Blessed Are Those Who Love (Preview)

Prologue

“I can’t believe this is really happening,” Hazel whispered, gazing into the eyes of the only man she knew she would ever love. Reece Stubbs was her man. All hers. She had his heart, and he had hers. They had decided that long ago when they were just children. And now, since he was a year older than her, he had been called to fight in the war and would be gone until the year of her nineteenth birthday, when she would be allowed to marry, and they would finally be together. 

“I know, my dear,” Reece said, his voice equally soft and loving. “But I will be back. I promise you, I will. We’ll get married, and everything will be just the way it’s supposed to be.”

Hazel’s tears were unstoppable. Her heart broke at the thought that he might not come back. He was going to war, after all. But they hadn’t allowed themselves to talk about that. They only talked about him returning home, one way or another. She would take him back wounded, as long as he was alive. She would take care of him for the rest of his life if he was injured in battle.

She wouldn’t let herself think about that though, especially not right now. He was going. He was leaving. His father waited for him around the front of the house with the buggy while they said goodbye in the gazebo where Reece had proposed to her on his nineteenth birthday only a few months ago.

“That’s years away!” Hazel exclaimed breathlessly. “I don’t know what I will do until I’m in your arms again. Who will I turn to when I’m sad? Who will hold my hand and kiss me and make me happy?”

She closed her eyes and let the tingles light up her skin when he lifted his hand and brushed her white, blonde hair back from her forehead. Her heart pounded and felt three times its normal size in her chest. 

“Hopefully, no other man will get that privilege in the meantime. You won’t let that happen, will you?” His voice was so soft. He leaned forward and pressed a warm kiss on her lips. It had a rippling effect through her body, and she was saturated with love for him. 

How could she go through years without seeing him? What if he was killed? What if the war didn’t end for years and years? 

So many things could happen. So many possibilities.

She jumped a little when a crack of lightning ripped through the sky above them, immediately followed by a loud crash of thunder. The sky opened up, and the rain began to fall. It was almost biblical to Hazel. The sky was doing what her soul was doing—weeping with the violence of a hurricane. 

She couldn’t imagine what her life would be like without him in it. It would be so bland, so boring. She wouldn’t be able to smile or have fun. 

“You will make it, my dear,” Reece said with a teasing smile. His eyes sparkled at her. She sighed, her eyes on him, tilting her head to the side. 

“I love you so much, Reece. I want to be your wife now. I wish I was old enough. If this had happened next year, we would already be married.”

Reece nodded. “Yes, I know, my love. But it’s now, and we have to accept it. We’ll get through it. I’ll write to you, and I know you’ll write to me. I’ll keep you updated on all the friends I make, and you do the same. Don’t you dare keep yourself all holed up inside your house without going out and trying to have fun. You can have fun without me, you know.” He tapped her on the nose. “Just not too much fun. I expect you to miss me.”

Hazel giggled, loving the sound of his voice. She grabbed the lapels of his jacket and held herself close to him. “I will miss you every minute of every day, Reece. I will be your wife someday, and I want to make sure I have a reputation that will make you proud to be my husband.”

He smiled in a way that always made Hazel’s knees weak. He followed it up with another warm kiss. Afterward, Hazel put her arms around his neck, having to stand on her tiptoes while he leaned down toward her because of the height difference. She was eight inches shorter than him, which was significant. He was average height, but she was on the shorter side at only 5’2. 

She closed her eyes and pulled in an emotional, shaky breath when he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet. He just held her there like that, her feet dangling in front of his shins. She loved to be picked up that way. It was something he frequently did. 

She laid her head against his shoulder and breathed in the scent of his cologne. How she would miss that scent. She vowed to put some on her pillow after every washing so she would hopefully dream about him while he was gone. 

“I love you, Reece,” she whispered.

“I love you too, Hazel, my sweet girl with the hazel eyes.”

