Billionaire Flawed 1(109)

She walked slowly on silent feet toward the altar, looking at the pews, many of them with bibles set randomly around. She went into one of them and sat down, picking up the Bible.

“Lord.” She heard Edward’s voice and her eyes slid to the lamp at the altar. Edward had knelt in front of it. Her heart almost stopped when she saw him. He was bent over, his hands clasped in front of his forehead. “You have blessed me. I thank you. I have been in despair and you heard me. You have provided me with a beautiful son, daughter and wife once again. I am so very grateful to you, Lord, and every morning I will tell you of my thanks and ask you to continue blessing me. I can’t do anything without your guidance. Thank you for providing it and for sending a wonderful woman to care for my children. As you know, I thought I would never love again. But I see now that what you have planned for me is good. You are always good. Thank you, God. I thank you with all that I have. I pray to you in the name of my Lord and Savior. Amen.”

The words he was saying made Claire want to cry. She had prayed before but never with such intensity. He was praying from the heart.

He lifted up from his position, blew out the lamp and went past the altar to a back room.

In the dark now, Claire felt her way back to the front door and left. Her heart was pounding. She was terrified that he would see that she had followed him and be angry with her. She wouldn’t do it again. Her curiosity was satisfied.

She got back to her horse, mounted as quickly as she could and rode back to the house.

When she got there, she dismounted just as swiftly and ran up the steps and through the front door. She couldn’t hear any noise and went straight to the baby’s room. Emilia was awake. She was just lying there looking out at Claire with wide blue eyes. She smiled instantly and Claire picked her up.

“Good morning, sweet one,” she whispered. “Hello there.”

The baby made a cooing noise and giggled. Claire giggled with her. She moved to the window so they could watch the sun rise together. “Look at the beautiful sky, Emilia. Look how it shines bright when the sun peeks over the mountains. See all the pretty colors? Look how blessed we are.”

She became quiet looking out at the sunrise. It was the most beautiful sunrise she had ever seen in her life. “Thank you, Lord.” She whispered, tears rising to her eyes. “Look what you’ve done for me. Look at the life you’ve given me. You are so good. Help me to be good for this little girl and for Jonathan. Help me to understand them and raise them right and be the mother they need.” She lowered her head and let a few tears roll down her cheeks. One dropped on Emilia’s little head and Claire softly wiped it off. “Sorry, sweetie,” she whispered. She looked back up through the window.

“Please help me with Jonathan, Lord.” She said in a low voice. She knelt with the baby cradled in her arms and lowered her head again. “Please help him understand I’m not going to hurt him, that I don’t want him to forget his dear mama. Please let him know that I only want to protect him and help Edward raise him the right way. I know you will. And please…” She swallowed. “Please tell Beth that I will be good to her children. Tell her that they are safe. Let her know that everything here on earth will be okay.”

She stopped praying, continuing in her mind.

After a few moments, she felt a small hand touch her on her back. She looked up in surprise, into Jonathan’s eyes. He didn’t say anything. He just looked at her. She looked back. His face looked different. He was staring at her in silence.

“Jonathan?” She asked softly.

Without answering, the little boy wrapped his arms around her neck and squeezed her tightly. She wrapped her free arm around him and hugged him back.

“It’s going to be all right, Jonny,” she whispered. “Everything is going to be all right.”



THE END





A Bride’s Hope – A Clean Western Romance



Chapter One

Minnie looked down at the telegraph with great fear in her heart. It was from the army. She hadn’t heard from Tom for almost two months but had been hoping and praying everything would turn out okay for him. That he would return home to her soon and she would hear him playing with their little boy, Billy, in the yard. It was what was supposed to happen.

But it wasn’t what happened. The telegraph was gripped in her hands, the paper curling up around them. She sat in one of the porch chairs and stared down at it some more. He was gone. He really was gone. They had confirmed it, found his…body. She shivered.

“Damn this war!” Her father was storming up and down the porch. “How could this happen? How can he not come home to his wife and baby?”