Free Chadwick's Rare Find (An Intriguing Romance Novel) by Heidi Sexton Page A

 Wendy Bradfield had been a deeply God-fearing woman.  She had not been a fanatic, but she had had a deep reverence for God and enjoyed studying the Bible.  Her husband had not shared her beliefs.  He was polar opposite.  He would make fun of her and he absolutely forbade her to “oppress his girls with her nunnery."  Instead of supporting Wendy in her efforts to raise their girls to be wholesome and God-fearing, he had persecuted her and forbade her to even take them with her when she went to the Kingdom Hall, her chosen place of worship.  In the end, Brittany and her sisters learned the hard way that mom's way was the best way. 
    Their father had come to a very sad ending.  He had been murdered.  The newspapers said that he had been caught with another man’s wife. It had cost him his life.  If he had listened to their momma, he would probably still be alive.  Brittany was twelve when her father had been murdered.  The whole situation had traumatized her.  Her mother had been wise enough to take that opportunity to show them what the Bible had to say about sex.   Her mother had been very clear that there was nothing wrong with sex, but that it had a proper place and that was only within marriage.  The murder of their father and those scriptural warnings combined were potent enough to leave its mark on every mental and emotional fiber in their little beings.  The Bradfield sisters were vigilant about not having sex before they were married and never ever would they commit adultery, after all, that very thing had gotten their beloved father murdered at the age of forty-five.  
    They had truly loved their father and his death had brought them deep sorrow.   It had also thrown their family into destitution.  It was at this point they had begun to experience real poverty.  Their mother had had to take on extra work.  By day she was one of many secretaries for a huge aluminum coil making company.  At night she sat with a rich old lady who had become infirm.  Working this way she had eked out a tolerable existence for them, but they no longer had new clothes every year for school.  Dining out became nonexistent.  Trips to the parlor turned into trips into the kitchen where Wendy would experiment with their hair.  They had learned how to do one another's hair and were pretty self-sufficient in that arena. 
    Their mother had been gentle and reserved, but never weak.   Wendy had stretched her money and budgeted down to a penny all so that she could save the little house that she and her husband had gone through so much trouble to buy.  She was never late or short on the mortgage.  The house always came first and then food.  Mention of anything else and her eyes would glaze over and she would seem deaf.  
    As Brittany stood in their only bathroom, she reminisced about her loving and insightful mother. Wendy Bradfield was her daughters’ inspiration and voice of wisdom.  Each one of them remembered her with great love. As adults, they still cherished her lessons in life.  
    Wendy had died of breast cancer.  It had ravaged her quickly.  Wendy’s daughters had rallied around her like miniature soldiers.  Wendy had tried to teach them everything she knew before she died.  Her most valuable gift was the knowledge of God.  The girl’s responses were heartfelt.  Brittany and Amber made a solemn promise to Wendy on her deathbed that they would not be immoral.  They would be virginal brides. 
    Wendy was dead within eight months of the diagnosis.  Brittany had been seventeen.  They were devastated.   Amber at eighteen had been old enough and smart enough to hold back the ensuing chaos.  She had held them together by sheer will.  
    On Wendy’s death the mortgage was paid in full.  She had left the little house as an inheritance to them.   They had a place to live and the rest had been up to them.  In the beginning Amber had tried to work in her mother’s place sitting with the wealthy old