She giggled. He always knew exactly what to say to make her smile. No one else would ever make her as happy as Reece Stubbs, the man she would marry, probably in the very gazebo they were currently standing in, when he returned to their hometown of Arlington, Arkansas.

“Reece!” 

They both turned when Reece’s father yelled out for his son. 

Reece set her back down on her feet and nodded at his father, waving one hand. 

“I’ve got to go,” he said, solemnly looking down at Hazel. She knew it was going to be a while before she saw him again. How long would it be? 

She had no idea.

“You’ll miss me?” she asked softly.

He brushed her hair back again when a soft breeze blew it over her forehead. “You know I will. And you’ll wait for me?”

She tried to smile. “You know I will.”

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you, too.”

 

Chapter One

Hazel still remembered what it felt like to have his arms around her. She had done just what she said and put a drop of his cologne on her pillow after each washing and was so fond of the smell now that her heart pounded whenever she caught a whiff of it. 

Reece was coming home. 

It had been two years—two long, excruciating years—but it was well worth the wait. She would finally be married. She and Reece would be the lifetime couple they had pledged to be when he left. 

It had been a couple of months since she’d received a letter from him, but that had happened frequently throughout his time in the service. She often heard his parents boasting about the letters they received about how well he was doing, going up in rank, getting medals and honors. They seemed so proud of him. They didn’t say much to Hazel though, which sometimes confused her. She was supposed to marry their son, but they didn’t give her the time of day.

Today, she had prepared for his return by making herself look pretty, doing her hair in a recent style that had all the boys’ heads turning, wearing a pretty frock, and carrying a book bag of the plans she’d made for the wedding. She’d asked his mother, Laura, if she wanted to look at them or participate, but the woman had just shaken her head and walked away. She didn’t understand why and shrugged it off.

She was seated on one of the benches outside the train station building on the boarding and deboarding platform. Her feet were crossed at the ankles underneath the bench, and her hands were folded over the book bag. She stared out into the distance, down the railroad tracks, unblinking until her eyes were dried out, and she was forced to blink.

He would be there any time now. She would soon see the smoke rising into the sky, coming from the engines of the train. She would hear the rumbling as it drew closer and would probably feel the earth shake under her feet a little. 

Hazel’s heart was beating faster than ever. She pictured Reece in her mind, so tall, so handsome, his eyes filled with love for her. For her. It had made her feel special over the last two years of waiting. Despite the Stubbs family’s flippancy about the upcoming marriage, she felt a strong love for Reece that had never faded. She was determined to let them know she would be a part of the family now that he was back. He would show them how much his love had sustained him through the hard times. His love for Hazel was long-standing and solid. She knew it.

He felt exactly how she did. She believed that with all her heart. And he would prove it when he got off the train and came running for her, probably picking her up and swinging her around in circles like she’d seen other men do when they saw the woman they loved.

The Stubbs family would arrive soon too. Hazel hadn’t been told Reece was coming home. She’d overheard it at church when she was standing near the family, casually listening in on their conversation. She wasn’t doing it on purpose. They were talking loud enough for her to hear, and she happened to be standing there. 

She’d tried to approach Reece’s mother after church that day, but it seemed like the family just disappeared afterward. They were nowhere to be seen. She’d tried visiting their house too, to talk to them about plans for Reece’s homecoming, and they were never there. There wasn’t an answer even when their buggy was out front, indicating someone had to be home. 

It made Hazel nervous if she was being honest with herself. She didn’t think she was a stupid woman, and she was able to justify every incident that seemed strange to her. Even the snubbing by the Stubbs family was explainable. They had always been that way with her. Mr. Stubbs had told her one time that Reece was a wild spirit that wouldn’t be tamed early or easily. She’d only been fifteen when he told her that, so she’d dismissed it as a father interfering with his son’s love life. She’d known then that she would be Reece’s wife someday, and her mind would never be swayed from that idea.

