Promise to Believe In (Brides of Gallatin County Book #1)

Tracie Peterson

Description

Gwen, Beth, and Lacy Gallatin fashion a life for themselves in the Montana wilds, operating a roadhouse that is located at the crossroads of two major stage lines. When their father is accidentally killed, the oldest sister, Gwen, reasons that she's cursed. After all, death seems to haunt her: her mother, now her father...and she was married for a mere ten days before her husband died from a bout of measles.As Gwen and her sisters struggle to maintain the inn on their own, an unexpected visitor adds to the mayhem. Hank Bishop claims to be searching for something in the possession of Gwen's late husband. But mayhem of another sort builds in Gwen's heart as she finds a growing attraction to this man. Can she dare to hope that love might again be hers?

Sujets

• Romance

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441203281
• Langue: English

Extrait

A PROMISE TO BELIEVE IN
A PROMISE TO BELIEVE IN
Brides of Gallatin County BOOK ONE
TRACIE PETERSON
A Promise to Believe In Copyright 2008 Tracie Peterson
Cover design by Andrea Gjeldum Cover photography by Karen Woodburn
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.
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Peterson, Tracie.
A promise to believe in / Tracie Peterson.
p. cm.-(Brides of Gallatin County ; 1)
ISBN 978-0-7642-0586-6 (alk. paper)-ISBN 978-0-7642-0148-6 (pbk.) 1. Sisters-Fiction. 2. Frontier and pioneer life-Fiction. 3. Montana-Fiction. I. Title.
PS3566.E7717P76 2008
813 .54-dc22
2008027992
To Deb and Brian, who give me hours of radio listening, laughs, and encouragement!
Books by Tracie Peterson
www.traciepeterson.com A Slender Thread What She Left For Me Where My Heart Belongs
S ONG OF A LASKA
Dawn s Prelude Morning s Refrain
A LASKAN Q UEST
Summer of the Midnight Sun Under the Northern Lights Whispers of Winter Alaskan Quest (3 in 1)
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
R IBBONS OF S TEEL
Distant Dreams A Hope Beyond A Promise for Tomorrow
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 Judith Pella
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 H EIRS OF M ONTANA and A LASKAN Q UEST series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana.
Visit Tracie s Web site at www.traciepeterson.com .
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER ONE M AY 1879, M ONTANA T ERRITORY
Miss Gwen! Miss Gwen! You gotta come quick!
Gwendolyn Gallatin looked up from her sewing and cocked her head to one side, unknowingly imitating the family dog, Major Worthington. The sounds of occasional gunfire and celebrating from the saloon next door had been frequent this evening, but she was surprised to hear her name above the ruckus.
A young boy of fourteen burst through the open front door, panting. Sandy hair fell across his dirt-smudged face. Miss Gwen! He could scarcely get out the words.
Goodness, Cubby, whatever is the matter? Gwen put aside her sewing and got to her feet as her sisters, Lacy and Beth, joined her from the kitchen.
It s your . . . your pa, Cubby said, regaining his wind. He s been shot clean through. My pa says to come quick.
Gwen s hand went to her throat as she exchanged a frantic look with her sisters. Lacy, who was the youngest of the three and not yet twenty, raced to the front door. She wore a long split skirt that allowed her easier movement, but Beth, dressed very ladylike, was right behind her.
Take us to him, Cubby. Gwen felt as if the words were forced from her throat as she moved leaden limbs to follow her sisters.
He s in the street. Just in front of Pa s saloon. Cubby followed the girls out the door, Gwen at his side.
A small crowd had already gathered when Gwen arrived. Lacy was kneeling in the dirt beside her father, and Gwen watched as Beth touched a lace-edged handkerchief to the older man s chest. When Gwen approached, the crowd parted, as if on cue. She could see the ashen color of her father s face and hear the whispered murmurs among the rough cowboys, who smelled of sweat and beer.
Gwennie, her father whispered as she knelt beside him.
She put her hand to his head. He already felt cold. Let s get him to the house, she told her sisters.
Don t, her father said, straining to breathe. I m . . . done for.
Nonsense, Pa. People get shot all the time, Lacy said, pushing back an errant strand of her cinnamon-colored hair.
Beth wept softly, causing their father to give a slow shake of his head. Don t . . . be . . . cryin , Bethy. I m heaven-bound. He gave the girls an awkward smile and closed his eyes. Don t . . . make . . . the coffee . . . too weak, girls. And then he was gone.
Gwen looked at her father as if expecting something more. Surely he d just succumbed to the pain. He couldn t be dead.
Beth looked up at Gwen. He s not breathing.
Lacy was calling him. Pa! Pa!
The entire event unfolded like a bad dream. People were saying things, bustling about, but Gwen was frozen in place, unable to move or hear them clearly. Their father was dead. What were they going to do now?
I ll take care of this, Simon Lassiter said, helping Gwen to her feet. His brother, Nicholas, was right at her side. The Lassiter boys had always been good friends to the Gallatins.
Gwen looked at him, noting the sorrow in his eyes. What should we do? she asked softly.
We get the sheriff, that s what, Lacy declared. She looked at the gathering of cowboys. Which one of you shot him?
Nobody shot him, Miss Lacy, Cubby said, shaking his head. Leastwise, not on purpose. The boys-they was shootin it up, celebratin .
Cubby s right, his father replied. Rafe Reynolds puffed on a cigar for a moment, then motioned to the gathering of drunken men. Nobody was aiming to hurt George Gallatin.
But he s dead, just the same, Lacy said, looking to Gwen. Someone needs to get the law out here. She began to cry. Pa deserves justice. Beth put her arm around Lacy and nodded.
You ladies go on back to the roadhouse, Simon instructed. We ll take George on over to the shop. Nick can ride for the sheriff while I get George . . . well . . . get him ready to . . . ah . . . bury. Simon wore a look suggesting he d just as soon be wrestling a grizzly.
I ll bring his suit, Gwen said without emotion. The shock of the situation washed her in a numbing sensation. Lacy and Beth were crying, but tears wouldn t come to Gwen s eyes. It was senseless to cry. Her father was dead, and it was clearly her fault as much as the man who d fired the gun. After all, she was the one who d sent him out that evening. And she was the one who d been cursed.

