Brides of Idaho (18 page)

If he needed her to be a lady, she could do it.

T
hey spent three days riding about the country looking at land. Glory realized at some point finding a suitable location for his mission had taken second place to spending time together, although Levi didn’t say anything or give her reason to think he was reconsidering his earlier declaration that he couldn’t care about her. He didn’t try and kiss her again… and she told herself she wasn’t disappointed because the way he looked at her made her feel ten feet tall. She often brought along a light lunch and they shared it, usually with their backs pressed to a tree, their shoulders brushing.

Today he suggested they go to the pasture where she kept her horses. “I like the view from there.”

So they rode up the hill and returned to her favorite spot. They sat and enjoyed the scenery for about thirty seconds then Levi pulled a letter from his inside vest pocket. “I heard from the grandparents.”

Did he sound pleased or disappointed? She couldn’t tell, but then it could be that her own fears for the future of the children made her blind and deaf. “I’m afraid to ask what they said.” So many times she’d seen a letter arrive and Joanna tear it open. Each time she’d crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped it was from Pa, saying he would be there within the week. Seldom did they receive such welcome news. Almost always he was simply informing them he was going somewhere else, leaving them to either stay where they were or find a way to follow him. They usually did the latter, never quite catching up to him but being on his heels.

“It’s good news. They’re coming to personally get the children. That way we’ll be able to meet them and judge for ourselves if they’ll make a good home for the children.”

“And if you think otherwise?”

“It’s not like we could do anything about it, but I hope and pray they are kind. It would make it easier to let them go if we could think they were.”

She thought of his statement.
“It’s not like we could do anything about it…”
She knew it revealed a lot about Levi. From the little he’d said, she knew life with his strict grandparents had been difficult. But it was a home, and he’d made the best of it. It made her feel a strange twist of both admiration and sympathy. “When are they arriving?”

“They’ll be here tomorrow.”

“Do they say how long they’ll stay?”

“No. It’s going to be hard to say good-bye to the kids.” He faced her. “But at least they have family. What about those who don’t? I have such a burden for orphaned children. And for people like Widow Kish with no home. Not every widow ends up remarried and taken care of. I want to help people who need it, but I need a place for them to live.”

Seeing the way his concern drove worry lines across his forehead, she squeezed his forearm, liking the warmth of his skin through the fabric of his shirt.

He glanced about. “I need to find suitable land and build a house.”

“We’ll find something suitable. I know it.” She pressed harder against the tree as she thought of how the land she hoped to buy was so ideal.

He chuckled and reached for her hand. “I’m not going to steal your land. I promise.”

She let him take her hand. Pushed aside her fears and doubts. After all, hadn’t she decided to trust God? And somehow that enabled her to trust Levi.

“I haven’t told the children yet. I suppose I should.” He pushed to his feet. “Do you want to come with me?”

“Yes… but I can’t. I have to feed the horses and see they have water.” And spend some time working with them. She’d neglected them the last few days.

“Of course. Come and see me when you get back to town, and I’ll tell you how it went.” He stuffed the letter back inside his vest and strode away.

She remained where she was, soaking up the view and remembering all the other views she and Levi had enjoyed. A sense of peace and rightness filled her. But she couldn’t sit there all day dreaming. The animals did need attention. She pushed to her feet, dusted her backside, and headed for the pasture.

Something on the ground next to where Levi had tied Billy Bob caught her attention. A piece of paper. He must have dropped the letter when he tried to put it in his pocket.

She scooped up the paper. It was the wrong shape and size to be the letter. Curious, she unfolded it. It took her several seconds to believe she held a wanted poster. Even then she couldn’t believe the identity of the man on the poster.

Her heart stopped beating. Her lungs stopped working. Seems her ears must have stopped working, too, because a vast silence surrounded her, and then everything started up with a bang. She gasped as her heart kicked against her ribs and her ears roared.

“It can’t be,” she whispered. But there was no mistaking the likeness, even though it was only a drawing. It was Levi. The Rawhide Kid. Reward of $500. Toby had been right in his first observation.

She stared at the poster a long time, her thoughts scrambling in a thousand different directions.

He was living a lie.

But he was a good man.

The reward money would buy her land.

Who would do the good things he did if she turned him in for the money? Who would be her friend?

What was she going to do?

Finally, she folded the poster and carefully slid it into her pocket. Levi had obviously changed his mind and left his life of crime. Didn’t everyone deserve a chance to start over? If he could do it, so could she.

After taking care of the horses, she returned to town, went immediately to the store, and placed a mail order for a dress. The storekeeper promised he wouldn’t tell anyone.

Only then did she go to find Levi.

Levi waited for the grandparents in front of the store. They would arrive by private buggy, hired out of Sandpoint. Being reunited with the grandparents was best for the kids. Yet he hoped the grandparents weren’t like the ones he’d had to live with.

He often wondered how his fun-loving, happy ma could have been the product of that home. It had been all about rules governing every minute of the day. As if making any sort of decision was a sin.

