Coming Storm (Heirs of Montana Book #2)

Tracie Peterson

Description

Heirs of Montana book 2, the sequel to the bestselling Land of My Heart. With the love of her life missing in the Montana wilderness, a young woman must manage a ranch on her own. 1870 Montana ranching proves to be a hard life for Dianne Chadwick. Her &supl;ancé, Cole Selby, has yet to return from his journey east. Unbeknownst to her, he has been captured by Indians, and Takes-Many-Horses, who also loves Dianne, must decide whether or not to let him live. When her uncle is attacked by a grizzly, Dianne is left to care for his family and manage the ranch. Can she hold on to her faith and ride out the storm?

Sujets

• Sagas

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441203175
• Langue: English

Extrait

The COMING STORM
The COMING STORM

TRACIE PETERSON
The Coming Storm Copyright 2004 Tracie Peterson
Cover design by Jennifer Parker Andrea Gjeldum/Cadmium Design
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
ISBN 978-0-7642-2770-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Peterson, Tracie.
The coming storm / by Tracie Peterson.
p. cm. - (Heirs of Montana ; 2)
ISBN 0-7642-2770-X (pbk.) - ISBN 0-7642-2907-9 (large-print pbk.)
1. Women ranchers-Fiction. 2. Triangles (Interpersonal relations)-Fiction. 3. Indians of North America-Fiction. 4. Indian captivities-Fiction. 5. Bear attacks-Fiction. 6. Ranch life-Fiction. 7. Montana-Fiction. I. Title II. Series: Peterson, Tracie. Heirs of Montana ; 2.
PS3566.E7717C658 2004 813 .54-dc22 2004002026
To Tom and Dexter, with thanks for your friendship and the wonderful house you have built us. I pray God will richly bless you both.
Books by Tracie Peterson
www.traciepeterson.com
A Slender Thread . Where My Heart Belongs
SONG OF ALASKA
Dawn s Prelude . Morning s Refrain . Twilight s Serenade
STRIKING A MATCH
Embers of Love . Hearts Aglow .
ALASKAN QUEST
Summer of the Midnight Sun
Under the Northern Lights . Whispers of Winter
Alaskan Quest (3 in 1)
BRIDES OF GALLATIN COUNTY
A Promise to Believe In . A Love to Last Forever
A Dream to Call My Own .
THE BROADMOOR LEGACY*
A Daughter s Inheritance . An Unexpected Love
A Surrendered Heart
BELLS OF LOWELL*
Daughter of the Loom . A Fragile Design . These Tangled Threads
LIGHTS OF LOWELL*
A Tapestry of Hope . A Love Woven True . The Pattern of Her Heart.
DESERT ROSES
Shadows of the Canyon . Across the Years . Beneath a Harvest Sky
HEIRS OF MONTANA
Land of My Heart The Coming Storm
To Dream Anew . The Hope Within
LADIES OF LIBERTY
A Lady of High Regard . A Lady of Hidden Intent
A Lady of Secret Devotion
RIBBONS OF STEEL**
Distant Dreams . A Hope Beyond . A Promise for Tomorrow .
WESTWARD CHRONICLES
A Shelter of Hope . Hidden in a Whisper . A Veiled Reflection
YUKON QUEST
Treasures of the North . Ashes and Ice . Rivers of Gold .
TRACIE PETERSON is the author of over eighty 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.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 1
Montana Territory January 1870
D IANNE C HADWICK GAZED OUT ACROSS THE VALLEY FROM her favorite perch atop a hill on the Diamond V ranch. Gray clouds stretched across the skies from south to west, and biting cold winds whisked down from the mountains, announcing the coming storm. Uncle Bram promised it wouldn t be all that bad; how he knew, Dianne could never tell, but he seemed right more times than not. Perhaps it was the fact that Bram Vandyke had spent over twenty years in the wilds of this rugged, sometimes hostile, land. Perhaps it was because he listened to the intuitive nature of his wife, Koko, who happened to be half Blackfoot Indian.
No matter the reasoning, Dianne knew both Bram and Koko possessed a strong understanding of the land and the elements in Montana Territory. Dianne wished she could claim the same intimacy with the land, but like a suitor toying with her affections, Montana remained a mystery to Dianne in many ways.
The horse beneath her snorted and gave a toss of his head.
He was a young stallion, one Dianne had been working with for the past few weeks. Fiercely independent and stubborn, the young horse had given her nothing but trouble. Still Dianne persevered. She saw something in this horse-signs of strength and quality-that encouraged her hard work. But beyond that, Dianne felt the animal would one day be a good friend. She couldn t explain her thoughts, but ever since coming west on the Oregon Trail, Dianne had come to discover an affinity she had with animals, particularly horses.
When she looked at this black-really looked at him-she saw a long-term companion. Her uncle laughed at this idea. A stallion was much too temperamental for a woman, he d say. Dianne would only smile at this.
I m much too temperamental as well, she murmured. Aren t I, Jack?
