Samantha Moserâs quest to buy the ranch her great-grandparents once ownedâthe ranch sheâs struggled to manage for a heartless ownerâseems impossible. With the help of the troubled teen sheâs mentoring, and her rescue horses, life is rich under the Montana sky. But when a group of veterans with PTSD need her help, and the man she could find happiness with has a serious accident while helping her rescue another horse, life takes an overwhelming, stressful turn. Can Sam find the strength and courage to overcome, or will all her dreams shrivel and die on the prairie?
Samantha Moserâs quest to buy the ranch her great-grandparents once ownedâthe ranch sheâs struggled to manage for a heartless ownerâseems impossible. With the help of the troubled teen sheâs mentoring, and her rescue horses, life is rich under the Montana sky. But when a group of veterans with PTSD need her help, and the man she could find happiness with has a serious accident while helping her rescue another horse, life takes an overwhelming, stressful turn. Can Sam find the strength and courage to overcome, or will all her dreams shrivel and die on the prairie?
CHAPTER ONE
An empty ache tugged at Samantha Moser as Electra and her mother Alberta Lucci boarded the plane for New York. An hour earlier, her best friend from childhood, Jace, had headed back to Phoenix. Another image flashed through her mind of former fiancé, Kenny, unable to face the harsh winters and tough life of Montana, flying away two years ago. Why do people I love always leave me?
She took a deep breath. Okay, buck up, girl. Youâre not entirely alone. You have three rescued horses to care for and great neighbors. And⊠Brad is still in your life. Her heart tripped a happy beat.
Turning from the window in the Billings airport, she strode toward the parking lot. Places to go, people to see. She had an appointment with her employerâs accountant.
It had been an eventful summerâgoing to work for Clyde Bruckner on his dude ranch. There, sheâd met her teen friend Electra who morphed from sullen Goth girl to a lovely young woman totally obsessed with horses. And sheâd met Brad, a free-lance videographer.
She giggled. Boy, had she misjudged him at first. Because heâd been hired to do a documentary for a group trying to buy up ranches to form âThe Big Openââa wildlife refuge in eastern Montanaâshe immediately pegged him as one of the âenemy.â But heâd won her over by doing another documentary about her rescue horses, Apache and Trixi, and the troubled kids she worked with.
Because of that film, sheâd received enough money to take care of her horses and⊠what else? That part she wasnât sure of yet.
Sam found a parking spot downtown and then took the elevator to the office of Duncan Soto, CPA. She glanced at her blue jeans and short-sleeved western shirt and bit her lip. Maybe I shouldâve worn a dress and heels. She shrugged. Oh well, too late now. As she entered the modest but comfortable lobby, butterflies engaged in a vigorous tennis match in her stomach. Memories of approaching bankers a year ago about getting a loan to breed her Thoroughbred mare, Sugar, lobbed balls of defeat. She squared her shoulders. She could do this. It wasnât about being rejected. Clyde had assured her that Soto was a good guy and would help her with her investment decisions.
The receptionist showed her into the office, and the accountant stood up from his desk. âMiss Moser? Iâm Duncan.â He gestured toward a gray-padded chair. âClyde told me a little about your situation. How can I help?â
âWell, Clyde probably told you I received donations from Bradâs documentary, and I donât know what to do with the money. Putting it in savings wonât earn any interest, and Iâm afraid itâll be too easy to spend.â She shrugged. âSome kind of investment, maybe? Clyde suggested we go into partnership, using my rescue horses to work with teens. Weâve already been doing that on his dude ranch.â
âThat would be an option.â Soto steepled his fingers. After half an hour of talk about stocks and bonds, examples of non-profits, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and IRS forms, Samâs head spun.
She gathered up the papers the CPA had given her. âOkay, this is a lot to chew on. Iâm going to have to study these and think about what to do.â She stood. âThank you for your suggestions. Iâll get back to you on what I decide.â
Outside, she blinked in the late summer sunshine as a warm breeze blew strands of chestnut hair from her ponytail. What on earth was he talking about? The hopeful buoyancy sheâd felt when she went in had shriveled to a hard lump in her stomach. She didnât have any more of a clue what to do now than when she went in. Sam pulled out her cell phone and hit Bradâs number.
âHi,â she said when he answered. âIâm ready for you to buy me lunch now.â
âGreat!â His smooth baritone rumbled in her ear. âMeet you at Jakerâs in five.â
She walked a few blocks down the street to the popular restaurant and entered its cool dimness. The rich wood columns and area dividers gleamed under a pressed copper ceiling. The hostess showed her to a table, where she studied the menu. More decisions.
âHi, gorgeous.â Brad leaned down and brushed the corner of her mouth with a kiss before he sat across from her. âHowâd the meeting go?â White teeth flashed in his tanned, clean-cut face.
