So today I finished some basic editing in my book!!! 😊😊😊😊 My sister is working on editing too (Thanks Chloe!!!😉😉), and I have to add some additional things (page numbers, dedications, thank you's, and ect!) And then it will be done for now!! I can't wait for my friends to read it!!

So to celebrate I'm going to give you the first chapter of my book! I hope you enjoy and comment below👇👇👇👇 on what you think!!!

Chapter 1

8 years later

 Amy Riley jogged up the stone stairs to her apartment building in New York City. She paused to wipe sweat from her forehead before opening the door and heading to her apartment. She unlocked the door and walked in, quickly slamming the door behind her.

 Amy headed straight for the kitchen to grab some orange juice before showering off.  

 She sighed deeply as she pulled pepper spray from her sleeveless jacket pocket. She rubbed her neck as she opened the refrigerator door and grabbed the jug of orange juice. Grabbing a glass, she hopped into a chair at her island. She motionlessly filled her glass with the orange liquid. She lifted the class to her lips, savoring the cool, refreshing drink.

 Her phone buzzed from her pocket and she retrieved it to open her text. It was from mom.

 "Hey, r u gonna come hang out td, since its ur day off?"

  Amy sighed deeply; going home was always extra stressful for Amy. But she had learned that family was one of the most important things a person had and a person should cherish it as much as they could.

 "Sure mom :D"

 Amy slide her phone down the island with a huff. Life. Where did she go wrong? How did she end up working five days a week for some photography studio? Sure, it was enough money to live a nice, comfortable life. She had great apartment. Nice clothes. But they couldn't feel the hole she felt in her heart.

 Amy groaned: why couldn't she just do what her heart beat for? Why couldn't she just take a leap of faith and do what God wanted her to do? She was sure God wanted her to be a police officer. But there was the fear...The fear of not being able to meet the challenges of being an officer. And the Academy? How could she ever get past? It was all too hard and she was too weak.

 Amy thought of her sister. If Amber was still here maybe Amy would've found the courage to follow her dreams. Amber was always encouraging to follow the dream of being a police officer. Amy would never admit to her sister that that's what she wanted; sometimes she wouldn't admit it to herself, but Amber knew. She always could see right through Amy's disguises. Amy smiled to herself; Amber had truly been the best sister a girl could have. They had such great memories together. So many heartfelt moments. But then Amber was gone. Killed. It wasn't fair; it wasn't fair. An innocent girl like Amber had to suffer in a human trafficking brothel. It just wasn't fair. Amber didn't deserve that. No one did.

 It had been eight years but the pain wasn't lighter: only deeper. It hurt more now than it did eight years ago. Amy remembered holding on to the slightest hope. Praying and trusting God that her sister would be okay. But then the day came when they said she was dead. Amy's heart broke in half and it had never been mended. It was like part of   Amy's whole world was ripped from her and there was nothing she could do about it.  She longed to hug her sister one last time and tell her she loved her. She couldn't remember if she had said goodbye to Amber the last time she had seen her. Surely? She just couldn't remember.

 Amy shook her head, then drank the last of her orange juice and stood to put the jug back in the frig. She'd just head to her room to shower. Maybe she could just wash away all the confusing thoughts that whirled non-stop through her mind. But that would take a lot of water and she didn't have time for that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Kim Harper walked neatly up to the door of Amy's apartment; she reached under the doormat and retrieved the key to the door: without knocking she gracefully walked into Amy's apartment, her black high heels echoing on the floor.

 She glanced around the room to see if there was any sign of Amy. To the right was Amy's kitchen; on the refrigerator were photos of Amber and a police poster. Kim shifted her glance to the left; in the living room there were framed pictures or police stuff and pictures of Amber. Kim counted. Yeah, there were definitely more pictures since the last time she had been there.

 Kim scratched the back of her head, carefully as to not mess it up: for the life of her she couldn't understand what Amy's fascination was with police officer. It was dangerous. People got killed. Kim shook her head. She couldn't go there.

