Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 79

Story Sample Sunday: Kent Ashton’s Backstory

This next scene takes place after Kent returns to Virginia.  :D

Kent returned to Virginia as soon as he could.  He’d taken the first train out of Jamestown, had thought of many things he could have done—should have done—differently.  But he couldn’t go back and change anything.  He had to get back home before his father suspected something.  Next time he went for Ann, he’d make sure he had enough money to rescue her.

Before he could make his escape, he had to contend with his father and help Rebecca and Samuel get to Canada.  Patience.  He just needed to be patient.  All good things came to those who waited.  He repeated this to himself as he got off the train in Virginia and carried his luggage home.  He could have summoned a driver, but he preferred to walk because it put off facing his father a little bit longer.  As soon as the investments matured, he’d no longer be under his father’s thumb.  His life would be his own.

“Patience,” he whispered as he strolled down the street.  “It’s only a few more months.”

It didn’t occur to him that people were glancing his way and shaking their heads in disapproval until he reached the front of his house.  Surprised, he studied the couple who quickly averted their gazes once he made eye contact with them.  What was going on?

“Excuse me,” he told the man who jerked, an indication he hadn’t expected Kent to talk to him.  Not letting this fact dissuade him, Kent waited for the man and woman to stop before he asked him, “Am I wearing something inappropriate?”

The man’s eyebrows furrowed.  “You’re concerned about what you’re wearing?”

Letting out an uneasy chuckle, he glanced around and saw a woman across the street whisper something to her friend.  As soon as she realized he saw her, she took her friend by the arm and the two hurried down the street.

“I can’t help but notice everyone’s looking at me as if I’m improperly attired, but,” he motioned to his clothes, “I can’t think of anything that’s out of place.”

The man sighed and asked the woman to wait for him then led Kent a few steps away from her.  In a low voice, he said, “It has nothing to do with your clothes and you know it.”

“No, I don’t know that.”

“Mr. Ashton, far be it from me to tell you what to do, but if I were you, I wouldn’t be so casual about it.”

“Casual about what?”

“Miss Johnson.  What you did to her is all over town.”

“What I did to her?” Kent asked, barely aware that his voice was rising in frustration and fear.

“Ending your engagement, especially after you learned of her miscarriage.  If you were a decent human being, you’d do right by her and marry her instead of leaving her in disgrace.”

Miscarriage?  Ending the engagement?  Whatever was he talking about?  Before Kent could ask, the man shook his head in disgust and returned to the woman.

Despite his apprehension, Kent proceeded to his home and gave the butler his luggage.  Before he could make it past the parlor, his father stepped into the hallway, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

“In the parlor,” his father said in a voice that indicated there was no room for argument.

Knowing it was pointless to protest, Kent released his breath and followed him into the room.

After his father shut the door, he turned to face him.  “So, you thought you could fool me.”

“Fool you?”

“Watch what you say, Kent.  I’m a lot smarter than you give me credit for.  Did you really think I wouldn’t figure out you never went to New York?”

He hid his apprehension.  He’d been so careful, making sure he covered all his steps.

“I’m more influential in this town than you give me credit for,” his father continued, his hands behind his back as he glared at him.  “Do you honestly think you can buy a ticket for Jamestown and the conductor wouldn’t tell me about it?”

Kent gritted his teeth but didn’t reply.  So that was his mistake.  How was he to know the conductor would care where he was going?

“The conductor has connections to Mr. Johnson.  When Mr. Johnson came over here, I had to say something to explain why you’d run off to find Ann Brothers.”

Managing to hide his wince at the mention of Ann’s last name, he focused on what his father was telling him.  “Then the miscarriage and engagement ending…  That was you who spread those rumors?”

“I had to do something.”

“What exactly did you say?”

“I did what any sensible father would do in my position.  I told Mr. Johnson that you and Rebecca were engaging in inappropriate conduct and that when she had a miscarriage, you took that as your chance to quietly slip out of here to go after Ann.  Congratulations, Kent.  You didn’t want to be trapped into a marriage with Rebecca and you succeeded.  Mr. Johnson won’t let you anywhere near her.  He could have insisted I drag you back and make you do right by her, but Rebecca pleaded with him to let her live with the disgrace of being tossed aside so thoughtlessly.  The poor girl isn’t the same.  She won’t see anyone.  Mr. Johnson said he’s never seen her so miserable.  And why wouldn’t she be?  What decent man is going to marry her now?  I hope you’re satisfied.  You have destroyed everything we’ve worked so hard for.”

“No,” Kent snapped, his shock over his father’s lies about a miscarriage and inappropriate behavior quickly fading in light of his mounting anger.  “You’re the one who manipulated everything.  It’s because of you Rebecca felt as if she had no choice but to go along with you and make me think she and I had been together intimately.  You’re the reason Ann ran off with Todd.  You got in the way of Rebecca and Samuel’s plans to marry.  Don’t you dare point the finger at me,” he hissed and pointed at him.  “This is your doing.  And you’re still ruining people’s lives.  I’m going to tell Mr. Johnson everything and set it all straight.  I never laid a hand on Rebecca.  She’s been honorable through the whole thing.”

As he turned to leave, his father softly chuckled.  “And who do you think Mr. Johnson will believe?  You or me?  I’m not the one who ran off to North Dakota.”

Kent paused and thought over what his father said.  He should have disguised himself.  In his hurry to find Ann, he had never stopped to consider what might happen if the conductor or some other busybody didn’t have the common sense to mind their own business.

“No one will believe you,” his father added, sounding smug.  “They won’t believe Rebecca either if she supports you.”

