No Place Like Home Read online

  Whispers in Wyoming

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  No Place Like Home (Whispers in Wyoming, #10)

  Copyright Page

  The ‘Whispers in Wyoming’ Series

  Dedication

  Key Scripture Verse

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Author Note

  Recipes

  Footnotes

  About the Author

  No Place Like Home

  _____________________

  Lisa M. Prysock

  March 24, 2018

  eBook Version

  Jill & Logan’s Honeymoon Story

  &

  The Romance of Tory & Bronson

  Copyright Page

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means- electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the author.

  No Place Like Home

  Copyright © 2018 by Lisa M. Prysock

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Design formatting by Lisa M. Prysock; front cover image contributed by cover artist Erin Dameron-Hill. Clip art and illustrations used are public domain and illustrations by the author noted by initials LP or by Lisa Prysock, if any. Any internet links, addresses, or contact information in this book are not guaranteed for the life of the book.

  Interior text edited by Rachel Skatvold.

  For information or to contact the publisher or author: Lisa Prysock, 7318 Autumn Bent Way, Crestwood, Kentucky, 40014, USA

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  This work is cataloged in the Library of Congress.

  Unless paraphrased, otherwise noted or indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

  No Place Like Home

  Copyright © 2018 by Lisa M. Prysock

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN:

  ISBN-13: 978-1720321583

  ISBN-10: 1720321582

  The ‘Whispers in Wyoming’ Series

  Love Letters & Home, Volume 1

  By Danni Roan

  Heartstruck and Heavensent, Volume 2

  By Kari Trumbo

  Dreams of Sweetwater River, Volume 3

  By Lisa Prysock

  Counting Kadence, Volume 4

  By Danni Roan

  Temptation and Tenderness, Volume 5

  By Kari Trumbo

  Guardian of Her Heart, Volume 6

  By Rachel Skatvold

  Marry Me Katie, Volume 7

  By Lisa Prysock

  A Forgetful Heart, Volume 8

  By Rachel Skatvold

  Mercy’s Light, Volume 9

  By Danni Roan

  No Place Like Home, Volume 10

  By Lisa Prysock

  Available at Amazon

  Dedication

  I dedicate this novel to my husband, Rob, for standing by my side on both the good and difficult days. I thank the Lord there have been more good days than otherwise, more sunshine than tears, and more love, laughter, joy, and peace than I could ever have imagined. The Lord Jesus has been good to us and given us a beautiful life together. My heart is full with thanksgiving and awe.

  Key Scripture Verse

  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27, NIV

  Chapter 1

  "Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

  —Mark Twain

  HARPER JOHNSON STARED at the white ceiling in her lavender bedroom as she lay on her twin bed, legs stretched upward against the wall, crossed at the ankles. She wondered what some of her friends might be up to after completing her extra chore for the day. Without changing her position, she reached in her jean pocket for her phone to scroll through Facebook and Instagram. Her younger sister, Stephanie—wearing a set of headphones streaming her favorite music—crossed the bedroom they shared and turned the oscillating fan to maximum speed.

  Harper hardly noticed or minded. For one thing, it was a hot afternoon in July. For another, she’d returned minutes ago from weeding the vegetable garden and the fan felt great. Although she could hear a little noise coming from the headset covering her thirteen-year-old sister’s ears, she’d grown accustomed to it. At seventeen, she shared similar taste in music.

  While Stephanie began belting out the words to a popular Ed Sheeran song, slightly off key, it crossed her mind that Tory, her twenty-three-year-old sister, would be annoyed. Their sister favored perfect pitch and a classical, somewhat eclectic style of music, being a violinist. Thankfully, Tory had her own bedroom across the hall. So did Ryan, their twenty-one-year-old brother, home from the University of Wyoming for the summer. Birth order had its privileges; something Harper had accepted long ago.

  She could hear her brother starting up the lawn mower, glad they didn’t have that chore on the list for today, too. Tory’s opinion about Stephanie’s singing and loud music leaking from her headphones didn’t matter at the moment. She was away at a job site helping Mom with the interior decorating business, New Beginnings.

  Harper stopped scrolling to read an advertisement from the Lander Chamber of Commerce as Stephanie danced around the other side of the room, oblivious to her presence. The ad read—:

  Accepting applications for the Annual Miss Lander Beauty Pageant. Applicants must be age nineteen to twenty-three to enter, must be single, currently reside in Lander, Wyoming for at least three years, and be a high school graduate with a valid diploma. Contestants will be judged for merit in areas of Poise, Talent, Community Endeavors, and Evening Gown Competitions. Click here for more details...

  She clicked for more information and quickly scanned through the material. When she read about the prize, she let out a whistle Stephanie couldn’t hear with those headphones covering her ears.

  “Two thousand five hundred dollars!” Harper pivoted, allowing her legs to drop down at the same time, and sat up so her feet rested on the oval rag rug created from strips of cloth in shades of lavender and mulberry.

