Loves blind embrace, p.1
Love's Blind Embrace, page 1
Love's Blind Embrace
A WESTERN ROMANCE NOVEL
ELAINE SHIELDS
Copyright © 2024 by Elaine Shields
All Rights Reserved.
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Love's Blind Embrace
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Epilogue
Finding Love's Sanctuary
Introduction
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
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Love's Blind Embrace
Introduction
Rosa Hale carries the visible scars of a bandit attack that left her blind in one eye, yet the more insidious wounds come from the relentless judgment of the townsfolk. In the face of a devastating drought, Rosa's love becomes a distant echo, drowned out by the chilling whispers of those who will not see past her conditions.
Can Rosa summon the strength to rise above the town's cruel criticism? Is there a chance for love to bloom amid the arid landscape of her life?
Clay Turner is a skilled water diviner whose arrival in Pine Ridge sparks both hope and hostility. However, the town's hostility forces him and his colleague into an intricate dance of secrets and strained alliances. Isolated and scorned, Clay carries not only his own burden but also a haunted past that adds an air of mystery to his presence.
Can Clay navigate the skepticism of Pine Ridge and find solace in the unlikeliest of alliances?
Ostracized and ridiculed, Rosa and Clay stumble upon a chilling plot deeply rooted in the town's history, a tale of betrayal and vengeance spanning over two decades. Will their growing love withstand the trials posed by a community unwilling to change?
Chapter 1
June 1888
Pine Ridge, Colorado
Rosa Hale’s stomach tied itself into a knot every time she passed the “lightning tree” headed west. The tree, blackened and burnt, held no great significance for her other than it was the last definite landmark before she reached her destination. The town she had lived in nearly her entire life was about a ten-minute ride away, and that made her anxious.
Gripping the reins, she was of a mind to turn Daisy’s head, and thereby the cart, around and head home. They were all safe at home. There was no one there to ridicule or stare. She really hated the staring and the pointing, the comments and the signs that were supposed to ward off the evil eye that followed her around the town like a pack of lost puppies. That really drove her crazy.
“Steady now,” Tom said, laying his warm, sure hand on hers. “We’re all right.”
He cast his dark eyes on her, and Rosa held his gaze. Sometimes she thought the old medicine man could see right through her to her core. He knew what was going on in her mind sometimes before she did, and it was uncanny, but also reassuring and familiar.
Tom had lived and worked on Rosa’s family’s farm for more than ten years now, and he had become like family. Rosa was grateful to have him in her life.
“They’re going to stare,” Rosa said, patting her dark hair down over the left side of her face. “They always do.”
“And looks only hurt if you let them,” Tom said. “Come on, Rosa. You’re made of sterner stuff than this. You are a survivor, which is more than any of those soft bellies in town can say. You are hard muscle, you are strong; they are weak and flabby.”
Tom had been saying that to her since she was around twelve years old and although it had been about as many years of him repeating it, she still needed to hear it from time to time.
She nodded. She was the muscle, and the people who lived in Pine Ridge were the belly, soft and wobbly. She could withstand whatever they cast her way.
All too soon, they were entering Pine Ridge.
The town of Pine Ridge was a cluster of buildings, all built from a mixture of stone and pine that made them look quaint. With their pitched roofs to keep the snow off in the winter, and their wide porches for lazy summer days, Pine Ridge looked idyllic. Looks could be deceiving.
Rosa steered Daisy down the main street, passed the post office, the bath house, the Lazy Lizard Saloon, Wilkes’ General Store and the other fine establishments that called the main street home.
There was a water trough at the top end of the street, and she always tied Daisy up there. After ditching the cart in an open patch of land, Rosa brought Daisy to the trough. Only today there was no water in it. It was damp, indicating that there had been water, but it was all gone now, and no one had filled it up. She went to the town well and found a notice pinned to the bucket.
Very little water. Don’t fill the trough.
It was the drought. It was starting to hit everyone hard. Rosa looked around. Daisy was thirsty, and she wasn’t the only horse waiting for something to drink.
