Color of the Wind - Softcover

Grayson, Elizabeth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553580108 ISBN 13: 9780553580105

Publisher: Bantam, 1999

Synopsis

Let the acclaimed Elizabeth Grayson touch your heart as only she can...with a poignant, passionate story of a woman's sacred promise and a man's search for himself amid the dangerous splendor of the West.

A deathbed request...

To honor the promise she gave her dying stepsister, Ardith Merritt must take her niece and nephews to their father--a continent away from her comfortable life as a children's book illustrator. But the perilous journey will bring her face-to-face with her darkest fears...and the man who betrayed her so many years ago.

A chance for redemption...

Exiled to a ranch in Wyoming by his aristocratic British family, Baird Northcross is a failure, a scoundrel, a cad--a man with no future. Until the rugged beauty of the land, the unexpected satisfaction of hard work, and the presence of a woman like no other awaken him to the possibility of happiness...if only he can keep from destroying this last, precious chance to win her love.

About this title

From the Back Cover

"A beautifully written novel with a rich texture and a true feel for the period. A keeper."
--Heather Graham

"A master storyteller."
--Susan Wiggs

"This book is a gem. Color of the Wind has everything I crave in a novel--real people, real conflict, real texture, real heart."
--Kathleen Eagle

"I loveed this book. Heartwarming and wonderful...Elizabeth Grayson captures the American West and makes it her own."
--Maggie Osborne, author of The Promise of Jenny Jones

From the Inside Flap

aimed Elizabeth Grayson touch your heart as only she can...with a poignant, passionate story of a woman's sacred promise and a man's search for himself amid the dangerous splendor of the West.<br><br>A deathbed request...<br><br>To honor the promise she gave her dying stepsister, Ardith Merritt must take her niece and nephews to their father--a continent away from her comfortable life as a children's book illustrator. But the perilous journey will bring her face-to-face with her darkest fears...and the man who betrayed her so many years ago.<br><br>A chance for redemption...<br><br>Exiled to a ranch in Wyoming by his aristocratic British family, Baird Northcross is a failure, a scoundrel, a cad--a man with no future. Until the rugged beauty of the land, the unexpected satisfaction of hard work, and the presence of a woman like no other awaken him to the possibility of happiness...if only he can keep from destroying this last, precious chance to win her love.

Reviews

A late-18th-century scoundrel and rake, Baird Northcross jilted Ardith Merritt on the eve of their wedding to elope with her sister. To escape the scandal, Ardith left London and moved to Boston. She and her sister finally reconciled after many years; but now, her sister has died, leaving behind three children, and Ardith has promised to deliver the children to their father, the man who once broke her heart. Baird has been exiled to a remote ranch in Wyoming by his family in hopes of reforming his irresponsible ways. With little knowledge of how to raise children, Ardith loads up her charges and heads west. Grayson's (So Wide the Sky) enjoyable novel offers vivid scenes, such as the taming of mustangs, and character development (in particular, Baird gaining the trust of his son). As the story progresses, each of the characters suffers disappointment and lossAbut in the end, they come together, learning what it means to be a family.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"Is that Papa's ranch?" Khy demanded, lurching to his feet in the jolting carriage. Tightening her grip on the reins and reaching out to steady her nephew, Ardith nodded.

"Oh, Aunt Ardith," China breathed with evident relief. "It's so much nicer than the other places we've stayed!"

Ardith might have agreed if she'd been able to suck a breath past the burr of apprehension lodged in her throat. As they rumbled closer to the cluster of buildings at the base of the mountains she could see that the main house was rustic and handsome, its log walls thick enough to withstand both the howling cold of a prairie winter and the relentless beat of summer sun. Cullen McKay pulled his wagon to a stop in the ranch house yard, and Ardith drew up behind him.

"Do you think there's anyone here?" she called out.

Just then the door of the house snapped open and a tall, deeply sun-brown man dressed in jodhpurs, boots, and a white collarless shirt came bounding across the porch.

Ardith froze, her fingers knotting around the reins. It's Baird.

Her heartbeat staggered, then surged inside her, beating harder and harder. Spangles of cold danced through her veins. This was the man who'd had a letter delivered the morning of their wedding to tell her he'd run off with her sister. This was the man who had shamed her so horribly that she'd fled England for America. This was the man who was supposed to have been her husband.

He looks the same, she found herself thinking. Every bit as vivid, every bit as arrogant. And so damned beautiful.

"Papa!" Khy cried out and burst into tears. Before Ardith could think to grab the boy or offer him comfort, he had flung himself out of the carriage and was racing toward his father.

Something about the way Baird caught Khy up in his arms, as much in self-defense as real affection, made Ardith catch her breath. As she sought to make some sense of the impression, China jumped out of the carriage and followed Khy.

"Oh, Papa! We've missed you so!" she gasped and also set to weeping.

Ardith never dreamed the children would cry the moment they saw their father. They'd been so eager, so excited . . .

She'd also imagined she'd have a moment to explain about Ariel before Baird greeted his family. But Khy and China had just scattered that intention like matchsticks.

All at once, Ardith realized Durban had made no move toward Baird. He stood beside McKay's wagon instead, his back straight, his head tilted defiantly.

