A Tender Moment Under the Stars: An Inspirational Historical Romance Book Read online

  A Tender Moment Under the Stars

  AN INSPIRATIONAL ROMANCE NOVEL

  GRACE CLEMENS

  Copyright © 2021 by Grace Clemens

  All Rights Reserved.

  This book may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher.

  Table of Contents

  A Tender Moment Under the Stars

  Table of Contents

  A Tender Moment Under the Stars

  Introduction

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Epilogue

  A Hopeful Answer to her Prayers

  Introduction

  Prologue

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

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  A Tender Moment Under the Stars

  Introduction

  Still mourning for her mother’s death, Isabel realizes that it’s time she stood on her own feet and started a new life, away from the pain. Having never been out of her hometown, the idea of becoming a mail-order bride is both scary and exciting at the same time. However, when she reads Solomon’s ad, a good feeling overflows her, and before she even knows it, she arrives in Steven’s Gulch, where an unpleasant surprise awaits her. Witnessing her husband having a tender moment with another woman upsets her and makes her wonder about her decision and future. Could this all be a misunderstanding, or will Isabel be deprived of the happiness she seeks?

  Solomon Bedford has to deal with two heartbreaking events simultaneously; his father’s death and the separation from his sweetheart. Having inherited the supply store and the lumber mill in Steven’s Gulch, and determined to leave the grief behind, he craves a wife to begin a new adventure with, so he posts a mail-order-bride ad. Driven by his heart's voice, he chooses Isabelle, who intrigues him with her letter. The happy life he desires seems to be finally within reach the moment Isabelle gets off the train. However, his past is not done with him, threatening his fragile bliss. Will Solomon take control of this dangerous situation, before it is too late? Will he be able to give Isabel the life he originally offered?

  All Isabel and Solomon ever wanted was an exciting life full of love and happiness, but jealousy creates only disappointment and insecurity instead. Will the couple manage to protect their relationship when someone from the past tries to sabotage it? Could a unique and meaningful connection be built on these doubtful foundations?

  Prologue

  Isabel closed her book and looked up at her mother, who was lying in her bed, looking very peaceful. It wouldn’t be long before the Lord took her. Isabel had known that for some time and had been making plans.

  She gently set the rocking chair where she was sitting into motion, pushing off with one of her small slippered feet. Her heart was heavy for her mother, who was being ravaged by a disease that had weakened her to the point of not being able to get out of bed, move or do anything for herself. Isabel had been taking care of her mother, June, for nearly five years. At twenty-three, she had no friends and no social life.

  Isabel’s favorite pastime was sketching. Her bedroom was filled with drawings in stacks all around the room. Some were posted to her walls. Those were her favorites.

  Before her mother became ill, she’d had Isabel draw many things for her, especially portraits of Isabel’s father, who had fought and died in the war. She lifted her eyes and scanned the walls. Her mother had framed some of Isabel’s sketches. If there was one thing she knew, it was that her mother loved her and was proud of her.

  Because of their loving mother and daughter relationship, Isabel was more than willing to take care of June when she got sick. Before it happened, she had been a lively, fun-loving teenager who played just as much with the boys as she did with the girls. She got along with everyone and had many friends.

  She clearly remembered the day that all changed. She’d come in from a lively game of kickball with her friends and found her mother lying on the kitchen floor. The rush of adrenaline her concern for her mother caused allowed her to lift the unconscious woman off the floor and carry her out to the buggy. This was quite a feat, as her mother weighed at least fifty pounds more than her and was four inches taller.

  But Isabel was determined to get her mother to the doctor as quickly as possible. There was no time to waste. She’d attached the horses and climbed into the driver’s seat within five minutes—another major accomplishment for the young woman.

  When she reached the doctor’s office in the small town of Morningside, Virginia, she’d recruited two men that were standing outside to help her take June in the building. It had only taken one to carry her but the other showed Isabel the support she needed, telling her to stay calm and that the doctor would take care of her mother.

  The two men had been there waiting on another who was inside. All three were from the coal mine just outside Morningside. The third man had been mildly injured when he fell into one of the mine shafts.

