Taming the Wind (Land of the Lone Star Book #3) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Tracie Peterson

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141 pages

English

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Peterson Continues a Bestselling Tradition!When Cassie Lowe goes to live with her sister in the years following the Civil War, she is reacquainted with a man who once saved her life, Tyler Atherton. But Cassie is no longer the lighthearted young woman he once knew. She is now a widow with a young daughter, and she is nursing the disappointments and hurts from a difficult marriage. Though she longs to open her heart again, she is bound by fear and mistrust.Tyler has demons of his own. Still haunted by the knowledge that his father was murdered by Comanches, he puts all his focus on reclaiming his inheritance: the ranch stolen from his family as punishment for his fighting for the Confederacy. With his affection for Cassie growing, he longs to provide a home and future for her and her daughter.Though yearning to pledge their love, both Cassie and Tyler struggle to conquer their fears. Will Indian attacks, post-war renegades, and the hardship of life on the Texas plains destroy their future? Or will they find the strength to surrender their wills to God...and embrace his perfect plan?

Sujets

Historical romance

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 septembre 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441260383
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0432€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

© 2012 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 2012
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.
ISBN 978-1-4412-6038-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Baker Publishing Group does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence.
Cover design by Jennifer Parker
Cover photography by Mike Habermann Photography, LLC
To Dr. Dennis Maier,
an extraordinary surgeon who has
a great sense of humor and bedside manner.
God bless your work!
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
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
About the Author
Books by Tracie Peterson
Back Ads
Back Cover
1
North Texas, Mar ch 1868
I t is a lovely place for a horse farm,” Carissa Lowe told her sister. She glanced around the lush, green acreage. The serenity found here spoke to her in a way the city hadn’t. “I can certainly see why Brandon loves it so.”
“Well, I love it even more now that you and Gloria have decided to join us. I’m glad that Mother and Father decided to go north to see Uncle Robert. The trip away from Corpus Christi will do Mother a world of good.”
Carissa glanced to where her nearly two-year-old daughter, Gloria, played happily with Laura and Brandon’s little boy, Daniel. At a year and a half, he cautiously explored his environment, while Gloria had seemingly no fear whatsoever. Even now she was trying to climb the rail posts of the nearest fence.
“Gloria, get down from there,” Carissa called. “You know you aren’t supposed to climb the fence.” In the distance she heard the low rumble of thunder.
“You too, Daniel,” Laura added. The child looked at his mother momentarily before refocusing on the fence.
Carissa went in the direction of her daughter and caught up to her before Gloria could renew her efforts. “It’s nap time,” she told her daughter.
“No nap! No nap!” Gloria declared with great insistence.
“You too, little man,” Laura said, grasping her son’s hand.
Daniel wiggled to get away, but Laura held him fast. Carissa stroked her daughter’s blond hair and smiled as she calmed. “Just take a very little nap, and then we will go see the new horses.”
Gloria clapped her hands. “Horsey. I wanna see horsey.”
“After your nap,” Carissa assured. Thunder rumbled once again, and Carissa looked beyond the trees to the billowing clouds on the horizon. They didn’t seem particularly threatening or dark, but apparently a storm was brewing. “I suppose it’s going to rain,” she told her sister. Clapping had become Gloria’s new means of communication, and she gave a hearty applause at the comment about rain.
Laura lifted Daniel to her left hip. “We’d best get the laundry off the line in a hurry.”
“If you’ll take the children, I’ll get the clothes,” Carissa replied. Laura nodded and swung Gloria onto her right hip.
“I’ll be there to tuck you in, Gloria. Just get on your bed and wait for me.” Carissa leaned over to kiss her daughter’s head, then hurried to retrieve the laundry basket.
She couldn’t help but smile as she thought about her child. Thunder and winds never seemed to disturb Gloria, and Carissa couldn’t help but wonder if it was somehow related to the fact that Gloria had been conceived and carried amidst great strife and trial. Daniel often cried during storms, but not Gloria. Storms were just a way of life for Carissa and Gloria.
There were just a few dresses and shirts to contend with, so Carissa pulled them quickly from the line and placed them in the basket. There was a nice table on the back porch where she could dump the load and come back for the towels. She worked quickly and barely beat the rain as she pulled the last of the towels from the line. By the time she made it back to the house, the rain began to pour in a fury.
