Stronger Than the River
(2026)(The second book in the Providence Ridge series)
A novel by Vivian Belle
Some bridges are built with timber and stone. Others require letting go of the rope.
Bridgett Callahan has run the ferry crossing at Providence Ridge for five years—alone, since her father’s death left her with frayed cables, mounting debts, and a town full of men who expected her to fail. She didn’t fail. She white-knuckled her way to respect, and she answers to no one. But when sabotage strikes the ferry and an outsider arrives with plans to replace her crossing with a bridge, Bridgett faces a threat she can’t outwork: a man who watches her with too much attention, asks too many questions, and doesn’t dismiss her the way she needs him to.
Caleb Sterling knows what happens when a man trusts ‘good enough.’ Three years ago, a bridge collapsed under his watch, and two people died because he didn’t demand the inspection his gut told him to require. He’s carried that weight across every territory since. Providence Ridge is supposed to be his redemption—a chance to build something that stands. What he doesn’t expect is the stubborn ferry operator who challenges his every calculation, or the way her river-wisdom unsettles everything he thought he knew about control.
When accidents turn deliberate and evidence points to powerful men who want the bridge built where it will profit investors instead of the town, Bridgett and Caleb are forced into an uneasy partnership. The committee demands they work together. The saboteur demands they fail. And the spring runoff doesn’t care about either—it’s coming, and it will test everything they’ve built. To survive what’s rising, Bridgett must accept help she’s spent a lifetime refusing, and Caleb must trust a kind of knowledge he can’t measure. But surrendering control feels like the one thing neither of them can afford.
As the river climbs and the conspiracy tightens, two people who’ve learned to hold on too hard must discover that faith isn’t about gripping tighter—it’s about building something strong enough to hold, and then letting go.
Tropes:
Bridgett Callahan has run the ferry crossing at Providence Ridge for five years—alone, since her father’s death left her with frayed cables, mounting debts, and a town full of men who expected her to fail. She didn’t fail. She white-knuckled her way to respect, and she answers to no one. But when sabotage strikes the ferry and an outsider arrives with plans to replace her crossing with a bridge, Bridgett faces a threat she can’t outwork: a man who watches her with too much attention, asks too many questions, and doesn’t dismiss her the way she needs him to.
Caleb Sterling knows what happens when a man trusts ‘good enough.’ Three years ago, a bridge collapsed under his watch, and two people died because he didn’t demand the inspection his gut told him to require. He’s carried that weight across every territory since. Providence Ridge is supposed to be his redemption—a chance to build something that stands. What he doesn’t expect is the stubborn ferry operator who challenges his every calculation, or the way her river-wisdom unsettles everything he thought he knew about control.
When accidents turn deliberate and evidence points to powerful men who want the bridge built where it will profit investors instead of the town, Bridgett and Caleb are forced into an uneasy partnership. The committee demands they work together. The saboteur demands they fail. And the spring runoff doesn’t care about either—it’s coming, and it will test everything they’ve built. To survive what’s rising, Bridgett must accept help she’s spent a lifetime refusing, and Caleb must trust a kind of knowledge he can’t measure. But surrendering control feels like the one thing neither of them can afford.
As the river climbs and the conspiracy tightens, two people who’ve learned to hold on too hard must discover that faith isn’t about gripping tighter—it’s about building something strong enough to hold, and then letting go.
Tropes:
- Forced proximity
Enemies to allies to lovers
Small-town frontier romance
Wounded hero seeking redemption
Fiercely independent heroine
Suspense/mystery subplot
Reader Promise: This clean Christian historical romance delivers a faith-forward love story with emotional depth, slow-burn tension, and a deeply satisfying happily-ever-after—no explicit content, no cliffhanger, and a frontier community you’ll want to visit again.
Genre: Inspirational