  Isabel remembered the man who had comforted her, whose name was Ethan Cranwell, sitting with her outside the clinic while the doctor checked June over. He’d distracted her completely with his lavish tale of heroism in the mine shaft, how he had single-handedly made sure everyone was safe when the shaft walls and floor gave in, causing a bit of an avalanche deep within the mine.

  Isabel hadn’t then and still didn’t know what it looked like inside a mine. But the way Ethan described it to her made it so vivid and real, she had felt like she was there. He described the darkness, the dampness, the blackness that sometimes caused fear in some very tough men.

  Her mother moaned, bringing Isabel out of her memory. June had been sleeping soundly for nearly four days, only waking to eat soup twice a day. And even while she was eating, she was half-asleep. That was one of the reasons Isabel thought she was on her way to the Lord. She set the book on the side table and shot to her feet, closing the few feet between them and bending over her mother.

  “Momma?” she said, denying the tears she could already feel welling up in her eyes. Her chest felt heavy with apprehension. “Momma, can you hear me?”

 
For the first time in those four days, June opened her eyes. Only slightly but Isabel could see she was conscious. She turned her head to look at Isabel slowly. Her skin was so pale, hanging down from the weight of gravity that had been pulling on her since she’d taken to the bed. She was only forty-five years old. Her hair was still a majestic, flaming red, though some had fallen out in the last year or two. Her green eyes, when they were open, were still sharp as a tack. It was her body that had given up. Not her mind.

  And that was one of the things that hurt Isabel the most.

  But when June smiled, the radiance of her former beauty could be seen by her daughter. Isabel knew she wasn’t going to keep the tears in but if she could just hold out until her mother was gone, she would feel so much better.

  “Momma,” she whispered, taking one of her mother’s hands and lifting it to her lips. She kissed the soft skin. “I love you, Momma. I love you.” Isabel blinked rapidly to keep the tears from falling. She looked up and whispered, “God, take her in Your arms and hold her. She’s in pain. She needs You.”

  “Isabel,” her mother murmured.

  Isabel looked down at her, drawing closer. “Yes, Momma?”

  “I love you, Izzy. You have been the best daughter a momma could ever ask for. You’re wonderful and talented and beautiful. I’m proud of you. I will be watching over you.”

  Isabel couldn’t hold it back. She broke down sobbing, kissing her mother’s cheek through her tears. “Say hello to Papa for me.” She put her lips against her mother’s ear to whisper the words. She felt her mother nod.

  She heard her mother’s last breath.

  She wept.

  Chapter 1

  Solomon Bedford was known in his hometown of Steven’s Gulch, Texas (pop seven hundred and eight), as a gentle giant. One look at the large man and anyone would think he was an unpleasant ogre. But anyone who spent more than five minutes talking to him knew Solomon was far from unpleasant or an ogre. He was a kind man with a gentle voice and demeanor.

  Solomon’s father had been a staple in the community until his death five years ago. He’d been out hunting and was killed by a bear while scouting for trees to take down for the lumber mill. There was great mourning in the community and the respect his father had earned spilled over onto him. Not that he didn’t deserve it.

  Solomon also owned the lumber mill and the three hundred acres of woods behind it. His father had worked primarily at the lumber mill and spent his formative years as a lumberjack. But Solomon, despite his size and strength, did not want to do that kind of laborious work. He preferred the calm of the general store.

  He brought in a box of supplies from the shipment he’d just received and was putting it out on the shelves when the bell above the door tinkled. He looked over his shoulder and smiled at Sheriff Jack Kramer, who removed his hat upon entering.

  “How’s the big man doing today?” the sheriff asked, crossing over to the counter and leaning on it backwards so he could watch Solomon work.

  “Doin’ all right myself,” Solomon answered, setting the last candle up on the shelf. “How about you?”

  “Nothin’ goin’ on, as usual,” Jack replied. “I have a pretty easy job here. Not a whole lot of trouble here in Steven’s Gulch.”

  “And that’s a good thing.”

  “I hear you’ve been thinking of taking a bride.”