The one thing she was curious about went back to the letters his parents had been receiving. According to the last letter she received, Reece had been injured and was unable to write. That letter had been written by a friend or a nurse, she wasn’t sure which. If that friend or nurse continued to write to his parents on his behalf, why hadn’t that same person written to her on Reece’s behalf, as well?

She told herself that if she was off at war, engaging in battle, she would want to write to her parents, too. And if given the choice between them, she might write to her parents instead of Reece. Maybe the person writing the letters for him only had time to write to one place. There could be many reasons why she hadn’t received letters when his parents had. She couldn’t deny him a relationship with them, even if they seemed to want nothing to do with her. Reece would set them straight on that after they were married. He would defend her honor. 

Hazel tapped her fingers on the handle of her bag impatiently. It had been two long years since she’d spoken to Reece and three and a half months since she’d gotten a letter from him. She missed him so much. 

Unwilling to be in a foul mood when he arrived, she opened the satchel and fingered through the papers inside, the clippings she’d taken from magazines depicting wedding ceremonies, gowns, decorations, and landscape destinations for either the ceremony or the honeymoon. It had hurt her not to be able to discuss any of it with his mother. She just didn’t seem interested. 

Hazel knew they doubted the union. They’d doubted the relationship the whole time, and she never knew why. 

But Reece would set them straight. He had promised to love her, cherish her, be her husband forever until the day they died. That was the phrase. Till death do us part. She was willing to say it. She knew he was too.

She heard giggling to her right and turned her head to see several young girls looking down at a newspaper. They appeared to be about her age and were dressed as fashionably as she was. For a moment, Hazel wondered if they were there to meet their fiancés, as well. They looked happy enough for it. 

Hazel wanted to feel that happiness, the joy she saw on the faces of the two young women. She should be feeling that, she told herself, because her man was coming home. He had survived the war with only an injury to his right arm, and though the war wasn’t over, it was for him. 

So why wasn’t she giddy with excitement like they were? 

It was because confusion had taken over in Hazel’s mind. Even now, on the day of her beloved’s return, his family stood apart from her after they arrived, not looking at or conversing with or even acknowledging her. It hurt to have them treat her that way when she would someday be their daughter-in-law. Reece was their only son. She understood that. But they would have to accept her eventually. It would have been so much easier if they had done it long before now, so Reece wouldn’t have to convince them of the love he and Hazel had for each other.

Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest when she saw smoke rising in the distance. She stood up at the same time as several other people on the platform and took a few steps toward the Stubbs family. They turned away from her, but they were watching the train arrive too, so she didn’t take offense to it. 

The train slid to a stop in front of them, hissing and clanking. Hazel tried to get closer to the Stubbs family, but they still didn’t acknowledge her presence. She wanted Reece to be able to see them all together. Maybe it would be easier for him if he saw that an effort was being made, even if it was only Hazel that was putting forth that effort. 

She clutched the satchel close to her, an excited, nervous smile plastered to her face, her eyes on the windows, watching for Reece.

She didn’t see him in the windows. She didn’t see him until he stepped off the train. She almost rushed toward him, pushing past his parents, but he turned at the last minute and held out his hand to help down a beautiful woman who gave him a smile that only a woman in love could give. 

Reece had married someone else.

 

Chapter Two

Shock kept Hazel right where she was. She stared as the Stubbs family surrounded Reece and the woman, shaking her hand, and talking excitedly. She couldn’t believe it. Her feet were glued to the platform. She wanted to run away. She wanted to run toward him. She wanted to scream until there was no breath left in her body.

Finally, she found her feet and walked slowly toward them, listening to the words being said. If Reece had seen her, he, like his family, was not acknowledging her.

“Sierra, this is my father, Harold Stubbs, my mother, Marion Stubbs, and my two sisters, Anna and Beatrice.”

“We’ve heard so much about you!” Mrs. Stubbs gushed, grabbing the young woman’s arms, and pulling her into a hug.

