Hearts Caught in the Moment: Preview

Prologue

Annabelle Grey peered down the wagon path, watching her father navigate his horse to the barn, where he dismounted. He left the horse there, tying the reins to a short hitching post that stretched over a long water trough. 

He patted the horse on the side as he walked toward the house. 

A trace of worry passed through Belle, though she tried to push it away and not reveal it to her father. He was a big man – several hundred pounds by her estimation, as she had no idea how much he weighed – and most of that was muscle. He was 6’4 and built like a brick house. It had been something of a silly joke that passed around Greentree, Montana, where they lived, that a man his size and stature would end up having three girls. 

But that’s what happened.

She opened her arms to receive him when he got to the top of the steps. A quick hug and kiss on the cheek and Belle was following her father into the house. Over the past six months, he seemed to be shrinking right before her and her sisters’ eyes. 

“Pearl? Nellie? Pa is home. Come to the parlor.” She followed Ben into the room, and while he sat on one of the couches, she went to the bar to make him a drink. “You want some bourbon, Pa?” she asked. “We got a new shipment. I hear it’s very smooth.” Even at twenty-five, Belle had no interest in drinking alcohol. She was afraid it would impair her judgment and make her do things that would embarrass herself and her family. 

Belle couldn’t afford that kind of scandal. She had begun preparing to take over the family stagecoach business for four months because her father’s failing health made it difficult for him to get out there and drive. She was determined to quash any doubts that she could drive a stagecoach just as professionally as any man. 

Belle, her sixteen-year-old twin sisters, and their father gathered in the living room. Belle’s mother had died of fever when Belle was nine and her sisters were one, making her into an instant mother. Ben had been in the process of building up his business when his wife took ill and was even more determined to be successful after she was gone. He told his daughters she was helping them from Heaven and that they should always be grateful they were given the time they had with Margaret. 

Pearl and Nellie, being one when they lost her, didn’t remember anything about her. They relied on the stories Belle told them, which she did frequently, and had grown to love the woman posthumously.

“Tell us what’s going on, Pa,” Pearl said, dropping next to her father on the couch sideways so her knees were pressed against his legs. The worried expression on her face was reflected by her sisters. 

Ben patted his daughter on the knee. “There, there, honey. You look so worried. I’m not dying. Not yet. Well, I am, but no more than anyone else.” 

He attempted light laughter, but Belle did feel relief from what he said. She came over and sat on his other side, since Nellie had dropped onto the floor in front of her father and was gazing up at him with all the love of her sixteen-year-old adoring heart. 

“So what’s the prognosis then?” she asked eagerly. “Are you going to get better? Did he give you any medicines or advice on what you should and shouldn’t eat?”

“Well, you know he did all those things, my dear,” Ben replied. “He always tells me what I should be eating and how much I should weigh and so on and so on. But there is something wrong. He just doesn’t know what it is. It’s causing me to feel fatigued, and I am having tremors and loss of balance. It’s dangerous for me to continue working outside the office. I will have to confine myself to the desk and do the bookkeeping from now on.”

Belle felt a surge of adrenaline pass through her. It was caused not only by her worry at the sudden confirmation of these troublesome symptoms she’d been hoping would go away but also by the thought that her father would have to pick a successor for their stagecoach business, Grey’s Coaches.

She knew he’d been training her for it these last nearly five months. He hadn’t exactly come out and said it, but after years of prodding from her, he’d finally begun giving her more jobs, allowing her to drive more often and showing her how payments were recorded in the books. 

“Does that mean …” She didn’t finish. She squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back, nodding at her. 

“Yes, Belle. It’s time for you to take over for me. It’s a lot of responsibility, but you don’t have to worry about the business end. I’ll take care of that. The bookkeeping anyway. You will need to continue contracts, talk to the clients, and get new customers. Do you think you can do that?”

Belle nodded immediately, self-confidence surging through her. “Yes, Pa. You know I can do it.”

He grinned and responded with another nod. “I know you can. We’re counting on you to keep the business afloat and continue its success. But we have all the confidence in you. We know you won’t let us down.”

Belle smiled at her sisters, pulling in a deep breath at the same time, straightening her spine and feeling very proud of herself. She slid her eyes to each one. “I promise you; I’ll make sure our family company prospers and grows. You just take care of your health, Pa. We want you around as long as possible. Don’t we, girls?”

“Yes!” 

All three threw their arms around the big man, and he laughed, trying to hug all three back at once. 

“My girls!” he said affectionately, kissing Belle and Pearl on top of their heads as they squeezed themselves against him. “My beautiful, wonderful girls!”

