A Pure Love to Mend their Trust (Preview)

Chapter One

Annie Blake looped her arm through Rachel’s and clutched the lunch basket a little bit more tightly when a gust of wind came at them.

“What’s on the menu for today?” Rachel asked.

“Same as usual. My poor father would probably love a bit of variation, but he’s never going to get it. I mean, other than a spice experiment, I don’t think we are creative enough to come up with anything new,” Annie said with an embarrassed laugh. She and her mother were not the best cooks in town, but the few dishes they knew how to prepare, they did decently.

“Oh, well. I’m sure he doesn’t mind,” Rachel said. “But you really should come over for a lesson or two. You know my mother can teach you to make just about anything.”

“Thanks, but he’s used to it by now. Anyway, my father is one of the few men out there who doesn’t mind a simple life without the fanfare of variation in his meals,” she said, giggling again.

“Maybe so, but you don’t know about the next man you’ll be asked to cook for,” Rachel said.

Annie rolled her eyes.

“If he can’t handle my cooking, I don’t think he’ll be able to handle me,” she said, sounding far more brash than she really was.

Rachel laughed along as they walked to the carpentry shop that Annie’s father owned and ran. They found him seated before a chair that he was sanding and he grinned as they walked in.

“Ah! There’s my girl. And Miss Frampton, how are you this afternoon?” he asked Rachel.

“Very well, Mr. Blake,” she replied.

Annie put an arm around her father and set the basket of food next to him.

“What are you working on?” she asked.

“Just an order for Mr. Blythe. He wants a new dining set and he liked the work that I did for Thomas Goodin,” he replied.

“That’s great, Papa. I’m proud of you,” Annie said, earning her a hand-squeeze from her father before he went back to sanding a small piece and then setting the chair aside.

“Can you hand me that rag?” he asked. Annie gave him the wet cloth and he started wiping the sawdust from his hands.

“Sorry it’s nothing exciting,” Annie said.

Her father looked up at her as though it was a strange thing to say and a small bark of laughter escaped Rachel’s lips before she clamped a hand over her mouth.

“You know me. I’m a man of simple tastes,” he said.

“Thank the good Lord for that, otherwise you have the wrong wife and daughter,” Annie teased.

“I have the perfect wife and the perfect daughter,” he said.

Annie gave a mock preen for him.

“And what are you two young ladies up to?” he asked, moving on and eyeing the basket of food.

“We figured we would just bring you your lunch and then head down to the duck pond,” Annie said.

“Oh? Well, that sounds like a nice enough time. I’m sure that the two of you will enjoy it,” he said, somewhat absentmindedly.

Annie’s father looked pensive with the same blue eyes that she had, as well as the same hooked nose that she was so self-conscious of. Her auburn hair, however, she got from her mother.

“You look distracted, Papa,” Annie said, observing him closely.

He turned to her and gave a firm nod.

“Maybe a little bit. I was going to tell you that Reverend Mills and I will be meeting with one another for dinner this evening,” he said.

“That’s nice. I’m sure that you and the Reverend will have a good conversation,” Annie said.

“I hope so. But when I come home, I think we will all need to sit down together to have a bit of a discussion,” he said, looking somewhat nervous.

“What kind of discussion?” Annie asked him.

“Nothing to worry about at the moment. We will talk about it then,” he said.

Annie’s smile faltered. She didn’t like it when her father made these plans and warned her of something important without being willing to tell her, or at least give her a hint, what it was that he needed to address.

“Papa? What do you mean?” she asked, trying to push just a little bit.

“I mean it, we will talk about it later,” he said, pushing the air down with one hand as if to signal her that it was a discussion better dropped for the time being.

“Well, all right then…” she said, allowing the irritation in her voice.

“Let me just say that you should be prepared for some very big news,” he said, a sly grin coming across his face and his eyebrows raising mischievously.

