Tracie Peterson - A Promise to Believe In

A PROMISE
TO BELIEVE IN

A PROMISE
TO BELIEVE IN

Brides of Gallatin County
BOOK ONE

TRACIE
PETERSON

A Promise to Believe In
Copyright 2008
Tracie Peterson

Cover design by Andrea Gjeldum
Cover photography by Karen Woodburn

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

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.

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Peterson, Tracie.

A promise to believe in / Tracie Peterson.

ISBN 978-0-7642-0586-6 (alk. paper)ISBN 978-0-7642-0148-6 (pbk.) 1. SistersFiction. 2. Frontier and pioneer lifeFiction. 3. MontanaFiction. I. Title.

PS3566.E7717P76 2008

813.54dc22

2008027992

To Deb and Brian,
who give me hours of
radio listening,
laughs, and encouragement!

Books by Tracie Peterson

www.traciepeterson.com
A Slender Thread What She Left For Me Where My Heart Belongs

S ONG OF A LASKA

Dawns Prelude Mornings Refrain

A LASKAN Q UEST

Summer of the Midnight Sun
Under the Northern Lights Whispers of Winter
Alaskan Quest (3 in 1)

B RIDES OF G ALLATIN C OUNTY

A Promise to Believe In A Love to Last Forever
A Dream to Call My Own

T HE B ROADMOOR L EGACY

A Daughters Inheritance An Unexpected Love
A Surrendered Heart

B ELLS OF L OWELL

Daughter of the Loom A Fragile Design These Tangled Threads
Bells of Lowell (3 in 1)

L IGHTS OF L OWELL

A Tapestry of Hope A Love Woven True The Pattern of Her Heart

D ESERT R OSES

Shadows of the Canyon Across the Years Beneath a Harvest Sky

H EIRS OF M ONTANA

Land of My Heart The Coming Storm
To Dream Anew The Hope Within

L ADIES OF L IBERTY

A Lady of High Regard A Lady of Hidden Intent
A Lady of Secret Devotion

R IBBONS OF S TEEL

Distant Dreams A Hope Beyond A Promise for Tomorrow

W ESTWARD C HRONICLES

A Shelter of Hope Hidden in a Whisper A Veiled Reflection

Y UKON Q UEST

Treasures of the North Ashes and Ice Rivers of Gold

with Judith Miller

with Judith Pella

TRACIE PETERSON is the author of over seventy novels, both historical and contemporary. Her avid research resonates in her stories, as seen in her bestselling H EIRS OF M ONTANA and A LASKAN Q UEST series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana.

Visit Tracies Web site at www.traciepeterson.com .

CONTENTS

MAY 1879, MONTANA TERRITORY

Miss Gwen! Miss Gwen! You gotta come quick!

Gwendolyn Gallatin looked up from her sewing and cocked her head to one side, unknowingly imitating the family dog, Major Worthington. The sounds of occasional gunfire and celebrating from the saloon next door had been frequent this evening, but she was surprised to hear her name above the ruckus.

A young boy of fourteen burst through the open front door, panting. Sandy hair fell across his dirt-smudged face. Miss Gwen! He could scarcely get out the words.

Goodness, Cubby, whatever is the matter? Gwen put aside her sewing and got to her feet as her sisters, Lacy and Beth, joined her from the kitchen.

Its your... your pa, Cubby said, regaining his wind. Hes been shot clean through. My pa says to come quick.

Gwens hand went to her throat as she exchanged a frantic look with her sisters. Lacy, who was the youngest of the three and not yet twenty, raced to the front door. She wore a long split skirt that allowed her easier movement, but Beth, dressed very ladylike, was right behind her.

Take us to him, Cubby. Gwen felt as if the words were forced from her throat as she moved leaden limbs to follow her sisters.

Hes in the street. Just in front of Pas saloon. Cubby followed the girls out the door, Gwen at his side.

A small crowd had already gathered when Gwen arrived. Lacy was kneeling in the dirt beside her father, and Gwen watched as Beth touched a lace-edged handkerchief to the older mans chest. When Gwen approached, the crowd parted, as if on cue. She could see the ashen color of her fathers face and hear the whispered murmurs among the rough cowboys, who smelled of sweat and beer.

Gwennie, her father whispered as she knelt beside him.

She put her hand to his head. He already felt cold. Lets get him to the house, she told her sisters.

Dont, her father said, straining to breathe. Im... done for.

Nonsense, Pa. People get shot all the time, Lacy said, pushing back an errant strand of her cinnamon-colored hair.

Beth wept softly, causing their father to give a slow shake of his head. Dont... be... cryin, Bethy. Im heaven-bound. He gave the girls an awkward smile and closed his eyes. Dont... make... the coffee... too weak, girls. And then he was gone.

Gwen looked at her father as if expecting something more. Surely hed just succumbed to the pain. He couldnt be dead.

Beth looked up at Gwen. Hes not breathing.

Lacy was calling him. Pa! Pa!

The entire event unfolded like a bad dream. People were saying things, bustling about, but Gwen was frozen in place, unable to move or hear them clearly. Their father was dead. What were they going to do now?

Ill take care of this, Simon Lassiter said, helping Gwen to her feet. His brother, Nicholas, was right at her side. The Lassiter boys had always been good friends to the Gallatins.

Gwen looked at him, noting the sorrow in his eyes. What should we do? she asked softly.

We get the sheriff, thats what, Lacy declared. She looked at the gathering of cowboys. Which one of you shot him?

Nobody shot him, Miss Lacy, Cubby said, shaking his head. Leastwise, not on purpose. The boysthey was shootin it up, celebratin.

Cubbys right, his father replied. Rafe Reynolds puffed on a cigar for a moment, then motioned to the gathering of drunken men. Nobody was aiming to hurt George Gallatin.

But hes dead, just the same, Lacy said, looking to Gwen. Someone needs to get the law out here. She began to cry. Pa deserves justice. Beth put her arm around Lacy and nodded.

You ladies go on back to the roadhouse, Simon instructed. Well take George on over to the shop. Nick can ride for the sheriff while I get George... well... get him ready to... ah... bury. Simon wore a look suggesting hed just as soon be wrestling a grizzly.

Ill bring his suit, Gwen said without emotion. The shock of the situation washed her in a numbing sensation. Lacy and Beth were crying, but tears wouldnt come to Gwens eyes. It was senseless to cry. Her father was dead, and it was clearly her fault as much as the man whod fired the gun. After all, she was the one whod sent him out that evening. And she was the one whod been cursed.

I cant believe this has happened, Lacy said as she stood beside the still-open grave of their father.