  Solomon raised one eyebrow. “Oh? And where’d you hear that from?”

  “A pretty reliable source, I’d say,” the sheriff replied, tossing his hat in the air a few inches, catching it, and tossing it back up again.

  Solomon chuckled. “You mean Freddie.”

  The sheriff laughed. “You know it’s Freddie. He doesn’t keep your business well to himself.”

  “Apparently not.” Solomon sighed, folding the box down and carrying it behind the counter. “Well, it’s not really a secret anyway. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now.”

  “Interested in any of the ladies here? I know there aren’t many but…”

  Solomon shook his head. “No, there aren’t any ladies here that are interested in me or the other way around. They all knew Betty. I’m pretty sure they’d feel violated if I tried to court any of them.”

  “What’s your plan then?” The sheriff sounded genuinely curious.

  “I’m gonna order one from the East. You know from the newspaper.” Solomon went around the counter to the other side of the sheriff and Jack turned around to face him. “I know that sounds strange and awkward but…I really can’t think of any other way to find a woman to spend my life with. I want to have fun with someone. Adventures, you know spend time outdoors, picnics, things like that. Someone I can read poetry to.”

  Jack shook his head, letting out a light laugh. “Read poetry. Lookin’ at you, no one would expect that.”

  “No, I suppose not,” Solomon said, leaning on the counter. “I love it, though. And the only thing I can think of that. I’ve already written an ad. I’ll be sending it to the newspaper over there this afternoon.”

  “You think you’ll find a decent woman that way?” the sheriff asked. “I don’t know how any of that works. I got Annie the regular way.”

  Solomon laughed. “And you were blessed. But after Betty, I don’t know what to expect. I’m afraid I’ll be comparing the new woman to Betty. I hope not, though. I don’t want her feeling intimidated.”

  “Just don’t mention Betty and all will be fine. You, uh…heard anything from her lately?”

  Solomon shook his head. “I see her parents around town but I don’t talk to them much. They’re not unkind to me. They smile and all that. I don’t talk to them, though, and they don’t give me updates on her. She chose to leave. I couldn’t stop her. That part of my life is over.”

  “She went to school, didn’t she? Some fancy college somewhere?”

  Solomon nodded. “Yep.”

  “Where’d she go?”

  “I wasn’t told.”

  The sheriff turned to the side and looked at the floor. “So you’ve gotten no letters or anything in the last four years?”

  Solomon wanted to stop talking about his former sweetheart. She’d been his life for years, from school age to twenty-two. A full year after he lost his father, she decided she wanted to go to college. She’d told Solomon that being away wasn’t compatible with their relationship and she broke things off between them. He’d been on the verge of asking her to marry him. It was expected by everyone.

  But it didn’t happen and it was Betty who chose that. He’d healed and was no longer pining for the woman he’d thought would be his wife. For several years, he’d grown content with his bachelor life. But at twenty-six, he was craving enjoyment, love, affection, and fun. His best friend, Freddie Hightower, kept him busy and distracted when he wasn’t working.

  Freddie was a bright spirit, energetic, and always up for something new. Solomon felt blessed to have him in his life.

  “I gotta say, though, it’s about time you went ahead and got yourself a new lady. Everyone in town has been wondering if you would spend the rest of your life alone. That’s not right for someone like you.”

  Solomon gave him a curious look. “Someone like me?”

  Jack pushed himself away from the counter, giving Solomon a friendly look. “Yeah, someone like you.” He lifted his hand and swept it up and down in front of Solomon. “You’re a good lookin’ man. Smart, got money, sure you’d be a great beau. Betty sure did seem taken with you for the longest time. Most of us were wondering how she could give up someone like you.”

  Solomon dropped his eyes to the counter. “I guess she thought she could get better.”

  “I don’t want to hear you talkin’ like that now. If she thought she could get better, she musta been dreaming.”

  Solomon grinned. “You’re a real nice fella for sayin’ that, sheriff.”

  “Freddie was real excited when he told me you were gonna get yourself a bride. I gotta say I was surprised to he
ar it at first.”

  “I bet he told you and you headed right over here, didn’t you?”