The Coming Storm (7 page)

“I hope he’ll be all right. I hope he knows how much we love him.”

Bram squeezed her close. “He knows. That’s why he came here.”

CHAPTER 5

C
OLE
S
ELBY GAZED UP TO THE NOON SUN AND WIPED HIS
brow. This was his last day in Topeka. Tomorrow he’d rejoin Daniel Keefer and head home to Montana. It seemed like it’d been forever since he’d been under the big sky of that territory. He relished the feel of the dry mountain air and the heady scent of pine. He also longed to be in the arms of Dianne Chadwick.

He thought of Dianne a great deal. Especially on days when he was out in the fields, like now. Working the land gave Cole plenty of time to contemplate his life and the memories of the woman he loved. It was because of her love that he was here. Here in Kansas, on his parents’ farm.

Dianne’s love and faithfulness had helped Cole to set his heart right. He’d made his peace with God, and over the last year he’d grown in his understanding of God’s love and direction.

Cole looked out across the newly planted field, back toward the small farmhouse his folks now called home. They were only a few miles outside of Topeka, where Cole’s two sisters lived with their husbands and families. Everyone was happily settled. Everyone but Cole.

It’ll come soon enough,
he told himself. But until he was back in Montana—back on the Vandyke ranch—with Dianne, Cole knew he wouldn’t be completely at peace.

“Your ma’s got lunch almost ready!” Cole’s father called as he made his way across the black river-bottom dirt.

“Field is finished. You ought to have a good crop of corn if the storms aren’t bad this year.”

“And if the rains come and if the sun doesn’t get too hot and if the pests stay away,” Hallam said with a chuckle. “Lots of
if
s in farming.”

“Yep,” Cole agreed, “but you’ve done a good job with it. You’ve made a stand against nature, and I think you’re winning the battle.” He wiped his forehead again, then tucked his handkerchief back in his pocket.

The two men walked toward the house in silence, but in Cole’s heart he knew he needed to speak. With his departure so close, Cole wanted to assure himself, and his father, that all was well and forgiven. He knew his father understood his coming— knew that by staying on and helping his father establish the farm that Cole was showing his approval and love. But Cole also knew that words needed to be shared.

“Before we go in,” he began as they reached the water pump, “I’d like to say something.”

Hallam stopped and nodded. “I figured you might.”

Cole pumped cold water from the well and washed up as he contemplated his words. It wasn’t the first time he’d considered what he might say. Many a night he’d lain in bed practicing a sort of speech he planned to give his father.

Turning to his father, Cole drew a deep breath. “I came here to make my peace with you—you know that.”

“Yes,” Hallam admitted. “You said as much when you came here. I’ve never wanted to push for more.”

“Maybe you should have,” Cole said with a hint of smile. “We Selby men seem to be poor in communicating our problems.”

“To be sure,” his father agreed.

“Well, so much has happened to me . . . to change me. You know, too, that God managed to get ahold of me. That made a big difference. I was really angry with God for a long time. I felt like He must have hated me—otherwise why would He give me so much grief? I didn’t want to be close to a God who would allow innocent people to pay the price that rightfully belonged to the guilty.”

Cole walked away from the pump and sat down on a small bench not far away. Hallam followed his son and leaned against an oak that shaded them both from the heat of the day.

Pain-filled memories began to flood Cole’s mind. “When we went with the vigilantes that day so long ago, I had no desire to be a part of taking the law into my own hands. I agreed those robbers and murderers had to be stopped, but I felt like there had to be a better way. . . . Still, I went because I knew you expected it of me—that you would be shamed if I didn’t go.”

“I should never have joined them,” Hallam admitted, “but I wanted very much to see justice done. A lot of folks were suffering at their hands.” He paused and kicked at the dirt. “I also wanted the respect of the townsfolk. Figured if I joined in ridding the land of such a plague as those highwaymen, then I’d finally be a man folks could look up to—that your ma could look up to.”

Cole had always felt this was the reason for his father’s actions. Scorned by most, Hallam Selby had never fit in, no matter where they moved. He had a variety of skills but wasn’t really good at any one thing. He’d tried ranching and storekeeping, law enforcement and grave digging, but nothing truly suited the man. Then they went to Montana to look for gold, but even that proved to be a bust.

“When we went out to deal with Carrie’s father,” Cole said, allowing himself to speak the name of the woman he’d once loved, “I knew there’d be trouble. I arranged for Carrie to receive a note from one of her friends in Virginia City. I calculated that if she went into town to see her friend, she’d be gone while we dealt with her pa. I wanted to keep her safe—I loved her and didn’t want anything to hurt her.”

“It was going to hurt no matter what,” Hallam said thoughtfully. “We intended to hang her pa, and that’s what we did. We didn’t intend for her to die, but she’d always bear the scars of that moment.”

Cole nodded. “But I figured I could make it better by marrying her and taking her away from the sorrow.”

“I’m sorry, son. I’m sorry it was my bullet that killed her.”

Cole remembered the scene as if it’d been yesterday. His beautiful Carrie had come back too soon and, desperate to save her father, had thrown herself into the midst of the vigilantes, only to be shot. Cole knew his father had not intentionally murdered Carrie, but it didn’t matter. It had still devastated him. Even now, he could remember holding her in his arms and feeling the life go out of her.

“I know you’d take it back if you could,” Cole said softly. “It’s taken me a long time to get to the place where I can say that. Over six years, in fact.” He looked to his father and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Pa. I was just so angry and nothing made sense.”

“I know that, boy. I knew it then. There hasn’t been a day gone by that I haven’t had to live with the memory of what happened. I’d give my life to undo what’s done.”

Cole nodded. “I know you would. Dianne helped me see that. I guess I would never have known her had things not happened as they did. I never thought I’d love again, but Dianne is a very special woman.”

