The healing power of tim.., p.1
The Healing Power of Time, page 1
The Healing Power of Time
A WESTERN ROMANCE NOVEL
ELLEN KNIGHTLEY
Copyright © 2023 by Ellen Knightley
All Rights Reserved.
This book may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the publisher.
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Healing Power of Time
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Unveiling the Rancher's Heart
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Free Exclusive Gift
Sign up for my mailing list to be notified of brand-new releases and get my latest Full-Length Novel “Her Kind of Sheriff” (available only to my subscribers) for FREE!
Click the link or enter it into your browser
https://dl.bookfunnel.com/ugt3docf1j
The Healing Power of Time
Introduction
Eliza Margaret Williams experienced a life-altering event at the tender age of ten. The devastating attack on her family ranch by a Native Indian tribe shattered her world, leaving only her and her childhood best friend, Samuel Bennett, as survivors. Taken in by Indian Chief White Bear, Eliza assimilated into the tribe's culture, becoming an integral part of their community. However, despite her deep connection to the tribe, she constantly feels a sense of longing and a persistent yearning to return to her true roots.
Will the brave journey back to her family's ranch uncover her past and help her reclaim her identity?
Samuel Bennett, once Eliza's loyal companion, has transformed into a hardened and distant figure. The massacre at the ranch left an indelible mark on his soul, fueling his hatred toward the Indians and enveloping him in a shroud of bitterness. In an attempt to shield himself from further pain, he built a fortress around the ranch and his heart, making it nearly impossible for anyone to breach his defenses. When Eliza returns, Samuel finds himself torn between the love he once felt for her and the fear that she might be a pawn in a vengeful plot against the tribe.
Will his inner turmoil leave him guarded and resistant to trusting again forever?
As Eliza and Samuel's paths converge once more, they rediscover the deep bond forged in their childhood. Yet, their reunion is overshadowed by their conflicting loyalties and when the ranch is faced with another attack, they fear history will repeat itself. With ties to both sides, Eliza finds herself trapped in a conflict she never wanted and Samuel must face his old hatred. Will they be able to build bridges across the divide or will their connection fail to withstand the tests of time, allegiance, and adversity?
Chapter 1
Eliza Margaret Williams clung tightly to her horse, Rainbow, as they galloped down the dusty little path behind her family’s ranch. Her wiry hands held the reins with all their might, and she lifted herself out of the saddle as she raced forward.
“C’mon, Rainbow!” Eliza cried, looking back at her pursuer anxiously.
Her muscles were taut as she braced herself tightly. A bend in the road came up suddenly, but Eliza was an experienced rider. Her daddy always said that she was born in a saddle. She leaned to the opposite side as Rainbow took the turn.
All around her, the sun shone down over the vast open plain. The ranch became ever more distant as she urged Rainbow forward. A heavy feeling weighed on her heart as she thought about the ranch.
At only ten years old, Eliza was small for her age, but she made up for it in spirit. She ran faster than all the boys her age and could work harder than them too. Eliza had an innate need to prove herself to everyone around her.
“Look at me!” She wanted to shout. “Look what I can do!”
The only time she ever felt like she could be herself when she was on top of Rainbow, exploring the great plains beyond the oppressive ranch environment. Her daddy said that she had to be careful out there, but Eliza knew something he didn’t. The plains were endlessly exciting, and the terrain had welcomed her like a friend. She belonged out there. She had to be more careful when she was on the ranch.
The ranch was always teeming with activity, and it was easy for someone like Eliza to get in the way. All she wanted to do was help, but people didn’t see it that way. They were always snapping at her to get out from underfoot and her mother was determined to turn her into a stiff, cultured lady.
Eliza shook her head firmly and focused on the path in front of her. All that mattered was getting away. Those moments on the plains were what she lived for. Her mother would be furious if she found out that Eliza had snuck away to ride.
Up ahead, she spotted her destination. A cluster of narrow leaf cottonwood trees just behind the hill that overlooked the Williams’ and Bennett’s ranches. She looked back breathlessly and spotted her pursuer at least a few feet behind her.
A majestic mountain range rose up behind them, so far in the distance that they appeared to be black and blue with white snow on top. A cold breeze swept through the lonely plains, and Eliza was glad that she was wearing her thick woolen jersey.
