Free Deep Harbor by Lisa T. Bergren

about? Beating Storm?”
    “Certainly not,” she said, raising her chin. “This is about Tora Anders coming into her own.”
    “On Storm’s credit. It’ll shame him, blacken his name. He’ll be furious.”
    “By the time he finds out, I’ll write him a check and all will bewell. I am aware that this is big business, and surely you yourself have seen things done in a more … roundabout fashion.”
    “I beg to differ. Trent deals in a straightforward manner. And he already knows of your … indiscretions. He was the one who wired the board of directors.”
    Tora stilled, chilled to the bone. How? How on earth had he found out? She had been so careful! She cleared her throat, determined to gain control of the situation again. Tora smiled up at Andrew. “Surely you don’t believe all this. Why, Andrew, I don’t know what I’ll do if your bank cuts me off! Look at this!” she said, waving about her. “It’s going to be glorious! A fine investment!”
    “One we can’t afford to make,” Andrew said, meeting her eyes. He reached inside his pocket and drew out a paper, handing it to her. “Your loan is due in fourteen days.”
    Tora whipped the paper from his hands, angry now. “You will be speaking with my attorney shortly.”
    Andrew nodded once and placed his bowler hat back on his head. “Very well. Tora … I … I’m sorry about this.”
    “As well you should be. Good day, Mr. Aston,” she said haughtily, walking quickly toward the hotel. “I’ll thank you for leaving
my
property immediately.”
    It took two weeks for Tora to understand the depth of her difficulties. In Spokane, she could feel the squeeze of Storm Enterprises’ long arm. Word was spreading that she had double-crossed Trent, a leading employer and investor in the new, growing region. When she returned to Helena, things worsened. Where once she was the leading socialite in town, in two short weeks she had become an outcast. No one came to call; no one answered her pleas for help. Worse, news arrived that her mining investments were failing—the first had had a major cave-in and would be weeks in recovering; the other had yet to yield more than a pittance in silver.
    With payments on her house, carriage, mining investments, androadhouse property loans coming due at once, Tora was suddenly in a panic. She had no savings account, and her extravagant lifestyle had eaten up any extra cash she had. That morning, she had let two of her maidservants go, holding on to Sasha in one last, desperate measure. She refused to let Sasha go! She refused!
    Angrily, she pulled on her white lace gloves and hat and left the house for Andrew’s bank. He would see her side of things and fight for her. She would make sure of it.
    Even if she had to propose marriage herself.

five

    K arl leaned out the stagecoach window, ignoring the August dust. He was too excited to let anything upset him today. In a sense, he was coming home. Even the dust smelled clean, honest. After receiving a letter from Kristoffer, forwarded to him in Helena, Karl looked for the first opportunity to come to the Washington Territory. It was here in the Skagit Valley that his fellow Bergensers had moved. Here he would see old friends for the first time in over five years!
    He gazed around at the thickly wooded hills that protected the verdant valley. From edge to edge were healthy crops of peas, wheat, and potatoes. Karl smiled. God had favored the Bergenser farmers at last. His thoughts went from the valley farmers to the shipbuilders in Camden, and back to Norway and his family. He felt the smile fade from his face as the image of Karl’s father came to mind. They had not parted well. Karl felt a tug of guilt. In many ways his father’s words—though spoken in anger—had proven prophetic. He had been right about his son way back in 1880; he had seen the sin within Karl, the hypocrisy. Even though he wouldn’t have admitted his lust for Elsa, his father had seen it plainly. And