Their Warm Ray of Joy (Preview)

Chapter One

July 1867. Hanna, West Virginia

Theodore ‘Teddy’ Montgomery had seen a great many heatwaves in his time, but none as bad as this one. The last two months had been so unbearably hot that absolutely no one in Hanna, West Virginia wanted to do any work at all. No one in town knew what to do when it came to coping with heat this bad because, of course, it was West Virginia. They weren’t used to this kind of scorching heat. Most of the shops had closed up for the time being because their heat-exhausted owners were tired of showing up to work in a town where no one was leaving their homes anyhow. Many of the farmers had to let their farmhands go because they were dropping like flies out in the fields. It was a very difficult time for everyone.

There were only two people in town who absolutely had to show up for work no matter what, and that was the sheriff, Albert Watts, and his young, cocky deputy, the aforementioned Teddy. As the young man sat in the courthouse that day with his feet up on his desk in his signature way, fanning himself with a book on the law, he couldn’t believe that he had somehow managed to get himself into the only job in town that still made him come into work in this heat. He let out a long, enduring sigh, and then woefully got up to do the only thing that currently brought him any joy: looking at himself in the reflection of the glass.

Teddy was a good-looking twenty-six-year-old man; that was undeniable. He would have been even better looking if he wasn’t so self-obsessed and proud. He was the second-tallest man in town, had sun-bleached blonde hair, and deep brown eyes that all of the girls in town loved to stare longingly into. He had quite a slender face and a slim nose, but that was well-balanced by his plump lips. When he smiled, as he was doing right now, two small dimples appeared in his cheeks. Looking at his sweet reflection, Teddy took his hand and wiped the moisture from his face before returning to his desk.

As soon as he had picked up his book to resume his fanning, he heard the main door open behind him with its characteristic creak. A warm, rather unpleasant-smelling breeze came along with the creak, and Teddy knew that the sheriff had returned from his trip to the post office.

Teddy took his feet off the desk and stood up to turn around and greet Al. When he saw the gentleman who was twenty years his senior, he had to restrain his laughter. Al, who typically prided himself on his perfect posture and clean attire, looked absolutely disheveled. His clothes were soaked through with sweat and in disarray, the brow that Teddy could see peeking out beneath his hat was matted with his drenched curly brown hair, and he was slouched so low that he didn’t even really look as though he was walking anymore—he seemed to be dragging himself with his arms practically on the floor.

“Al,” Teddy said quickly, taking the post from the sheriff and guiding him over to his chair in front of the open window. “I told you that you shouldn’t have tried to go and get the post today. There’s just no point in trying to do anything other than what’s absolutely necessary.”

When he was seated in front of the window, Teddy got him some water. As Al began chugging it down, he started to come back to life. He drew the cup away from his mouth to take in a big gasping breath and then resumed drinking before responding to Teddy. When he finally did, he was still panting heavily. 

“That was a necessary trip just like I told you, you fool,” Al barked at Teddy. “Go look in that mail pile. We’ve got a letter from Sheriff Buckman in Walker.”

Teddy wasted no time and took the letter from the sheriff off the top of the pile. It had already been opened, so he slipped it out of the envelope and gave it a quick read.

Greetings Al,

There have been a few sightings of Ramsey Yates in the past few days, but he hasn’t caused any trouble for us. Just this morning, though, Travis Miller told me that he saw Ramsey heading out of town in your direction. He said that he saw him around half past nine, so I thought that he might be to Hanna by noon. Thought you might like to know so that you might have the chance to nab him for those robberies on the outskirts of town from two years back. 

Best of luck,

Sheriff Buckman.

Teddy quickly took his pocket watch out to check the time. It was eleven thirty-five. That meant that he only had about twenty-five minutes before Ramsey Yates, one of the men that they had been trying to catch for a couple of years, might be riding into town. 

The young deputy looked up at the sheriff, who was already looking at him expectantly. 

“You’re gonna let me go, aren’t you?” Teddy asked eagerly. 

Al nodded his head, albeit very slowly. “I know I couldn’t try to hold you back if I wanted to. But Teddy, you have to promise me something.”

