Elizabeth could only nod, letting herself be swept away on a tide with a life of its own.

NOAH STOOD WITH Will at the front of the church in somewhat of a state of shock that their wedding was finally here, now. Once Cara had heard, he had only to sit back and watch her enthusiastic planning in amazement. She had arranged everything from the ceremony, complete with church and flowers, to the dinner party afterward at the post.

Elizabeth had been kept out of sight since bedtime the night before. He had heard much running to and fro and some laughter upstairs, but he hadn't had even a moment to speak to her. He wanted to ask if she was OK, if she was sure, but then again, maybe it was better that he didn't have the opportunity. If he was this nervous, it was hard telling what Elizabeth was feeling.

An organ began to play and Noah swallowed hard, trying to force down the knot in his throat.

And then he saw her a and all emotion was swept away except wonder.

She came in the back door, brilliant in a pale, bluish-silver gown. Her dark hair was elaborately curled and sat in a rich pile on the top of her head. Her face was radiant, creamy skin, eyes bright and sparkling in their darkness. His body responded to her, straining for the moment to touch her. His soul ached, antic.i.p.ating the moment when his other half would be one with him. His spirit rejoiced, a rising ripple of joy expanding and overcoming him.

When she reached him, her head was down. He watched her lift her eyes slowly to his, uncertainty and something else in them, something he had never seen in them before now. Was it hope? He wanted to reach out and touch her, to ascertain she was real, that he wasn't dreaming, but he couldn't seem to move at all. It was all he could do to breathe.

In a daze, he heard the ceremony begin. Clearly and solemnly the pastor spoke of the vows and the covenant they were about to enter into. Noah tried to concentrate on the words, but all he could do was drown himself in the fullness of her eyes. They had made their covenant weeks before, on the sh.o.r.e of their brokenness. This was just a formality.

"I do."

He heard her say the soft words and cherished them. They had been so hard won. His own "I do" was triumphant, jubilant even. He felt a war had been won and he was now being crowned the victor. And then he was told to kiss her. It wasn't the kiss he wanted to give her, this chaste peck. That kiss would wait a little while longer and would last the rest of their lives.

WITH MIXED EXCITEMENT and dread, Elizabeth slipped out of her wedding clothes and gave herself a quick sponge bath from the pitcher of water on the bedside stand. She had just pulled the nightdress over her head and had begun b.u.t.toning the row of tiny b.u.t.tons when there was a faint knock on the door. Oh, no. Not yet! Standing frozen, she heard a voice say, "Elizabeth, open up. It's me, Cara."

Relief pooled through her as she rushed to open the door. "What are you doing? He could be here any minute." The wedding party had ended a half hour ago, and Noah was down talking to Will and giving her time to get ready.

Cara sidled through the crack and whispered, "We have a few minutes, and I wanted to help you." She began working the b.u.t.tons as she talked. "Now hold still."

Elizabeth's stomach was a ma.s.s of quivering nerves.

"You're shaking like a leaf. Now relax, it will go better that way."

Elizabeth gave a nervous laugh. "Oh Cara, must I go through with it?"

Cara's mouth formed a rueful line. "You'll wonder why you ever said that in the morning."

Cara's confidence helped boost her spirits. Once the gown was b.u.t.toned, they pulled the pins from her hair. Cara quickly took down Elizabeth's hair and brushed it. It was long now and hung in rich, dark waves around her slim shoulders.

Turning Elizabeth to face her, Cara laid the brush on the dressing table and smiled. "Don't look so worried dear. Everything will be fine."

"I hope you're right, Cara. I really do."

"You hope she's right about what?" came a deep voice from the doorway.

Startled, they both froze. Cara regained her composure first and silently walked toward him. Noah and Cara exchanged glances at the door, Cara handing Noah the brush, but Elizabeth couldn't make out his face in the shadows. She stood like a statue and waited.

Noah walked into the room and shut the door behind him without taking his eyes off her. After what seemed like an eternity, he walked over to her until he was very close. She could feel his breath in her hair. "What are you doing, Elizabeth?"

His voice sounded strained. Tilting her head back, she closed her eyes and said in a husky voice, "I'm not doing anything."

The seconds ticked by, seemingly endless, but she wouldn't, couldn't open her eyes.

Finally, she felt his hand cup her cheek and she turned into it. When she heard him expel his breath in a rush, she let her eyelids flutter open. He looked deep into her eyes, saying heatedly, "I want to kiss you."