He tried to think of some way—any way—his father could be wrong, but with Mr. Johnson knowing he went to North Dakota, he knew how bad things looked.  He stared at his father.  Up to now he hadn’t hated him.  Sure, he’d been annoyed by him, frustrated by him, even angered by him.  But he had never hated him.  Until now.

“You won’t get away with it forever,” Kent finally replied, an unexpected determination in his voice.  “All you do is manipulate people into doing what you want, and so far it’s worked.  You have things just as you want them.  But mark my word.  The day is coming when I will no longer be under your control.”

“If that’s supposed to make me worry, you’ve already lost your case.  I have no use for you anymore.  My financial standing is secure without you.”

Kent clenched his hands as his father left the room.  It wasn’t fair that his father could use people for his own advancement and get away with it.  And what was even worse was how little his father cared if he had to ruin lives in order to do it.  But it couldn’t always be to his advantage.  Sooner or later, he’d have to reap what he’d sown.  No man, no matter how powerful or clever, could get away with it forever.  There was always a day of reckoning.  There had to be.  But even as Kent kept repeating this to himself, he wasn’t comforted.

Following the Rabbit Trail (One Thing Leads to Another) – What I’ve Been Up to in my Private Life Lately

I don’t often do posts that are about my private life, but every time I come over to this blog to post something I’d like to post, I end up drawing a blank.  The Sunday posts are easy because they’re from a book I already wrote.  But it’s harder when I have to create something new and original.  I’d love to do some more creative posts, but after struggling to do so for a month, I figure it’s time to just state what’s really on my mind and see if that helps break the dam that’s been holding me back.

So here we go…

Getting Organized with My Writing Goals

The first thing that’s been going on is that I’ve been looking for ways to be more productive with the use of my time.  I heard about Rich Habits by Tom Corley on the Dave Ramsey radio show while I was driving.  Intrigued, I bought the book and really enjoyed it.  Basically, it helps you figure out what your big goals are and breaks down daily and monthly steps you can take to get there.

It’s not easy to keep to the list.  There are times when I want to say, “What can staying up one more hour hurt?” (One of my goals is to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night.  Ideally, I’ll get 8.5 to 9.)  Another is, “Only 1 hour of TV a day.” (And yes, I’ve fudged a little on this one but not too bad since I prefer writing to watching TV.)  So while Rich Habits seems to be a financial book when you first look at it, I’m finding it more of a way to get more in shape in all areas of my life (sleep, exercise, diet, working smarter instead of harder, etc).

Going further down the self-improvement trail 

After reading and applying Rich Habits, I then decided to get Rich Dad, Poor Dad by  Robert Kiyosaki.  Why? Because I do need to get a better handle on managing money.  It’s not how much I’m making that’s a problem. It’s what I’m doing with it that’s the issue.  As they say, the first step to change is to admit you have a problem.  I wish I could say I have been managing money really well, but the truth is, I haven’t.  And quite frankly, I’m sick of ending up in the same position at the end of every year wondering why I’m in the same hole I was in the year before.

But I was about halfway through the book when I read something along the lines of, “If you have a business and aren’t covered under an LLC, S-Corporation or C-Corporation, then you’re a sitting duck waiting for disaster.” Those are not the exact words, but it was the gist of it.

This part of the rabbit trail led me to my next book recommendation which was the book, Start Your Own Corporation by Garrett Sutton.  So I started reading up on the stuff Garrett Sutton has been saying.

Which led me to register a business entity today

After being a self-published author since 2002 (I didn’t start writing romances until late 2007), I finally decided it was time to take the advice of two very wise and smart authors (Rose Gordon and Stephannie Beman) and form an actual business entity that is separate from my personal life.

Today, I have officially formed an LLC with an S-Corportion election.  (All this means is that I have formed a business that is separated from me, and I think that sounds a little confusing by the way I stated it but I don’t know how else to explain it.)  I decided to have an attorney familiar with business law do this for me because I want to make sure I get all the stuff taken care of.  I don’t know about anyone else, but the whole thing intimidates me and I like having a team of people who know what they’re doing to help me out along the way.  I still need to read Garrett Sutton’s book on actually running a corporation.

Then due to the wisdom of another author (Melanie Nilles), I am seeing an certified public accountant who is familiar with small businesses.  My income varies widely.  You can never tell from one month to another what the pay is going to be like.  Some of you reading this who are running your own businesses might find the same fluctuation.  With the accountant, I’ll finally be able to specify exactly how much I need to pay in taxes each quarter, which is something I need to help to get better control over the chaos that has been my financial life up to now.

***

If you ever wondered what I do when I’m not writing…this is pretty much it.  LOL   I’m still  a far way from being where I want to be with everything, but at least I’m on the way.  And I don’t know if any of the links I posted will help anyone but they’re there in case they do.

Sunday Story Sample: Kent Ashton’s Backstory

This is the first time Kent goes to see Ann after she went to North Dakota.  :-)

Kent’s heartbeat picked up as he stepped off the train in Jamestown.  The surroundings were much different from what he expected.  It wasn’t anything like the hustle and bustle he was used to in Virginia.  There were open fields surrounding a small, dusty town, which had no more than a few stores and businesses surrounded by homes.  He shook his head.  This was no place for Ann.

She wanted to be in New York where they were supposed to go to balls and the theatre.  She loved everything he’d described to her.  This place out in the middle of nowhere was nothing at all like she wanted.  If he could take her out of here today, he would, but he couldn’t just yet.  What he could do was offer her hope, to let her know that he was going to rescue her from this life.  He only had to wait five months before the investments yielded enough money so he could give her the life she deserved.

