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There are several scenes where the characters see God’s handiwork and praise Him for His creation. Where is the last place you’ve recognized God’s masterpiece?
Joash tells Mira that if she fears her enemies she’s placing her trust in their abilities and not God’s. What things do you fear over God’s ability to protect you?
Near the end of the story Ari begins to realize that the rituals he’d performed as a priest were meaningless, mundane tasks when his heart wasn’t centered on God. He realizes God wants his heart above all. What everyday tasks do you perform or have you performed thinking it pleases God? Is your heart in it, or has it become a mundane ritual?
When Mira faces the evil queen, she’s resolved to not fear her and trust God. What fears have you overcome by placing complete trust in God?
As Mira’s sister is tending to her wounded feet, she tells Mira she needs to quit moping and get back to life. Her sister plays against Mira’s conscience by telling her it’s not fair to their mother. Even though it seems harsh, it works. Have there been times when God uses an abrupt person to show you a truth? What were they?
Ari’s love for Mira is a picture of Christ’s love for us. Ari gives up his way of life to become a simple farmer and even bonds himself to her. Have you ever witnessed examples of sacrificial love? What were they?
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired Historical title.
You find illumination in days gone by. Love Inspired Historical stories lift the spirit as heroines tackle the challenges of life in another era with hope, faith and a focus on family.
Enjoy four new stories from Love Inspired Historical every month!
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Chapter One
Eden Valley Ranch, September 1882
Stampede!
Brand knew what was happening before it took place. He saw the horses press against the corral gate, frightened by something beyond his vision. It could have been anything from a stalking cougar to a tumbling tumbleweed. Wouldn’t take much to alarm a bunch of wild mustangs. Wood creaked. The gate wouldn’t hold under the pressure of frightened horses.
Brand’s fists tightened so hard on the reins his knuckles cracked. His heart squeezed his blood out in a flash flood.
He would shout a warning to those along the fence, tell them to stand back. But he barely had control of the horse under him, which until a few minutes ago had never been ridden.
The gate snapped. The horses reared and screamed and pushed at each other, as frightened by the noise of the breaking fence as they had been by being confined. Brand held his mount with a firm hand. The horse was not ready to ride in tight quarters, but from the first, he’d sensed a willingness in it that was absent in many of the others he’d worked with. With no choice but to trust himself and the others to the green horse, he rode in the direction of the escaped animals. He had to turn them away from the people, get them back into the pen before anyone got hurt.
He saw a little boy and one of the women who had been watching. They stood only a few feet from the kicking, screaming, twisting animals surging in their direction. Choking dust clouded the scene.
He kicked his mount, raced for a gate, slipped it open with lightning speed and galloped toward them.
The stampeding horses were ahead of him. Before them, the boy scampered toward a fence and rolled under it. But the woman stood frozen, her mouth hanging open. Brand couldn’t tell if she screamed, couldn’t have heard it in the uproar if she did.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the movement of other cowboys racing for their own horses. No one else was close enough to rescue her. Brand leaned over the horse’s neck and urged him onward, closing the distance between them and the woman.
Ten more feet. He dared not look to the right or the left. All that mattered was that frightened woman.
Five feet.
One more leap of his horse and Brand reached her side. He leaned down and swept her into his arms, clutching her to his chest as they raced onward, out of the way of danger as pounding hooves thundered past and dust-laden air swirled.
He slowed, grateful the horse cooperated. “You’re okay now. You’re safe.” He pressed her trembling body closer.
He’d noticed her earlier as she stood by another woman, watching him at work. How could he not keep stealing glances at her? She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, with her golden curls flashing in the sunshine. He could describe everything about her in detail...the autumn-gold top she wore, the brown skirt that swung about her legs as she moved. The way she walked, as if life held nothing but promise for her. The way she smiled so sweetly at others.
