Love's abiding joy (Love Comes Softly #4)

by Janette Oke

  Henry, too, was anxious for news from the home area. Though Clark and Marty knew few of the people that Henry would have claimed as neighbors, they were able to tell him some of the general news from the district.

  Soon after the evening meal, the Kleins left for home and the boys were tucked in for the night. After their double portion of bedtime stories, they settled down, not to be heard from again till morning. Missie declared that the excitement of Sundays always tired them out.

  Marty too felt tired, even though she had gradually been catching up on her sleep. Willie informed her that it was the change in the altitude. Marty was willing to accept any excuse for her laziness. All she knew was that she was longing for her bed.

  She hid a yawn and tried to get back into the conversation. Clark and Willie were making plans for the morning. It sounded like wherever they were going, it would be a long ride. Willie was asking Missie if she wished to go. Marty was already stiff from her short ride of the day before. She wasn't sure that she could handle another horseback ride, but Missie was answering, "I thought Mama an' I should go on over to see Maria. I can't understand why they have missed two Sundays.

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  If it's okay with Mama, we'll go an' see what we can find out. I'm anxious for Mama an' Maria to meet. You'll never believe Maria," Missie said, turning to Marty. "She speaks very good English now. Me--I hardly got a decent start on Spanish."

  So it will be the saddle again tomorrow. Marty winced at the thought. Not only would she ride tomorrow, but from what she had understood, she would ride a long way. The De la Rosas were not near neighbors.

  Marty nodded her head in agreement, hoping that Missie did not read the hesitation in her eyes.

  Missie continued, "We should leave by nine. I think that we'd better take the team so Mama won't need to ride so soon again, not being' used to it. 'Sides, it's a fair ways an' we'll need to take the boys. Could you have Scottie see that the team is ready for us, please?"

  Willie nodded and Marty sighed in relief. Everyone, now having settled on the plans for the morrow, decided that sleep would be needed to carry them through. They bade each other good-night and headed for their beds.

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  Chapter Eleven

  Marty Meets Maria

  The sun rose over the distant hills early the next morning and right from the sunrise seemed to pour forth angry heat.

  Around nine, Willie brought the team around, and Missie loaded her canteens and her sons. Marty placed her bonnet firmly on her head as protection from the sun and wished for a cooler gown.

  "My, it be warm!" she exclaimed, but Missie did not seem to be bothered by the warm day.

  "A breeze should come up an' cool things off some," she responded, clucked to the team and they were off.

  They had not gone far before Marty could feel the breeze, though she might have been tempted to refer to it as a gale. It was not cooling. In fact, Marty felt that the wind was even hotter than the sun. It whipped at her cheeks, drying and warming them. It tore at her skirts and made the brim of her bonnet flap in agitation. Marty did not care for wind, and she wished that the one which was blowing now would blow elsewhere. "I guess I've gotten used to the wind," Missie remarked

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  as Marty tried to hold her bonnet down with one hand and her skirts with the other.

  Nathan and Josiah rode comfortably on the first part of the journey; then began the persistent question, "How much longer?" Missie dealt with it good-naturedly until Nathan began to tease his younger brother for lack of something else to do, and then she stopped the horses and lifted the youngsters down for a break. They were each given a drink from a canteen and a couple of cookies and instructed to play in the shade of the wagon while the ladies stretched their limbs in a short walk. There was no shade for walking, so there was no temptation to linger. In fact, Marty was glad to be back in the wagon and moving again.

  When they came to the river, Marty glanced up and down its length for a bridge. There was none. Missie confidently headed the horses into the stream, explaining as she did so that it used to flow deeper at that point until the men of the area widened the riverbed some and allowed the stream to spread out. "Now," said Missie, "it's safe to cross here most any time of year."

  Marty, relieved to hear that it was safe, still gripped the wagon seat with white knuckles until they climbed the bank on the other side.