She felt the battle within her, fear versus love, and knew she had to make a decision. Noah was not Ross. Noah was not any of the others who had hurt her. Noah was her husband, a man who loved her more than she had ever imagined being loved. How could she give him anything less than her whole heart? Elizabeth lifted her hands, placed her flat palms against his chest, felt the steady rhythm of his quickened heartbeat, slid them up to his shoulders, her gaze rising to his neck, feeling the rush of his breath across her face, and then she bravely lifted her gaze to his.

She gasped, tears springing to her eyes. She had expected to see l.u.s.t, to see what she'd seen a hundred times in men's eyes, was prepared to sacrifice herself to it. But instead, she saw love. Life-giving, heart-restoring love. Heated and real and masculine.

And hers. He was hers.

She felt the knot inside unravel, felt the stiffness in her spine melt, reached up on tiptoes and coiled her arms around his neck. G.o.d help me, I love him.

DOWNSTAIRS, THE NEXT morning, Will pulled Noah aside and said quietly, "I hadn't the chance to tell you yesterday, but we had an interesting telegram arrive while you two were away."

Noah raised his eyebrows. "What was it about? Who from?"

"It was from a Margaret Dunning. She said she is looking for Elizabeth."

Noah frowned and sat forward in his chair. "That's Elizabeth's adopted mother, the one who hired Ross. What did she want?"

"Noah, she says Elizabeth's real mother is on her way to Juneau. She's looking for Elizabeth."

Noah let out a breath in a rush. "So her mother is alive a"

"It would appear so. She might have been told at the orphanage her mother died. It is a common practice."

"Possible," Noah said quietly. He didn't know what to make of it. All he knew was that suddenly he wanted to get Elizabeth home. "Thanks for telling me, Will. Her adoptive parents are not the kind of people to be trusted, from everything I've heard. Don't tell Elizabeth about this. I don't want to upset her."

Will nodded in understanding.

"If Elizabeth's real mother shows herself, which I doubt will happen, we'll tell her then."

Twenty-Two.

Jane shielded her eyes on the Juneau dock and gazed at the mountains. "Oh, Ben, it's so beautiful." "Breathtaking," he agreed, but he wasn't looking at the mountains.

She blushed when she caught his meaning.

"You have to stop that."

"What?"

"Looking at me like you've never seen me before."

He grasped her hand, lifting it to his lips, brushing her knuckles with a whisper of a kiss. "I've never seen you like this."

She looked up into his eyes, really looked into them like married couples forget to do, and smiled. She looked ready to cry, so he laughed, deep and happy, and kissed her square on the mouth in front of strangers, causing her to pull back, laughing and lecturing him instead. "You're making a scene, Ben Rhodes."

It was true. But she was nearing forty, and she had never looked so alive. Or happy. The steamship had been crowded, their private cabin expensive a and it had been the honeymoon they'd never had.

Turning back toward the city he watched her breathe in the mountain air and smile, making excuses for the compliments. "Anyone would feel wonderful in this air. Can you believe how clean and fresh everything feels here?"

He grinned as they climbed into the carriage, feeling young again, feeling young and as though this vast Alaskan sky was their new horizon.

"Where to, sir?" the driver interrupted.

"Oh, take us to the best hotel in town."

"Yes, sir. That'd be the Grand Hotel."

With a jolt they were off, Jane peering eagerly out the window, the curve of her neck so appealing, his wife not wanting to miss a single thing. She turned suddenly toward him, eyes alight with excitement as she said, "Look at that log church. Isn't it sweet? And it even has a log bell tower. I feel like we've stepped back into history here."

Gone were the tall buildings of New York City, the crowds and the busyness. They were seeing America now. And Alaska, the last frontier. As they pa.s.sed the town trading post, Jane pointed out an odd-looking couple coming out the door. The man was big, tall and broad-shouldered, and the woman was quite small in comparison. She had dark hair and big eyes a Jane suddenly grasped Ben's arm. "Look, did you see that young woman?"

Ben nodded but the couple had turned the corner and they lost sight of them. Jane gripped his arm harder.

"What? What is it, Jane?"

"Thaa"that young woman I just saw coming out the trading post. Ben, it was her, I know it. Turn around! We have to go back." She pulled on his sleeve. "Tell the driver to turn around."

Ben looked at her wild eyes and pleading face. "OK, we'll go back. But Jane, you have to calm down. It may not have been her. You don't know. You couldn't have gotten a very good look at her."

"Ben a I can't explain it, but it was her. I've been looking into faces for years, looking for something that I would know. It was her!"

Ben rapped on the window toward the front of the carriage but the man didn't seem to hear. Soon they stopped in front of the Grand Hotel. Jane stumbled out, yelling up at the driver. "We have to go back to that trading post."

Ben grasped her hand to gain her attention. "I'll just check us in and have our bags taken to our room. You wait here and we'll have the driver take us over to the trading post."

