Jenna Campbell swallowed a gasp and clung to her purse. When her mother was in this frame of mind, it was far better to agree with her and let her temper take its natural course. "Yes, Mom."

"Don't be so damned agreeable, either."

"Whatever you say, Mom."

"Asking me to drive you to the airport is just adding insult to injury."

"I know, I'm sorry, but -"

"Didn't I tell you to stop agreeing with everything I say?"

"Yes, Mom."

"I can't believe any daughter of mine is so ... so mealy-mouthed. How on earth could you even think about something as ridiculous as becoming a mail-order bride? Haven't I taught you anything?"

"I didn't say I was marrying Dalton -"

"That's another thing. What kind of name is Dalton, anyway? And Alaska ... Alaska? Have you lost your mind? This is the kind of thing I'd do, not you!"

"Mom ..."

Chloe Lyman veered sharply across two lanes of traffic, going twenty miles above the speed limit as she did so, and nearly collided with the concrete wall dividing the freeway. "I don't like it."

"Dalton's name?" Jenna asked, purposely obtuse.

Chloe muttered something probably best left to the imagination, then added in a more audible voice, "I don't like anything about this. You find some man on the Internet and the next thing I know, you're quitting a job any woman would love. You give up a beautiful apartment. You uproot your entire life and take off for Alaska to marry this character you've never even met."

"I'm an executive assistant, which is a glorified way of saying secretary, and I'm only going to Alaska to meet Dalton. I never said anything about marrying him."

While that sounded good, Jenna did, in fact, expect to marry Dalton Gray.

Kim Roberts, her best friend, thought this plan of hers was wildly romantic, although she had some qualms. For that matter, so did Jenna. She wasn't stupid or naive, but her desire to escape her mundane, predictable life outweighed her usual caution.

Once Jenna knew Dalton a little better, she sincerely hoped their relationship would evolve into something permanent. However, she wasn't rushing into marriage, despite what Kim and her mother seemed to think.

"You're the executive assistant to the founder and president of Fulton Industries," her mother needlessly reminded her. "Do you realize how many women would give their eyeteeth to work for a man as rich and handsome as Brad Fulton?"

Jenna didn't want to discuss that. Yes, she had a good job and the pay was fabulous, but as far as she was concerned, it was a dead end. She'd fallen in love with Brad Fulton, but in the six years she'd been working with him, he'd never noticed her except as his assistant. Competent, capable Ms. Campbell. Besides, she had no life. Correction, no dating life. At thirty-one she was unmarried and there wasn't a possibility in sight. Meeting a man on the Internet wasn't so unusual these days and it was perfect for someone like her. Jenna was shy, but when she sat in front of a computer screen, she found the confidence to assert her real personality. Dalton thought she was witty and he made her feel good about herself. Yes, this might be risky; however, Jenna didn't care. She was about to have the first real adventure of her life, and adventure was what she craved. Nothing was going to stop her now. Not her mother. Not Kim. No one!

"Say something," Chloe challenged.

"What would you like me to tell you, Mom? That I don't know what I'm doing and that in a few weeks I'll be flying home with a broken heart?" If that was the case, then so be it. At least she would've experienced life and had an escapade or two, which was all she wanted. Jenna had witnessed her mother's approach to marriage, and that certainly hadn't worked. So she was doing it her own way. Dalton might very well be her only chance. Another year at Fulton Industries and every feminine instinct would shrivel up and die. Brad Fulton's primary interest was his company. Jenna was convinced she could parade around the office naked and it would take him a week to notice.

"You know what they say about the men in Alaska," her mother muttered.

"Yes, Mom, I've heard all the jokes. Alaska - where the odds are good but the goods are odd."

Her mother chuckled. "I hope you pay close attention to that one."

"Alaska," Jenna said, her voice sarcastic, "where the men are men and so are the women."

Her mother giggled again.

"Dalton told me those, Mom. He wants me to be prepared."

"Did he happen to mention what the winters are like in Fairbanks? It's November, Jenna, and they have storms there, blizzards that last for days. You could freeze to death walking from the plane into the terminal. When I think of what could happen, I -"

"You don't need to worry, Mom. Dalton sent me books and it isn't Fairbanks, it's Beesley. I'm flying into Fairbanks, where Dalton's meeting me."

"Did he pay for your airfare?"

"I wouldn't let him do that!" Jenna was surprised her mother would ask such a question. She had more sense than that and more pride too.

"Thank God for small favors."

"I'm not changing my mind, Mom."

"Jenna, oh, Jenna," her mother cried and slowed to twenty-five-miles an hour, which made even more cars blare their horns, not that her mother was aware of it.

"Why couldn't you be like other daughters who cause their mothers grief and heartache from the ages of thirteen to thirty? It makes no sense that a daughter of mine would turn into this model of virtue." Chloe shook her head. "Why did you wait till thirty-one to shock me like this? I'm not used to worrying about you."

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Snow Bride by Debbie Macomber Copyright © 2003 by Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd.. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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