Rush of Love by Jennifer Conner

 
     
    Rush of Love
     
     
     
     
    Jennifer Conner
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Rush of Love
    Copyright 2011- Books to Go Now
    For information on the cover illustration and design, contact [email protected]
    First eBook Edition –June 2011
    Printed in the United States of America
    Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without momentary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.
    This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.
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    Acknowledgement
     
    Special thanks to the Klondike Gold Rush Park Museum of Seattle
    and the rangers who happily answered all of my crazy writer questions with a smile!
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter One
     
      
    Seattle 1898 -
     
    “Gold does not make the man,” Opal argued, as she watched the banker weigh the next nugget on the double pan scale.
    The banker shot a disapproving glare at Samuel Cooper.
    Samuel ignored him and leaned across the counter to reply, “You’re wrong, Miss. Gold is the only thing that a man can rely on in these times of financial recession and bank failures which have swept our fine nation.”
    “But what happens when the gold runs out. What will you have then? Do you have a profession other than mining?”
    “This money is only the beginning.” A sparkle lit his eyes.
    Oh yes. She remembered this devilish man when he blew through town four months ago. But, Opal also knew better than to be sweet talked by a handsome stranger who’d be gone to Alaska in a week’s time. “When I return in six-months, maybe I’ll be a millionaire,” he exclaimed.
    She wanted to roll her eyes to the ceiling. Opal heard this story too many times from countless men of all ages. Young, old, it didn’t matter. Since the Klondike Gold Rush hit Alaska, Seattle was a pipeline to the Northern Territory for men like Samuel to seek their fame and fortune. The difference was, from the size of the nuggets on the scale, he found his fortune.
    “When I come back, I’ll have more gold. I’ll buy a big house overlooking the water, and court a pretty young woman, like yourself, Miss Grey, to be my wife.”
    Opal cheeks heated. She was pleased he’d remembered her name from their chance meeting months back at Conner’s mercantile, but she wouldn’t set her hopes on this young man who may never return. She saw too many men leave for Alaska and never come back. The gold rush was instrumental in leaving her without family. Her job was more than important, it was a matter of survival. She’d been fortunate to find work at the National Bank. Knowing she was alone, a friend of her family pitied her, otherwise who knew where she would be working.
    There weren’t many choices for women’s jobs in 1898.
    Thank God, she wasn’t forced into prostitution to keep food in her mouth and a roof over her head. She would be a terrible prostitute. Opal didn’t know the first thing about love or men.
    Her friend, Bertha, explained love didn’t have much to do with that profession. Opal was around men all day, but when Samuel flirted with her, she stood like the stone corners of her bank.
    The nuggets Samuel found were large. Her guess was over twenty-thousand dollars. The light in his eyes said it all. He knew he’d hit it big.
    The other miners