 

Chapter One

Belle’s first stop the next morning was at the dressmaker’s shop. Watson’s Dresses was run by Agatha Watson, who inherited her late husband’s business. Belle had noticed on her trips with her father to get orders or deliveries, Agatha was friendly but talked mostly to her father. 

It hadn’t bothered her. She’d just thought it a bit odd.

So when she stepped into the shop that morning and headed for the back office behind the reception desk, she was surprised by Agatha’s reaction to seeing her. 

The woman – a slender woman, bordering on too thin with a hawk-like nose and a sharp nasally voice – had never looked more unpleasant than she did right then. 

“Belle,” she said in a sharp tone, looking around as if the customers in her store would be offended that Belle was there talking to her. She waved her arm frantically. “Come in my office, please.”

Belle was immediately on guard. She didn’t like to be disrespected and had no problem telling people when they weren’t showing it. Her father had taught her to respect her elders, but there came a time when, as an adult, she demanded it be given if expected. 

She became somewhat rigid but walked past the woman into her office, turning to see Agatha grinning awkwardly to the shop’s customers before closing the door. She turned and stalked to her desk, which had several sheets of paper strewn across its surface. She was looking down at the desk, so Belle figured there must be something there involving her. She also dropped her eyes and scanned the invoices upside down, having no trouble reading them. 

Suddenly Agatha snatched the papers up into one hand, and when Belle looked up, she could see the woman’s irritation on her face. “How dare you read my business documents?” Agatha demanded. “You have no right. Keep your eyes to yourself, young lady.”

Belle raised her eyebrows. “Excuse me,” she stated firmly, “I did not realize they were private. I’ve come to ask you about the renewal of Grey’s Coaches’ contract with your dress company. Pa said it will be due for renewal in two weeks and to come to ask about it. We can renew it now if you like.”

Agatha frowned. “I’m not sure I’m going to renew.”

Shock split into Belle, making her chest ache. She frowned. Watson’s Dresses was one of their biggest contracts. The shipments, deliveries, and pick-ups were many for the shop, which did business in the surrounding five counties. One shop in four other towns was run by other people who sent money to Agatha to take care of the corporate business.

It had been Belle’s family company that made all the fabric and supply shipments, the finished products, and shipments direct to home and the different shops. 

“Why would you choose not to renew?”

“I’ll be frank with you, Belle. I’m not sure I want to work with a woman who doesn’t want to be a woman or act like a woman.”

Belle had no immediate response as she was stunned into silence. 

“I … I …” She had to stop. Of all the things she’d had to defend in the past, her femininity had never even crossed her mind. “I am capable of driving the stagecoach and making deliveries like anyone else, Ms. Mason,” she insisted. “I can’t imagine why you would think I couldn’t. My father has put his trust in me.”

“Where is he?” Agatha demanded, dropping down into her chair. Belle remained standing. She knew her height and girth would intimidate Agatha, and when the dressmaker stood up again, she smiled with satisfaction.

“He’s at home. His doctor has advised against him going out to do the traveling. He’s entrusted me with the business, and I promise you, Ms. Watson, I can do the job. I really can. I’ve been training for a couple of months with my pa, and you know he used to take me on his trips all the time. I can do this, Ms. Watson. I’m asking you to reconsider.”

Belle felt a bit of pride slide through her. She had held onto her temper and hinted that she would like respect instead of being outright demanding and blunt about it. That was something her father had been counseling her on. She was too bold, he said. Even if she felt it inside, she didn’t have to be brash. She could learn to use that boldness for good things, like negotiating for new business.

Agatha’s relationship with Grey’s Coaches was long-standing. For ten years, ever since Agatha opened the doors of Watson’s Dresses, she’d been using their services for all her delivery needs. To think that she would stop working with them because Belle was taking over was simply unconscionable. 

“You have taken on a role meant for men,” Agatha said. “Driving a stagecoach is a job for men. It’s unladylike to be loading and unloading wagons–”

“That isn’t part of my job,” Belle cut in. “Look, if you don’t want to make a decision now, I’m willing to wait for your answer.” She didn’t really want to, but if it meant giving her time to prove herself, she was willing to make the offer. 

Agatha gave her a doubtful look that secretly lit Belle on fire. “I’ll think about it, then. If I go with Storey Book Travels, though, I just think you should be warned ahead of time.”

Belle’s stomach turned and twisted in knots when Agatha mentioned Storey Book Travels. They were Grey’s Coaches’ main rivals in Greentree. They were actually based out of Helena, a town just twenty minutes to the west, but they had an office open in Greentree and were constantly taking business from her family.