Warmth grew and rippled across her chest, remembering their first ârealâ kiss a week ago at the ranch barbecue. She hoped this was the beginning of a more serious relationship. âAm I glad to see you.â She waved the folder from Soto. âIâm totally overwhelmed. I canât even decide what I want for lunch.â
Brad chuckled. âWell, I can help you with that. Their burgers are the best in town, and the steak taco is my favorite.â
Her stomach rumbled. âThe taco sounds good to me.â
When the waiter came by, Brad ordered and then shifted his attention back to her. âElectra and her mom take off okay?â
The ache in her heart returned. âYes. From a houseful of chattering womenâespecially that girlâI donât know. Itâs going to be so terribly quiet now.â
Brad reached over and took her hand. âYouâll miss her, wonât you?â
âYeah.â She forced a smile. âI never wouldâve thought it when she first came to stay with me. My, oh my. I thought Iâd bit off much more than I could ever chew.â
Electra and her mom had come to the dude ranch to get away from the city and the tragedy of losing her brother in a car accident. Her dad had been driving, he couldnât deal with the death, and he abandoned them. What a sad thing to have happen. The young teen had been so broken.
Bradâs voice brought her back. âShe was a handful, all right. But, as you always say, âA girl and a horse is a healing combination.ââ He brushed his perpetually wayward lock of dark hair off his forehead. âShe sure didnât like me at first though. Thought I was there to steal your affections away from her.â
âI think sheâs changed her mind about you now. But youâre right, rescuing Apache from that horrible situation turned her completely around.â She sighed. âI hope she can come back and help again next summer when schoolâs out.â
Their food arrived, and while they ate, Sam related some of what sheâd talked about with the CPA. âSo much paperwork and regulation to forming a non-profit. I really donât think Iâm up for that. I simply want to work with my horses and the kids from the group home and help Clyde on the dude ranch. Itâs so hard to visualize the future, especially out there in the middle of nowhere at Ingomar.â
âYes, but look at what has happened alreadyâpeople from all over the country are hearing about Brucknerâs ranch, and now because of my documentary skillsâŠâ he grinned as he blew on his fingernails and polished them on his green plaid shirt with great exaggeration, âpeople have heard about you and your horse and kid miracles.â
She laughed and reached across the small table to cuff his shoulder. âYes, youâve made me somewhat famous, or maybe âinfamousâ, at least in Montana. But seriously, thank you again for that. It has changed my life.â
âPfft. All in a dayâs work, mâlady.â His face flushed. âSpeaking of work⊠I have to head back to Wyoming to do more filming on that kangaroo introduction project.â
Sam snorted. âKangaroos in Wyoming. Who knew? But now I know they were serious when they proposed exotic animals, like lions and elephants, for âThe Big Openâ.â She took a sip of her soda. âWhen are you leaving?â
He looked down at the table and then up at her through lowered lashes. âDay after tomorrow. Probably be gone several weeks again.â
A lead balloon dropped to the bottom of her stomach. âEverybodyâs left me. Now you are too.â
He pulled his face into a grimace. âIâm sorry. Iâm not leaving you forever. Iâll be back as soon as I can.â He covered her hand with his.
She dropped her gaze to their hands. Would he be like Kenny, making promises he wouldnât keep?
***
Sam barely registered the two-hour drive home, her thoughts chasing one after another like kittens in the barn. She drove up to the two-story ranch house and stumbled up the steps to her wrap-around porch. As if weighted with a cement block, her purse slipped from her fingers to the floor, and she sank heavily onto the swing. Her head ached with the pounding of a hundred drums.
Just a couple of days ago, sheâd been on top of the world, surrounded by her friends, with a new romance, and finally, a few extra dollars in the bank. Now, all this new information and decisions to be madeâall aloneâparalyzed her. The old dark cloud settled heavily on her shoulders. She was only leasing this ranch; her dream of raising Thoroughbreds had dried up with the sunburned prairie, and she was still only an employee at a dude ranch. Was she really any better off?
A hot breeze blew a tumbleweed across the yard. Sure, she had some money now and could do something⊠but what? Winter would be here before she was ready, and there would be no more dudesâor few, anywayâfor several months. She couldnât imagine people from California or New York coming to Montana to traipse around in four-foot snowdrifts. The group home in Billings surely wouldnât be braving icy roads to bring the kids out regularly. Besides, it would be too cold to ride.
Shadows lengthened across the rolling hills. Sam slumped deeper on the swing, absently pushing it with the toe of her boot. Her mind flashed to the cabinet above the refrigerator. A nice stiff drink would taste so good right now. She shook her head abruptly. No. Sheâd dumped out what was left of the vodka in front of her friends, vowing she no longer needed that crutch.
Alcoholâthatâs what had come between her and her best friend. Thatâs what put Jace in a wheelchair for life. Thatâs what nearly killed her friend a second time when she spiraled into a life of drinking, drugs, and homelessness. But Jace overcame it. Sam could do that too. Drowning her sorrow, even occasionally, could lead to dependence, and she didnât want to go there.
A horse whinnied from the pasture, startling her. Oh gee, I almost forgot about my babies. Sam rose from the swing and trudged down the incline toward the barn. Hanging her head over the fence was Sugar, her first rescueâa racehorse scheduled to be put down because of a serious leg injury. Her grandparents, Anna and Neil Moser, had put up the money to buy the mare.
