by Linda Bridey
Ben bowed his head. “The hole in my soul is the loss of my fiancée. I did and said some horrible things to her and now she wants nothing to do with me. I’m miserable without her but I don’t know how to get through to her or make her see that I’ll never hurt her like that again. That I’m the kind of man she needs and deserves.”
“Come pray with me, Ben. We’ll start simple and pray that her heart can be softened so that she’ll be willing to hear you out,” John said.
Ben looked at him in surprise. “You can pray for that kind of thing?”
“You can pray for anything you like, Ben. The Lord hears every prayer that we send up. I’ll show you. Come to the altar with me,” John said.
Ben hesitated as he looked at the pastor. He wasn’t sure about praying. He’d never done it before, not in any real sense, anyway. The prayers he’d said in church as a child were said because it was part of the service, but he’d never meant them or liked saying them. Would this be different? Would it do any good? Would he really be heard? Ben was desperate and was suddenly moved to give prayer a try.
Pastor John waited until Ben moved. The doctor went with him to the altar and knelt by the pastor.
Chapter Twenty
Christmas Eve found Sasha at the Samuels ranch. She was spending the night so she would already be there for Christmas day. Remembering the wonderful time they’d had last year, she looked forward to the day with great anticipation. The only thing missing was the man she still loved.
As she sat outside on the swing on Dean and Tessa’s porch, Sasha thought about how much she missed him; his voice, his laugh, his touch, and the conversations they’ had about all sorts of things. She knew he was going through a very trying time, but that didn’t excuse his behavior. Was she being too hard on him? Sasha dismissed that thought.
She kept her heart hardened towards Ben. He’d said he’d quit drinking to avoid that part of his personality emerging again, but could she trust that? Sasha was afraid to try. She kept hearing the cruel, vile things he’d said to her and she didn’t want to put herself in a position to be treated like that again.
As though she’d conjured him, Ben rode up the drive to the house. Immediately Sasha rose to go in the house.
“Sasha! Please don’t run from me,” Ben said as he quickly dismounted and ran to her. He lightly took her arm. “Sasha, I need you to hear me out. Please.”
Sasha looked into his eyes and saw his misery and something else that she couldn’t define. That he was hurting as much as she was reached her a little. Perhaps if she heard him out he would go away for good and she would be left in peace so her heart could heal.
“All right. I’ll listen, but nothing more,” Sasha said, and looked pointedly at his hand on her arm.
Ben let it go and cleared his throat. “Thank you,” he said. “I am so ashamed of my behavior that night. I don’t remember a whole lot of what went on, but what I do remember makes me sick. I hate myself for the despicable things I said to you and how I treated you. The fact that I was drunk is no excuse, but had I been sober, it would have never happened.”
“Do you really believe that, Ben?” Sasha said. “There’s a part of you that is so bitter, so angry, Ben, and it scares me… The other part of you, the man I fell in love with, is wonderful. But after what I went through with Ken, I’m not going to let myself get stuck in that kind of situation.”
Ben said, “You wouldn’t be. I swear it, Sasha. I haven’t touched alcohol since that night and I promise that I never will again. I can’t trust myself to have just one. I’m working on that undesirable part of me, too. Pastor John has been helping me with that.”
That shocked Sasha. “Pastor John?”
“Yes. You’re right Sasha; I am an angry person. I’ve kept so much hurt locked away for so long that it caused a part of me to become twisted and vicious. That’s why I liked fighting so much. It gave me a chance to get that anger out of my system in a constructive way. I’ve realized that the fighting only eased it for a short time, however.
“The fact that I liked hurting other people shows how much I’ve buried my anger at my parents. I’ve always harbored hate for my father and what he did to our family. I’ve always been angry that they didn’t love us. Not in the way that parents are supposed to love their children. I’m trying to let all of that go, to not let it rule my life anymore, Sasha,” Ben said.
Sasha nodded. “You need to, Ben. The same way I need to let go of the things Ken did to me.”
Ben looked into the eyes that he loved so much and said, “Sasha, please take me back. I love you and I need you. You are truly the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I don’t think I can go on without you.”