Belle thought it best that she leave the shop and turned to the door. She didn’t want Agatha seeing the sneer that had to be on her face when she thought about her business rivals. 

“I’ll be back next week then. We’ll keep the regular schedule we have for this week, and I’ll book one of the men to come take care of your business if you prefer.”

Agatha’s face had not lost the frown she’d had since Belle got there. “I’ve always had personal service. Why can’t your father just come out to do my work for me? I’ve been a customer for a very long time.”

Belle was appalled. She wanted to ask the woman how she could dare to claim such importance. She wanted to tell her to keep her business and take it to Storey’s; she didn’t care. But she couldn’t say it.

“Many clients have been with us over ten years, Ms. Watson,” she replied as calmly as she could. “My father’s health is the number one priority, the most important thing to my sisters and me. He can’t make any exceptions for anyone. I do apologize.”

Her words seemed to have a bit of an impact as Agatha’s cheeks flushed from embarrassment. 

Belle put her hand on the office doorknob. “I’ll return next week to ask if you are willing to renew with us. I do hope you will. My father would be so disappointed to know we lost such a long-time friend and client.”

With that, she left, hoping the woman didn’t expect a goodbye because she wasn’t going to get one. At that moment, Belle didn’t feel like ever returning to the snob of a woman. But she would. Her father’s business depended on it, and her family was depending on her.

 

Chapter Two

Belle stepped out from the dressmaker’s shop and immediately crossed the street, looking both ways first to make sure she didn’t get trampled by a wayward horse. 

She was doing everything in her power to keep the smile on her face, but she wanted to explode. She swept her green eyes over the people walking in the street, and her heart took a leap in her chest when she saw her best friend, Samantha Gable, coming out of the mercantile. She grabbed her skirt and pulled it up slightly so she could walk quickly to her friend’s side.

“Sam!” she exclaimed as if she hadn’t seen her friend in ages. 

“Belle!” Samantha responded with the same enthusiasm and threw her arms around her friend, giving her a quick hug. Belle felt the thump of whatever was in the bag slung over Samantha’s arm bounce off her back a few times. 

“What do you have in that bag?” she teased, pulling away. “Watermelons?”

Samantha laughed. “No, cantaloupe. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize they would beat on you like that.”

“It’s all right,” Belle replied, waving in the air dismissively. “What are you doing right now? Do you have time for some ice cream?”

“As a matter of fact, I do have time for some ice cream,” Samantha said. “Henry has gone out of town for the weekend and left me here all alone to fend for myself.”

Belle raised her eyebrows, giving Samantha a look of exaggerated surprise. “Oh my goodness. I reckon you waited till he was gone to splurge on those cantaloupes, didn’t you? You are one bad lady, Samantha Gable.”

The two ladies laughed softly. 

“Come on, now; I’m dying for ice cream.” Samantha placed the back of one hand against her forehead dramatically, pretending she might faint.

“Yes, let’s.”

“So tell me this,” Samantha said as they walked toward the parlor down the street, “you looked quite upset when I first saw you. Are you all right?”

Belle hadn’t told anyone except the dressmaker about her father being ill and put on restricted duties. She knew he didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for him. She gave her shorter friend a melancholy look. 

“I’m not really all right,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s my pa. He’s ill. The doctor told him he has to stay on restricted duties from now on and that he can’t go on the travels anymore. He has to stay homebound.”

“I reckon this is going to make you in charge of a lot more, isn’t it? That’s what you’ve been training for these past few months.”

Bella nodded. “Yeah, I have been. But hearing that my pa is not well makes it not as enjoyable. How can I celebrate being given this higher promotion when it comes at my father’s expense?”

“It’s nothing you can help, though. It’s not like you plotted a hostile takeover. What a shame that you can’t enjoy it.”

“I’m enjoying it anyway. Carl and Louie don’t mind it, so I don’t know why anyone else would.”

Samantha tilted her head to the side and gave Belle a look. “Who are you talking about? I sense you’re talking about someone in particular. 

Belle loved the way her good friend could tell what she was feeling. Samantha was thirty-six years old, nine years older than Belle. She was married to a handsome man named Henry, and the two were very much in love with each other. They’d found each other fairly late in life and had no children. Samantha treated Belle like the daughter she never had. 

To Belle, Samantha was another one of her sisters. Pearl and Nellie were twins that both had distinct personalities. Nellie wanted to break out on her own and find her way in life, wanting nothing to do with the family business, while Pearl was anxious to become the bookkeeper for Grey’s Coaches and keep it in the family in the future with Belle. Samantha was the older sister Belle never had. 