Teddy, however, was already collecting his things. He grabbed his hat from his desk, put his pistol in the holster strapped to his hip. and took some water just in case. Then, he finally looked up at the sheriff.

“Sure,” he said absent-mindedly. Teddy had been waiting for something like this to happen for an awfully long time. He hadn’t made any arrests in a few months, and there were rumors beginning to spread throughout town that he wasn’t cut out for his job anymore. He feared that if he didn’t make this arrest, that might be the end of it for him. 

“You have to promise me you won’t take your gun out of its holster,” Sheriff Watts said firmly. 

Teddy stared at him, dumbfounded. “My pistol? What? Why not?”

“Because you and I both know that you’re far too quick on the draw,” Al said slowly. “You think with your weapon instead of your head. Now I know that you’re all pumped up to get Yates, but he’s not big enough fish to just shoot dead in the streets. You have to arrest him and bring him back here. If you don’t, you’re fired.”

Teddy’s eyes widened and he slammed his fist on the table. “No! You’re kidding me, right, Al? Who knows what this guy is going to try and pull on me. What if he just shoots me dead right off the bat? Then how will you feel when my horse comes back without a rider and Ramsey Yates lives to rob another day?”

“That’s not going to happen, Deputy,” Sheriff Watts said calmly. “You and I both know that. I haven’t had to use my gun in four months, whereas you discharged yours two days ago for no good reason. I can’t keep employing someone with a head as hot as yours. You have to prove to me that you are able to bring him in without using violence.”

Teddy’s nostrils flared and he balled his fists by his sides. He desperately wanted to shout back at Al and tell him off for talking to him like that, but he knew that was a terrible idea. This job was all that he had right now—neither of his parents were in good health, and their family was not wealthy. If he was going to go anywhere in life, he needed to retain his position as deputy. 

And so, instead of being the foolish idiot that he usually was, Teddy took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and nodded very slowly. 

“I…I will not shoot him,” Teddy promised Al, but Al wasn’t satisfied. 

“No, you will not take your pistol out of its holster,” Sheriff Watts clarified. “I want to know that you can complete all of this without even brandishing your weapon. Do you promise me that?”

Teddy bit the inside of his lip so hard that he began to taste blood. However, he still nodded to Sheriff Watts, and finally, he seemed satisfied with his answer. The sheriff waved him out the door.

“Go on then. Ride out to the eastern edge of town and you should be able to take him by surprise. If you come back without him, that’ll be a disappointment, but it isn’t the end of the world. Just keep your gun—”

“In its holster, I got it,” Teddy responded, some of his fury spilling over into the tone of his voice once again. He clipped his gun into place on his holster and looked at the sheriff with his hands away from it. “There it shall remain. Happy?”

Sheriff Watts shrugged. “I will be when you come back with it in exactly the same position and all your bullets still in place. Go on now.”

Teddy turned on his heel and went out the door, still fuming at the fact that his boss didn’t trust him enough not to shoot the outlaw. But as he mounted his horse and rode out of town, the anger began to dissipate and it was replaced with fierce determination. Teddy decided that he was going to nab this guy, come hell or high water, and he was going to do it without so much as reaching for his pistol. That he was certain of.

*****

When he reached a point on the road that was on the outer edge of town and he knew Yates would likely be passing through it, Teddy took his horse and hid them both behind the largest boulder he could find. He positioned himself in such a way that he could see the road from practically every angle, and then readied himself for Yates’ arrival.

Nothing happened for a long time, so Teddy checked his pocket watch. It was eleven fifty-eight. He gently ran his fingers through his horse’s mane to calm himself, trying as hard as he could to not let his thoughts wander. He was certain that Yates would be here any minute, and if he could just keep his focus for a little bit longer…

Suddenly, he heard a horse’s hooves pounding against the dirt in the distance. Teddy’s heart began hammering in his chest, but he focused on his breathing and tried not to let himself get carried away by the excitement of the situation. He looked far and wide beyond the boulder and finally, he could see Ramsey Yates’ horse coming into view. 

Teddy grasped the reins tightly and held his feet just out from the sides of the horse so that he was ready to bolt out when Yates got close enough. He closely watched Yates’ position to make sure that he didn’t change course at the last minute, which he didn’t. 

