Love's Mountain Quest (Hearts of Montana Book #2) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - M. Beller Misty

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146 pages

English

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Young widow Joanna Watson is struggling to make a new home for her five-year-old son, Samuel, in the little mountain town of Settler's Fort. When she returns home from work to find Samuel and the woman watching him missing, with no lawman in town, she enlists a man she prays has enough experience in this rugged country to help. Isaac Bowen wants nothing more than a quiet, invisible life in these mountains, far away from the bad decisions of his past. But he has a strong suspicion of who's behind the kidnapping, and if he's right, he knows all too well the evil they're chasing. As they press on against the elements, Joanna fights to hold on to hope, while Isaac knows a reckoning is coming. They find encouragement in the tentative trust that grows between them, but whether it can withstand the danger and coming confrontation is far from certain in this wild, unpredictable land.

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Historical romance

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	30 juin 2020
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781493421718
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	3 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0384€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Cover
Half Title Page
Books by Misty M. Beller
H EARTS OF M ONTANA
Hope’s Highest Mountain
Love’s Mountain Quest
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2020 by Misty M. Beller
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 2020
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 Control Number: 2019055368
ISBN 978-1-4934-2171-8
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by Kirk DouPonce, DogEared Design
Author is represented by Books & Such Literary Agency.
Dedication
To my agent, Cynthia. I love your heart and passion, and I continue to be amazed at God’s providence when He brought us together. I will ever be thankful for you!
Contents
Cover
Half Title Page
Books by Misty M. Beller
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Epigraph
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Epilogue
Sneak Peek of Misty M. Beller’s upcoming novel
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
Epigraph
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
ONE
J UNE 25, 1867 S ETTLER ’ S F ORT , M ONTANA T ERRITORY
T he woman stood in the wind, skirts billowing, hair flying, as though the gusts swept away all her inhibitions. All her sorrows. The heavy weight of her losses. With the warm gale buffeting her, she seemed to revel in the freedom.
Isaac Bowen couldn’t tear his eyes away.
Each time he visited Settler’s Fort, he made a point to check on Joanna Watson. This time he’d been lucky enough to spot her on his way into town, in the grassy area beside the swimming hole. The little-boy laughter and splashes filling the air had to belong to her high-spirited son, Samuel.
Since she and her lad were in the party he helped rescue from the mountain wilderness several months before, he couldn’t help but feel the need to make sure they fared well. Joanna had rented a house near the edge of town and taken on work as a washerwoman. She and her son seemed to have what they needed, but worry for her still ate at him. A woman without family in this rough territory faced a difficult existence, but every time he asked, she showed a capable front.
And now, seeing her unencumbered from worries, with the wind brushing her face . . . how could he have not realized the exhaustion she’d carried on their journey? In this moment, her face shone with a radiance that accentuated her beauty. Her pretty features had never been lost on him, but apparently he’d been too dense to see how much life weighed her down. Was it life in the little town of Settler’s Fort that caused her weariness? Or simply the challenges of trying to feed and clothe herself and her boy since her husband had succumbed to an ax wound seven months before?
“Ma, come see what I can do,” the little boy’s voice called from the water.
Mrs. Watson turned toward the stream but stilled when her gaze passed over Isaac. His heart stilled, as well, but he nodded in greeting and nudged his gelding forward. The two packhorses trailed them dutifully, worn out from the week spent traveling the mountains while Isaac hunted and trapped. Once he spent a few minutes with Mrs. Watson, trying to ascertain the truth of how she fared, he’d take his furs and part of the elk meat to trade for supplies at the mercantile. Maybe he’d ride the hour home tonight. Or maybe he’d stop in at the café for a home-cooked meal. The thought raised a growl from his middle.
Mrs. Watson shielded her eyes with a hand as he approached, and Isaac offered a friendly smile.
“Afternoon, ma’am.” He dismounted to greet her eye-to-eye.
“Mr. Bowen. This is a surprise.” She lowered the hand shadowing her face, revealing a soft smile that lit her pretty brown eyes. “Samuel and I are enjoying the pleasant Sunday afternoon.”
He sent a gaze toward the stream just as a red tousle of hair rose up from the water, droplets streaming down the boy’s tan back. He shook the water away like a puppy would. “Mr. Bowen. When did you get here?”
Isaac couldn’t help but match the boy’s grin. “Hello, Samuel. I stopped to say howdy on my way into town.”
“I’m glad. Watch what I can do. Mama, did you see me?” Samuel leaned sideways and popped one ear with his palm to dislodge liquid from the other ear.
Isaac glanced back at the boy’s mother, who met his look with a sheepish smile. She raised her voice to answer her son. “I didn’t see. Can you do it again?”
“Watch.” Samuel didn’t stop to ensure she watched, just dropped back under the water.
Isaac stepped closer to the bank’s edge to see what feat the lad had learned, and he could feel the weight of Mrs. Watson’s presence beside him.
Under the water’s surface, Samuel twisted and darted like a tadpole, then rose up with a splash. He shook again, then grinned up at them both. “Did you see me? I can do a flip.”
His smile was so infectious that it was impossible not to match it. “Good job. You’re swimming better than I could when I was your age.”
Samuel beamed, then turned and splashed back under the water, his five-year-old legs kicking for all he was worth.
Isaac chuckled as he turned back to the boy’s mother. Being around Samuel made him want to settle in and enjoy life as much as the lad did. But he’d better get moving if he was going to reach the mercantile before they closed. “I’m back from a hunting trip and have extra meat I’d like to give you. Do you want me to leave it at your house?”
A shadow passed over her face, bringing with it the weariness that had been there in days past. “I can’t take your food. Surely you need it yourself.”
He forced as casual an air as he could manage and shook his head. “I bagged two big elk and a bunch of smaller game. It will go to waste if I keep it all.” Which was true, although he’d be trading all the extra he and Pa couldn’t take on. But first he’d give as much to Mrs. Watson and her boy as he could get her to take.
Without waiting for an answer, he turned back to Samuel, who’d splashed up to the water’s surface again. “You’re swimming like a fish.” He raised a hand in farewell. “I’m headed on now, Samuel. Take care of your mama. See you soon.”
“Bye, Mr. Bowen.”
Isaac turned back toward his horses, and Mrs. Watson strolled beside him. “Is there anything I can do for you while I’m in town, ma’am?”
“Thank you for offering, but we’re managing just fine.” Her soft voice rolled out in a cadence so convincing, it had lulled him into belief the other times she’d responded such. Yet she must have repairs that needed doing or heavy lifting she couldn’t handle.
Unless other men in town saw to her needs. The thought sank in his gut like a stone.
Since he and Pa lived outside Settler’s Fort, he didn’t make it into town to check on her as often as he’d like. Of course the other men in town wouldn’t let her rest, as starved for female attention as many of them were. Did they badger her? Maybe that was why she’d developed such a convincing rebuttal.
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he neared his horses. “I’ll be in town overnight if there’s anything you think of.” He wouldn’t be pushy, but he couldn’t help the need to offer once more.
“Thank you, Mr. Bowen. It was good to see you again.”
The only response he could think of was a nod, and then he took up the reins and mounted.
As he rode away, he couldn’t help a quick glance back. Mrs. Watson stood in the same place, face tilted toward the sun. Her willowy figure looked so slight with the breeze whipping her skirts, brushing her feathery brown hair around her face.
If only there was more he could do to help her.