  Crossing the river was the most exciting part of the journey for the boys. Marty heard them squeal with delight as the swirling water foamed about the wagon wheels. Once across, they began to coax their mother to hurry the team and complained that they were too crowded, too hot and too hungry.

  Missie eventually handed the reins to Marty and took Josiah on her lap. Without Josiah to torment, Nathan too became quiet.

  It was almost noon before the De la Rosas' buildings came into view. Marty saw a large, low ranchhouse, built of the same stone as Missie's home though not quite as spacious. It nestled among brown hills, and there was not even a spring to add greenness to the area. Missie informed Marty that the De la Rosas were fortunate in having all the water they needed from the deep well they had dug. The well now was showing its

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  worth as a windmill turned busily in the ever-present wind, causing a pump to send a constant stream of water from its spout into a large animal trough.

  "Well, it's nice to know thet the wind is good fer some- thin'," muttered Marty under her breath as she guided the team into the yard and directed them to the hitching rail.

  A young woman came rushing from the house.

  "Missie!" she cried. "Oh, I'm so glad you have come. I've been missing our visits!" She saw Marty and stopped with embarrassment. "Oh, please do excuse my bad manners. I did not know that Missie was not alone. You must be the mother. The one that Missie has missed and cried and prayed for."

  Marty nodded.

  "And I am Maria--the mindless one," she joked. "I run heedless when I see a friend."

  Marty laughed and extended her hand, then changed her mind and hugged Maria close.

  "Missie has told me of ya. Yer such a special friend, and I am so glad to meet ya," Marty said warmly.

  "And I you," said Maria, giving Marty a warm embrace in return, "though I must say that seeing you makes me even more longing for the mama of my own. It has been so long. . ."

  Maria did not finish her sentence. Missie had lifted the boys down and they were clamoring for some attention.

  "Where's Jose?" asked Nathan.

  "He's in the house, where we all should be out of this hot sun. Come, you must get in out of the heat. You are brave to come on such a day." And Maria hastened them all into her home.

  "Jose is in the kitchen bothering the cook," she told Nathan. "You may get him and you can play in his room. I don't think that even our patient Carlos could put up with two small boys in the kitchen."

  Nathan went to find Jose, and the ladies walked into the coolness of the sitting room, Josiah in tow. Marty felt so much better out of the sun. She slipped off her bonnet and was glad to wipe the perspiration from her face with a handkerchief. My, it was a hot trip!

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  Maria seated them and went for cool drinks. Upon hearing the two older boys chattering as they came from the kitchen, Josiah decided to tag along with them to Jose's room.

  The ladies were left to sip cold tea and visit. The talk was centered around the family, area news and ranching. Marty was included, though some of the phrases that the girls used regarding ranching were new to her.

  "You should have waited for a day more less hot," said Maria and then laughed at her mixed-up English. "How you say it?" she asked Missie.

  "A cooler day."

  "My goodness--cooler, no! There is nothing cool about this day. How can it be more cool than something that is not cool at all?"

  Marty and Missie laughed at Maria's reasoning. It seemed to make sense.

  "Anyway," said Maria, "it is very warm to be in
the sun. We are used to it here, but you, Mrs. Davis, must find it bad to you."

  "It is warm," admitted Marty.

  "Well, I guess we should have waited. But who knows, it might get hotter instead of cooler, an' I did want to see you, Maria."

  "A special reason?" asked Maria seriously.

  "Rather special. We've been missin' you on Sundays, an' I was afraid--well, I wondered--that is, I hoped nothin' was wrong."

  At the mention of the Sunday service, Maria's head drooped.

  "I wanted to go. I missed it. But Juan--well, he is not sure. Not sure that we do the right thing. At home we teach our boy one thing--one way to pray, one way to worship God--and at the meeting, you teach him another way. It puzzles him. You understand? Juan, he thinks that we should not confuse our son with more than one God."

  "But, Maria," exclaimed Missie, "we've talked about that! It's the same God. We worship the same God, just in a little different way."

