New Beginnings Spring 20 Book Box Set

by Hope Sinclair

  “Our train home leaves early tomorrow morning, and Lord only knows when we’ll return to New York. But, should you ever have any desire to come out to Montana, please consider yourself invited.”

  Rose reached into her satchel and removed an envelope. She carefully tore the envelope and handed Grace a piece of it. “This is my address,” she said. Grace took the piece of paper and put it in her own satchel, then she embraced her old friend. The two women held each other tightly, and they both cried a little.

  Rose went into the bank with Henry, to take care of their business, and Grace went back to the general store. She acquired the things she’d set out to purchase, left the store, and started to make her way back home.

  As she walked home, Grace pushed herself to remember her childhood. She called to mind some of the many times she’d played with Rose and remembered some of the “grand dreams” she’d discussed with her. She remembered some of the secrets they’d shared with each other, and some of the “shenanigans” they’d pulled off together. And, then, she remembered something that was surprisingly, eerily relevant.

  Grace remembered that, when she first met Rose, she didn’t really “like” her. They were both seven years old at the time, but they were very different. Grace was reserved and a bit shy. She mostly played with dolls and didn’t get her hands, or clothes, dirty all that often. Rose, on the other hand, was loud and melodramatic, and she preferred active, outdoor play to the “tamer” variety.

  As it was, Grace never even wanted to be friends with Rose. But, they wound up spending a lot of time together because of Rose’s mother’s work circumstances. And, in time, an unlikely, but genuine friendship developed between them. Indeed, it was the best friendship Grace had ever had in her entire life. The girls both learned a lot from each other and helped each other grow into well-rounded teenagers.

  As Grace recalled how her unlikely, wonderful relationship with Rose came to be, she couldn’t help but see how similar it was to her current situation with Jim Jasper. Just like how she hadn’t wanted to be friends with Rose, she didn’t want to marry Jim. But, perhaps, if she spent more time with Jim and got to know him better, like she’d done with Rose, she’d be pleasantly surprised by him, too, and find something even more wonderful.

  So, right then and there, Grace decided to give Jim Jasper a chance. She’d give him the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best.

  FIVE

  Heavenly Father, Grace prayed. Please help me. I have given Jim Jasper a chance. But, over a month has passed, and still, I do not love him.

  The church was silent. Grace was the only person inside it. She’d stopped by at an unconventional daytime hour, to pray and seek God’s guidance and comfort.

  Indeed, over a month had passed, and nothing “wonderful” had developed between her and Jim. If anything, she’d only found further reason to dislike him. He was often rather rude to his fellow townsfolk, over whom he felt superior; and he thought that any music, outside of the Lord’s Gospel, was wicked and distracting. He was overly frugal with his money, though he regularly bragged about how much of it he had.; and he frequently gazed lasciviously not just at Grace, but at any young, attractive woman within his sights.

  If it is Your Will that I marry Jim, so be it, Grace continued. But, if you have something else in store for me, please guide me in the right direction to find it.

  Grace recited a few familiar verses, then closed her prayer, stood up, and walked toward the back of the church. Just as she got to the door, another woman opened it and entered. The other woman was much older and appeared both stressed and impoverished. Her clothes were very dirty, and they smelled of smoke and soot.

  “I’m sorry, Miss,” the older woman said after nearly running into Grace.

  “It’s alright,” Grace smiled. “I can tell you’re eager to get in here and pray… And, I hope you get whatever you’re praying for.”

  Grace nodded at the woman and went to leave. But, the woman said something that stopped her.

  “I don’t come here to pray for anything,” she said. “I come here to thank God for all he’s given me… My house burnt down last month, but my family and I survived without any injuries. We no longer have a home, but we manage to find a dry place to sleep every night; and we all do enough odd chores to keep us from starving. We’re alive, and we’re getting by—and, for these things, I am thankful.”

  Shivers went down Grace’s spine. Her heart was warmed, and she felt compelled to help the woman.

  “I know you didn’t ask for anything,” she said, reaching into her satchel. “But, please take this.” She pulled out a small wad of money and handed it to the woman. The woman looked at her, blushed a bit, and bowed her head. “Thank you,” she said, taking the gift from Grace.

  “You’re quite welcome,” Grace replied. She started to walk out of the church… but, then, the older woman spoke up again and stopped her.

  “I can’t take this,” she said. “It isn’t—”

  “Please,” Grace interrupted. “Take it. Spend it well.”

  “No, dear,” the woman laughed. “I can’t take this… It isn’t money.” She held out a piece of paper that had been mixed in with the bills. Grace took it from her and looked down at it. It was Rose’s address—and, it gave her an idea.

  Three days later, just after midnight, Grace snuck out of her father’s house and went to the train station, to run away from New York and her problems. She was headed for Montana, to take Rose up on the open invitation she’d extended. She didn’t know what, exactly, she’d do when she got there; but she figured anything would be better than marrying Jim Jasper.

