Beneath a Harvest Sky (Desert Roses Book #3)

Tracie Peterson

Description

As a Harvey tour guide, Rainy Gordon spends her days in the magnificent landscape of New Mexico. Having already fled a tainted past, Rainy is alarmed when she becomes a suspect in an investigation of stolen Hopi Indian artifacts. The man she loves has been secretly asked to assist the law enforcement groups in finding the thief. When all evidence points in her direction, will the truth be revealed in time?

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2003
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441203168
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

© 2003 by Tracie Peterson
Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2010
Ebook corrections 04.18.2016 (VBN), 02.23.2107
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.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-0316-8
Cover design by Koechel Peterson & Associates
To Rainy You are a light and joy in our lives. May God bless you and grow you into a beautiful young woman. Love, Nana
CONTENTS
COVER
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT PAGE
DEDICATION
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
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
OTHER BOOKS BY TRACIE PETERSON
BACK COVER
CHAPTER ONE New Mexico, Late March 1931
W e’ll never stick to schedule if you keep putting the Cadillac in the sand,” Rainy Gordon teased her twin brother. She cast a glance over her shoulder at the Harvey House tourists, or “dudes,” as the staff called them, who waited rather impatiently in the noon sun. Lowering her voice she asked, “How can I help?”
Gabe Gordon, better known as Sonny, looked up from beneath the brim of his ten-gallon cowboy hat and smiled. “Well, if you’re done merely supervising, you could get behind the wheel and try to move this beast forward when I give you the okay. I think I’ve cleared as much sand as I can back here, and those rocks you brought me are bound to help give her a little more traction. But just to be safe, I’ll push.”
Rainy gave a salute from the brim of her uniform hat. She was grateful the Fred Harvey Company didn’t require their women couriers to dress in the overexaggerated cowboy attire. Still, looking down at her Navajo tunic of dark purple velvet, silver concha belt, and squash-blossom necklace, she supposed she played the role of Indian to her brother’s cowboy act.
Sliding behind the wheel of the Harvey touring car, Rainy pushed back her braided strawberry blond hair and waited for Sonny to give her the go-ahead. Getting stuck in the sand wasn’t that unusual along some of the wilder stretches of New Mexico and Arizona, but they were only five miles outside of Santa Fe, and this little mishap should never have happened. Sonny hadn’t had his mind on business as of late, but Rainy was hard-pressed to know what consumed his thoughts.
“Give it a try—just don’t press down too hard on the accelerator. Just ease her out,” Sonny called.
Rainy did as he instructed and with a jump and a lurch the Caddy reared onto solid ground, causing the dudes to cheer. Rainy giggled to herself knowing that the teenage daughters of one of their clients would surely see Sonny as their knight in shining armor. They’d positively swooned over him since first joining the tour three days ago. But that was just as the Harvey Company planned it to be.
After three years of working as a Detour courier, Rainy knew the routine better than most. She was in the entertainment business, just as surely as if she starred on the silver screen. Her job was to make people forget their problems and entice them into the wonderful, mysterious world of the Desert Southwest. As a tour guide, Rainy could direct their attention to the subtle and not-so-subtle nuances that shrouded the Indian lands and add intrigue and excitement to their otherwise dull, fearful lives.
For in 1931, there were a great many reasons to fear.
Hard times were upon them as the country was rapidly sinking into a stifled economy. Some claims led folks to believe that good times were just around the corner and that people owed it to their country to open their wallets and spend. At the same time, other predictions were far more discouraging. Doom and gloom hung over the country like an ill-tempered relative who threatened to extend his visit and take up permanent residency.
Rainy worried about her mother and father, who lived in Albuquerque. Her father worked for the university there, and while his job seemed perfectly secure, Rainy knew the economy’s failings could easily change that. After all, a college education was a luxury, and many people would forego it in a flash in hopes of securing stable work in its place. If that happened often enough, her father would no longer be needed to teach history and archaeology.