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  "I know, I know," said Maria, her hands fluttering expressively. "I know all that. And I think that Juan, he even understands that. But he is frightened--frightened that Jose will not understand and he will not wish to worship God at all. Do you not see?"

  "Yes, I see," said Missie slowly, tears filling her eyes. "I see."

  "Oh, I am so glad. So glad that you understand. I was so afraid that you would not be able to see how we felt. I did not want you to think ill of me."

  "Maria, I would never think ill of you."

  Maria turned to hide her own tears. For a moment she couldn't speak, and then she turned back to her guests and the tears were running down her cheeks.

  "You must pray for us. Right now Juan has many doubts, many questions. He cannot leave the church of his past, but he has here no church of his own. He does not want his child to grow up without the proper church teaching, but he is no longer sure what he wants him taught. There was much about Juan's church that he did not agree with, but he loved his church. He has not forsaken it. He will never forsake it. In the services at your house we have heard new and strange things from the Bible. We did not know of them before. It takes much wisdom, much time, much searching of the heart to know the truth. Please be patient with us, Missie. And please pray for us that we may know the truth. One day we think, 'This is it,' and the next day we say, 'No, that is it.' It is hard -so very hard."

  "I understand," said Missie. "We will pray. We will pray that you will find the truth--not that you will believe as we believe, but that you will find the truth. We believe with all of our heart that God has given His truth to us in His Son Jesus Christ, that He came to die for us and to forgive us our sins, and--" Missie stopped short. "But you believe that too, Maria. You have told me that Jesus is the only way that one can come to God."

  "Oh, yes," said Maria. "That is the truth."

  "Then all that we really need to pray about is that God will

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  show you and Juan if it's all right to worship with us."

  "I . . . I guess so. We have been taught one way--you another."

  "We will continue to pray."

  "It is so important to Juan to raise his children in the correct way. You see, his family--" But Maria stopped mid- sentence and hastened to her feet. "I must see if Carlos has our coffee and cakes ready. You will have cooled enough by now to be able to enjoy some of Carlos' coffee." She hurried away without waiting for a reply.

  The talk over the coffee turned to lighter matters. They chatted about new material, dress patterns, and the gardens that were growing daily in spite of the heat. Missie finally announced that they must go, and Maria sent Jose and Nathan to find Pedro, the yard hand, to bring the team and hitch up the wagon.

  While the boys were running off to find the old man and give him the message, the ladies prepared to leave.

  "Please," said Maria, "please could we have a prayer together? I have missed it so."

  They knelt to pray. Missie prayed first, followed by Marty, and then it was Maria's turn. She began slowly, in carefully chosen English; and then she stopped and turned to the other two ladies. "Do you mind--will you excuse me--if I talk to God in my own language? I know He understands my heart in any language, but I think that He understands my tongue better in the language of my birth." At their nods and smiles, Maria continued her prayer. Never had Marty heard a more fervent one. Maria poured out her soul to her God in honey- flowing Spanish. Though Marty could not understand a word of it, she understood the spirit of the prayer and her heart prayed along with Maria. Surely God would answer this young woman's yearning for the truth.

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  Chapter Twelve

  The Rescue

  The weather turned a little cooler, though still too warm for Marty's liking; but at least it was bearable. Missie and Marty kept quite close to the shelter of the house, but Clark rode with the men almost daily. His farmer's heart responded to the wide expanse of hillsides and roaming cattle, and he declared many times his love of the mountains.

  Nathan clamored for his fair share of his grandfather's attention. He was anxious to show what he considered his part of the ranch to Clark. As yet, he was not allowed to roam freely on the open range. There were well-worn trails closer to home that he claimed as his own. He had ridden them since he had been a baby carried on his mother's back. Now Josiah had replaced Nathan on Missie's horse, and Nathan was allowed the pleasure of his own pony.

  "Could ya ride with me today, Grandpa?" Nathan begged at the breakfast table.