He scanned the few people who were lingering about along the main street, talking and laughing.  Perhaps one of them would know where he could find Ann.  He decided to ask one of the women, figuring they’d be more likely to have befriended Ann.  He took a deep breath and approached three women who stood outside the small post office.

When one of them looked in his direction, he offered a greeting then said, “A friend of mine recently came to this town with a man who took over a farm, and I was wondering if you know her.  She goes by the name Ann Statesman.  She has brown hair, is slender, comes from Virginia?”

The woman’s eyebrows furrowed.  “I don’t know anyone by the name Statesman, but Ann Brothers fits your description.”

“Brothers?” His polite smile faltered.  Did she really marry Todd or was that the story he bound her to?  Perhaps she went along with it to avoid harming her reputation?

“Yes.  His sister Agnes came for a visit.” The woman glanced at her friends who nodded.

“Yes, that’s the Ann I’m referring to,” he replied.

The woman’s friend motioned to the grocer.  “I saw her go in there.”

“Is she still there?” he asked, his gaze going to the store across the street.

“She spends a lot of time there, so I assume so.”

“She helps the owners out,” the other woman added.

Kent winced as he thought of Ann degrading herself to helping people who owned a grocer.  Never would she have had to do something so beneath her in Virginia.  Just what kind of life did Todd give her?  How could he be so selfish that he would deny her the comforts she’d grown up with?

Kent swallowed the lump in his throat.  It was his fault Ann was in this predicament.  If he’d only refrained from getting drunk, his father never would have manipulated things so that he believed he’d compromised Rebecca’s virtue.  Then he wouldn’t have ended his courtship with Ann, and Ann wouldn’t have run off with Todd.  Kent had no one but himself to blame for how things turned out.  But he was here to set things right, to let Ann know he was going to take her away from here.

Turning back to the women, he smiled.  “Thank you.”

Straightening his frock coat, he headed for the store, not entirely sure what he’d say once he saw Ann.  The last time he saw her, he ended their courtship, and that was seven months ago.  Would Ann even be happy to see him?  What a silly question.  Of course, she’d be.  She promised that she would always love him, had even assured him that she’d never love anyone but him.  Surely, time wouldn’t change that.

He reached the store and stepped inside.  He scanned the area but didn’t see anyone.  From the room in the back, he heard someone shuffling around.  He thought to call out Ann’s name but then thought he’d look foolish in case she wasn’t there.  He went to the back room, his steps slowing when he saw her.

Her back was to him as she took eggs out of a basket and set them on one of the shelves.  The simple dress and her bun couldn’t hide her beauty.  No matter what time tried to do, it would never diminish her ability to take a man’s breath away.

“My goodness, Ann,” he whispered.  “You’re just as beautiful as I remember.”

She paused then slowly turned around, her eyes wide.

            Kent’s smile widened, knowing she was in shock but hoping she was happy to see him. “I believe I caught you by surprise,” he began uncertainly, not sure how much he should tell her, how much he could tell her.  He promised Rebecca he wouldn’t say anything to hurt her reputation, and it was a promise he had to keep, even from Ann.  After a moment, he ventured, “I admit we parted under dire circumstances.  I made an error in judgment.  I am no longer engaged to Rebecca.  She was a mistake.  I came to apologize and ask if I can court you again.”

“I’m married,” she blurted out.

So she had married Todd.  It wasn’t what he hoped for but he couldn’t blame her.  “I know why you married Todd Brothers.  You were distressed over my brief encounter with Rebecca.  It is understandable that you ran to the first person who offered you comfort.  This is my fault.”

“But that doesn’t change the fact that I am married.  I belong to someone else now.”

An uneasy chuckle rose up in his throat.  “I’m sure we can find a way to get you ‘unmarried’.  Really, we can work through it.”

“I vowed to be with him for the rest of our lives,” she replied, and he sensed a slight uncertainty beneath her words.

“Vows are made to be broken,” he assured her.

“I’m not leaving him.”

“Hmm…” He struggled to figure out a reason why she would say such a thing when she had once promised to love him—and only him—for the rest of their lives.  Then the answer came.  There was only one reason why she’d willingly stay with Todd.  A child.  “I suppose you’re expecting then?”

She shook her head.

Relieved, his smile widened.  “Then there’s nothing to fear.  This marriage can easily be dissolved.”

“No.”

He hesitated, not sure what motivated her to still refuse to leave Todd and then realized exactly what it was.  She blamed him for how things turned out.  Because of his father’s coercion, he’d broken his word to her.  And she was right to blame him.  With a sigh, he said, “I hurt you more than I realized.  I promise that I will never hurt you again.  There is no other love in my life.  You will always be the one.”

He took a step toward her, but she blurted out, “I love Todd.”

He stared at her.  Laughing in disbelief, he shook his head.  The time she’d spent out here, away from her friends and family, had deluded her into thinking she wanted to be with Todd.  “That’s sweet.  Todd is a good boy.  I’m sure he’s treated you very well out here, in the middle of nowhere.  But a lady such as yourself deserves better in this life.  You were meant for comfort and riches.” She’d even said she wanted those things when he asked her if she’d marry him if he didn’t have money, and she made it clear that she wanted the finer things in life, things that Todd could never give her.  Hoping to speak reason to her, he gestured to her.  “Look at your clothes, your hair, your hands!  You don’t even own a single piece of jewelry.  You may love Todd but he has you living like a beggar.  You were born for beautiful gowns, servants to wait on you, for your every desire to be fulfilled.” He stepped closer to her.  “Things I can give you.” Lowering his voice, he added, “Enough of playing wife.  Come with me.  I can give you things that he can’t.”

