Teton Sunrise (Teton Romance Trilogy)

Acknowledgment

Carol
Spradling
, my critique partner. You always find the time to answer my questions and concerns, and keep that red pen loaded at all times!

Barbara
Ouradnik
, my editor and advisor. This project came together because of you, and I thank you for your positive support and encouragement.

My awesome beta readers on this project:
Shirl
Deems, Becky
Fetzer
, and Hazel Lewis. Each and every one of you brings a fresh view to the story, and your honest opinions and insights have been absolutely invaluable.

My cover designer, Ramona Lockwood, for creating the wonderful cover for this book.
(coversbyramona.blogspot.com)

Prologue

St. Charles, Missouri, 1822

Evelyn Lewis rescued the wooden bucket from under Miss Millie’s legs just before the cow would have knocked it over. She pushed the milking stool she’d been sitting on out of the way, and straightened her back. 

“I’ll be back later to let you out into the pasture,” she said, patting the bovine on the back. Millie swished her rope-like tail, and resumed munching contently on a bushel of fresh hay. Evelyn doused the lantern that hung on a peg on the stall’s wall, and headed for the barn door. Thin ribbons of golden light found their way through the cracks between the wooden boards, creating striped patterns along the hard packed dirt floor. It was well past sunup. Apparently, she’d been in the barn longer than she had thought. Her mother was surely waiting for this morning’s milk.

She leaned her shoulder against the heavy barn door with the intent of pushing it open when her brother’s loud and excited voice reached her ear. Evelyn stopped to listen.

“Let me see that advertisement, Alex.”

Alex! Evelyn’s heart sped up.  He hadn’t stopped by the farm in almost a month.  The passing of his mother had to have been quite a shock.

Evelyn remembered folks saying that poor Mrs. Ada Walker was probably in a better place. People in town whispered, speculating whether Silas Walker had finally struck his wife hard enough to kill her. It was common knowledge that he beat his wife on a regular basis. Even Alex had shown up here, sometimes limping, other times clutching at his ribs, or holding a piece of raw meat to a swollen eye.

“I met that fella, William Ashley, after I read the notice in the St. Louis Gazette. He’s
startin
’ up a fur company.”

Paper rustled, and Henry cleared his throat,
then
read out loud.
“
Seeking enterprising young men to ascend the river Missouri to its source, there to be employed for one, two, or three years."
He paused. “You’re actually going into Indian Territory? They hire men only eighteen years old?”

“Yes. I signed up. Mr. Ashley hired me on.”

Evelyn’s heart pounded in her ears. She quickly held her hands over her mouth to quiet the gasp that escaped her lips. Alex was leaving? For up to three years? That seemed like a lifetime. She blinked rapidly. She couldn’t stop the tears from falling. Alex couldn’t leave.

“I wish I could go,” Henry said excitedly. Then his voice dropped with a twinge of disappointment. “But Pop depends on my help on the farm.
Evie’s
only thirteen. She can’t help out in the fields.”

“Maybe in a few years,” Alex suggested. “After my ma’s passing, I
ain’t
staying here. This is the perfect chance for me to get away.”

The barn door suddenly pulled open, and Evelyn jumped back in surprise. The milk sloshed over the sides of the bucket in her hand, soaking her skirt.

“
Evie
!”
Henry sounded equally surprised to find her standing there. Her eyes darted quickly from her brother to Alex. In the month since she’d last seen him, he’d grown some more. Her brother was still taller, but Alex was not as skinny. His shoulders seemed to have gotten wider, and his arms more muscular. She wiped a hand down her skirt, hoping neither of the boys noticed how her face had flushed.

“Did you hear the news,
Evie
? Alex is going to be a fur trapper. He’s leaving for St. Louis today.” Henry’s joy grated on her nerves. She ventured another quick look at Alex. He glanced her way, but the expression on his face was unreadable. His dark, almost jet-black hair hung over his forehead, partially covering his blue eyes.

“Guess your plans are going to have to change,
Evie
,” Henry continued, almost in a mocking tone.

“My plans?” she echoed.

Henry snorted. “Come on,
Evie
. We all know you fancy yourself in love with Alex. I bet you’re hoping he asks you to marry him someday, when you’re all grown up.”

Evelyn’s mouth fell
open,
mortified that Henry would spill her deepest, most guarded secret in front of the very person who shouldn’t be hearing it. She sucked in a deep breath of air,
then
raised her chin. With one hand on her hip, she glared at her brother. There was only one way to save face. With her eyes narrowed, she advanced on him, and said, “I have no such notions, Henry Lewis. Why, I would much rather marry a warthog than someone like Alexander Walker.” For emphasis, she glared at Alex,
then
pushed past her brother through the barn door. She paused and lifted the milk pail, tossing its contents at her brother’s face,
then
stormed toward the house. Her long braided hair whipped behind her back, the tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. The last thing she heard before escaping into the house was her brother and Alex laughing loudly behind her.