 Kim suddenly became aware of the sound of the shower running in the bathroom in Amy's bedroom. Kim shrugged and headed over to the refrigerator: she still had an hour until work, no use not getting a bite to eat first. She had been in a hurry to shower and do her hair and nails this morning that she had totally forgotten about breakfast. Pilfering through the refrigerator revealed a jug of milk; she selected that for cereal. Kim turned to lie the milk on island when out of the corner of her eyes she spotted a box of donuts on the counter. She smiled; she'd much rather have donuts. She went to put the milk back in the refrigerator when she paused: donuts weren't that healthy. She turned back around and put the milk on the island. She skimmed over the boxes of cereal and selected a fiber cereal, must stay healthy. After grabbing a bowl and spoon, she sat down. She poured her cereal and milk in the bowl, she prayed silently, than starting munching on the delicious breakfast.

 A few minutes later Kim was finished, the milk and cereal was put away, and her bowl and spoon washed. 

 Kim could hear the shower shut off, so she headed into the living room to wait for Amy.

 Kim took a walk around the living room, further looking at the new pictures. Her eyes landed on a few posters on the wall. Some of them were from a TV show: she knew that by a social media not that she watched police shows. It was too painful. But Amy seemed to like them and the funny thing was Amy didn't like too much violence, but she wasn't as sensitive as Kim.

 Approaching footsteps caused Kim to turn from the wall of posters and look toward Amy's bedroom. Amy came in the room, shorts and a T-Shirt on, barefoot, and a white towel in hand drying the ends of her hair. She stopped suddenly when she saw Kim, looking startled. Amy signed deeply; she swallowed hard and held her hand on her lower stomach, as in relief. Amy slightly stopped her foot. "Kim, how many times do I have to tell you not to come in without knocking or something?!"

 Kim held up her hands in defense. "I'm sorry, it's just I don't think about those things with friends."

 Amy huffed and walked passed her to the couch and she sat down with her left leg tucked under her right. She continued drying the ends of her hair. "New York City can be a dangerous place! I just don't like being frightened and taking by surprise like that!"

 Kim took a couple of steps forward than paused: on the coffee table was photo of Amber. Kim had to think of how Amy must feel.  Of course she was even more protective than normal people might be. Kim should try and be more understanding. She had never gone through losing a sister, although she had a terrible loss, and in such a horrible way. She knew somewhat of what Amy was feeling.  "I'm sorry, Amy, really I am."

 Amy lowered the towel to her lap and stared at it as if the towel held the answer to a deep question Amy longed to know the answer to.

Amy looked up. She looked calmer than she had a couple seconds ago. "Sorry for fusing at you, just...please knock, yell, just something next time..." She looked at her longingly.

 Kim smiled. "I promise!"

 Amy half smiled than picked up her towel and proceeded in drying the ends of her hair.

 Kim folded her arms gently. "What are you doing today?"

 "Hanging out with my mom."

 Kim nodded. "That'll be fun, I'm sure. I'm sure you’re glad you have a day off. I don't get them very much, so I'd be more than glad."

 Amy chuckled. "I’m always more than happy to be away from there for a day!"

 Kim raised her eyebrow. "You work for a great studio! I thought you enjoyed photography?"

 Amy shrugged. "It is something I'm good at, I guess..."

 Kim frowned. "What's going on, Amy? You worked hard for your degree and now you’re sounding like you hate what you're doing."

 Amy jerked her head up, her eyes flaring rage; she threw the towel aside to the floor. "It's not just "now"."

 Kim jerked her head back in surprise. Amy looked furious. Discontent. Mad at herself.

 "Amy..." Kim eyes locked on Amy's. "What's going on?" 

 Amy sighed; she eased a little and stood. Looking exhausted with herself. "Nothing, I'm just tired."