  She barely appreciated the lengths her mother had gone to in decorating the charming, yet modest bedroom, but she did love her home. Not only was it the only home she’d ever known, it was the prettiest farmhouse in all of Wyoming in her humble opinion. She’d prayed earnestly during last Sunday’s church service for an answer to her mother’s financial concerns—and now, she was instantly convinced the Miss Lander Beauty Pageant was the answer. Second and third place prizes didn’t look too shabby, either.

  The calico family cat, Myriah, blinked at her from her spot on the edge of the rug where her tail wrapped around her furry body. Harper grinned, tossed the phone aside momentarily, and reached down to scoop up the beloved family pet into her arms.

  She nuzzled her face against the cat’s so
ft ears. “Myriah, I think we’ve figured out a way to help Mom raise the tax money she needs to help us keep our home. Tory doesn’t know it yet, but she’s going to be the next Miss Lander.”

  “HOW MANY TIMES IS SHE going to play that song?” Zachary groaned, rolling his eyes as his older sister, Jackie, began playing the notes to “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music on the piano for the third time. He plopped down on the sofa and propped his feet up on the coffee table in the upstairs, private living room of the main barn house at The Sweetwater River Ranch Resort.

  Jill Haven stopped folding laundry and gave her son a stern look. She pushed his feet off the coffee table with a firm sweep of her hands. “As many times as it takes to become proficient, and why aren’t you practicing on the guitar we gave you for your birthday, young man?”

  Zach shrugged. “I have been, just not this week.”

  “Practice makes perfect.” Jill glanced at the clock on the entertainment center. “Looks like you’ve got about ten minutes before bedtime.”

  Zach stared at the floor.

  “Your mother’s right, practice does make perfect,” Logan Haven commented, looking up from reading the Sunday edition of the Lander newspaper. “You want to play well for your recital, don’t you?”

  “Recital?” Zach glanced at Logan, his eyebrows arching.

  “Yeah, your Mom was telling me your recital will be in the fall, just before Thanksgiving, in front of all of your family and friends.”

  “Uh, okay, I’ll run through a song or two.”

  “Atta-boy,” Logan encouraged as Zach headed for his room where his guitar waited. Turning to Micah and Savannah, seated at the child-size table and chairs in a corner of the room, “Better wrap up that checkers game, you two.”

  Savannah jumped over two of her opponent’s checker pieces and swiped them off the board, adding them to her pile. “There! I won fair and square.” She crossed her arms in preparation for defense and tilted her chin.

  “I guess you did, this time,” Micah relented.

  Grace Anne yawned and closed her book. “I’m headed to bed. I can’t keep my eyes open.”

  “You do look tired, dear. Will you carry this stack of towels to the bathrooms on your way?” Jill asked, wondering how long it would take before all of the children were in bed. It’d been a long day and she had a new idea to discuss with Logan for The Sweetwater. She didn’t want to wait until tomorrow or she might forget. After all, they were about to embark on their honeymoon trip to Ireland and she had a checklist a mile long to prepare.

  “Sure,” Grace Anne nodded sleepily, accepting the pile Jill held out.

  “Thank you. I don’t know how we’d manage without your help.” Ever since she’d married Logan, Jill had tried her best to be a source of encouragement and a parental figure to Grace Anne and Micah, her husband’s orphaned niece and nephew. Though it was chaotic at times, and more often than not after barely seven months of marriage, they were slowly becoming a family unit.

  They’d been married for almost seven months and together for more than a year. Her first marriage was fading to a distant memory. Left a widow and single mother for nearly four years to three beautiful children through her marriage to Captain Alexander Michaels, her first husband had died for their country on a routine mission in Afghanistan gone horribly awry. After his death, she hadn’t expected to find a soul mate like Alex. Since returning to her Wyoming roots, the good Lord had not only given her a second chance and a whole new life when she’d fallen deeply in love all over again with Logan Haven, her childhood sweetheart—but He’d also renewed her faith.

  Her new life wasn’t perfect, but Logan adored her and all five of the children, lavishing them with attention and plenty of love to go around. She still worked side-by-side with him four days a week handling the marketing and planning activities for The Sweetwater dude ranch. On Mondays, and here and there in the evenings, she worked at her writing ambitions, enjoying weekends and most evenings to focus on the kids. Thankfully, her husband owned the ranch and ensured her schedule remained flexible to keep the children’s needs first.

  When the kids were all safely tucked in bed and the laundry folded and put away, Jill and Logan returned to the small living room and collapsed with sighs of relief.

  “So, what’d you want to tell me?” He reached for her hand and held it to his lips.

  “Oh, yes, it’s just an idea, but I wanted to run it by you before I forget.” She turned in the sofa to face him and see his reaction.

  “Sure, go ahead. Tell me your idea.”

