Forbidden Love and Thunder (Preview)

Chapter One

Abigail Foster threw away the hammer that she was trying to use to mend the gate. She sat on the steps of the ranch house that she and Terry had worked so hard to build. She leaned her head against the post of the porch and let the tears flow. Her shoulders shook, and she drew in gasps of breath as she searched for a handkerchief and held it across her eyes. Her head rested on her hands, and she whispered out loud.

“Oh, Terry darling. How can I do this without you? I am lonely and useless, and I cannot even knock a nail into a broken gate. Can you hear me? Can you help me from wherever you are in heaven, my darling? I need your arms around me and the voice that told me that we could fix anything.” The black and white dog that was her constant companion leaned against her legs.

“Are you okay?” a man’s voice spoke from the broken gate.

Abigail leaped to her feet and gave a little scream. The dog barked and ran to the gate.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare the living daylights out of you.” Abigail stopped the second scream that was about to leave her lips when she saw that he was holding out his hands and trying to calm her.

“I’m not armed, and I only came past as I’m looking for a runaway horse.” He bent over and scratched the dog behind the ears.

She saw a native Indian at her gate. He was tall with the black hair of his heritage tied back with a leather thong but dressed in the clothes that a cowboy would wear. There was no sign of anything tribal.

Abigail rubbed at her eyes and reflected that she must look a mess and she must seem like a silly, wailing woman.

“I haven’t seen a horse around here. What color is it?”

“A bay with a creamy-colored mane and tail. She is sweet-natured but young, and when she took fright, she just ran in a blind panic.” He paused. “Are you okay? You seemed to be upset.”

“I just gave in and cried when the stupid nail would not go into the gatepost and hold it up.” She managed a watery smile.

“This gate?” he asked as he was standing right at the entrance. She nodded. He picked up the hammer from where it had landed and looked for the other piece of wood and the nails. He found the extra wood and held it in place as he found a nail that would hold it until he made it secure. He soon had the small gate to the house swinging properly on its hinges. He slipped the catch in and came to hand her the hammer and nails.

“Oh, how wonderful to see something done so easily. That was kind of you.” 

“Have you no hands to help you around the place?” 

She shook her head. “My husband died three months ago, and I am trying very hard to keep the place going.”

“Oh, heavens. Are you running the place single-handedly?” 

She nodded and saw light dawn in his eyes. “Was it your husband that had the accident with the wagon?” 

She nodded again. “I am so sorry,” he added and genuinely seemed to mean it. “My mom and dad talked about it at the time. I never made the connection.”

“I am grateful for the help with the gate. I don’t like the dog to roam very far. She is good at helping me herd the steers and keeps me company.” She said that matter-of-factly and saw that he understood that she loved the dog even though she had not said that.

“I have a dog that I love as well,” he told her, and for the first time, she gave him a genuine and happy smile. He bent and patted the dog. “What is her name?”

“Jessie,” Abigail said.

“Mine is called Arrow, but he is quite slow moving really.” He smiled at Abigail as he talked about the dog, and she saw a handsome man who quite clearly loved his animals. She remembered that she was really grateful for the help and offered him coffee.

“It’s not much of a thank you, but I do appreciate it.”

“I would like a drink, thank you,” he said. “I left my horse tethered to a tree. I will go and bring him closer.”

“I will find some cake and the coffee,” she said, and the man walked away to bring his horse to the fence.

Abigail looked around the living room. It was clean and tidy, and she brought out the box that had the fruit cake. She poured two cups of coffee and heard his foot on the step.

“Come in,” she called and held open the door. She glanced past him at the horse, and then she looked again. “Is that the father of the one you are searching for?”

He grinned and nodded. “Handsome, isn’t he? His daughter is still young and silly but very beautiful.”

“How long has she been missing?” Abigail asked as he took a seat at the table and accepted the coffee and cake.

“Not very long because I saw her go. There was a gunshot, and she just ran. I know she headed in this direction, but by the time I found River and saddled him, she had disappeared.” He ate the cake. “Good cake.” She handed the plate again, and he ate another piece with astonishing speed. She handed the plate again, and a third piece disappeared. Abigail laughed out loud, and he looked embarrassed.

“How do you stay slim and strong when you eat cake like that?”

“My mom restricts me to two pieces at a time.” He laughed as well, and she saw a young man who loved his food, and suddenly, she forgot that he was a native Indian. He was a man who was easy to talk to and who had mended her gate.

“Shall I saddle up and come with you? We might find her more easily, and Jessie will come. She has a good nose and ears.”

“I cannot ask you to do that,” he said. Thanks for the cake. It was delicious.”

“You are not asking me. I am offering, and the ride out will be a change for me.”