One hundred yards…fifty yards…twenty-five yards…

Finally, it was Teddy’s moment to act. He dug his heels into his horse’s sides and sprung out from behind the boulder, right in front of Yates. The outlaw had to yank back on his reins to stop from plowing into Teddy and his horse, and the moment that the outlaw saw him, he drew his gun.

“Outta my way!” Yates yelled, gesturing with his gun. 

“Not this time, Yates,” Teddy said calmly, longing to reach for his own pistol but remembering his promise to Sheriff Watts. “You’re coming with me back to Hanna, and we’re going to charge you for those robberies all those years ago that we know you committed.”

Teddy was pretty proud of himself for his demeanor and the way he had confronted Yates. But Yates just sneered at him and brought his other hand up to get a better grip on his gun that he still had pointed straight at Teddy. 

“What makes you think I’m gonna wanna do a thing like that?” Yates asked, his horse trotting anxiously from side-to-side, ready to bolt forwards at any moment. 

“Well,” Teddy continued, “if you don’t, I’m just going to have to take you down myself. And that won’t be pretty, believe me.”

Yates laughed cruelly. “Whoever you are, you’re a fool. Now if you don’t get out of my way, I’m going to shoot you dead.”

“That’s not going to happen, I’m afraid,” Teddy responded. He firmly grasped the reins of his horse and pulled them tightly. He wanted to be able to steer him and his horse out of harm’s way at a moment’s notice. “I’m going to give you to the count of three to give yourself over, Yates.”

“You don’t even have your hand on your gun,” Yates jeered him. “Why would I be afraid of you?”

With that, Yates and his horse cantered to Teddy’s right, and Teddy took off after him. Yates was bobbing and weaving as though he was being shot at, but Teddy did his best to remain tight on his tail. He wasn’t going to let him get away, not if his job depended on it. 

The chase ensued for about a mile, and no matter what Yates did, Teddy didn’t let him go. At one point, the men were so close together that Teddy tried to get right up beside him and knock him off his horse. Their horses slammed together, but Yates did not fall. Both men were exceptional riders, that was for sure.

Finally, Yates rode right up to the spot where a group of boulders had tumbled down the cliff a few days ago and they were now blocking both men’s path. Teddy continued riding deeper into the dead-end, knowing the closer that he got to the rock wall, the more likely he was to trap Yates. 

The outlaw finally seemed to understand his predicament and slowed his horse to a stop. He turned himself around and faced Teddy, both of his guns drawn this time. 

“You think you’ve got me, don’t you?” Yates snarled at Teddy. “But what you haven’t taken into account is the fact that I’ve got one more pistol than you, and both of mine are twice the size of yours.”

Teddy laughed out loud and shook his head. “It’s not the size of your pistol that matters, Yates. It’s how you use it.”

Both men stared each other down, and as they did, Teddy got a sinking feeling. He knew that there was only one way that Yates was going to go down, and it wasn’t quietly. He was left with a choice: should he let this outlaw go free and not use his gun, or should he give up and shoot the man?

In a split second, his decision was made for him. Teddy saw Yates’ trigger finger flinch, so he whipped his gun out of its holster. It was too late. He heard Yates’ guns go off and felt the sting of a bullet rip through his right shoulder. It hurt like nothing he’d ever felt before, but he did not lower his gun, and he was thankful he’d only been hit by one bullet. He took aim at Yates and fired in an instant, hitting him square in the chest. 

And then, there was silence. 

Teddy held his breath as he and Yates kept their eyes trained on each other. They were unlike any he’d ever seen before; such a light blue that they almost looked yellow, and the veins in the whites of his eyes were so red they looked ready to burst.

After what felt like an eternity, Yates’ arms finally went limp, and the rest of his body slowly followed as he dropped off of his horse and hit the dirt. A huge cloud of dust enveloped the outlaw like a hand reaching up from beneath the earth to take him to his final resting place.

When the dust cleared, Teddy knew that he was done for. He’d done exactly what the sheriff had told him not to, and no matter what he said, Sheriff Watts would never believe he’d shot Ramsey Yates in self-defense. 