He reached out and touched her cheek, something she used to enjoy, but this time, she shrieked.  Blinking, he drew his hand away.

She ran for the doorway, but he stopped her.

“You can’t be serious,” he insisted, growing upset.  “You would give up what we had for Todd?”

“Yes.  Let me go!”

“Perhaps I need to show you what you’re missing.” Then, in an effort to remind her of her love for him, he brought his mouth to hers, thinking she’d recall the time when he told her he loved her and she had replied in kind.

“What is going on here?”

Startled, Kent released her and turned to see Todd who stood in the doorway, his hands clenched at his sides.

“Todd!” Like a scared child, she ran over to him.

Todd shook his head, his cold eyes piercing into Kent.  “I can’t believe this.  I mean, it was a possibility but…”

“No.  No!  It’s not what it looks like,” she quickly insisted.

“Don’t lie to him, Ann,” Kent softly replied, not liking what he was seeing.  Of course.  It all made sense now.  She knew Todd was going to be in the store.  He probably told her he was going to pick her up and take her home.  Whatever hold he had on her, she was afraid to upset him by admitting she wanted to be with Kent instead.  “It will do you no good to deny it,” Kent added, hoping she’d have the courage to tell Todd that she really didn’t want to be with him.

Todd glowered at him, and for a moment, he thought Todd was going to strike him, but he just turned and stormed out of the room.

“Todd!” she cried and ran after him.

Kent quickly followed her, wanting to tell her she didn’t have to worry, that he knew she only said those things to him because she knew Todd might be in the store listening to them.  It all made sense.  Why else would she protest the way she had?  But when he caught up to her, he saw another woman in the store.

“I’ll come back for you,” Kent said, hoping it’d give her hope.  He wanted to tell her more, to explain he needed his investments to mature first, but with the woman staring at him, he didn’t dare.  Who knew if the woman would tell Todd?  If only he’d had more time to talk to Ann in private!  Maybe next time Ann wouldn’t be so afraid of what Todd would say or do.  “I’m sure you’ll come to your senses in time.”

With another glance at the woman who was still watching him, he inwardly groaned.  Obviously, she wasn’t going to let him finish talking to Ann.  Well, it didn’t matter.  He couldn’t take Ann with him today anyway.  Things might not have gone as he hoped just now, but maybe next time, they would.  Ann thought she’d never see him again.  He’d caught her off guard.  He hadn’t prepared her.

Looking back, he chided himself for thinking she’d run into his arms and thank him for rescuing her.  Maybe next time.  Maybe now that she knew he would be back, she’d be more open to hearing him out.  With nothing else to do, he left the store.

Updates

Book Stephannie Beman and I are working on.

Thanks to my editor and my beta reader, I am in the final stages of polishing up this book. After that, it goes to Stephannie Beman who’ll give it the final read through.  Everything’s on track for publication in December.

The Anthology Janet Syas Nitsick and I Are Working On

I can’t remember if I said I was finished with the first draft, but I am.

Good news on this book.  I was stalled out but then things suddenly picked up.  I’m currently around the halfway point.  I didn’t see a certain plot twist coming my way, which is what makes it a lot more fun.  I like it when the unexpected twist happens.  I’m hoping to have the first draft done at the end of November or early December.  With any luck, I’ll be releasing this around the 1st of January.  :D

This one is about halfway done, too.  I did slow down the pace a little bit because I know where I want to be but am not exactly sure how to get there.  Neither Boaz nor Eva have cooperated with me.  And worse than that, neither one is really giving me much direction on how they want me to go.

I don’t know if I announced I was working on this one, but I decided to start it because I’m afraid I’ll forget the wager that was made in His Reluctant Lady.  With this book, I introduce some new characters.  I’m not sure how much of an overlap there will be with previous characters in this series, but I’m already starting to figure out a new plot for another book to go after this one.  It’ll involve the hero’s best friend.

I figured I’d better start this one while the characters from Catching Kent were fresh in my mind.  Plus, I really liked Rose’s twin sister Harriett and Stan.  It’s a challenge to pair up a couple who had a lousy start in another books, and Harriett and Stan definitely qualify since she did try to win him over in Catching Kent but failed.

It’s time I got to this one out.  I have the entire plot mapped out in my mind, but it’s been difficult getting it down because Amanda has to go through a lot of pain because things can get better, and it’s hard to watch one of my characters when they’re going through a horrible situation.  But it’s the only way Richard is going to marry her to take her with his family to Nebraska.

Sunday Story Sample: Kent Ashton’s Backstory

Here’s more of the story.  :-)  I’m combining a couple scenes today since they were pretty short.

The reason I’m posting this early is because I’m going to be focusing on revising The Stagecoach Bride this weekend instead of working on this blog.

“She’s with my brother,” Agnes Brothers protested, glancing up and down the street to make sure no one overheard their conversation.

“She didn’t want to be with him,” Kent replied.

“But what about Rebecca?  You’re engaged to her.”

“No, not anymore.”

“Well, no one around here has been told otherwise.”

He debated how much to tell her.  Of all the people who would know where Ann and Todd went, it would be Agnes, her closest friend.  “Don’t tell anyone, but we have secretly ended the engagement.  We will tell everyone when the time is right, but this isn’t the time.  Understand?  It’s very important you don’t mention it to anyone.”

Though she looked worried, she nodded.

