Obsessed in Oregon
By
Marlene Bierworth
Yours Truly: The Lovelorn Series Book 8
Copyright page
Obsessed in Oregon ©2020 Marlene Bierworth
Cover Design done by V. McKevitt
No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without written permission of the author, Marlene Bierworth, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, character and events are the product of the author’s imagination. While the author has tried to be historically correct, her goals in this book are great characters and storytelling. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locals, is purely coincidental.
All books titled or quoted in this story belong to their respective authors.
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About This Series
Miss Annette Baldwin, wants to play matchmaker, so she starts a column in her father’s newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri, in order to share her expertise on love. She writes under the pseudonym, The Lovelorn, not daring to give away her identity. Suddenly, her column is spreading wider and now everyone wants her help in finding their love match.
YOURS TRULY: THE LOVELORN is a multi-author sweet historical romance series take on the modern-day Dear Abby newspaper articles. Each book will have a character writing to The Lovelorn about their problem, and receive advice from the Lovelorn. Each book stands alone and will have the authors’ masterful creative touch.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
About this Series
Table of Contents
Chapters 1 through 12
Epilogue
Other Books in this Series
Other Books by Marlene Bierworth
Author’s Bio
What’s Coming Next in the series
Chapter 1
Oregon City, Oregon
Summer, 1880
Oregon City was the first settlement in the Willamette Valley and the first incorporated city west of the Rocky Mountains. The area is steeped with beauty and rich history and was the final destination for many early settlers at the end of the Oregon Trail. Fur traders and missionaries arrived first, infiltrating the Native presence and civilizing the new territory.
Reverend Timothy Gracin brought his bride West in 1860 to start a family and preach the Good News to Oregon City’s growing population. That was where Tariana found herself, one of the fourteen-hundred people who called that spectacular piece of paradise home. Caught somewhere between a woman and a child, she well-related to the apostle Paul’s dilemma, groaning over knowing what he ought to do but failing to do it. Her parents had taught her right from wrong, so she could not claim ignorance as an excuse for her bursts of unruly behavior, yet, the torment in her soul raged on, especially in the romance department. Perched on the brink of womanhood, she wondered how such a great number of residents provided so few options when it came to desirable men from which to choose – except for Michael.
Tariana watched as he and Frances – the old-fashioned name should have clued him in to the fact that she was all wrong for him – strolled hand in hand. She was a saint in a dress, someone who’d never climbed a tree or fished in the river. Miss Prissy Proper should be entertaining the banker’s son and leaving the brave shipbuilders for a more suitable match, like herself. She would make every day of Michael’s life an adventure and never force him to stand so erect and attentive to every twist of fancy conjured by the brain of a girl. Yes, the coupling was all wrong, and the sooner they discovered it, the sooner the field would open for her to lay claim to the love of her life.
Thick foliage blocked Tariana’s view, and she stretched her frame to push it aside. The abundance of undergarments kept her locked securely inside the large arm of the tree, but at the precise moment the duo passed directly beneath her, it shifted, and she knew disaster was eminent. Tariana braced for landfall, but instead, her worst nightmare happened in torturous slow motion. She struggled to flatten her Sunday dress, which seemed to have a mind of its own, billowing through the air like an open parasol and dropping her into the deepest depths of humiliation.
The two lovers stared, watching the descent.
Layers of material cushioned Tariana’s bottom as she landed with a thump on the soft grass in the garden, sprawled at Michael’s feet. It was the first time she recalled feeling grateful for the cumbersome attire. Though she appeared physically uninjured, she was consumed with shame.
Frances gasped in horror, and Michael bit his lower lip to hide his amusement. Tariana bolted to her feet in one swift motion to peer into the sea-blue eyes of her beloved – if only in her mind.
“Tariana, are you all right?” Michael asked as he reached out to steady her.
She accepted his fussing over her with the thirst of a newborn kitten, knowing that his concern would be the only pleasant memory resulting from the unfortunate encounter. Father would surely send her to her room, and for God knew how long, hoping to tame his crazed daughter.
All she could do was stare. Before she knew it, the opportunity to speak freely had elapsed, and Frances pushed her from Michael’s grasp.
“You
