The Prairie Fire Rekindled: The Prairie Fire Trilogy, #2

By C. D. Melley

The more things change, the more things stay the same, or do they?

Things appear to have settled down on the corn farm in Melville, Saskatchewan owned by Amanda Bellamy. She has married the man of her dreams in Hank Acker, and is expecting her first child. However, while Amanda's love life has stabilized, things don't appear as clear for her best friend, and farmhand, Ashley Washburn. That is, until Amanda and Hank's wedding day when Ashley meets her own man of her dreams. There's only one catch: Ashley's new beau has a raven-haired demon from his past everyone at Amanda's farm are all too familiar with.

In THE PRAIRIE FIRE REKINDLED, we reunite with Amanda and the others as they embark on a new relationship in the fold, deal with the developments of Ashley's new beau's ex-flame, and learn old habits may die hard, but the journey to change lives is just beginning.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Douglas J. McLeod
• Release date: Nov 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386963004

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

IT WAS A BRIGHT, SUNNY day in Melville, Saskatchewan. Four hundred people had gathered upon the grounds of Gerald Brimley’s corn farm to witness the wedding of his niece, Amanda Bellamy, to Hank Acker. Amanda had inherited the property from her Uncle Gerald a year earlier; however, it was not without a legal challenge from Gerald's daughter, Rebecca. The jealous relative believed the farm should have been bequeathed to her, so she could sell the property to the highest bidder. Fortunately, for Amanda – and her newfound staff – the courts ruled in her favor, and in the process, she quit her job of five years. Amanda was a junior advertising executive in Toronto, but when faced with the choice of either her inheritance or her job, she chose to return to her childhood roots and took over the farm full-time.

When Amanda spent those two weeks on the farm over a year ago, she met the wonderful staff who operated and maintained the property. The first one of them was the woman who was her maid of honor for the ceremony, Ashley Washburn. Ashley quickly became Amanda's best friend and trusted confidante when the farm’s heir was debating about pursuing a relationship with the man she was marrying. It was Ashley who cautioned Amanda about the semantics of dating someone who worked for her; yet, at the same time, secretly touted to the heir about Hank's physical attributes.

It was those attributes that attracted Amanda to her husband-to-be initially, but as the days drew on, she would find there was more to Hank than his physique. Hank was a warm-hearted journeyman, originally from Grande Prairie, Alberta, who came to work for Gerald, but decided to stick around with the rest of the staff when the title transferred over to Amanda. When it was revealed the farm was in dire financial straits, Hank arranged for a backer to provide a loan until provincial assistance kicked in. Unbeknownst to Amanda at first, the backer turned out to be Hank, himself. The funding was made possible thanks to a previous lottery win, which – along with his physique – made him the most desired bachelor in all the Prairies. That is, until Amanda came into his life.

The couple would initially go out for coffee alone together with Amanda's initial intent to get to know him better. However, it was on that night last year ago when Hank became struck with his then supervisor's beauty. He loved the way her green eyes shone like emeralds in the light of the prairie moon. They proved to be the perfect accent to her auburn hair. The only problem was, like Amanda's dilemma, he knew it would be improper to have entered such a relationship. He, too, was hesitant to pursue it further; however, when Rebecca saw them together on a night out at the movies, it forced Hank and Amanda to confess their feelings to one another back at the farm in front of Ashley and the other two farmhands, Kevin Matthews and Cecil Hicks.

Kevin and Cecil were the two troublemakers who would always force Ashley to watch over them. They were known to either goof off on the farm, or blab personal details to others. It was these tendencies which made Amanda and Hank hesitant about coming clean about how they felt about one another. It was also thanks to Kevin and Cecil that Hank's bank account became public knowledge to everyone in town. It was a miracle the journeyman had not moved on from Melville, but it was his commitment to help Gerald, and the camaraderie he shared with his coworkers that made him stay. If it were not for that, he would not have met the woman he would marry on this day.

