Cover

Half Title Page

Books by Tracie Peterson

LADIES OF THE LAKE

Destined for You

WILLAMETTE BRIDES

Secrets of My Heart

The Way of Love

Forever by Your Side

THE TREASURES OF NOME*

Forever Hidden

Endless Mercy

BROOKSTONE BRIDES

When You Are Near

Wherever You Go

What Comes My Way

GOLDEN GATE SECRETS

In Places Hidden

In Dreams Forgotten

In Times Gone By

HEART OF THE FRONTIER

Treasured Grace

Beloved Hope

Cherished Mercy

THE HEART OF ALASKA*

In the Shadow of Denali

Out of the Ashes

Under the Midnight Sun

SAPPHIRE BRIDES

A Treasure Concealed

A Beauty Refined

A Love Transformed

BRIDES OF SEATTLE

Steadfast Heart

Refining Fire

Love Everlasting

LONE STAR BRIDES

A Sensible Arrangement

A Moment in Time

A Matter of Heart

LAND OF SHINING WATER

The Icecutter’s Daughter

The Quarryman’s Bride

The Miner’s Lady

LAND OF THE LONE STAR

Chasing the Sun

Touching the Sky

Taming the Wind

All Things Hidden*

Beyond the Silence*

House of Secrets

Serving Up Love**

*with Kimberley Woodhouse
**with Karen Witemeyer, Regina Jennings, and Jen Turano

Title Page

Copyright Page

© 2021 by Peterson Ink, Inc.

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

Ebook edition created 2021

Ebook corrections 06.10.2021

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 978-1-4934-2979-0

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

This is a work of historical reconstruction; the appearances of certain historical figures are therefore inevitable. All other characters, however, are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Cover design by Paul Higdon and Peter Gloege/LOOK Design Studio

Woman on cover by Magdalena Russocka / Trevillion Images

Lake Superior cover scene by Matt Anderson Photography / Getty Images

Chapter 1

Duluth, Minnesota
September 1869

Gloriana Womack was not one to brook nonsense. If her twenty-five years had taught her anything, it was that eight-year-old boys were constantly in motion. And that motion often took them to places that guaranteed the need for a bath. But with the school bell set to ring in less than ten minutes, Gloriana barely had time to get her brother, JT, into a clean shirt.

“I told you not to go outside until it was time to leave for school.”

“Aw, Glory. I just wanted to see if Papa was still here.” The curly-headed boy let her dress him but kept straining to see out the window.