Ever Faithful
Praise for
Ever Faithful
“If you haven’t yet discovered Karen Barnett’s Vintage National Parks novels, Ever Faithful is a great place to start. Vividly set amid the stunning beauty of Yellowstone’s bubbling hot springs, forested mountains, and thundering waterfalls, Ever Faithful celebrates the history of one of the US’s oldest national parks. It provides a fascinating glimpse into the workings of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s, giving a time of national crisis the immediacy of heart and hope. Elsie, Nate, and the whole cast of characters had me caring, cheering, and second-guessing as a suspenseful plot and engaging prose kept the pages turning. Ever Faithful will delight fans of Karen’s other National Parks novels and new readers alike.”
—LORI BENTON, author of Burning Sky, The King’s Mercy, and other historical novels
“Karen Barnett captures the lively time and place of Yellowstone in the 1930s in this charming and wholesome love story. Firefighting CCC crews and hardworking pillow punchers (housekeepers in Yellowstone-speak) live, work, and play in the national park while learning to trust themselves and their faith to make life-changing decisions. This book made me want to go to a dance in the now-demolished Canyon Hotel, take a ride in a yellow bus driven by a ‘jammer,’ and wander around Mammoth hoping to run into Herma Baggley, Yellowstone’s first female interpretive ranger.”
—ALICIA MURPHY, park historian at Yellowstone National Park
“With just the right touch of mystery and romance, Karen Barnett brings 1930s historic Yellowstone National Park to life in her new novel, Ever Faithful. You’ll fall in love with her strong yet vulnerable hero, Nate Webber, who struggles to overcome his hidden challenges, and you’ll want to cheer for her spunky heroine, Elsie Brookes. Karen’s background as a park ranger and her skillful research bring richness and depth to this delightful and inspiring story. Highly recommended!”
—CARRIE TURANSKY, award-winning author of No Ocean Too Wide and Across the Blue
“I loved, loved, loved Karen Barnett’s Ever Faithful! Set in iconic Yellowstone National Park during the Depression, this story offers high stakes, rugged romance, and a mystery with a twist. Ever Faithful is as wonderful as the wonderland it’s set in. Thank you, Karen, for a fantastic read!”
—LESLIE GOULD, Christy Award–winning and best-selling author of over thirty novels, including A Faithful Gathering
BOOKS BY KAREN BARNETT
Mistaken
The Golden Gate Chronicles
Out of the Ruins
Beyond the Ashes
Through the Shadows
Vintage National Parks Novels
The Road to Paradise
Where the Fire Falls
EVER FAITHFUL
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version and the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Apart from well-known people, events, and locales that figure into the narrative, all names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Trade Paperback ISBN 9780735289581
Ebook ISBN 9780735289598
Copyright © 2019 by Karen Barnett
Cover design and illustration by Mark D. Ford
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in the United States by WaterBrook, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
WATERBROOK® and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Barnett, Karen, 1969– author.
Title: Ever faithful : a vintage national parks novel / Karen Barnett.
Description: First edition. | Colorado Springs : WaterBrook, [2019]
Identifiers: LCCN 2018046955| ISBN 9780735289581 (paperback) | ISBN 9780735289598 (electronic)
Subjects: LCSH: Yellowstone National Park—Fiction. | Christian fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3602.A77584 E94 2019 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018046955
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Contents
Cover
Books by Karen Barnett
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Epigraph
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Readers Guide
Acknowledgments
In memory of Billie Barnett, who always had a teacher’s heart.
And to all those who work to change lives through education, including the teachers in my own family: Patty, Janelle, and Jonnie.
A thousand Yellowstone wonders are calling, “Look up and down and round about you!”
—JOHN MUIR, Our National Parks, 1901
April 1933
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Elsie closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in the steamy air, imagining she stood beside Grand Prismatic Spring instead of the massive laundry boiler in the back of the Mammoth Hot Springs Lodge. She tucked a damp curl behind her ear before loading another stack of folded bedsheets and towels onto the molly cart. After pushing it through the swinging doors, she rolled the cart down the wooden ramp, the outside air a welcome respite. Two more summers—three at most. That’s all it would take.
