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Prologue
It was almost too dark to see. Charlie Millner slid silently along the side of the building, his palms flat against the wall, his wide eyes searching around him for danger. The only sound in his ears was the heavy thumping of his heart. He was afraid and he didn’t mind admitting it. Not that there was anyone to admit it to.
Just one more step… one more step…
He moved as cautiously and quietly as he could.
The crunch of gravel under his boot made him cringe and close his eyes. That was probably the worst thing he could have done. When he opened them, the grinning, menacing face of Darren Daniels was all he could see. Darren, known by his companions as “Prof” short for professor, since he was the only one who had finished all his years of schooling, might as well have been licking his chops. He looked hungry for a fight and Charlie was going to be his steak dinner.
“Don’t you touch me!” Charlie warned, bending at the waist as he backed up, lifting one arm in front of him with one finger up. “You stay right there. Don’t you touch me!”
Prof lifted both arms up and shrugged, his palms toward the sky. “Where you gonna go, buddy?” He was using a tone one would use when they spoke to small children. “You ain’t got nowhere to go. This here’s an alleyway, ain’t it? It only lets out on two sides. I’m right here and, well…” He put one hand out in front of him, indicating the space behind Charlie, who whipped around to see Tanner behind him. His grin was just as big as Prof’s. Tanner shook his head.
“Nowhere to go…” he repeated Prof’s words.
“You don’t have to do this. I ain’t gonna tell anyone. I ain’t gonna get you in trouble.”
The two men advanced on him, boxing him in. He looked at the two walls that flanked him, searching for a ladder to a fire escape or anything he might be able to use to get out of his current situation.
He was trapped.
Thinking quickly, he decided that Tanner, who was the smaller of his two enemies, would be easier to bowl over if he ran fast and rammed into him hard enough. Without hesitating another precious moment, he bolted toward Tanner. He could tell in the second or two it took for him to get to the man Tanner had not been expecting his action. His eyes widened and he held out both arms as if that would simply stop Charlie.
Charlie braced himself, lowering his head right before jamming his shoulder directly into Tanner’s mid-section. A loud “oof” exited from the man along with all his breath. Charlie dipped down slightly and lifted up as quickly as he could. Tanner was lifted from his feet and shot back to land on a pile of rubbish on the ground in front of the wall.
Not wasting any time, Charlie scurried past him. He left the alleyway behind, feeling the relief of a cool breeze on his face as he ran down the wet street. The streetlamps had been lit so he could see his way but he knew once he hit the countryside, the lights would be gone and he would be in the dark, with only the moonlight to go by. He couldn’t leave everything behind, could he? He needed his clothes. His personal items. The money he’s stashed in the tin box under the cot he’d been sleeping on. They would find his money, if they hadn’t already.
All Charlie wanted to do at that moment was go back in time. He should never have ended up in this predicament. He felt humiliated and hurt and he was in pain both in his mind and his body.
He was lucky he had no broken bones. The bruises on his face and body, his swollen right eye and busted lip were enough.
Charlie ran as fast as he could, knowing both Prof and Tanner were behind him. He didn’t dare look back. What would be the point? It would only make him even more afraid. He hated it that he was scared. He wanted to be brave and strong and courageous. And that’s just what he’d been trying to be for the last three years.
It was a long time to pretend to be someone other than who he was. He’d spent a lot of that time avoiding dangerous situations, both for himself and for others, sometimes succeeding, sometimes getting someone killed.
“You ain’t gonna get far, boy!” he heard Tanner yelling from behind him. “You hear me? We gonna find you! We gonna find you and we gonna bury you! You hear me, boy? You hear me?”
Charlie continued to run, his entire body aching, his mind screaming at him in fear. He had to get away. They were going to kill him, of that he had no doubt. He’d almost been caught.
He concentrated on the word ‘almost’. There was still time for him to get his life together. He just wouldn’t return to Brandon, Utah ever again a day in his life.