  Grace’s journey across the country was quite burdensome. Riding the rails was tough on everyone; but, it was especially tough on gals like Grace, who, despite her adventurous spirit, was a bit spoiled. Her father had always had housemaids handle the cooking and cleaning, and she barely knew how to care of herself under ordinary circumstances, let alone during travel. She hadn’t packed any food for herself, or any water. Fortunately, however, she’d brought plenty of money with her, and she was able to buy most of what she needed from others.

  As per the other burdens of travel, of course, Grace was not pleased with the cramped quarters and was annoyed by some of the passengers’ bad smells and bad habits. But, all in all, she took things in stride and kept telling herself that she’d made the right choice, and that the burdens she faced would prove worth it.

  But, as confident as she was, Grace was also nervous, for she knew that there’d be repercussions to what she’d done. Her father had basically threatened to disown her if she refused to marry Jim. But, him disowning her was one thing; and her running away was another. He was sure to be upset that she left him—and the Jaspers—without so much as an explanation, and he was sure to be angry that she’d disobeyed him in not one, but many, ways. She only hoped that he didn’t act on that anger.

  Grace’s nerves were calmed a little by some of the things she saw through the train window. She’d long dreamed of exploring different parts of the country, and now, here she was traveling through them. Her eyes, and smile, widened at the different green and manmade landscapes she saw before her as she made her way across the United States. She felt blessed to see it all, even if she had to see it all from the confines of a hot, smelly train car.

  When the train finally pulled into the station in Great Falls, Montana, Grace all but kissed the ground when she got out of the car. She was overjoyed to have arrived at her destination, and, though she knew she still had a hard course in front of her, she was eager to see what Great Falls had to offer.

  After exploring the train station for a bit and taking in the horizon, Grace went over to one of the attendants and asked if he knew how, and where, she could commission a ride to the settlement of Misty Mountain. The attendant pointed her toward a wagon some distance away, and Grace went over and paid for her passage. The driver was a little shocked to see an unmarried young woman trave
ling alone; but, nonetheless, he took her money, and she climbed into the crowded wagon.

  As the wagon progressed away from the train station to the outlying settlements, Grace couldn’t take her eyes off of her surroundings. Great Falls was so very different from New York, and she took in the differences in awe and wonder.

  By the time the wagon arrived at the settlement of Misty Mountain, it was already late afternoon, and the sun began to descend as Grace made her way from her drop off point to Rose’s homestead.

  Grace arrived at the appropriate property just after sunset. But, her heart fluttered in her chest when she saw that the house on it was dark. There was no light coming from any of its several windows. Nevertheless, Grace approached the property and knocked on the front door. Of course, there was no answer.

  The fluttering in Grace’s chest picked up pace, and her heart started pounding. In all her “nervousness” during her journey, she’d never even considered the possibility that Rose and Henry wouldn’t be there when she arrived.

  Flustered, Grace ran around to the back of the house, to try at the back door. But, along the way, she tripped over something—a rake, or, perhaps, a shovel—and she knocked over a few buckets. She survived the incident unharmed; but she didn’t clean up the mess she’d made. It was far too dark, and she was far too scared.

  Once she regained her composure, Grace continued to the back of the house and knocked on the back door… to no avail. She turned the knob, in the hopes that it was unlocked, which, it wasn’t. Then, she fumbled around near the windows, to see if any of them would budge. She was a very inexperienced prowler. She didn’t even check the windows in all the right places, or try to jiggle them open, and she was quite careless and noisy… which is why she never heard anyone sneaking up on her, until someone spoke up.

  “Stop right where you are,” a strong, rich male voice said. “Put your hands up where I can see them, and turn around slowly… And, no funny business. I’ve got a pistol pointed at you, and, rest assured, I’ll use it if I have to.”

  SIX

  Charles Stevens was not the type of man to talk impolitely to, or intimidate, women. But, when he heard a strange noise coming from down the road and saw someone lurking around on the Porter homestead, he needed to step up and take command of the situation and do whatever it took to make sure that his best friends and neighbors weren’t robbed, ambushed, or the victims of some other crime. He had to stop whoever was on their property from doing whatever they were there to do.

  So, Charles grabbed his gun and headed off to the Porter’s homestead. He followed the sounds of the commotion the intruder was making to the back of the house, and then he saw… her.

  When Charles told Grace to put her hands up and turn around slowly, she did. And, when she did, he found herself captivated by her face. Sure enough, he thought she was beautiful. But there was something else about the way that she looked that captivated him too, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

  “Who are you?” Charles asked, firmly. “What are you doing here?”

  Grace hesitated for a moment. She didn’t know this man. He’d come up on her unexpectedly, and had a pistol pointed at her.

  “My name is Grace—” she started. But, then, she stopped. For so many reasons, she didn’t want to tell this stranger her real name. “Grace Miller,” she went on. “I’m a close, long-time friend of Rose Porter, from back in New York, and I’ve come to visit her and Henry.”

  “If you’re such a close, long-time friend of Rose’s,” Charles snapped back, “you wouldn’t be here to visit now, ‘cause you’d know she and Henry are away."

  Grace kept her hands in the air and very slowly took a step forward. “I guess I would know,” she said, “if I’d taken the time to write to her before leaving… But, as it was, I didn’t have the time to spare.”

