Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska Read online

  TRICIA GOYER

  OCIEANNA FLEISS

  Summerside Press™

  Minneapolis, MN 55378

  www.summersidepress.com

  Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska

  © 2013 by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss

  ISBN 978-1-60936-569-1

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Scripture references are from the following sources: The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV). The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

  The town depicted in this book is a real place. References to actual people or events are either coincidental or are used with permission.

  Cover design by Koechel Peterson & Associates | www.koechelpeterson.com

  Interior design by Müllerhaus Publishing Group | www.mullerhaus.net

  Photos of Glacier Bay provided by the authors.

  Author photos of Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss © 2010 by Jessica McCollam | Jessica’s Visions Photography.

  Published in association with the Books & Such Literary Agency, Janet Kobobel Grant, 52 Mission Circle, Suite 122, PMB 170, Santa Rosa, CA 95409-5370, www.booksandsuch.biz.

  Summerside Press™ is an inspirational publisher offering fresh, irresistible books to uplift the heart and engage the mind.

  Printed in USA.

  Contents

  ...............

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Ninteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Authors’ Note

  About the Authors

  Dedication

  .....................

  To Lee and Linda Parker, the Gustavus Historical Archives and Antiquities, and the wonderful people of Glacier Bay. The beauty of the history is reflected in the open arms of the people.

  Acknowledgments

  .......................

  This is the book I almost didn’t get to write. During the writing journey, I was hit by an unforeseen crisis—I had a cardiac arrest. My heart stopped beating, twice, and my family didn’t know if their wife and mom would ever come home. How fitting that the family in this book lost their mother, just like my family almost lost me. I have a heart full of thanks for all who helped me during that time, but here, it’s most appropriate to thank Summerside Press, my agent, Janet Grant, and my coauthor and friend, Tricia, for their patience with my recovery as we researched and wrote this book.

  I’d also like to thank my very special support team: my husband, Michael, and four children, who support me with their prayers, hugs, and love. I am also always most grateful for my McCritters, Annette Irby, Dawn Kinzer, and Veronica McCann for their support and critiques. My church and homeschooling families constantly bless me with their excitement and enthusiasm for each step I take as an author.

  My deepest thanks go to the amazing staff at Summerside, including Jason Rovenstine and the best editor in the world, Rachel Meisel, for this awesome opportunity.

  Most of all, I thank my Lord Jesus, the rock on which I stand.

  —Ocieanna Fleiss

  When I first heard about Ocieanna’s cardiac arrest, two thoughts ran through my mind. First: Lord, save her for her family. Second: Lord, I can’t write Glacier Bay without her. This is a story we dreamed up together. I knew it was one we had to write together. I’m so glad we could!

  Thank you to Amy Lathrop and the Litfuse hens for being the best assistants anyone can have. Many people ask how I do it all. Thankfully, with you on my team, I don’t have to do it all!

  Like Ocieanna, I give kudos to the Summerside team. Rachel Meisel, you’re the best, and Jason Rovenstine, you’re one of the coolest guys on the planet. And thanks to all you who work behind the scenes—the managers, designers, copy editors, sales people, financial folks, and everyone else who makes a book possible!

  I’m also thankful for my agent, Janet Grant. Your wisdom and guidance have made all the difference.

  And I’m thankful for my family at home. John, I’m so thankful for a husband who believes in me and cheers me on. Cory, Katie, and Clayton—living far from you is hard, but I’m so proud of your family! Leslie, I love your heart for God and the way you like to share God’s good news with others. Nathan, keep writing and trust God’s plan for you. Alyssa, what a bundle of joy you are! Every day is brighter since God brought you into our lives! Grandma Dolores, I know not many people have the chance to spend so much time with their favorite grandparent. Thank you. And to the rest of my family, I appreciate each of you! I’m so thankful you’re in my life. God gave me the gift of you!

  —Tricia Goyer

  God is our refuge and strength,

  an ever-present help in trouble.

  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

  and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

  though its waters roar and foam

  and the mountains quake with their surging.

  PSALM 46:1–3 NIV

  THE STORY OF GUSTAVUS/STRAWBERRY POINT STARTED WITH THREE newlywed couples. They’d met an old steamship captain who told them about a beautiful land at the edge of an iceberg-laden bay surrounded by snow-covered mountains. Before they arrived, the native Tlingit people and others used the area for fishing, berry picking, and other similar uses.

  The three couples arrived in June of 1914 and discovered wild strawberries growing across the flats. They journeyed across Icy Passage and up the Salmon River, where they found a nice spot to set up their tents. There were no roads, bridges, docks. There was only land and the wild animals that roamed it. The settlers worked hard and enjoyed each other’s company. In 1917, more families arrived, including Abraham Lincoln Park, grandfather of Lee Parker. Lee and his wife, Linda, are an active part of the Gustavus Historical Archives and Antiquities.