Sam grabbed a handful of grain pellets from the barn and held one out for the mare to lip softly from her palm. She rubbed the horseâs head and ears as her two other rescue horses gathered beside them, nudging each other and nosing her arm for a treat too. Running her fingers through Trixiâs blonde mane, she pulled out a cocklebur and fed her a pellet. Then she gave one to Apache.
âI need another arm to pet you all at the same time.â She chortled at their antics and headed to the barn to get a bit of hay for them. The grass in the pasture was pretty much dried up, so she needed to give them a little supplemental feed.
After making sure the galvanized water tank was full, Sam leaned against the corral fence, taking in the peaceful sight of her horses munching their hay. Simply being near them made her headache subside, and the heaviness on her shoulders eased.
She and Electra had found Apache emaciated and dejected near Forsyth and went to court to gain custody. The buckskin gelding filled out nicely and looked strong and healthy now. He was the love of Electraâs life.
And Trixi. She was the beloved trick horse of Montanaâs famous Miss Ellie, who because of declining health, had to move to a retirement facility. Theyâd hit it off and Ellie was adamant she wanted to sell the light-colored chestnut to her. But Sam didnât have enough money to buy the horse, and it was slated to go to auction and probably to slaughter. After Bradâs documentary, Ellie had gifted her with the beautiful mare. She smiled, more relaxed now than she had been all day.
The image of Trixi kneeling so Jace could mount brought the sting of happy tears. âFor the first time in a long time, I feel normal,â Jace had declared, beaming.
Sam strolled back to the house to prepare a light supper. While she cooked, a motion picture of images moved through her mind: each child who had responded to a horse and come out of a shell, from Electra to troubled kids from the group home, Goth-girl Sapphire and shy Wendy. Even the boys who abandoned a disinterested slouch to brush and care for a horse.
As she swallowed her last bite of supper, the phone rang. âHi, Sam, ohmygosh weâre finally home!â Electraâs voice echoed over the line. âWe had a long layover in Salt Lake and then the flight was delayed because of something wrong with the plane, and we had to wait for another one to come in, and I was so tired, I just wanted to be home, and we finally got on the plane, and now weâre home, and ohmygosh I miss Apache so much, I want to come back!â The girl finally stopped with a sob. âI miss you too.â
Sam wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. This breathless litany was signature Electra. âOh, my dear, I miss you as well. The house is so empty and so quiet. I donât know what to do!â
âIs Apache okay? Does he miss me?â
âI think he does. I just fed and watered the horses, and he seemed to need some extra petting.â
A long shuddering sigh came over the phone. âWell, give him a big kiss for me, okay? Hereâs my mom. She wants to talk to you.â
Albertaâs voice sounded tired. âHi, Sam. I wanted to thank you again for the wonderful time we had and for all youâve done for Electra. She is a totally different girl, and I appreciate you so much.â
âIt was my pleasure. We really did have a wonderful time together, and Iâm missing her already. You guys will have to come visit again, soon.â
âWe will. Electra is already talking about when.â Alberta laughed. âTake care now. Weâll be in touch.â
I know nothing about raising horses or living on a ranch, but it doesn't matter, because author Heidi M. Thomas creates an immersive world that made me feel like I was standing on the wide-open plains of Montana, looking up at deep blue skies above while wildlife frolics in the grasses around me.
Protagonist Samantha Moser keeps running into complications as she tries to get her horse-rescue ranch off the ground. She's denied the ability to buy the ranch outright, a frightening mistake while working with veterans affected by PTSD shatters her confidence, and then the man she's just begun to date is involved in a serious accident. Every time she's able to catch a breath, something else seems to come up, and at the young age of 24, she's reaching her limit. How can she make it all work out?
Rescuing Hope is perfectly named: when the world around you seems dark, you look for hope. This novel is all about finding it. With patience, grace, the help of wonderful neighbors, and yes, lots of tears, Sam searches for hope amidst all the things in her life that have not gone the way she wanted. Although not an overly religious novel, Sam's faith in the Christian God sustains her, and this theme of finding her "grounding" in God threads throughout the book without being preachy. Sam also works hard: she doesn't pray and sit back and hope things go well. She's willing to power through and try to find solutions to her problems with the help of her friends and self-made family. Honestly, this book reminded me of a grown-up version of Lurlene McDaniel's youth books about teenagers diagnosed with serious, life-altering diseases finding strength and hope in their faith in God and in the support of the people around them.
Thomas wrote this novel well enough to be a stand-alone novel. I had no idea it was the second in a series until I was about halfway through it and the characters were referring to past events just enough that I wondered if there was another book that delved into those events. Lo and behold, yes, there is a prequel, as Thomas has envisioned Sam's full journey as a trilogy. However, Raising Hope references these past events in a way that you're not missing anything in the plot of Raising Hope if you haven't read the first book, and concludes in a satisfactory way without major cliffhangers leading into the upcoming third book. It can be difficult to write the middle part of a trilogy without relying too heavily on past or upcoming plot points, but Thomas does this magnificently. I'm interested in finding the first book to read now, and I'll be on the lookout for the third when it releases.