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eBook Category: Romance Romance Reader at Heart Top Pick Award Winner
eBook Description: Matt Stevens might be a genius when it comes to creating the best security software programs around but his personal life is a wreck. Three years ago, he walked away from life and all the things that mattered to him after his son's death. The only person who had come close to reaching him was the old woman that rented his cabin. But then Rachel Bowers had died. Alone--without the granddaughter she loved by her side. When Kate Alexander arrives on his doorstep, Matt is ready to dismiss her as simply an ungrateful child until she faints in his arms and he learns that she is pregnant and struggling to keep from losing her baby. Is Kate's arrival just a coincidence? If so then why does he feel alive again for the first time in years? Or could her very presence there be proof that there is such a thing as second chances after all? If so then what does that do to all of his doubts?

eBook Publisher: By Grace Publishing/Special Release, Published: 2005
Fictionwise Release Date: November 2005

22 Reader Ratings: Great Good OK Poor

Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [1.2 MB], eReader (PDB) [240 KB], Palm Doc (PDB) [229 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [202 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [189 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [229 KB], hiebook (KML) [553 KB], Sony Reader (LRF) [285 KB], iSilo (PDB) [188 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [234 KB], Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [272 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [292 KB]
Words: 75595
Reading time: 215-302 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud DISABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED

"The title of Ten Thousand Angels refers to a favorite poem of Kate's grandmother, Rachel and provides a recurring theme of love and redemption throughout the book. Ms. Eason has written a story of two characters who have been through some of the worst events that life has to offer them and who have responded to those events in totally opposite ways. Ms. Eason shows a true flair for character development, and her secondary characters are as critically vital to the plot as the main characters. The story line is both touching and soul stirring, and even when this reviewer found herself questioning the reactions of the characters, all of their actions were true to form and satisfactorily resolved by story's end. Even though there are strong elements of Christianity and its tenets throughout the book, Ms. Eason has written a story that is not at all preachy but manages to give the reader a glimpse of the power of God's love and its ability to change the hardest of hearts. This novel is Ms. Eason's first foray into the realm of inspirational romance, although she has written in other romance genres, and this reviewer sincerely believes that the inspiration genre's gain is the other genre's loss. Ten Thousand Angels was a story that strongly resonated in this reviewer's heart even after the book was finished and is a definite keeper. Any fan of inspirational romance will enjoy this gem."--Leah of Love Romances

This was Rachel Bowers' granddaughter.

Matt Stevens found it hard to believe this frightened young woman sitting before him now was in any way related to the woman he'd grown to love.

He'd been as close to Rachel Bowers as to any other human being, with the exception of his best friend, Denny Hernandez. But Matt's only connection to Rachel was the small cabin she'd rented from him for a little more than two years.

Rachel hadn't turned out anything like he was expecting. She was stubborn to the point of annoyance at times, but she had more strength and determination than any other person Matt had known.

Rachel had slowly worked her way into his life, ignoring all of Matt's attempts at driving her away. She had become an important part of his life.

Rachel's friendship had kept him going after the deaths of his wife and son. And as sad as it was to admit, he actually preferred Rachel's quiet company to Denny's somewhat persistent manner at times.

Not once, not even when she knew she was facing death herself, had Rachel ever thought of giving up on him. Her final wish, as he sat close to her bedside had been for him. That he would return to the life he'd deserted all those years ago, after his family's deaths.

And that her granddaughter would come to her before it was too late. None of those wishes had come true for Rachel.

"Do you really expect me to believe that you were unaware of how ill your grandmother truly was, Miss Alexander? Or that she in fact, passed away three weeks ago?"

Looking at Kate now, it was easy to see the truth. She was stunned, heartbroken ... lost. She hadn't known about Rachel's death until this moment.

Still, as hard as he tried, Matt couldn't find any sympathy for the girl. Frankly, he couldn't understand why Rachel had held out so much hope for her granddaughter.

Matt sat quietly watching Kate's reaction to the news of her grandmother's death. She gripped the edge of the chair, unaware of what she was giving away by that very gesture. Kate was finding Matt's directness abrasive.

At first glance, Kate appeared to be little more than a child, although Matt knew for a fact that wasn't the case. As he continued to watch her silent struggle, Matt tried to remember all the things that Rachel had told him about Kate. After all, she'd certainly talked about her granddaughter enough.

Kate would be at least twenty-four by now, even though she didn't look it. That, he decided, was probably just the combination of short blond curls, along with the fact that she didn't wear a single trace of makeup. Or maybe it was the spattering of freckles across her nose that made her look years younger than Matt knew she was. Or those clear-green eyes that held an innocence in them that Matt didn't believe was real.

She was dressed in faded jeans, and a white short-sleeved tee shirt that was as out of place in this cold gray Colorado afternoon as Kate herself.

In spite of all of that innocence, the impression that came to mind when he considered Kate was certainly a less wholesome picture than Rachel had painted of her grandchild.

The second her eyes made contact with his again, Matt knew that she'd seen everything he was thinking. Every single inch of her five-foot-two, hundred-pounds-soaking-wet frame reflected her reaction to his words.

