Elizabeth, Widows of Blessings Valley #1

by Maxine Douglas

Genres: Historical Fiction; Clean & Wholesome Romance; Historical Romance; American Romance; Victorian Romance; Western Romance; American West; sweet romance; American Historical Romance; widowhood

Synopsis

Late morning mining accident casts a gloom over the town of Blessings Valley. Over twenty souls were lost in an excavating explosion that has left several widows, friends, and townspeople mourning. The explosion occurred as the miners were coming out for lunch. A rescue force was sent out immediately to recover the bodies. Services are currently being arranged. Pray for these lost souls and their families.

     —Blessings Valley Chronicle

Elizabeth Hamilton is a mess – her husband was killed in a mining accident, and she’s been left nearly penniless as she struggles through the grief and betrayal to her husband’s memory.

Augustine Raines believes there is no woman who will truly love him after a freak riding accident has left him scarred, and that his only attraction is a healthy bank account.

Release date: August 1, 2019

Publisher: Self

Print pages: 264

Sample

A TIME FOR EVERYTHING

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;” Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4

 

Early Summer 1892

Elizabeth Hamilton stood in the middle of her small living room, twisting the wedding band on her left ring finger. She sucked in her bottom lip, hoping to stop the pain that never ceased to overwhelm her.

This had been their home—her and Steven’s. The place where they’d made plans to one day raise a family.

That dream was gone.

Steven was gone.

She wrapped her arms tightly around her trembling body. The suppressed anger in her from the past several months had reached its boiling point. The tears she’d fought so hard to hold back burst forth like a raging river after a storm.

With an agonized scream, she clenched her hands tightly into fists and dropped to her knees. “You promised, Steven Hamilton! You promised to never leave me. You promised we’d be together forever. You promised, you promised, damn you, you promised…” Elizabeth’s body gave in to the sorrow, pain, and loss she’d held back since the explosion at the mine.

She was tired. Tired of being strong. Tired of going on as if nothing had happened. Tired of everything.

Sucking in the last of the sobs, Elizabeth drew herself upright, smoothed back her hair, and straightened her back. One slow step at a time, she walked through her home. Everywhere she looked, reminders of Steven and their life together brought more tears.

“Steven, what am I to do?” she asked, picking up the framed wedding picture. “The money from the mining company has only gone so far. What is left may not be enough to sustain our home for long.”

Tracing the face of her husband’s image with a trembling fingertip, Elizabeth swallowed a trembling sigh. There was only one thing she could do to keep their home—her home.

Surely someone in Blessings Valley would have clothing in need of mending. She’d go back to being a seamstress and do what she must to survive.

“Yes, that’s what I shall do. It may not be much, but if I’m frugal, I may not have to give up our home.” Elizabeth set the picture back on the mantel, a small smile on her face that didn’t reach her heart.

Gathering a black shawl around her shoulders, Elizabeth stepped out of her home and onto the road leading to the heart of Blessings Valley. This was the first day in weeks since they’d put Steven in the ground that she’d left the sanctuary of her home. She’d only gone to get supplies, avoiding as many people as possible.

The warmth of the day did little to her warm her cold and broken soul. The late morning was as quiet as new fallen snow, much like her spirit.

Placing one foot in front of the other, Elizabeth strolled slowly along the path. She paused for a moment in front of the small church she and Steven attended often. Her gaze travelled up to the cross hanging above the door, and she closed her eyes.

How could a God she worshipped take her husband and those of her friends? One day she may find enough forgiveness to walk through those doors again, but she’d never forget. She’d never forget the pain the loss of her precious love caused.

Turning her back on the church door, Elizabeth continued on her way to Smith’s Dry Goods. She would need to purchase thread in several colors and needles of different sizes if she was to return to work as a seamstress. She’d once been very handy with a needle and thread—before Steven had swept her off her feet, married her, and brought her to Blessings Valley where they started to build their life together. That was five years ago when the mine first opened.

Those days were long gone, and that life a ghost of her past. The reality of being alone was a bitterness she now was learning to live with, like it or not.