Remember Me


 
 
 
 
 
 Half Title Page
 
 
 
 
 Books by Tracie Peterson
 
 PICTURES OF THE HEART
 
 Remember Me
 
 LOVE ON THE SANTA FE
 
 Along the Rio Grande
 
 Beyond the Desert Sands
 
 Under the Starry Skies
 
 LADIES OF THE LAKE
 
 Destined for You
 
 Forever My Own
 
 Waiting on Love
 
 WILLAMETTE BRIDES
 
 Secrets of My Heart
 
 The Way of Love
 
 Forever by Your Side
 
 THE TREASURES OF NOME*
 
 Forever Hidden
 
 Endless Mercy
 
 Ever Constant
 
 BROOKSTONE BRIDES
 
 When You Are Near
 
 Wherever You Go
 
 What Comes My Way
 
 GOLDEN GATE SECRETS
 
 In Places Hidden
 
 In Dreams Forgotten
 
 In Times Gone By
 
 HEART OF THE FRONTIER
 
 Treasured Grace
 
 Beloved Hope
 
 Cherished Mercy
 
 THE HEART OF ALASKA*
 
 In the Shadow of Denali
 
 Out of the Ashes
 
 Under the Midnight Sun
 
 SAPPHIRE BRIDES
 
 A Treasure Concealed
 
 A Beauty Refined
 
 A Love Transformed
 
 BRIDES OF SEATTLE
 
 Steadfast Heart
 
 Refining Fire
 
 Love Everlasting
 
 LONE STAR BRIDES
 
 A Sensible Arrangement
 
 A Moment in Time
 
 A Matter of Heart
 
 LAND OF SHINING WATER
 
 The Icecutter’s Daughter
 
 The Quarryman’s Bride
 
 The Miner’s Lady
 
 
 
 Beyond the Silence*
 
 Serving Up Love**
 
 *with Kimberley Woodhouse **with Karen Witemeyer, Regina Jennings, and Jen TuranoFor a complete list of Tracie’s books, visit traciepeterson.com.
 
 
 
 
 Title Page
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Copyright Page
 
 © 2023 by Peterson Ink, Inc.
 
 Published by Bethany House Publishers
 
 Minneapolis, Minnesota
 
 www.bethanyhouse.com
 
 Bethany House Publishers is a division of
 
 Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
 
 www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
 
 Ebook edition created 2023
 
 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
 
 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
 
 ISBN 978-1-4934-4058-0
 
 Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
 
 This is a work of historical reconstruction; the appearances of certain historical figures are therefore inevitable. All other characters, however, are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
 
 Cover design by LOOK Design Studio
 
 Cover model by Alexey Kazantsev / Trevillion Images
 
 Baker Publishing Group publications use paper produced from sustainable forestry practices and post-consumer waste whenever possible.
 
 
 Prologue
 
 DAWSON CITY, YUKONJUNE 1902
 
 Adeline Byrant, or rather Moerman, since she’d been forced to marry Sam Moerman last year, tried her best to sleep. It was the wee hours of the night—her birthday, or it had been the day before. There had been a big party for her, and Sam had presented her with a gold-nugget necklace worth a fortune. She had felt the entire atmosphere of the party turn dangerous and threatening when Sam put that piece around her neck.
 
 “You’re the most beautiful woman in Dawson City, Addie. You deserve to be covered in jewels,” Sam had whispered in her ear.
 
 Addie had felt the weight of the necklace. It was like a chain that bound her to a life she despised. She wanted to say as much, but Sam had been mostly good to her, and she didn’t want to cause a scene.
 
 She touched the place on her neck where the gold piece had lain. It was safely put away for the time being, but she knew Sam would expect her to wear it. She heard someone say it was worth one hundred thousand dollars, but she couldn’t believe that. How could any one thing be worth that much money? Addie rolled over and tried again to get comfortable.
 
 Thankfully, Sam had still not come to bed. Probably working downstairs at the Moerman Gold Palace, which included a gambling hall, saloon, and brothel. Unfortunately, Addie’s suite of rooms was on the second floor, with many of the brothel rooms just down the hall, and the noise seemed to never die down.
 
 She punched the pillow and flipped onto her left side. She had lived in the Yukon since her father and brothers dragged her north in 1898 during the gold rush. She’d been just fifteen years old and had no say over the matter. Just as she’d had no say in marrying Moerman. She supposed it could be much worse. When her brothers sold her to Moerman after the death of their father, they had tortured her, telling her she would have to work as a lady of ill-repute. Barely eighteen, Addie had tried desperately to find a way out of Dawson City, but she had no money, and even her best friend, Millie Stanford, couldn’t help.
 
 But thankfully Sam was more impressed with her cooking skills and had bought her mainly to keep her baking and serving up meals for the gambling hall. Addie hadn’t minded that, except she wasn’t paid . . . at least not regularly. From time to time, Sam took pity on her lack of decent shoes or clothes and gave her money to buy herself what she needed. He was better to her than her brothers were. It wasn’t long, however, before he took advantage of her situation and forced her to be his mistress as well as his cook. Addie reluctantly gave in, knowing there was no one who could stop it from happening, and maybe as Sam’s woman, she wouldn’t have to endure being passed around to the customers. At least that had turned out as she’d hoped. In time, Sam married her, although to this day Addie