He further shocked Sasha by going down on both knees. “I’m begging for your forgiveness, Sasha. I will never treat you like that again. You’re the most wonderful woman I have ever met and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and have a family with you. I’m praying that my hand heals so I can operate again, but even if it doesn’t, I can still be a doctor and help people. You were right about that, and I should have listened to you.” He took her hand and pressed it to his cheek. “Please, Sasha. Please forgive me. You’ll never regret it.”
When Sasha felt the wetness of tears against her hand, her heart began to open to him once more. For a proud man like Ben to get down on his knees and beg assured her of his sincerity.
She stepped forward and ran her other hand over his hair and then said, “Ben, please get up off the cold ground. I forgive you. Get up.”
Ben rose from his knees and said, “You forgive me?”
Sasha nodded. “Yes. I do.”
“Does that mean that you want to be with me again?” Ben asked hopefully.
“Yes, but if I’m ever the target of that other side of you again, it’ll be over. I know we’ll argue sometimes, but I couldn’t stand another round like that night,” Sasha said.
Ben smiled and said, “Never again will I hurt you like that, Sasha. Never again. I love you so much.”
His words made Sasha’s heart fill with happiness, and it skipped a few beats as she looked at his dazzling smile and desire for him burned throughout her body. “I love you, too, Ben.”
Ben pulled out her ring and held it up. “Will you do me the incredible honor of allowing me to put this back on your finger where it belongs?”
Emotion clogged her throat as it had the first time he’d asked her, and she was reduced to nodding. Ben slid the ring on her finger, put his good arm around her, and kissed her until they were both breathless.
He put his forehead against hers and said, “Thank you. I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you that you made the right choice, sugar.”
“You’d better,” Sasha said, “or I’ll sick Roscoe on you again.”
Ben began laughing and Sasha laughed with him. They were startled by applause and looked up to see a bunch of people clapping over the couple reuniting. Sasha blushed and Ben laughed and led her toward the people who’d become her new family. They were taken into the house where they were congratulated and fussed over.
As Ben looked at Sasha, he felt the last of the old anger and hate slip away as he looked forward to a future filled with joy and love. It was the best Christmas present he could ever ask for and all he would ever need. Sasha wondered if it was the spirit of Christmas that had moved her to reconcile with Ben. Whatever it was, she knew that this Christmas would be even more wonderful than the last because she had Ben by her side again. Their love renewed, they spent the festive season caught up in chaos and joy, but mostly love.
Epilogue
Sasha and Ben’s March wedding took place during a snow storm, but it never fazed the couple. All they knew was the happiness they felt about marrying their soul mate. The wedding guests weren’t worried about the inclement weather, either. They felt that attending such a jubilant occasion was worth a little discomfort.
Seth and Luke played a beautiful prelude before the
ceremony. Emily Dwyer and Zach Bradbury were once again chosen as flower girl and ring bearer and kept up a running argument the whole way down the aisle. Their parents just smiled and shook their heads.
Marcus and Jake kept Ben from panicking too much and as Sasha walked down the aisle, escorted by Dean, his nerves quieted. She was his angel, his salvation, and the love of his life.
Dean gave Sasha’s hand to Ben, kissed her cheek and sat down.
“You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, sugar,” Ben whispered to her.
She smiled and blushed as Pastor John began the service. Ben had never been as serious about anything as he was about the vows he said to her. Sasha looked into the jade green eyes of the man who was becoming her husband and saw that gentleness had replaced the edgy anger that had been there before.
Over the past several months, her faith in Ben had been restored as she saw how much he’d changed. Ben had given up bouncing and fighting at the Watering Hole. His injuries had healed very well and Ben would take no chances of anything happening to his arm and hand again. Ben knew how lucky he was and wasn’t going to tempt fate again by willingly putting his hands in jeopardy.
Although he didn’t attend church on a regular basis, Ben did play piano some Sundays and he prayed every day and thanked God for the blessings in his life. Sasha went with him those Sundays and proudly watched him play. Her own faith was growing and she knew it was because of watching the ways in which Ben had changed.
When Sasha recited her vows, Ben saw her love for him in her eyes and his breath caught in his chest as the beauty of it struck him. Their kiss was filled with passion and promises. When they turned to face the congregation, Ben heard that whisper in his ear again and he smiled. He hadn’t heard it in a while, and he’d missed it. It was a happy message that made Ben grin as he walked out of the church to begin his new life with Sasha.
