Summer of the Midnight Sun (Alaskan Quest Book #1) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Tracie Peterson

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170 pages

English

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Bestselling Author Tracie Peterson Embarks on a New SeriesLeah Barringer's world is turned upside down when her brother brings home Jayce Kinicaid, the man who spurned her ten years ago. Part of an expedition to the Arctic, Jayce shocks Leah by inviting her brother along.Helaina Beecham arrives in Alaska to hunt down the man the Pinkertons have sent her to apprehend. But when Jayce Kincaid appears to have been in two places at the same time, Helaina wonders if there might be a larger problem with the case.Despite confusing, conflicting evidence, can Helaina discover the truth? Can Leah's injured heart ever love again?

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 mars 2006
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781585588701
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0202€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

© 2006 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 05.02.2016
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 Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-58558-870-1
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Cover design by Ann Gjeldum
To Jayce
You inspired the name of
my character and have shown
the light of Christ in your
heart and actions. I’m
proud to call you friend.
May God ever direct
your steps.
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
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
About the Author
Books by Tracie Peterson
Back Cover
Chapter One
L AST C HANCE C REEK , A LASKA T ERRITORY MAY 1915
W here is he?” Leah Barringer whispered, scanning the horizon for a glimpse of her brother and his dogsled team. He should have been home weeks earlier, and yet there was no sign of him.
A cold May wind nipped at her face, but it was the hard glint of sun against snow that made Leah put her hand to her brow. They had suffered through weeks of storms, so the sunshine was most welcome, but it was also intense and blinding.
“Jacob, where are you?” Her heart ached with fear of what might have happened. The Alaskan wilderness was not a place to be toyed with, and though Jacob was well versed in the ways of this land, Leah feared for him nevertheless.
Jacob had left nearly two months earlier for Nome. Hunting had been poor in the area and many families were going hungry. He had made the decision to travel to Nome for basic supplies and to replenish the store of goods he and Leah sold from their makeshift trading post. A master with dogs, Jacob figured he could hike out by sled and be back before the spring thaw made that mode of travel too difficult. It was a trip that should have taken two to three weeks at the most.
Storms had made it impossible to send someone out to check on Jacob, and hunger made it unwise. There was nothing to be gained by risking more lives. Besides, she reassured herself, Jacob is as capable as any native Alaskan . He had the best dogs in all of Alaska too. Leah tried not to worry, but Jacob was all she had. Since their mother died when they were children, they had clung to each other for comfort and support. Their father, a grand dreamer, had dragged them to Alaska during the Yukon gold rush some seventeen years earlier. After his death, Jacob and Leah had made a pact to always take care of each other.
Not that she didn’t want more.
Leah was facing the harsh reality that she was nearly thirty years old, and the idea of reaching that milestone was more than she could bear. She longed for a husband and children, but here in the frozen north of the Seward Peninsula, there were few prospects. The natives had little interest in white women. The whites were perceived with skepticism at best and animosity at worst. Most of the natives she and Jacob befriended accepted them well enough, but none had shown an interest in marrying either Leah or her brother.
Leah wasn’t sure she could be happy marrying a native anyway. She was not completely comfortable with their lifestyle and interests. Many were steeped in superstitions that she and Jacob could never be a part of. She had shared her Christian faith with anyone who would listen, but traditions and fears were strong motivators compared to white man’s stories of a Savior and the need to put aside sinful ways.
And though Nome sported more white men than other areas, most were aging and grizzled, and not at all what Leah perceived as husband material, furthering her matrimonial woes. Added to this, many were just as steeped in their traditions and superstitions as the natives. Most had come up for the gold rush in Nome—hoping against the odds to make their fortune. Few had actually succeeded, and many had lost hope long ago, giving their lives to a bottle or to some other form of destruction.
