Yukon Cowboy

“Can you still hike that kind of terrain? And when was the last time you rode a horse?”

“Nate McMann, I could outhike you any day of the week when we were in high school and you know it.” The gall of the man! “And though I might not be able to break wild horses like you I can still ride with the best of them.” She had no intention of telling him that she hadn’t ridden a horse in nine years!

“I never said you couldn’t ride or hike,” he said. His tone sent shivers through her. Confused her.

The man still got to her. There was absolutely no denying that. It was maddening and crazy. But, maybe this was what she needed. Maybe this was the thing that would clear the air once and for all.

Alaskan Bride Rush:

Women are flocking to the Land of the

Midnight Sun with marriage on their minds

Yukon Cowboy—Debra Clopton

October 2010

DEBRA CLOPTON

was a 2004 Golden Heart finalist in the inspirational category, a 2006 Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award winner, a 2007 Golden Quill award winner and a finalist for the 2007 American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award. She praises the Lord each time someone votes for one of her books, and takes it as an affirmation that she is exactly where God wants her to be.

Debra is a hopeless romantic and loves to create stories with lively heroines and the strong heroes who fall in love with them. But most important, she loves showing her characters living their faith, seeking God’s will in their lives one day at a time. Her goal is to give her readers an entertaining story that will make them smile, hopefully laugh and always feel God’s goodness as they read her books. She has found the perfect home for her stories, writing for the Love Inspired line, and still has to pinch herself just to see if she really is awake and living her dream.

When she isn’t writing, she enjoys taking road trips, reading and spending time with her two sons, Chase and Kris. She loves hearing from readers and can be reached through her Web site, www.debraclopton.com, or by mail at P.O. Box 1125, Madisonville, Texas 77864.

Yukon Cowboy

Debra Clopton

www.millsandboon.co.uk

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.

He cares for those who trust in him.

—Nahum 1:7

This book is dedicated to Ms. Jo. You are truly an inspiration and a blessing to me and all those whose lives you touch.

Contents

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

Letter to Reader

Questions for Discussion

Chapter One

“You want me to assist in a tour?” Bethany Marlow asked, in disbelief. Surely her friend and ex-boss was joking. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No kidding involved,” Amy James said, and though she was smiling, the petite, blonde owner of Alaska’s Treasures tour company looked like she wasn’t taking no for an answer. “I’m so glad you’ve chosen to move back to Treasure Creek and open a wedding-planning business. It is going to be a wonderful addition to the town. I know I’m springing this on you, and probably before you’ve even unpacked your suitcase. I’m desperate, though. This is a family tour that I feel needs a woman guide assisting the lead guide.”

Bethany couldn’t believe her ears. Her plane had landed barely an hour ago—and yes, her bags were still packed. She’d been in such a hurry to get outside and not waste any of the precious Alaskan daylight that she’d simply slid them inside her hotel room and hurried outside. She’d been stopped several times by acquaintances who were as excited to see her as she was them. Seeing her old friend Amy coming toward her lifted her spirits even higher. But help lead a tour? This was the last thing she had expected to hear from Amy. She hadn’t led a tour in years. The idea was kind of tempting, however, opening her wedding-planning business had to come first.

“Amy,” she said, feeling bad, “I’d like to help, but I have to put finding a spot to open my store first.”

Amy smiled, her eyes twinkling. “Got that covered already. There’s a space that opened up around the corner from The General Store just off of Main Street. It’s just the cutest, quaintest storefront, with personality plus. I can see your name on the window right now. The location is great. Not that it will matter—as soon as these women hear you’re in town, I have a feeling you’ll be overrun with clients.”

“My word, Amy, you’re like a steamroller!” Bethany laughed—more from surprise than anything. “You’ve been thinking ahead on this curve ball you’ve thrown me.” She sobered. “And all before I’ve even had time to tell you how sorry I was to hear about Ben. I am really so sorry.” Amy’s husband, Ben had died in a tragic accident just a few short months ago. His death left Amy to raise their two young sons on her own, plus running the tour company business, Alaska’s Treasures, by herself. “You have a lot sitting on your shoulders. How are you holding up?”