  From where she’d been standing a moment earlier, Grace hadn’t been able to make out Charles’s face or form very clearly. But, after taking just a few steps, she could now see him much better. She was closer, and his face was illuminated by the moonlight.

  He had well-defined face with handsome features; his shoulders were broad, and his body was fit and muscular. But, beyond all that, there was something about him that Grace found intriguing. Even though he had a gun pointed at her and was pressing her with questions, he seemed sort of “warm,” “soft,” and “inviting.”

  “What do you mean you didn’t have the time to spare?” Charles asked with a chuckle. “You came here all the way from New York and didn’t even bother to make sure the people you were coming here to visit would be here?”

  “Right,” Grace answered matter-of-factly. What she’d said didn’t seem very sensible to Charles, but it was believable. Still, however, he was curious. “So, what made you leave in such a hurry?” he asked.

  Just like when she’d told him her name, Grace decided it was best not to tell him her story. She didn’t know this man and didn’t know how he’d handle her real information. There were too many ways he could use it against her, and too big a chance he might not even believe. It was a pretty lofty claim to say she was the daughter of a mayor, especially the mayor of a major city like New York; and saying that she ran away to avoid marrying her father’s vice mayor’s son would sound extremely preposterous.

  So, Grace decided to not to tell Charles the truth and, instead, told him something less scandalous but more dramatic. “I ran away from New York to get away from a man who was stalking me,” she said. “He was a terrible oaf and was determined to win me over and marry me. But, I wanted nothing to do with him—though, I couldn’t get away from him. He followed me around and spied on everything I was doing.

  “I didn’t have much of a life going on for me in New York. So, I decided to just pick up and leave, to get away from that ugliness and find something better… I started corresponding with a gentleman in these parts for matrimonial purposes, but he soon found another bride. I did not know what to do. But, then, I remembered that my childhood friend, Rose Lawrence, now Rose Porter, lived in Montana. I wrote to her and she suggested I come over and look for a husband once I arrived. My situation was such that I departed on the same day I sent my reply.”

  The way Grace saw it, she was really lying. She was just exaggerating and leaving out pertinent details. She did leave New York to get away from a man she didn’t want to marry, and, when she left, she didn’t leave much of a life behind.

  Whatever she was doing, Charles bought it. “Oh,” he said, lowering his pistol. “Well, I’m sorry to hear about your situation. And, I’m sorry for coming up on you like I did… You see, Rose and Henry are my friends, and they asked me to look after their property while they were away. So, it was my duty to protect their land, to defend it as they would, and when I heard all the clamor and saw you—”

  “I understand,” Grace interrupted. She thought that what Charles had done, as frightening as it was at the moment, was courageous, and he didn’t need to humble himself and apologize for his behavior.

  “Thank you,” Charles nodded. “But, there’s more I must explain. My duty doesn’t end here. I’d like to believe what you said, as far as you and Rose being friends. But, out of protecting my friends’ interests, I can’t just take your word for it. And, I can’t just leave you here and let you keep knocking things over until you find away into their house. For all I know, you could be some skilled con-artist trying to pull a fast one on me, and, as soon as I leave, you could signal to a band of cowboys down the road, who’d come here and help you clear the house out. Or, you could be a jealous former paramour of Henry’s, who’s come here to take revenge by burning his house down. Who knows?”

  Charles didn’t believe that the woman in front of him was any of these things. But, he wasn’t going to take any chances. He had his friends’ property to look after, after all; and he had his property to think about as well, and his family.

  “Well, if you aren’t going to leave me here,” Grace as
ked, “where am I going to go?”

  “I reckon you should go to the hotel in town,” Charles sighed. “But, you can’t go there now—not at this hour.”

  “Then where?” Grace asked. Her heart started pounding again.

  “I guess you can come back to my place,” Charles answered.

  Grace gasped. The man’s suggestion defied convention and was shocking and embarrassing.

  “No, no,” Charles added, sensing Grace’s surprise. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I live just over there with my mother and—”

  Charles was going to say something else, but he changed his mind and said something different. “You can come stay the night at our homestead,” he said. “Then, first thing in the morning, I’ll take you into town, and you can get a room at the hotel.”

  Grace blushed and bowed her head. “That sounds wonderful,” she said. “I’d very much appreciate it.” For the first time in their conversation, she was being completely sincere and honest. She really didn’t have any other options but to go along with this man, and to hope that he wasn’t somehow trying to pull the wool over her head.

  Indeed, Charles was a bit surprised by how quickly and easily Grace agreed to his offer. But, he was also relieved. He was glad he didn’t have to go through the hassle of convincing her, and glad that she’d decided to trust him.

  “Come along then,” Charles said, nodding his head toward his homestead. “I live just yonder.” He stepped forward, reached out his hand, and gestured for Grace to hand him her luggage. Grace passed her suitcase along to him and stepped off of the back porch, then the two of them started walking in the direction he’d indicated.

  “By the way,” Charles said, gazing over at his temporary ward and travel companion, “I don’t think I mentioned. My name’s Charles… Charles Stevens.”

  SEVEN