Twilight's Serenade
Read Twilight's Serenade Online
Authors: Tracie Peterson
T
wilight’s
S
erenade
SONG OF ALASKA
Three
T
wilight’s
S
erenade
TRACIE
PETERSON
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Twilight’s Serenade
Copyright © 2010
Tracie Peterson
Cover design by Jennifer Parker
Cover photography by Mike Haberman Photography, LLC
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
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—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without 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.
Twilight’s serenade / Tracie Peterson
p. cm. — (Song of Alaska ; 3)
ISBN 978-0-0778-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-7642-0153-0 (pbk.) — ISBN 978-0-7642-0779-2 (large-print pbk.) 1. Widows—Fiction. 2. Violinists—Fiction. 3. Alaska—Fiction. 4. Triangles (Interpersonal relations)—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3566.E7717T85 2010
813'.54—dc22 2010007459
To Morris and Pat James
with love and thanksgiving
that God made us friends.
Your faith has been an inspiration.
Books by Tracie Peterson
A Slender Thread • What She Left for Me • Where My Heart Belongs
SONG OF ALASKA
Dawn’s Prelude • Morning’s Refrain • Twilight’s Serenade
ALASKAN QUEST
Summer of the Midnight Sun
Under the Northern Lights • Whispers of Winter
Alaskan Quest (3 in 1)
BRIDES OF GALLATIN COUNTY
A Promise to Believe In • A Love to Last Forever
A Dream to Call My Own
THE BROADMOOR LEGACY*
A Daughter’s Inheritance • An Unexpected Love
A Surrendered Heart
BELLS OF LOWELL*
Daughter of the Loom • A Fragile Design • These Tangled Threads
LIGHTS OF LOWELL*
A Tapestry of Hope • A Love Woven True • The Pattern of Her Heart
DESERT ROSES
Shadows of the Canyon • Across the Years • Beneath a Harvest Sky
HEIRS OF MONTANA
Land of My Heart • The Coming Storm
To Dream Anew • The Hope Within
LADIES OF LIBERTY
A Lady of High Regard • A Lady of Hidden Intent
A Lady of Secret Devotion
RIBBONS OF STEEL**
Distant Dreams • A Hope Beyond • A Promise for Tomorrow
WESTWARD CHRONICLES
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 **with Judith Pella
TRACIE PETERSON is the author of over eighty novels, both historical and contemporary. Her avid research resonates in her stories, as seen in her bestselling HEIRS OF MONTANA and ALASKAN QUEST series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana.
Visit Tracie’s Web site at
www.traciepeterson.com
.
Visit Tracie’s blog at
www.writespasssage.blogspot.com
.
Contents
Sitka, Alaska
January 1906
B
ritta Lindquist awoke suddenly from the grasp of her dream and sat straight up in bed, breathing heavily. She let her eyes adjust to the dim light and relaxed as she recognized her surroundings. After a six-year absence, she was home again—as if she’d never gone away.
Favorite childhood books lined the shelf where she’d left them. Dolls were arranged upon her dresser. In the corner, an ornately carved hope chest held years of dreaming—dreams that could never come true. Mother had once told her that if one dream seemed to be unobtainable, a person could always dream a new dream. And Britta had tried. God alone knew how much she wanted to clear her head and heart of the old and welcome in the new. Still, it seemed no matter how far she journeyed from home, no matter what new challenge she tried, nothing diminished her longing.
“Britta? Britta, are you awake?” a tentative voice whispered.
“Come in, Kay.”
The door opened only enough to allow a dark-haired woman to peek inside. Kalage, or Kay, as Lydia had nicknamed her, had been with the Lindquist family for the past fifteen years. Orphaned at the age of thirteen, Kay had been called “a child of the beach” by her mother’s people, though it was by no means a term of endearment. The Tlingits had shunned Kay’s mother for her disgraceful behavior as a prostitute, and her white father had long since deserted them. By the time Kalage had been born, all ties to her family heritage had been severed. The shame of her mother was upon Kay as surely as if she’d acted against the Tlingits herself. Britta’s family had taken Kay into their home when Aunt Zee found the child half dead from starvation.
“I thought I heard you. Is everything all right?”
Britta nodded. “I had a bad dream. You must have heard me tossing and turning. It was really nothing.”
Kay slipped into the room and closed the door behind her. She studied Britta for a moment. “You in trouble?”
Kay’s astute observations never failed to amaze Britta. She’d always felt close to the woman, who was only three years her senior. “I’m not in trouble,” Britta assured her.
Kay, however, refused to let the matter drop. “Then what’s wrong? I could see from the look in your eyes last night that you carry a heavy burden.”
Britta looked up and shook her head. “I can’t really talk about it just yet.”
Kay went to the window and opened the drapes to let in the light. “It’s almost ten. You don’t always sleep this late, do you?”
Britta laughed and got to her feet. “No, though I will say I was rather spoiled when I went abroad. Europeans never seem to have the same sense of urgency that we Americans embrace. While in England and Germany, I sometimes slept late. However, we were often up well into the wee hours of the morning after a concert.”
Approaching the wardrobe, Britta continued to direct the conversation away from Kay’s concerns. “California was quite lovely. I think you’d like it there. It’s very beautiful, and there is always something blooming. Speaking of blooms, I was in Holland last spring and could scarcely believe the fields of tulips. I wish you could have seen them. They took up positively acres and acres.”
She fingered several of her dresses, glad that she’d left her more elegant pieces in San Francisco. They would hardly serve her well here. Sitka’s climate might remain mild most of the year, but the lightweight muslins and silks were not appropriate for daily life. She decided on a wool jumper and cream-colored gown. “This should keep me warm.” Glancing to where Kay stood, Britta quickly ascertained the woman wasn’t at all interested in travel comments or fashion choices.
Britta stopped and sobered. “I can’t really talk about everything just yet. In time, I promise I will take you into my confidence, but for now I need time to consider things on my own.”
“You have come home to make a decision?”
With a sigh, Britta nodded. “That is all I will say for the moment. Will you help me dress?”
Kay came forward and reached for the garments. “I will pray for you.”
Her words touched Britta’s heart. How long had it been since someone had offered to help in that way? “Thank you.”
