Rainy Day Dreams: 2 Read online

  When all was ready, Reverend Blaine nodded toward the piano and his wife placed her hands upon the ivory keys. Stately music filled the room and echoed up the stairs, a cue to the bride that it was time to meet her groom. He stood beside the minister, fidgeting nervously with the string tie around his neck. That is, until he caught sight of his bride, and then he went still, his eyes alive with a quiet joy.

  She descended slowly at first, each step placed in time with the music. Delicate pink flowers circled the hem and sleeves of her simple wedding gown, each one lovingly embroidered to match the bouquet of sweetbriar that bloomed so plentifully throughout Seattle in June. When she saw her groom across the heads of the guests, a smile lit her face. Her pace sped, and the bride nearly ran down the center aisle.

  “That’s my new grandma,” declared John William from the first row. “Ain’t she a beaut?”

  An indulgent chuckle rose from the assembled. Seated beside him, Kathryn leaned down to gather him in a hug.

  “Yes, she is, sweetheart. She’s a beautiful bride.” She combed her fingers through his hair with a quick gesture, ending with a finger on his lips. “We must be quiet now and listen.”

  “Okay,” he answered in a loud whisper, and then climbed up into her lap and settled himself comfortably, his attention fixed on the two who stood in front of him hand in hand, beaming into each other’s faces.

  Jason slid sideways into the place John William vacated and draped an arm across the back of her chair. A giddy delight swept over her at his nearness, and she missed the first few sentences of the minister’s ceremony. How could she concentrate when every bit of her was focused on the man whose very presence robbed her of breath?

  Well aware of the effect he had on her, a teasing grin tugged at one corner of his lips. He leaned close and whispered, “Two more weeks and that will be us up there.”

  As if she could forget. Mama and Papa would arrive on the Fair Lady next week, bringing with them a cargo hold full of wedding presents that Papa insisted on bestowing. She could not muster much interest in gifts. How could she, when the best gift of all was already hers? And he was sitting right beside her, distracting her with the memory of his embrace when he left her at her door last night, of his lips nuzzling her neck and whispering “I love you” in her ear.

  Outside the rain began to fall, huge, fat drops that quickly became a downpour the likes of which she had not seen since the day she arrived in Seattle. They beat on the porch roof so loudly through the open windows that they nearly drowned out Reverend Blaine. Kathryn watched them fall, a silvery curtain that hid the town from view. She’d heard somewhere that rain on a wedding day was good luck. She prayed that omen would hold true for Helen and Will. And for her and Jason.

  Turning to face the front of the room, she settled herself comfortably in the curve of Jason’s arm and rested her chin on her nephew’s silky head. They had love, and that portended a happy marriage far more than a silly omen.

  A Note from Lori & Virginia

  We’re sure you’ve read this disclaimer in almost every novel you pick up: “The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.” That statement is true of Rainy Day Dreams, with a few exceptions. We created a completely fictitious story and then put it in an actual historical setting during a time when something interesting was going on, and tossed the names of a few real people into the mix as well. We think the combination makes for a delightful reading experience, and we hope you enjoyed the results.

  Among the actual historical people featured in Rainy Day Dreams are Henry Yesler, David and Louisa Denny, and their daughter, Emily Inez. Henry built the first steam-powered sawmill on the Puget Sound in Seattle. David and Louisa were two of the original settlers in Seattle, and Emily Inez was born there. Quite a bit is known about the Dennys, so we had a lot of material to rely on as we researched this and the previous book in the Seattle Brides series, A Bride for Noah. Two sources proved invaluable, and if you’re interested in reading actual accounts of the founding of Seattle and the Battle of Seattle, we recommend them to you: Westward to Alki: The Story of David and Louisa Denny by Gordon R. Newell, and Blazing the Way: True Stories, Songs and Sketches of the Puget Sound by Emily Inez Denny.

  If you read those books, you’ll discover that many of the events we fictionalized in Rainy Day Dreams did happen, though we have taken a bit of literary license—sometimes quite a bit. For instance, there really was a woman running with Louisa Denny on that fearful dash to the blockhouse on January 26, 1856. She wore her hair in fashionable braided loops, and a bullet really did pass through one of the loops. We hope you’ll forgive us for inching that bullet a tad to the left and having it chop that braid right off so Kathryn (our fictional heroine) could have another fainting spell that put her in need of rescuing by our dashing hero. We loved Jason and wanted to see him spring heroically into action.

  The bare facts of the Battle of Seattle are represented in our account, woven throughout the fiction. The white settlers of Seattle were befriended by the Duwamish Indians under the leadership of Chief Seattle, but many other tribes didn’t take kindly to being crowded off of their ancestral lands. They were particularly insulted by a series of treaties initiated by the governor of Washington Territory, Isaac Stevens, beginning in late 1854. These treaties offered trinkets and a little cash for land, plus the requirement that the Indian tribes move onto several small reservation areas. Interracial hostilities escalated, and then the word came that the tribes most offended—which included the Nisqually, Muckleshoot, and Klickitat—had begun amassing an army of braves to force the settlers off of Native American land. Word of an impending attack began to leak to the residents of Seattle through their Indian friends, who were also the targets of hostility because of their friendship with the white settlers.

