Brides of Idaho

by Ford, Linda;

He reached out to pull them close. “Something must have happened to detain him. I’m sure we’ll hear from him soon. Likely he’s on his way back for you right now.”

  Glory nudged him aside. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep or have to take back.”

  Her words stung. “I didn’t.”

  “Yes, you did. You can’t know if he’ll come back or not.”

  Emmy wailed louder. “I want my pa.”

  Glory knelt before the pair. “I can’t say what happened to your pa. Seems you’ll have to wait and find out. But right now you have a safe, warm place to stay.”

  He was surprised she didn’t tell them to buck up. Not that he had anything to offer them but words of assurance he based on nothing more than hope and goodwill.

  Emmy scrubbed at her eyes with her fists. “How long has your pa been gone?” she asked Glory.

  Glory’s expression hardened. “He’s been in and out of my life since I was Jack’s age.”

  “Don’t it bother you?”

  Levi watched, wondering how she would answer. Would she admit it did, made her wary, defensive?

  She leaned forward, bringing herself to eye level with the children. “I can’t say it doesn’t bother me, but that’s just how it is. I can’t change anything.”

  Emmy nodded. “I guess not.” She sucked in air. “I’ll be okay.”

  Glory lifted her face toward Levi, a look of admiration on her face at the child’s sudden acceptance of the facts.

  Levi wanted to protest. Do something to prove to them all they could trust a man. A father. He addressed Glory. “Tell you what. If you would watch the children for me, I’ll go and find their pa.”

  Glory took two steps away and looked at Levi with eyes darkened with suspicion.

  “I’ll be back. I promise.”

  “How can I look after them? I’ve got my work.” She waved an arm around the little shop. “My horses.” A vague wave to indicate some place beyond town. “My chores at the stopping house.”

  “They’re right here. You can keep an eye on them as you work. Take them with you the rest of the time. Just spend the night here so they aren’t alone.”

  Two pairs of big brown eyes begged her to do it, far more effectively than any words he could utter.

  She sighed. Gave him a look of warning.

  He read her loud and clear. You better not run out on this.

  “I’ll be back unless I’m dead. You can count on it. In fact”—he opened the notebook she kept on her worktable, tore out a page, and wrote on it—“I will carry this in my pocket just in case.” He handed the note to her.

  She read aloud, her voice growing incredulous by the end. “‘In case of my demise, please return my body to Miss Glory Hamilton at Bonners Ferry. Inform her of the circumstances of my death and tell her I tried to get back.’ It doesn’t matter to me. I just don’t want to see the children building false hope.” With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the note at him.

  He caught it and stuck it in his pocket.

  She gave him a look fit to crispy-fry bacon. “I’ll watch them. You go find a missing father.”

  “Which one. Theirs or yours?” He didn’t know what possessed him to say such a thing, but now that he had, he waited to see her reaction.

  She pulled the two children to her side. “I don’t need a father. They do.” Her eyes challenged him to think otherwise.

  Wisely, he held his tongue, but as he crossed on the ferry, he prayed not only to find Mr. Templeton but also Mr. Hamilton. He’d demand both men return and face their children.

  “If anyone can find Pa, Mr. Powers can,” Emmy insisted as Glory prepared her for bed.

  “I’m just saying don’t get your hopes too high.”

  “Mr. Powers told us to pray. He said God listens to even little girls.”

  Glory closed her eyes for a moment. She used to believe it without question, but her prayers for her pa to come back and take care of them had never been truly answered. Now she was trying to learn to trust God all over. Right now her fervent prayer was for God to provide a way for her to buy the land where she was keeping her horses.

  Jack sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for Glory to read them a story and tuck them in. “I remember Pa saying sometimes it’s hard to trust when it seems things are going wrong, but that’s when we need to trust the hardest.”