Chapter 1

St Charles, Missouri 1828

“You did what?”

Evelyn Lewis spun around on her heels so quickly she nearly lost her balance. The wooden ladle in her hand dropped to the ground with a dull thud, splattering brown gravy and vegetables on her dress and over the floorboards. Ignoring the mess, she stared at the man who stood across the room. Her eyes widened in shocked disbelief.

“Why would you do such a thing, Henry?” Evelyn’s voice rose almost to a shrill screech. She stepped away from the hearth, and stormed toward her brother. How dare he bring such news without proper warning, or even discussing it with her first? Henry Lewis raised his hands in front of his chest as if he was about to fend off a formidable adversary, and took a step back.

“Now don’t get all riled,
Evie
. I’m doing this for you,” Henry said, squaring his shoulders and standing his ground. 

“For me?”
Evelyn held her fists to her hips, and glared at her brother, standing only inches from him. She leaned forward. “How is a marriage to Charlie Richardson going to benefit me?” she demanded.

Henry tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder, and his lips rose in, what looked like, an uneasy smile. He inhaled a deep breath.

“Listen to me,
Evie
,” he said calmly. “I’ve had several requests for your hand in marriage over the last few months. We’ve known Charlie since we were children. He’s always been smitten with you. He seemed like the best choice to me.”

“Well I refuse to marry him,” Evelyn snorted. She shot her brother a narrow-eyed look. “You know I detest him. Ever since that time he pushed me into the creek when I was eleven years old, do you remember?” She poked a finger in her brother’s chest, her other hand balled in a tight fist at her hip. “Why, if it hadn’t been for . . .” Her voice trailed off, and she stared wide-eyed at Henry. She’d almost spoken
his
name. Her shoulders slumped, and she lowered her gaze to the ground. Tears threatened behind her eyes, and she blinked to curb the flow. After everything that loathsome man had done, why did every thought of him bring tears to her eyes?

Because he murdered your parents! Alexander Walker murdered your parents, and all you want to remember is the eighteen-year-old boy you fancied yourself in love with as a naïve young girl.
 

It was the last memory she had of him; the day Alex and Henry laughed at her as she ran from the barn to the house, completely humiliated. He had left that day to venture into the unknown wilderness beyond the Missouri. A year had gone by, and she clung to the hope that he would return. Two years had passed, and no one had neither seen nor heard from him. After the third year, even Henry had suggested that savages might have killed Alex.

Evelyn was well aware of Charlie Richardson’s infatuation with her. He’d often tried to talk to her when he saw her in town, and he’d stopped by the farm for one obscure reason or another. To keep him at arm’s length, she had pretended to show an interest in several other young men who
came
calling. None of them held her attention for long. One dark-haired, blue-eyed quiet boy continued to creep into her mind. But that was before . . .

Evelyn had first noticed Alexander Walker as more than just her brother’s best friend that day when she returned from carrying a basket of her mother’s eggs to a neighbor’s house. Charlie Richardson had spotted her on the trail along the creek between the two properties, and followed her. Relentlessly, he’d called her freckle face and made rude comments about the fact that she was thin and lanky, and hadn’t started filling out in the chest like some of the other girls her age had done. She’d tried to ignore his taunts, and pretend indifference, but he had continued until she couldn’t stand it anymore. Turning around quickly, she’d barely taken notice of his stunned expression before her fist connected with his nose.

Horrified at what she’d done, even as her insides filled with self-satisfaction, Evelyn had spun on her heels and ran toward home. Charlie had caught up with her quickly, and grabbed her by the arm. She was no match for his larger size, and he had dragged her to the creek’s edge,
then
forcefully shoved her into the cold water. Alex Walker had appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Charlie by the shirt collar. With seemingly effortless ease, Alex had hauled Charlie away from the creek bank, and slammed his own fist into Charlie’s face. Blood spurted everywhere, and Charlie held his hands over his face while he ran off. To this day, his nose was a different shape than it had been before Alex hit him.

Alex had reached for her hand, and pulled Evelyn from the water. She remembered staring up into those blue eyes of his, and her youthful heart had fluttered in her chest. He hadn’t said a word to her, and turned to disappear into the thicket just as quickly as he had appeared. Evelyn stared quietly after him that day, lost for words for the first time in her life.

“
Evie
, are you listening?” Henry’s
voice,
and a gentle shake on her arm brought her back to her senses. She sniffed, and blinked again.

“There’s more I need to tell you,” he said tentatively. He ran a hand across his lower jaw; a sure sign that he was nervous about something. “But I think you’d better sit down first.”