Brides of Idaho (3 page)

It was time to leave unless she wanted Joanna to send some young buck in search of her. Joanna had done it before. She’d do it again. She took her role as eldest sister seriously.

Glory caught up to Pal, threw the saddle on again, and rode back to the stopping house. Basins of water and towels were set out in the lean-to entryway, and Glory stopped to wash off the smell of horse as best she could.

A rumble of voices came from the long dining room. Sounded like a full house. They usually served about twenty travelers and a handful of regulars. Which meant lots of dishes to wash. There’d be no getting out of it today. She’d already promised Joanna. Besides, it was the least Glory could do. Joanna did the bulk of the work, never complaining. Mandy spent long hours out in the woods keeping the place supplied with fresh meat. Glory had to contribute in some way, even if it was drudge work like washing dishes and cleaning floors.

She dried her hands and swiped them over her hair making sure it was relatively free of grass then stepped into the noisy room, giving a quick glance around to see who was in attendance. Her gaze skidded to a halt at the man sitting at the far corner of the table. Levi Powers.

His eyes met hers across the distance, and at the way they narrowed, she knew he was as surprised to see her as she was to see him. And she felt a silent challenge as his gaze swept over her dungarees and back to her face, checking her hair.

She clenched her fists at her sides to keep from brushing her hands over her hair again. Nothing he did would make her ashamed or embarassed about who she was and how she chose to dress. Nothing he did or said would make her change.

Nothing.

She spun away and marched into the kitchen, her boots ringing with more force than normal. She grabbed two heaping bowls from the service table. “What’s he doing here?” Her voice was harsh, accusing, as if it was Joanna’s fault.

Joanna chuckled. “You’ll have to be more specific. At my count there are twenty-one men in there.”

“The preacher. Why is he here?”

Joanna lifted one shoulder dismissively. “Because he paid me to eat here. Isn’t that what we do? Feed people who pay?”

Glory choked back her protest. Yes, it was what they did. The few dollars that were her share of the profit filled a tin can. Slowly. Someday it would be enough to buy her precious piece of land. “Of course it’s what we do.”

She carried the bowls into the dining room, put them down, and chose a spot on the long bench at the far corner of the room from Mr. Powers. She spared him the briefest glare. Let him think what he wanted of her. If he even thought of her.

Joanna took her place at the end of the table, close to Powers. Mandy found room on a crowded bench next to Toby. Joanna signaled quiet. “We are a Christian family and always say a blessing before the meal.”

Glory allowed herself a flicker of her eyes toward Powers and was pleased to see his surprise.
Just goes to show you can’t judge people
, she silently crowed.

Joanna continued. “Today we have a special guest at the table. Mr. Powers. Preacher Powers. He’s going to start services here in Bonners Ferry. Now I know most of you won’t be here past the night, but for those of you who are, I’m sure you’re as happy as I that we’re going to have a church.”

Glory kept her gaze glued to the tin plate in front of her. She wasn’t pleased at all. Besides, who—other than himself—said he was a preacher? Rawhide Kid for all they knew.

Joanna was still speaking. “Mr. Powers, we’d be pleased if you’d ask the blessing tonight.” She lifted a hand toward him in invitation.

Powers pushed to his feet and looked at each one around the table.

Glory refused to meet his glance. She demanded a whole lot more than his say-so to believe he was a preacher and nothing more, nothing less.

L
evi struggled to his feet. The heavy bench, held in place by so many bodies, pressed against his calves. He half welcomed the discomfort, nailing him to reality as it did.

He’d been some surprised to learn the Bonners Ferry Stopping House was run by three sisters. But the smell of supper convinced him to stay. He’d met Miss Joanna when he paid for his meal, noted she wore a split skirt under her big white apron. He’d met Miss Mandy as she skittered away when he went to wash up. Miss Mandy carried a dozen prairie grouse and hung them on a nail. She wore baggy pants and a big slouch hat. So he shouldn’t have been surprised when Miss Glory slid to an empty spot at the table.