The sound of a train whistling in the distance caught his attention. That’s what he would do. He’d jump on a train and catch a ride somewhere else, somewhere far away from here. Somewhere the men who wanted to do him harm would never find him. He could start a new life.
Maybe he would find happiness. He deserved to be happy as much as anyone else, didn’t he?
Chapter One
Bacon sizzled and popped in the pan, making Diana Perry flinch every time. Bacon had a great flavor but cooking it was dangerous. She grinned at her thoughts, listening to the sounds of the morning she enjoyed so much.
Diana had been living in the two-story Tudor house with her mother, Sue, and her brother, Jake, all her life. When her father, James, died, he’d left a substantial amount of money that was controlled by the bank and given to the family in monthly installments. The installments were generous and were still coming after fifteen years. Jake had been just one when their father had his accident. He’d spent his entire sixteen years of living being the man of the family.
“You ain’t done with that yet?”
Diana spun around to see her brother had come in and was giving her a teasing grin. “I thought my breakfast would be on the table by now.” He shook his head, feigning disappointment and took a seat at the table.
“You can come and make a plate of half-finished food if you want. The biscuits might be a little soggy though.” Diana used a serious tone for her response and tried to keep herself from smiling, though she could feel the corners of her lips twitching.
“I think I’ll wait, thanks. Maybe you should get up earlier in the morning from now on.”
Diana gasped and took a step toward the table, halting in place when her brother lifted both hands in a surrender motion.
“I was just joking!” he cried out in mock terror. “Please don’t kill me. I didn’t mean it, really. Get up at noon and cook breakfast if you want. Just don’t hurt me please.” He said the last sentence with his hands clasped together in front of him, a pleading look on his face. He swung his hands forward and back as a beggar would do.
“Oh you!” Diana tutted, turning back to the stove. While they had been fussing with each other, the bacon had cooked to perfection. It was nice and crispy, just how she liked it. Just how they all liked it, really. And thank goodness for that.
She removed the bacon from the pan and set them on a towel to let the grease drain away. Afterwards, she returned the pan to the stove and cracked six eggs open into the pan. She was pleased to see none of the yolks broke.
“Eggs don’t take long to cook at all,” she mentioned over her shoulder to Jake, who had pulled the newspaper from the other side of the table where Diana had placed it for her mother. “And the biscuits will be done at the same time. Do you want to take it to Momma or should I?”
“You can take it to her this morning,” Jake replied, his eyes scanning the article he was reading. “I did it the last three days, I think.”
Diana shook her head, mild irritation slipping through her. “Don’t be ridiculous. We always switch every day. And you’re right, you did take it to her yesterday. She came out here the day before that.”
Jake gave her a quick glance before looking back at the article. “I don’t really keep track. I don’t mind doing it a couple days in a row or all the time.” He shrugged. “She’s my momma. I’ll take care of her, too.”
Diana smiled at him. She was glad her family was so close, despite the tragedies that had happened to them. As she poked at the egg whites with her spatula, Diana tried to recall the first time she’d known her mother was on a downward spiral. She was only five when her father died so it was difficult to remember whether her mother’s downfall was because of that or if it was just a coincidence. She truly believed in her heart losing her father had been too much for Sue. The illness she’d been trying to hide had manifested itself completely.
Diana and Jake had grown up early because of their mother’s illness and their father’s absence. They did the best they could with what they had and were fortunate, in some ways. At least, that was the way Diana thought of it. Ever the optimist, Diana had kept her brother and mother from the pit of despair by being strong and courageous. She’d handled everything financially since she was able to do so at the age of fifteen five years ago. Before that their Uncle Henry did it. Unfortunately, his death had left an opening that only Diana could fill.
Diana made plates for herself and her brother.
“Coffee?” she suggested, glancing at him. He looked up at her and nodded with a smile.