  Glory glanced at the boy. Where did such a young person get such wisdom? Did he suspect Levi would not return with the hoped-for, prayed-for result? Was he preparing himself for the worst? “Trust is indeed hardest when we need it worst.” And when she needed it most she’d let it go. No more. Levi was right. God’s promises weren’t subject to change.

  She tucked the children in and listened to their breathing grow deep as she sat at the table and read from the Bible. But her thoughts kept drifting. Would Levi be able to find their father? Would he happen to run into her pa, too? And if he did…?

  She would not allow herself any dreams or hopes. Instead, she prayed for Levi to find the children’s father and bring him back to claim his children.

  Two days later and she waited impatiently for the answer to two prayers—a way to buy the land and a man returning on a black horse with a second man at his side.

  She sat helping Toby peel potatoes while Emmy and Jack perched a few yards away, watching the ferry.

  All her old doubts and fears returned. Rawhide Kid disguising himself as a preacher. “Looking for someone has given him a handy excuse to disappear for a few days. Maybe I’ll ask the ferry man to get someone to pick up a newspaper from up in the territories. Might provide interesting reading.”

  Toby grunted. “I think the man could live a pure life for ten years and you’d still be looking for signs of something unlawful. Maybe even that wouldn’t be enough.” He suddenly faced her, his expression half-mournful, half-accusing. “Glory, what would it take to make you trust a man?”

  His question caught her off guard. She had to think about it. Finally, she realized she didn’t have an answer. “Don’t ever plan to need to trust a man.” A tiny voice deep inside reminded her of how nice it had been to share those hours with Levi not so long ago. For a little while, she’d let herself forget her doubts and suspicions.

  Only because Emmy’s illness and the darkness had lulled her. It wouldn’t happen again.

  Emmy and Jack crossed the yard and stood before her. “Why hasn’t Levi come back?” Emmy demanded, the momentary spokesman for the pair.

  The question echoed inside Glory’s head, reminding her of all the times she had asked the question about her pa. But she didn’t want to be the one to shatter this pair’s world. Life would surely do it soon enough. “He promised he’d come back, didn’t he?” Dead or alive.

  Toby snorted at how her words contradicted what she’d said only a moment before.

  “You just have to be patient.”

  After supper, the children returned to their station, wanting to watch until the last ferry crossed.

  Glory let them. After all, she had chores to do and wasn’t anxious to be shut up in the tiny room, wondering and waiting.

  Later, she returned to the room and put the children to bed. She was tired, but sleep did not come easily as her thoughts chased down blind trails. What if he doesn’t come back? What will happen to the children? She’d make sure they were safe. Joanna and Mandy would surely welcome them to stay at the stopping house. Emmy would get used to all the people coming and going.

  It should have calmed her. It didn’t. She kept seeing the words of that stupid note. “In case of my demise”—who ever used such a word?—“tell her I tried to get back.” Dead or alive, he promised he’d get back.

  Who wanted him back dead?

  She flung over to her side, trying to get comfortable, and mentally counted her savings. Calculated how much she would need to earn in just over a week. It was hopeless, but nevertheless, she considered every possibility. It was not something that particularly soothed her
thoughts, but it beat thinking about Levi.

  Next morning the children could barely wait to get their clothes on before they begged to be able to hurry down to watch the ferry. “He’ll come today,” Emmy insisted.

  “We can’t be sure. We’ll have to wait and see.” Glory wanted to prepare the child for disappointment.

  Emmy simply tossed her head and ignored Glory’s warning. “I’m tired of waiting.”

  If only life were so easy. Even trusting God appeared to come with challenges and disappointments. Last night she’d read a verse in Job, chapter thirteen, verse fifteen, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” And seems God almost slew Job. Took his children, his cattle, everything. Still Job trusted God. Glory didn’t know if she could do the same given the same circumstances.

  The kids scampered ahead of her to a spot where they could watch people crossing on the ferry, mostly heading north. She sat with them to watch. And wait. So Emmy was tired of waiting, was she? Glory could tell her she might be in for a lifetime of waiting unless she put the past behind her.