At this, Annie was even more determined. She wanted to know what her father was so eager and excited about. She wished that she could force him to open up and be honest with her, but Annie knew better than to get her hopes up about something like that. Her father had a bad habit of toying with her when it came to exciting announcements.

“Will you really not just tell me, Papa?” she asked.

He shook his head and opened the basket, pulling out some of the vegetables and getting started on his lunch.

“You’re being cruel, you know,” she said.

“Maybe, but the Reverend and I really do need to talk through everything before I can share anything with you. I just need you to tell your mother later that I won’t be home for dinner. She knew that this was a possibility for this evening, but I didn’t have the chance to confirm it with her,” he explained.

“Mama knows?” Annie asked.

“Of course your mother knows. You think I’m the sort of man who is going to keep things from her?” he challenged Annie.

“Why not? You’re keeping things from me,” Annie pointed out, only semi-teasing him with her attitude.
Again, Rachel let out a laugh, but Annie’s father did as well.

“You have far too much cheek, you know that?” he asked.

“That’s what you and Mama keep saying,” Annie replied, glad that she had been able to entertain him.

In truth, Annie was far from cheeky or ornery. Now and then, she would tease her parents with these little things. But they always knew that she was their obedient girl, at least that’s how Annie had tried to behave. She wanted them to be proud of her, no matter what.

“This tastes different,” her father said, drawing his brows together.

“I added some basil, thought you might enjoy a change,” Annie said.

From the look on her father’s face, Annie decided she would never add basil again.

“I don’t think we will be having the Reverend over for dinner at our house any time soon,” he said.

Annie knew that her father was only teasing her, but that didn’t change the fact that it stung a little bit.
“I know. I’ve got a lot to learn,” she said.

“No, you’re perfect, remember? My perfect daughter,” her father said.

“Well, your perfect daughter wishes that you would tell her now about the exciting and important news you are saving for later,” Annie said.

“Sorry, my dear. I can’t say a word until after my dinner,” he replied.

“In that case, we should be going,” Annie said, feeling rather drab about things.

She went off with Rachel, after saying goodbye, and they headed to the duck pond with a small bag of seeds for the birds that congregated there. Annie slipped off her shoes and sat down by the edge of the pond and Rachel followed suit.

“What do you think your father wants to talk to you about?” Rachel asked.

“I don’t know. I wish I did. But I haven’t seen him like this in a very long while. He only gets like this when he has something clever to reveal and it is a torture to have to wait for him to decide that he is ready to reveal it,” Annie said, grimacing.

“Well, maybe he has a good reason. Maybe it really is something exciting and worth waiting to learn,” Rachel said, sounding like an attempt at optimism.

“Yes, maybe,” Annie sighed.

“You don’t think so?” Rachel asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t get my hopes up about things anymore,” Annie said.

“I wish you didn’t think about it like that. It’s not about getting your hopes up for something that isn’t going to pan out. It’s about believing that things will get better,” Rachel told her.

“Sure, I guess,” Annie said, tossing a small handful of seeds gently between herself and a few of the ducks who waddled closer.

The truth was, things had been fairly strained over the previous year. She and her parents were often battling the assumptions of others and her mother and father just didn’t know what to do with her.
No one did.

All anybody knew was the fact that Annie had a great opportunity to be a loving, loyal wife to a good, generous man. There was no explanation as to why she had suddenly called things off and left him in the lurch the way she had.

“Come on now, Annie. I know that you’ve had a tough year and all of that, but you need to look at the other side of things. You have every chance at happiness now, or whatever it is that you are looking for,” Rachel said, trying to search for an answer that Annie still couldn’t give her.

“I know, Rachel. I know that there are still good things ahead, even if I can’t see them now. I know that there are doors that will open up for me…one day,” Annie said.

“Good. I’m glad that you can see that, even if it’s tough. Just don’t forget that you’re not alone. There is a whole lot of good in this world and it doesn’t have to be held captive by the mistakes that we make,”Rachel said.

Mistakes.

