by Ava Winters
Luisa turned to her. “I was actually going to ask you the same thing.”
“I’m fine with it,” Amanda responded. “I promise.”
“Then I’m fine with it, too.” Luisa smiled.
As they watched Stefan and Ian work with the horse, Amanda and Luisa began to make plans for their wedding. They both agreed that they would choose their own wedding dresses. Amanda mentioned that she didn’t want to invite very many people, just their families and close friends, and Luisa agreed.
When the men were finally done working with the horse, they joined Amanda and Luisa. Stefan took her hand and dragged her away from the paddock, but not before giving her a quick kiss.
“When do you volunteer at the orphanage again?” Stefan asked.
“I’m not sure,” Amanda said. “I haven’t made any plans for going there yet.”
“There is one more thing that I’d like to talk to you about,” Stefan said.
“What is it?”
“I would like to consider the idea of adopting Hyrum.” He said the words quickly, as if he was afraid that she might not agree. Amanda stared at Stefan, not sure that she heard him correctly. For a long moment, Amanda didn’t answer.
“I know that it probably isn’t a good idea to add a child to a new marriage, especially with an orphan boy. If you don’t want to, that is fine.”
Amanda smiled at him. “When I first met Hyrum a few weeks ago, I was surprised how much he reminded me of you.”
“What do you mean?”
“He has the same color of hair and eyes as you for one, but it was also his personality.”
As she had watched Stefan interact with Hyrum, it had made her think of Stefan as a young boy. How different would his life had been if a family who had really cared about him adopt him?
“I think it is a fine idea that we adopt Hyrum,” Amanda said with a grin.
A huge smile spread across Stefan’s face and he pulled her into his arms. “Great. We should go to the orphanage and make arrangements as soon as possible.”
“Would we get him now?” Amanda asked, not sure if that would be a good idea. She knew that Stefan was going to be leaving with Ian in a few days to go back to Thunder Valley Ranch until the wedding. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to care for the boy, as well as plan a wedding so quickly.
“Let’s see what Mrs. Reynolds suggests. Since I’ll be heading back to Ian’s ranch before the wedding, I don’t know if it would be a good idea to take him with me. Maybe they would be willing to keep Hyrum at the orphanage until we get married.”
Stefan took her hands into his. “Are you sure about this, Amanda? I don’t want you to feel pressured. We can wait until after we are married and settled, if you think that would be better. Or we can just forget about the idea.”
“No, I don’t want to wait. And I do want to adopt him. He’s a good kid and I think is going to get lost if he’s left in an orphanage.”
“I agree,” Stefan nodded. “Let’s go talk to Mrs. Reynolds before I need to leave.”
Suddenly, the mood changed between them. Stefan pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her. “I love you, Amanda.”
Tears immediately flooded Amanda’s eyes at his words.
“I never really knew what love was, until I met you,” he continued.
“I love you too,” Amanda whispered. This time it was her turn to lift her mouth to his. The kiss that they shared, as a light wind blew fall leaves around them, seemed to seal their love together.
THE END?
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Blurb
When he found her hidden in his ranch he didn't know that his life would change forever. How will Samantha and Jensen's forbidden love survive?
Samantha Loche is a strong and brave woman. She managed to escape the fire that killed her parents and now she is trying to start a new life. Motivated by revenge, she wants the man responsible for this to pay.
Jensen Reaves has always been a straight-laced, follow-the-rules kind of guy. Being the first-born son to a wealthy ranching family, he is facing an arranged marriage but he longs for freedom.
Their seemingly unrelated paths will suddenly cross and change both their lives forever when one night Jensen finds scared Samantha hiding out in his barn.
As the two are closing in on the people responsible for Samantha's tragedy, they will reveal an unimaginable scheme that may tear them apart or unite them forever.
Caught between love and duty, can a romance so pure resist to burst in flames?
The Rancher’s Unexpected Love
STAND-ALONE NOVEL
A Western Historical Romance Novel
by
Ava Winters
Chapter 1
Coughing furiously, Samantha stumbled forward until she fell.