  And yet, Glory prayed inwardly that Levi would return—alive. With Mr. Templeton at his side.

  Midmorning she watched him ride to the landing site of the ferry on the far side of the river. He looked like he’d been battered mercilessly. It showed in the way his shoulders slumped, his hat tipped forward over his forehead hiding his eyes from onlookers. He rode alone and Glory knew it meant bad news of one sort or another.

  The children had grown bored and played with rocks in the grass, pretending to herd them like a bunch of horses.

  Glory didn’t point out Levi to them. They’d have to face the bad news soon enough.

  At the sound of the ferry beaching on this side of the river, they sat up and immediately saw Levi on Billy Bob. As quickly they saw that he was alone.

  Jack sprang to his feet.

  Emmy shrank into the grass, her hand pressed to her mouth.

  Glory waited, not sure if she should urge them toward the ferry or wait for Levi to ride to them. But already Levi was headed their direction. She rose to wait by the children.

  Levi swung from his horse and made the last few steps on foot. He stood before them, pushed his hat back to reveal a face wreathed in anguish and disappointment.

  “You didn’t find him, did you?” Jack’s voice rang with resignation.

  Levi squatted to Jack’s level. “I’m sorry. I did find him. But he won’t be coming back.”

  “He’s dead, ain’t he?” Jack bunched his fists at his side. He tried for anger, but his voice quivered.

  “Yes.” Levi pulled the boy into his arms and let Jack weep against his shoulder.

  Glory sat beside Emmy and opened her arms.

  Tears streaming down her face, Emmy climbed to Glory’s lap and wrapped her arms about her neck. Hot tears soaked Glory’s shoulder.

  She didn’t mind in the least and held Emmy close, her own eyes clouding with tears. It was even worse than knowing her pa was out there and didn’t care to come back. Their pa would never come back. No false hopes. No eternal waiting.

  She closed her eyes and rocked the child.

  Now what?

  Chapter 11

  Levi scrubbed his chin, noted the rasping. He needed a shave. But it was the least of things he needed. He’d hoped for a different outcome, but there was no way to change things.

  It had been a tough day. The children were understandably upset and required attention from both him and Glory.

  “I couldn’t have made it through this day without you.” His weariness made his voice hoarse.

  They stood at the side of the bed watching the children, who had finally fallen asleep. His shoulder almost touched Glory’s. He wanted to find comfort in holding her, wanted to tell her the whole sorry story. “Let’s go sit outside. We’ll be able to hear them if they call out but won’t disturb them as we talk.”

  She nodded, grabbed a chair, and carried it to the side of the shop.

  He followed, also carrying a chair, and parked it close to hers, grateful when she made no protest or shifted farther away.

  For a moment they sat in silence. The lowering sun sent pink coloring into the clouds. The tree-covered hills turned a deep green, almost black. He leaned back and tried to think of nothing but the beauty of the sky, the sureness of God’s love. It was hard to concentrate on either after his trip.

  “Was it awful?”

  Glory’s quiet question shuddered through him. “It wasn’t fun. I don’t know what I expected. Maybe he was injured and couldn’t get back.”

  “I guess dead is about as injured as you can get.”

  He understood that she hoped to make him smile and he appreciated her efforts, but he wasn’t ready to enjoy any humor.

  She studied him, and he let her without meeting her look. “What happened?”

  “The children told me he’d hurried away to return a package a fellow traveler had forgotten. That much I knew. What I didn’t know, and neither did he, was the package had been stolen from a rough pair of men. When they saw Mr. Templeton with it, they took him as well as the package. According to what others had observed, they had crossed into the British territories. I followed, always asking about the three men I sought. I heard clues but never saw them.” He closed his eyes and tipped his head back. “I kept thinking how desperate Mr. Templeton must be, knowing his kids were waiting for him back near Bonners Ferry. Knowing how small and vulnerable they were.”