It made Annie’s eye twitch to hear that word used in this context. Rachel was vaguely calling it a mistake that Annie had called off the engagement with Bartholomew. And that was how everyone saw it, wasn’t it? Didn’t everybody think that Annie had done something foolish?

“I suppose you’re right. Anyway, whatever decisions I have made in the past regarding Mr. Jones, I don’t think that’s something for me to worry about, like you said. But that doesn’t mean I’m not somewhat hesitant about the future,” Annie said.

“Why? Don’t you want to get married?” Rachel said.

Annie didn’t answer right away, just pursed her lips and tried to steel herself against the threat of heartache.

“Oh, come on, don’t go silent on me. Do you think you will ever get married?” Rachel pressed.
Annie shrugged, still feeling rather downcast.

“I don’t know the will of God,” she finally said. “But…I hope so…”

“See? It’s not so bad to hold on to that hope. We may not know his will, but we can trust that he will work everything out for his glory and our good, right?” Rachel asked.

“Of course. We just need to remember that sometimes his glory and our good aren’t exactly what we want them to be,” Annie said, remembering the moment she realized she couldn’t marry Bartholomew and the sadness that came with it.

All of those hopes dashed. All of it destroyed with only the determination that she had to end the matter.
“Anyway, whatever my father’s plan for the Reverend tonight, I’m looking forward to his announcement,” she said, trying to find the optimism, after all.

“Good. You need to think of it like that. You never know, maybe your father wants to study under him and become a preacher himself?” Rachel suggested.

Annie laughed at that thought.

“Maybe, but I doubt it. Whatever it is, I’m sure that there will be a whirlwind surprise ahead,” she said.
And that was exactly what Annie was hoping for. A whirlwind of new, fresh air.

Chapter Two

Jethro blinked his large, boyish green eyes and waited for his father to signal that this was some sort of joke. Any kind of joke. Even a lousy one.

It couldn’t possibly be the truth.

“What?” he managed to ask.

“Now, don’t look at me like that. You know this is for your own good,” his father said.

“Father, I can’t imagine how this could be for my own good. What do you mean you arranged it with Mr. Blake?” he asked, astonished.

But his father gave him a surprised look, one that reminded Jethro of his place.

“I’m sorry, Father. I didn’t mean to speak to you like that. I was only surprised,” Jethro said.

His father, Reverend Mills, had been out all evening with Mr. Blake, the father of that strange Annie woman who had jilted her former betrothed. She was the last woman Jethro had imagined himself with.

“I don’t want to have to spend a day around someone so flighty. She just up and left an engagement, Father. What do you think people will say if they learn that you are parading us around one another?”

Jethro asked, daring to push himself just a little bit further in order to make his point.

He couldn’t believe that this was even a conversation that they were having.

“Jethro, I do not appreciate the way that you are speaking to me. I didn’t expect something like this from you,” his father said.

Jethro looked away in shame. He knew that his father was right, but he couldn’t bring himself to be the obedient son that he was meant to be at that moment.

“I know. I know I’m not being respectful,” he said, hanging his head and trying to keep his thoughts internalized.

Jethro had told his father twice in the past few weeks that he was ready to try and find a wife. In fact, he had been getting rather excited by the idea. He couldn’t wait to be a husband and provider to a sweet woman as he learned more about the Scriptures in his efforts toward becoming a reverend in his own right.

But when he imagined his helpmeet, the woman who would be by his side and live with him in a beautiful matrimony, he hardly imagined someone who might dart away and leave him behind with just days until the wedding. He never would have thought he would end up with someone like Annie Blake.

And he wouldn’t. His father could parade her around in front of him if he wanted, but that hardly meant that Jethro had to like her or make a choice to spend his life with her. The very idea of that was painful to him.

“Listen, Jethro, we need to be realistic about this. You have had plenty of time to find a wife. You know it as well as I do. The fact that you haven’t is a result of your own laziness,” his father said.