“Good,” he replied with relief.  “Ann said you were the kind of person who could be trusted to keep her word, so I believe you’ll let Rebecca and I tell everyone when the time is right.”

“Even so, that doesn’t change the fact that Ann is with Todd.  You can’t come between them.”

“Is she married to him?”

“I don’t know.  I think so.  The preacher wouldn’t say if they went to his house or not on their way out, but my brother is an honorable man.  He would have married her if he planned to live with her.”

“Or he could have gone out West and told people he married her,” he pointed out, not putting it past Todd to do something like that, and why would Ann disgrace herself by telling people otherwise?  Making another attempt with Agnes, he added, “Surely, Ann told you how much I meant to her?”

After a long moment, she swallowed.  “Yes, but that was back in April, before you broke her heart.  She’s had all this time to be with Todd.”

“It’s only been six months.”

“And six months is enough time for her to fall in love with Todd.”

“No, it’s not.  She told me she would never love him, no matter what.  And I love her.  Circumstances have compelled me to end our courtship, but it wasn’t something I wanted.  I promise you my feelings for your friend are sincere, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making things up to her.”

She shook her head.  “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you.  Todd’s my brother.  Ann might be my friend, but my first duty is to him and I believe he’s better for her than you’d ever be.” She glanced around them again and tucked her hands into the pockets of her coat.  “Now, please go find a lady more suited for you.”

He watched as she walked away, both disappointed and frustrated.  How could he expect her to tell him?  Todd was her brother.  She’d do whatever she could to make sure Ann stayed with him, even if Ann didn’t want to.  But he also knew Agnes was the person who could lead him to Ann.  He’d bide his time and watch her.  Sooner or later, she’d lead him to Ann.  And he had no trouble waiting.  He’d wait an entire lifetime if it meant he could be with Ann in the end.

***

 Three weeks later, Kent followed Agnes to the train station.  He suspected she was going to see Ann, and if he could find out where she was going, he’d know where Ann was.  With the amount of people gathered around to wish their loved ones safe travel, it was easy enough to blend in with the crowd so she didn’t notice him.

            “Excuse me,” he called out to a ten-year-old boy who was standing by the newsstand, eyeing the candy while his parents talked to another couple a few feet away.

            The boy turned to him.  “Am I in your way, sir?”

            “No,” Kent said, offering him a smile, “but I can’t help but notice you’d like some candy.”

            “Oh, yes, but I’m not going to steal any.”

            “I know you aren’t.  You look like an honest lad.”

            He nodded and turned his attention back to the candy.

            “You see that young lady standing in line at the ticket counter who’s wearing a green dress?” He motioned to Agnes who was in the line.

            “Uh huh.”

            He lowered his voice so no one would overhear them.  “If you tell me where she’s going, I’ll give you a nickel.  You don’t even have to talk to her.  Just listen to her tell the man behind the counter where she’s going.”

            The boy glanced between her and the candy.  “All I have to do is listen to her?”

            Kent nodded.

            The boy headed off for the line and Kent dug out a nickel from his pocket.  Kent watched as the boy got close to Agnes and stayed near her until she left with a ticket.  He straightened as the boy ran over to him, swiftly dodging several people along the way.

            When the boy reached him, he gave him a wide, satisfied smile.  “Jamestown, North Dakota.”

            He handed him the nickel.  “Thank you.”

The excited boy ran to the newsstand and Kent turned away from him then watched as Agnes headed for the train.  Soon enough, he’d be going to Jamestown.

***

“Oh, let him go,” Kent’s mother said during dinner that evening.  “Mr. Jeffries is a wise investor.  He might teach Kent a thing or two.”

Kent wasn’t necessarily fond of the idea that his mother had to speak up on his behalf, but considering how reluctant his father was to let him go to New York, he figured she was his best chance.  And all he needed was a couple weeks.  A couple weeks would be sufficient time to travel to Jamestown, tell Ann he would rescue her from Todd in April after his investments matured, and come back.  He wished he had the money to start a new life with her now, but he’d have to bide his time.  They’d have the rest of their lives together.  Half a year was a small price to pay.

He glanced at his father as he cut into his steak.  “Mr. Dawson is letting me take the time off so I can go.”

His father sipped his wine then set the glass on the table.  “I don’t know why you refuse to work for Mr. Johnson.  You’d have a much better job as his future son-in-law.”

“I want to prove I can earn money on my own merit,” he replied.

“You could go farther on Mr. Johnson’s.”

He hid his grimace.  One thing he’d be sure to do when he married Ann was to move far away from Virginia.  Maybe they could go to California.  That was as far west as he could go and make it near to impossible for his father to track him down.  Rebecca and Samuel were making plans to go to Canada where he had a distant relative who could use help with his horses.

“There’s no denying Mr. Jeffries’ advice would be of great benefit to you,” his father finally said, bringing Kent’s attention back to him.  “How long will you be gone?”

“Only a couple weeks.  Three at the most,” Kent replied.

After a long moment, he nodded.  “Very well.  You may go.”

Relieved, Kent continued eating while his parents discussed an upcoming ball they wanted to attend.

Story Sample Sunday: Kent Ashton’s Backstory

Now we continue with confrontation between Kent and Rebecca.  :-)

It took all of Kent’s self-control not to pound on the Johnsons’ front door.  He thought the walk to Rebecca’s would calm him, but he only grew angrier with each step.  The front door opened and he forced his tone to remain polite as he said, “I’d like to talk to Miss Johnson.”

“Miss Johnson just went to the carriage house.”

Thanking the butler, Kent hurried around the house, determined he’d find Rebecca before she left.  She owed him an explanation.  His grip tightened around the bottle in his coat pocket.  He wasn’t going to leave until she told him why she did it.