  “Well, this has to do with when we’ll be hosting the Miss Lander Beauty Pageant and rodeo. It’ll be around the time when we return from our honeymoon trip exploring the Oregon Trail with the kids.” Although it didn’t sound romantic to take a honeymoon trip with the kids along, Jill and Logan would have plenty of alone time together on their trip to Ireland without the kiddos. Plus, they’d shared a weekend in one of the cabins at the resort, and a week on a houseboat. Together, they’d decided the Oregon Trail trip would unify their family.

  “Okay, I follow you,” he nodded.

  “So, I’ve been racking my brain about how we could make it more interesting for our guests. What do you think if during the weekend of the rodeo and pageant, and on into the week after, we have a pioneer- themed week?” Jill waited for some indication of positive or negative to appear on her husband’s face.

  “You mean with like pioneer stations throughout the property?” Logan tilted his head to one side.

  “Exactly.” She nodded, smiling that he’d caught on to her idea.

  “Like a blacksmith shop, a candle making station, maybe a basket weaving station, and so on?” Logan’s eyes were beginning to light up with ideas.

  She nodded, waiting for his final yay or nay.

  “Honey, I think it’s a great idea, but we’re not going to be here to establish it. Who do you suggest spearhead the project since McGuire is busy preparing to wed Katie in the fall, and Buck’s got his hands full of concern for Ella?” Logan wore a puzzled expression.

  She’d thought he might ask that question. “Bronson.”

  He only had to think on her suggestion for about three seconds. “Ya know, now that ya mention it, Bronson might be real good at this. Don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it myself. He’s got that fancy degree in history. He probably already knows a lot about the pioneers.”

  “My thoughts concur.” Jill drank some of her sweet tea.

  “Only, can he organize something of this scale?” Logan reached for a handful of almonds from the tray of healthy snacks on the coffee table. “He’d need plenty of stations if it’s to be during the weekend of the rodeo.”

  “I guess that remains to be seen, but you have to be willing to give him the chance, and explain to the others why you’ve relieved them of the burden, so they give him their full cooperation while we’re gone. Plus, I do have a small list of ideas and a few expectations I wrote down. It’s on a memo on your desk.”

  “Great. Thanks for keeping me organized. I’ll ask him first thing tomorrow, my love.”

  BUCK STARED AT HIS wife as she lay perfectly still in the hospital bed. Every week, it was the same. Logan flew him to Cheyenne on Saturday mornings in his private helicopter and waited patiently in a hospital lounge, studying his Sunday Sermon while Buck visited with Ella. He’d even studied for his preachin’ license in the hospital, and now, Logan Haven was an official clergyman. Reverend Haven, only everyone still called him Logan.

  While Logan studied, Buck brushed Ella’s hair, lotioned her elbows and feet, and talked to her about all of the latest news. He read her the Bible and sometimes other stories, too. Often, he rambled on about their nine grandchildren and three grown, married children. He held her hand and prayed for her. He liked keeping her updated on as much as he could remember of each week’s events, never knowing if she could hear him.

  “Wake up, my sweet wife. I miss you. Miss you dea
rly. I want you to come home with me.” Ella remained unresponsive. Buck sighed, but he hadn’t given up hope.

  Not once during the many months of the ordeal did he tell her he’d had to sell their home to help cover the cost of what their insurance wouldn’t. He didn’t tell her he was living above Logan’s barn in a loft, either. In fact, he’d grown accustomed to the smell of the barn, living without their furniture; since it was all in a storage unit. His company in the evenings amounted to their loyal golden retriever, Harley, but sometimes he’d hang out in the bunkhouse with Bronson and Jed or attend one of the many events going on at The Sweetwater. As Logan’s Ranch Manager, it was best he maintained separate living quarters. He had Jesus too, and they’d had some mighty fine conversations since his Ella had the operation leaving her in the coma.

  Nor did he tell her he’d had to pack up all of her beautiful dishes, curtains, fine linens, pictures, and pretty things into boxes to store with their furniture. Or that he was now a deacon in Logan Haven’s chapel at The Sweetwater instead of the Baptist church they’d faithfully attended together for thirty years of marriage.

  No, Ella didn’t need to know those things. She only needed to know how much he loved his bride. Telling her he worked for Logan’s ranch now instead of farming their land was a little complicated, but he figured he’d explained enough and the rest could wait until the good Lord decided to wake her up.

  Chapter 2

  "Courage is grace under pressure."

  —Ernest Hemingway

  TORY MARIE JOHNSON wanted to ring her sister’s neck. What on earth was Harper thinking? She wasn’t the least bit interested in participating in a beauty pageant and certainly didn’t feel qualified, but that hadn’t stopped her sister from entering her in the local small town event. Nonetheless, as she pulled into a parking space at The Sweetwater River Ranch Resort, her kid sister’s plan did have a few merits. The main one being if she could place in one of the top three spots, she’d be able to give Mom the funds needed to catch up on the property taxes.