  The construction of the blockhouse from David Denny’s personal stock of milled lumber did take place, as did the false alarms that sent the terrified citizens of Seattle dashing for the safety of that small fort in the middle of the night. The U.S.S. Decatur, a U.S. sloop of war under the command of Captain Guert Gansevoort, was stationed in the bay even though the governmental authorities insisted that the people of Seattle were alarmists and that there was no danger of an attack by hostile Indians.

  When the attack finally came, the settlers were ready. They huddled inside the blockhouse while a small group of their own, along with one hundred fourteen sailors and marines, defended them. Bullets and arrows and cannonballs flew at a fevered pitch for half a day, and then slacked off when the attackers broke for lunch. Later in the afternoon the fighting began again, but not with the same furious pace. A few volleys of gunshots were exchanged, but by nightfall the hostile Indians gave up and left. The settlers were amazed to discover that though most of the outlying buildings and homes had been ransacked and burned, miraculously there was only one reported death that day. The Battle of Seattle was over almost as soon as it had begun.

  That’s not to say life became peaceful. Tension hung over Seattle as the citizens worried that more attacks were imminent. They built a second blockhouse and a stockade around the entire central town, and all winter everyone slept inside the fort. They were tense times, but in the end the pioneering spirit prevailed, the settlers persevered, and Seattle’s future remained secure.

  Sadly, the Indian war chiefs’ hopes that they might one day drive the interlopers from their lands dwindled. We found it interesting to note that in her book, Emily Inez Denny expressed a huge amount of compassion and sympathy for those who had been displaced. The citizens of Seattle truly hoped for a peaceful coexistence with their Native American friends. In the cases of some, like Yoke-Yakeman and Princess Angeline (whose Duwamish name was Kikisoblu), they were successful. But as for the rest of the displaced peoples of that area…well, those accounts are well documented in history books.

  Beyond those bare facts, almost everything else in Rainy Day Dream
s was created out of our imaginations for your reading enjoyment. And, to be honest, for our own enjoyment. We fell in love with Kathryn, Jason, Evie, Noah, Helen, John William, and the others. We hope you have too.

  To learn more about us and our books, we invite you to visit our websites—www.LoriCopelandandVirginiaSmith.com, www.LoriCopeland.com, and www.VirginiaSmith.org

  Lori & Virginia

  Discussion Questions

  1. With which character did you most identify, and why?

  2. When she arrives, Kathryn is unhappy to discover that she will be a hotel maid. Why? What happens to change her attitude?

  3. Half the town scoffs at the idea of an Indian attack, while the others take the warnings seriously. Discuss the reasons for each viewpoint.

  4. What was the main cause of the conflict between the northern Indian tribes and the settlers? Between the northern tribes and the peaceful Duwamish?

  5. Why does Jason take an instant dislike to Kathryn?

  6. Several friendships develop quickly after Kathryn and Jason arrive in Seattle. Discuss the basis of the friendship between Evie and Kathryn. Between Jason and Will.

  7. In a town where the men outnumber the eligible women a hundred to one, how do the ladies handle their position of minority?

  8. How did Susan’s absence affect Kathryn back home in San Francisco? How does her arrival in Seattle affect Kathryn?

  9. For those who read A Bride for Noah, how has Evie changed? How has Seattle changed?

  10. Jason has not prayed since his wife died. Why? What makes him start praying again?

  11. In what ways does Kathryn change from the beginning of the book to the end?

  12. Will’s dislike of Kathryn was obvious to everyone. What was the true basis of that dislike? How did he let his fears control him against his better judgment?

  13. Did Susan choose correctly in her decision regarding John William? Why or why not?

  14. Identify all of the happy endings in Rainy Day Dreams.

  About the Authors

  Lori Copeland is the author of more than 90 titles, both historical and contemporary fiction. With more than 3 million copies of her books in print, she has developed a loyal following among her rapidly growing fans in the inspirational market. She has been honored with the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award, The Holt Medallion, and Walden Books’ Best Seller award. In 2000, Lori was inducted into the Missouri Writers Hall of Fame. She lives in the beautiful Ozarks with her husband, Lance, and their three children and five grandchildren.

  Virginia Smith is the author of two dozen inspirational novels and more than fifty articles and short stories. An avid reader with eclectic tastes in fiction, Ginny writes in a variety of styles, from lighthearted relationship stories to breath-snatching suspense.

  To learn more about books by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith or to read sample chapters, log on to our website: www.harvesthousepublishers.com

  A Bride for Noah

  LORI COPELAND & VIRGINIA SMITH

  It’s 1851, and Evie Lawrence is penniless and desperate for an adventure. When her employer announces his plan to move west and make his fortune, Evie jumps at the chance to start a new life. She says goodbye to the only home she’s ever known and sets out for the rugged Northwest. She’ll build a restaurant in one of the new settlements, she decides.

  A restaurant in the wilderness? Noah Hughes, a handsome young lumberjack, can hardly believe his ears. Evie has no idea what she’s getting into. The last thing his logging camp needs is a woman! And the last thing he’s looking for is a bride…so why can’t he get Evie out of his mind?

  In this first book of the Seattle Brides series, two people learn what it means to move beyond their expectations and embrace the very best God has for them.