“We need to move out,” Sonny called, putting an end to Rainy’s reflections. “Why don’t you gather your dudes and let me get back in the driver’s seat?”
“Only if you think you can keep us out of the sand,” Rainy said, sliding from the seat. “I honestly don’t know what gets into you sometimes, but maybe you could tell me about it over dinner. We can start with where your mind was when you put us in that hole.”
Sonny shrugged and positioned himself behind the wheel, suddenly growing sober. “We should talk, but right now isn’t the time.”
His serious tone caused Rainy’s imagination to run rampant. Was something wrong? Did he have some word about their jobs? Was the company about to fold? There had been all kinds of rumors suggesting major changes. Maybe Sonny had more information than she realized.
Plastering a smile on her face, Rainy went to the overweight matronly mother and her two teenage daughters. “We need to get everyone back in the touring car,” she announced. The woman, red-faced and perspiring fiercely, nodded and motioned to her brood.
“Mother, tell Miss Gordon to let me sit up front with Sonny,” the elder of the two girls whined. The girl had made eyes at Sonny all day long. She’d even tried to throw herself into his arms by faking a fall from a ladder, only to have her sister bear the brunt of her descent.
The woman looked to Rainy as if to comply with her daughter’s request, but Rainy gave her no chance to speak. Instead she moved forward to take her place. “Let’s hurry, folks. Santa Fe is just over the hill. We have supper waiting for us at La Fonda, and let me tell you, the fare there is not to be missed. Tonight they’re offering a variety of choices including some wonderful Mexican dishes, broiled salmon steaks, and roast larded loin of beef with the most incredible mushroom sauce.”
She positioned herself inside the front passenger door without actually taking her seat. “And for those of you who haven’t yet stayed at La Fonda, you are in for a treat. The hotel has been completely renovated and offers some of the nicest rooms along the Harvey line.”
The plump mother consoled her daughters and shooed them into the backseat of the touring car as an elderly couple took the seats directly behind the driver’s place. Had the girl not insisted on pouting and causing a scene, the older pair might not have robbed her of at least sitting behind Sonny. Rainy fought to hide a grin as she did a final head count and climbed into the car.
“We’re all here,” she told her brother.
“Good thing too. We’re losing the daylight.” Sonny put the car into gear and headed down the road.
Rainy breathed a sigh of relief when they pulled up to La Fonda. The adobe hotel was a home away from home for her tourists, and she was only too happy to turn them over to the Harvey House for the evening.
In order to save Sonny as much grief as possible, Rainy rounded up her charges and led them into the lobby without giving them a chance for argument.
“Your luggage will be delivered to your rooms,” she told them.
“I wanted to tell Sonny good-bye,” the elder of the teenagers pouted. She threw Rainy a look that suggested the guide had just separated the child from her true love.
“Sonny’s very busy arranging for the luggage. You may see him around the hotel later,” Rainy replied.
She turned her guests over to the registrar and hurried back to the car to help Sonny with their things. “Give me your bag,” she told her brother. They shared a two-room apartment at a boardinghouse very near to La Fonda. Many of the couriers and a few other drivers lived there as well. It was inexpensive and the food was good. Still, it wasn’t home. Home was in Albuquerque with her mother and father. She had cherished their little adobe house for as long as she could remember. Her mother had planted a lush garden in the courtyard and Rainy loved to spend hours there just dreaming of the future and all the plans she had.
“Pedro is already taking care of the dudes’ luggage,” Sonny said, handing her his small bag. He pulled his cowboy hat off and used his oversized kerchief to wipe his brow and sweat-soaked auburn hair. “I thought that tour would never end,” he declared.
Rainy leaned into him good-naturedly and giggled. “But you’re soooooo handsome,” she mimicked in the voice of the teenage tourists. “Your eyes are dreamy.” She batted her lashes at her brother and both of them burst into laughter.
“You’d better behave. Seems to me you get more than your share of attention when those dudes come in the unmarried male variety.”
Rainy shrugged and hoisted her own bag to balance Sonny’s. “If God would just tell me which one He has in mind for me to marry, I’d happily take their attention.”
Sonny sobered. “How can you be so sure your husband will come by way of the tourists?”
“I don’t know that he will,