“Sure I will.”
“I’m going to have it put in the marriage vows when Pa marries us.”
“Well, to tell the truth, getting married is kind of a problem.”
“Don’t you have the money for a wedding license?” She smiled.
“Well, it’s not that, but as much as I love you, Raina, I can’t ask you to lead the kind of life that I’m gonna probably have. You know how it is. Preachers never get rich that I know of. Sometimes they’re the poorest men in town, and I keep thinking that you could have married George and had everything.”
“No, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t have had you.” She smiled and squeezed his hand.
“We’ll wait on marrying until I can get enough money to go to school and learn how to be a preacher.”
“I’m disappointed.”
“Well, so am I. I’d like to get married right now, but that wouldn’t be right for me to put you in that kind of a situation.”
She rose from her chair, came over, and stood behind him. She reached around, pulled his head back, and kissed him. “Maybe God will do a miracle.”
He reached up and put his hands on her arms and said, “That’s about what it’s gonna take. A miracle!”
Raina’s pa had been watching her very carefully. “What’s wrong with you, Raina?”
“Nothing, Pa.”
“Well, you don’t look happy. You’re gonna be a bride, ain’t you?”
“No, not anytime soon.”
Vernay blinked with surprise. “What’s stopping you? Both of you want to get married.”
“Well, Ty says he’s got to get ready to be a minister, and it’s going to take time and money. We’ve got the time but no money.”
“What does he want to do with money?”
“He wants to go to school and at least learn the fundamentals of Bible study. He thinks that’s the key to being a good preacher and knowing the Bible.”
Pa did not speak for some time, but then he said, “Well, you go get that young man. I’ve got something that’s been jolting around in my head.”
“What is it, Pa?”
“I need to tell both of you together.”
“All right. I’ll get him.”
It was that evening before Ty and Raina sat down with Eddie. He smiled at them, saying, “Well, I didn’t get to keep you long, daughter, but you got a good man.”
“Not as good as she deserves, Eddie, but I promise you she’ll never know meanness from me.”
“I know that, but I’ve got to tell you two something. Ty, Raina already told me about your plan to be a preacher. I think that’s great, and I know what you mean. I just started out preaching and no tellin’ how many ways I blundered, so I kept asking God, ‘How can I serve You?’ I’m not getting any younger, you know.”
“Why, you’re as strong as two men, Pa,” Raina said.
“We all have our time, and I want to use it the best I can. But I can only have so many years left, and this church is on my heart, so I made a decision. I’m going to keep on with the sheep business now that I made up with Aaron. There won’t be no shooting each other, but I’ve decided what to do with the money.”
“You mean earnings off the sheep?” Raina asked.
“It’s going really well. So what I’m going to do is this. I’ll stay here and preach at the church and try to build it up, and then when the new preacher comes, he can take over.”
Ty spoke. “You got a preacher in mind, Eddie?”
“More than that. I know him. It’s you, Ty. I’m gonna pay your expenses to go to school, and in a couple of years you come back. I’ll be even weaker than I am now, I guess, but you’ll be the pastor. Maybe I can be your helper.”
“I couldn’t take your money,” Ty said.
“That’s pride,” Eddie said.
Raina said, “It certainly is. I made a hard decision about who to marry, and now you’ve got to make one.” When Ty hesitated, she said, “It’s your pride, Ty.”
“I guess it is.”
Raina faced him squarely. “Well, I’ve got pride, too, but I’m ready to be the wife of a preacher. We’ll honeymoon at the school you go to. We both will have a lot to learn.”
“You’ll take me up on my offer then?” Eddie asked.
Raina laughed and said, “Yes, he does.”
“You’re getting mighty bossy! Have I got this to put up with for a lifetime, Raina?”
“We both have a lot to learn,” she said.
The sanctuary was full of people for the wedding at the Baptist church in Fort Smith.
George and Leoma were in the front row, and they watched as Raina came down the aisle dressed in white. As Ed Vernay stood to perform the ceremony, Leoma turned and whispered, “Well, George, was your heart broken when you lost your prospective bride?”
He turned and smiled at her. They had spent a great deal of time together for the past month. “Well, just sort of bent out of shape, I’d say.”
She squeezed his arm. “I can fix that,” she said.
They sat listening and were aware of the shining countenances of both Raina and Ty. Ed Vernay was a rough-hewn preacher, but as he tied the knot, he practically shouted, “I now pronounce you man and wife. Now kiss the bride, son!”
Eddie Vernay had been at the session along with Judge Parker to see the newly married couple off on their honeymoon.
Now Ty and Raina waved as the figures receded and the train pulled out of Fort Smith. Raina turned to Ty and said, “Are you afraid of what lies before us?”
“Maybe a little. I guess that’s what men are afraid of, something that they don’t know. I don’t have any idea of how to be a pastor.”
“I do. You love your sheep.”
He laughed and pulled her forward and kissed her.
The conductor was passing, and he stopped and grinned. “You got your kissing permit in order?”
“The ink’s still wet on the marriage license,” Ty said.
They left the conductor and went to their seats. Raina said, “Well, we’re man and wife now. Feel any different?”
“I feel happier than I’ve ever been.”
A tall man was sitting across the aisle and said, “You two just get hitched?”
Ty grinned. “Yep. Just got married.”
“Well, I’m your man if you need advice. I’ve worn out three wives. I know all about it.”
“Well, I’ve got my plan already made to keep this one happy.”
“What’s that, son?”
“I’m gonna give her everything she wants, when she wants it. The Bible says in one place that when a couple gets married the new bridegroom stays at home for a year.”
“What does he do all that time, brother?”
“He makes his wife happy.”
“Why, you won’t last six months with a plan like that.”
“Yes, we’ll last,” Raina said. She reached up and placed her hand on Ty’s cheek. “We’re in this thing for the long run.”
The whistle broke the silence, and Ty felt as if he and his new bride were moving out of one life and into another.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award-winning, bestselling author Gilbert Morris is well known for penning numerous Christian novels for adults and children since 1984 with 6.5 million books in print. He is probably best known for the forty-book House of Winslow series, and his Edge of Honor was a 2001 Christy Award winner. He lives with his wife in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Other books by Gilbert Morris…
THE LAST CAVALIERS
The Crossing
The Sword
The Surrender
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