 Kim slowly nodded. "Sure?"

 "Yeah."

 Kim smiled. Amy had been working a lot lately. "Well, gotta run." She turned and headed towards the door.  Amy followed.

 Kim paused before opening the door and turned back to Amy. "Are you sure you’re okay?"

 Amy smiled but Kim knew it must have been forced. She had never seen Amy so discontent before. Or maybe she just never noticed. "Yeah."

 Kim once again nodded and turned back around. "Bye!" She yelled over her shoulder as she opened the door and walked out of Amy's apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Amy turned the volume of her radio in her car up: she always enjoyed Group1Crew better when they were blasting.

 As Amy drove she looked around the busy life of New York. She slightly smiled to herself. Ah, New York. The most wonderful place in the whole world to her. True, she hadn't been many other places, but she couldn't imagine any place taking the place of New York in her heart. Amy could just spend all day and night walking around the fine streets of New York, shopping in the fine shops, eating in the fine places New York had, and she could spend hours just sitting and gazing at all the bright lights of New York! Amber had always claimed that the city lights of New York were always felt like angles guiding her safely home. Amy had to wonder if she felt that guidance when she was adducted. Amy hoped she did. She hoped Amber's life was as peaceful as it could be before her nightmare had begun.

 Amy shook her head. Why? Amber didn't deserve to die in a human trafficking brothel….

 Amy swallowed hard. She constantly thought of her beloved sister, but she tried to never focus on the unknown part of Amber's death.

  Amy decided to pull her thoughts away from her love for New York and Amber's death and decided she would get some fresh pastries from La Delice Pastry Shop for her mom and dad.

 She came upon the shop and pulled her car in front, she grabbed her keys from ignition, and grabbing her wallet, she headed into the shop. A few minutes later she was walking out with fresh pastries.

 "HEY!" Someone shouted.

 Amy stumbled. What...? She jerked her head in the direction the shout came from. Her heart pounded at what her eyes met. A police was running up the street, in pursuit of a hooded man. Amy felt glued to the officer. Here he was. An officer. Probably fulfilling the calling his heart beat for. Wearing blue. Protecting the streets.

 From around the corner another officer, a woman, came running. Partners. Watching each other's backs.

 The first officer drew closer to the hooded man. The hooded man ran right in front of Amy right as the officer leaped forward and slammed him to the ground.

 Amy was glued to the scene.

 "Give me your hands!" The officer shouted, grabbing the criminal hands behind his back then cuffing the man.

 The officer grabbed a hold of the criminal’s upper arm and stood. His partner neared them; she was speaking into her shoulder mic. Amy fixed her eyes on the woman officer: she looked so head strong, so relaxed, so fulfilled.

 Now why can't I be like that?

 The women officer turned to face Amy. "Ma'am, are you alright?”

 Amy swallowed hard, trying to find her voice. "Uh...um... ye-ah." Amy then realized she had dropped the box of pastries.

 The women officer nodded. "Okay, sure you don't need some help?"

 Amy shook her head. "Sure. I just-um-just...never mind."

 Amy squatted down to pick up the pastry box. Right as she touched the box, the first officer knelt in front of her; he picked up the box for her and gently took her arm and steadied her as she stood.

 "You sure you’re okay, ma'am? You look a little shook up.” He asked with compassion in his eyes.

 Amy forced a smile. Yes. She was shaken up. But not just from fright. She was shaken up with her own guilt. Her own guilt of being a coward. But, yes, fright was a part of it. The whole scene scared her and that was the whole problem.

 "I'll be fine." She reached out for the box of pastries. He handed them to her and turned around to re-join his partner. Together they headed down the street. Amy headed to her car, feeling lower than she ever had before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Amy took a deep breath before opening the door to her parents’ house. God, I'm really gonna need your help. Please. You know this is hard for me.