He flung the door to the carriage house open and made it two steps in when he saw her jerk from the young man she’d been kissing.

“What’s going on here?” he demanded, not sure what surprised him more: the fact that she had drugged him to get him into bed with her or seeing her in another man’s arms.

She quickly pulled away from the stable hand, her face a wild shade of red.  “Kent, I…” She glanced at the young man and cleared her throat.  Turning back to Kent, she continued, “I’m sorry.”

The stable hand hurried to stand between her and Kent.  “Why are you apologizing, Rebecca?  You don’t want to marry him.  You want to marry me.”

“Samuel, let me handle this,” she said, her eyes pleading with him to do as she wished.

He crossed his arms, his jaw clenched.

She turned to Kent and clasped her hands in front of her.  “Kent, what Samuel said is true, but,” she glanced at Samuel, “my father will never allow it.  Samuel, I’m sorry, but I can’t.” She released her hands and sighed.  “My father is insistent I marry someone with money.”

Samuel shook his head.  “Who cares what he thinks?  You think money will make you happy?”

“It’s not as easy as that,” she replied.

“It is that easy, but you refuse to acknowledge it.”

“No, it isn’t,” she insisted.  “Please, Samuel.  You’re only making things worse.”

He threw his hands up in the air.  “Fine.  I’m out of here.”

Kent waited until he stormed out of the carriage house before turning back to her.  “What’s going on?” he asked in a tone that was more bewildered than angry.

She approached him, her expression pleading with him to understand.  “Kent, I have all the respect in the world for you.  You’re a good man, an honest man, a decent man.  I promise that I won’t see Samuel anymore.”

“But you want to see him.”

Wincing, she shook her head.  “I can’t.  I won’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m going to marry you.  I can’t betray my vows to you.”

“Why are you marrying me?  Because of this?” He brought the bottle out of his pocket and showed it to her, only mildly satisfied when her face paled.  “Don’t pretend you didn’t bring this to my house and put it in my drink because it couldn’t have been anyone else.”

After a moment, she swallowed then lowered her gaze.  “Yes, I did it.  Your father told me no one would be in the house except for you.”

“Why did you do it?  You didn’t even want to be with me this whole time, but you went through the trouble of slipping this in my drink so it’d look like we were together…that way.  Or did we really…?” He couldn’t even bring himself to say it aloud, even after all this time.

“We didn’t.  It only looked like we’d be intimate, but we never were.”

“Why?”

“Um…” She took a deep breath and cleared her throat.  “Your father caught me in a compromising position with Samuel and threatened to tell my father if I didn’t make it look like you and I had been in bed together.”

“But…  Wait.  Let’s start from the beginning.  I thought you were interested in me.”

“It was all an act.  Kent, that first night your family came to my house for dinner, my father wanted us to marry.  Your family has old money and my father got along with yours.  He figured an alliance with your family would benefit him financially.”

At that, he laughed.  Financially beneficial?  If her father only knew how poor they were at the time, he never would have wanted such a thing.  But now his father was very well off, thanks to the investments, and in the years to come, he’d be rich again.  His father’s ploy had worked.  No one would be the wiser.

“I don’t know what’s so funny,” Rebecca said.

“Nothing.” He stopped laughing and motioned for her to continue.

Though she looked hesitant, she nodded.  “Alright.  Well, my father insisted that I do everything I could to be charming.  When I realized you wanted to be with Ann Statesman, this was easier to do.  I knew you’d never marry me, and when you married her, my father couldn’t fault me for not trying.  But then, your father saw me with Samuel…” She wiped a tear from her eye and took a shaky breath.  “I am so sorry, Kent.  I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I was so scared.  Your father said I either do it or he’d hire someone to remove Samuel.”

His eyebrows furrowed.  “Remove Samuel?  What does that mean?”

“I think you know what it means.”

“No, my father wouldn’t kill anyone.”

“I didn’t say he was going to kill him.  He was going to hire someone to kill him.”

“I can’t believe that.”

She adjusted the collar on her coat and shrugged.  “Then don’t.  But that doesn’t change why I did what I did.  I wanted to protect Samuel.  I’d rather spend my life without him than risk his life.”

“And does Samuel know?”

Tears filled her eyes.  “Yes.  He thinks we can just run off and make a life for ourselves, but he has no money and I won’t have any if I don’t marry someone my father wants me to marry.  My father will never allow a marriage with him.  The whole thing is hopeless, and I never should have let it get as far as it did with him.  The first time he expressed his feelings, I should have insisted my father hire someone else to take his place.”

“But you couldn’t.”

“I was weak.”

“There’s nothing wrong with pursuing love, even if it comes at the most unexpected time.” Letting out a heavy sigh, he slipped the bottle back into his pocket.  “I can’t fault you for what you did.”

He knew his father could be manipulative, knew his father would do many things to get what he wanted, but he still couldn’t believe his father would make good on a threat to have someone killed for not doing what he wanted.  Rebecca had been too scared to consider his father was bluffing.

He considered their options.  He didn’t want to marry her any more than she wanted to marry him.  What had led them to this point was no longer relevant.  What they needed to do was figure out a way to move forward.

“Rebecca,” he began, “what if I could get enough money saved up to help you and Samuel leave Virginia and start a new life somewhere else?”

She blinked back her tears.  “You’d do that?”

“I will but no one can know about it, and I can’t do it right now.  We have to wait until about March or April.” That was when his investments gained enough profit to make it possible.  “We have to bide our time until then and pretend we’re still engaged.”