Teddy rubbed his horse’s neck to tell her that the danger had passed, and then carefully climbed off of her. He took a few hesitant steps towards Yates. He wanted to ensure that the outlaw was dead, but if he wasn’t, he didn’t want to get shot…again. He looked to his shoulder and saw a river of blood pouring out of it. He could do nothing more than bite off his riding glove and put his bare hand over it to try and stop a bit of the bleeding. 

When he was standing right in front of Yates’ body, he nudged the outlaw’s outstretched hand, and it flopped backwards lifelessly. He was dead. Now Teddy had to figure out what to do with him. 

He knelt down to examine Yates’ body, but when he did, he heard the strangest sound. At first, he thought it was a bird circling overhead, calling quietly to the rest of its family that it had found dinner. But as he listened more closely, he realized he better recognized the sound as…

“A baby?” he said out loud to himself. Standing up, he looked around to see if he could hear where it was coming from. There was no one and nothing for miles, so there was no chance it could have been coming from a house nearby. He thought for a second that maybe someone had dumped a child in the hills to his left, but then he realized the sound was far, far closer than that: it was coming from the saddle bag on the side of Yates’ horse.

Teddy’s eyes widened. He slowly walked over to the horse, keeping eye contact with it as he walked so that it would not try and bolt. The horse seemed far calmer now that it did not have its rider, and Teddy was able to approach it with ease. He put a comforting hand on its muzzle and then walked around to the side of the horse that the saddlebag was on. The sound got louder and louder as he got closer. He gently undid the closures on the bag and very carefully opened it.

The baby was swaddled safely in a faded yellow blanket. The poor thing had its mouth wide open and was wailing as loudly as it could. Teddy felt something inside of him kick into high gear, and he immediately scooped the poor thing out of the bag and took it in his arms.

“Shhhhh, shhhh,” he said, still in shock at the sight of the tiny thing. 

The baby couldn’t have been more than a few days old judging by the size, and it was as cute as anything. Teddy looked from the baby to Yates and back again. 

“Was that your father?” Teddy asked the child, who was still wailing. “Why did he put you in there? Why did I shoot him? Oh, you poor thing…”

Teddy was immediately filled with even more guilt over shooting Yates. The devastation regarding this confrontation’s outcome no longer arose from the fact that Teddy was going to lose his job over it. He was now going to have to live with the fact that he had killed this little thing’s father.

The baby continued wailing, and Teddy was at a loss as to what to do.

I can’t leave it here, he thought to himself, but what do I do? Take it back to town with me and tell everyone I shot this baby’s father? What will happen to it? Will it be adopted by a family who will think of it as nothing more than the child of an outlaw? That fact will haunt the poor thing for the rest of its life.

And then, the answer came to him as clearly as if it had been written in the stars. Teddy looked down at the baby and gingerly offered it his clean finger, and immediately, the baby took a hold of it and began sucking on it. The child was finally quiet, and when it opened its eyes, it looked up at Teddy and his heart shattered into a million pieces.

“All right,” he said quietly to the baby, “all right. I’m going to take good care of you, little one. We’re going to ride back into town, and no one will ever have to know that Ramsey Yates was your father. I found you on the side of the road, just sitting there, didn’t I? That’s what I’ll tell everyone. But from here on out, I’ll be your Papa. There’s no need to question that. I’m here for you little one. I’m here.”

The baby kept looking up at Teddy with its eyes wide, sucking on his finger. As it did, Teddy looked down and saw that on the very corner of the blanket the baby was wrapped in, there were two tiny embroidered doves. Teddy looked at the doves a little closer and smiled to himself.

“Two little birdies,” he said softly, and when he did, the baby took his finger out of its mouth and laughed. Teddy looked at the child, surprised. “Did…did you just laugh? At what, two little birdies?”

The baby laughed again, and Teddy was amazed. He chuckled right back.

“Birdies. That’s perfect. Will you be my little Birdie?”

The baby laughed once again, and in that moment, Teddy knew that Birdie was to be his daughter.

Chapter Two

September 1871

“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?” Teddy asked Albert as he sat at his desk, sifting through his mountain of paperwork.

