Printable Book List

Moon in the Water

Chapter One

March 1867

St. Louis, Missouri

It was a proposition that would tempt a saint.

Chase Hardesty hitched forward in his chair and stared across the massive mahogany desk in Commodore James Rossiter's well-appointed study. "Let me get this straight," he said. "What you're offering me is the captaincy —"

"Not the captaincy," Rossiter corrected him, "ownership. I'm offering you ownership of the Star Line's new stern-wheeler, commissioned out of the Carondelet shipyards just this morning."

Chase had been dreaming about captaining his own steamboat all his life. "And you'll give me the Andromeda," he clarified, "in exchange for marrying your daughter."

The commodore nodded. "That's exactly what I'll do."

Chase whistled under his breath. He'd been working as a pilot for the Gold Star Packets for the past three years, and not once in all that time had the commodore given any sign he favored Chase above the other pilots. Not once had he hinted he might consider promoting Chase to the captaincy of one of the boats, much less offering him ownership.

Not once had Rossiter mentioned his daughter. Which made Chase wonder what was wrong with her.

He'd been away on a run to Sioux City last fall when Ann Rossiter returned to St. Louis after years at some fancy school back east, but Chase's brother Ruben had told him about her homecoming. The commodore had driven his shiny new gig down to the levee to meet her boat. No sooner had the deck hands lowered the gangway than the girl came rushing across it, clearly glad to be home. Rue said Rossiter swept her up in his arms, every bit as pleased to see the girl as she was him.

But if Rossiter had held his daughter in such high esteem six months ago, why did he want someone to marry her off to now? And what made the commodore offer this sophisticated and pampered young woman to him?

Chase made no secret that he came from simple folks. His father had begun as a woodhawk on the frontier, and now sold fuel to the steamers plying the Missouri River west of Council Bluffs. His mother had been the only daughter of an itinerant Baptist preacher. Beyond what she'd taught him reading The Bible, Chase hadn't had so much as a lick of schooling.

All he really knew was the river. He'd climbed aboard a riverboat when he was thirteen and never once been sorry. He'd worked his way up from cub engineer to master pilot. It was a commendable feat, but for all his efforts to better himself, he'd never picked up the polish and social graces some pilots did. And though he was handsomely paid, Chase never seemed to have more than lint in his pockets.

Which made Rossiter's proposal all the more attractive — and all the more puzzling. What kind of man did the commodore think he was to accept such a bargain out of hand?

Chase cleared his throat. "If you don't mind me asking, sir," he began, trying to couch the question as diplomatically as he could. "Why are you offering your daughter to me?"

Rossiter seemed taken aback, either by the question itself, or that Chase had the audacity to ask it outright. He paced to the windows that overlooked the garden at the side of the house and the street of fashionable residences known as Lucas Place.

"Well, you're unmarried for, one thing," the commodore answered with far more candor than Chase had expected. "I like that though you came from humble beginnings, you've made something of yourself. It proves there's grit in you. And I thought that since you might never make captain on your own, you might find this offer — intriguing."

It was intriguing, but Chase couldn't help bristling a little at the commodore's attitude. He didn't much mind admitting where he'd come from, but he resented that Rossiter had draw his own conclusions about his prospects. The man had as much as said Chase had ambition enough to be hungry and was poor enough to be bought.

"Both the crew and officers like you," the commodore went on, enumerating. "They think you're even-handed and dependable."

Which was the same as saying he was good at his job and could be probably be counted on not to beat his wife. They were, at best, minimal qualifications for what the commodore was proposing. But then, the older man wasn't being all that exacting in his requirements for a son-in-law. Which made Chase wonder all over again what Ann Rossiter had done to deserve such treatment.

Then, clearing his throat, the commodore turned from the window, and Chase knew the time had come to make his choice. He scowled a little as he weighed the possibilities: Rossiter's daughter and a brand new steamer against the unfettered life he loved and whatever adventures the future might hold for him.

His answer seemed obvious.

"While I'm complimented that you consider me worthy of joining your family, Commodore Rossiter," he began, aware of the gravity of what he'd been asked and grappling for the exact right way to couch his answer, "I've never once set eyes on your daughter. And as far as I know, sir, she's never once set eyes on me."

When Chase opened his mouth to continue, Rossiter cut him short. "You would be willing to meet her, though, wouldn't you, Hardesty?"

Chase hesitated, caught between the refusal he'd been about to make and the commodore's new question. "Well, I..."

"Would you be willing to meet her now?" Rossiter pressed him. "This afternoon?"

Chase's nerves tingled in warning.

The commodore raised the ante. "The Andromeda is a beautiful steamer, Hardesty. A man could gain a great deal by agreeing to this."

A man could get in over his head wanting things he had no business aspiring to. Or a man could make his dreams come true.

Visions of a sleek, freshly painted stern-wheeler flitted through Chase's mind. He could almost see the wide decks and graceful galleries. He pictured a wheelhouse standing tall, ornamented with stained glass windows and an upholstered lazy bench. He could all but feel the smoothness of the steamer's wheel slide through his hands and hear the roar of her boilers.

He knew how his chest would warm with pride as he nosed a steamer like that in close to the bank at Hardesty's Landing, and what his father would think when he did.

"I can arrange for Ann to meet you in the parlor in ten minutes," Rossiter cajoled.

What could it hurt? temptation purred in his ears.

Chase swallowed uncomfortably and shook his head. "Of — of course, I'll meet her," he answered, in spite of himself.

He regretted the impulse the moment the words were out of his mouth.

Excerpt 1
Excerpt 2
Excerpt 3
Excerpt 4
Excerpt 5
Excerpt 6
Excerpt 7
Excerpt 8

EXCERPT FROM MOON IN THE WATER
BY ELIZABETH GRAYSON
Order from Amazon
Order from Barnes & Noble
Visit Booksense.com