CHAPTER1
Fall, 1868
Rock Creek, Montana Territory
The wildness of this mountain territory should make Dinah Wyatt turn and usher her sister right back to Fort Benton and the first steamship to the States. But something in this grandeur—the wide open blue sky, the pine-covered slopes rising on either side, the narrow creek murmuring beside the path where she and Naomi rode—brought to life a part of her she hadn't known lay dormant. This late-summer day wasn’t hot and muggy like Virginia. The sun felt glorious, and a light breeze cooled any excess heat.
This would be the perfect place for Naomi to settle, if her new husband was a good man like he sounded in his advertisement.
Of course, a man could easily lie on paper, even easier than with his lips.
But his heartfelt words had encouraged them to seek God’s direction about whether Naomi was the right bride for him. The two of them had done that. Dinah herself had spent many hours beseeching the Lord—first begging for answers about why Naomi had let herself yield to temptation in the first place, then why God had felt it necessary for that sin to produce a child. When she prayed about whether this trip to the Montana Territory had been the right direction for them both, she’d finally felt a peace. A settling in her spirit that she could cling to when the doubts crept in.
As they did now.
She forced herself to ease out a long breath. They were so very far from home and all they’d ever known. Not that Naomi could stay in Wayneston anymore, and Dinah wasn’t about to allow her to take this journey alone. They’d been born together—only three minutes apart—and the one night Dinah had abandoned her sister, the worst had happened to her. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Now both she and Naomi would learn the true character of the man they’d both traveled nearly three months for Naomi to marry—if they ever found this Coulter Ranch he'd described.
Dinah straightened in her saddle and steeled her resolve. She would make sure Jericho Coulter would be a suitable match for her sister and a good father for the coming babe before she found her own place in this land. Hopefully, there was a quiet town nearby that wasn't consumed with gold fever, a town where she could hang out a shingle for her clinic.
A grunt from behind made her turn.
Naomi smiled from her own saddle, but the look made Dinah's chest tighten. She was more than six months into her term, and she’d swelled so much during the last part of their journey. So many hours in the saddle since they left the steamboat in Fort Benton three weeks ago had taken its toll. How much more could Naomi endure?
Dinah made sure they only rode half days, allowing Naomi plenty of time to rest with her legs propped up. Still, the bloating had increased. The puffiness in her face made it appear she'd doubled her weight. And panic had twisted in Dinah’s chest when Naomi hadn't been able to squeeze her feet into boots. At least she’d felt the babe move again that morning. But surely the mother’s suffering would have an effect on the unborn child. Her sister desperately needed time to rest in bed. Days, or maybe weeks, on her back with her feet raised on pillows.
If they didn’t find that respite for Naomi at the ranch, what could they do? Maybe they should set up camp beside this stream and settle in until Naomi’s swelling lessened.
Lord, let us reach this ranch today.Let Jericho Coulter be the man my sister needs. A man who will care for her as the treasure she is. And her baby too.
She guided her gelding as the path crossed the creek, the animal's hooves splashing in the shallow water. Behind her, Naomi's horse crashed with a heavier stride, dislodging pebbles with each step.
"Look."
The tension in her sister's voice made Dinah jerk her gaze up to the trail in front of them.
About twenty strides away, a figure stepped from the trees. He wore a leather costume similar to many they'd seen since Fort Benton. From this distance, she couldn't make out features, only broad shoulders and a bearded face.
Did he have weapons? At least he wasn't brandishing a gun that she could see.
Could this be Naomi's intended? Her pulse picked up speed. She couldn't tell his age yet, but he didn't look as respectable as she'd hoped.
He watched them approach. When they'd closed half the distance between them, he raised his chin. "You need something?"
She fought the urge to glance at her sister. Instead, she made her voice sound friendly. "We're looking for the Coulter Ranch." Should they say who they were? Better to find Mr. Coulter first.
He studied them, his scrutinizing gaze doing its best to make her nervous, though she fought the feeling. "What do you want there?"
Before she could answer, Naomi reined her horse up beside Dinah's. "I'm here to be Mr. Jericho Coulter's wife."
Dinah tensed, cringing inside. Just because Naomi had made peace with her situation as a mail order bride didn't mean Mr. Coulter wanted his private affairs broadcast to all his neighbors.
A flash of surprise flickered in the man's dark gaze. Then he sobered, eyeing them warily. "Jericho's not looking for a wife, and this isn't the Coulter ranch."
Dinah frowned. He sounded insulted. He could at least point them in the right direction.
She opened her mouth to ask, but Naomi cut in once more. "Can you tell us where to find him? He sent for us—for me—and we've come all this way to accept his proposal."