Mary stood waiting, fiddling with the pink kerchief protecting her pale-blond hair. “There you are. If we get these last housekeeping cabins finished in time, we can meet Hal and Bernie at the cafeteria for lunch.” She flashed a smile at Elsie. “You’ll come, won’t you?”
Elsie guided the cart’s wheels through the icy slush on the sidewalk. “You’ve only been back in Yellowstone two days, and you’re already angling for dates? I thought you told me you weren’t se
eing pack rats anymore.”
Pack rats, pillow punchers, pearl divers—the concession staff had a language all its own, and it all sounded like more laughs than being boring old porters, maids, and dishwashers. The rangers lumped the lot of them together, calling them all savages. No one could remember how the ridiculous name was chosen, but it had stuck for close to fifty years already.
“Hal’s been promoted to front desk at the hotel—hadn’t you heard? And though he’s hardly the man of my dreams, I don’t see any better choices around here at the moment.” Mary leaned in with a conspiratorial air. “I hear the new gear jammers are coming in a couple of weeks. They always hire the best-looking fellas to drive the tour buses.”
“That’s probably why the jammers are notorious for having a girl at every stop.” Elsie veered left to avoid a puddle. “I’d like to join you for lunch, but I need to run home and check on Mama. I’ll be back right after, and we can fold the rest of the sheets.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask how she is. Your last two letters didn’t sound promising.”
A knot formed in Elsie’s stomach. “She had a few bad spells this winter. The doctor says it’s her heart. He wants her to rest more.”
“Has she had heart problems before?”
“She had rheumatic fever as a child.” Elsie tightened her grip on the cart handle. “But I’ve never seen her like this.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. She’s like a second mother, not just to me, but to all the pillow punchers.” She unlocked the cabin door and pushed it open. “I suppose it was a good thing you were here to help and not off at college with the rest of us.”
Elsie had told herself the same, though it did little to ease the sting of being left behind. “When does Rose arrive, do you know? I’ve missed her.”
“Around the same time as the jammers, I believe.” Mary grabbed Elsie’s hand and squeezed. “I’m glad I came early. We’ll be the three musketeers for at least one more summer. Who knows where Rose and I will go after graduation?” She heaved a sigh that stirred the dusty air in the room. “Oh my. This cabin looks worse than the last one. How is that possible? Ugh, the smell.”
“That’s what happens when you latch the door and leave it abandoned for months on end.” She understood too well. Elsie reached for the bottle of vinegar and a handful of newspapers. “I’ll start on the glass. You can knock down the cobwebs.”
Mary wrinkled her nose and lifted the broom. “If I find any spiders, it’ll be up to you to dispatch them.”
As Elsie scrubbed the veil of dirt from the panes, sunlight filtered into the tiny space and revealed a fine layer of dust coating the room. Just as spring renewed the world each year, it was the maids’ job to refresh the old cabins and prepare for the visitors to come.
She’d continue making beds and sweeping floors until she had enough money for the teacher program at the University of Montana. She’d dreamed of being a teacher since she was little, and spending her winters helping at the school in Gardiner, just outside the park’s northern boundaries in Montana, had only deepened the desire. Every new student arrived with potential hidden inside, like the seeds sealed up in the cones from the lodgepole pine trees. It was her job to help them find it.
After sweeping and dusting, Mary tucked the crisp white sheets around the mattress and patted the top. “I think we’re almost done here. Are you sure you can’t join us for lunch? Hal’s brother will be odd man out if you don’t come.”
“Bernie is an odd duck, no matter what I do.” Elsie shoved the dresser back in place after cleaning behind it. “Of course, I’m no catch myself.” Her hand went to her collar out of habit, her fingers checking that the blouse was buttoned all the way to the neck.
Mary straightened, her eyes darkening. “Bite your tongue, Elsie Brookes. Any man would count himself lucky to earn your affection. You just don’t grant it easily.” She leaned on the broom. “Maybe this summer we’ll both find nice boys to take us away from all this.”
“Take us away? Why would anyone want to leave?” Elsie glanced out the open door toward the distant springs, the late morning sunshine casting a golden glow over the rising steam. If she could secure a teaching position in Gardiner, she would stay forever.
“You’ve got a classic case of park fever. You should just marry a ranger and get it over with.” Mary dropped her broom and dustpan into the cart. “What about the new fella? He’s a little quiet, but he looks like a movie star. What was his name?”
