Rocky Mountain Oasis (15 page)

Sky entered quietly and leaned one shoulder against the door frame, his arms folded across his chest. He loved the sound of her voice. On many occasions lately, as he approached the house, he had heard her singing, but she always stopped when she heard the door open.

Today she must not have noticed as he entered. Her back to him, she kept on. She was singing a hymn—a Negro spiritual. He closed his eyes and listened to her deep alto.

“Kum by yah, my Lord. Kum by yah.

Kum by yah, my Lord. Kum by yah.

Kum by yah, my Lord.

Kum by yah. Oh Lord, Kum by yah.”

The last time he had heard the song had been in his mother’s kitchen back home. He could see her with her hands submerged in dirty dish water, singing her heart’s cry to her Maker. He wondered if Brooke truly understood its meaning. “Come by here, my Lord.” His thoughts turned to prayer.
Lord, make that her cry. Help her want Your presence in her life. Show her how much she needs You
.

He opened his eyes. This woman was beginning to mean more to him than he had ever imagined she would. She brightened his day in so many little ways. If circumstances had been different, he never would have married her. She did not share his faith. Yet she touched his heart in a way no one ever had.
Not even Victoria
. But could he allow himself to love this woman? What if she chose to leave him because of his belief? He would have to let her go. Would he be able to do that if he allowed himself to love her?

Brooke turned from the stove, still singing. She started and squealed in alarm, dropping the spoon she held, one hand going to her mouth.

Just as suddenly as fright had filled her, anger sparked in her eyes. She stomped one foot on the floorboards. “Sky Jordan! How dare you stand there and frighten me like that!”

Sky, still leaning against the frame, glanced down at the spoon on the floor and then back into her sparking blue-green eyes. One eyebrow arched its way upward and a smile spread before he could think better of it. “A man is not allowed to stand in his own house?”

She turned her back on him with a flounce, and Sky’s chest tightened. He suddenly wanted, more than anything, to gather her into his arms. It was with great difficulty that he forced himself to calmly pick up the spoon, set it on the counter, and turn toward his chair and sit down at the table. “You sing beautifully. My mother used to sing that song.”

She still made no reply, but he noticed that her hands quivered as she set the pot of porridge down. He had to force his hands into his lap to keep from taking her hands in his. Not touching her in any way had become increasingly difficult, especially since he had picked her up in the woods that day. He loved the feel of her in the circle of his arms, her body nestled securely next to his chest, the smell of her soft skin filling his senses.

He smiled. What had he just been asking himself?
Could I love her? I think it’s already too late
.

She seated herself across from him. He began to bow his head for prayer, but she said, “Sky?”

He looked into her eyes.

“You startled me. I’m sorry for flying off the handle like that. I keep telling myself that one day I am going to get a hold of that temper of mine.” She smiled sheepishly.

“I’m sorry I startled you. But,” he grinned impishly, “your eyes are very beautiful when you are angry.”

“Skyler Jordan!” She feigned shock, but pleasure blushed her cheeks.

He laughed and, without thinking, held his hand out across the table, preparing to say the blessing.

Brooke looked at Sky’s hand, surprised because he had not done this since the first day they had arrived.

I’m staring.
She reached out just as Sky, probably realizing what he had done, pulled his hand back. Her fingers grazed the tips of his and her heart lurched. She blushed again, looking toward the back wall of the cabin, and pulled her hand quickly into her lap.

“Brooke, I…” Sky pushed both hands through his hair in frustration. “I didn’t mean to reach across the table like that. Ever since I was a kid we prayed holding hands before meals, and it’s become a habit, I guess. I would love for it to become a tradition in our home someday, but I don’t want you to feel like I am pushing you in any way.”

“Sky—” her eyes focused on his face—“I don’t feel that way.”

He cleared his throat. “Do you mind our holding hands during grace?” She forced her eyes to stay on his face as she shook her head no.

A soft smile lit his eyes as he held his hand out across the table once more.

Brooke hoped he wouldn’t feel her trembling as she placed her hand in his large, work-roughened one and bowed her head.

“Our Father, we thank You for this food, only one of Your many blessings. Guide us, Lord, as we go throughout this day, and draw us closer to You. And Lord, I take time to remember Jason. Remove the bitterness from his heart and help him to find his way back to You. Open his eyes to all that he is missing, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Brooke started to pull her hand from his as the prayer ended but felt his hand tighten on hers for just a moment. Her gaze flew to his face. He grinned at her, then released her hand, helping himself to a huge bowl of porridge.

“Do you really believe that Jesus can change people’s lives?”

“Yes I do.” His eyes were sincere.

“Why?”

“Why do
I
believe that? Or, why does Jesus change people’s lives?”

She shrugged thoughtfully. “Both, I guess.”

“Well,
I
believe that Jesus changes people’s lives because of the changes I have seen in myself and others who have given their lives to the Lord. As for the second question…Jesus changes people’s lives because He cares for them.

Sin brings only sorrow and death into our lives, and Jesus wants better for us. The Bible says that man used to have one-on-one communication with God, but then man sinned and sin separates us from God. Jesus came to earth and died for all of us so that we could once again have communion one-on-one with God. Once we give our lives to Him, when God looks at us He no longer sees our sins. He sees the blood of Jesus. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, covering all people for all time. It might sound complicated, but what it really boils down to is the fact that while we have sin in our lives, God can’t have fellowship with us. We have to accept the fact that we are sinners and need the blood of Jesus to cleanse our lives. Then He takes our sins away and we can have fellowship with God. That’s how it was meant to be from the beginning.”

