Tracie Peterson - Hidden in a Whisper

Hidden in a Whisper

W E S T W A R D C H R O N I C L E S

TRACIE
PETERSON

Hidden in a Whisper

Hidden in a Whisper
Copyright 1999
Tracie Peterson

Cover design by Melinda Schumacher

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

ISBN 978-0-7642-0049-6 (2005 edition)

Library of Congress Cataloging has catalogued the original edition as follows:

Peterson, Tracie.
Hidden in a whisper / by Tracie Peterson.
p. cm. (Westward chronicles; 2)
ISBN 0-7642-2113-2
I. Title. II. Series: Peterson, Tracie. Westward chronicles; 2.
PS3566.E7717 H53 1999
813.54dc21 996413
CIP

Dedicated to

R amona

With thanks for the years of friendship
for walking through dark valleys with me
for celebrating in the sun.
You are truly a gift from God.

Books by Tracie Peterson
www.traciepeterson.com
A Slender Thread What She Left for Me
Where My Heart Belongs
A LASKAN Q UEST
Summer of the Midnight Sun
Under the Northern Lights Whispers of Winter
B RIDES OF G ALLATIN C OUNTY
A Promise to Believe In ALove 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
W ESTWARD C HRONICLES
A Shelter of Hope Hidden in a Whisper
A Veiled Reflection
YUKON QUEST
Treasures of the North Ashes and Ice Rivers of Gold

with Judith Miller

TRACIE PETERSON is a popular speaker and bestselling author who has written more than sixty books, both historical and contemporary fiction. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana.

Table of Contents

Chicago, February 1885

INEVITABLE. HER MOTHER HAD SAID it was inevitable.

Rachel Taylor stared at her gloved hands and tried to imagine what she would say when Braeden made his appearance at the park gazebo. They had met here every Sunday afternoon for the past two months, defying the cold, bitter winds that blew off Lake Michigan. Defying the gossip that surrounded any lady who met a man unaccompanied.

But today would be the last time they would meet.

Her mother had said it was inevitable that a dashingly handsome man of means such as Braeden Parker would find himself attracted to women of more physical beauty and social standing than Rachel could boast. And so it had happenedat least according to the women who boarded in her mothers house. The esteemed Mr. Parker was seen to have been in the company of a rather wealthy and beautiful blond socialite. Not only in her company, but in her armsmaybe even her bed, as some suggested.

It hardly seemed to matter that Braeden also inhabited Rachels heart and would for as long as she lived. But fate seemed cruel and God rather distant on the matter.

Rachel considered herself plain and at times even unpleasant with her curly auburn hair and green eyes, but Braeden had pledged to her his love and showered her with words of admiration and praise. He had likened her ruddy complexion to the blush of a rose. Her green eyes, he had said, were like twin emeralds burning with the fire of adventure and love of life. He saw in her the epitome of perfection. At least that was what he had told her.

Rachel rose and walked to the gazebo railing. Pieces of white paint were chipping away, evidence that the winter had been unduly harsh.

Life was unduly harsh, she decided.

She sighed, trying to pretend that this wasnt the most difficult day of her life. Her head ached with a dull pounding that seemed to permeate her every thought. The pulsating beat was driving her mad. Fool!

Fool! Fool! It seemed to beat in a driving rhythm. Rubbing her temple with gloved fingers, Rachel closed her eyes, hoping, even praying that when she opened them again she would find it was nothing more than a nightmare.

But opening her eyes revealed the culmination of her pain. Even now she could see Braeden making his way down the cobblestone path.

He whistled a tune and it carried on the chilly, damp breeze, reaching Rachels ear as a painful reminder of what she was about to lose.

It seemed destiny had mapped for her a future that did not include her beloved Braeden.

He waved from the distant walk, then grabbed hold of his bowler just as the wind caught hold of the edge. He smiled as though all was right with the world. Perhaps he had hoped she would never find out about his secretcertainly he had never figured on her putting an end to their romance. But then, ending their romance had been the furthest thing from Rachels mind as well.

Only a year ago Rachel lost her father, a rail yard worker, in a tragic accident. Crushed between two freight cars, he had died within moments of the impact, love for his wife and daughter the final things he had spoken of. Rachel still found it difficult to believe he was gone. He had doted upon her as his precious little princess, and Rachel had found herself rather accustomed to his spoiling.

Her mother, now widowed and forced to turn her home into a boardinghouse, busied herself with her friends, listening to one tale of woe or another, encouraging news from the neighborhood, and reveling in the information. Always given to seeking out the latest tidbits on the community, the boardinghouse made this lifestyle even more productive, and Elvira Taylor always knew what was happening well before anyone else. Thats why Rachel couldnt doubt her now. As much as it grieved her, Rachel knew her mother was seldom wrong when it came to telling tales on other folks. She didnt share this latest information with Rachel to be mean or malicious; in her mind she was simply looking out for her only daughter. Her hope was to keep a young and vulnerable Rachel from falling in love with a man who would only use her and then discard her for someone else.

Her mother believed there was nothing wrong with sharing the news of one persons mishap or anothers triumph. The neighborhood was her personal domain, and everything that took place was of the utmost importance. It didnt matter that the preacher spoke out against gossip on Sunday mornings. As far as Elvira Taylor was concerned, it was her civic duty to know the lives of her neighbors. After her husbands death, this duty only became more prominent and essential. Her mother clung to her friends while Rachel had turned to Braeden for comfort. But no more.