Chapter One
Josephine Smith satquietly by the fire.She was on her way to meet her future husband, Jack Blake, and it was the last night before they arrived in the small Alaskan frontier town of Yeti.Yeti was home to Jack, and all of her companions' future husbands.
After working for many years in a hotel restaurant, she’d followed the lead of some of her friends and decided to be a mail-order bride.Her best friend, Myrtle, was on a walk with her new husband, but she sat with two other women who were on their way to Yeti as well.Lula and Ella had both worked in the hotel with them, and they were to marry men from Yeti.It was strange to think that at this time tomorrow, she’d be married.
While her friends spoke to one another, her mind was far away.Had she made a terrible mistake agreeing to marry a stranger?She knew little about Jack.He was a logger in Yeti, Alaska, who had moved there from Seattle, where he’d been a logger as well.They’d written a few letters back and forth, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember why she’d decided to marry the man.
What if he was cruel?Growing up, Josie had watched her mother receive daily scoldings and beatings from her stepfather.She’d begged her mother to leave, but her mother had simply said she wouldn’t be able to raise her children without his earnings.Josie had argued that she couldn’t raise her children if she were dead, but her mother had stubbornly refused to leave.As soon as Josie was sixteen, she’d found a job at the hotel in Beckham and had never looked back.Even though she hated the job, it was better than watching her mother hurt every single day.
Josie sat staring into the fire, wishing she knew what her future held when they reached Yeti.Jack had seemed kind in his letters, but that didn’t mean he was a good man.
In the back of her mind, she knew she could go back to the hotel to work if she needed to, but her closest friends were in Yeti now, not back in Massachusetts.No, she would have to make the marriage work, no matter what it took.
“Josie?”Lula asked.“A penny for your thoughts.”
Josie smiled.“They’re not worth nearly that much.Just wondering about Jack and what marriage will be like.”
Lula reached over and squeezed Josie’s hand.“I’m certain we’re all going to love living in Yeti and live happily ever after.We have to!”
Ella nodded emphatically.She and Lula were extremely close, and Lula usually spoke for both of them.Josie wondered how Ella was going to do on her own with a new husband.Hopefully, Ella’s future husband would know how to get her to talk.
Aaron and Myrtle returned to the fire then.“We’ve got a hard day’s walk ahead of us tomorrow,” Aaron said.“It’s time we all went to bed.”
Josie immediately got to her feet.“And tomorrow will most likely be our wedding day.”
“Very true,” Myrtle said, smiling.“I hope you’re marrying a man as good as Aaron.”
Myrtle was the only one of the group who knew about Josie’s childhood.Josie wished she could have just a few minutes alone with her friend to express her worries about her upcoming marriage.She’d find a way to walk alone with her the following day.She needed Myrtle to talk her out of turning tail and running.
*****
Josie woke before theothers the following day.They’d all been sleeping in their clothes on the trail, but she took the opportunity to walk down to the river and wash herself.She didn’t dare strip completely, so it was a quick task, and when she returned to camp, the others were awake.
Myrtle gave Josie her morning rations.There was no way Josie would call the hardtack and jerky they ate for every meal food, so rations it was.
“We’ll be there today, right?”Lula asked.
“Unless something unforeseen happens, we should be there by late afternoon.I’ll introduce you all to the men you’ve promised to marry.I’m sure someone let Mr.Johnson—our pastor—know that you’d be arriving soon.I hope he can officiate marriages today, but I have fulfilled my obligation to you all once we reach Yeti.”Aaron’s eyes settled on Myrtle.
The way Aaron was always watching his wife warmed Josie’s heart.Their marriage hadn’t started out well by any standards, but they seemed to have grown closer.
They packed up their things one last time before heading out on the trail, along the Tozitzna River, which Aaron had assured them went through Yeti.They’d traveled along the Yukon until the spot where the two rivers met, and now they were saying goodbye to the Yukon River.Josie was glad.She wasn’t certain she could have endured another day in a rowboat.
As they walked, Josie walked a little slower than the others, hoping that Myrtle would fall into step beside her.It didn’t take long for Myrtle to notice she was behind the others, and she slowed.“Are you doing all right?”
Josie shrugged.“I’m nervous.I worry that the man I’m heading to marry will be just like my stepfather.”
“You need to stay optimistic.Aaron certainly is nothing like your stepfather.Hopefully, none of the men we’re going to meet are like him.Some men are good people.”Myrtle put her arm around Josie’s shoulders and squeezed.
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am.You’ll see.”
Josie couldn’t help but smile at Myrtle’s optimism.“And we get to see our friends tomorrow.”
Myrtle smiled.“Belle and Maggie already have babies from what I understand.And there are business opportunities for us if we’re brave enough to take them on.I’m certain Belle and the others already have job ideas for us.It sounds like they’re all changing the town a little more every day.”
“We can help change it too,” Josie said, her mind still on her future husband.She prayed he would be kind.
