Yesterday’s Promise by Delia Latham
A whirlwind romance amidst the natural splendor of Yosemite National Park. A spur-of-the-moment wedding. A young bride who awakens the morning after to find her new husband gone with the mountain wind.
Songbird Hannah Johns supports the child born of that ill-fated union by singing in a dinner lounge. Her dream of someday owning the elite establishment and turning it into a venue more suited to her Christian values is shattered when an unexpected transaction places it in the hands of Brock Ellis, the handsome biker who abandoned her in their honeymoon suite.
Ensuing sparks fly high, revealing buried secrets and forgotten pasts. Seeking to find peace with her painful past, Hannah returns to Yosemite, only to have Brock show up hard on her heels. Back where it all began, she finds herself in danger of losing her heart yet again to the man who shattered it the first time around.
A Chat with Brock and Hannah
The two of you had a bit of a whirlwind romance up in the beautiful mountains of Yosemite National Park. How do two people who have never met before wind up spending all their time together on vacation.
Hannah: I guess it was one of those God-things. I didn’t go to Yosemite planning on meeting anyone. In fact, my best friend was supposed to be there with me. But I wound up on my own, and blew a tire on the side of the highway just outside Yosemite. Brock came to my rescue, and the rest…well, you know what they say.
Brock: When a big, bad biker dude sees a damsel in distress, we have no choice but to lend a hand. (Winks at Hannah) Despite what they say at Redding Tabernacle.
I have a feeling that’s an inside joke, so I won’t ask, although I am curious. Hannah, was it a little scary to have a big guy like Brock show up while you were alone and basically defenseless?
Hannah: A little scary? More like petrifying! I was shaking in my strappy sandals.
Brock: She was so brave! I could tell she was scared almost out of her mind, but she tried hard to keep her chin up—even with tears dripping off of it and those big, frightened eyes doing all kinds of damage to my heart
Hannah, you’re a preacher’s daughter. Wasn’t this kind of relationship a bit out of your realm?
Hannah: Way out of my realm. I went back and forth between joy and guilt the whole week before our wedding.
Week? You got married after just one week?
Hannah: Six days, actually.
Brock: Six amazing days.
So what happened? The two of you seem so in love, and yet you disappeared, Brock, after your wedding night.
Brock: I can’t imagine loving this woman any more than I do. She is my life. Okay, yes, I disappeared. But not because I wanted—”
Hannah: Shhh! Don’t give away the storyline, darling.
Brock: But, Hannah—”
Hannah: Let it go. (A gentle brush of his hand with her fingertips.) Let it go.
Brock: (Sigh) I guess you’ll have to read our story to get your answer.
I plan to. Hannah, why did you move away from your home after your trip to Yosemite?
Hannah: My father had earned an outstanding reputation over his years of serving the congregation at Redding Tabernacle. As his daughter, as well as the church secretary and choir director, my pregnancy could have damaged his standing in the community forever. I couldn’t let that happen.
Oh, no…you were pregnant?
Hannah: Yes. (Misty smile) And I wouldn’t change that for anything. My son is what made me keep getting up and facing another day, every day.
How hard was it to start a new life in a town where you had no friends or family? Where did you find the strength to get through all that?
Hannah: Aside from waking up to find my bridegroom missing, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever lived through. But God had my back. He sent an amazing lady to help me through the hard times. Lori is like a sister to me. And as for strength, well…God is and always has been mine. I knew He had everything under control, even when the situation looked impossible through my eyes.
Brock, you seem like such an honorable man. I can’t imagine why you’d let her go through all that alone.
Brock: It’s a part of my past I don’t like to think about.
Hannah: Don’t beat yourself up, love. I know you couldn’t be—”
Brock: (Places a finger to Hannah’s lips) Shhh! You’ll spill the beans.
I can see you’re both guarding some secrets, but I guess that’s a part of any good story. Tell me about Davey.
Hannah: Davey. (Gets a dopey mama expression) That’s our son. He’s not quite four yet, but he’s such a smart little boy. And so handsome, just like his Daddy.
Brock: Well, he’s handsome, but you had something to do with that too. All that aside, though, he’s something else, all right.
So, I understand the two of you met again four years after your wedding. How did it feel to come face to face after all that time?
Hannah: (Rolling her eyes) It wasn’t my best day.
Brock: (Laughing) She fell right into my arms.
Hannah: Don’t even go there, Brock Ellis! If I didn’t have to guard this plot, I’d tell them a thing or two about you and your plans for Kippers.
Kippers?
Hannah: That’s the dinner lounge where I sing. Kip is the owner.
Brock: Was the owner.
Hannah: Whatever. It will always be Kipper’s.
Okay, okay. So what brought you back into Hannah’s life, Brock?
Brock: I guess I have to repeat Hannah’s earlier statement—it must have been a God thing, because it wasn’t in my plans.
Hannah: Mine either. I didn’t expect to ever see Brock again, and then he showed up and stole my dream.
What dream was that?
Hannah: I wanted to buy Kippers, make it a—oh, nothing. It wasn’t meant to be.
Brock: I’m sorry, sweetheart.
Hannah: Let’s not talk about that, okay?
Well, can we talk about why the two of you wound up back in Yosemite?
Hannah: I went back there hoping to find answers, and hopefully some healing.
Brock: I followed her, because I thought she was going to … well, make a big mistake. And I planned to stop her, if I had to marry her to do it.
So what happened when you got there, Brock?
Brock: (Grins) You’re gonna love this! I was a little out of it when I finally reached Hannah’s cabin, and—”
Hannah: I think we’ve shared about all we can without saying too much, hon.
Brock: Not even—?
Hannah: No, not even that.
Brock: Yeah, you’re right. (Shrugs) I guess you’ll just have to read Yesterday’s Promise to learn the rest of our story.
Thanks for coming then, and…hey, can you let yourselves out? I’ve got a book to read!
About the author:
DELIA LATHAM is a Christian wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. While she considers each of these roles important ones, she treasures most of all her role as a child of the King and an heir to the throne.
A former newspaper staff writer, Delia promised herself a novel for years, while raising her four children, working at various jobs and writing the occasional article, poem, or song. Her first novel released in 2006. Vintage Romance Publishing released Goldeneyes in 2008. A Christian historical romance with a touch of the divine, Goldeneyes is set in the farm country of the author’s childhood, and therefore close to her heart. In 2010, White Rose Publishing released Yesterday’s Promise—a reprint of that first novel (2006)—in electronic format. A children’s book, Adam’s Wings, will be available in December 2010.
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