  Amy swallowed and opened the door. Today had been a very trying day; in every aspect she had been reminded of the calling she was running from and now she would have to put up with her mom acting like Amber never existed. When it was confirmed that Amber was dead, mom had taken all her pictures and everything that Amber had and put it away. Never even taking it out and looking at it. Amy couldn't even imagine not acting like Amber existed. Amy cherished the things of Amber's that she had. She proudly displayed pictures of her. For pete’s sake, Amber was her sister and Amber wouldn't want her burying her in her heart.

 "Hey, mom, I'm here."

 Amy slipped her tinny-shoes off by the door right as her mom called from the living room. "In here, hun."

 Amy slipped into the kitchen and laid the box of pastries on the table.  She then headed into the living room. "Mom, I brought-" Amy stopped in her tracts at what was before her eyes.

 Mom was sitting on the floor with boxes in front of her filled with Amber's things.  Her mom held a scrapbook in her hands that Amber had made of her High School years. Mom's face was bright with a smile, yet tears fell softly down her cheeks.

 Amy swallowed the lump in her throat and tired to get a hold of the emotions that were welling up in her.

 Amy looked about the room to find framed pictures on the walls again. The living room looked like it used to before Amber died. It looked like a home. Filled with memories of its family.

 Amy shakily knelt in the floor in front of her mom and gently laid her hand on her mom's shoulder. "Mom?" She couldn't find her voice but her eyes asked it all.

 Her mom smiled through shiny tears. "It was time for me to stop acting like Amber never existed and start remembering her by having her things...and things of her around me." Mom finished with a deep breath and more tears.

 Amy nodded with a smile. "Sure thing, Mom."

God Bless and continue serving Jesus!!!!

😉😊😊😊😊😉😉😉😊😊😉😉😉😊😊

 The Guest of Honor at the Ball

By: Beth H.

1875

   Betsy rode along the dirt path deep in thought. The weather was warm for February which made the long ride more pleasant.

 Betsy Williams smiled to herself. A Valentine’s Day Ball. Such an event was quite extravagant for the small town of Myer’s Corner. Normally they would have had a normal dance for Valentine’s Day, but this year the board had voted for a ball instead. “It will be a chance for the ladies to dress up in beautiful gowns and have the experience of a lifetime. But we’ll keep it in a family environment so everyone feels included and has fun,” Mrs. Kampar had said at the board meeting.

 Betsy was quite excited for the event. Her thoughts drifted to walking into the boarding house, where the ball was being held, on the arm of her newlywed husband, Andy.

 She had to start making a dress right away. She didn’t really have any dresses that you would wear to a ball.

 I think I’ll wear my hair in a bun, with some of my black curls loose, Betsy mused in her mind.

 Betsy was jarred out of her thoughts when she neared the Smith’s small cabin. The small farm was very quiet, save a few sounds of animals.

 Her fairytale was replaced with worry when she pulled her horse to a stop and dismounted. Mrs. Smith hadn’t been recovering the fastest since her fall and Betsy was very concerned.

 Betsy retrieved from her horse her doctor bag that hung on the saddle horn. Betsy was truly in love with being a doctor. It was hard going getting to that point but she had made it. She had survived three years in medical school with only men as classmates, who continually degraded her and teased her. But all that was worth it because now she freely practiced medicine. Although at some times it was still hard; women doctors weren’t heard of and people had trouble expecting her.

 “Hello, Mr. Smith,” she called out cheerfully as she neared the old man.

 Mr. Smith smiled as he walked up to her. “Howdy, doc, come to see the old lady.”

 “Yup. Is she better you think?”

 Mr. Smith nodded, a distant look in his eyes. “Yeah. I think so, miss. She’s sitting on the back porch seeing as it’s a warmer day.” Mr. Smith smiled, his green eyes shining.

 Betsy returned his smile. “Well then, I’ll just go have a look at her.”

 Mr. Smith lowered his head. “Do you think she’ll get better, miss?”