I can t believe this has happened, Lacy said as she stood beside the still-open grave of their father.
At nineteen, Lacy was the youngest of the Gallatin girls, as they were often referred to. She was more tomboy than lady and generally shocked social convention by donning boy s britches to ride astride or climb up on the roof to reset a shingle or two. She was the son their father never had, and Gwen relied on her for the heavier work around the Gallatin House.
Dave Shepard said it was an accident, Gwen said, looking off past the grave to the crowd of people.
Dave would say that, Lacy remarked, the sarcasm thick in her voice. I talked to him and to Sheriff Cummings. Neither of them think it s anything more than an unfortunate incident.
Beth dabbed her eyes. There s no way to prove who did it. The men were rowdy, and everyone was shooting it up. At least, that s what Rafe said.
Lacy crossed her arms. I believe him about as much as I would believe the Major incapable of killing chickens.
Gwen cast a sidelong glance at the family dog that had sat faithfully beside the grave of his master for over two hours. Talk like this won t get us anywhere. She looked at her sisters, read the deep pain in their eyes, and wondered if they blamed her for their father s death. God knew she did.
Well, I m gonna go give Deputy Shepard a piece of my mind, Lacy said, stomping off and pulling her skirts up high enough to avoid the better portion of the muddy path.
Beth looked at Gwen. I d better go with her.
Yes. Gwen knew Lacy s penchant for taking umbrage with Dave Shepard and any other man who stood in her way. Having been only five when their mother died in childbirth, Lacy seemed to carry a perpetual grudge against the world-but especially toward the opposite sex.
Beth hurried after Lacy as Simon Lassister made his way to Gwen s side. Sure sorry about your pa, Gwen.
Gwen nodded. I know you are, Simon. I appreciate the casket you made. Let me know what I owe you.
Nothin at all. Nick and I wanted to do it by way of payin our last respects. He lowered his gaze to the dirt. He sure didn t deserve to get shot down like that.
No, Gwen admitted. He didn t. If I hadn t sent him over to your place to get the knives sharpened, it probably wouldn t have happened.
Simon looked back up. This wasn t your fault, Gwen. You can t go blamin yourself.
I know, she replied, knowing this was the answer he expected. She d