Small wonder Matt had rebelled. Trouble was, Matt’s rebellion had gone too far. He could have left home and sought his own path without crossing into lawlessness. Levi sighed. Anger had driven Matt to make foolish choices.

A buggy approached, and Levi snatched his hat from his head. He squinted, trying to see the couple, gauge what sort they were. But dust billowed up as the buggy slowed, obscuring any sight of the occupants. He stepped back and waited for the dust to settle and glanced back to the figure watching out the window.

He’d asked Glory to join him, but she’d laughed and refused. She’d said, “I might ruin your good impression on them,” then glanced down at her britches. “After all, they’ll be measuring you up as surely as you’re measuring them.” So instead of being by his side, she watched from the protection of the store. He’d wanted to say she would pass inspection just as she was, but she hadn’t given him the chance.

He smiled at her now, hoping she would read in his look his acceptance. He didn’t know when he’d decided he didn’t have any intention of trying to reform her. She was fine just the way she was… britches and all.

By the time he turned back to the buggy, a stately looking gentleman assisted a black-clad woman from the back. He strode forward and introduced himself.

It was much later, after supper taken at the stopping house, before he got a chance to speak to Glory alone.

“They seem nice enough, don’t you agree?” They had left the grandparents to put the children to bed and spend the night with them. Levi would sleep under the stars. Not something he minded at all.

They had walked to a place overlooking the river and found a spot to sit and watch the sun set.

Glory didn’t answer for a moment, as if considering her words. “I guess we have to trust what they are when they’re here is what they are when they aren’t here.”

He chuckled. “And you don’t know if you can trust them or not.”

“Trust is a pretty fragile thing. I don’t give it easily.”

“But when you do?” Did he hope to hear her say she trusted him? Yes, he wanted it, but for all the wrong reasons. Maybe not wrong, but not available for him. He would not forget Matt in prison, not even for the joy of knowing a woman like Glory—spunky, free-thinking, and independent. A rescuer of abused animals… and so much more he couldn’t let himself enumerate because of the way it made him struggle to remember his vow.

“All I can say is there are no second chances.”

She must mean her father. “That’s pretty harsh. What if your pa comes back a reformed man? Wouldn’t you give him another chance?”

“I no longer even think about Pa that way. He’s just a person we’re related to. Nothing more. As such, if he came back half-dead, I’d care for him. Just as I would any sick or injured person or animal.”

“But without forgiving him?”

She didn’t answer, and he supposed that was her answer. Then she spoke, quietly, softly. “I will never say never.”

It was a huge concession on her part. One that made him realize just how much she’d grown in her faith. He reached for her hand. “Perhaps you will get the chance to take never out of your life one of these days.”

She gave him a long, considering look. “Maybe I already have.”

“Really? How? When?”

She shrugged. “Can’t say. Just have.”

He wanted to hug her, dance her across the prairie, but he didn’t have the right, so he squeezed her shoulders with one arm. “You’ve changed, Glory Hamilton.”

“You have no idea how much.”

He ached clear through that he didn’t have the right to ask if her change included trusting him. Instead, he shifted the conversation back to the children. “The children are a little tense around the grandparents, but that would seem normal considering they haven’t seen them in several years and it signals the reality of their father’s death.”

“How long are the grandparents staying?” she asked.

“Mrs. Templeton said she needed a few days to recuperate before she makes the return trip. They said they’d like me to show them around, explain the work I want to do.”

“They’ll be here Sunday then?”

“At least that long.”

“So they’ll hear you preach?”

He wondered why the caution in her voice. “Don’t you think that’s a good thing?” Did she consider him a poor preacher? It wasn’t something they’d ever discussed, and suddenly he longed to know. “You think they’ll be disappointed when they hear me?”

“No, I didn’t mean that. I think you’re a very good preacher. I remember the first Sunday.” She gave a low laugh. “I thought you’d preach fire and brimstone and warn people like me we needed to toe the line.”

His laugh was mocking. “I wanted to. But I couldn’t. Now I know you only want to shock people to keep them at a distance and protect yourself.”

She grew very still. “Is that what I do?”

Had he gone too far? Crossed her solid fence lines?

A deep sigh shuddered from her. “I suppose I do. I just never thought of it. Maybe I can change.”

“How?”

“You know. Be more ladylike. That sort of thing.” She sounded as if the words burned her tongue.

“Glory, who you are is who you are and is just fine. All you can do is learn to trust others. Or at least God.”

“You think that’s all I need?”

“I know it.”

She sighed, a sound as full of uncertainty as any he’d heard.

By the time Sunday rolled around, Levi had taken the Templetons around the country. They’d discussed the mission he wanted to start. They’d enjoyed several picnics with the children. Levi was convinced they would be good with the children, who were anxious to get to their new home.

Mr. Templeton had promised they’d leave the next day if all went well. “I have some business to attend to before we leave.”

Levi couldn’t help wonder what business he could possibly have, but it wasn’t his place to ask and he didn’t.

Attendance had grown steadily at the Sunday service. From his place before the gathering audience, he looked about, saw the usual townspeople, as well as a number of people passing through, many who had spent the night at the stopping house. Glory and her sisters had not yet appeared.