Love's Compass by Gade Carla; Franklin Darlene;

Author:Gade, Carla; Franklin, Darlene; [Gade, Carla; Franklin, Darlene]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 4822927
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2012-07-08T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

How could a woman sleep the night before her wedding, the very day her father had died? But in the untamed southwest, deserts became sandstorms, reservoirs became raging rivers, iced peaks released avalanches, mountains buried treasure, and life went on. The rising sun greeted Eliana as she emerged from her tent and greeted the new day.

She yawned and stretched her arms high into the sky. Having slept some, she at last relinquished her struggle when early morning light brightened her tent. She sat outside and read Mama’s Bible for over an hour, finally turning to the family record in the front pages. John Van Horn, father. Josephine Leman, mother. Eliana Esther Van Horn, daughter. Now she knew. Not only was Essie—Esther—Mama’s best friend, but Eliana’s middle name honored the mother who gave birth to her.

She turned the page. Deaths. She needed to enter Papa’s death record. Her heart burned with sadness at the thought. The following page revealed a blank marriage certificate, and her pulse quickened. Reverend Mattheson would fill this in for her today when she became Mrs. Yiska Wilcox. Eliana Wilcox. She liked the sound of that.

“Miss Van Horn. Eliana.” Warren Cates stared at her.

Eliana startled. “Really, Mr. Cates, must you always sneak up on me like that?”

“I have a solution to your dilemma,” he said.

She closed the Bible in her lap. “Mr. Cates…”

“Hear me out. Come with me to Chaco Canyon and be my photographer. We will fully document the area and make a grand name for ourselves. Imagine the notoriety. You’ll be published in the top scientific journals. You’ll be the first woman photographer with that type of acclaim. Think of it!”

“I will have to decline, Mr. Cates. I’ve made other plans.” I would not marry a scorpion like you in a million years.

“What could be more important than an opportunity like this?”

“My wedding,” she said.

“You’ve no need to marry. You can create your own renown. You and I will make a team. And then we’ll see.”

“I’m marrying for love, not for opportunity.”

Mr. Cates’ face creased with frustration. “Are you intending to marry that half breed?”

Eliana stood and crossed her arms. “I’m marrying Mr. Wilcox.”

“For love?” Cates laughed. “What could he know about…Let me put it this way, Eliana. If you don’t come with me, his short career will be over before it even begins. I will smear his name all over—” Cates grabbed Eliana by the arm.

Yiska, Mr. Robbins, and Reverend Mattheson walked up behind Cates. Yiska twisted the man’s arm behind his back. “That’ll be enough, Cates.”

Mr. Robbins jabbed his finger in the man’s chest. “Let me put it to you this way. You’re off the expedition and going back the way you came. And if you dare make one disreputable remark about this fine correspondent, the Atlantic Monthly and every other magazine will have a full report from the government to discredit anything you write regarding any of the territories in these four corners, or anywhere else for that matter. Do I make myself clear?”

Warren Cates scowled and spit on the ground missing Yiska’s boots.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.