“She sounds like a good woman too.”

“She is. The very best. I’ve never met a woman with more determination.”

“Unless it was your mother.”

Cole smiled. “Yes, I suppose Dianne’s determination does remind me of Ma. She never seems to be defeated for long. It’s amazing to me. I’d like to have half her strength.”

“You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

A silence fell between them as the two men eyed each other. Cole got to his feet and stood directly in front of his father. “I’m sorry for everything. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“Son, I did that long ago when you asked for it the first time. I pray you’ve forgiven me as well.”

Cole nodded. “Before I ever came here. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to speak it all out.”

The men embraced and Cole felt that finally everything had been set right. “I’m glad,” Cole said, pulling away, “that we’ve had this year together. It’s been hard to be away from Montana, but I know it was the right thing to do.”

“So now you’ll head out with the wagon train tomorrow?”

“Yes. Daniel Keefer, the wagon master I worked for before, is leading a group out of Independence. I’m joining up with him just north of here. It’s a good way to earn some money and make my way back. Safety in numbers, you know, and now with the Indians warring almost constantly, these wagon trains are the only way to get across the country alive.”

“I wish there were a better way for you. Maybe you could take the train,” his father suggested.

“Too expensive. I wouldn’t begin to have the means.”

His father reached inside his shirt and pulled out an envelope. “I was planning to give you this at lunch, but now’s just as good a time.” He handed it over to Cole and smiled. “It’s to help you get started in your new married life, but you could sure use it to buy a train ticket home.”

Cole looked in the envelope and then raised his gaze back to his father. “There’s a good deal of money in here.”

“A year’s wages,” his father replied. “I didn’t want you working for nothing, and since last year’s crop paid out so well, I just tucked this aside for you.”

“I can’t take it, Pa. I didn’t help you so you’d feel obligated to pay me.”

“I don’t feel obligated to pay you. It’s a gift. Just like this last year was for me—and for your ma.”

Cole looked back at the cash and shook his head. “It doesn’t seem right.”

“Well, obeying your pa is right,” Hallam said with a grin, “and I’m telling you to take it. Do with it as you will. If you wanna take the train home and get back to that little gal of yours all that much faster, then so be it. As I understand it, you can take the train to just around Salt Lake City. Then go north on the same trail that took us into Virginia City.”

“I can’t let Daniel down, or I would do just that,” Cole said, regretting that his choice was already made. “But thank you, Pa. Thank you for this and everything else.”

A peace settled over both men, evidenced by their smiles. “Let’s go eat,” Hallam said, pulling Cole alongside. “Your ma’s spent all morning putting together a great meal for your going away. Tonight a few folks from the church will come by to say their farewells, but for lunch you belong just to us.”

Cole smiled. It felt good to belong.

The next morning, Cole loaded his saddlebags and readied his horse for the trip home. He was surprised when his mother came out to the barn to say good-bye in private.

“I made these for you,” she said, holding up a flour sack. “Oatmeal cookies. There’s enough here to last you quite a while.”

Cole took the bag, noting the gray in his mother’s hair and the wrinkles around her eyes. She’d had a hard life, but now at least she seemed content. “Thanks, Ma. I doubt they’ll last that long if they’re as good as usual.”

She smiled and looked down at her empty hands. “I’m glad for the time we’ve had. It couldn’t make up for the lost years, but I feel like I’ve finally been able to know you . . . to . . . well, to love you.” She looked up and met his gaze. There were tears in her eyes.

“I know, Ma. I feel the same way. I can’t tell you what it’s meant to me, being here with you and Pa. I’ve missed Dianne,” he said with a grin, “and I’ve missed Montana, but I wouldn’t trade being here for all the gold in the territory.”

“Will you marry right away?”

“I hope so,” Cole said, securing the cookies with a string and tying them around the horn of his saddle. “I hope she hasn’t changed her mind, what with me taking all this extra time.”

“If she’s the woman you say she is, she’ll be watching and waiting.”

Cole reached out and touched his mother’s shoulder. They’d never been much for physical contact, but she seemed to relish the moment. “I’ll miss you, Ma. I hope you and Pa will come to visit us. You’ll always be welcome.”

“Well, farms don’t run themselves, so I doubt it’ll be anytime soon,” she replied, a tinge of regret in her voice. “But you’ll be in our prayers, and I’ll write.”

Cole nodded just as the rooster began crowing. “Looks like I’d best be on my way. I’ve got a good piece to ride before I catch up to Mr. Keefer.”

Mary Selby uncharacteristically grabbed hold of her son and embraced him long and hard. Cole couldn’t help but sense desperation in her action. “Please be careful. Let me know as soon as you can that you’ve arrived safely.”

“I promise,” Cole said. His mother’s uneasiness momentarily unnerved him. He shook it off and tried not to overreact. “I’ll probably be there about the time the corn gets as tall as you. So just think on that and start looking for a letter a few weeks later.”

She nodded and let him go. Cole mounted his horse and looked around for his father. “Where’s Pa?”

“Waiting by the gate. I told him I needed a moment with you. He said he’d meet you there.”

“Thanks. Thanks for everything. I hope we see each other again . . . soon.”

“I pray that as well.”

Cole hated that his mother sounded so worried, but he urged Buddy, his faithful sorrel, out of the barn and down the path toward the front gate. There were really no words of comfort he could offer her, so instead he prayed that God might ease her worry.

Spotting his father, Cole dismounted and walked the remaining few yards. “Guess it’s time for me to get going,” he said. The morning dawn was lighting up the day and soon it would be warm, maybe even hot. In Kansas, his father liked to say, a fellow never knew whether to wear a heavy coat or a straw hat.

“Your ma found you, then?”

“Yeah. She seems really worried. I hope you’ll be able to put her mind at ease.”