Her knees hit the ground hard. Writhing, she turned to find the flames shooting up into the sky, bright against the sunset. Horror clung to her bones as she tried to breathe, and her eyes watered so badly she could hardly see. But she could see the fire, and she watched, terrified, as the roof caved in.
Samantha’s throat was too hoarse to scream. Clutching one hand to her neck, she tried to scoot farther away. She could still feel the heat licking at her boots as she struggled to collect herself. The stench of everything burning flooded her senses.
She had to keep crawling. Trying to not think about what had just happened, she shakily forced herself to move. That’s what her parents had wanted. They had pushed her out the window and had told her to keep moving. To not give up.
“Don’t give up,” she reminded herself. It ended in a painful cough.
Her lungs hurt. The burn on her leg hurt. Crawling through the dirt hurt her hands and knees. Everything hurt and ached and throbbed.
But she couldn’t stop. She wouldn’t stop. Samantha blinked the sweat away as her vision began to clear.
When a tree appeared in her path, she shakily used the low branches to pull herself up. It took a moment of wavering and clutching the bark for her to feel steady enough to take a step without falling over. She tested her strength. When she didn’t fall over after two steps, Samantha knew she would be fine.
So she started to run. Though she stumbled in the dark, she knew it wasn’t far. And the fear kept her moving. Down the street she hurried, out of the town square and around the shops to the streets lined with houses. She went to the outskirts of town and finally came upon her family’s cabin.
It was dark and lonely, waiting for them.
Adrenaline rushed through her body, though her throat was parched from the fire. There weren’t any more tears to shed, not yet. Breathlessly, Samantha stumbled into the house with one goal in mind. She had to run out of town. She had to escape. There was no time to waste. Go far away, they had told her, and don’t give up.
With a shaky breath, Samantha stumbled across the small house into her parents’ room. She was suddenly glad for the smoke still choking her, leaving her unable to smell the familiar scent of her mother and father. There were no more tears to cry. She had to keep moving.
Trying to stay focused, she fell once more down on her knees and inched herself u
nder the bed. Her eyes squeezed tight for a minute as she remembered how she’d climbed out of a narrow window only an hour ago. She was tall, she was thin – it used to annoy her. But now, it had saved her life.
“Focus.” She gritted her teeth. Breathing shakily, Samantha stretched and began rapping her knuckles against the floorboards. One by one, she made her way across the floor until she heard it. A hollow thud. She grunted in satisfaction and reached with both bands to claw the board out of the way.
Reaching into the hole below, she found a jar. Samantha grabbed it and slid out from under the bed. She didn’t like being trapped in small spaces. Shuddering, she turned towards the moonlight streaming through the open window and glanced at the jar. It was filled with an old pocketbook and money. Just like her parents had told her.
She’d rather have her parents back than the money.
Gritting her teeth, Samantha tried to concentrate. She grabbed the lid and, after fumbling with it for a minute, managed to pull it off. The money was counted in a hurry. Every couple of seconds, she glanced towards the doorway, worried she had been followed.
They didn’t know she was still alive. They couldn’t. But she couldn’t convince herself that she was safe. Not yet. A lump formed in her throat as she counted seventy-two dollars.
Samantha licked her lips as she glanced over the pocketbook. Her father’s handwriting was terrible; she had been joking with him about it just hours earlier. Closing her eyes, she tucked it against her chest and held it for a second.
But she had been there too long. Inhaling sharply, she buried the book amongst the dollars and put them in the bag. This was her chance at securing justice for her parents. But she could only put it to use if she escaped to safety.
As she pulled herself up to her feet, she momentarily staggered. Something had stabbed her shin. Glancing down, she found a splinter right where the burn was. Speechless from the pain, Samantha weakly forced herself to pull it out. It was large enough that it wasn’t hard. She wiped away the blood with a sniff.
The splinter reminded her of a bad one she’d received when she was a child helping with her parents’ first store. Both of them had wiped away her tears and sang a little song to make her feel better. They had told her how brave she was. Just like they had told her how brave she had to be for them a short while ago, when they’d helped her out the window.
A tear trickled down her cheek and she hiccupped. Perhaps she wasn’t out of tears like she had thought. Samantha inhaled unsteadily and wiped the fresh tears away with her sleeve.