It hurt, but it was true. His mother and father had been urging him to find a wife for a while, but Jethro had always had such high standards in what he wanted that he hadn’t managed to find anyone who fit them yet. Now, now that he was really eager to find someone, he should have expected that his father would make the effort to do it for him.

“You’re right, Father. I was lazy. But I won’t be anymore. I want to find a good wife and I will. I just need a little bit more time. If you give me a week or two, I’m sure I can come up with another eligible woman in town,” Jethro said, racking his brain for other options.

He didn’t know many other women in town. And whenever he pictured his future, the vague mirage of a wife looked nothing like any of the women that he knew. But surely he could find one who looked more like her than Annie Blake did.

Jethro ran his fingers nervously through his tousled black curls. He needed a haircut and he allowed the thought to distract him for a moment, something to give his mind a break from the serious nature of the conversation.

But it was short-lived as he saw his father shake his head.

“Your mother and I have been thinking for a while that Annie Blake might be a good woman for you. Even before her…before the other arrangement, I had considered her. Now that she is available to court again, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be the man who courts her,” his father said.

Jethro was dumbfounded. His father simply wasn’t listening. Did he not want to hear? Did he know nothing at all about Annie Blake?

“Father, I don’t know what to say. I wish that I had words to express how difficult this is for me,” Jethro said.

“Life alone is what is difficult, Jethro. Trust me. And Mr. Blake is perfectly happy with what we have arranged,” his father said, as if that was all that was needed to settle the matter.

Jethro wanted a happy life. He wanted to be married. He wanted to provide for a wonderful home.
But this was not how he wanted it.

“Father…” he began, desperation edging his voice.

“Yes?” his father asked.

“Please don’t make me marry someone like Annie Blake,” he said.

“Jethro, if it your Christian duty to marry and you have not done it yet. You will spend some time with Annie Blake and you will get to know her. From there, we will trust that the Lord has a plan and it will be revealed to us in time,” his father said.

But Jethro could see that his father had already made up his mind. There was no going back. The decision had been made.

“May I spend some time at Timothy’s ranch?” Jethro asked, unable to stand there any longer.

“Yes, you may. Tell him that I said hello,” his father said, partly.

With that, Jethro went outside and mounted his horse before riding over to see his cousin. When he arrived, he went straight inside and found Timothy relaxed in the sitting room.

“Aren’t you meant to be out there shoveling hay?” Jethro asked.

“Not today! I’m ill and I can hardly move my body so my ranch hands are taking on the duties,” Timothy said.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jethro asked.

“Just a little cough. Anyway, what’s going on with you? You look terribly upset,” Timothy said.

“Yeah, well, I am. My father said I could come by and talk to you, but I think he’s just glad to get me out of the house for a little while so that I can’t argue with him,” Jethro said.

“You? Argue with your father? I can’t imagine that. You’re not the type,” Timothy said.

“Normally I would agree with you, but this is a very different issue,” Jethro said.

“Tell me about it,” Timothy urged.

“You know the Blake girl?” Jethro asked.

“Sure. Beautiful, but she turned down poor Bartholomew Jones just a few days before the wedding, didn’t she?” Timothy asked.

“Yeah, that’s the one. Well, it turns out that my father talked to her father and now they want us to spend some time getting to know one another tomorrow,” Jethro explained.

Timothy’s eyes widened.

“What? It can’t be. Doesn’t your father know what she did?” Timothy asked.

“Of course he does. Everyone in town knows about it. I mean, can you imagine? If we ended up having to get married or something, I feel like I would just be standing there at all times, waiting for her to change her mind. I want to marry, I really do, but I want to marry someone who is truly good,” Jethro said.

“Of course you do. I don’t blame you for being upset. Honestly, I’m shocked that your father would put you in this position. It’s not right,” Timothy said.

“That’s what I thought. But it’s not up to me and he really seems to believe that this is for the best,” Jethro said.

“I wish there was something that we could do,” Timothy said.