“It’s Agatha Watson,” she replied bluntly. “I never thought she would be so … so hateful. She’s just told me that my working as the stagecoach driver making deliveries is a man’s job and that it’s unladylike for me to be running the business. But she runs her business! So why shouldn’t I? What’s the difference between a dressmaker and a stagecoach driver, anyway?”

Samantha gave her a small grin. “The driver is a man?”

Belle let out a sharp laugh and swatted playfully at her friend, who jumped away. “Oh, you!” she exclaimed. “There’s no difference that should keep a woman from being a driver. I’m just as capable as my father or Carl or Louie!”

“I know that,” Samantha protested softly. “Most of Greentree and the other places you deal with, most of the people in those places all know that. You’re going to come up against some prejudice, though, you know that. It’s the way it is. Maybe in the future, women will be given equal status, but for now, it’s our lot in life, and we must deal with it.”

Belle felt her chest tighten with anxiety. She balled up her fists, pushing back against the negative feeling. “Well, I’m going to fight it, not just deal with it. I’m going to break what the normal is and create a new job description for women. Women drivers! And then we’ll see what the Agatha Watsons of the world have to say.”

“My goodness, she really got under your skin,” Samantha said as they walked up to the sales window of the ice cream parlor. “Let’s get some ice cream to cool you down a little.”

Belle thought that sounded like a great idea. 

They gave their orders to the boy at the sales window and retrieved their ice cream from him. There were several benches set along the road under some shade trees, and Belle headed for one of them. Samantha came along with her, and the two sat side by side on one of them. 

“It’s still a lovely day, isn’t it?” Samantha asked, her eyes roaming around them. “Everyone seems to be happy. Look at all the smiles. It’s the new spring weather, the return of the sun that’s making everyone happy. I’ll just bet you.”

Belle nodded. “I wouldn’t take that bet,” she said with a chuckle. “I know I would lose it. Plus, finding out the answer would require you and me starting some kind of campaign asking everyone why they are happy.” The thought made her giggle. She looked at Samantha, scooping up some of the ice cream and saying before she put it in her mouth, “Can you imagine? You and me walking around asking everyone we meet why they’re smiling. Some people might even take offense!”

Samantha laughed. “Nah, they won’t here in Greentree. Too friendly. We could get Mayor Lonnie involved. He’d gladly go around asking people if and why they’re happy. He does that every time he has to campaign to be re-elected anyway, doesn’t he?”

Belle had to laugh with her friend. “You’re right. He does. If that’s a job for anyone, it’s a job for him. He’s such a nice fella.”

“He is.”

The two were quiet for a moment while they ate and looked around. Belle could feel the warmth in the air and be glad of it. It hadn’t been the harshest of winters, but the coldest time of the year was always the worst in their Montana town. Everyone holed up and didn’t want to come out for any reason. The shipments of goods and supplies, including deliveries made by Grey’s Coaches, slowed down because of weather problems. 

Now that spring, summer, and fall were coming up, and she had just been put in charge, Belle was looking forward to a productive and exciting year. 

“Well, just don’t worry about Agatha not being one of those happy smiling faces,” Samantha spoke up when her ice cream was nearly gone. “She doesn’t understand your life because she doesn’t have to lead it. Don’t worry about her and concentrate on being the best businesswoman you can be.”

---

“Hearts Caught in the Moment” is an Amazon Best-Selling novel, check it out here!

It was Christmas of 1864 when Annabelle Grey’s father was told the bad news. He would not be able to continue doing drives for his stagecoach delivery and transport business due to a debilitating disease. Blessed with two daughters and no sons, his business was destined to fail… However, Belle is determined to show her father she is just as capable of taking over the business as any man in their hometown of Greentree, Montana. The only thing standing between her and success is her business rival and his son, who see her as a weak woman, not fit for the job.

Is the charming man who keeps her away from a blooming business really that terrible?

Mike Storey, Annabelle’s competitor, has been working in his greedy father’s business for most of his life, and even though they have known each other since school, Belle has always kept her distance. Mike, on the other hand, saw through Belle right away and longed to get to know her better. He kept his secret infatuation with her to himself up until the moment Belle showed up asking for his help. But how will he make her trust her greatest enemy?

Could he finally reveal to her just how much he cares for her and always has?

Business is booming but the budding relationship between Mike and Belle begins to cause problems. Mike’s father is against any involvement with her other than threats and intimidation and Belle needs to decide whether she can bear that cross for the man she loves. Mike questions whether he is the kind of son who could venture out on his own if his love for a woman disrupts his family at home. When his life is threatened and their futures hang in the balance, will the outcome be in their favor?

“Hearts Caught in the Moment” is a historical western romance novel of approximately 60,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Get your copy from Amazon!