“Accepted, in that case,” he said. “If you have another broken fence, just ask, and I will fix it.”

He stood up, and his shoulder caught the edge of a shelf on the wall. He called out in surprise and caught the shelf as it slid toward him. The box that had been sitting on it slid towards him as well, and he managed to stop everything from falling to the floor. She ran across and took the box while he held onto the shelf.

“I am guessing you put up the shelf yourself?” he asked but said it with a grin.

“I know. I know. You do the best you can when you are stuck.”

“Have you got more bits of wood lying around? I can give you a stronger shelf.”

“I’m more worried about your young filly. Let us go and find her.”

“Okay. I will do the shelf when she is safe.”

Abigail grabbed a jacket and a Stetson on her way to saddle Barley. Elijah came along to the barn, and when she had saddled the gelding, he held out a hand to shake.

“Elijah Grey,” he said.

“Abigail Foster,” she replied and shook his hand. Then he held his clasped hands and hoisted her into the saddle. “Come on, Jessie,” she called, and Elijah vaulted into the saddle, and they set off.

“I think she will head for your cattle. She likes being with other animals,” he said, and they trotted in the direction of her small herd. They both cast looks all around as they rode but saw nothing but steers for a little while. Then Jessie set off toward a clump of trees and came back twice to Abigail.

“I think she might be over there,” Abigail said. Elijah nodded, and they went in the direction that the dog was showing them.

“Don’t want to panic her again,” Elijah said and took the rope from his saddle. He slipped from the horse and handed her the reins.

“Let the dog try first,” Abigail said and called to Jessie.

 “Out and fetch,” she called and waved her arm at the trees. Jessie obediently ran to the trees and slowed as she went inside the thicket. Then there was an explosion of movement as the filly came out of the trees with Jessie at a safe distance behind and running from side to side to keep the young mare coming toward Abigail. “Easy, Jess,” she called, and the dog slowed its pace. 

Elijah whirled the lasso around his head, and it slid neatly over the mare’s head. He tightened it and walked toward the filly, folding the rope around his arm as he closed the distance, talking as he went. Abigail slid from her own horse and called for Jessie, who came and sat beside her leg.

“She is beautiful,” she called across to him, and Elijah walked the filly over to where she stood. 

“She is calm now. I can ride and lead her behind me.” He looked at the dog. “Thank you, Jessie.”

The black and white dog flapped its tail on the ground and lolled out her tongue.

Abigail reached out a hand and stroked the filly on the nose. 

“You are one beautiful little girI,” she told the youngster. “I’ll use that stone to mount up, and then I can hold the youngster until you are in the saddle as well.”

“Teamwork,” he said and handed her the reins when she was on her gelding. Then he put his foot in the stirrup and jumped into the saddle. She handed over the reins, and they started back toward the house.

“You do not need to mend the shelf,” she said.

“I owe you a favor now after that wonderful dog found the filly.”

They chatted on the way back about woodwork, horses, and dogs and put the youngster into the corral with Abigail’s old mare, Poppy. Barley went into the other corral, and Elijah tied the horse he’d been riding to the fencing.

“Show me where you keep the spare wood and a saw,” he said, and she led the way to the barn. He looked around and found a long piece of wood that would hold the shelf and then cut two triangular pieces to act as brackets. He told her what he was doing as he sawed away, and she found extra nails. Then she watched as he made the shelf on the workbench in the barn, took a few nails, and lifted the shelf over his shoulder.

Back at the house, he found the stub of a pencil in his pocket and asked for a piece of string. She was puzzled but found some, and he fastened the hammer to the string, dangled it from the ceiling, and made a mark on the wall. Repeating the procedure a little way along the wall, he untied the hammer.

“You don’t want a sloping shelf,” he told her and grinned. Then he asked her to hold the shelf with the strip of wood exactly on the pencil marks. He hammered in four nails along the length of the strip and then put two more into the brackets to keep everything against the wall. They stood back, and she put the box back in its place.

“Marvelous,” she said. “Thank you so much.” She handed the plate with the cake, and another slice disappeared like lightning.

“You could make that look better by rubbing it all with a coat of beeswax,” he pointed out.

“I never knew that. I have some beeswax.” 

He went to the door. “The cake was good, and your dog was a star. Thanks.” She followed him to the corral, and when he was on his horse, she handed the leading rein up to him and watched him ride away.

What a nice man. He really did seem to want to help. I really hope he does come back again. 

 

Chapter Two

Elijah rode easily in the saddle, and the filly was happy to be with the man that she knew. He let his mind cast back over the afternoon’s events.

“Must be so hard to be on your own and to be a woman in this western world,” he told River, and the horse flicked its ears. He patted his neck. “Let us go home. My mom will be wondering where we are.” They picked up the pace slightly, and he glanced at the filly to make sure she was alright. The sight of the staggeringly beautiful mare made him smile as it always did.