That was supposed to be Hazel’s hug. 

Resentment was slowly growing in Hazel’s belly. The hurt was like a blazing inferno in her soul. Betrayed, scorned, mocked…She was a fool.

“Reece?” She pushed herself to say his name. She took a few steps toward him, blinking back tears, her eyes moving from him to the woman on his arm. 

He finally turned to look at her. Confusion covered his handsome features. “Hazel?” He said her name like he wasn’t expecting her. “What are you doing here?”

The question caught Hazel off guard. She had built up her hopes until she thought they were unsinkable. Even during the time of his recovery….

She scanned his body. He didn’t seem to have an injury. Not one that was noticeable anyway. 

“We…we were supposed to meet here when you returned and….” She flushed, realizing she had truly made a huge blunder. “We were supposed to be married, Reece. You asked me to marry you before you left.”

Reece snickered, glancing almost nervously at his wife. “Hazel, that was…two years ago! I’m not the same man.”

“But you were writing to me!” Hazel’s emotions were beginning to take over. She didn’t want it to happen, but it was happening, and she couldn’t stop it. Soon she would be a blubbering, weeping mess. That wasn’t how she wanted him to see her. She was embarrassed for so many reasons. 

Reece once again gave his wife a sheepish glance. As for Sierra, the woman had narrowed her eyes and was glancing suspiciously between the two of them. She placed one hand firmly on her hip. With that movement, every Stubbs’s eye turned on Hazel, glaring at her hatefully.

That was unexpected. Hazel felt like she’d been smacked and took a step back.

“You’re upsetting my wife,” Reece growled in a voice Hazel had never heard him use with her.

“I was supposed to be your wife, Reece!” Hazel exclaimed. She felt strange inside and wondered if she was growing up right at that moment. She was discovering that anyone could lie. Anyone could betray. Anyone could cause a broken heart.

She put one hand over her heart, pulling her eyebrows together, tears streaming down her face. 

“Stop being dramatic,” Reece replied, waving one hand in her direction as if she was a fly he needed to shoo away. He looked at Sierra with a blank expression. “She’s no one, honey, don’t worry about her. It was a childhood crush, that’s all. I’m a man now. I’m leaving behind the things of my childhood.”

Hazel was stunned that he could say such cruel words. She knew her face had to be as red as a beet. She was a childhood crush. A teenage fling. Nothing important. Not marriage material.

She turned away from him and hurried away, listening to the tinkling laughter of Reece’s wife as she spoke. “What a shame. She looked like a lovely girl. Are you sure you don’t want to dump me and go after her?”

Hazel’s steps slowed but only for a moment. At first, she’d heard a pleasant tone, but the question was asked in such a snide way, she knew Sierra wasn’t being serious. The laughter that followed her question didn’t just come from her. It came from all the Stubbs. 

Her mind screamed at her to get out of there as fast as she could. As she ran down the platform toward the lot where her buggy was waiting to take her and her beloved home, she tossed the satchel of wedding preparations in a huge barrel used for burning rubbish. 

She was down the steps and climbing into her buggy moments later. She grabbed the reins, and as she got the horses moving, she turned her head just once more to look in the direction of the platform. The Stubbs were all coming down the ramp, pulling a cart behind them with several large trunks stacked on it. 

Only one was looking in her direction. It wasn’t Reece. It was his wife.

She turned her head away and slapped the reins so the horses would run. She had to get out of there. She had to see her sister, tell her everything that was happening. She had to tell someone.

As she rode, the wind blew against her face, making her tears streak back and wet her hair. She was a fool. She couldn’t believe how much of a fool she really was. For two years, two long, solid years, she had told everyone in Arlington she would be married to Reece once he returned.

Now she would be a laughingstock among most of the townsfolk. Some would be shocked and concerned for her. But most of them would talk about her in the privacy of their own homes, where they would laugh at what a number Reece did on her.