Joanna Watson’s shoulders sagged under the Monday evening strain. The weight of her worries seemed to wrench every muscle, every weary limb. And as she walked along the quiet main street of Settler’s Fort, she let herself succumb to the ache. Just for a moment.
Life was simply too hard sometimes. Just yesterday she’d been watching Samuel dart through the water as they’d enjoyed their Sunday, her one day of rest.
But today’s work had exhausted every renewed part of her. If only she hadn’t chosen laundry as her line of work in Settler’s Fort. But there weren’t any other suitable ways to bring in enough wages for food and shelter.
This new life she was trying to create for herself and her son hadn’t turned out the way she’d hoped for them. And she wasn’t quite sure what to do about it.
The last time she’d had to create a new life—after her parents and sister died in the train crash—she’d married Robert. But he wasn’t here to save her now.
She had to manage on her own.
She probably shouldn’t have rushed to finish her work early today. Should have worked on the stack of washing she was saving for the next day, but her new friend Laura had taken Samuel swimming again to escape the heat of the late June afternoon. And Joanna hadn’t been able to squelch the impulse to meet them with a picnic for an early evening meal.
Her young son had so few pleasures these days. She owed Laura a favor for offering to take him from the heat of their little home and allow Joanna an afternoon to work without having to keep him occupied, too. Swimming had quickly