Beside Still Waters
Page 28
“I can certainly see the resemblance between the two.” Evie handed the photo back to Violet, who replaced it on the shelf.
Violet chuckled. “He tries hard to look after me—just like his father did. Alma and Tennes are very sweet to me too.” She gestured toward Evie. “And now I have you and your family. Norman so longed to find you. I often wonder if he knows you’ve come home.”
Evie sipped her tea. “I think about that too.” She paused but continued as though speaking to herself. “Erik is the closest I’ll come to knowing my father this side of heaven.”
They sat with their own thoughts for a few minutes. Then Violet broke the silence. “The Lord is my comfort and strength. No more turbulence. I have peace.”
Evie smiled. “I do too.”
The door opened, and Erik entered holding the hand of Evie’s little girl, Kristina Louise. She toddled over to Evie, her bright curls bouncing, and raised her arms. “Mama!” Evie gathered her onto her lap.
Looking up, Evie said, “Hi, Little Brother! How was your walk?” They burst out laughing. Although Erik was younger by ten years, he was now as tall as their father. A couple of years earlier, discovering that she had a brother and being able to locate him had been a miracle. According to their family, Erik, with his vivid blue eyes and wavy dark hair, was a carbon copy of their father.
“So how was your walk?” Violet asked.
“Fine . . . until Kristina Louise got tired. I had to carry her home.” Erik chuckled. “No problem, though. She’s lighter than some of the salmon I wrestle on the boat.”
Evie whispered loudly in the child’s ear. “Kristina Louise, did you say hello to Grandma Violet?”
The little girl slid off Evie’s lap, shouting “Gamma Violet!” and ran into Violet’s arms. As she hugged her, Violet whispered over the child’s head. “I often wonder what my Elizabeth Anne would have looked like had she lived to grow up. And now the Lord has given me a special grandchild, a little girl to love and watch grow. I am doubly blessed.”
THE END
Note from the Author
ALTHOUGH THIS BOOK IS LARGELY a work of fiction, the sinking of the Canadian Pacific Steamship Princess Sophia in Lynn Canal near Juneau, Alaska, is a historical fact. News of the worst maritime disaster ever in the Pacific Northwest was soon eclipsed by the worldwide Spanish influenza pandemic and the Armistice that concluded “the war to end all wars,” World War I.
The disaster has been referred to as the shipwreck that “took the North down with it.” Of the nearly three hundred fifty northerners on board, one-eighth the size of the non-Native population of the entire Yukon at that time, none survived. Entire families were obliterated. Government leaders and prominent businessmen from Alaska and the Yukon, colorful prospectors from the Klondike Gold Rush, and the crews of twelve Yukon River steamers, including three captains, went down with her. The city of Dawson alone lost one hundred twenty-five citizens in a single stroke. Only one dog escaped. A few letters survived in victims’ clothing. My account of the infamous loss was drawn from newspaper headlines and is faithful to the historical data.
The novels in my Alaskan Waters Series are entirely fiction but are based on true incidents I uncovered while researching my non-fiction book, Frontiers of Faith, which tells the adventure-filled story of my maternal grandparents, Charles C. and Florence L. Personeus, who went to Alaska as missionaries in 1917 and spent sixty-five years there. Those stories tickled my imagination. They wouldn’t leave me alone until I fleshed out characters and plots and wove them together into the life-and-death saga of a fictitious Norwegian immigrant family representative of the many Scandinavians living in Alaska’s Panhandle. The Pedersens battle the beautiful, but often dangerous, waters of early twentieth century Southeast Alaska (where I grew up) to find love and happiness in the midst of tragedies.
And now I have a favor to ask. If you have enjoyed this novel, would you consider posting a brief review on Amazon and Goodreads? It can be as short as one or two lines, simply stating why you liked the book. Since many readers base their book purchases on the number of good reviews posted, reviews are one of the best ways to bless your favorite authors. And if you do post a review, please let me know through one of my contacts on Facebook, Twitter, my blog, or email (see contact list that follows). I’d like to meet you.
I hope and pray that you have been blessed and encouraged by the stories of the Pedersen family, who struggle through life’s many storms and come to rest beside still waters when they allow God to use their heartaches to make them better not bitter.
May you too find peace and joy in the midst of your storms.
—AnnaLee Conti
OTHER BOOKS IN THE ALASKAN WATERS SERIES
BY ANNALEE CONTI
BOOK ONE
Till the Storm Passes By
“Mommy! Wake up!” a little girl screams. But the woman on the beach lies cold and wet and still. Evie, a timid Rhode Island schoolteacher, must travel to Alaska in 1953 to unravel the mystery of her nightmares and her mother’s deathbed confession. Can she come through storms, both physical and emotional, and open her heart to true love?
BOOK TWO
A Star to Steer By
Tales of easy wealth entice Norman, a poor Norwegian fisherman, to immigrate to Alaska in 1920, asking his sweetheart to wait for him, but achieving his goal is harder than he expects. Charmed by the beautiful but conniving Cecilia, Norman becomes entrapped in a “prison” of his own making. Will he ever find his true “star to steer by”?
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ANNALEE CONTI
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BESIDE STILL WATERS
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www.goodreads.com/author/show/2562235.AnnaLee_Conti
amazon.com/author/annaleeconti
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