Ten years ago Jacob and Leah discussed their desires to marry and start families of their own. They agreed if either one found true love, they wouldn’t feel obligated to forsake this for the needs of their sibling. Leah had thought they would both find mates and settle down to raise families, but this hadn’t happened.
Her guardian after her father’s death, Karen Ivankov, understood Leah’s distress. The same thing had happened to Karen in her youth. Love and romance had eluded her until she was in her thirties and alone in the wilderness of the Yukon.
Sometimes Karen’s long wait to find love and marriage encouraged Leah. Karen often said that when the time was right, God would send a husband to Leah. Leah prayed Karen was right. She prayed for a husband, even as she prayed for Jacob to find a wife. Because, despite their pact from so long ago, Leah knew she would want Jacob to be happily settled as well. But so far God had only sent one person that Leah felt certain she could love.
Ten years ago she had been almost twenty, and Jayce Kincaid had been all she’d ever wanted in a husband. Strong and handsome, brave and trustworthy. At least she’d believed he’d been trustworthy. But what had she known of men at the tender age of twenty? Karen had taught her not to judge men by outward appearances, but rather to test their hearts. Leah had given Jayce her heart, but he hadn’t wanted it. He’d actually laughed when she’d declared her love.
“Jayce, I have to tell you something,” Leah had told him after arranging to meet him privately.
“What is it, Leah?” he’d asked. “You seem so all-fired serious. Is something wrong?”
“No . . . at least not to my way of thinking.”
He had been so handsome in his flannel shirt and black wool trousers. His dark brown hair needed a good cut, but Leah found the wildness rather appealing.
“So what was so important that you dragged me away from the warmth of the house?”
Leah swallowed hard. “I think . . . that is . . . well . . .” She stammered over the words she’d practiced at length. Drawing a deep breath, she blurted it out. “I think I’ve fallen in love with you.”
Jayce laughed out loud, the sound cutting through her heart. “Leah, it’s best you don’t do any thinking, if that’s what you’re coming to conclude.”
Leah shook her head, her cheeks feeling hotter by the minute. “Why would you say that? Have you no feelings for me?”
“Well, sure I have feelings for you. You’re a sweet girl, but you’re way too young to know what love is all about.”
“I’m nearly twenty years old!” she protested.
“My point exactly. You aren’t even of legal majority. How can you trust yourself to know what the truth of your heart might be?” He picked up a rock and tossed it into the creek that ran behind the Ivankov home. “You’re just Jacob’s kid sister.”
“And you were cruel,” Leah whispered, her thoughts coming back to the present. She wiped a tear from the edge of her eye. How long would it hurt? Surely there was someone she might come to love as much as she had loved Jayce Kincaid. But it was always Jayce’s face she saw—his voice she heard.
Maybe I’m too picky, she thought as she made her way back into her inne . It wasn’t a true inne, but it served nearly as well. Instead of being mostly underground, like the native homes, the Barringer inne was a bit more above ground than usual—but not by much; it would have been foolish to have it too exposed to the elements. But to live too far underground would have made Leah feel buried, and Jacob, ever thoughtful of her feelings, had struck this compromise. The log and sod creation also lacked the long tunnel that most innes had. Leah preferred the manner in which they’d built their house but would still navigate the entrances to the homes of her friends. The tunnels were the worst of it, she would say, enduring the two-foot-wide crawling space with her eyes closed most of the time. She just didn’t like the feeling of being closed in.
The Barringer house also acted as the trading post, so accessibility was critical. Natives were always coming to trade smoked meats, furs, or finished products. In turn, Jacob would take these things to Nome, where he could trade for supplies that they were unable to glean from the land. With this in mind, Jacob had designed the cabin to be partially underground in order to be insulated from the severe cold of winter, yet simple and quick to get in and out of. He had also managed to put in one window to let light into the room they used for eating and cooking during the long winter months. Of course, in the winter there was no light, so they closed the window off to keep the heat from escaping.
Leah entered her home and made her way down several steps to the first room. She and Jacob had set aside this room for the trading of goods. They carried provisions like salt and spices, sugar, canned milk, coffee, and tools. Of course the natives would have made their way in life without these luxuries, but Leah fou