“Here we go,” she said, setting the plates down as soon as she was at the table. She returned to the kitchen counter for the two cups of coffee and brought them back with her. “Eat up. We have a full day ahead of us. The garden needs tending and I know you haven’t been caring properly for Thunder so when you’re done with the garden, you need to give him a good cleaning and rub down. You can’t leave him all grimy from sweat and dirt like that. And don’t even think about putting a saddle on that poor horse until he’s clean.”
Jake was already digging into his food, having closed his eyes for a few seconds and said grace in his mind. That was typical for him. Sometimes Diana wondered if he ever said more than, “Thanks, God, in Jesus’ name, Amen.” He probably ran the words together so only God would know what he was saying. He was nodding, though, looking up at her as she scolded him and gave him instructions. He wasn’t an ornery boy and was actually quite obedient, considering she was his sister. Most of the boys Diana knew wouldn’t let their sisters talk to them from an authority point of view.
Their situation was different, though, that was certain. Jake grew up with Uncle Henry as a role model, the only man who ever came to their house after their father died. At first, Uncle Henry had come around a lot. It was clear he cared very much for his brother’s family. But as the children got older, Diana began to notice a significant drop-off in his visits. Three years after she’d noticed he wasn’t around much anymore, he had passed away, his body riddled with cancer tumors. He had never told her and if he told her mother, she had probably forgotten – such was the nature of her illness.
“I’m going to tend to the cart today,” she said, bringing herself out of her memories.
“Okay, Di. Just let me know if you need anything from me. You know where I’ll be.”
Diana nodded, smiling at her brother while she began to eat. Her stomach was rumbling and grateful for the food. Their mother was probably still asleep but Diana would take her a plate of food anyway. She liked to wake up with something.
When she thought about her task of taking her mother breakfast, Diana pictured the many, many times she’d done it in the last few years. It gave her a bit of apprehension because she didn’t know what it would be like each time. It wasn’t just a simple task. She couldn’t just take the food in and give it to her mother and leave. Even after a little chat, like most mothers and daughters might have early in the morning over breakfast in bed.
She didn’t know who she was going to meet. She wouldn’t know that until she actually went in the room and woke Sue up. Jake told her his experiences with their mother were different – that she almost always knew who he was. Often, Diana had been forced to explain who she was and why she was in Sue’s home trying to force her to eat.
Diana had to get her mind off that until she took breakfast in. She would get anxious and really didn’t want to be nervous in front of her own mother.
“Freed by a Loving Gaze” is an Amazon Best-Selling novel, check it out here!
Diana Perry lives and works in Honoria, where nothing exciting ever happens. She and her best friend, who works with her in the Sew You Up Shop they co-own, immediately notice the apprentice blacksmith that arrives in town and makes them burn with curiosity about his past. They finally get their chance to find out more about the mysterious stranger when Charlie comes into the shop and orders some new clothes. For the first time, Diana feels she’d like to know more about the handsome young man, and not just out of curiosity.
Will she have a chance at getting closer with the charming newcomer?
Charlie Millner was looking for an escape when he reached Honoria, and being taken in by the blacksmith was a blessing he never expected. No one knows his past and he can now finally start over. But deep down he knows that he won’t be able to run away from the dangerous men who had held him captive for very long.
Can he get away from his dangerous past to start anew?
Charlie is torn and needs to keep Diana safe by staying away from her. But by doing so, he will be breaking his own heart. Even after Diana finds out he’s essentially invited her into a dangerous situation, she knows she cannot stop caring for him. How will they navigate their own dilemmas and lead one another to security and comfort? Will they accept that the only way to overcome the darkness is by staying strong together?
“Freed by a Loving Gaze” is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.
OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!
Grab my new series, " Faith and Love on the Frontier", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!
Hello my dears, I hope you enjoyed the preview! I will be waiting for your comments here. Thank you 🙂
I enjoyed the preview and look forward to reading TBE rest of the story. You are a great writer.
Thank you so much!