, but I do apologize if I have offended you in any way,” Clementine said. “I never meant to and I will do my best to stay out of your way.”

  “You had better. I’m not looking for anyone to get in my way. I know that he is a good man, but he has told me how he feels and I know that our hearts are united. You don’t need to question it, just know that I would appreciate you staying far away from him and letting me live my life without your interference,” Tabitha said.

  Still, Clementine had no idea what this was all about, but she nodded in agreement.

  “Yes, certainly. I will stay out of your way,” she promised.

  With that, Tabitha walked away, no other words appearing to be necessary.

  Clementine watched her go for a moment, wishing she had some idea as to what Tabitha was thinking or what all of this meant. But without another word, she went on her way and tried to keep the joy she had about the dress. That had to be enough for now.

  Chapter 16

  “Thank you,” David said, handing Clementine his empty plate.

  Dinner was coming to an end and he was tired, but not so tired that he couldn’t give her a last smile of the day.

  “You’re welcome,” she said, sheepishly looking at the plate instead of his face.

  David left the house and walked back behind it to his own.

  He appreciated the amount of space he had in his small house back behind the main one. Mrs. Roberta certainly took care of him and Hank, giving them such decent lodgings.

  Thinking about the past few days, and the encouragement from Mrs. Roberta to pursue her niece, David couldn’t get Clementine out of his mind.

  He really wanted to do this, to pursue her. And if he was going to, perhaps this was the time after all.

  David readied himself for bed and, before long, was under the blanket and drifting into a deep and wonderful sleep.

  ***

  David shot straight up in the bed, his back rigid and his eyes open and burning.

  Something was wrong.

  It took a moment for him to adjust and realize that he smelled it. Smoke. Not from within his house, but outside.

  He leapt out of the bed and drew back the curtain of his window.

  There it was. The barn. Ablaze.

  As quickly as he was able David threw on his trousers, not bothering to change his sleep shirt. He rushed out of the door on firm legs, determined to get to the barn as quickly as possible and try to put out the fire.

  No one else was around. He was the only one.

  “Hank!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. “Hank!”

  David continued, shouting as he filled a bucket from the spigot and tried to douse the flames. But the barn was enormous and nearly half of the roof had already caught fire.

  “Ha-” he began, but a throat full of smoke caused him to cease his shouting and begin to splutter, coughing without being able to catch his breath.

  The fire was not going to be put out with ease and it was spreading fast.

  David changed his course and ran inside where the horses were neighing and kicking. He let rushed to the end underneath where the flames were the worst, knowing that the roof could cave in at any moment.

  It was merciful that there were fewer horses there, at the back, and that some of the stalls were used for mere storage.

  He opened the little wooden doors, one at a time, and the horses ran out as quickly as their legs would take them.

  When he had almost finished, with only two horses left, part of the burning roof collapsed into the barn. He quickly finished his work and got the last two horses free.

  “David!” he heard, shouted from outside as another part of the roof fell in.

  “I’m here!” he shouted back, running out of the barn.

  There was Hank, working hard to help put out the fire.

  “I was so afraid that you were under the collapse,” he said, rushing to fill another bucket of water. “I saw the horses coming out and knew that you must be inside.”

  “I’m okay. All the horses are free. But we have to get this under control!” he yelled over the sound of the roaring flames and cracking tinder.

  They got to work, trying to get the water on the roof, but it was difficult work and David knew he had little choice. Grabbing the ladder, he climbed up, having Hank hand him a full bucket when he was halfway to the top.

  It wouldn’t be enough. He couldn’t do it alone from up here and it was going to take far more work to stop the fire.

  “Hank, I’m coming for another bucket,” he said.

  Hank was filling them as quickly as he could, but David reached the bottom of the ladder to explain his plan.

  “I’m going to wet as much as I can around the fire, but I need you to take buckets along the barn, try to soak the wood at the edges of the flames. I will keep coming up and down-”

  “The barn!” The scream was heard coming from the main house. Mrs. Roberta was running, followed by Clementine, rushing after her.

  “Don’t get too close, Aunt Roberta!” Clementine called.

  “We have to put it out,” Mrs. Roberta cried in horror.
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br />   “Yes, we do. I need your help. Mrs. Roberta, help Hank soak the wood. Miss Clementine, I need you to bring me buckets of water while I’m up on the ladder. Before long, this thing is going to spread and I won’t be able to go up there,” he said in a rush.

  Everyone went to work as fast as they could. Clementine handed him buckets full of water that he could see were a strain on her arms. Nevertheless, she would bring one, climb up just a couple of steps to get it closer and he would take it from her and dump it on the roof, getting the wood as wet as possible to prevent the fire spreading.

  It was not long before David realized that he wasn’t going to be safe up there anymore. Mercifully, the plan was working and the fire appeared to at least be somewhat contained.

  He climbed down and pulled back the ladder, setting it on the ground.

  “Help me inside,” he said to Clementine who followed him as he worked to put out the flames that had fallen in from the roof and which were starting to torch the stables.

