A New Beginning: mail order brides western historical romance

By Kent Hamilton

Her father died and left her his ranch…

Eliza's world is turned upside down when her father passes away, leaving her his huge ranch and everything in it.

Determined to make this her new start, Eliza struggles to be taken seriously as she learns how to run the Martin Ranch. No-one seems willing to help her, not least the main ranch manager, Dave. The only thing she has is a pail of fresh milk on her doorstep every night, with no idea who is leaving it there.

When Dave begins to make things difficult for Eliza, Christopher battles to find the courage he needs to stand up for her. He has no intention of falling for her, no matter how much he admires her, but a meeting in the dark changes all of that.

Will Eliza be able to force Dave to leave? Will Christopher be strong enough to defend her? Or will Dave have his way, and get his hands on the ranch he's always wanted?

A New Beginning is an old west novel, set in the heart of Texas. If you like historic fiction, strong female characters and just a touch of romance, then you'll love this new western novel!

Buy the book to read Eliza's story today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Heirs Publishing Company
• Release date: Oct 11, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386928799

Kent Hamilton

Author Kent Hamilton has always had a natural flair for writing, right from his school years. A student of Columbia University, he has over 15 years of writing experience and is an avid reader of clean romance, dramatic fiction and the classics. Kent passion for evoking raw emotion and his honest representation of the human experience makes his work relatable to his readers. He enjoys drawing on the experiences of his surroundings, observing the behaviors of others and combining this with a healthy dose of imagination. He is a keen communicator with an eye for detail and this is reflected in his writing. Having written short stories since he was a teenager, Kent also contributes to online blogs and enjoys reviewing novels from new and established authors. He is constantly open to learning new things and thrives on reading fiction that evokes emotion and stimulated the senses. Prior to writing his clean romance novel Without a Hitch, Kent spent several years traveling around Australia where he met his current partner. He lives with her and their one year old daughter and his other passions include cooking, photography and film. Without a Hitch is a novel that questions the notion of true, lasting love and draws the reader into the hearts of its protagonists. Kent has recently started another romance story which he hopes to publish next year.

Book preview

Table of Contents:

Chapter One -A New Beginning

Chapter Two -A Capable Woman

Chapter Three -I Can’t Help You

Chapter Four -All Alone

Chapter Five -A Welcome Addition

Chapter Six -A Companion for Eliza

Chapter Seven - A Meeting in the Dark

Chapter Eight -Help Me!

Chapter Nine -A Real Threat

Chapter Ten -An Unexpected Attack

Chapter Eleven – We’ll Fix Him Right Up

Chapter Twelve – Going Alone

Chapter Thirteen – I Should Have Listened

Chapter Fourteen - Something’s Wrong

Chapter Fifteen - Don’t Leave Me!

Chapter Sixteen - Safe at Last

Chapter Seventeen - It’s My Ranch

Chapter Eighteen - Will You Have Me?

Chapter One: A New Beginning

Oh, papa.

Walking through the ranch house, Eliza struggled against the pain and grief that threatened to overwhelm her. She felt completely lost and alone, the sound of her footsteps echoing through the house. Her fingers ran along the

wooden table in the kitchen, as she remembered the way her daddy used to sit there each evening with his spectacles on, reading by lamplight. He had been a well versed and intelligent man, her daddy, which was a testament to the thriving ranch he had left her.

I miss you, she whispered, walking through to the living room. Her daddy’s comfortable chair was still in the corner by the fire and the familiar scent of his cigars filled her lungs. Smiling, even though her eyes were filling with tears, Eliza walked to the chair and sat down in it, curling her legs underneath her.

Eliza leaned her head back against the corner of the chair, letting her tears run from the corners of her eyes and onto the fabric. Completely exhausted from both the journey and the emotional turmoil that came with the passing of a parent, she let her eyes close thinking about all that had gone on.

After receiving first one telegram informing her of her daddy’s illness, Eliza had been busy making preparations to visit him in her home town of East Texas. Just as she was about to leave, she had received yet another telegram informing her that he had died and bequeathed her all his earthly belongings. She’d stared at the paper in her hand for a long time, not quite believing it at first. Since then, her time had been taken up with organizing the packing and preparing of all her belongings, handing in her notice to the school she taught at, and then finally purchasing a train ticket to take her back home. Once she’d arrived, there had been the laying out, then the funeral and, finally, the reading of the will. It had only been her present, of course, given that she was his only family.

It had always been just the two of them, until she’d up and left, chasing dreams of her own. Her daddy loved the ranch life, but Eliza did not share the same regard for it, learning practically nothing about running a ranch. In her head had been dreams of exploring the world around her, and, with his encouragement, had left to find her own way in life. Her heart lifted as she thought of all the places she’d visited, and how she’d eventually managed to find both a job and her own accommodation. Years had passed, with only the occasional visit to her daddy even though she had missed him terribly. With no prospective suitors in sight, Eliza had merely accepted her lot and carried on, enjoying her time teaching the children of the village. There had been friends and freedom and laughter – but now all that was gone. Her friends had been sorry to see her leave, of course, but she had been given no other choice. Eliza could not simply allow her daddy’s legacy to run into the ground, even though she knew nothing about ranch life!

Whatever am I going to do?

I’m sorry?

Sitting bolt upright, Eliza swung her legs to the floor and stood up, wiping her face with her sleeve. I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t hear you come in. Her face was flaming and she self-consciously ran a hand over her hair, smoothing down a few loose tendrils.

Christopher twisted his hat a little uncomfortably, realizing that he had walked in on a woman in the throes of grief. Whilst he was aware that he should not have intruded without so much as a by-your-leave, he had to know how things were going to run. The ranch hands were already muttering about all the upheaval going on, the uncertainty of their future causing both anxiety and concern. I beg your pardon, ma’am.

No, not at all. Lifting her chin, Eliza’s gaze swept over the man in her living room, but no spark of recognition came to her. Who are you, may I ask?

I’m Christopher, ma’am. I’m one of your daddy’s ranch managers.

Oh? And what’s that? Aware that her ignorance was already apparent, Eliza pushed her feelings of discomfort to the side and soldiered on.

Well, to put it simply, I helped your daddy to run the ranch. Me and another man, Dave. You can meet him later.

Oh, Eliza said again, wondering for a moment if he’d be able to help her. Can you tell me what exactly it is that my daddy did here?

On the ranch?

Yes.

Trying to prevent the astonishment he felt from showing on his face, Christopher cleared his throat. Your daddy started off raising cattle, but these last few years he's been raising pigs and horses too.

Wrinkling her nose a little at the mention of pigs, Eliza thought hard. So he must have  a lot of help.

Got about twenty men here, with more taken on during the birthin’ season.

I see, Eliza replied, slowly. She was now responsible for the ranch and for those who worked on it, meaning that she would need to ensure a steady flow of money to keep the ranch profitable. Her green eyes fixed on Christopher's face, wondering how honest she should be with him.

"The men have just been paid for the last quarter, so