Sasha wondered what Ben was smiling about and asked him.
“Wendell was just doing a little well-wishing,” he told her.
She smiled and said, “It amazes me that that keeps happening to you.”
“I’ll never be able to explain it, but I’m grateful for his presence. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be here now. Well, Mrs. Walker, let’s go celebrate, shall we?”
Sasha’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at her husband and said, “Yes, Dr. Walker, we shall.”
At the reception, Ben played the song he’d played when he’d proposed to Sasha and she cried as she sat next to him. They danced and laughed throughout the party. Later they stole away to begin their honeymoon in Georgia. Ben had decided that even though his mother had refused to come to their wedding, he wanted to introduce Sasha to her and see if he could soften his mother’s heart a little.
As they rode away in their buggy that had been decorated for the occasion, Sasha snuggled close to Ben and kissed him often. Ben had shown her that he really was the man of her dreams and that he could be counted on. She couldn’t wait until they started a family.
Snow swirled around them as they drove home, but neither one of them noticed, so caught up in each other were they. They had weathered a much worse storm, and they now rode into their future confident that together they would be able to handle whatever tempests life sent their way.
The End
Click a link below to read the next book in this series: Westward Visions #12
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Synopsis:
Sasha McCall and Dr. Ben Walker shared an instant connection when she visited Dawson, Montana before. Sasha moves to Dawson and a powerful romance develops. The Christmas season approaches but events test their love turning things dark. Can they find joy and light again?
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Linda’s other books
For Dawson Chronicles series books, click on a link below
Mistletoe Mayhem (Dawson Chronicles Book 1)
After the Storm (Dawson Chronicles Book 2)
For Echo Canyon Brides series books, click on a link below
Montana Rescue (Echo Canyon Brides Book 1)
Montana Bargain (Echo Canyon Brides: Book 2)
Montana Adventure (Echo Canyon Brides: Book 3)
Montana Luck (Echo Canyon Brides Book 4)
Montana Fire (Echo Canyon Brides Book 5)
Montana Hearts (Echo Canyon Brides Book 6)
Montana Christmas (Echo Canyon Brides Book 7)
Montana Orphan (Echo Canyon Brides Book 8)
Montana Surprise (Echo Canyon Brides Book 9)
Montana Miracle (Echo Canyon Brides Book 10)
For Westward series books, click on a link below
Westward Winds (Montana Mail Order brides Book 1) FREE BOOK
Westward Dance (Montana Mail Order brides Book 2)
Westward Bound (Montana Mail Order brides Book 3)
Westward Destiny (Montana Mail Order brides Book 4)
Westward Fortune (Montana Mail Order brides Book 5)
Westward Justice (Montana Mail Order brides Book 6)
Westward Dreams (Montana Mail Order brides Book 7)
Westward Holiday (Montana Mail Order brides Book 8)
Westward Sunrise (Montana Mail Order brides Book 9)
Westward Moon (Montana Mail Order brides Book 10)
Westward Christmas (Montana Mail Order brides Book 11)
Westward Visions (Montana Mail Order brides Book 12)
Westward Secrets (Montana Mail Order brides Book 13)
Westward Changes (Montana Mail Order brides Book 14)
Westward Heartbeat (Montana Mail Order brides Book 15)
Westward Joy (Montana Mail Order brides Book 16)
Westward Courage (Montana Mail Order brides Book 17)
Westward Spirit (Montana Mail Order brides Book 18)
Westward Fate (Montana Mail Order brides Book 19)
Westward Hope (Montana Mail Order brides Book 20)
Westward Wild (Montana Mail Order brides Book 21)
Westward Sight (Montana Mail Order brides Book 22)
Westward Horizons (Montana Mail Order brides Book 23)
Other Authors Recommended FREE Books!
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Dedication
To YOU, The reader.
Thank you for your support.
Thank you for your emails.
Thank you for your reviews.
Thank you for reading and joining me on this road.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Ch
apter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Connect With Linda
Linda’s other books
Copyright
Copyright
© 2014 by Linda Bridey
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, or places is purely coincidental.
First Printing, 2014