“It’s the drought,” Tom said, bringing Daisy’s nose bag over. “I thought she might not get a drink, so I brought water with.” He had come prepared. Tom had a knack for it. It was a rare occurrence when Tom Nahinni was caught unawares. He quickly set Daisy up for her drink in the shade and then let her nibble the grass, which grew green around the well.
Rosa and Tom left Daisy and headed to the general store. It was blisteringly hot, and it was only June.
Regarding the sky, Tom said, “Something has definitely gone wrong in the heavens and the ancestors are withholding the rain.”
“So, you said,” Rosa said. He had regaled her with an explanation of his theory of why they were experiencing a drought the night before over dinner. Tom had a lot of thoughts and ideas, and since Rosa’s grandfather had passed away a year ago, he’d had no one but Rosa to tell them to. “You don’t think it might just be a drought, plain and simple? They happen, you know, from time to time.”
Tom regarded her with a wry smile. “You might have a point,” he said. “But since neither of us knows for sure…” He let his words hang there like a noose, which Rosa could step into if she wanted to prolong the conversation.
She decided not to. Instead, she pulled a list from her pocket and regarded it.
Sugar, flour, oats, there was a long list of things they needed. The pantry was running low on staples.
Tom chuckled. “I see the boys are ready for us.”
A line of local youths had gathered on the porches of several stores and were already calling her names. Rosa ignored them.
“Witch! Demon-lover, drought-bringer!”
“I’ve gone up in their esteem,” Rosa said, quietly. “Now I’m one of your ancestors keeping the rain away.”
Tom chuckled again. “You have great strength, Rosa, but I suspect the weather is not your doing.”
“Well, thank you for that,” she said and patted his arm.
They made their way to Wilkes’ General Store. It was the one place where they could buy just about everything they needed. The only problem was that everyone bought their groceries there.
Once they were past the boys, they came to a knot of women, old and young, all clustered together, their shopping baskets’ handles looped over their arms. Rosa tried to keep her expression neutral, neither friendly, which the townsfolk tended to mistake for gloating, not hostile, which they thought meant she had cursed them.
“May we pass, ladies?” Tom asked genially.
“Oh,” one of them said and hastily stepped back. She crossed her middle finger over her index and hastily whispered, “The Lord is my shepherd, I am safe from evil.” The others did the same, giving Rosa as wide a berth as possible.
She smoothed the hair down over the left side of her face, making sure it hid the eye and the scar. No one liked the look of it, not even Rosa. It was a constant reminder of the horror of her past.
Keeping her head down, she moved quickly past them. Tom turned around when they were through and bowed with a flourish. He seemed to enjoy this far too much for Rosa’s liking.
“Thank you, ladies,” he said. “And may you have a truly blessed day.”
One of the ladies gasped. “Did he just---?”
“No,” Lila Baxter said from just behind the group. She was Rosa’s best friend. “He didn’t curse you; you dumb sow. He told you to have a blessed day. Honestly, the imbecility of this town is astounding.” She glared at the group. “Well, go on! Shoo! Surely, you have things to attend to.”
The knot of women glared at her, but Tom’s smile broadened.
“If it isn’t Lila,” he said. “Good morning, fair lady.” He bowed to her.
The women turned and left in a huff, all but one.
Jenny Smythe, the daughter of the owner of the local bathhouse, put on airs far beyond any station she could hope for. It drove Rosa mad. She was also consistently nasty.
“One day the simpering fools of this town will see you for what you are, pure evil, and they will cast you out,” Jenny said. “And then no amount of sweet talking from your pet medicine man will make any difference.”
Rose regarded her flatly. “And one day, you will wake up old and sad and still be as nasty to the core as you are now. But I pray that somehow you avoid that fate, because you will be very lonely.”
“Is that a curse?” Jenny asked.
“No,” Lila snapped. “Now go away. You’re like a fly buzzing around. Don’t you have soap to dish out or something?” She wrinkled her nose at Jenny who turned on her heel and strode off.
Lila turned back to Rosa. “You have to work on your comebacks. You can’t be so vague and sort of nice. You have to hit them where it hurts.”