  She touched his arm. “Too bad he couldn’t have known they were safe with you.”

  He lowered his head to see her hand on his arm. It steadied him, made it possible for him to fill his lungs without the air catching halfway down. “I went to the Mounted Police to ask if they had any word on the man I sought. Unfortunately, they did. They’d buried the man.”

  She pressed her hand more firmly to his arm, causing his blood to flow more smoothly through his veins. He knew he was imagining it, but that was how it felt.

  “They had written a report. They gave me a copy.” He touched the inner pocket of his vest where the pages waited to be passed on to someone who would someday tell the children the whole truth. “There was a fight. It seems Mr. Templeton saw his chance to escape his captors and stood up before a crowd of witnesses and said he was being held against his will. He had two children needing a father and waiting for him to return. They’d been waiting ten days and it was too long for youngsters to be alone. He had to get back to them and called upon those present to witness his escape and help him return. Of course the crowd surged forward, intent on punishing the two culprits, but they escaped, leaving Mr. Templeton behind. People provided him with a horse, supplies, and everything else he needed to get back here.” It should have been the happy ending to the whole affair. “He was found two days later. Shot in the back. He was on his way here.”

  “Did they catch the men?”

  “No, but the Mounted Police vow they will be captured and brought to justice.”

  “Good.” She leaned back and pulled her hand away.

  His arm felt cold and heavy. His heart empty just because he no longer had the comfort of her touch. He thought of the time he had taken a kiss. Wished he could take another.

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “Sorry for you. Sorry the man died. Sorry for the kids.” Her voice choked off.

  He turned to her and opened his arms, more than half expecting she would laugh and jerk away, but she came readily, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding him. He pressed his cheek to her hair and breathed in the warm, earthy scent of her. He couldn’t say if she held him or he held her, only it eased the pain that had become a knot in his chest.

  He didn’t want to let her go, didn’t want to tell her what else he’d learned, but she shifted and tipped her head to look into his face. Did he see longing in her eyes? Or was he only dreaming it, wishing for it?

  “Glory,” he whispered and slowly lowered his head, giving her a moment to
pull away if she didn’t want him to kiss her. She didn’t move, and he almost smiled before he caught her lips in a gentle kiss. This one was mutual, not stolen. Prickly Miss Glory was kissing him.

  She broke away. Sat up. Patted her hair and faced forward.

  He cupped her shoulder. “Thank you.”

  The look she gave him encompassed so many things. Surprise, denial, and a healthy dose of interest causing her to glance at his mouth and jerk away as soon as she did, as if denying she might have liked it just a little.

  “Glory, I appreciate your kindness in offering me sympathy.” It was best for them both if they believed it had been nothing more.

  But she snorted. “Is that what it was?”

  It’s what it had to be though Levi wished otherwise. He hoped Matt would appreciate the sacrifices Levi was making on his behalf. He had chosen a hard road but would not forget the verse that said, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” He would not look back or regret his vow. “I asked about your pa while I was up north.”

  She stiffened and her expression informed him she didn’t care. Almost he believed her, but she could not hide the flash of pain in her eyes.

  “The Mounted Police had heard of him. Said he was headed for the gold fields farther west. I asked them to forward a message if they heard anything more.”

  Glory pressed her palms together and clamped her hands between her knees. She sat forward not moving, not saying anything, not revealing a single emotion.

  “Glory, at least you know he’s still alive.”

  She flung him a gaze rife with anger and pain and so much more. “It would be easier if he was dead. No more waiting. No more wondering if we might get a message like the one you brought the children. It would be over.” She bent over her knees and sat as still as a statue.

  He could see only the back of her neck and the heavy brown braid hanging over her shoulder. He lifted the braid and moved it to the other side, hoping he could see her face but got only a glimpse of her profile as she shifted away. “Glory, it’s always better to know.”