Except he was. Somehow he thought she’d be hunkered down by a campfire someplace deep in the woods. Exactly why he thought such a thing baffled him. Sure, she looked a little rough around the edges, and her gaze, as she glared at him, suggested she didn’t much care what people thought. Him in particular. But just the same, his assumptions were foolish. Of course she had family. Likely friends. The young man she’d dragged from the saloon sat further along the bench. Finding her in a saloon, befriending a man who had been partaking, he supposed his mistaken idea came from evidence she herself had provided.

He shepherded his thoughts back to his purpose. “Folks, I’m here to bring God’s Word into this area. I’m available if you want to hear it read, or talk about His love, or pray. Feel free to come to me at any time. I’m looking for a suitable place to hold Sunday services. I expect we’ll meet outdoors for a few weeks. Now let us pray.” He bowed his head and asked God’s blessing on the food, thanking God for His many mercies.

For several minutes after he sat down, the food was passed, plates loaded, and people put their attention to eating before they began talking. Much of the conversation centered on the trail ahead. Most of those present were headed for the Kootenais to look for gold. Hope and desperation hung like flags over the table.

Levi listened to the man on his right tell how he’d sold everything and left his wife and children with her parents. “I aim to make enough to buy myself a piece of land and build a big house.”

“And if you don’t?” It always bothered him that pursuing dreams without considering reality so often led to desperate actions.

The man shuddered. “I don’t think I could continue to face life.”

Levi had let his gaze and attention wander to Glory, who was in animated conversation with the man next to her. What had her so enthused? But his attention returned to the man at his side, and he dismissed all other distractions in his concern for the confession from the man’s lips. “If you find yourself in such a situation, I urge you to pray and ask God to provide direction to something productive. There are always alternatives to desperation.” Just as there were always alternatives to crime, though he didn’t voice the thought.

Suddenly everyone pushed back as if given a signal. He hadn’t been watching. Perhaps Miss Joanna had indicated the meal was over.

She spoke now. “For those planning to spend the night, the room will be ready by eight. Feel free to return then and claim a spot. In the meantime, you are welcome to make yourself comfortable outside and enjoy the sunshine.”

Levi had noticed benches outside against the walls of the stopping house and guessed she meant those.

Joanna continued. “Ladies”—she referred to the four female guests—“you’re welcome to stay indoors if you prefer.”

Mandy strode outside, lifted the birds from the nail where she’d left them, and disappeared behind a shed in the far corner. Levi suspected she meant to dress them ready to cook.

He barely got his feet under him when Glory started to gather up the tin plates with a good deal of racket. She carried them into the kitchen and dropped them into a basin of water.

He made his way to the door.

A great amount of clattering came from the kitchen.

He emerged into the slanted evening sun and leaned against the warm wall.

The young man he’d seen with Glory sidled up to him. “Hi, I’m Toby.”

He shook hands with the younger man.

“You really a preacher?”

“I am.”

“Where all you preached?”

“Several places.” He named two towns in the Dakotas where he’d done what he could and moved on, ever wanting to do more.

“So whatcha doing here? This here is a tight ship, as my pa would say.”

Levi didn’t know if he meant the town or the stopping house and didn’t care to discuss it. He had his work cut out for him whether a kid who got drunk in the middle of the afternoon thought so or not. “Where’s your pa?” Seemed Toby ought to be with a parent still.

“Back home in Indiana.”

From the open door came more clattering. Washing tin plates seemed to be a noisy affair.

Joanna, working in the dining room, called out, “Glory, could you keep the noise down a mite? My ears are hurting.”

Levi grinned deep inside. Seems something was annoying Miss Glory to the point of taking it out on innocent dishes. Could be one of the reasons the stopping house used tin plates.

Toby leaned back against the wall, shoulder to shoulder with Levi, by all looks, intent on a long chin-wag. Well, it was what Levi had invited. Part of what he’d vowed to do. The words he’d said to God on his knees guided his every decision.
Lord, You work on Matt where he is, and I’ll work for You out here.

“I was headed for the Kootenai gold fields. Sort of ran out of steam about here.”

Levi read between the lines. Ran out of money. Ran into a saloon.

“The buffalo gals sort of helped me out, if you know what I mean.”