She couldn’t think about that. Not about the fire, not about the fear she had seen in her parents’ eyes. Samantha tried to wipe the terrible images out of her mind. There wasn’t time to dwell on the horror. Time for grieving would come, she attempted to convince herself, but it wasn’t now.
Now, she had to keep herself alive.
Only by Samantha’s staying alive could her parents have justice. Only by staying alive could she learn the truth of what had happened to her parents and tell everyone what had happened. The world had to know the truth. Someday.
Taking her mother’s drawstring bag off the wall, Samantha dumped her things inside. She grabbed a bonnet and tucked that in, as well. Her eyes scanned the room before she rushed into her own room to look it over one more time. For a minute, she considered taking more clothes or boots or something. Anything that might bring her comfort.
But anything else might slow her down. The lump returned to her throat.
Gritting her teeth, she knew what she had to do. And she knew if she wanted to keep moving, she couldn’t be slowed down by unnecessary items. She looked through the cabin one last time but decided against taking anything else.
She had to make it to Baker’s Creek. That would be a safe place away from the town. It was the nearest town, where her parents had told her to go. Get out, take the money, and leave town. Go north. Or was it south? Samantha could still hear them shouting in her ear, struggling to be heard over the flames.
A light sweat broke out over her face as she remembered the heat and horror, and for a minute, she couldn’t breathe. Stepping back, she ran into a wall, and the shock reminded her to focus. There was no more time to waste. It was time to go.
Stumbling out of the house, Samantha glanced around. Her breath was still shaky, and she gulped several times as she searched for any movement. Glancing back, she carefully locked the door and stepped off the porch. The sun had finished setting and it was dark now. Very dark. There was no moon in the sky and the clouds covered most of the stars, including the north star.
She blinked several times and licked her lips. They still tasted like ash. But she didn’t choke this time.
Her eyes searched for anything recognizable. When they adjusted, she could see the landscape before her. There were the houses nearby, and the dying flames in the distance. No one had stopped it from burning. The lump in her throat itched, but she knew there was nothing she could do. Not now, anyway, and not yet.
Not too far away, she noticed the livery stables. She considered finding a horse, or at least borrowing one. Samantha took a step forward but hesitated. After all, she didn’t know how to ride.
A horse would help her move much faster – but only if she could stay on top. How hard could it be to figure it out? Her grip tightened on the bag, but she forced herself to take a step back.
He would know. If she showed herself in town, if anyone knew she had taken a horse, he would know that she wasn’t dead. Her heartbeat grew so loud that it deafened her.
They had to think she was dead. That was the only way. If he suspected that she hadn’t died, that she had somehow escaped, then he would be looking for her. And he would be waiting. He would expect her to try to escape town, and of course, she would need a horse.
A sob escaped her lips before she could help it. Hurriedly, Samantha clamped her hand over her mouth. And she didn’t make another sound. Choking down the fear, she forced herself to take a step back. Then another step, and another.
The smell of burnt timber hung heavily in the air. Her gaze drifted across the town she had called home for the last three years. It wasn’t the best home, but it had been home, nonetheless. Especially with her mama and her papa. They had made a life for themselves out there.
“I’m so sorry,” she whimpered. She wanted to collapse in a heap again and cry. She wanted her parents to see the bloody burn on her shin and sing her a silly song to make her feel better. She wanted the sun to rise, and she wanted to wake up from this nightmare. “It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry, Mama. Papa…”
She should have been able to do something. Anything. They shouldn’t have died. She should have been able to do something. To go find help, to cut the wall down, to do anything necessary to save her parents. They were the only family she had, the only people in her life. But now, they were gone. Even if the flames hadn’t swallowed them whole, the ceiling had caved in. She wasn’t so foolish to believe they could have survived.
Wiping away the last of her tears, Samantha inhaled a quavering breath and forced herself to turn away. It was time to leave town. She had to find Baker’s Creek. Though she wasn’t quite certain what she would do when she arrived, she would sort it out then.
Somehow, she would bring her parents the justice they deserved. They would not have died in vain. And the man who did this to her family would not walk free. He wouldn’t escape the terrible crime he had committed. She couldn’t let such a thing happen.
