Lady in Disguise
Though the secret behind Uley Kirland’s cap and mining togs is unsuspected in 1880s Tin Cup, Colorado, she longs to shed the clothing of deception…especially when handsome stranger Aaron Brown awakens her heart. But while Uley dreams of being fitted for a wedding gown, the man she loves is being fitted for a hangman’s noose, and she’s the inadvertent cause of his troubles. The truth will set him free, and Uley will do whatever it takes to save Aaron’s life—even risk her own.
Praise for Deborah Bedford
“Blessing is a delightful historical romance
from the pen of the talented Deborah Bedford. Come meet the colorful characters
of Tin Cup, Colorado, and lose yourself
in the sweet love story of Uley and Aaron.
You’ll be glad you did.”
—Bestselling author Robin Lee Hatcher
“Deborah Bedford breathes the breath of life into her characters, giving them the power to
walk right off the page into our hearts.”
—Christy Award-winning author
Hannah Alexander
“You’ll LOVE Deborah Bedford’s Blessing! Wonderful writing, a unique cast of characters
and a lively story altogether emphasize a
deep truth: Man judges on outward appearance,
but God searches the heart.”
—Lyn Cote
DEBORAH BEDFORD
enjoyed a successful career as a mainstream novelist before heeding the call to set aside other priorities in her life and write books that would glorify God. She is now the author of several bestselling titles, including The Penny and Any Minute, which she co-wrote with Joyce Meyer, as well as His Other Wife, A Rose by the Door and Remember Me. Blessing is one of her favorite books because it is one of Bedford’s few historical novels, and is set in Tin Cup, Colorado, a secluded mountain town not far from where her grandparents spent their honeymoon in the late 1920s.
Since working with Joyce Meyer, Bedford has traveled to several areas in Mexico, as well as several squatters’ camps near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, to participate in medical missions. She divides her time between her home in Jackson Hole and her position as a multi-trauma nurse in Colorado. She and her husband, Jack, have two children, Jeff and Avery.
Blessing
Deborah Bedford
Lord, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord.
Renew them in our day, in our time make them known...
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.
—Habakkuk 3:2–19
To my adventurous, beautiful daughter, Avery.
Tin Cup is the place where I learned that I didn’t have to be in the mountains to be happy, but that wherever I went, the mountains could be inside me.
And now look at you and what you are doing!
You are going to touch young people’s lives in ways you’ve never imagined. I am awestruck by
your spirit, and so proud of you. Mom
Contents
Chapter One
Gunnison County, Colorado—1882
“I don’t want this town to be called Virginia City anymore!” Alex Parent hollered, banging his cup on the podium. “Every town this side of the Mississippi is called Virginia City. The confounded postal service is dropping off mail from back home everywhere else but here.”
All 103 people in the audience agreed with him at the top of their lungs.
“You’re right, Parent,” someone bellowed. “There’s a Virginia City in Nevada and another
