A Love to Last Forever
A LOVE TO
LAST FOREVER
A LOVE TO
LAST FOREVER
Brides of Gallatin County
BOOK TWO
TRACIE
PETERSON
A Love to Last Forever
Copyright © 2009
Tracie Peterson
Cover design and photography by Andrea Gjeldum
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
E-book edition created 2009
ISBN 978-1-44120-359-5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
To my grandchildren
Rainy, Fox, and Max
You have given me great
joy and love. You are a blessing
beyond compare.
Love,
Nanna
Books by Tracie Peterson
A Slender Thread • I Can’t Do It All!**
What She Left For Me• Where My Heart Belongs
A
LASKAN
Q
UEST
Summer of the Midnight Sun
Under the Northern Lights • Whispers of Winter
B
RIDES
OF
G
ALLATIN
C
OUNTY
A Promise to Believe In• A Love to Last Forever
A Dream to Call My Own
T
HE
B
ROADMOOR
L
EGACY
*
A Daughter’s Inheritance • An Unexpected Love
A Surrendered Heart
B
ELLS
OF
L
OWELL
*
Daughter of the Loom •A Fragile Design • These Tangled Threads
Bells of Lowell
(3 in 1)
L
IGHTS
OF
L
OWELL
*
A Tapestry of Hope• A Love Woven True
The Pattern of Her Heart
D
ESERT
R
OSES
Shadows of the Canyon • Across the Years
Beneath a Harvest Sky
H
EIRS
OF
M
ONTANA
Land of My Heart • The Coming Storm
To Dream Anew • The Hope Within
L
ADIES OF
L
IBERTY
A Lady of High Regard• A Lady of Hidden Intent
A Lady of Secret Devotion
W
ESTWARD
C
HRONICLES
A Shelter of Hope •Hidden in a Whisper • A Veiled Reflection
Y
UKON
Q
UEST
Treasures of the North • Ashes and Ice • Rivers of Gold
*with Judith Miller **with Allison Bottke and Dianne O’Brian
TRACIE PETERSON is the author of over seventy novels, both historical and contemporary. Her avid research resonates in her stories, as seen in her bestselling Heirs of Montana and Alaskan Quest series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana.
Visit Tracie’s Web site at
www.traciepeterson.com
.
Contents
NOVEMBER 1879
Lady Effingham offered Lord Wodehouse a coy smile,
Beth Gallatin read in the privacy of her room.
She beckoned him forward with
a simple nod and batted her eyelashes at him as he approached. “You
are possibly the most beautiful woman in the room,” he told her. “Only
possibly?” she asked, frowning. She then gave him a seductive look
that had never failed to entice the heart of any suitor.
How is that done?
Beth wondered. She put the book aside and went to pick up her mirror. For a moment she studied her features. She wasn’t a bad-looking woman; in fact, many had told her she was quite lovely. Touching a hand to her cheek, Beth thought herself a bit too pale, perhaps, but otherwise her skin was smooth and youthful.
“And why not? I’m only twenty-two.” She stared hard at the reflection again, but this time she tried her best to give what she thought might be a seductive expression. It didn’t work, however—she looked as though she might be sick instead. She tried again but was equally frustrated with the result. “Now I look angry or at least unhappy.”
She put the mirror down. “What makes a woman seductive?”
She’d often observed the soiled doves at Rafe’s Saloon as they crooned and called to the passing cowboys. They would pose against the porch supports with hints of smiles upon red, pouting lips. Was that seductive?
Beth glanced at the clock and realized she’d lost track of the time. Reading had a way of doing that to her, and
The
Courtship of Lady Effingham
was most mesmerizing. Beth could easily put herself in the place of this opulent character—this daughter of a duke. How romantic it all was. Lady Effingham lived on an ancient estate, the child of English nobility. She was the most beautiful of women, with golden yellow hair and blue eyes, and every man who saw her was dying of love for her.
A heavy sigh escaped Beth’s lips once more. “My hair is reddish brown, and my eyes are more green than blue. And as far as I can tell, there isn’t a single man in the world dying of love for me.”