“Not for as long as you live,” Al replied, taking a swig of his water. “The only reason why I didn’t fire you the day you shot Ramsey Yates was because you emotionally manipulated me.”

Teddy rolled his eyes. “That’s some mighty advanced language for you, Al. You want to explain to me what that means and what you mean by it?”

“Absolutely,” Al responded. “Louisa taught me that phrase last week when we were doing the dishes together.”

Teddy looked up at his boss, surprised. “Louisa’s got you doin’ dishes now?” Al nodded. “My, oh my. Marrying that woman was the best thing you’ve ever done, Al. I’d like to shake her hand.”

“She told me,” Al pressed on, “that one of her girlfriends, Patricia, starts crying and wailing any time Louisa brings up anything Patricia’s done wrong. That right there is emotional manipulation: Patricia is making Louisa feel bad for bringing the topic up in the hopes that it’ll make Louisa stop telling her that stuff. And that is exactly what you did to me that day. You went out and did exactly what I told you not to by shooting Ramsey Yates. Then, you ‘conveniently’ found that angel of a little girl by the side of the road on your way home. You knew that the moment you showed her to me, I was going to be as soft as jelly and wouldn’t fire you. I believe my Louisa would say that is a classic case of emotional manipulation.”

Teddy began chuckling, and then put down the sheet of paper he had been looking at and began clapping for Al. “Well done, Sheriff. You discovered my plot. The truth is that I went and kidnapped Birdie from a well-to-do family the next town over and brought her back here just so that you wouldn’t fire me for shooting Yates. Tell Louisa that she’s turned you into the best sleuth this side of the Mississippi. Arrest me and take back my little girl!”

Teddy smacked his wrists together and pointed them in Al’s direction, and then dramatically turned his head away, as if he was prompting Al to tie his hands together. After a moment of doing this, Teddy cracked one eye open and checked to see what Al’s reaction was. He was sitting with his arms crossed and one eyebrow arched, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

“You belong on a stage with a performance like that,” Al retorted sarcastically. “All I’m saying is that I think I deserve a little recognition for being so charitable and allowing you to keep your job so that you and Birdie are able to keep a roof over your heads. Understood?”

Teddy broke character and smiled gratefully at Al. “Well understood, sheriff. I may joke, but I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you—”

“All right, all right, don’t go getting sentimental on me,” Al said, waving him away with his hand. “I wanted an acknowledgment, not a soliloquy.”

“I suppose I can give you that,” Teddy replied, chuckling. He pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. It was nearly the day’s end. “Birdie and Aunt Penny should be here any moment, so don’t go repeating any of that ‘found her on the side of the road’ business to Birdie, remember?” 

“Do you really think I’m that dumb?” Al asked him rhetorically. “Not a soul in town has said a peep about that to Birdie since she was big enough to start talking to people. She’s your daughter. That may have been a lie, but it wasn’t a bad one.”

“Thanks, Al. Penny and I are going to tell her when she’s older, when she can understand it a little better. But for now, we think it’s best if Birdie grows up as a normal little girl.” Just as Teddy finished talking, the doors to the courthouse opened and something bolted straight for Teddy’s desk. It collided with him a second later, and when Teddy felt his little girl in his arms, he pulled her up onto his lap and embraced her tightly. 

“Papa!” Birdie cried, pulling herself away from his chest and looking up at him. She was an adorable little girl with black curly hair, a broad smile, and button nose. The most striking features of her face were her piercing blue eyes. Teddy had stared lovingly into them a million times and could never understand how they could be quite such a crystal clear blue. “Do you know what Aunt Penny just told me we could do tonight? Do you know?”

Teddy laughed and shook his head, gently running his fingers through her tousled hair in a feeble attempt to get a few of the knots out. There was almost nothing more Birdie hated than having her hair brushed because of the way the knots pulled. But then, if Aunt Penelope and Teddy let her hair go without brushing it, the knots only got worse, of course. It was an unending cycle that neither Teddy nor his aunt had been able to solve yet. 

“I can’t possibly guess,” Teddy responded, giving up on his daughter’s hair when she yelped in pain once. “What are we going to do this evening?”

