Blessed With a New Beginning: An Inspirational Historical Romance Book

by Lilah Rivers

  She shook her head softly, but fought off the tears that were obviously threatening to come.

  “What is it? What happened in town?” Clementine asked.

  “I had hoped that we might have enough money to replace everything that was damaged. I know Hank is still going through the barn and seeing what all exactly that might be, but I know that it will cost more than what I have there in the bank,” she said.

  “What about the money that we make at the ranch? All the beef that you sell?” Clementine asked.

  Aunt Roberta looked at her as if she was crazy.

  “You think it’s enough to pay for this kind of thing? Not nearly. Not ever. The truth is, we live in a small town and, although this is the biggest ranch, it’s not the only one. All the neighboring towns have their own cattle ranches anyway, so it’s not as though I can sell to them either,” she said.

  Clementine hadn’t thought about any of this. It was frightening to consider. But if they couldn’t afford to replace all of the equipment and the barn needed extensive repair, there really weren’t a whole lot of options for them.

  “What are you going to do, then?” she asked.

  “All I can do is pray that the Lord will provide. Provide people to buy my beef, provide second hand equipment, all that kind of stuff. Otherwise, I honestly don’t know how we can make it. The truth is, Clementine, my only other option would be to sell the ranch,” she said.

  Clementine could see the agony in Aunt Roberta’s face, just mentioning the possibility of having to sell. It was clear that this was the very last thing that she wanted.

  But even for Clementine it was a dreadful thought. In only a little over a month, the ranch had come to be her home. Aunt Roberta, Hank, and David were like her family here. It was an arrangement that she didn’t think she could lose, even though she knew that Aunt Roberta would never leave her on her own.

  “We can’t let that happen,” Clementine said with sincerity.

  “No, we really can’t. I couldn’t bear it. But I also don’t know what other choices I might have. You see, without the supplies, we are stuck. Most of what was stored in there was important for our work,” she said.

  Clementine nodded, listening intently. She knew nothing about ranching, but she could understand how important the supplies must have been and the fact that it was dire not having them now.

  The two of them sat, Clementine stirring a pot of beef and bean soup, wondering what the next few months were going to look like.

  She was anxious, and she knew that Aunt Roberta was as well. There wasn’t much that could be said, at the end of the day. They were stuck, trying to figure out what options there might be.

  “Do you think we could pray right now?” Clementine asked.

  “I’d like that,” Aunt Robert nodded, not looking at her directly.

  Clementine took her aunt’s hands in her own, knowing the soup would be just fine simmering for a while. She bowed her head, closed her eyes, and knew that seeking the Lord was the only thing for it.

  “Dear Lord, we come before you in all of your magnificence. We give you all the glory for who you are and how you love us. Lord, this is a tough time. We have heard this devastating news. But we know that you are sovereign and you are aware of what is to come and how things will be brought together,” Clementine prayed.

  “We pray for the provisions that Aunt Roberta mentioned, Lord. We pray that you would provide us with the finances to continue and the supplies to keep the ranch running. We know that we have no right to ask for more than you have given to us, but we also know that your Word urges us to come to you with our needs. So, Lord, we ask for these things.

  “Thank you, God, for hearing our prayers. Always, every day. Thank you for loving us. Amen.”

  Aunt Roberta gave a small smile as she opened her eyes and Clementine watched the lines in her forehead smooth.

  “Thank you, my dear. I know that God has heard our prayer. Whatever he chooses to do with it, we will live in obedience. He is good, even if he says no,” Aunt Roberta said.

  Clementine nodded enthusiastically.

  “Yes, he is! His will and plan is greater than ours. So, while we pray in faith, we will keep it in mind that he is good no matter what,” Clementine said.

  They sat a little longer and Clementine stirred the pot now and then.

  “You know, I can try to pay you back for the gown. Or maybe I could even sell it once we have it. I think it’s too late to go back to Mr. Wriggley and tell him I don’t want it because he has already begun the work, but it could be a good way to get some money,” Clementine offered.

  Aunt Roberta shook her head and pursed her lips.

  “What are you talking about? I didn’t say I was so desperate that I would undo a gift like that,” she said.

  “I know, but-”

  “But nothing,” Aunt Roberta said. “That gown is yours. You look beautiful and I want you to keep it.”