The ceremony went off without a hitch, and afterwards, everyone headed to a nearby tent for the reception. However, Ashley needed to powder her nose before partaking in the dinner and festivities. She had left her makeup bag in Amanda's bathroom while she was helping the heir get ready for the ceremony. But, there was another reason why she needed to get away.

While she was happy for her pseudo-sister, deep down, Ashley was jealous of Amanda. Amanda’s best friend had secretly pined for Hank, but decided not to pursue a romantic relationship with him. Her reasoning for not doing so was not to jeopardize the harmonious environment on the farm. Hank was a hard worker, and without his work ethic, the farm would have been doomed. While she came clean about her feelings for Hank the same night he and Amanda admitted how they felt about one another, Ashley gave way for her then supervisor to make a play for the journeyman. It was a decision Ashley kicked herself over, but reluctantly accepted.

As Ashley finished up in the bathroom, she accidentally knocked something off the edge of the sink into the trash can. She went to retrieve it, and when she discovered what it was, she was speechless. The item was a used home pregnancy test and it showed a positive result. Since there was only one other person who used the bathroom that day it meant only one thing: Amanda Bellamy was pregnant, and Ashley knew it was with Hank Acker's child. If Ashley wasn't disheartened before, her heart sank even lower upon seeing the test.

Well, this is just great. Amanda done got herself knocked up. I know I should be happy for her, but I can't help but wonder if it could have been me instead. Damn, my moral ethics. Now, the one guy I thought I might have had the slightest chance with is not only married to my best friend, but is going to be her baby daddy.

Ashley began to weep. She began to doubt if she would find anyone who could treat her as well as Hank could have. Yet, he wasn't going to be out of her life. Hank would still help on the farm as co-owner and fellow farmhand. However, Ashley wasn't sure if she could work along someone she used to pine for and was now married to someone else. She didn't want to turn her back on Amanda. The heir was part of her family, and if Ashley was to leave the operation because of Hank and Amanda's union, it would have made her no better than Rebecca. Ashley was in an emotional bind, but decided not to ruin the happy couple's special day. She dried her tears, refreshed her makeup and headed back to the reception.

THE RECEPTION WAS A momentous event for the happy couple. It provided lasting memories for the newly christened Mr. and Mrs. Acker. Everyone enjoyed the festivities, but while Amanda and Hank were partaking in their first dance, Ashley looked on and sighed. She was still envious of the position her best friend was in: married to the man of her dreams and carrying his child. What she wouldn't give to be in Amanda's shoes. Ashley didn't say a word and took a sip from her glass of sparkling wine.

She noticed the newlyweds talking to one another during the dance, but she didn't realize they were talking about her. Ashley did not know that their hearts went out to her, and the couple wondered the same thing she thought: would Ashley Washburn ever find someone who could make her as happy as Hank and Amanda were?

When the happy couple finished their dance, Amanda went into the usual tradition of tossing her bouquet. Ashley rolled her eyes over the theatrics behind the act. She took another sip of wine and sighed.

Great. Here comes the horde of women who jump all over each other like a bunch of pups, trying to get at a filled food bowl. I don't understand why we can't all be civil when this happens, but if they want to look like a bunch of rabid hamsters, then all the power to them. Not that it matters to me, but it's not like I would ever find a guy if I ended up with a thrown bridal bouquet.

The maid of honor took another sip from her glass, and saw Amanda's bouquet tossed into the air. As Ashley predicted, the scrum leapt and jostled for the ceremonial trinket; however, what she did not expect was the bouquet being tipped in the air, and landing on the table in front of her. The bride congratulated her best friend for being the recipient of the floral arrangement, but Ashley laughed over being the lucky woman to end up with it.

That was sheer luck, she claimed. I doubt that prophecy will come true.

Hank stated there was still the tossing of Amanda's garter to determine who might be the next male to get married. Upon hearing his announcement, Ashley secretly hoped Kevin or Cecil wouldn't be the one to catch the garment. Her body shivered in repulsion from the memory of a year ago when she decided to play a joke on them by claiming to be Amanda's friend from university. The result had her two coworkers hitting on her until she ended the charade. While the joking around was a symbol of the camaraderie shared amongst the staff, the thought of a repeat incidence sent a chill down Ashley's spine.

