Beneath the Bending Skies

Jane Kirkpatrick

Description

Mollie Sheehan has spent much of her life striving to be a dutiful daughter and honor her father's wishes, even when doing so has led to one heartbreak after another. After all, what options does she truly have in 1860s Montana? But providing for her stepfamily during her father's long absences doesn't keep her from wishing for more. When romance blooms between her and Peter Ronan, Mollie finally allows herself to hope for a brighter future--until her father voices his disapproval of the match and moves her to California to ensure the breakup. Still, time and providence are at work, even when circumstances are at their bleakest. Mollie may soon find that someone far greater than her father is in control of the course of her life--and that even the command to "honor thy father" has its limits.New from New York Times bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick, Beneath the Bending Skies is a sweeping story of hospitality, destiny, and the bonds of family.

Sujets

• Historical fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 06 septembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493438716
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Endorsements
“Mary Sheehan Ronan is the kind of gal I want in my corner. And Jane Kirkpatrick did a stellar job of bringing her back from the grave and onto the pages of Beneath the Bending Skies . It takes a woman of courage to stand up to a manipulative father and marry the man she was clearly meant to be with. As the wife of the ‘White Chief,’ Mary’s ministry to the Salish Kootenai Natives and friendship with Shows No Anger in Montana during times of unrest between Natives and non-Natives is one of inspiration. This story celebrates the ties that can and do take place between cultures in the past and present. A story that will linger in your thoughts and heart for years to come.”
Carmen Peone , award-winning author of Lillian’s Legacy
“Jane Kirkpatrick never fails to take us away on unforgettable journeys. Her carefully crafted layers of colors, textures, music . . . transport us to eras of history that we might otherwise miss. Mollie and Peter’s story is no different. What amazing lives they led! Their resilience and love was a legacy that lives on—thanks to Jane’s gifted storytelling!”
Melody Carlson , author of Westward to Home (historical series)
“Jane Kirkpatrick’s latest book is about the struggle between a father and daughter and the challenges of seeking a better life during the 1800s. Jane’s story shows a sensitive and compassionate approach to the coming-of-age of a daughter and the conflict between two men who love her. I will not easily forget Beneath the Bending Skies nor the eloquent prose used to connect the reader with the characters. I will recommend this book to all my customers, friends, and family, and look forward to discussing the book with them.”
Judi Wutzke , owner/manager of …and BOOKS, too!
“Jane Kirkpatrick’s Beneath the Bending Skies is one of the best novels I’ve read in a very long time. Set primarily against the backdrop of Montana’s Big Sky country, the story narrates the life of Mollie Ronan. At times tragic, yet always compelling, it is overall the uplifting account of a woman’s struggles to find her place in life, within her extended family, and in the arms of the man she’s loved since childhood. Told with warmth and respect for the land and its people—especially her relationship with the Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d’Oreille tribes— Beneath the Bending Skies is a fascinating journey and a worthwhile read.”
Michael Zimmer , author of The Poacher’s Daughter
Half Title Page
Also by Jane Kirkpatrick
The Healing of Natalie Curtis
Something Worth Doing
One More River to Cross
Everything She Didn’t Say
All She Left Behind
This Road We Traveled
The Memory Weaver
A Light in the Wilderness
One Glorious Ambition
The Daughter’s Walk
Where Lilacs Still Bloom
A Mending at the Edge
A Tendering in the Storm
A Clearing in the Wild
Barcelona Calling
An Absence So Great
A Flickering Light
A Land of Sheltered Promise
Hold Tight the Thread
Every Fixed Star
A Name of Her Own
What Once We Loved
No Eye Can See
All Together in One Place
Mystic Sweet Communion
A Gathering of Finches
Love to Water My Soul
A Sweetness to the Soul
N O V E L L A S
Sincerely Yours
A Log Cabin Christmas Collection
The American Dream Romance Collection
Romancing America: The Midwife’s Legacy
N O N F I C T I O N
Promises of Hope for Difficult Times
Aurora: An American Experience in Quilt, Community, and Craft
A Simple Gift of Comfort
A Burden Shared
Homestead
Eminent Orgonians: Three Who Matter (coauthor)
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2022 by Jane Kirkpatrick
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2022
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—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-3871-6
Scripture used in this book, whether quoted or paraphrased by the characters, is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
This book is a work of historical fiction based closely on real people and events. Details that cannot be historically verified are purely products of the author’s imagination.
Published in association with Joyce Hart of the Hartline Literary Agency, LLC.
Baker Publishing Group publications use paper produced from sustainable forestry practices and post-consumer waste whenever possible.
Epigraph

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.
—Neil Gaiman
Desire accomplished is sweet to the soul.
—Proverbs 13:19
Dedication