Any other time he might have found that compelling, but there was something about her appearance that Matt found disturbing. Kate wasn't well. Something was clearly wrong with her, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on. She was either recovering from some either recent illness or worse.

As Kate shivered from the afternoon cold and reaction to her grandmother's death, Matt found his thoughts going over the endless possibilities that came to mind when he considered what might be wrong with her.

Was it possible that Kate was involved in something that Rachel didn't know about? How could this be the same person that Rachel had spoken proudly of all those times? To her, Kate had been a sweet, caring young woman. But for the life of him, he couldn't picture any of those things now as he studied Kate. Maybe Rachel was only remembering the girl of childhood.

"I'm sorry, clearly your grandmother's death is a shock to you, Kate, but I would really like to understand how is it that you can come to me today, three weeks after her death and claim to have loved your grandmother. From where I'm sitting, you didn't care enough to make sure Rachel was okay. Did you even bother to keep in touch with her at all? When was the last time you spoke to Rachel, anyway? I know it couldn't have been in months, because I was with her every single day right up until the end. She was seventy-eight years old, Kate. Didn't it occur to you, even for a moment, that maybe Rachel might not be in the best of health at that age?

"Your grandmother died three weeks ago, without the one person in the world that she desperately wanted with her. As far as I know, you've never once bothered to check on her in all the weeks since her death."

Kate's reaction to those words was immediate. As much as Matt hated to admit it, it was painful to watch. She struggled with emotions that reminded him once again how of hard she was fighting to keep back the tears. It was all there, every single emotion in her green eyes, and it was undeniable.

"I don't expect you to understand anything, Mr. Stevens. And I certainly won't try to convince you of how much I loved my grandmother. Why should I? You've made up your mind about me already, haven't you? But you see, your opinion doesn't matter. My grandmother knew how much I loved her and that all that really matters. Grandma Rachel understood why I was unable to keep in touch with her. She understood."

"You're certainly right about that much," Matt interrupted whatever else Kate might have said. He only wanted this whole scene over and done with and Kate out of his life. Watching Rachel die had been hard enough; he didn't want to have to deal with her granddaughter's problems.

"In fact, I'd say you had your grandmother fooled completely. She actually did believe you cared about her. She certainly spoke of you often enough. Rachel would have believed anything you told her, Kate. But the truth is, you never bothered to call or write, or God forbid, see her in at least the two years that I've known her."

Matt's words accomplished exactly what he'd set out to do. But he wasn't prepared for his reaction to the hurt in Kate's eyes. It made him feel something for her. Something that he wasn't expecting to feel, ever again, especially not with a stranger. Pity mingled with regret to make him ashamed of his harsh words as soon as they were out, but the very existence of that emotion, after all these years, only added fuel to his growing frustration.

"I don't really care what you think about me, Mr. Stevens. My grandmother understood the circumstances," Kate told him with a quiet strength that surprised him, and forced him to take a closer look at her.

The second she had walked through his door, Matt had written her off as little more than an ungrateful child. Now, the fierce way that she defended herself had him wondering if maybe there was more to Kate than his first impression had led him to believe. Maybe he'd misjudged her after all.

"She told me that she considered you her friend," Kate added, surprising him even more by those words. "She spoke of you quite often, Mr. Stevens, but from where I'm sitting right now, I can't understand why my grandmother cared about you the way that she clearly did."

Matt sat watching her in silence, ignoring her anger.

"Did she suffer or..." she asked almost reluctantly.

He hated the fact that he wasn't strong enough to stop some emotion, deep inside of him, from responding to Kate's pain. But then he, of all people, understood just how absolute and crippling death could be.

It was hard to control his anger. "She was sick for weeks, Kate. Of course, she suffered. More than she deserved." Still after all these weeks, Matt's could still feel the pain. Watching Rachel die had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. And if he were being honest with himself, Kate's words had taken him by surprise. He would never have believed, until now, that she'd had any contact with her grandmother in years, but he was clearly wrong.

Matt still remembered how he'd all but begged Rachel to let him get in touch with her granddaughter. She'd refused flat out, and no amount of persuading on his part would change her mind or make her willing to discuss the matter any further with him. Whatever secrets there were between Kate and her grandmother, Rachel wasn't about to give them up. Not even when facing death.

After her funeral, Matt had tried to contact Rachel's granddaughter, but the one piece of information, he could find, amongst all of her possessions, was a single letter from Kate, dated more than six months earlier, with no return address. The postmark had read Austin, Texas.

Matt wasn't really expecting to find a listing for Kate in Austin, or in any of the surrounding cities and he hadn't been disappointed. After all, he only knew her as Kate. He'd been assuming her last name would have been the same as her grandmother's. He'd been wrong about that as well.

Now, Matt found himself considering, for the first time, that there might be other things that he had been wrong about as well.

"In case you were wondering, your grandmother only rented the cabin. And as far as any type of estate, well there wasn't one. So, you see, I'm afraid you've made the trip for nothing, Kate. There is nothing for you to have gained by coming all this way now, now is there? Was there?"

Matt waited for her reaction to that accusation. He was rewarded with the tears that had been close by since Kate had heard the news about her grandmother's death. Her tears fell slowly from her green eyes. For a moment, he almost regretted that he was the cause of them.

Almost.