A frisson of uneasiness shot down Ardith's back.

Baird's eyes skimmed over to his son. "Hello, boy," he said, then glanced past him to Cullen McKay.

"Sir," Durban acknowledged.

Something about the way the child stood caught between McKay, who looked enough like him to be his father, and Baird, the man who was, sent queasiness skipping through Ardith again.

Then Baird raised his gaze to where Ardith sat on the carriage seat. She felt herself flush as his eyes moved over her. They were all fire and ice, all shivery blue intensity--just as she remembered.

Then Baird's brows narrowed and his expression darkened. She wasn't Ariel. Ardith's gravest fault had always been that she wasn't Ariel.

Determined to face him head-on, Ardith looped the reins across the dashboard and leaped down from the carriage.

"Hello, Baird," she said, glad that her low, frosty tone didn't reveal the turmoil bubbling inside her.

Judging from his expression, Baird didn't have the faintest idea who she was. This man had wooed her and scorned her. He had turned her life inside out, made her into a far different woman than she'd ever intended to be. He'd sent her from her home to a new life in America. And he didn't even recognize her.

Rage blazed through her chest like a comet. It roared in her ears and stained her face with heat. She'd vowed to keep a hold on her emotions for the children's sake, but the feelings that swept through her were too raw, too overpowering.

She stepped toward him, taut and quivering, anger singing through her veins. "I know it's been years, Baird, but surely you haven't forgotten me."

"Ardith?" he breathed then, blinking in confusion. "Whatever are you doing here? Where's Ariel?"

Ardith paused, savoring the moment, suddenly avid to see his reaction. "I'm afraid I have some very sad news," she began.

"Oh, Papa!" Fresh tears spilled down China's porcelain cheeks. "It's the most tragic thing!"

Fear flashed across Baird's sharply cut features.

"M-M-Mama died!" Khyber sobbed, tightening his hold on his father.

Baird let out his breath in a low, sharp groan. He looked to Ardith for confirmation.

A hot, sweet bolt of satisfaction flashed through her at the pain and disbelief in his eyes. She inclined her head, suddenly ashamed that she was taking such pleasure in his anguish.

Baird staggered back a step, his face gone slack. China threw her arms around him and hung on tight. Khy's sobs grew louder. Baird stared past them, not seeming to hear them, not seeming to see them.

Then, as Ardith watched, he carefully disentangled himself from his weeping daughter and lowered Khy to the ground.

Her mouth went dry with shock and outrage. Why, he isn't even going to try to comfort those children! He doesn't have any better idea how to do that than I do!

Instead of attending to China and Khy, Baird bore down on her. "What happened to Ariel?" he demanded.

Cullen McKay stepped protectively between them. "It's not as if any of this is Ardith's fault."

"Get out of my way," Northcross said with a snarl and pushed past McKay.

Ardith steeled herself to confront him, raising her head, feeling her cheeks burn with fresh emotion.

"Is Ariel really dead?" he demanded.

"Yes," she confirmed.

"Goddamnit, Ardith, tell me what happened."

Ardith had honed the words as if they were a blade, whetting the edges until they gleamed, until she was sure that when she wielded them they would slice down to the core of him. But as she opened her mouth to speak, she became aware of the children weeping only a few feet away.

She wasn't the kind of person who could deliberately destroy a man, was she? Especially in front of his children. Yet the temptation was fierce, a long-banked fire burst into flame. He'd earned this; he deserved it.

Still, she hesitated. Then she deliberately blunted the thrust, fumbling for other words, less damning words. "I--I think it's best that we discuss this later."

"Later? Why?"

He might not care what the children heard, but Ardith did. She didn't want them hurt by something that was strictly between their father and her.

"We need to get everyone settled," she replied, glancing toward her niece and nephews. "I'll be glad to answer your questions later. In private."

The reason for her reluctance seemed to penetrate Baird's rancor. His shoulders shifted, losing a bit of their rigidity. "But why are you here?"

She swallowed hard, his ingratitude one more mark against him in the tally she was keeping. "I'm here because Ariel asked me to bring the children to Wyoming. It was her last request."

Baird's eyebrows angled down over the bridge of his nose. "You were with her when she died? I didn't know she meant to see you on her way through Boston."

Was it possible Baird didn't know she and Ariel had made their peace some years before, that they'd been corresponding? But then, he'd been gallivanting from one end of the world to the other. How much could he have known about Ariel's life?

"Ariel came to my uncle's home in Concord when she fell ill," Ardith explained, stepping forward to gather Khy up and dry his tears. She slid a comforting arm around China's waist.

"Hell, Northcross," Cullen McKay broke in. "Let the woman alone. She's gone to substantial difficulty to bring your children here to you. Show a little appreciation."

Baird scowled and turned back toward the house.

"Papa?" China asked, leaving the shelter of Ardith's embrace and taking his arm. "Papa, is this really going to be our new home?"

Baird looked down at his daughter as if he was not certain where she'd come from. Then, as if returning to himself, he nodded and led them across the narrow, covered porch. "Perhaps until fall."

Ardith couldn't help wondering if there wasn't going to be a good deal more to keeping her promise to Ariel than she'd ever anticipated.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0553580108
• ISBN 13: 9780553580105
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 432