After hearing the hooting and hollering from the males in attendance while Hank removed Amanda's garter with his teeth, the groom slingshot the garment into the crowd. There wasn't as much jostling for it as there were from the women for Amanda's bouquet, but there was still interest in who would end up with the trinket. Ashley sighed as she saw the garter sail through the air, ending up in the lap of one of the male attendees.

Ashley saw the lucky man pick up the garment and observed who it was. The first thing Ashley noticed was how attractive he was. Granted, he was not the physical specimen Hank was, but he was easy on her eyes. The male possessed short brown hair and the most beautiful gray eyes she had ever seen.

Holy Hell!  That guy is gorgeous. Sure, he's not a certified beefcake like Hank is, but I wouldn't mind getting to know this guy better. I should go over and introduce myself to him.

Ashley took a spoon and tried to check the condition of her stylized brown hair. When she saw that it was satisfactory, she got up, walked over to the man's table, and took a seat beside him. The gentleman appeared to be a little shy, but Ashley had no problems trying to break the ice. She congratulated him on his 'nice catch' and he shirked it off; saying it just landed in front of him. He complimented her on obtaining the bouquet, but Ashley explained she had the same string of luck he had.

Given how you gave everyone the evil eye during the 'If anyone objects to these two' part of the ceremony, the gentleman said, I think all of the ladies knew to give you your space.

The comment brought out a laugh from the maid of honor. Ashley extended her hand and introduced herself. The male shook her hand and uttered the words that answered her mystery.

Pleased to meet you, he said. I'm Chuck MacDonald.

At that moment, Ashley's sorrow began to seep away, and she was ready to start her road to what she believed was romantic happiness.

CHAPTER TWO

ASHLEY WOKE UP THE next morning in the bunkhouse and was sporting a hangover. She had overdone it on the sparkling wine during the reception and was now paying for it. Ashley slowly sat up in her bed and rubbed her temples in a bid to alleviate the headache she was experiencing. Ashley groaned as she stumbled onto the floor and trudged her way toward her door; hoping Kevin and Cecil weren't tying up the bathroom. Hank had moved in with Amanda when he proposed which meant one less person to battle with in the morning when she had to freshen up. However, the other two were still an occasional hindrance when she needed to use it.

Much to Ashley's surprise, the bunkhouse was quiet when she peeked out into the hallway. After calling out to the two of them and hearing no response, she figured they were in the main house getting breakfast ready. Ashley breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she could shower in peace. She turned on the water, stripped down, and stepped into the shower. The steam rejuvenated her and helped ease her hangover. Ashley grabbed her pink loofa, applied some spring rain-scented shower gel and began to scrub her body. She hoped it would remove any lingering stench of alcohol from the day before and it did the trick. Once she finished scrubbing her skin, she began to wash her hair. It always took a while for Ashley to do it because her long, brown hair hung just below her shoulders. Ashley traditionally wore it in a ponytail, so it wouldn't become a problem when she worked in the barn. She debated about trimming a couple of inches off its length, but never had reason to. Amanda and the guys liked it the way it was, so she kept it the same.

After toweling herself off, Ashley headed into her closet and chose her outfit for the day. She decided on a blue-and-white checkered shirt and blue denim jeans. She grabbed a hair tie off her nightstand, did her hair in her familiar ponytail, and made her way over to the main house's dining room for the morning meal; hoping everyone wouldn't bug her about overindulging in the libations.

ASHLEY ATTEMPTED TO sneak into the dining room undetected, but her plan was all for naught. Amanda and Hank were coming down the stairs and saw her, as she tried to pass by.

Good morning, Ashley, Hank greeted.

Ashley cursed under her breath and turned to the newlyweds. Well, she said, it's the happy couple. How was your first night as husband and wife?

It was wonderful, Amanda replied. Unfortunately, it wasn't how we originally hoped because of the test.

Ashley clued in immediately. Ah, yes, she said. I guess you two can't consummate your marriage since both of you already did.