 Betsy shifted. She prayed everyday she would recover. “I hope so, Mr. Smith.”

 Mr. Smith lifted his head. “Me, too. I really love that old lady. She’s been with me seventy-four years coming up this Valentine’s Day. She looked after our ten children,” he signed heavily. “She’s been good to me.”

 Betsy swallowed hard. Oh, God, please help her. “We need to have faith Mr. Smith.”

 Mr. Smith nodded. “I’ve been trying.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  “Hey, honey, how was Mrs. Smith?” Andy’s bright voice jarred Betsy out of her thoughts.

 She smiled from behind her desk. “Better, I think.”

 Andy grinned as he sat on the edge of her desk. “Great.”

 Betsy stared at her husband for a moment. She was truly blessed to have this man in her life. He loved God and loved her. They were really perfect for each other. Andy was one of the town’s local deputies; they also owned a ranch together. Andy and her characteristics were a lot alike. Betsy was a different kind of lady then most women in the town. She wore a gun at her side and jeans most all the time. Andy loved her that way.

 Betsy sighed. “Mr. Smith does seem so sad. He really loves her.” Andy nodded right as the door to Betsy clinic busted opened.

 Mr. Smith was breathing heavily. “Come quick, miss, she’s fallen again.”

 Betsy slowly walked out of the small bedroom into the kitchen. Mr. Smith looked up from his place at the table. Andy was leaning against the door.

 “She’s resting, Mr. Smith.”

 Mr. Smith let out a deep sigh. “Oh, I thought I’d lost her.”

 Betsy swallowed hard. “She’s stable. We need to keep praying.”

 Mr. Smith nodded and was silent for a moment. He sighed again as he ran his hand through his white hair. He reached down and pulled an old piece of paper from his overalls pocket.

 “Andy, I hope you’re always able to give Betsy her dreams,” Mr. Smith muttered as tears brimmed around his eyes.

 Betsy cast Andy a worried look. Andy leaned forward. “What do you mean?”

 “My little old lady always had dreams. She dreamed of being a princess, of being the quest of honor at a fancy ball. She dreamed of walking in on my arm.” He ran his hand over old piece of paper. “She cut this dress out of a catalog a long time ago; she said it was her dream dress.” He closed his eyes. “I promised her I’d take her one day. But it looks like that’ll never happen.”

 Tears brimmed Betsy eyes as she looked at Andy.

 “Andy, it’s not right. It’s not right that Mr. Smith can’t give his wife her dream.” Betsy stated as they dismounted their horses in front of her clinic.

 Andy nodded. “I know: it’s real sad.”

 Betsy shook her head. Then it hit her. “Andy! Why can’t we let Mr. Smith give her her dream?”

 Andy folded his arms. “What do you mean?”

 “The ball! The Valentine’s Day ball! We could make her the guest of honor. And some of the girls and me could sew her dream dress. I’m gonna talk to the board!” Betsy turned and headed down the street.

 “Hey, that’s a great!” Andy called after her as she headed down the street.

  “This is the sweetest love story I’ve ever heard.” Mary, Betsy’s friend, said as she stitched on the ball gown. The gown was a bit outdated but it was Mrs. Smith dream and Betsy couldn’t wait for her to wear it.

 Betsy smiled. “Mr. Smith couldn’t believe it when we told him. He’s keeping it a secret from Mrs. Smith.”

 “Will she be recovered by then?”

 Betsy nodded slowly as she stitched. “She’s getting better. I think it’ll be okay.”

Mary exhaled deeply. “I’m just glad she’s getting her dream.”

 Mrs. Smith looked up from her rocking chair at her husband with a smile: her blue eyes shining. “Hello, dear.”

 He knelt down and took her hands. “Little old lady. We’ve got somewhere to go tonight. So why don’t you go on and get dressed. I have a dress laying out for you on the bed”

 Mrs. Smith frowned. “Oh, what are you talking about, old man?”