“Kent, after all I did to deceive you, I don’t deserve it.”

“I know how my father is.  He manipulates things until he gets what he wants.  We can work through the details later.”

To his surprise, she hugged him.  “Thank you.”

Feeling more at peace than he had in a long time, he smiled and patted her back.  “Everything will be alright.” And once he found Ann and told her the good news, it would be.

Family Tree for the Anthology I’m Doing With Janet Syas Nitsick

In the future, I plan to marry one (or more) of the children from my novella in the Bride by Arrangement anthology to a character (or more) in the Nebraska Romance Collection. This post is going to be linked up to the anthology page so I can remember the kids’ names and when they were born.  This way I can better match the future couples up when it comes time to write their books.

Jimmy Kelly – Cheryl

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                                            Ron (1870)                      Nicole (November 1876)

Pete Kelly – Ada (Wilcox) Kelly

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                          Fred (February 1877)              Chester (1880)             Erma (1883)

Updates On What I’m Doing

The Anthology Janet Syas Nitsick and I Are Working On

I’ll finish the first draft of my novella in the Bride by Arrangement anthology this week.  :-)  I just finished the last chapter and will write the epilogue either tomorrow or Friday.  Then I’ll start in on the editing process with my awesome team.  This anthology is going through a publisher and should be out around New Year’s.

Book Stephannie Beman and I are working on.

I’m almost halfway through my part of the editing process on this book.  All I can say is that this book would not have been nearly as good as it is without Stephannie Beman’s part.  It was a lot of fun working on it, and reading through it again, I’m reminded of how much I enjoyed working with Stephannie.  I plan to give it back to her on November 11.  From there, she’ll do the final touches on what needs to be done with it.  December is still the goal on when to publish it.  So all things are going according to plan.  :-)

I’m almost at chapter nine in this book.  I have a tentative date for finishing the first draft, which is December 27.  If I can make this deadline, then the last week of January will be the publishing date.

Things are now picking up in this book.  It took a while because I wasn’t sure where things were going, but I have a better feel for the characters and things are moving much more smoothly.  I have adjusted the daily word count goal to 500 words a day instead of 250.  At the moment, I am on chapter seven.  I have no estimated finishing date, but I’m thinking March or April might be the month I’ll publish this if all things continue to go according to plan.

I just started this one.  I wanted to do it while the plot is fresh in my mind and the characters were ready to have the book going.  This book goes into the wager that Agatha exposed in His Reluctant Lady.  It deals with how the wager was made between Lords Davenport and Pennella and what happens after it’s exposed.  I showed what Lord Pennella did after it was exposed, but I never told what happened to Miss Giles or Lord Davenport.  I expect it to be fun to find out how it all works out.

I think this time I’ll finally get this one done.  :-)  This is Richard Larson’s romance.   Since I had a dream where I basically saw the entire book play out in front of me like a movie, I figure the characters are ready.  No, I don’t hear voices or anything spooky like that.  It’s just that I need to know the characters well enough to write the book.  I couldn’t get a real handle on Amanda for the longest time, and I think it’s because I wasn’t willing to get as dark into her story as I needed to.  Once I accepted how things are going to play out for her, the story fell into place.

I have decided on the book that will take the place of Bride by Arrangement once I’m finished with it.  I’m still in chapter one, but since I know what to do with Harriett Larson, I figure I’d write it while the characters are still fresh in my mind from Catching Kent.  Harriett will end up with Stan Craftsman, but it’s the “how” that’ll be fun to find out.

Story Sample Sunday: Kent Ashton’s Backstory

Today, I’m posting the scene where Kent begins to discover the truth about that night he was caught in bed with Rebecca.  (He’ll confront Rebecca next week.  I loved the confrontation.  :D)

The passage of time was something Kent hardly noticed.  He went through one day to the next, attending dinner parties and balls, playing the doting fiancé to Rebecca.  But it was all a blur.  In many ways, he’d become numb, mindlessly doing what his father wanted, hardly aware of what was going on around him.  His thoughts were with Ann most of the time, but he never told anyone.

Every morning he wondered where she was, if she was miserable and wishing she was back in Virginia.  Of course, she had to be miserable.  From what he heard, the life Todd had chosen as a farmer was one that would be hard on a lady.  Ann had been brought up for better things than that.  She had not been prepared for the hardships living out West entailed.  It sickened him to think of what she might be going through, probably crying herself to sleep each night as she thought of everything she’d left behind.

The guilt gnawed on him.  If he’d only kept his promise to make sure she would end up with him instead of Todd.  If only he hadn’t gotten drunk that night.  He’d condemned them both.  He’d condemned her to Todd and himself to Rebecca.

All he could do was move forward, something that got harder to do as each day passed.  In the summer, he declined Mr. Johnson’s offer to work in one of the companies he owned and chose to work for Alex Dawson’s father instead.  The pay was less than what he would have made under Mr. Johnson, but his father’s control in his life would be weaker.

One evening in September after he and his parents ate at the Johnsons’ house, he played their piano and Rebecca sang.  The only time he could feel anything seemed to be when he was playing music.  Tonight, Rebecca sang a happy tune, and he was back to the time when he met Ann.  How he missed walking her home from school.

He didn’t realize tears had welled up in his eyes until one slid down his cheek.  He quickly brushed it away before anyone noticed.

Rebecca stopped in mid-song and glanced at him, a question in her eyes.

“I missed a note,” he quickly explained and picked up where he left off, hoping she wouldn’t ask anything else about it.

Fortunately, she didn’t and soon enough, they were done with the song.