The entire town was reliant on the tour company to bring in the visitors that kept the town going. Tourist trade was the primary support for all the businesses in town.

“It has to have been so hard on you. I can’t imagine.”

Amy pushed her red curls from her face with one hand, a softness coming to her eyes. “It has been hard, but God’s been right there beside me. And the people of Treasure Creek—oh, Bethany—they have just been wonderful. There isn’t a better bunch of people in all of the world.”

“I agree,” Bethany said, and meant it. She’d met some nice people in San Francisco and on her trips around the country, but her heart had a special fondness toward the people of her hometown. She’d missed them. Not that it really was her hometown. Her dad’s job in the oil industry had transplanted them into the community when she was in elementary school, but she claimed it as her own. Sadly, she hadn’t really appreciated it until she’d moved away and been gone for a while.

“So, will you help out and take the tour? It will be good for you. Like getting your feet wet again with the way of life here in town. You’ll be getting in touch with your roots.”

“You make it hard to say no.”

“I try. Ever since that Now Woman magazine article came out about all the hunky tour guides working for me, the tour business has really picked up. It’s just been a blessing to everyone. And not just single women are coming to town looking for love, but also the family tours are picking up, too. Why don’t you do this? The reason I need you so much is that the family on the tour has just adopted the little boy they’ve been foster parents to. They really could use your help. The mom is nervous about the trip and feels like a woman guide will help her feel more at ease.”

Amy was watching her intently. She was the type of person who’d always tried to take care of everyone around her. She was still doing it. Bethany knew there was no way she could refuse to help her friend. She’d worked as an assistant guide all through high school. It had been a while, but she was pretty sure she still had what it took to get the job done. At least she liked to think that she still had it. She might have moved to the big city, but she hadn’t gone soft.

Plus, Amy was right. The article had been a blessing to everyone, even her. If it hadn’t been for Amy’s interview with the Now Woman writer, Bethany would still be back in San Francisco, growing more dissatisfied by the minute with the way her life was going. The article had been about how gorgeous and wonderful all the eligible bachelors were who worked for Alaska’s Treasures tour company. It had shocked Bethany at first—not the hunky bachelor part, since she knew all too well how true that part was—but it had shocked her that Amy had given an interview about them like that. It hadn’t seemed like Amy. Talking about her love for her town and her tour company, now that was Amy. Bethany had learned later from her mom who’d heard it through the grapevine that the reporter had given the article “the bachelor twist” all on her own. Romance sold articles, and it had also sold the town. Interest picked up; women were everywhere, coming to town in the hope of falling in love and getting married ever since. Reading it herself had brought tears to Bethany’s eyes, and she had to come. It was the answer to her prayers.

After all, where there were weddings there needed to be a wedding planner, and she just happened to be a very good one.

Being home did have its problems though—namely, Nate McMann.

Her heart skipped a couple of beats at the thought of him. After all these years and all that had happened, how was that? Unfortunately, it was inevitable that she’d run into him. Treasure Creek was small. She wondered what it would be like to see him again. She’d heard that he had never married—but she wasn’t going to think about that. Instead she focused on Amy. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I do need to get in touch with my roots. I have missed the wilderness. There is nothing to compare to the beauty of Alaska in the raw.”

Amy looked pleased. “So you’ll do it?”

Excitement hit her. “Sure, why not,” she said, with gusto. “If the guys are still as rough as they used to be, then I’d feel guilty if I leave that poor mother to make it on her own,” she said, laughing.

“Oh, they are that. Although you know as well as I do that there is more marshmallow beneath most of their thick skin.”