  The outer walls were wet enough from the work done by Hank and Mrs. Roberta that he wasn’t as concerned about them. But the flames were eating up horse supplies and David had to get the fire out before it reached the haystack they used for feed.

  “Here,” Clementine said, getting him another bucket of water. Yes, it was hard for her; he could tell how pained her arms were. But she was doing all she could nevertheless.

  Soon, Mrs. Roberta and Hank were doing their part, filling more buckets and bringing them until they had managed to get the flames out inside the barn.

  As the fire fizzled to an end, David looked up at the roof, the exposed stars, and the moon overhead.

  It would have been beautiful if it were not for all of this terrible damage.

  For a moment, the four were silent, looking at the barn, the sky, each other. Their breathing was heavy, but not as heavy as their hearts.

  “I should retrieve the horses,” David said, taking a step towards the barn door.

  “No. No, leave it for morning,” Mrs. Roberta said, her body shaking.

  “I don’t mind,” he said.

  “Well, I do,” she replied, her eyes wide with dismay. “I need to know that the three of you are all right. That’s all I care about right now. Come inside. I’ll make us some coffee,” she said.

  David nodded and followed Hank and Clementine as they all went into the main house.

  Everyone was still in shock. There was so much that needed to be done. The horses had to be gathered up. They had to see the extent of the damage inside and out. They needed to get to work on repairs.

  But David realized that all of this was going to have to wait until morning. Mrs. Roberta wouldn’t have it any other way than that.

  They made their way to the house and had a seat in the living room.

  David hung his head in his hands, brushing his fingers through his hair to try and smooth it back. He didn’t know what to say at that point.

  Clementine and Mrs. Roberta silently made coffee in the kitchen while he and Hank sat, forlorn and alone.

  There was nothing said, not a sound made save for the pot boiling as the coffee grounds simmered in the water. They could hear it from the living room, but after the noise of the fire, everything was too quiet.

  David tried to think of something, anything that he could say to bring a bit of hope, but nothing came to his mind.

  “All right, here’s the coffee,” Mrs. Roberta said, coming into the living room, followed by her niece.

  The four sat with their mugs, waiting for someone else to speak first.

  Finally, Mrs. Roberta spoke up.

  “Now, I know that we have had a dreadful time this evening. I know that it will not be easy over these next few days, but we will all work together. This is a chance for all of us to be helping out and I won’t accept any excuses,” she said. “Not that I would expect any from you three.”

  David nodded.

  “We are here to help,” he said.

  “I know you are, and I thank the good Lord for that. Hank, would you please give a prayer of thanks that none of us was harmed? And that the horses are all right, wherever they are?” she asked.

  Hank nodded and bowed his head, each of them following suit.

  “Dear Lord, we thank you for your good and perfect gifts. We thank you for this ranch, this barn that we have, this house. We thank you for Mrs. Roberta, for Miss Clementine, for Mr. David, and myself, for the team that the four of us make. We thank you that not a one of us was harmed.

  “Lord, we ask for your help and provision in the coming days. You know that we are week and we know that you are strong. Please help us to lean on your strength, to move forward, to repair the barn and to find the horses and get everything back together. Amen.”

  The other three echoed the ‘amen’ and drank their coffee quietly.

  “So, tomorrow, David will gather the horses. Hank will look in the barn and see how extensive the damage is to the stalls, as well as how much equipment we have lost. Clementine, you will cook as usual, but in between meals, please assist Hank,” Mrs. Roberta said.

  “Yes, of course,” Clementine said.

  “I will be with you all at first light, but following that, I need to go into town and speak with Mr. Hopkins at the bank. I should like to know how much money there is for the sake of repair,” she said.

  “That is a wise idea. It will help you decide what the next steps ought to be,” Hank said.

  David didn’t comment, as he had only been there a short time. Of course, he hoped that Mrs. Roberta would have enough to cover all the damage and still run the home and pay their salaries, but he had no idea what her finances were like and didn’t wish to come across as though he was being greedy.

  “Yes, well, I just hope that our work here at the ranch will be enough to keep us going. Anyway, is anyone going to be able to get some sleep? If you can, please do. We ought to start an hour past sunrise,” she said.

  “Not before?” David asked, worried for the horses.

  “Not before. Not if you can sleep. If you cannot sleep, then you may get to work, but I would really prefer it if everyone was fairly well rested before going out there and trying to be heroes,” she said.

  David and Hank agreed to try and get some rest, but by the time David got into his bed, his anxiety was getting the better of him. He wanted to get out there and find those horses.

  More than that, the fire didn’t sit well with him. There was no telling what might have caused it. There, in the middle of the night, a fire that raged the way it did? He couldn’t imagine what might have been the spark to bring it all aflame like that.

  Something wasn’t right about it. And David was determined to find out exactly what that was.

  Chapter 17

  Clementine had just started cooking lunch when her aunt arrived home.

  “Aunt Roberta, are you all right?” she asked, seeing the distress on her aunt’s face.