Her heart ached with self-pity. Maybe she really was that stupid? That blind? Two months had gone by since he had someone else write to tell her he’d hurt his hand and couldn’t write himself. Then nothing. Silence. While his parents continued to get letters and brag about him all over town.

Thinking back, Hazel seemed to remember getting strange looks from some of the people she told about the planned wedding. Especially Constance at the magazine and newspaper stand. Hazel had regularly gone there to pick up bridal magazines and would stand there flipping through them, talking to Connie about their plans. Connie had listened politely, but Hazel always got the impression she was skeptical that the grand wedding Hazel was planning would take place. 

 What had she known that Hazel didn’t know? Did Connie talk to the Stubbs about her? Did she know that the wedding was never going to happen? 

Hazel arrived home twenty minutes later, jumped down from the buggy, and ran up the front porch steps, holding up her skirt. She vaulted herself toward the front door, throwing open the screen and then bursting through into the foyer. 

“Les!” she cried out for her sister. “Leslie! Are you here!”

“I’m in here, Hazel!” She heard her sister’s panicked voice coming from the living room, and Leslie was at the entrance by the time Hazel got to it. Without saying a word, she wrapped her arms around Hazel’s neck and held her close. “My goodness!” she exclaimed. “My goodness, you just come right in here, honey. You sit down right there. Go ahead. I’ll get you some tea. You stay right here, and then you can tell me all about it.”

“He married someone else!” Hazel blurted out. Leslie froze in place. Her eyes had been on the floor, and she turned them slowly to look at her sister. 

“What was that?”

“He married someone else. A woman named Sierra. She came off the train with him. He barely acknowledged me, Les! He laughed at me.” Hazel put her hands over her face and cried into them. “They all laughed at me! And now everyone else will too! I’ve been going around telling everyone we would be married when he returned from the war.” Hazel wailed into her hands.

“There, there, you have to calm down,” Leslie responded, coming over to the couch where her sister had sat and putting one hand lovingly on her shoulder. “You are going to be all right, Hazel. You’ve been without him for two years now. You can go on living without him, and it won’t be any different.”

“It is different, Les!” Hazel sobbed. “Now I have nothing to look forward to. A boring life of a spinster.”

Hazel was stunned when her sister laughed out loud. It stopped Hazel’s tears, and she blinked at Leslie, speechless.

Leslie shook her head and touched Hazel’s chin with two fingers. “A pretty face like yours and a brain that size? You won’t be a spinster, sister dear. I promise you that.”

---

“Blessed Are Those Who Love” is an Amazon Best-Selling novel, check it out here!

After two years of waiting, Hazel’s world came crashing down when her fiancé came back from the war married to another woman. In order to escape the unbearable heartache and betrayal, she flees her hometown and takes a job at a ranch fifty miles away, in Twin Palms. When she signs up to work for Alec Bugbee as a cook on his ranch, she doesn’t expect to immediately be thrust into a nanny position in addition to her cooking labors.

With her heart just shattered, how can she manage all that is expected from her from a man she cannot trust?

Alec has a challenge ahead of him; he suspects his ranch is being sabotaged by the man he believes is responsible for the death of his sister and her husband. Alec then takes it upon himself to make sure that justice is served for the accident, but he cannot do it alone. He asks for Hazel’s help as he begins to notice her kind heart and intelligence, and is touched by the way she treats his nephew. It doesn’t take long for him to realize that it’s not just justice that he’s seeking though…

The day Hazel appears on his ranch is the day Alec’s life changes forever…

Their feelings for each other begin to blossom while they search together for evidence against the man who destroyed a happy family. Will they conquer the preconceptions they both have for each other, before yielding to their undeniable attraction? Does Alec dare give his heart to a woman he barely knows? How could Hazel ever forget the heartbreak she just went through in order to love again?

“Blessed Are Those Who Love” is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Get your copy from Amazon!