  In 1925, Strawberry Point was renamed Gustavus after a Glacier Bay landmark, Point Gustavus. This new post office served the seventeen settlers who called the place home. Thirteen of these families had patented their homestead before 1939. After that, President Roosevelt enlarged the Glacier Bay Monument boundaries and took possession of all unpatented Gustavus lands. This landlocked the pioneers and halted all development. Thanks to a letter-writing campaign led by Charles Parker, homesteading was re
stored in 1955, and nineteen thousand acres were released back to Gustavus. As a result, more settlers were allowed to homestead, and the area grew.

  Canneries across Icy Strait provided an economic base for the settlers. Strawberries, root crops, and beef helped the residents to prosper. A sawmill was opened, and commercial mines started operation. In 1942 the threat of invasion by the Japanese provided the impetus for the US government to open a first-class airport. In 1956 the first road was built to Bartlett Cove to cover the “Gateway” to Glacier Bay, and tourists began to arrive.

  Today, Gustavus is a remote destination getaway. The Glacier Bay Lodge is the hub of tourism, but there are also numerous inns. The only way to get to Gustavus is by plane or ferry. Those who live there are rugged and independent. Members of the community still get together and help each other. Today Gustavus has fewer than four hundred full-time residents, although thousands more visit every summer. Wild strawberries still grow, but residents have to fight the bears for them.

  If you choose to vacation in Gustavus, you can get great coffee at the Fireweed Coffee and Tea House, delicious pizza at the Homeshore Café, and even rent a car from Bud. If you do, tell them that Tricia and Ocieanna sent you! Also, be sure to check out the amazing stories, photos, and facts at www.gustavushistory.org.

  —Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss

  Chapter One

  .......................

  Towering four-inch heels clicked on the marble floor as Ginny Marshall strode past mahogany pillars, gold-accented mirrors, and pristine white tablecloths toward music producer Danny Kingston, seated at a small table. Before him sat two objects: a yellow manila envelope and a small jewelry box. Danny never was one to beat around the bush.

  An uneasy feeling danced around in Ginny’s gut like the artificial twinkling lights that filled the art deco restaurant. Ever since she’d heard Danny’s excited voice on her cell phone, she’d wanted to run—to escape the people, escape the traffic, escape the noise. But mostly to escape the scramble to the top.

  The desire to run away made no sense. Wasn’t this what she wanted—a big break in her recording career…and to be Danny Kingston’s girlfriend?

  Ginny touched manicured fingernails to the base of her neck, willing herself to swallow the emotion that attempted to surge upward. No, what she really wanted, a family—a place to belong—wouldn’t be found in Danny’s Mediterranean-style estate in Woodland Hills.

  Audra, one of Ginny’s foster sisters, had told her the type of home and family she wanted was a thing of fairy tales. If Ginny hadn’t lived it, she would have believed Audra. Even worse than Ginny’s nightmares were the sweet dreams of the simple, happy life she’d once had.

  Don’t ruin your night with what-ifs and a thousand prayers focused on what will never be. Ginny blew out a soft breath. On the phone he’d been adamant, so she’d done as Danny asked. She wore one of the gowns he’d had delivered to her apartment—a white, slinky halter dress she couldn’t afford—and took a cab to the restaurant.

  Danny rose. “Sweetheart.” He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, kissing her forehead.

  Ginny straightened her wrap, covering her bare shoulders, and stepped into his embrace. “Thank you for the dress. How did you know my size?” She softly kissed his cheek.

  “I know more about you than you think, darlin’. You’d be surprised.”

  But not what really matters. The thought slipped in before she could stop it.

  Danny didn’t know that her birth mother had given her up, nor about the years she’d spent living with families who didn’t love her. He didn’t know about her last foster parents, Dale and Robyn, who had offered her the chance of a forever home. And he didn’t know that they died when she was still a teenager, their deaths breaking her heart and robbing her of the family she’d always dreamed of and come so close to having.

  He pulled back and held the chair as she sat, and then hurried around the table and did the same.

  Forcing a smile, Ginny scooted in her chair.

  His gaze moved from her plunging neckline to the long hair that tumbled over her shoulders. “You should have worn your hair up.” Danny’s hand lingered on her arm. “In fact, I can’t remember you ever wearing it up.”

  She shrugged and forced a smile. “Didn’t that reporter call the ‘long beach waves’ my signature style?”

  He nodded, but she could tell his mind had already moved on to other things.

  Two women at the next table eyed her, jealousy evident in their gazes. Months ago she wouldn’t have believed she’d be here. Or that one of People magazine’s bachelors of the year would be courting her. Or that top music studios would be doing the same.