Teddy looked up and met eyes with Penelope, who gave him a reassuring look. Penelope might have been the most sensible out of the three of them, but there was still always a small worry at the back of Teddy’s mind that she was going to agree to something that Birdie wanted to do that he didn’t approve of.

However, anyone who took one look at Penelope immediately knew that she was a pretty straight-laced woman. Although she was getting older, she did not dress like it; she was wearing the most up-to-date fashions of the day, and her outfits were always impeccably put together. Penelope had soft brown hair that was greying at the roots and bright brown eyes to match. She wasn’t a particularly serious woman, but her resting state was not outward happiness; it was a quiet, reserved peacefulness. When she smiled, although it may have been an infrequent occurrence, it spread across her lips like a welcomed rain dancing across the plains after a drought. 

 Aunt Penelope was Teddy’s mother’s sister. She had always been close with her sister and her nephew, but she had moved away when she got married to a lovely fellow named Lucas Fairfield many years ago. Lucas had passed away around the same time that Teddy’s parents did, which was about a month or two after he adopted Birdie. Aunt Penelope could have chosen to continue to live on her own, as Lucas had ensured that she was well taken care of for the rest of her life, but she found that too lonely. So, she had written to her nephew, thinking that he might be struggling with loneliness as much as she was, and asked him if she might come live with him for a little while. She expected that he might be in pursuit of a wife, so she assumed she would move elsewhere when he began a family.

When Teddy wrote back and told her about Birdie, she had been stunned. She’d always known that her nephew was a sensitive, caring young man, even though he may not have outwardly seemed it to many because of his pompous attitude.  However, she never could have imagined that he’d take in the daughter of an outlaw after shooting him in self-defense. But, Teddy said that he would love the company, along with any motherly or grandmotherly assistance she could provide. 

They’d written back and forth for a few days, discussing what should be done about telling the girl of her outlaw parentage. They both finally agreed that it would be best for Birdie to think that Teddy was her father. They didn’t want her to have to go through any emotional distress until she was old enough to handle that sort of difficult news. Teddy was her ‘real’ father, even if not biologically, and so the aunt and the nephew decided that this was the best way to proceed. Aunt Penelope had arrived the next week, and she’d been living with them ever since. 

“She, she, she said that we should go and look for ACORNS in the back forest! ACORNS!” Birdie squealed, clapping her hands in front of her face. 

“Acorn hunting, huh?” Al called from his desk. Birdie pivoted her head to watch him with her eagle eyes. “That’s a pretty dangerous business, little Bird. Do you have the right license to participate in such an activity?”

Teddy couldn’t see his daughter’s face, but he’d be willing to bet good money on the fact that Birdie didn’t know Al was joking with her. 

“Nooooo…” she said warily, and Teddy’s guess was confirmed. “I didn’t know you needed a lis…lic…a thingie like that to be able to hunt acorns, Sheriff.”

Al gave a big dramatic gasp, and for a moment Teddy worried that he was taking the charade too far. He was very protective of Birdie, possibly a little too much so, and he always wanted to make sure she was as happy as could be. Al, however, said his next sentence with a big, goofy grin on his face, and that reassured Teddy.

“Well then, I suppose you should come on over here to my desk and ask me if I might prepare you an acorn hunting license. But it’s going to cost you,” he said, his tone denoting the joking nature of his warning. 

Birdie gave a dramatic gasp back to Al as it was now obvious that she knew her honorary grandfather was just playing with her. “But, Papa Al! I don’t have any money! I can only give hugs and kisses!”

Al stroked his chin thoughtfully, furrowing his brow and leaning back in his chair. And then, a wide smile spread across his face just as a warm wind swept through the open window behind him, ruffling Birdie’s hair. 

“Then it’s a good thing all it will cost you is one big hug, if you feel like you’re in a hugging mood today, that is,” Al replied to the little girl.

Immediately, Birdie sprang off of her father’s lap and raced over to the sheriff. She gave him as big a hug as she’d given Teddy, and all three of the adults laughed. While Birdie was preoccupied with her sheriff-grandfather writing her up an acorn hunting license, Teddy rose from his chair, collected his things, and then came up beside Penelope.

