A Love So Real: A Christian Romance (New Hope Falls Book 1) Read online

  A Love So Real

  By

  Copyright ©2019

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  Cover design by Carpe Librum Book Design

  ISBN-13: 978-1-988409-29-0

  A man, a woman & their God.

  Three Strand Press publishes Christian Romance stories

  that intertwine love, faith and family.

  Always clean. Always heartwarming. Always uplifting.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations being used in reviews or articles about the book.

  This is a work of fiction. The situations, characters, names and places are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to locales, events, actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment and may not be re-sold or transferred via any method to any other individual. If you are reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please respect the hard work of the author who has spent many hours creating this story for your enjoyment and purchase your own copy of this eBook. Please do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials by illegally downloading or sharing this eBook. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

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  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Epilogue

  Welcome to the fictional town of New Hope Falls, Washington!

  Established in the late 1800’s, its founding families settled there after they fled a fire that burned down their previous town, destroying their homes and livelihoods and taking the lives of many of their friends and family members. In their grief, they turned to God for healing and hope for their future, and they gathered together to rebuild their lives and their town.

  Over a hundred years later, New Hope Falls has grown to a population of around four thousand. Set in the Cascade Mountains, its surrounded by the beauty of nature, drawing people to it. Some come just to visit, finding it a place to be rejuvenated by nature and the small-town atmosphere.

  But for others, it’s something more. It’s a sanctuary for those needing refuge. A beacon for those who are lost. A place for the hurting to call home.

  So come to New Hope Falls and fall in love with this town and its residents.

  And we know that all things work together

  for good to those who love God,

  to those who are the called according to His purpose.

  Romans 8:28 NKJV

  CHAPTER ONE

  Elijah McNamara gave the lightbulb one final gentle turn then glanced down at the man holding the ladder for him. Thin strands of gray hair lay across the top of his scalp as if to hide the balding that had robbed the top of his head of hair. Eli hoped that when he faced his inevitable hair loss, he would embrace it without the need for a comb-over, but who knew how he’d feel in ten or twenty years time.

  “Thanks so much for coming by and helping me with this.” Pastor Evans kept his hands on the ladder as he gazed up at Eli. “That light has been flickering every time I turned it on this week. It was driving me crazy. Not that that’s much of a trip.”

  Eli grinned as he bent to hand him the burnt-out bulb before moving back down the ladder. “Well, since I’m here, is there anything else you need help with?”

  He wasn’t surprised when the pastor shook his head. Eli tried to come by the church every week or two to take care of any maintenance work. At one time, the pastor had done a lot of it himself, but a heart attack and arthritis had begun to limit what he could do in the last couple of years.

  “How are you doing?” the pastor asked as Eli stepped off the ladder. “I know this time of year is challenging for you.”

  Eli nodded to acknowledge his words. Though the events of ten years ago didn’t dominate his thoughts like they once had, they always came sharply into focus as the leaves began to turn color. He wasn’t the only one who struggled as fall approached. The events of that time had touched many lives, changing relationships and, for awhile, changing how they looked at each other in their small town.

  “I suppose her parents are going to be doing something again this year?”

  “Yeah.” Eli ran a hand over his face. “Coral called me a couple of days ago to let me know they’re contacting the media and having some sort of bigger event to mark the tenth anniversary since Sheila disappeared.”

  “I called her to offer to host something here,” Pastor Evans said as he ducked his head and brushed at some invisible lint on his shirt. “But she never returned my call.”

  The sadness on the man’s face mirrored what was in Eli’s heart. Though his feelings about what had happened had lessened over the years, the memories were still strong enough that he couldn’t seem to shake them completely. It still surprised him that Coral would talk to him but not Pastor Evans. After all, when Sheila had first gone missing, Eli had been the prime suspect since his alibi hadn’t been completely airtight.

  There were days Eli wondered if Coral and Pete, Sheila’s parents, kept in contact with him because they still suspected he had something to do with her disappearance. And they weren’t alone in that. Because he’d admitted that he and Sheila had been fighting in the days before she disappeared, quite a few people had been ready to pin it on him.

  Coral and Pete had distanced themselves from the church and the pastor in the weeks following their daughter’s disappearance. Their faith had wavered then disappeared completely as time passed with no answers. No body. No suspect—aside from him. No daughter.