  Clementine nodded. She was grateful for her aunt’s generosity, even if she did feel a little bit guilty.

  “I think it’s about ready,” she said, finally.

  “Wonderful. I will call the boys,” Aunt Roberta said.

  The two men came in and Clementine prepared everyone’s dish. The morose atmosphere was unfortunate, but Clementine was confident that it would come to an end once they were all seated and were able to discuss what progress the men had made.

  “Have you done another count of the horses, David?” Aunt Roberta asked, once they were all seated with the bowls in their hands and a chunk of bread by their sides.

  “Every last one of them, Mrs. Roberta. We got all of them rounded up,” he said.

  Clementine admired that he said we although everyone knew that he had done it himself. It was a humble way of expressing gratitude for the whole team of them. He really was a man who thought about more than just his own skin.

  Aunt Roberta exhaled with a cheer.

  “Oh, I am delighted to hear that. I was worried about Lady. You know, she’s older than the others and I thought she might not make it,” Aunt Roberta said.

  “Lady is doing just fine. She is in the pen with the other horses. Every last one of them is doing well. I think they were a bit spooked is all,” David said.

  “I can imagine so. Just think if you were a beast like they are and you didn’t know what that raging, hot thing was coming for you? It sounds like an utter nightmare,” Aunt Roberta said with a shiver.

  “But they are all right now. That’s what matters,” David said.

  “Yes, I suppose it is. Anyway, thank you for finding all of them,” Aunt Roberta said, although her mood was still quite sad, apparently unable to get her mind off the horses and the fear they must have felt.

  The other question still hung in the air and they all turned to Hank.

  His eyes were wide, aware that he would have to answer in regards to his findings as he looked through the rubble.

  Clementine had been with him earlier in the day, trying to siphon through the charcoal and scraps. What she realized was that she knew very little about ranching. Still, she did what she could and pulled out pieces, helping with some of the items that would have been harder for Hank to get at with his balance.

  “I’m afraid it doesn’t look very good in terms of what’s needing replaced, Mrs. Roberta. Honestly, there’s a lot there. I’m still working on it, but I’m trying to add up what I think it’s going to cost to replace everything and…it doesn’t look good,” he said again.

  Aunt Roberta nodded, understanding.

  “That’s about what I expected,” she said.

  “I’m so sorry,” Hank said.

  “Why? Did you cause the fire?” she asked, knowing very well that he hadn’t done.

  “I can still be sorry. I’m sorry that I don’t have better news and I’m sorry that any of this happened. And for the life of me, I still haven’t found an answer to that question. I didn’t see anything that could have caused i
t,” he said.

  “Yes, that was my other fear…” Aunt Roberta said.

  Clementine looked at her worried Aunt. If Roberta suspected something in particular, she wasn’t about to say what it was. Regardless, whatever had caused the fire was clearly out of their hands for now.

  “Well, Hank, why don’t you show me what all you’ve gone through,” Aunt Roberta suggested, setting her empty bowl on the table and standing. Hank followed suit and they were out the door quickly enough, ready to inspect the damages.

  Clementine looked at David and realized he was looking back at her, his eyes filled to the brim with concern.

  “We need to find out what caused the fire,” he said.

  “Agreed. But we also need to figure out how we can keep the ranch going. I don’t know hardly any of that supplies, aside from the saddles, but I know that there is a lot more money burned up to charcoal than there is in Aunt Roberta’s bank,” Clementine said.

  “I know. It’s pretty bad damage. She wasn’t exaggerating, as much as I wish I could say that she was,” David told her.

  “You saw it?” Clementine asked.

  David nodded. “Yes, after I got the last of the horses, I went to check in with Hank. You were already in here cooking. I saw how much was destroyed and I know that a lot of those tools and equipment are not cheap. I mean, it’s going to be tough enough to repair the roof, much less to replace all of that.”

  “How do we go about repairing the roof?” Clementine asked, having noticed that this was secondary in everyone’s minds.

  “It’s going to be tough. But at least Hank and I can do it, with a little bit of help from men in town. I mean, Hank can’t go up the ladder, but he can do lots of other things to help if me and a couple other men are up there,” he said.

  “Is that going to cost much?” she asked.

  “The labor will. The lumber we can get off the ranch property, up there on the hill,” he said, gesturing towards the direction that Aunt Roberta’s property went off to, covered in trees and forest.