“Me too, but there isn’t. I’m going to do the dutiful thing and spend the day with her tomorrow, but after that? Nothing more. I’ll just tell my father that we don’t have any connection,” Jethro said.

“That’s a good idea. At least he will have to give you some credit for trying,” Timothy said.

“Exactly. He might even be proud of me for making an effort. But, anyway, I just can’t do it. I mean, marrying a woman who would be so flippant about a commitment like that? I don’t know how she thought her reputation would bounce back after something like that,” Jethro said.

A part of him felt bad for Annie. She really was beautiful and she seemed nice enough, but it was a mystery to him that she would expect a swift and gracious acceptance into marriage when she had been so cruel to Bartholomew Jones. No other man was going to put himself in that position and she shouldn’t expect them to do that for her.

At least Timothy understood. Maybe Jethro’s father wouldn’t listen, maybe his mother was so desperate to see him married that she would concede to this as well, but Jethro hoped that there was still a chance to get out of this.

“What exactly will you all be doing tomorrow?” Timothy asked.

“I’m not sure. I’m assuming lunch and maybe some activities. Probably something to show off all of Annie Blake’s accomplishments, trying to prove that she is just as respectable as any other young woman,” Jethro said with a shrug.

He hadn’t thought much about what the next day would hold, other than the fact that it was going to be a whole lot of nonsense, trying to pair him up with a woman that he could never learn to care about.

Jethro pictured Annie in his mind for a moment. Yes, she had plenty of good qualities, as far as he was aware. But he didn’t know her well and he mostly knew what everyone else did.

Annie was the woman who could throw a man’s heart away as carelessly as she had tossed an apple core into the compost.

But Jethro tried to convince himself to give her a shot. He told himself that it would be worth it in the end, even if it was just to appease his mother and father before telling them he would find a wife of his own.
He wanted to honor God and he wanted to honor the wife and family that God had for him. But until he managed to get past this hurdle, his visions of the future were suddenly blocked by an image in which he was standing at the alter, waiting for a bride who would never arrive.

“What are you thinking?” Timothy asked.

“I’m thinking that I will have to pray a whole lot to be released from this crazy scheme that my mother and father have put together. I know they want what’s best for me, I’m just not sure what makes them think that this is it,” he said.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure that they will come to realize what a silly mistake this is. Your father is a good man and he is a man of prayer. God will give him guidance and you will be free of anything having to do with Annie Blake,” Timothy said.

Jethro certainly hoped so, but he was still uncertain if Timothy’s words would come to pass. He was desperate for them to be true.

But, if he did end up ensnared by the plan, he would have to beg God for rescue.

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“A Pure Love to Mend their Trust” is an Amazon Best-Selling novel, check it out here!

A year later, Annie Blake is still trying to recover from her unexpectedly ended engagement. Remaining silent about the true reason and struggling to protect someone who betrayed her, she decides to take full responsibility, being well aware that her reputation and her future are at stake. For longer than she can remember, all she ever wanted was a happy marriage. When Jethro appears on the horizon, in an unexpected twist of fate, Annie finds herself hopelessly in love with him. Now that she has one last chance to fulfill her wish, will she fight for it or will she back down? Will she manage to carry this scandalous secret that can potentially destroy her life?

Jethro Mills, the son of the Reverend, is ready to find his helpmeet. His world turns upside down, though, when he discovers that his future wife abandoned her betrothed just days before their wedding. Although he can’t fathom a worse prospect, he decides to yield under his family’s pressure and give Annie a chance. Soon enough, no matter how hard he tries to resist, he finds himself surprisingly stricken with her wit and unique beauty. Can he get past his own prejudice and trust her? Will Jethro find the woman his heart desires on Annie’s face?

As the forced union draws near, lies begin to spiral until the truth is buried so deep, it will take a lot of courage and devotion to draw it out. Will Annie ever have her happy ending? Will Jethro find the woman his heart desires? Or will they be torn apart by a lie that threatens to overtake them all?

“A Pure Love to Mend their Trust” 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!