The Reapers Song Red River Of The North Book 4

Ever so slowly Dakota Territory is being transformed from a vast prairie into rich farmland. With the coming of the railroad, the small town of Blessing begins to prosper, and the Bjorklund family is reaping the promised harvest that had lured them from their beloved home in Norway. But for Ingeborg and Haakan, realizing their dreams will not come without a struggle. After their own fields are harvested, Haakan and the neighboring men take the steam engine and the separator on the road, threshing for other homesteaders in return for a portion of their grain. With Haakan away and the fields standing idle, Ingeborg frets over work yet to be done. Fearing an early change of seasons, she takes matters into her own hands. Has the land become more important to Ingeborg than her own family?

Proud of Their Heritage and Sustained by Their Faith, They Came to Tame a New Land She had promised herself that once they left the fjords of Norway, she would not look back. After three long years of scrimping and saving to buy tickets for their passage to America, Roald and Ingeborg Bjorklund, along with their son, Thorliff, finally arrive at the docks of New York City. It was the promise of free land that fed their dream and lured them from their beloved home high above the fjords of Norway in 1880. Together with Roald's brother Carl and his family, they will build a good life in a new land that promises untold wealth and vast farmsteads for their children. As they join the throngs of countless immigrants passing through Castle Garden, they soon discover that nothing is as they had envisioned it. Appalled by the horrid stories of fellow immigrants bilked of all their money and forced to live in squalid living conditions, the Bjorklunds continue their long journey by train as far as Grand Forks. From there a covered wagon takes them into Dakota Territory, where they settle on the banks of the Red River. But there was no way for them to foresee the price they will have to pay to wrest a living from the indomitable land. The virgin prairie refuses to yield its treasure without a struggle. Will they be strong enough to overcome the hardships of that first winter?

Is She Really Leaving Forever? Tracing the difficulties and joys of carving out a life from the Dakota sod in the second half of the 800s, Tender Mercies continues Snelling's Red River saga and will pull your heartstrings and make you feel the joys and frustrations of life on the open lands of the 9th century mid-west. The rich farmlands of the Dakota Territory in 1887 are finally beginning to yield the abundant harvest the pioneers had dreamed about so long. The establishment of the railroad has brought significant changes to the small town of Blessing as well as prosperity to the Bjorklund family and their neighbors. Among the townsfolk, Reverend John Solberg--despite being wary of matchmaking efforts in the past--is developing a friendship with a delightful young woman through their common love of books. Mary Martha has a gentle southern charm that wins everyone in her circle but too soon she is called on to return home to care for her mother. She leaves behind many heavy hearts and countless questions of whether it will be the last time to see her.

She Had Told Him She Was Headed for Blessing. Why Would He Not Take Her There? The Bjorklund family has received word that Augusta Bjorklund is on her way from Norway to join them in North Dakota. When the train arrives in the town of Blessing with no Augusta aboard, the worried family hopes she will be on the train in the morning. But only her trunk arrives, so Bridget Bjorklund insists that Hjelmer, Augusta's brother, go find her. Augusta, after discovering her intended bridegroom had married someone else, decided to leave her broken heart in Norway and start a new life in America helping her mother run her boardinghouse. But knowing no English, Augusta misunderstands a ticket agent's directions in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in the harried confusion, she boards the wrong train. When she arrives at the end of the line, she is met by a handsome young rancher, Kane Moyer, waiting for his Norwegian mail-order bride....

It is 1893 and the first generation of immigrants who came to America for the promise of free land and a good life for their children have finally achieved their dreams. They labored hard on the land and now have a bountiful heritage to pass on to the next generation. However, many of the young people aren't interested in becoming farmers--they have aspirations of their own. Thorliff Bjorklund has been writing stories and plays since he was a young boy and longs to attend college to study journalism. But his father has other plans for him and refuses to agree. Thorliff is torn between love for his father and the pull of his dream. Must he choose between the two?

Larkspur Nielsen is ready for a change. Her parents have passed on, and her older brother is successfully running the family business. She bristles at the small-mindedness that permeates life in her small Ohio community, and she sees little chance of a satisfying future there. She has a little money saved, and after turning the tables on a crooked gambler who had fleeced several locals, including her younger brother, she can stake a new start for herself and her three sisters. As the gambler's threats of revenge echo in her ears, she and her sisters head to Independence, Missouri, to join a wagon train bound for Oregon. Knowing that four women traveling together will draw unwanted attention, Larkspur dons a disguise, passing herself off as "Clark" Nielsen, accompanying his three sisters. But maintaining the ruse is more difficult than Larkspur imagined, as is protecting her headstrong, starry-eyed sisters from difficult circumstances and eligible young men. Will reaching their goal prove too much for them?

Revisit Old Friends in Blessing in This Heartwarming Series Conclusion Deborah MacCallister, head nurse at the Blessing hospital, has loved Toby Valders since her school days, but she's had enough of their on-again, off-again relationship. Toby truly cares for Deborah, but he's never felt like he could commit to marriage or a family. When Anton Genddarm, the new schoolteacher, comes to town, the young women of Blessing see a chance to force Toby's hand with a little strategic matchmaking. But real sparks fly between Deborah and Anton, and she finds herself in an even more complicated situation. The attention she gets from Anton makes Toby do some serious soul-searching, but is it too late? Then Deborah receives an invitation to study the latest advances in nursing at a hospital in Chicago, and she faces a hard choice. To leave or stay? Should she give up on the dream of Toby and accept the interest of Anton?

For as far back as he can remember, the dream of becoming a writer has burned brightly in Thorliff's heart. But when he arrives at college, things are not as he had imagined. Thorliff longs for the familiarity and nurture of his loved ones back home. The distance has created a rift between Thorliff and his childhood sweetheart. The only bright spot in his life is his job at the town newspaper. Will he be forced to leave one dream behind to pursue the other?