Bethany had learned that with many of the older guides she’d helped out during high school. But she wondered about the guys who’d been her age. Specifically, she wondered about Nate—it was something she was going to have to stop doing. She’d heard that he’d taken over running the family ranch when his father retired. She knew from the hours his dad had worked that it was a full-time job. That meant she could relax. It was highly improbable that Nate was a guide any longer. Even in high school, he’d been part-time because of the demands of the ranch.

“Count me in,” she said. “Will I have time to get the space leased and then get my gear together before this tour leaves?”

“This is wonderful!” Amy exclaimed. “You have two days before the tour heads out, and everything except clothes will be packed and ready for you. Can you come by the office tomorrow for a briefing?”

“Sure.”

What was she doing?

“And no worries about the shop. I’m sure before the sun goes down you’ll have a lease on that space. I’m telling you, it is perfect. You run on over there now and look. I’ll give Maxine at the real estate office a call, so she can head in that direction and meet you there.”

“Hold on,” Bethany laughed. “You never told me who was leading the tour or where it’s going.”

Amy already had her cell phone out and pressed to her ear—“I’m still juggling the guys around because of all the honeymoons we’ve been working into the schedules. Oh, hi, Maxine, this is Amy James, how are you today?” Nodding at something Maxine was saying, Amy cupped her hand over the phone and whispered, “Go on now. Maxine will be there in a few. Come see me tomorrow for a briefing at ten, and I’ll get you filled in on everything— Yes, Maxine, I’m still here.” She waved toward the direction of the office and mouthed the word go.

Bethany did as she was told.

How had this happened? She was home, she was on the scent of the perfect office space and she was booked on an Alaskan wilderness tour—all thanks to Amy. And she hadn’t even been back in Treasure Creek for an hour. Her head was spinning. People thought life in a small town moved slowly—obviously they hadn’t been in Treasure Creek lately.

She hadn’t gone but a few steps around the corner when she saw him. Tall, broad-shouldered and as strikingly handsome as he’d always been, Nate McMann was coming out of The General Store with a box of candy in his hand. He wore a rugged sheepskin jacket, his thick blond hair showing beneath his tan Stetson. She’d always loved his hair.

Her footsteps faltered and her heart began pounding, banging against her chest double-time at the sight of him.

He was the most handsome man she’d ever seen—nothing about him had changed. From the shadow of his Stetson, his blue, blue eyes locked onto hers.

She couldn’t breathe.

How was it that the man who’d broken her heart into a thousand pieces could still cause her to go weak in the knees?

It was pathetic…then again, she guessed weak in the knees was okay as long as she didn’t go weak in the brain.

She had no intention of doing that. She’d become strong and independent in the last few years. It hadn’t been easy, though. After he’d sent her away, she’d had to strong-arm herself out of the fog of longing and hurt before it got the better of her.

And now, here she was standing in the middle of town gawking at him and feeling as vulnerable as a kitten.

She needed to act.

To do something.

Say something. But what?

She focused on the positives. Thanks to Nate, she hadn’t just talked about her dreams, she’d gone for them and achieved everything she set out to do—funny how things had worked out.

“Hello, Nate,” she said, just as casually as she greeted every other old friend she met strolling down the street. It sounded good. Strong. Self-confident. Unhurt. In control.

He shifted from one boot to the other.

His eyes, the color of the Pacific Ocean washed over her. Was it her imagination that, for an instant, she thought he’d been drinking in the sight of her as she’d done with him? Foolish was what that was. She wouldn’t let that thought cross her mind again. “Bethany,” he said quietly. “Hi.”

She always loved the way he said her name. There was something so gentle in the sound, coming from such a rugged man. It had always made her feel protected and…special to him. What a lie that had been, she thought, with a jolt of reality. “You look great.” She wanted to kick herself for blurting out the first thing that came to mind. But she felt like a schoolgirl again, all uncertain and nervous. It was horrible.

“So do you,” he said, dropping the ribbon-tied box of chocolates to his side. Her gaze followed it.

He had a woman in his life, it seemed.

“Why are you back in Treasure Creek?”