The black seemed to understand the question and pawed the dirt in a little dance of affirmation. Dianne laughed. She d named him Jack after her mother s favorite Southern general, Stonewall Jackson. The name seemed appropriate for the horse. He emitted not only a powerful, striking nature, but a fearlessness that impressed most everyone who d dealt with him.
He reminded Dianne of Cole Selby, the man she loved. The man from whom she d been separated now for much too long. Cole had decided, after much prayer, to remain in Topeka for at least a year. He d gone to Kansas to see his parents and to try to straighten out their difficult past. Dianne had encouraged him and understood the need for him to make the trip; however, Cole s decision to stay on and help his father establish a farm had been difficult for Dianne to endure. Part of her was fiercely proud of her husband-to-be. She knew his actions revealed his faith that God could heal the bitterness of the past. Yet she longed for his presence.
He ll be home this summer, she told herself. Just across the valley the heavy slate gray clouds pressed in.
Come on, Jack. We d best head back. That snow will be here before we know it.
Dianne maneuvered Jack back to the trail and sighed. It was only January, and it would be at least June before she saw Cole again. Determined to push aside her loneliness, Dianne tried to focus on the many blessings she had at hand.
Koko, who d become such a dear friend, was expecting her second child, though the pregnancy had not gone as well as it had when she d carried little James. The boy, now a rambunctious two-year-old, held a very special place in Dianne s heart. She fulfilled her longing to be a mother by giving her love to Jamie.
My day will come, she reminded herself aloud. It s all about God s timing.
But God s timing was sometimes so hard to wait for. At twenty-two, Dianne found her patience weakened by letters from friends back in Missouri. Her girlfriends were married and happily settled in homes of their own. They wrote about the blessings of their new lives-of plans for large families. It cut Dianne deeply, while at the same time she rejoiced for them.
I just need to keep myself busy, Dianne murmured. That s the secret to enduring loneliness.
As she neared their cabin, Dianne was surprised to find Uncle Bram rushing out to greet her. It s Koko. She s having the baby.
But it s too early, Dianne said, kicking her boots out of the stirrups. She slid down Jack s muscular side as Bram took hold of his reins.
I know. I think something s wrong, he said, the worry contorting his expression.
Will you see to Jack? This bear of a man, who would think nothing of staring down a cantankerous bull or dealing with a rattlesnake, appeared terrified by the prospect of what might come.
Of course. Just help her, he said. I can t lose her.
Dianne knew Bram had been very concerned ever since Koko had taken sick with a cold just after the new year began. The cold had gradually worsened, and Dianne herself was worried that perhaps Koko s sickness had developed into pneumonia. The last few days the poor woman had struggled with a deep, painful cough and a tightness in her chest that left her breathless.
Maybe the coughing has brought things on, Dianne suggested. Bram s brow wrinkled. She s just so weak. I hate to see her like this.
Dianne squeezed his arm. It s not the best thing for the baby to come early, but these things can t always be helped. By Koko s calculations, the baby wasn t due for another four or five weeks. Dianne could only pray the baby would settle down and wait out the time. The frontier was hard enough on children. I ll see what I can do for her.
Dianne couldn t help but remember the little sisters she d lost on the wagon trail coming west. Ardith was only ten when she was swept away in a flood-swollen river. Betsy was six when a mule kicked her in the head, killing her instantly. The losses were hard for Dianne to bear. Hard, too, for their pregnant mother, who died later that same year, taking the unborn Chadwick sibling with her. That left Dianne only her older brothers: Trenton, whom she hadn t heard from in years, and the twins, Morgan and Zane. Zane was nearby, living the life of a frontier army soldier, while Morgan remained at the ranch.
Dianne made her way to the house, lost in thought. Morgan wouldn t stay on for long. Over the last few months he d taken to going off for days, sometimes weeks, by himself. He d heard about some caves to the northwest and had gone to explore them. Before that, he d traveled to the Yellowstone River country, anxious to see some of the wonders he d heard about. He d been turned back by hostile Indians, barely escaping death at one point. No, it wouldn t be long before Morgan left for good.
The cabin was deathly quiet. Di