The book opens with a note to my readers:
Dear Readers:
Had
it not been for the Lord and the many thousands of people who prayed me through
cancer, this book never would have been written. If you’re one of the people
who prayed for me, thank you. Mere words aren’t enough to express my gratitude.
Having
emerged back onto the writing scene after the two-year battle, and feeling
rather beat up after the long fight, I needed something with a happy ending.
Like a fairytale. Think Cinderella. That’s
what this book is, something bright and cheerful. So, Out of the Ashes is a lighter read than my other books: The Master’s Wall, Yahshua’s Bridge, and even Walks
Alone.
What
a blessing it has been for me to have the strength to write Nathaniel and Amelia’s
story. Thank you, precious readers, for walking with me as I dig my way out of
the aftermath of this battle one step at a time. Or shall I say, one page at a
time.
Blessings,
Sandi
Rog
Book Jacket Description
A stranger. A kiss. A
shotgun wedding.
NATHANIEL
WARD, wealthy entrepreneur, needs a wife. But he’s not interested in the
preening, high-society women who are offered to him on a silver platter. He
wants one woman, and one woman alone: the girl who gave him all the money in
her reticule years ago when the Great Chicago Fire left him destitute. He sets
out to find this woman and discovers she’s unattached. There’s only one
problem, a shotgun wedding may be able to bind them, but will he ever be able
to win her heart?
AMELIA
E. TAYLOR blows a kiss to a street rat. Little did she know, years later that
kiss would follow her to Green Pines, Colorado. When a handsome stranger arrives
in her hometown, she guards her heart from the stirrings this man ignites. Despite
society’s disapproval of spinsterhood, she is determined not to marry, having
witnessed first-hand the lack of love and horrors that accompany marriage. But will
a shotgun wedding reveal blessings that arise out of the ashes?
Chapter
One
Green Pines, Colorado, 1882
Gun smoke burned Amelia’s eyes and her ears still rang. She
blinked the tears from her lashes.
“Do you, Nathaniel Ward,” the preacher scowled, “take Amelia
Taylor to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
Amelia’s father cocked his rifle and aimed it at the
reluctant groom.
“I do,” Nathaniel said, his voice firm and unwavering.
Despite her father’s threats, Nathaniel’s very presence exuded power, his
raised chin, broad shoulders and wide chest unflinching against the barrel of
the rifle.
Amelia didn’t dare look up at him. What must he be thinking?
How many women had hoped to get him this far, and now, here she stood where
most women dreamed of standing—shotgun wedding, or not. If only she could melt
into the parlor’s wooden floor like the candle burning in the nearby lamp. Or
disappear like the smoke. Disappear into nothingness, with no remnant left of
her existence.
“Do you, Amelia Taylor, take Nathaniel Ward to be your
lawfully wedded husband?” The preacher’s words rushed over Amelia like a gush
of foul air.
She stood paralyzed, unable to speak. She’d vowed never to
marry. How would she bear this cross? She’d seen enough loveless marriages in
her life to know it wasn’t worth the heartache, despite the shame of
spinsterhood. And now, to be forced on a man? What miseries awaited her? Abuse?
Neglect? Slavery? Any man in his right mind would despise her for the rest of
his days. It would be impossible—unthinkable—to procure his affection … his
love.
The minister, still in his nightclothes, cleared his throat.
His wife, holding up the lantern, glowered from behind him.
Amelia swallowed, darting a glance at her terrifying father.
With a snarl, he narrowed his eyes at Nathaniel and pressed closer with his
rifle. Would he put another hole in the preacher’s wall? Or Nathaniel’s chest?
“Amelia, girl.” Her father’s voice sent a shudder down her
spine as it echoed through the quiet house. “You know, I always keep my word.”
He’d threatened to kill Nathaniel if she refused to be his wife.
“I do,” she said, her voice small and trembling, quite the
opposite of the man next to her. The horror, the shame. How did her life come
to this?
“I now pronounce you man and wife.” The minister slammed his
Bible shut and pointed it at her father. “Now get out!”
Shadows clouded Amelia’s vision, and her legs wobbled like
those of a newborn calf. Her knees buckled, but rather than landing on the hard
floor, she found herself caught in Nathaniel’s strong arms.
Now her husband.
Chicago, Illinois
Nine weeks earlier.
“You’re the most stubborn man I know,” William Goldman said to
Nathaniel as they made their way through the ballroom.
The music and thick perfume nauseated Nathaniel. He never
cared for tobacco, but in comparison to the party, he wished he had an excuse
to leave and join the men in the smoking room. He could join the other men for
cards, but William insisted that Nathaniel walk with him.
So now, he walked amidst the preening women and their
mothers. He kept his hands behind his back, trying to forget the fact that he
wore coattails and should be dancing. He’d already shared a number of dances,
but the women were all the same: pretentious with money-hungry claws. He may
now be wealthy, but if they knew he was once a street rat, they’d scurry in the
opposite direction. They just assumed he was William’s apprentice, now
assistant. Which he was, but they didn’t know the whole story. Only William
knew, and he didn’t belittle Nathaniel for it.
Charlotte fluttered her dark, long lashes in his direction
and flashed him a demure smile. He’d already danced with her twice, the second
time he’d been bamboozled into an extra dance by the mother. He nodded toward
her, trying not to be rude, but kept on walking.
“You see?” William motioned with his bearded chin to the
high-society woman. “There’s a fine catch, right under your nose, but your
stubborn pride keeps you from hooking it.”
Nathaniel blew out air between his teeth. “Why the urgency
to marry me off?”
They stepped onto a terrace, and William with his paunch
belly faced him. “I’m not getting any younger. I want grandchildren.”
Nathaniel studied his old friend. His green eyes reflected
remorse. Nathaniel knew he missed his own children.
“When I first offered to let you live with me, you refused,
saying you didn’t take ‘handouts.’ I call that stubborn pride.” William
straightened and harrumphed. “Thank the good Lord you had enough sense to take
the job I offered you.” Leaning on his cane, he reached out and patted
Nathaniel’s arm, his gold ring catching the moonlight. “But the truth is you’ve
always been like a son to me. You’re the only family I have, and until you
locate your brother and sister, I’m all you have.”
It always pained Nathaniel to think of Michael and Rachel.
With William’s help, he’d sent detectives all over the country in pursuit of
his siblings, only to discover they were nowhere to be found.
“I’ll marry,” Nathaniel said, resigned. “But not any of
these women.” He pointed with his thumb to the ballroom.
William straightened. “What’s wrong with these women?
They’re of good breeding. And if not these, then who else is there?”
“There’s someone I met while on the streets.” What was he
saying? How would he find her? What if she was already married? And what if
she’d turned out like all these other rich snobs? Certainly her father and
mother would have prepped and preened her the same way.
“A woman you met on the streets?” William raised a white
brow. “Surely, you have better taste, better sense!” He puffed up his chest,
clearly insulted by Nathaniel’s rejection of the delicacies he set before him
in the other room.
“I was twelve, and she was eight or nine.”
“What? You’re holding out for a little girl?”
“She’s a lady.” Nathaniel chuckled. “My hope is, more of a
lady than anyone we can find here.”
He prayed he was right. After all, how many of these women
as girls would have dared chase down a street rat to give him their money?
“Does this woman have a name?” William eyed him beneath his
bushy brows.
“Amelia E. Taylor.” An uncontrollable grin tugged on
Nathaniel’s lips. He’d never spoken her name out loud. But he’d never forget
her name. Never forget her kindness and … the kiss.