  "Well, I shore don't see why not," answered Clark. "I 'spect maybe yer pa will be able to git by without me fer this here one day."

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  Nathan took his grandfather's words seriously; "Ya can help him again tomarra," he assured Clark, causing laughter to ripple around the table.

  "An' where do we be ridin' today?"

  "I'll show ya the west ridge."

  "An' are there lots of excitin' things to see on the west ridge?"

  Nathan nodded his head vigorously, his mouth was too full of scrambled eggs to speak.

  "Well, then," said Clark, "why don't we jest go on out fer a look-see?"

  Nathan's eyes twinkled in anticipation. He hurried through his meal and bounced down from the table without asking to be excused.

  "What horse shall I tell Scottie to saddle for ya, Grandpa?"

  "Nathan," said Willie quietly, indicating Nathan's empty chair.

  Nathan crawled back up reluctantly and looked over at his mother, then back at his father. "May I be excused, sir?" he asked, subdued.

  Willie nodded and Nathan swung down from the chair. "What horse--" he began, but Clark stopped him with a laugh.

  "I think thet Scottie be busy enough without worryin' none 'bout me. I'll saddle ol' Turk when I git down there."

  Nathan spun around and was gone. "I'll get Spider," he called over his shoulder as he ran out of the door, then followed it with, "Too bad Joey's too little."

  "Joey?" questioned Marty.

  Missie laughed. "I thought and thought of a name for my second son that wouldn't be all chopped up in a nickname. I thought that I had one, too. Josiah. Surely no one could shorten that. But I wasn't counting on Nathan. He's called him Joey since the day he arrived."

  "I think it's rather nice," Marty mused.

  "Well, I guess it's all right--You know what I've decided? I've decided that 'most any name is all right as long as it's spoken with love."

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  Marty agreed.

  Clark finished his coffee and turned to Willie. "Well, cowboy, it looks like you'll jest have to do yer best to be a-wranglin' without me today. I've got me another pardner."

  Willie grinned. "Wish I could come with ya, but I promised Hugh Caly thet I'd ride on over and take a look at some new stock he brought in. Yer lucky to be a-missin' thet ride. It's a long, hot one, an' to save some miles we pass right through some bad cactus territory. Near scratches the clothes right off ya."

  "Thet there west ridge sound
s better 'n better to me," Clark smiled.

  "Nothing much of danger on the west ridge. Thet's why we allow Nathan to ride there. Pretty lifeless over there. Ya'll be lucky to even spy a rattler slitherin' off."

  "Well, iffen there be a rattler, I do hope that it slithers off, all right," said Clark. "I still haven't grown overfond of 'em."

  "Jest don't surprise 'em," said Willie, "an' you'll be all right."

  When Clark reached the barn, Scottie was unobtrusively giving Nathan a hand with the saddling of Spider. Clark went into the corral to bring out Turk. He still wasn't too good with a rope, but he managed to get the horse on the second try.

  They saddled up and left the yard, Missie calling to them as they rode out to make sure they both had full canteens.

  "Ma always worries," confided Nathan in a whisper, to which Clark responded, "Thet's what mas be for."

  They rode to the west, then turned toward the south and followed the ridge for a few miles. There really wasn't much to see but an occasional glimpse at part of the mountain chain as they topped one of the higher hills. Often they could look out to the east and see cattle, as Willie's herd fed its way across the prairie. Once or twice, they spotted a cowboy as he hazed the cattle. The sun was high in the sky when Clark suggested that they pull over in the shelter of some big rocks and eat the lunch Missie had sent along. Nathan seemed to like the idea. The eating time was the most important part of any trail ride. Nathan crawled down from Spider and ground-tied him. Clark did likewise with Turk, looking around cautiously to

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  make sure there were no rattlers sharing the rocks with them. He noticed Nathan do likewise.

  "If rattlers are here, Grandpa, they'll be in the sun 'stead of on this shady side," he said. "But still Pa says ya always got to check to be sure."