Bethany almost laughed. Everyone in town more than likely knew why she was back by the time her flight landed. They probably even knew that she was walking down the street at this very minute and was now stopped, talking to her old boyfriend.

“You haven’t heard?” she asked, dismayed, feeling like every moment standing there with him was endless.

“I heard that you’re opening a wedding-planning service.” His gaze sharpened, pinned her like blue darts. “Why is what I’m asking. You don’t belong here.”

His harsh statement cut like a sharp wind, sending a chill up her spine. What was his problem? This was the man who’d told her in one breath he loved her, wanted to spend his life with her, and then the next breath took it back. All these years, what had happened between them still made no sense to her, and he had the gall to tell her she didn’t belong here. Fine, maybe she didn’t, but she was here.

And this time, if she left it would be because she truly wanted to. And if she left, it would be with her chin held high…and her heart intact.

She sucked in a steadying breath. “I’m not sure why you think that.” She managed to sound unaffected. “But I can tell you that it’s not something you need to spend any time concerning yourself over. My being here won’t affect your life in the least. Nice seeing you, Nate,” she offered the last as she sidestepped him. A lady she didn’t know was coming out of the store and Bethany slipped through the open door. Her knees were rattling against each other as the door closed behind her. It was all she could do not to turn and see if he was watching her. The tingle at the back of her neck told her he was.

Of all the scenarios that had gone through her mind about what their first meeting would be like, this wasn’t one of them. Awkward and tough was what that had been—but then, she’d been kidding herself, if she expected anything else.

Nate hadn’t had a good night as he pulled his truck to a stop in front of Alaska’s Treasures, the tour company where he led a few tours a month. Normally, on a day like today, when he was heading in for a briefing before his tour, he was in a great mood, looking forward to the trek out into wilderness he loved.

Not today.

Today he was too preoccupied with other things.

He slammed his truck door just as a gust of October wind bit at him. Jerking the brim of his Stetson low against his forehead, he was unable to stop himself from glancing down the street. Where was she?

He’d heard yesterday that she was arriving, and he should have stayed out of town. But he’d had to get birthday candy for Sue, his housekeeper. In and out had been the plan, with no expectation of running into Bethany. His legs went weak at the thought of seeing her.

When he’d looked up and locked gazes with her it was like seeing a mirage. Like she’d always done, she took his breath away. She’d had the greenest eyes—like translucent green glass, they sparkled and captured the light and held it. He’d always gotten lost peering into their depths. And her dark hair, straight and shiny—just like he’d remembered—framed her heart-shaped face…the same sweet face that had haunted his dreams for nearly a decade.

He closed his eyes and tried to ease the turmoil that rumbled inside of him.

Why did she come home to Treasure Creek?

The question had been eating at him ever since word had gotten out that she was returning. He didn’t understand it and hadn’t believed it at first. She’d had big dreams and wanted to leave Treasure Creek and pursue them more than anything when they were in high school. She’d had the grit to make those dreams reality, too…so why was she here now?

He knew all about the wedding-planning business she was supposed to be opening, but like he’d told her, that didn’t explain why. Why had she given up her dream job in San Francisco to open up a shop here in Treasure Creek? It didn’t make sense. That was for certain.

He hadn’t handled seeing her very well. Ever since their encounter, he felt like he’d been trampled beneath the hooves of a herd of stampeding cattle.

He needed this tour. He’d been too busy at the ranch over the last couple of months to take one out, and he was chomping at the bit to get out there on the trails. For more reasons than to get away from Bethany. He needed to do his part in helping find the treasure that the town was searching for.

Ever since Ben James, owner of the tour company, had died, the town had struggled economically. The tour company brought in most of the revenue for the town, and things had not been the same since Ben had passed.