His home with the parents who had adopted him was a wooden house behind the main part of town, but it had enough land to let him keep the horses that he adored, and he had a barn for making things in wood. He had not lied when he was talking to Abigail. He made whatever was needed as long as it was with wood. He took on mending fence work and hung doors for folk, made small pieces of furniture,  and put floors into buildings. 

His mother was peering out of the door and stepping out to take the filly’s reins. Elijah jumped down and pecked her on the cheek. They ambled together to the corral and let the filly in with her dad. The saddle was hung on the peg, and mother and son went back to the house.

“Hungry?” she asked and smiled at him because the man was always hungry. The dog, Arrow, had settled against his legs.

“I am, but I did have some fruit cake when I was searching for Honey.” 

His mom looked across the room as he washed his hands and sat at the table. She served him stew with dumplings, and there was homemade bread to mop up the gravy. Elijah started his dinner and then stopped as she asked about the fruit cake.

“Your skills are many, but making cake is not one of them, my son.”

“I was looking for the filly and found a woman crying on her doorstep.

“Oh no. What was wrong?”

He told her about Abigail and said that he had fixed her gate and shelf in return for her helping to find Honey. “Her dog was a wonder, and she sent it out to find the filly. The dog herded it back to us, and Abigail knew how to train it and give it instructions.”

“And you liked that,” his mom said with a smile. The smile disappeared. “Was she not frightened that you were Indian?”

“She never mentioned it and seemed not to notice. I think she was so upset because she could not mend the gate, and there was nobody to help her.” He told his mom about Abigail being the woman who lost her husband.

“Ah, poor girl. She has taken on a lot by herself, and grief makes you want to work your way through it, but it can be something that pulls you down as well.”

“Thank goodness I was too young to take in what had happened to the tribe when you and Dad found me,” he answered. “I was lucky.”

“And so were we. Do not forget that. The years when you were growing up, I would not change for anything.”

“Even when people call me names and think that white folk who have an Indian son are nasty?”

“I will defend you to my dying day.”

“And the same goes for you and Dad.” He got up and kissed her on the cheek. “Dinner was great as always. I’ll go and sort out the horses and put in the chickens for you.”

Betty Grey sat where she was for a few moments and thought about how hard it would be to run a small ranch on your own.

My boy has a heart that always wants to help. I think that he will be back there to check that she is okay.

Elijah chopped some wood for his mom while he was in the barn and glanced at the stack of wood waiting to be chopped. He piled the wood into a large basket that they used to take logs to the house and lifted it easily. He picked up the eggs he had collected and went into the kitchen.

“They had laid a few more eggs,” he said and dumped the log basket beside the stove. His dad had arrived while he was outside and was eating his dinner.

“I gather you helped a woman in distress today,” John Grey remarked.

“She was happier after she had ridden out and found Honey. She likes to work the dog. I could tell that.”

“And you were jealous that she had such a dog,” his dad said with a smile.

“I don’t need a herding dog, but it was good to see Jessie working.” He paused. “And she found Honey for me. I don’t know what the gunshot was that spooked the filly, but she just took off.”

“It was that daft old Ben Wilson. He had that shotgun with him as usual, and it went off because he was drunk. It was just a good job that nobody was injured,” Betty told them. “Silly old goat should have it taken away from him.”

“He can be nasty as well, even when he is not drunk. He hates tribal people,” Elijah added.

“Best steer clear of folk like that,” his dad remarked. “He causes trouble and always heads for the worst men around. He will do anything for money for a few drinks.” 

Elijah nodded. “I’m going to the timber yard tomorrow to collect the floorboards for that job at the Barnes ranch. They are flooring the barn to make it usable for a cabin.” Elijah looked at his mother and took a piece of cake from the plate on the table. “I might take some chopped wood out to Abigail on the way to say thanks for finding Honey.”

“Those jobs are hard for a woman,” his mother remarked. “I’m glad that I have two of you to chop wood for me.”

“I have those stools to finish for the hardware store. There is still enough light, and I might as well get it done,” Elijah said and went off to the barn.

The stools were all but finished, and he checked them over, smoothed them off, and gave them a covering of beeswax. He put them to one side to deliver the next day and looked at the pile of logs. He had a section of the floor paved with flat, heavy stones, and he took the first log, stood it on the stone, and brought down the ax. It was a satisfying feeling to see the logs mount up, and he threw them into the wagon he was taking to the timber yard.

Even though he was strong, it was not an easy task, and he mopped his brow with his bandana and stood resting against the side of the wagon. 