“You know that won’t work,” Rosa said. “You can say that because you have both eyes, and no one thinks you’re a witch. If I say the wrong thing I’ll be lynched or burned at the stake.”
“They don’t do that anymore,” Lila said.
“I’ll bet they would polish their pitchforks for me,” Rosa said.
“In light of the current mood, I’ll get the groceries. You go to the bakery and get the buns,” Tom said.
“Ooooh, yes, let’s do that,” Lila said, grinning. Under the mop of her unruly, wildly curly brown hair, she looked every bit the imp she was.
Tom smiled. “Extra frosting on mine.”
Rosa gave him the money and list for the groceries and turned to walk back up the street to the bakery. Lila hooked her arm through Rosa’s, and they strode along at an easy pace in the hot June sun.
They made an odd pair, at least Rosa thought so. Lila’s unruly hair formed a halo around her, and she did little to try to tame it. The most that happened was that she tied it back from her face with a ribbon unless she was working in her folks’ dairy making cheese. Then she scraped it back and braided it before tying a scarf over for good measure.
Rosa left her fringe long on her left-hand side and braided it in such a way that the hair never moved from her face, constantly covering the white, sightless eye and the scar that ran from it to her temple and into her hairline. It was a souvenir from the bandit attack, fourteen years ago, that had left her folks and little brother dead and her blind in one eye.
The two young women couldn’t have been more different if they tried, and yet they shared a spirit of friendship that lasted despite everything.
Lila’s aunt Hilda worked at the bakery, and she was always glad to see them. They pushed the door open to the jingle of a bell and went to the counter. There were a couple of other customers inspecting the cakes and things behind the glass display.
Rosa and Lila didn’t bother with that. There was only one thing they bought, and it happened to be Tom’s favorite pastry.
“Morning, ladies,” Aunt Hilda said. She was a plump woman with rosy cheeks. She smiled at Rosa. “Good to see you in town, Rosa. How is the farm?”
“Dry, but we’re okay,” she said nodding. “How are the twins?”
Aunt Hilda had twin boys around three years old. Having them around was like inviting a tornado into one’s house. They had come to Rosa’s once and never again.
“Oh, causing havoc,” Aunt Hilda said. “They’re out with their father today. He’s making a run to Juniper Falls, so hopefully they will be exhausted when they get home, and I can put them to bed with no fuss.”
“Let’s hope,” Rosa said, smiling.
“I take it we’ll be having the usual?” Aunt Hilda asked. “Extra frosting for Tom?”
Rosa and Lila nodded.
“Coming up,” Aunt Hilda said. She went into the back to get the buns.
Lila smiled at Rosa. “Where should we take this feast to eat it?”
“We can’t eat all of it,” Rosa cautioned. “Tom will never speak to me again, and since he’s the closest thing I have to family left, I’d like to keep him in my life.”
“We won’t upset him,” Lila said. “I only want one.” She sighed. “Still, we need a good place to sit.”
“Under a tree, in the shade would be wonderful,” Rosa said. The simple things in life made Rosa happy, and shade and a sweet bun would do her fine.
“No, we must be up high today,” Lila said. She nodded. “Yes, I think it’s water tower time.”
Rosa groaned. “No, Lila, we’re too old to climb up that thing.”
“Twenty-three is hardly too old to climb,” Lila said with stars in her eyes. There was no stopping her now.
“Actually, it is,” Rosa said. She hated climbing since the attack. Her depth perception was a little off and climbing the ladder up to the water tower could be tricky for her. However, Lila wasn’t one to let a person off that easily.
“Oh, come on,” Lila said. “You only live once. Won’t it be nice to look down on all the people who cause you such grief?”
“It’s a little literal, but all right,” Rosa said. There was no winning against Lila when she had made up her mind.
Once they had the buns, they went to the water tower. Despite her misgivings and fears, Rosa gritted her teeth and climbed up after Lila, who took the box of buns with her. Once up high above the town, they sat on the platform with their legs dangling over the edge. It felt as it had when they were children and had done the same thing.