Dedicated to Jerry, one more time
Contents

Cover
Endorsements
Half Title Page
Also by Jane Kirkpatrick
Title Page
Copyright Page
Epigraph
Dedication
Cast of Chacters
Prologue
1. Making Happiness out of Muddle
2. The Ballad of Anne
3. Fault or Favor
4. The Smile That Conceals
5. Ways to Please
6. The Plot Thickens
7. Stealing
8. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
9. Lessons Learned
10. The Turning Point
11. No Magic Wand
12. Tending and Befriending
13. The Acting Daughter
14. What We May Be
15. Entertaining Angels
16. No End to That
17. Providence Moves
18. Wishing for What Isn’t
19. Always an Open Door
20. Hospitality and Hope
21. The Aftermath
22. Politics and Possibilities
23. The Blessings of Babes
24. On a Bed of Irish Linen
25. A Most Hospitable Place
26. The Lake of Uncertainty
27. We Carry On
28. The Place of the Unexpected
29. What Gifts Are These?
30. The Stories
31. The Arrival
32. A Daughter Lost
33. What the Heart Desires
34. Gifts in the Wilderness
35. Translations
36. This Day
37. Leavings
38. Family Legacy
Epilogue
Author’s Notes
Acknowledgments
Book Group Discussion Questions
A Sneak Peek of the Next Story
From Broken Things
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
Cast of Chacters

Mary “Mollie” Sheehan—an Irish daughter
James Sheehan—Mollie’s father
Patrick, Ellen, and Mary Sheehan—Mollie’s cousins
Anne Cleary Sheehan—stepmother to Mollie
Kate Sheehan—half sister
Jimmy Sheehan—half brother
Peter Ronan—(Row-NAN) editor, friend of James Sheehan
Jules Germain—student in Mollie’s Montana school
Father Van Gorp—Helena priest and matchmaker
Richard Egan —alcalde , mayor of San Juan Capistrano, friend
Martin and Louise Maginnis—congressman, friend, and partner of Peter Ronan; and his wife
Harry and Mrs. Lambert and Grace—agriculturist at the agency and his family
Hanna Hoyt—cook and sister of miller
Dr. E. L. Choquette and Hermine—agency physician and his wife
*Shows No Anger and son Paul—Salish friends of Mollie
Chief Arlee—Salish chief at Jocko Agency of Flathead Nation
Chief Charlo—Bitterroot Salish chief, non-treaty Flathead Nation
Chief Michelle—chief of Pend d’Oreille of Flathead Nation
Chief Joseph—Nez Perce warrior
Chiefs Looking Glass, White Bird, Sitting Bull, Eagle of the Light—part of Nez Perce War of 1877
Elizabeth Custer—widow of General Custer, author and speaker
Michel and Maria—blind interpreter and his wife
Children of the Ronans—Vincent, Mary, Gerald, Matthew, Louise, Katherine, Margaret, Isabel, Peter
*fully imagined characters, not a part of historical record
Prologue

I loved my father, but that didn’t mean I understood him. Nor that I ever pleased him, much as I tried. His disappointment shone in his Irish eyes like that of a teacher whose star pupil gives up academics to file a mining claim in Montana, choosing to wear pants instead of petticoats. My escape into fairy tales helped me face the trial between him and the other love of my life. “Your mother is turning in her grave that that man of yours has taken you into Indian wars,” my father told me. It was a painful time.
But I think my mother would have said, “Trust your husband, Mollie, until he gives you reason not to.” I last heard her lilting voice in 1858, when I was six. I remember her fanning my hair as long as Rapunzel’s out behind me to dry as we lay together on her Irish linen. We stared at cloudless Kentucky skies, her belly mounded with my soon-to-be-born brother. What she did say as I chattered about what I wanted to be when I grew up were these words: “Whatever you do, be kind, Mollie. Notice what others’ needs are and try to meet them.”
“You mean fetch Pa’s pipe before he asks?”
“Like that, yes.” She smiled and whispered her fingers across my forehead as we rested in the shade of an umbrella magnolia. How I wish she’d lived to see Montana. And San Juan Capistrano. And her son. And mine.
She stood, helped me up. She rolled up the linen.
“Let me, Mama.”
She nodded, watched, her hands on either hip, stretching her back. “I believe this child will arrive today.” She sighed, hugged my shoulder to her side. She smelled of lavender. “We’ll keep your papa happy. I’ll make that serviceberry pie he likes. That might please him.”
“Be kind.”
“Yes.” She smiled, then added, “To yourself, too, Mollie. And remember to be brave.”
I’d have done better with her advice if she’d been there to show the way.
ONE Making Happiness out of Muddle
O nce upon a time there was a place, a people, and a love as astonishing and rare as a blood moon over a Montana peak. I—Mary “Mollie” Catherine Fitzgibbon Sheehan—was forced to leave that place and love behind in 1869, complying with my father’s wishes without understanding why. But I never abandoned hope that one day I’d find my way back to that happy ending cherished in Ulster fairy tales, if not often in real life.
But my growing up occurred in a turbulent time. The War between the States raged. My father brought his brother and his three chi