  “I still pray every day that God would provide answers that would bring them peace,” Pastor Evans said. “I’ve tried to visit them, but they haven’t allowed me past the door.”

  Eli rested a hand on the man’s shoulder, feeling the frailty of the older man’s bones beneath his fingers. Pastor Evans had always been larger than life to Eli. He couldn�
�t remember a time when he hadn’t known the man. In addition to being a spiritual leader to Eli over the years, he’d become a confidant for him as well, taking on the role of father when Eli needed one.

  “It wasn’t anything you did,” Eli assured him once again.

  Every year, the two of them had a version of this conversation, and every year, Eli prayed that it would be their last. That sometime in the coming months, answers would come to light. And yet, here they were, ten years later with still nothing but questions.

  “I know. It’s just that my heart hurts for them.” The older man sighed, and for a moment, his shoulders hunched forward, but he’d never been one to let things keep him down. He straightened and looked up at Eli. “On a lighter note, how’s the paint color quest going?”

  Eli shuddered. “It’s my worst nightmare, listening while the twins and Mom argue over different shades of blue. Sometimes I feel like there must be something wrong with my eyesight because honestly, I don’t see the difference between light blue and sky blue. Although, no color would ever actually be called something as drab as light blue. If I can, I stay far away, telling them to just give me the name when they’ve decided, and I’ll go to the hardware store and get it.”

  “Well, I thank you for your help here today,” Pastor Evans said.

  “Are you sure there’s nothing else?” Eli asked as he looked around.

  “I’m sure.” The man’s gaze drifted away from Eli, going distant for a moment before snapping back to him. “I do have a verse for you, though.”

  Eli was used to this. It was rare that their paths crossed without the pastor having a verse or some sort of encouragement or admonition for him. He didn’t always know what to make of it, but he never stopped the man from sharing what was on his mind.

  “I know I’ve given you this verse before, but ever since you got here earlier, it’s been going through my mind again. You know I don’t pretend to understand some of what I share with you, so take this verse and pray about it.” He waited for Eli to nod before continuing. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will direct your path.”

  It was a verse Eli knew well, having learned it as a child in Sunday school. He tried to live his life that way, but it was his personality to think things over. To want to know why things were happening, or to consider all the angles before making a decision. He rarely just trusted his feelings and, even more rarely, made decisions based on them.

  “I’ll keep it in mind,” Eli assured the pastor.

  “Good man.” The man rested his hand on Eli’s shoulder for a moment. “Say hi to your mom for me and be sure to thank her for the food she sent over this week.”

  Since the pastor had lost his wife almost six years earlier, the women of the church had begun to cook meals for him that he could put in his freezer and pull out when needed. Eli knew his mom and his aunt were among the biggest contributors.

  “I’ll be sure to let her know,” Eli said as he collapsed the ladder and lowered it to the ground.

  It didn’t take him long to carry his things out to his truck. He said a final goodbye to the pastor then climbed behind the wheel of the truck. Before leaving the parking lot of the church, he took the time to text his mom to see if she needed anything else from town before he headed back to the lodge.

  He groaned when her reply came through.

  Mom: Can you stop by the hardware store and pick up some gray samples? I think we’re going to go gray and white in #5.

  And you need a bunch of samples of different shades of gray? I can’t just pick one?

  Mom: No sir. Your job is to pick up the samples and order the paint. We’ll take care of the rest.

  Eli sighed as he tapped out his response. As you wish!

  Mom: That’s my boy.

  Tossing his phone into the cup holder in the console, Eli started the truck and left the church’s parking lot. He turned onto a side street then drove the block to Main Street where the hardware store was located. As he angled his truck into an empty spot a couple of shops down from the hardware store, he glanced across the street to his aunt’s restaurant. It didn’t look too busy, but then the lunch hour was over.

  He tried to stop in every couple of days for lunch, but he didn’t have time right then, not now that he had paint samples to take to his mom. If he could just get through these next few weeks, everything would be fine, and he’d be able to get back to his own projects.