Amazingly, an old treasure map that belonged to Amy’s great, great grandfather, Mack Tanner, had been discovered after years of merely being a rumor. The discovery had thrown Nate for a loop, because his grandfather had died almost fifteen years ago searching for the stupid treasure—a fact that had torn Nate up all these years. Realizing that his grandfather actually might have died for more than just a rumor didn’t make him any less fond of the idea of a real treasure, but if there actually was one, and it could help the town, then it was worth something. The town had high hopes of finding it.

Nate still had his doubts that the treasure existed; however, if it did, he wanted a crack at finding it. And he wanted this tour because of its location.

Amy was sending the treasure map out with the guides so that they could check different locations, in the hope of finding the right one. He was leading this family tour on a five-day excursion that would go past the place where his grandfather had died. It wasn’t a place he was fond of…Nate had almost died there himself. He’d been on a mission to figure out what his grandfather had seen before he’d fallen from the mountain.

After his near-fatal slip, and almost following in his grandfather’s footsteps, he’d never gone back…until now. This time things would go better. He was determined to find out what his grandfather had found inside the crevice two hundred feet up the face of that cold, ragged rock.

He welcomed the trip more today than yesterday. Today he needed something to focus his anger and disillusionment on.

Glowering, ready for distraction right at that very instant, he stalked up the sidewalk toward the “log cabin” office that housed the tour company. It was nice to see a buzz of activity humming about it, as people came and went out the door. He tipped his hat when a gaggle of women walked past, ogling him like a slab of bacon. He preferred to ignore them, but for the sake of the town he’d play the friendly cowboy role and tip the Stetson and show hospitality. As long as everyone in town understood that tipping his hat was as far as it went with him in letting these bride wannabes try to hook him as a husband. He’d already had a dolled-up redhead named Delilah pull two crazy cons on him. The woman had cornered him in Lizbet’s Diner and asked him if he was alone. Of course he’d said yes, because he was. If he’d known she was going to plunk herself into the booth with him and invite herself to lunch, he’d have said he was leaving.

He didn’t even want to think about the second time she’d cornered him. It was enough to make a man walk off into the wilderness and never come back.

“Hey, Nate,” Gage Parker called, falling into step beside him. Gage was a tour guide and also a member of the search and rescue team.

“Any luck finding Tucker Lawson?” Nate asked, not breaking step. Tucker was a former local. He’d moved away after a rift with his dad but recently his dad had passed away. Tucker had come in for the funeral then disappeared. His best friend Jake Rodgers was funding an ongoing search for him that Gage and police chief Truscott were heading up.

“Nothing new since I saw you last week. We’ve been out a few more times but we can only hope he’s found refuge somewhere…if he’s alive.”

“There’s always a chance.” Nate knew as well as Gage that every day that passed was a bad sign. There was no need to state that. “Everyone is still praying for him.”

“Tucker needs every one of them,” Gage said, studying him. “I’ll be driving your group to the drop point out at Chilkoot Trail day after tomorrow.”

“That’ll be good,” Nate grunted, sliding him a glance. Gage looked happy. He was glad someone was. Gage had recently fallen in love with Karenna, a nice girl who’d fallen for all this craziness about finding a husband in this town. Crazy as it was, something good had come out of all of this.

“You look about as happy as that cougar you had to rescue out of that tank last week,” Gage said, matching him step for step. “You’ve seen her, haven’t you?”

There was no use pretending he didn’t know who “her” was. Everyone would be speculating on the same question, and he had no doubt he’d be asked it by every person he met—especially his fellow tour guides. He figured, since he’d run into Bethany on the street in front of The General Store, that someone would have seen them and that the grapevine would be alive by now.

“Yes, I’ve seen her,” he said, sliding Gage a look that hopefully told him to back off. Yeah, right.

Gage grinned. “Mom was shopping in town and saw you run into each other in front of The General Store. She said it was about as awkward as two porcupines in a box together. She also said Nadine rented Bethany that vacant building around the corner from the store.” Gage turned toward town and pointed. “That one. The one you can just see the front of from here. You know, where Frank Drew had that lousy bakery.”