“Any more ‘mama’ questions today?” Teddy asked her quietly. 

Penelope shook her head. “Thankfully none. I’ve done my best to steer her curiosity away from family matters into the natural world, thus the sudden interest in acorn hunting. And while I enjoy a walk in the woods as much as the next person, if it is all the same to you, I might pop into Mrs. Sanderson’s shop while I’m here in town for a little while.”

Teddy nodded his approval. “Of course, I’m happy to take her walking. Tell Mrs. Sanderson I say hello and…here…” Teddy took a little bit of money out of his pocket and placed it in his aunt’s unsuspecting hand. “Al gave me a bonus for nabbing the Walters brothers last week. I’d very much like for you to buy that navy bonnet you’ve had your eye on for the past six months.”

Penelope stared back at him, looking like a deer who’d just been walked up on mid-graze. She looked down at the money, and then up at her nephew again. 

“Theodore, I know that we have only lived together for a little over four years, but I would have hoped that by now you’d have understood that I wouldn’t take this generosity,” Penelope replied. “If you had been smart, you might have slipped it inside my bag when I wasn’t looking at least. If that had been the case, we could have had a great deal of fun hiding it back and forth for each other over the next few days, each trying to get the other to take it.”

Teddy burst out laughing at the thought of him and his aunt going to great lengths to sneak the money into the other’s clothing, shoes, or personal items. Then, he cursed himself for not having thought of that before. 

“And if you’d been smart, dear Aunt Penny,” he said lovingly, “you’d have known that the moment you called me ‘Theodore’ you incited a war between us.” He greedily snatched the money back and held it up in front of her face in jest and then said, “May the sneakiest hider win!”

It was Penelope’s turn to chuckle, and when Teddy heard that melodic sound, it made his heart very happy. Penny did so much for him on a day-to-day basis that he longed to be able to provide her with some sort of happiness, because she would never take praise nor thanks. Penny gave her nephew a kiss on the cheek and a pat on the arm and then walked back out of the courthouse in the direction of the hat shop. 

Teddy couldn’t have imagined a more idyllic life for himself. He had a daughter he adored, an aunt who was excellent company and even better help, and a job that engaged his natural curiosity. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that his calm wouldn’t last forever. Someday Birdie was going to grow up so much that she wouldn’t be able to stop asking her questions…and Teddy would have to figure out a way to tell her the truth.

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“Their Warm Ray of Joy” is an Amazon Best-Selling novel, check it out here!

Iris Cunningham’s return to her hometown after two long years of being on the road is unexpectedly eventful. Not only does she rescue a little girl named Birdie from great danger, but she also bumps into her family’s sworn enemy, Theodore, who happens to be the child’s father. Even though Iris has been hardened by her job as a journalist, she feels her heart melting for Birdie and succumbs to the kid’s wish to meet her again. On top of that, Iris can no longer ignore and suppress her overwhelming emotions for Theodore that have now come to the surface. Can she become the motherly figure that Birdie so deeply needs? Will Iris put aside her family’s rules and give Theodore a chance?

Although Theodore Montgomery is the town’s respected sheriff, willing to help and protect whoever is in need, this hasn’t always been the case… Years ago, Theodore made a fatal error by killing an outlaw, which led him to a life-changing decision. Full of remorse and guilt, he adopted the criminal’s daughter, in an attempt to repent and protect the little girl. For the first years of Birdie’s life, his plan works swimmingly, until she begins asking questions about her mother. Under her persistent pressure, Theodore lies to her, using the first name that crosses his mind, Iris’s. To his dismay, upon Iris’s arrival, the truth is revealed, forcing him to deal with two challenging situations; his daughter’s disappointment and his strong, hidden feelings for Iris. Will Teddy’s web of lies ever be unwound, or will it consume any chance that he and Iris have at a happily ever after?

The Montgomery and Cunningham families have been enemies for as long as Theodore and Iris can remember, and so the two grew up thinking that they had to hate each other. Will the pair be able to overcome the feud between their families to become each other’s kindred spirit, or will old habits come back to haunt them?

“Their Warm Ray of Joy” is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

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