 “Come on, honey.”

 Mrs. Smith came along hesitantly. He led her into their room, steadying her elbow. She gasped as she saw her dream dress laid out over the bed.

 “Honey, it’s my dress. What’s going on?”

 He smiled. “Now you just get dressed, honey. We’ve got a ball to go to.”

 Betsy watched as the couple pulled up in front of the boarding house. Tears filled her eyes as she saw Mrs. Smith in her beautiful ball gown being helped off the wagon by her husband. Its pink material flowed beautifully around her as she walked toward the boarding house doors.

 Betsy turned around to the many men dressed in suits and ladies in gowns. “They’re here!”

 Two young men opened the doors to the ball area and the couple walked into the room. The glow of the many candles made Mrs. Smith’s pink gown reflect beautifully.

 “The guest of honor: Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” One of the boys that opened the door, announced.

 Tears dripped down Mrs. Smith’s cheek as she looked around the room. “I can’t believe it,” she said as she turned to her husband. “Thank you, oh, thank you, darling.” She slipped into his embrace. “You gave me my dream.”

 Mr. Smith tightened his arms around her. “I love you, old lady.”

 Betsy wiped at her own tears as Andy walked up beside her and put his arms around her.

 Mr. Smith stepped away from his wife. “Now, Mrs. Smith, may I have this dance?” He asked as he took her hand.

 She smiled. “Of course, Mr. Smith.”

 He kissed her hand before taking her into his arms. Her skirt swished as he spun her into a dance….

        

        The End

Hey!! My sisters and I are going to be doing a new YouTube music video! The song is On Again Off Again by Group1Crew! And this video is about your fulfillment being in Jesus not a man. So we are giving girls the opportunity to be in this video!   Send us a video about 5to15 seconds showing u spending time with God, reading your Bible, praying, listening to worship music ECT and we'll use it the video! This is a Valentine's Day video so The deadline is Monday! So use the contact form at the bottom or if u know me just email me if you want to be apart of this!! We hope you will!! God Bless and Continue to serve Him!!!

Catching Fire... https://youtu.be/ynwOu4hgRBM

And Yeah!

Hey ya'll!✋✋ Guess who??😃😃 Yup it's me again! I know I haven't blogged in awhile but here I am! Before I get started, if you have any blogging request just comment them below👇 and I'll see what I can do!

Some Things I'm Excited for in February!😊😊

1: I'm excited for season four "When Call's The Heart"💗💗 that premiers on February 19th!! 😊😊😊😊😊

 I've been watching this since it first aired and I'm looking forward to this season! I'm hoping for Jack and Elizabeth to get engaged and I know I'm not the only WCTH fan out there who wants that!! I won't be able to watch the premier the 19th but I'll watch it as soon as it's up in good quality on YouTube! 

I watched a their Christmas special on YouTube and I really enjoyed it!! 😊😊

Anyway if you don't watch WCTH you totally should!!

2: Priceless the movie coming out on DVD!!! 😊😊 

I saw this movie in theaters and I really liked it and look forward to re-watching it!!

3: Finishing the editing process of my book!😊😊 I hope I get this done at least, lol!!😮😮😮 I want my friends and family to be able to read it but it needs to be edited first, LOLOLOL! 

Here's a little bit of it, I'm in Chapter 4 in editing!

Amy thought of her sister. If Amber was still here maybe Amy might have found the courage to follow her dreams. Amber was always encouraging Amy to follow her dream of being a police officer. Amy would never admit to her sister that's what she wanted, sometimes she wouldn't admit it to herself, but Amber knew. She always could see right through Amy's disguises. Amy smiled to herself, Amber had truly been the best sister a girl could have. They had such great memories together. So many heartfelt moments. But then Amber was gone. 

Well I hope you all enjoyed this post and again if you have suggestions let me know below!👇👇

God Bless you all! Keep living for Jesus!!!

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 14:27 (KJV)