Well, there was Nick Lassiter. Beth knew she’d caught Nick’s eye since she’d come to the area with her father and sisters several years ago. Nick was definitely handsome—a dark, brooding sort, rather like Lord Wodehouse. Beth couldn’t suppress a giggle as she imagined Nick dressed in fine English attire, bowing low before her.
She gave a curtsy as if the event were truly happening. “Oh, Lord Wodehouse, how very dashing you look today.” She laughed once again.
Beth knew she was acting like a silly child, but she was a hopeless romantic. Proof could be found in the stacks of books and dime novels that were hidden at the back of her closet and out in the shed. Anytime she was in Bozeman, Beth would secretly buy one or two books and hide them away for quiet moments when she could dream.
But what about Nick?
He was handsome enough, and he made her laugh. Kind and polite, he always managed to stir something inside her. Of course, sometimes that something was anger, but he could definitely bring about a response.
“And he
is
attending church now,” Beth reminded herself. She’d always tried to keep her heart free of entanglements where Nick was involved because he wasn’t a God-fearing man. She had known him to take a drink at Rafe’s Saloon. And once when he had burned his leg quite badly, Beth recalled he had said a curse word. But at the time, that seemed completely understandable. Surely God made provision for such things.
“But is he the man of my dreams? Is Nicholas Lassiter my Lord Wodehouse?” How could she know? How was a person supposed to figure out whether or not someone was their true love? Did love always sweep you off your feet and make itself known? Or could it creep in and surprise you?
Knowing that her sister Gwen was bound to come looking for her, Beth tucked the book away and headed downstairs. She paused for a moment at the sight of Gwen kissing her husband good-bye. This was their routine most every morning as Hank headed off next door to open his store.
They’re so in love,
Beth thought. A twinge of jealousy wrapped itself around her heart. How was it that Gwen had found love twice in her life and Beth hadn’t found it at all? Gwen had been married to Hank’s younger brother, Harvey, but then he’d died and now Gwen was married to Hank.
Beth blamed her singleness on their father. He had dragged them from one place to another after the death of their mother many years ago. George Gallatin was too restless to stay in one place, and his daughters were victims of his wanderlust. Beth had hated him for that, yet she knew it wasn’t really her father she hated so much as the disruptive way of living he imposed upon them.
She frowned. Thoughts of their father always brought guilty feelings. Prior to his death the previous May, Beth had overheard him talking about moving again. She’d been livid but, because she was eavesdropping, had said nothing. But she had prayed. She had asked God to stop them from moving, no matter what it took. What she hadn’t counted on was that it would take the death of her father.
Beth also hadn’t counted on the sense of relief she’d felt when, at his funeral, she’d realized he could no longer force them to move. She was ashamed, but she couldn’t deny the truth of her feelings.
“Oh, there you are,” Gwen commented as she turned in the doorway. “I thought perhaps you were sick.”
“No, just lazy,” Beth said with a smile. She came down the few remaining steps and glanced out the still-open door. “Looks like another nice day.”
“Yes, it’s been so mild, I thought I might open everything up and air the place out again today.”
“I suppose it will snow soon enough, so we might as well take advantage of the nice weather,” Beth admitted. “I’ll do some more laundry. There’s additional bedding that I can hang out to air, as well.”
“That would be good. Mr. Murphy and his men are due back today, and I’m sure they’d appreciate everything crisp and clean.” Gwen fussed with an errant strand of hair before smiling at Beth. “I do believe Mr. Murphy is rather sweet on you.”
“Adrian . . . ah, Mr. Murphy is very nice.” In her thoughts about Nick, Beth had nearly forgotten Adrian. “But he seems to enjoy traveling too much.”
Gwen looked at Beth with a puzzled expression. “What’s wrong with that? His job with the railroad survey team requires that he travel.”
Beth swept past Gwen. “I like it here.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t travel.”
Beth frowned. “I think I’m traveled out. Do you realize we’ve lived here longer than any other town or city?”
“I suppose so. I guess it’s never been that much of a concern to me.”