Her mother always forced her to wear linen dresses and starched white aprons, but when Eliza snuck out to play, she changed into a pair of hand-me-down overalls that she had stolen from her youngest brother’s closet. He never even knew it went missing. She had three older brothers, and they swung between ignoring her existence and teasing her.
Eliza’s chestnut colored hair whipped over her face, and she wanted to let out a triumphant cry. Unfortunately, she should have been paying attention to what was going on in front of her. If she had, she would’ve seen the branch of a tree hanging over the path as if it was reaching something. The branch caught her hair and Eliza was yanked painfully from her saddle. She hit the ground hard, and rolled for a few feet, the gravel on the road digging into her back.
Eliza lay there for a few seconds, staring at the bright blue sky in shock. As soon as she could gather her wits, she jumped to her feet and watched as Samuel Bennett, only a year older, raced past her.
“Aw shucks!” Eliza cried out in disappointment.
Rainbow, who finally realized that she no longer had a rider, was standing a few feet away, munching happily on a scraggly little bush. Eliza ran up to Rainbow and lifted herself onto the horse’s back. It was too late. Samuel was already at the cluster of trees that was their agreed upon finishing line.
“This ain’t half fair,” Eliza muttered to herself as she nudged Rainbow into a trot. Her body ached, but that was nothing compared to the sting of losing the race. It was her race, she had had him dead to rights, but now she was the loser.
When she finally got to the trees, Samuel was waiting for her with a wide grin that she wanted to smack right off his face.
“I want a rematch,” she announced. “Ain’t my fault I got knocked off my horse.”
“Only a sore loser blames everyone around him,” Samuel said sagely, sticking his skinny chest out proudly.
“Ah, shut your big bazoo,” Eliza grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
Her hair was hanging in her face, and she pushed it away in irritation. If it was up to her, she would have cut it short like her brothers a long time ago. However, her mama strictly forbade Eliza from cutting her hair at all. Apparently, it wasn’t ladylike. Not that Eliza gave a hoot over what was ladylike and what wasn’t. It wasn’t fair that her brothers got to live life how they wanted but she had to live according to an endless set of nonsensical rules.
“C’mon, Lady,” Samuel said, holding his dirty palm out for his prize.
Eliza scowled at him. She hated it when he called her that. Their wager was that whoever won the race would get the other’s meager weekly allowance. Eliza only got a few cents a week for completing chores, and she was saving up for the next time they went into town. She reluctantly pulled her allowance, which had been given to her just that morning, and dropped it into his palm.
“Let’s race again,” Eliza pleaded. “All or nothing? I still have some savings left over.”
Samuel hesitated. He looked back at the ranch with a furrowed brow. Unlike Eliza who had three older brothers, Samuel was an only child. His mother was extremely protective of him, and his father needed his help on the ranch.
While the Bennett’s and the Williams helped each other where they could, there was still a lot of work that needed to be done. Like Eliza, Samuel had a lot more expectations to deal with than Eliza’s brothers did. Their friendship stemmed from a mutual understanding of each other’s circumstances.
Since their houses were within a hundred feet of e
“I don’t know, Lady,” Samuel said, scratching the back of his head. “It don’t feel right takin’ all your money like that. Maybe we should give it a rest for today.”
“As if,” Eliza scoffed. “The only reason you won now was because I fell off Rainbow. You know I’d beat you in a fair race.”
The taunt worked and a dark cloud passed over Samuel’s face. “You don’t know that!”
She knew exactly how to push his buttons. Samuel was her best friend, and she knew him better than anyone. Since he was smaller and skinnier than all the other boys, they tended to treat him the same way they treated Eliza. They both had a burning need to prove to everyone around them that they were capable.
“I do,” Eliza said, holding her reins at the ready. “We both know I’m the fastest rider between us.”
Samuel shook his head at her. His black curly hair hung in front of his hazel eyes, and he pushed it back in annoyance. It would soon be time for him to cut his hair. The only reason his hair ever got that long was because his mother thought his curls were darling and she always hesitated about cutting his hair.