***

It wasn’t until October that Kent debated whether or not to burn the letters Ann had written him while they were courting.  He hesitated to do it because it was a reminder that they had been together, that they had planned to share a life together.  Dreams that would never happen but dreams that often gave him comfort.  And as much as he wanted to hold on to the letters, he didn’t feel right marrying Rebecca while he held onto them.  It wasn’t fair to her.

With a heavy sigh, he collected all the letters from his desk and carried them to the parlor, figuring he’d burn them in the fire roaring in the fireplace.  He stared at them for a long moment then decided to read them one last time.  He sat on the couch and unfolded them, his hands careful not to do any damage to them, something which was ridiculous since he’d be burning them soon enough.

He felt foolish when he began to cry.  This was a trap of his own making.  He couldn’t blame her for running off with Todd.  It hurt her to watch him with Rebecca.  He knew she did it to get out of Virginia.  He pulled the handkerchief out of his suit pocket and wiped his cheeks before anyone could come in and see him.  As soon as he married Rebecca, he’d get his own house.  It wasn’t New York, but it was better than being in such close quarters with his parents.

He quickly stuffed his handkerchief back into his pocket, and one of the letters slipped from his hand.  Placing the other letters on the table, he knelt by the couch and reached under it so he could retrieve it.  His fingers brushed something hard.  Curious, he clasped the cool object in his hand and pulled it out with the letter.

Setting the letter aside, he inspected the bottle in his hand and noted the date written on it.  April of last year.  It was laudanum.  His parents didn’t use laudanum and neither did he.  He thought over the people who’d visited the house back in April.  A couple of his father’s friends had stopped by, but he doubted any of them would have brought this bottle over.  The only person who might have brought it over was Rebecca, that night that she came to get the book.  His grip tightened on the bottle and his jaw clenched.

“Rebecca.”

Bolting to his feet, he retrieved the letters and returned them to his room before he left the house.

Story Sample Sunday: Kent Ashton’s Backstory

I am in the process of publishing Catching Kent on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords.  I have already published Kent Ashton’s Backstory, but I am waiting until Catching Kent is live on B&N before I send out the email to those of you on my new release list.  I don’t like to crowd peoples’ inboxes.  :-)

Now for today’s Sunday’s Story Sample.  I’m continuing with Kent Ashton’s Backstory and will keep posting it on this blog every Sunday until I have the complete novella up on here.

It wasn’t until Kent and his parents were on their way home in the carriage that the town was abuzz with news of Ann’s disappearance.  A man riding a horse hailed the carriage and the driver pulled it to a stop.

“Whatever’s going on?” his mother wondered, fanning herself.

“We’ll find out in a moment,” his father replied as he waited for the footman to open the door so he could lean forward to speak with the man who slid off the horse, his movements indicating that he was in a hurry.  “Is something troubling you?” his father asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Have you seen Todd Brothers pass by on a wagon with two horses?” the man asked.

It took Kent a minute to realize the man was the Brothers’ butler.  He rolled his eyes and settled back in his seat.  What did he care what Todd did?  If he wanted to go riding through town on a wagon, let him.

Kent’s father shook his head.  “We haven’t seen anything of the sort.  Have you?” he asked the footman.

“No, sir, I haven’t,” their footman told the butler.

The butler nodded.  “Thank you, sirs.”

Before he could return to his horse, Kent’s father called out, “What is this about?  Should we be concerned?”

“There was a note.  Todd is running off with Miss Statesman,” the butler replied.

“With who?” Kent asked, his heart stopping as the cold hand of panic wrapped around it.

“Ann, you fool,” his father muttered then turned his attention to the butler.  “Where did they go?”

“Miss Statesman wrote they’re heading out West so he can be a farmer.  That’s all we know.”

“Unfortunately, we haven’t seen either one of them,” Kent’s father replied.

With a sigh, he nodded.  “Thank you.”

As he returned to his horse, Kent’s father motioned for the footman to close the door and settled back in his seat.

“Can it be true?” his mother asked, her eyes wide.

His father shrugged.  “I suppose so.”

“But why would Miss Statesman leave Virginia?” she pressed.

“How would I know?” His father turned his gaze to Kent.  “Now you see that Rebecca is the right lady for you.  Ann’s feelings for you were never genuine if she’s been planning to run off with Todd Brothers this whole time.”

Kent wanted to protest that Ann hadn’t been planning to go away with Todd, that this was something that happened because he broke her heart.  There was no denying the pain in her eyes whenever she saw him with Rebecca, and his father insisted they appear in as many places together as possible.  All he’d done was add insult to injury, and in the end, it drove her into Todd’s arms.

I’ll never love him, she once told him, no matter how much he or my parents wish it.  I only want to marry you.  Promise me you’ll do everything you can to make sure we end up together?

And why wouldn’t Todd take her?  It was obvious he harbored feelings for her.  He’d willingly taken advantage of her moment of weakness and took her out of Virginia so she’d have no recourse than to be with him.  By removing her from her family and friends, he had selfishly claimed her all for himself.

Kent’s hands formed fists.  How could Todd do that to her?  If he truly loved her, he wouldn’t have preyed upon her weakness.  When Ann realized the mistake she’d made, would it be too late?  Would she be forced to be with him for the rest of her life, living with a man she didn’t love?

As the carriage moved forward, his father smiled in satisfaction.  “You see, Kent.  Things have turned out for the best.  You were meant to be with Rebecca.  Fate has dealt kindly with you.”

Kent bit back his reply.  Turning his gaze to the window, he ignored his father and mother the rest of the way home.