Jane nodded. "Hurry! She was leaving. What if she's gone? What if we can't find her?"

Ben gripped her shoulders. "We'll find her. I promise. We won't go home until we do. Now calm down and wait in the carriage, OK?"

She nodded and climbed back inside while Ben hurriedly gave instructions to the driver and the hotel staff. Within ten minutes they were on their way back to the post. Once there, Jane suddenly became hesitant. "What if she isn't there? What if she is there? What will I say to her?"

Ben helped her climb down from the carriage. "You will tell her you love her. Everything will be fine. Now, come."

As they walked in, a bell jingled above the door. An older woman came out of the back room and smoothed her skirts. "Can I help you folks with something?" she asked kindly.

Jane smiled and took a deep breath. "How do you do, ma'am? My name is Jane and this is my husband, Ben. We are looking for a young woman by the name of Elizabeth and, well, I thought I might have seen her here just a short time ago. Do you know anyone by that name?"

The woman shook her head. "I'm just minding the store. All the young people went out to see a new horse one of them bought and then out to dinner. But it does seem like I heard one of them being called Elizabeth. Can't be sure, though. My hearing, you know, it's not what it used to be. But you can come back in a few hours. Will and Cara Collins will be here then, and they'll know the answer to your questions."

Jane's body collapsed with a mixture of relief and disappointment. "Yes, well, thank you. We'll come back later."

Ben squeezed her hand encouragingly as they walked back to the carriage. "It's better this way. We won't be so fl.u.s.tered. We'll be better prepared to meet her in the morning."

Jane sighed and leaned against his arm, looking suddenly tired. "Yes, you're right. Let's go."

THE NEXT MORNING Ben and Jane breakfasted early in the hotel dining room. Afterward, they wandered into the lobby. At the front desk Ben was told he had received a telegram. Opening it at the desk with Jane standing pensively at his side, he scanned the message. Then scanned it again.

"What is it?" Jane asked.

"It's from my partner, Herbert. Before we left New York, I gave him Henry and Margaret's name and asked him to see what he could find out about them." He took Jane's elbow, led her over to the window, and lowered his voice. "He says that Henry is wanted for the murder of a miner in the state of Utah. The authorities have been looking for the two of them for over three years."

Jane gasped. "What should we do?"

Ben shook his head. "I'll telegraph Herb with the Dunnings' address. I'm sure they will be there since they are waiting for the remainder of the reward from us."

Jane looked at him with concern. "But a what if we need them or," then suddenly, "you don't think Elizabeth was mixed up in this do you?"

Ben looked grim. "We won't know the answer to that until we find her."

"Shouldn't we wait to tell someone? We might need the Dunnings to be cooperative and if they find out we reported them a they won't tell us anything," Jane insisted.

Ben shook his head, eyebrows down over his green eyes. "Don't worry, Jane. We'll find Elizabeth without any further help from them. We have to report this."

Jane sighed and nodded. "Yes, of course. You are right." She looked up into his eyes. "To think my little girl was adopted by a a a murderer a I can't bear it."

He grasped the curve of her jaw in one hand, looked steadily into her eyes, willing her strength. "We know she's alive and we'll find her. That's all that matters now."

After he calmed her, they hurried out the hotel door, headed toward the post. Ben looked over at her with a worried frown for what seemed the hundredth time that morning.

"Are you sure you're up to this right now? You look so pale, Jane."

Jane nodded up at him. "I haven't come this far only to turn back. I'm fine."

The walk to the trading post was short and Ben gave her a rea.s.suring nod before as they reached the front door. They stood for a moment, contemplating the door they'd walked through yesterday, both feeling that something monumental was about to happen. Taking a deep breath, Jane took the first step forward.

The bell jingled as Ben opened the door and allowed his wife in. The shop was well lit, neatly organized, and clean. It had a homey air to it that pleased Jane, causing her to take a deep breath and throw back her shoulders. Striding to the long, wooden counter together, they paused and met the smile of a business-looking man in his mid-thirties or so.

"What can I help you folks with today?" he asked in a friendly tone.

Ben started to speak, but Jane raised her gloved hand. "Sir, my name is Jane and this is my husband, Benjamin. We have traveled a great distance in search of someone, a young woman actually." She hesitated, close to tears, then tilted her head and gave him a shaky smile. "I thought a that is, would you happen to know an Elizabeth Dunning?"

The reaction of recognition on Will's face was immediate and Jane held her breath waiting for his response. "Well, ma'am, I might know someone by that name, but you'll have to tell me exactly what you want with her before I say anything more."

Jane liked his answer and trusted him immediately. "Well, you see, I'm her mother. And I've been looking for her for a very a very long time."