  “Well, that’s a relief at least. I mean about the lumber. It won’t cost anything,” she said.

  “Yeah, but we’re going to need a new saw. That one had a wooden handle and it burned clean up,” he told her.

  Clementine sighed, thinking that it was as if everything had fallen apart. Nothing was going right.

  “I don’t know how Aunt Roberta is going to manage all of this,” Clementine said.

  David reached out and then stopped, as if he was going to rest his hand on hers before he caught himself. She looked up at him and they locked eyes for a moment, but he pulled his hand back and, finally, looked away, shyly.

  “She’s strong. I know that she will figure something out,” he said.

  “Yes, you’re right. I shouldn’t doubt her,” Clementine said.

  “I think you have her strength, as well. Between the two of you, there’s nothing that isn’t going to get accomplished. I’m sure of it,” David said.

  Clementine’s heart warmed at his words.

  He had saved the day in so many ways. Not only had he been the first out there to start trying to save the barn, but he got the horses out and then for them all, he gave hope and support where it was needed most.

  David Brown was a man who could capture her attention even if she didn’t want him to. But Clementine watched him with interest, knowing that she really did enjoy seeing him.

  He was the only one who still appeared to think that good could come out of all of this. And until they were all back on track to hope, Clementine could rest in that.

  Chapter 18

  David lifted one of the rakes and dropped it again. Everything that had been made with wood was unusable now.

  “I wish I had an idea, any idea at all, what we could do with all of this,” Hank said.

  “So do I,” David replied.

  David looked around once more, feeling overwhelmed. It was going to take an eternity to go through everything and figure out what was what. He didn’t know if he would ever be able to actually get the work finished.

  “Talk to me about something while we look through all of this. Anything, I don’t mind what it is. I just need to get my thoughts elsewhere as we scavenge,” David said.

  Hank paused in his own searching through items as if trying to decide whether or not he would share some piece of information.

  “All right. Well, I guess I can tell you that things are going better with Reverend St. Claire,” he said.

  “Really?” David asked, his spirit brightening immediately. “When did this happen?”

  “Well, it hasn’t happened as of yet. I mean, it’s not as though he has given me permission to marry Chelsea. But he has been kinder and more open to the idea of it,” Hank said.

  “That’s still progress,” David said.

  “Exactly. He even apologized to me for that day he came yelling at me. I’m still not clear what it was that had caused all of that, but at least he felt bad enough about it to say he was sorry,” Hank said.

  “That’s great news,” David said.

  “Yeah…well, it was,” Hank said, his voice taking on a new hint of sadness.

  “What do you mean by that? Why is it not still great news?” David asked.

  Hank sighed, loudly and with enough frustration to tell David that there was really something unpleasant happening here.

  “Well, look around us. Look at all of this. It’s burnt to a crisp. We’ve lost near enough everything that could have made us profitable. Half the barn is gone, and the roof and stables. Just because she’s still got most of her walls doesn’t mean she’s going to be easy to fix,” Hank said.

  “I know, but that’s a different issue. We don’t have to worry about the barn if we have good news about the Reverend. Remember? I didn’t want to think about the barn,” David said.

  “But that’s just the thing,” Hank said. “For me, the two are very much intertwined.”

  “How’s that?” David asked, not seeing the connection.

  “The Reverend’s concern about me is that I can’t provide for Chelsea. But the fact is, I have this job, proving that I can. But think about it, David. If Mrs. Roberta sells the ranch, if things go bad here, who’s going to hire me?” he asked.

  David hadn’t ever thought about that. He had never had to think about something like that and losing his own position.

  “No one is going to hire a crippled rancher who can only do half the work. And I don’t know how to do anything else,” Hank said.

  “I’m sure you could still find work somewhere,” David said.

  “Don’t be so sure. I’m doubtful about it. I can’t think of a single place. There are a few other ranches around, but they’re all full of workers and would never replace one of their own with the likes of me,” Hank said.

  “You don’t know that. People in town know you. And there is still plenty that you can do and do well,” David said, trying to be encouraging.

  “You’re very kind and all, but I just can’t see it your way. You know as well as I do that I’m right. Thank you for being hopeful, but this is the world that we live in,” Hank said, sighing once more.