The other boys teased him relentlessly, but he ignored them. That was one of the things that Eliza admired about Samuel. He never let the other boys get to him. If only she could have the same calm. As soon as one of her brothers started teasing her, she immediately tried to beat them up. It led to several spankings since her mother said that girls weren’t supposed to fight.
Never mind the fact that the boys fought each other all the time. Just the other day, her oldest and middle brothers, James, and Mark, had wrestled outside the dairy on account of James saying that he was stronger than Mark. Both boys had ended up with various bruises, but Eliza had gone to bed without dinner for cheering them on.
She had wanted Mark to win. James could be an awful bully when the mood struck him.
“We don’t know anything of the sort,” Samuel snorted. “The Bible says that you shouldn’t lie. You don’t want to go to hell.”
“It ain’t a lie if I can prove it,” Eliza said, raising her eyebrows in challenge.
Samuel smirked, and soon they were off racing down the path again. Once Eliza had beaten Samuel soundly and was once again in possession of her allowance, she dismounted Rainbow and sat on a nearby rock. She chose to watch the mountains with her back to the ranch.
“You okay?” Samuel asked, sitting next to her.
He took a sandwich out of his bag and gave half to her. His mother always made the best sandwiches. Since she didn’t have four children to fuss over, she could always give him the best of everything. Eliza envied his situation.
“Same old,” Eliza said with a shrug as she bit into the roast beef sandwich. A piece of beef came out of the sandwich, and she caught it deftly before popping it into her mouth. “Mama got mad at me again yesterday for talking back.”
“What was the punishment this time?” Samuel asked with a wince.
“Nothing too bad,” Eliza said, “she locked me in the closet by the dairy for about an hour while she churned butter. I don’t know why she’s got this idea that I have to be a lady. It ain’t like there’s anyone out here but us. You already know that I ain’t no lady.”
Samuel didn’t say anything. It was another thing that Eliza liked about him. Her brothers always talked too much. They hooted and hollered every second of the day. On the other hand, her daddy never said much of anything. Samuel never said too much or too little. Talking to him was as easy as breathing to Eliza.
“Should we go fishing tomorrow?” he asked. “It’s been a while since we went down to the stream.”
Eliza shrugged again as she finished her sandwich. “Only if we can leave the fish at your mama’s house. You know what my mama would do if she found me fishing.”
“She’d skin your hide,” Samuel said, shaking his head at her.
Eliza sighed and leaned back against the rock. She looked up at the sky. Like the plains, it was great and wide with no end. Her daddy said the plains ended eventually, but she wasn’t sure she believed him. Maybe on the other side of the mountain things were different, but she didn’t want to see it. She was perfectly happy being out in the wide plains. It was where she belonged.
As she lay there, a thought popped into her mind and grew into something that she could no longer keep inside.
“Samuel... what will my mama do to me if I don’t ever become a lady?” Eliza asked.
“I don’t know,” he said with a troubled expression. “She loves you, Eliza. I’m sure you two will find a way to be happy with each other eventually. I mean, we have to grow up sometime.”
“I don’t want to,” Eliza said stubbornly. “And if I lived out here on the plains, no one would ever make me be something I don’t want to be.”
“What, like an Indian?” Samuel asked in confusion.
“It wouldn’t be so bad,” Eliza said with a grin.
Samuel shook his head and chuckled at her. All around them, the plains teemed with life. In the distance, they heard the cry of coyote and Eliza shivered despite herself.
“I don’t think you have it in you to be one of ‘em,” Samuel said simply.
“Why not? I’m tough as nails!”
“You’re tougher than anyone I know,” he said soothingly, “it’s just that even though you don’t like it, you’re one of us.”
“That ain’t half fair, I can be anything I want to be,” Eliza decided firmly.
Samuel shook his head and smiled at her, his eyes twinkling.
“I think it might be nice to be one of ‘em,” Eliza said thoughtfully.
“What?” Samuel asked in confusion. “You can’t do that; they don’t go to church.”
“Yeah, but they get to do whatever they want.”
“Aw, shucks, Lady. No one can do whatever they want all the time,” Samuel said. “You know how scared folks around here are of the Indians. They can’t come within half a mile of the place without someone shootin’ at ‘em.”
“That don’t seem right to me,” Eliza said, wrinkling her nose.
