Morning's Refrain (Song of Alaska Book #2)

Tracie Peterson

Description

As dark family secrets threaten the tranquility of the life he's come to love, Dalton Lindquist must make difficult choices about the future. To complicate matters, Phoebe Robbins falls into his life quite literally when Dalton rescues her after she tumbles overboard in the Sitka Harbor. He quickly loses his heart. But Dalton is not the only one who decides to seek Phoebe's attention--his best friend, Yuri, decides to court her when Dalton must travel from Sitka. But when Dalton realizes the depth of his love for Phoebe and returns, the two friends find that their battle for Phoebe's admiration is only the start of the problems that face them.

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 mars 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441207630
• Langue: English

Extrait

M orning s R efrain
SONG OF ALASKA Two
M orning s R efrain

TRACIE PETERSON
Morning s Refrain Copyright 2010 Tracie Peterson
Cover design by Jennifer Parker Cover photography by Mike Habermann Photography, LLC
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.
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Peterson, Tracie.
Morning s refrain / Tracie Peterson.
p. cm. - (Song of Alaska ; 2) ISBN 978-0-7642-0745-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) - ISBN 978-0-7642-0152-3 (pbk.) - ISBN 978-0-7642-0744-0 (large-print pbk.)
1. Widows-Fiction. 2. Family secrets-Fiction. 3. Alaska-Fiction. 4. Triangles (Interpersonal relations)-Fiction. I. Title.
PS3566.E7717M67 20010
813 .54-dc22
2009040891
To Steve, Debra, Noelle, and Carra
Thanks for all you do to help this ministry.
You are each so special to me, and I m blessed by your gifts and your love of God.
Books by Tracie Peterson
www.traciepeterson.com
A Slender Thread What She Left For Me Where My Heart Belongs
SONG OF ALASKA
Dawn s Prelude Morning s Refrain
ALAS KAN 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 Bells of Lowell (3 in 1)
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
*with Judith Miller **with Judith Pella
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 Heirs of Montana and Alas kan Quest series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana.
Visit Tracie s Web site at www.traciepeterson.com . Visit Tracie s blog at www.writespasssage.blogspot.com .
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 1

June 1889
I f a person needed to know what was happening in Sitka, the general store was the center of all news-whether true or gossip. Even so, this time Dalton Lindquist didn t anticipate his family being a part of the tale spewing from Mrs. Putshukoff s mouth.
And yet, to be honest, all of his life there had been a measure of secrecy about his past, mainly because no one was willing to talk about it. Some sort of trouble surrounded his birth or shortly thereafter-that much Dalton knew. His questions made his mother uncomfortable, and his father would admonish him to wait until he was older. Father had once admitted that someone had attempted to take Dalton and his mother had been wounded in the process, but he wouldn t say anything more. It was Mother s story to tell.
Then it s time she told me, he muttered, stalking down the street. I deserve to know the truth.
It was a good two-mile walk back home, but Dalton didn t mind. He used the time to clear his head and reconsider what he d heard Mrs. Putshukoff say to Arnie, the storekeeper. She had come into the store all excited. Apparently there had been some untimely deaths in the Tlingit village; a fight of some sort had seen two men killed and a woman gravely injured. Mrs. Putshukoff declared there hadn t been so much trouble since the mess that year Lydia Gray had come to live on the island.
Dalton had been standing near the back of the store, looking over a supply of paint, when the conversation had begun. He d tried to edge closer without looking obvious, but Arnie knew he was there and hurried to hush Mrs. Putshukoff. In a town where gossip ruled, Dalton found people particularly closemouthed about his past. Perhaps it was out of respect to his mother. She was quite beloved and a pillar of the community. Maybe folks felt they owed her their silence. Then again, so many of the folks who d lived in Sitka the year Dalton had been born were long gone.
The sun remained positioned high in the sky even though it was half past five. Summer days were long in Sitka, and there would still be a good four or five more hours of light. Today was even better, because they were blessed with no rain. The clear skies would give everyone a reason to celebrate with outdoor activities well into the evening.
Dalton s father always said this was his favorite time of the year, and Dalton felt much the same. It really was a pity that such a perfect day had to be ruined by the weight of the secrets concealed from him. The long walk home had done nothing to calm his spirit; if anything, Dalton felt his need for answers only heightened. He longed to know about his birth-about his real father. All he knew for certain was this: His mother had been a widow when she d come to Sitka, and she had come because her aunt lived on the island. Zerelda Rockford had established herself in this isolated place years before Dalton s mother arrived, and she welcomed her pregnant niece with open arms. Kjell Lindquist fell in love with Lydia, and they married shortly before Dalton s birth.
The next year, his older half sister Evie had joined them from Kansas City. When as a child he asked about Evie s husband and why she lived in Alaska instead of wherever her husband resided, Dalton was quickly dismissed with the assurance that it was not necessary for him to know and painful for Evie to discuss. It wasn t until just a few years ago that he d learned Evie had left her husband because he held her no love and truly hadn t wanted a wife. Still, there were secrets about her life in Kansas City that she refused to speak about, and Dalton was again left on the outside looking in.
Dalton! His ten-year-old sister, Kjerstin, came bounding down the hill toward the road. Look what I made. She held up a piece of cloth. It s a napkin, and I ve put a Z on it. I made it for Aunt Zerelda. Mama says I should put an R on it, too, so that comes next.
Pushing aside his thoughts, Dalton inspected the material. It s quite good. You ve really mastered embroidery.
Mama says I m a natural. She took back the napkin and fairly danced around Dalton. Her brown pigtails swung in the air. Britta isn t a natural. She always gets knots in her thread.
Britta s only seven. Give her some time, Dalton countered. And don t be so prideful. When someone says you re good at something, you re supposed to say thank you.
Kjerstin stopped and looked up at him most woefully. I m sorry. Thank you.
Dalton laughed. You needn t mourn the matter. He rubbed the top of her head. After so many years of being an only child, Dalton had been thrilled when his mother announced she was going to have a baby. He had wanted a brother, but Kjerstin had proved to be an interesting alternative.
Where s Mother?
She s in the garden. You want me to get her for you?
Dalton shook his head. No, I ll find her. You go back to your sewing.
I can come with you.
No. I want to talk to her alone.
Kjerstin put her hands on her hips. Why can t I come along?
He didn t want to alarm her, but neither would he lie. I just have some private questions to ask her. Nothing that needs to concern your pretty head.
Are you going to ask her about kissing a girl?
Dalton looked at his sister oddly. What in the world gave you that idea?
Well, I heard Papa and Mama talking about how it wouldn t be long before you noticed girls and found one to marry.
Laughing, Dalton whirled her in a circle, then set her back down on the ground. I ve already noticed girls, he told her conspiratorially, and I think I can figure out the kissing part by myself. He swatted her backside playfully. Now go on.
She giggled and hurried up the porch stairs. If you get married, she called back to him, I want to be in the wedding and wear a beautiful dress.
I ll do what I can to accommodate you, but first I need to find a bride.
Walking around the side of the house and toward the back, where his mother was bent over a row of plants, Dalton couldn t help but wonder what had prompted his mother and father s discussion about him getting married. Since finishing his education, Dalton s only focus had been on boat building-something he d worked at since turning thirteen. He was apprenticing with Mr. Belikov, the father of his best friend, Yuri. Building boats was all he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He loved the work, as well as the finished product. In fact, there wasn t a part of the process that he didn t love.
His mother straightened and caught sight of him. Dalton put aside his sister s prattle and thoughts of boats. Remembering why he d wanted to seek her out in the first pla