  The only good thing about all of the busynesss was that it was providing a welcome distraction from the looming anniversary, so he wouldn’t complain too much about the painting project. Even if it did mean daily trips to the hardware store for samples.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Arianna Carrington-Harder was somewhere in Washington State between Seattle and Everett when she saw the first sign for New Hope Falls. She’d seen so many signs for countless towns and cities in the past ten days that one shouldn’t have stood out more than any of the others. Yet this one had, and Arianna was hard-pressed to say why.

  Ever since she’d made her escape from LA, she’d been driving without a destination in mind. Her first stop had been Las Vegas where she’d stayed for two days before deciding that she was still too close to LA, which made it more likely she would run into someone who knew her, creating an uncomfortable situation. From there, she’d headed east for a bit before swinging back west, angling north, however, instead of south toward home.

  Some days she’d driven for several hours before stopping, other days she’d stopped after just a couple hours because she’d been too tired to keep going. Once she’d even stopped just because she liked the look of the area. But none of those places had drawn her off the main road the way that one sign for New Hope Falls had.

  So there she was, following the directions she’d input into the navigation system at her last stop for gas, hoping she’d end up in the right place. As she headed east, away from the coast and toward the mountains, Arianna’s spirits began to lift.

  She’d always thought of herself as a city girl. After all, she’d been born and raised in New York City and had moved to LA after she’d graduated from college, determined to strike out on her own. The closest she had gotten to small-town America was one summer when she was twelve, and her father had insisted on a scenic road trip to Boston.

  All Arianna knew was that she’d never lived in a small town, and if someone had asked her to, she would have politely declined. Which was why the draw to this small town didn’t make much sense. After all, her life was back in LA. Though she could technically do her job anywhere, being in LA made it easier to schedule meetings and make connections. Though right then, making connections had never been less appealing.

  Since everything had fallen apart, all she’d wanted to do was make videos—not addressing the situation she currently found herself in—but rather ones about makeup, clothes, and tips for decorating a bedroom or a home. The stuff she’d built her YouTube channel on.

  Arianna had discovered YouTube when she’d been in her teens. As an only child to older parents, often left to her own devices, Arianna had begun to upload videos of herself. At the start, her videos had been a bit of everything in her life. Short ones she’d taken as she went about her day in New York City. Her most popular videos had been the ones she’d done as she’d experimented with makeup, hairstyles, and clothes.

  While her mother was a well-known businesswoman, she hadn’t wasted much time on her own appearance. She’d opted for a minimalist, austere look, rather than the colorful eyeshadow and fingernail polish that had appealed to teenage Arianna. Because of that, Arianna had been left to fend for herself when it came to figuring out how to apply makeup or choose stylish clothes.

  Arianna had often wondered if it bothered her mother to have birthed a daughter who seemed to be the exact opposite of her in appearance and interests. The only thing they had in common was a head for numbers, which was wh
y Arianna had pursued a business degree in college.

  She could only imagine what her parents would think of the state of her life at the moment—if they were even aware of it. As soon as she’d realized that she needed to escape LA, she’d set her phone on Do Not Disturb, then made a few quick adjustments, so only her parents could get through to her.

  And yet here she was, over a week away from the incident, and still no call from them. Her guess was that they were unaware of what had happened. Arianna had worked hard to keep her public and private lives separate so that her parents weren’t bothered by people wanting to know more about their social media influencer daughter. None of her management knew how to reach her parents, so unless her mom and dad actually searched her name on social media, they were oblivious to what had transpired.

  Arianna was pretty sure—well, fairly sure—that if they did know, they would be calling to check on her. They weren’t heartless parents, just sometimes a bit clueless and out of touch regarding her world and the life she led. They seemed to rely on her to contact them if she needed help. Normally she was fine with that. She didn’t need them looking over her shoulder and commenting on every decision she made.

  On the rare occasions she’d asked for their advice about something, they’d been more than happy to give it. Because of that, she knew they cared, but they just didn’t always know how to show that to her.

  Her circle of close friends was small. As in…just one, really. She had plenty of acquaintances who were happy to appear in her videos or who wanted to collaborate with her, but she didn’t have anyone who was there just as a friend who expected nothing from her. Which was why she had no other phone number she was willing to make an exception for on her Do Not Disturb list.

  No doubt her management team was desperately trying to get hold of her, but frankly, they were part of the reason she was in her current predicament. She wasn’t all too sure she could trust their advice when it came to getting out of this mess.