Levi did. “Buffalo gals?”

Toby tipped his head toward the door. “That’s what they call them three.”

“How so?”

Toby shrugged. “Can’t say. Never asked anyone. It just is.”

It just is. Seems a lot of life was like that. No reason for why things were. No reason for parents dying and leaving two boys orphaned. No reason for one choosing to follow God, the other choosing to run wild. Except—Levi’s teeth clenched of their own accord—he believed things could be different. If someone would show kindness to the hurting, reach out a hand to those in need…

It was what his task was. He’d do it to the best of his ability and trust God to do His share where Levi couldn’t.

Another man, dressed in a suit better fitted for sitting behind a desk, edged toward Levi. He waited for a break in the conversation. “Can I talk to you?”

“Certainly.”

“It’s kind of private.”

“Of course.” He unwound himself from the wall and followed the man away from the crowd toward a place where they appeared to be alone.

The man looked around to be sure before he spoke. “Preacher, would you pray for me?”

“By all means. What shall I pray?” He listened to the man’s story, read some encouraging scriptures, and prayed.

By then the sun was setting, sending flares of red, orange, and pink across the Kootenai River. He’d planned to set up camp in a quiet spot among the trees, but now it was too late to find a decent spot. And it seemed he could best live up to his purpose if he stayed closer to town and hung around the stopping house, which practically burst with people.

Besides, if he stayed, perhaps he could talk to Glory and find out what made her eyes glint like sun off a rifle barrel every time he glanced at her. Seemed the gal had a mighty big grudge fueling her audaciousness.

Levi had left his saddle and bedroll in the lean-to, which served as luggage area for all those at the stopping house. He gathered up his bedding and headed inside. He dropped the necessary coins in Joanna’s palm and looked about the dining room. The table had been pushed against the wall, the benches tucked underneath, leaving plenty of floor space. The ladies had disappeared into the far room where two big beds allowed them a measure of comfort and privacy.

“Help yourself.” Joanna waved about the room. Where had the other two Hamilton girls disappeared to?

Already several places had been claimed by way of unrolled bedding and sometimes a carpetbag. He chose a spot close to the kitchen door with his back to the wall and sank to the floor. He opened his Bible and began to read. That’s when he heard voices from the kitchen and recognized Miss Glory and Miss Mandy.

“I still think we should be trying to find Pa.” He knew immediately it was Miss Mandy, whose voice was softer, gentler than Glory’s.

“Don’t see why. We got a nice situation here.”

“He’s our pa.”

“I know. And how many times have we caught up to him, think we’re part of his life, when he up and disappears?”

“Glory, he’s just trying to make a living.”

“Mandy, you can dream things are the way you wish they were, but they aren’t. Truth is, Pa is restless. More concerned with scratching his restless itch than worrying about three daughters. Besides, aren’t we big enough to take care of ourselves now?”

Levi listened shamelessly, hearing the harshness in Glory’s voice but hearing so much more beneath—a history of pain.

Glory reminded him so strongly of Matt, whose disappointment and frustration had led to his recklessness. If someone had reached out to Matt before it was too late…

Thank You, God, for this glimpse, this insight into what makes her tick.

Suddenly Glory stood in the doorway. “You’re staying here?”

“Paid my money to your sister.” He knew that wasn’t what she meant. She simply objected to his presence, but he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of acknowledging it.

She made a protesting noise deep in her throat but didn’t voice her disapproval in words. Perhaps because Joanna watched them. Instead, she marched toward the door. “I’m going to check on Pal.”

“It’s late. Almost dark,” Joanna protested.

“I’ll go with her,” Mandy said.

Glory stopped and planted her hands on her hips, glaring from one sister to the other. “I do not need a nanny. Or a mother. Or a guard. Or… or…”

Joanna waved her away. “I expect the two of you back soon so I can close the doors.”

Exasperation burst from Glory’s mouth in an explosive sound, and she tossed her hands in the air in a gesture Levi took as defeat.

He grinned.

She slanted him a glare with the power to straighten his mouth and make him sit up straighter. “I need no one and nothing,” she muttered before she strode out the door.