She left the towels on the table with the other things and made her way to the room she shared with Gloria. To her surprise, the child was already asleep, and Carissa couldn’t help but sit down beside her for a moment. It was a miracle the child had ever been born. Gloria’s father, Malcolm Lowe, had thrown Carissa down a flight of stairs when she was only a few weeks pregnant. She’d been certain she would miscarry, but when she didn’t, Carissa thought of the unborn child as her consolation for a miserable marriage. A short time later, her husband again threatened her life.
Though she’d fallen for his charms as they courted, Malcolm had revealed his true nature once they’d wed. With the Union Army after him, he’d done his best to slip from their capture by kidnapping Carissa and Laura, figuring to use them to keep the law at bay. He also planned to kill them both for interfering in his plans. Later, when surrounded by soldiers, Malcolm attempted to escape by water and ended up throwing Carissa into the Gulf off the shores of Corpus Christi, in order to distract his pursuers. But that distraction had been short-lived. In the end, Malcolm had perished from wounds given him by the soldiers. Laura, too, had nearly drowned, but Brandon had saved her. Tyler Atherton had been responsible for rescuing Carissa.
When Malcolm nearly succeeded in ending her life, Carissa found little to live for, she was so devoid of hope. But the growing life inside of her compelled Carissa to live . . . and Gloria was the beautiful result.
“You are more than my consolation,” she told Gloria, kissing the sleeping girl. “You are the very reason I rise in the morning.”
Daniel was fussing, and Carissa knew her sister would have a difficult time calming him, especially with the constant rumble of the thunder. Laura would no doubt be a while, rocking and singing the boy to sleep.
Carissa quietly exited the bedroom and walked to the front-room window to look out on the storm. Thunder rumbled again and again while the rain steadily fell. Just a spring storm, she thought. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any hail or tornadoes to contend with. She sighed and watched a bit longer at the window.
She had never intended to live here on the farm with Laura and Brandon. For the last two years she’d resided with her parents in Corpus Christi and quite happily vowed to remain there. Well, perhaps happy wasn’t a word that Carissa could associate with her life. She had never felt all that close to her mother and father, and she knew full well that the fault was her own. Widowhood and being a mother had softened her heart in a way that made Carissa regret her actions in the past.
With Malcolm dead at the hands of the army, Carissa was grateful for her parents’ care and accepted that widowhood would be her lot in life. In fact, she cherished it. She never again wanted to have to deal with a deceiving husband. Instead, she would use her days to be a good mother and perhaps improve her relationship with her parents.
Of course, despite her resolve, the men didn’t keep from calling. She had never suffered for suitors. But after Malcolm, Carissa was wary of any man save her father, brother-in-law, and Tyler Atherton and in truth she hadn’t had many dealings with the latter. After he had saved her life, Carissa had seen very little of the man, and it was just as well. Something about Tyler’s gentle manner touched her heart in a way she would just as soon forget. She reasoned she only felt drawn to him because he’d saved her life. It seemed a sensible explanation.
It was best, Carissa determined, to remain on her guard where men were concerned. She’d thought she’d known Malcolm so well, despite the fact that he always told her his business was to remain his alone, and that she should refrain from asking too many questions.
Carissa could never quite understand his insistence until the truth came out and she learned that for Malcolm, the War Between the States had never ended. Brandon once told her that it hadn’t ended for a lot of people. Even now, nearly three years after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, folks were still at war. At least their own personal war.
Fortunately, Carissa’s family were Union supporters. So, too, were many of the families in their social circle of Corpus Christi. There were plenty of Confederates, but also a good number of people who simply supported Texas rather than siding with either the North or the South. Carissa knew that Tyler Atherton had fought for the South, just as her husband had. But where Malcolm had been made hateful and bitter by the war, Tyler was sad and regretful. She much preferred the latter’s way of thinking. She couldn’t see how either side had truly won anything, given that families had been set against each other and hundreds of thousands of lives had been lost.
I’m only twenty-one, she thought, yet already my life feels as if it has concluded.
“You seem awfully quiet,” Laura said, entering the room. “I suppose you’re thinking deep thoughts.”
Carissa startled at the comment. “I was, actually.” She smiled. “Did Daniel finally settle down?”
Laura smiled. “Yes. He was very tired and despite the storm, he nodded right off. I hope this next baby is a little . . . calmer,” she said, putting her hand to her growing abdomen. “But no matter. August can’t get here soon enough, and I’m so glad that you’re here to help. Alread