“I can help her out if she needs it,” he said out loud to Mags, the cow they kept for milking. He walked across to the cow in the stall and stroked her neck. “I long ago learned how to keep my distance, Mags. I was not born white, and I was so lucky that Mom and Dad found me.” Mags went on chewing the hay and took absolutely no notice. He smiled at the peaceful feeling that he always felt when he was close to the animals and went to say goodnight to the horses in their stalls.

In the morning, he took the heavy horse called Bolt and hitched him to the wagon. He put the two stools on the top of the logs and told his mom that he was leaving. His dad had already gone to work at the stagecoach office as the coach to leave would need to be checked over.

The hardware store paid him for the stools, and he tucked the money into his pocket.

“You got plenty of work?” Jan in the store asked.

“Enough to keep me going,” he answered. “The timberyard is holding floorboards for me to floor the barn at the Barnes’ place.”

“Have a good day,” Jan told him. He set off and reflected that it would be a good day if Abigail Foster did not mind him calling by. He turned off the trail and went left to her ranch instead of right to the timber people. He wondered to himself if he simply wanted to help somebody struggling on their own and pushed to one side the idea that he would like to talk to her again. His heritage was obvious to anyone looking at him, and he knew that it was something that he had to live with. He pulled up at the barn and saw Abigail run out to see who had arrived.

She looked concerned until she saw who was calling, and then he saw the full glory of her smile. Something inside of Elijah Grey shifted, and he covered it up by jumping down and saying good morning.

“Good morning,” she cried out in reply and then asked if there was something wrong. He shook his head.

“Only if you will not take these logs. I need an empty wagon to collect floorboards.” 

She looked at the wagon. “All of those?” she questioned. “I would love them, but it is too much to take. I will pay for them.”

“Then I will be upset and stamp away in anger,” he said but softened it with a smile to show he was joking.

“In that case, I will accept them gladly. Chopping is something I struggle with.”

“In the barn?” he asked, and when she nodded, he stood up on the wagon and started to throw them into the open barn. Then he stopped. “What an idiot I am. This will block the doorway.”

“I’ll bring out my own wagon, and we can transfer them.” 

He came to help, and they pulled out the wagon and then stood side by side on the logs and threw them from one container to another. Elijah was wearing gloves and did not notice until they were finished that she was not, and her hands were bleeding.

“Heck!” he exclaimed. “Look at your hands.”

“I’ll wash them,” she said,  but he shook his head.

“Show me where you keep bandages, and I’ll clean them and wrap them up.” 

“Okay,” she agreed because they were indeed hurting, and they went into the house. She showed him the things in the cupboard for emergencies, and he filled a bowl with water and made her sit at the table. He took a seat beside her and held the first hand.

“Good Lord above, this is awful. I’m sorry. I should have noticed that you didn’t have gloves. I will have to take out these splinters before I wrap it up.” He wiped the blood away very carefully, and she winced but said nothing.

Elijah pulled a small knife from his belt and used it to lift away the splinters. He looked at her hand closely and put a pad on the worst part before wrapping the bandages around the palm. The other hand had the same treatment.

“Thank you,” she said. “You will have to pour the coffee and open the cake box.”

“My pleasure,” he said with a grin. He went for the cake box, thinking how easy it was to help this woman that he hardly knew. He had a friend that he could be comfortable with, but he worked away a lot. He liked Abigail Foster very much.

---

“Forbidden Love and Thunder” is an Amazon Best-Selling novel, check it out here!

Abigail Foster, a young widow, faces the daunting challenge of maintaining her late husband’s ranch. Abandoned by her wealthy family for marrying a poor rancher, she finds solace only in her secret correspondence with her younger sister. Her life takes an unexpected turn though when she meets a Native American man with a complex past. Orphaned in a massacre and raised by a white couple, Elijah’s skill as a tracker brings him to her ranch, where a cautious yet profound bond forms.

Will their growing closeness withstand the scrutiny and prejudice of their community?

Elijah, enigmatic and guarded, wears his past like a shadow, etched with the pain of loss and the sting of rejection from both his tribe and the world beyond. Yet, beneath his stoic exterior lies his kindness and remarkable skill. His unexpected encounter with Abigail kindles a partnership that soon blossoms into an alliance of hearts. In the golden fields and starlit nights of the ranch, they find solace and understanding in each other’s embrace…

Can his burgeoning love, as delicate as the desert bloom, survive the approaching tempest?

Elijah and Abigail’s story cannot be denied but there are forces at work that not only want her ranch but other things that she does not know about. With their growing love for each other being their only beacon of hope, Elijah’s resolve and Abigail’s courage are put to the ultimate test. Will solving the mystery and standing up to the people who want to hurt them let what they feel for each other survive?

“Forbidden Love and Thunder” is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Get your copy from Amazon!