“Teddy Vaughn.” Elsie managed to speak his name without her voice wobbling. The first time she’d encountered the brown-eyed ranger, she’d somehow lost all ability to string words together or even swallow for a heady moment. But she couldn’t let her heart go there. No one would ever want her in that way. “I’m dedicating my life to education; you know that. I’m not looking to get married.”
“I’ll never understand you.” Her roommate wrinkled her nose. “Why waste time on other people’s children when you can have ones of your own? You and Ranger Vaughn would make beautiful babies.”
Elsie couldn’t help giggling at Mary’s silliness. Just having her friend back in the park made everything brighter. “Why don’t you head off to meet the boys for lunch? I can finish the last cabin.”
Mary brightened. “Really? But what about your mother?”
“I’ll still have time to check in. Go have fun.”
Her friend tore off her kerchief and fluffed her hair. “You’re the best, Els. I’ll give Bernie a peck on the cheek from you.”
“Don’t you dare.”
Elsie made short work of the last cabin and then pointed the molly cart in the direction of the laundry. A small herd of elk grazed on the green lawn surrounding the lodge. A cow elk, heavy with her unborn calf, lifted her head to stare back, chewing leisurely. The animals had over three thousand square miles of park to wander but seemed to prefer it here. And the visitors enjoyed the close proximity to the wildlife.
“There’s my girl. I was looking for you.” Her father strode toward her, the broad-brimmed Stetson casting shadows over his face. “Are you finished for the morning?” He reached for the cart handles.
“You don’t have to do that. I’ve got it.”
“You think I’m too good to haul laundry?” He cast her his usual grin. “How do you think I won your mother’s affections? It wasn’t with my stamp collection. Or my dashing good looks.”
“She said it was your servant’s heart.” Her mother’s true words wrapped around her own heart.
“Yes, indeed. ‘Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.’ It’s not just the key to a happy home, Elsie—”
“I know. It’s the key to a happy life.” Only her parents could make the golden rule sound romantic. “And I’ll remember that when I finally get all my pennies saved for college. Then I’ll make you proud.”
“I’ve always been proud. You were meant for bigger things than this place.”
“Bigger than Yellowstone?” The idea rippled through her. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Bigger than being a simple ranger like your old man.”
Her eyes slid over her father’s frame, his long years dedicated to the park showing in his stooped shoulders. Too much work, too few staff. It was as much a part of the job as the uniform. “You look tired. What have you been doing today?”
“I went to the new campsite, making sure everything’s ready.”
“You’re opening the campground already? It’s only April.”
They arrived at the laundry, and he slid the molly into the waiting spot. “Not the auto camp. The ECW camp.”
She thought through the acronym. As the daughter of a federal employee, she was accustomed to negotiating alphabet soup, but this was a new one. “What’s that?”
“Emergency Conservation Wor
k. Part of the president’s ‘New Deal.’ He’s recruiting unemployed men from around the country to work on federal lands. A tree army, he’s calling it, but with civilians—the Civilian Conservation Corps. I’m overseeing the groups coming here to Yellowstone.”
“What will they be working on?” She grabbed the cleaning rags and tossed them into the waiting tubs.
“Whatever needs doing, I’m told. I’m hoping we can put some of the fellows on the bark beetle problem. That’s the biggest conservation emergency we’ve got at present.”
“Do they have forestry backgrounds?”
“I guess we’ll find out. I hope so.”
Her heart lifted as she followed him back outside. “Maybe you won’t have to work so hard this summer.”
“We’ll see. There’s always more to do. And actually—work is why I came looking for you.” He scrubbed a hand over his mouth and chin, as if trying to hide the lines gathering there. “This came across my desk today.” He took a folded sheet of paper from his breast pocket. “I’m afraid it’s not good news.”
Unease trickled through her. “What is it?”
He unfolded the memorandum and handed it to her. “After last year’s low occupancy rates, the Yellowstone Park Hotel Company has decided to keep the Mammoth Hotel closed this season and use only the housekeeping cabins and campground.”
Had she just complained about making beds? Elsie scanned the typed memo, zeroing in on the last few lines that hinted at staff cutbacks. “They can’t do this. People are counting on this work.” Including her.