Today the Maze is proud to present
A Mile Apart by Sara Jae Foster
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Only one thing stands
between her and the man she loves…gold
Eden Montgomery arrived
in the lawless territory of Whistle Creek as a newlywed, but she quickly lost
her husband to his mistress…gold, and the claim he called The Golden Angel.
When a premature blast at the cave killed her husband, and took the life of her
unborn baby, Eden
closed the mine…for good. Now she runs the local supply store, and in her
bitterness, looks down on the men who shirk familial responsibilities in
pursuit of something as meaningless as gold.
Joseph Benton knows the
crime, filth and disease of a mining camp is no place for a child. So when his
young son Christopher suddenly arrives at his tent, he turns to Eden Montgomery
to care for the boy. But the uppity and righteous Eden refuses. Joseph is shocked at what he
thinks is her lack of maternal instinct. Now he’s torn between his need to
strike gold…and his desire to be a father.
When a ruthless
speculator encroaches on the camp, threatening Joseph and the other miners, Eden knows she must do
the one thing she vowed never to do…for the one man she vowed never to love.
BOOK EXCERPT
It took several moments
for Joseph to comprehend not only a female’s voice in the camp, but one calling
out a Mr. Benton. By the time he got his bearings on the notion, his name had
been called three times. Intrigued, he turned toward the whimsical voice and
said with caution and curiosity, “I’m Joseph.”
In an instant, his heart
fell like a stone as his eyes went from the shopkeeper to the little person at
her side. Surely, his mind was playing with him and being cruel. It wouldn’t be
the first time lack of nutrition did things to his head. But the apparition
continued to move toward him. Then he heard a frightful word come from the boy.
“Pa!”
He nearly choked and
staggered backward. Questions assaulted him. Where was Katherine? Francis? Why
is the storeowner frowning at him like she wanted to hurt him? And definitely,
the man with her looked like he would carry out the deed.
“Christopher?”
The woman gave his son a
small nudge forward.
Christopher ran,
promptly wrapping his arms around his thighs. Joseph threw a confused glance at
the woman, while planting his palm on top of his son’s familiar head. Before he
could help it, he flung himself down and held on tight, likely to never let go.
“I don’t understand, son. I was going to come home to you—why did you come?”
The woman emitted a
sound of pity and Joseph looked up to see her turn away. Was she crying? Alarm
shot through him. “Christopher, where’s your ma?”
“She’s gone and died, Pa. Her and Baby Nell.”
Baby Nell? Who was Baby
Nell? He sat hunched on his heels, unable to speak, and buried his face into
his hands. What had he done?
He became aware that the
rest of the camp was now at a standstill—a woman and child coming into their
midst was highly unnatural. Now all attention was on him and he didn’t like it.
Imploringly, he pierced the woman with a look as she began walking away with
the man.
He found his voice and
choked out, “Wait!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Jae Foster has a
desire to portray a raw brand of inspirational stories. While she believes
there is a purpose for guidelines of inspirational works, she also believes in
portraying the reality of life, as it is today.
Sarah Jae is a
Christian, a wife, and a mother, wholeheartedly yet imperfectly, loving God
since she was a child. She wants to share stories about characters with faith
who mess up big time due to the seductions in society. In doing so, she's
willing to take a risk and be on the cutting edge of writing for the
inspirational market, sharing what's in her heart and in the world today.
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