  Danny winked. “I have a little gift for you.”

  Norah Jones’s velvety voice swirled in the air that smelled of fresh bread, basil, and bourbon. “Come away with me….” It was the song that had been playing the night Brett had proposed. Had it been three years already?

  Come away with me…

  Why did she think of him now?

  They’d been sitting at the cove in La Jolla, watching the sea lions playing in the surf. Brett had pulled his iPod from his pocket and tucked the ear buds into her ears. He knew she loved the song. And she knew what he was asking.

  Brett.

  When she’d heard he’d flown back to Glacier Bay, Alaska, her heart had dropped like a pebble into a deep, dark pond. She couldn’t blame him, though. It wasn’t as if she’d given him any reason to stay. To have hope they could work things out.

  Danny was saying something. She caught the end of it. “Seems as if you like it.” His smile lightened her heart.

  “Sorry. What were you asking?”

  “You were staring off into space.” He winked. “I guessed that maybe you like this song. This singer.”

  “Norah Jones? Yeah, she’s one of my favorites.” How could he not know that?

  Danny reached across the table and took her hand, squeezing it. “Your voice is as beautiful as Norah’s, you know.”

  “That’s nice of you to say.”

  “Do you think I’m just saying it?” His grin showed a hint of dimple in his left cheek.

  She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, no.” She looked down at the jewelry box, then at her bare left finger. She’d worn Brett’s ring for months after he’d returned to Alaska. Finally, after her birthday had passed and he’d made no contact, she’d packed up the antique gold and diamond ring and mailed it back to him, Priority Mail.

  Danny lifted the small box. Tiffany & Co. was emblazoned on the cover in gold script.

  “A gift?” She brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “My birthday isn’t for months.”

  “It’s to celebrate…but I’m getting ahead of myself. That’s the second half of the surprise.”

  Danny placed the box on the palm of his hand, extending it. She took it with trembling fingers and opened it to find an exquisite necklace. A chain of small diamonds twisted in a knot, ending in two large stones. A soft gasp came from someone at the next table.

  “It’s…wow.”

  Danny leaned forward. “Do you like it?”

  She trailed a finger over the chain that sparkled as if a hundred stars had been caught and linked together. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. It’s amazing.”

  He motioned to the necklace. “Can I help you?”

  Her cheeks heated. A camera flashed. In the morning, she’d see her picture on some celebrity gossip blog, with rumors circulating about Danny Kingston’s new girl. He was Hollywood’s ladies’ man, and for this moment Ginny was glad to be that woman. Danny’s woman. Or was she?

  Ginny’s chest grew heavy, as if the air she breathed was also filled with diamonds. The pain pinched, viselike. Her fingers tightened around the box. Norah’s voice trailed off.

  Their waitress pretended to rearrange a perfectly set table but was most likely gathering information to spill to the tab
loids.

  “It’s beautiful, Danny, but I don’t understand….”

  If she accepted it, what would he expect? More than she wanted to offer? A man like Danny was used to getting what he wanted.

  “Like I said, we’re celebrating.” He patted the envelope. “I was going to wait until dessert, but here I am spilling the news and we haven’t even ordered.” His laughter filled the air, and her tension eased. Being around Danny pushed the what-ifs and what-nows out of her mind.

  He slid the envelope toward her.

  “It’s the new contract?”

  Danny nodded. “Inside is something most artists only dream of. Your last contract was fine. Your last album sold well.” He smiled. “But this label wants you, and they’re putting all their resources behind it. Adele, move over. Colbie Caillat…well, she’s about to be upstaged.” Danny focused his eyes and leaned in closer. “People have heard about you, Ginny, but with this contract you’ll be known.”

  His words filled a chasm in her heart that had been there as long as she could remember, giving her a lifeline of hope. At the same time, the necklace seemed like a lasso, ready to capture her, control her.

  Ginny lifted the envelope, hefting its weight. Promises. Both the necklace and the contract. The only problem was that over the last few days all she’d been able to think about was Brett and the promise broken. About their hopes, which she’d dashed when success in LA glimmered like a jewel in a velvet box.

  Danny straightened his silk tie, waiting for her response. “I’ve never seen you speechless.”

  She placed the envelope and the necklace on the table. “I’m sorry. It’s all happening so fast. I need time to think.”

  “Of course, sweetheart.” His hands reached for hers, holding them tight. “If you want me to explain the money, the terms…”

  “It’s not that.” She pulled her hands away. Why had she come out in public wearing something so revealing? She readjusted her wrap and scooted her chair back, giving herself space to breathe. The restaurant pressed in, crowding her. What she wouldn’t give for space.