“So you’re one of those people who believe that unless you ask Jesus into your heart you can’t go to heaven?”

“Yes, that’s true. Heaven is where God is, and we can’t enter there if we have sin in our lives. Once we accept the fact that we are sinners, and we give our lives to Christ, it is as if our sins are gone. We still have to live with the

consequences of our sins, but God no longer holds them to our account because of the sacrifice His Son made on our behalf. The Bible says, ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’”

Brooke thought silently.
Would I go to hell if I died right now? If what Sky says is true, then I would
. Her heart constricted in her chest as her thoughts turned to Hank. God would never forgive her for all the wicked things she had done.

The silence in the room grew heavy until Sky broke it by saying, “I thought we might go into town tomorrow.”

The words brought her head up with a snap, her eyes brightening. Maybe this was what she needed to help her forget for a while. Forget the past, forget the hurt, forget what Sky had just told her.

Sky chuckled at her excitement. “If you look around and make a list of what you need or might want, we will see what we can do about it. Pierce City doesn’t have a lot, but it might be able to supply some of the things you need.”

Brooke couldn’t remember the last time she had been so excited, but at the back of her mind she kept replaying her conversation with Sky.

The rest of the day was spent going through the cupboard and cellar and making a list of things she thought they could use. At the end of the day she was rather appalled at the length of the list, but Sky didn’t say a word when she handed it to him, just tucked it in his shirt pocket and bid her good night.

They rode into town the next morning around 11 o’clock. Brooke’s first glimpse of Pierce City was fascinating. The town sat in one of the most beautiful locations she had ever seen. It nestled in a small valley encircled by gently rolling, forested hills. Several creeks surrounded the little town, the largest of which was called Orofino Creek, Sky told her.

The length of Main Street stretched out before them as they rode in from the south. A tall tree grew directly in the middle of it on the near end of town, its branches shading them momentarily as they rode underneath.

To the left, as they rode up the street, Brooke saw what appeared to be some kind of Chinese temple. A sign on the front of the building was lettered in Chinese characters. She made a mental note to ask Sky what it said later. Next door to the temple was the Pioneer Hotel. Across the street and up a little ways was a store dubbed Fraser’s Mercantile.

Sky pulled to a stop in front of this building, his hands coming gently around her waist as he helped her to the ground.

Inside the dimly lit store, shelves of canned goods, bolts of cloth, and a table of tin dishes took up the main of the room. Barrels of mining equipment, garden tools, and seeds lined the walls. By the counter stood two large casks of coffee and molasses. These filled the room with a heady pungent aroma and melded with the grainy scent of the cracked corn stacked in bags to one side.

A man stepped through a curtained alcove at the back of the store and paused to straighten a display of hunting knives.

“Hello, Fraser,” Sky said. “How are things?”

“Sky!” Fraser’s friendly face broadened into a grin. “Things are going just fine. Jed told me a lot has happened to you since we last saw each other.” He punctuated this last statement with a pointed look in Brooke’s direction.

“Jed’s never far wrong, Fraser. I’d like you to meet my wife, Brooke. Brooke, Fraser is the owner of this run-down-bit-of-a-store,” Sky concluded teasingly with a gesture around the room.

Brooke immediately knew these men were very good friends.

Fraser laughed as he extended his hand to Brooke. “Ma’am, it is a pleasure to meet you. It’s about time ol’ Sky here had some feminine influence on his manners, as you can see. You have your work cut out for you.”

For some reason Brooke felt instantly at ease in the presence of Fraser’s kindness. She chuckled, and said sweetly, “My first goal was to fatten him up a bit. Did you notice how much weight he’s put on?”

A pained look crossed Sky’s face, and he made an obvious effort to suck in his perfectly toned stomach and smooth the front of his shirt. But as Fraser threw back his head with a belly laugh, Sky relaxed, raising one eyebrow in Brooke’s direction.

“She has got your number, Skyler Jordan. You had best watch out for this one.” Fraser moved off behind the counter still chuckling to himself. “Snoop around and pick out whatever you need,” he called over his shoulder. “I’ll tally it all up when you’re through.”

As soon as Fraser moved out of earshot, Sky turned to Brooke. “You just wait.” His eyes sparkled with suppressed mirth. “When you are least expecting it, you’re going to pay for that one. That’s the second time.” He held aloft two fingers.

Brooke smiled cheekily, not really believing him. “It was worth it. You should have seen the look on your face. Your pride is going to be your downfall someday, you know.” She moved down the first aisle to start filling her list, Sky chuckling behind her.

9

As they were leaving the Mercantile, Brooke asked Sky, “Do you think it would be all right if I went and visited with Jenny for a little while?”

“Sure. I’ll head on down to the livery—” he pointed it out just across the street to the right—“and get some of these things loaded up. As soon as I’m done, I’ll come pick you up at the Chang’s store. It’s right there.” He pointed to a building two doors down to the left and across the street.

Holding her elbow, Sky escorted Brooke across the dusty street, then headed in the direction of the livery to get the saddle packs the mule would carry on the way home.

Brooke suddenly felt very excited to see Jenny again. She smoothed her hair and swiped at the front of her skirt, wishing she didn’t look so dusty and trail-worn, even though Jenny would understand.

A small bell jangled over the door as Brooke stepped into the store owned by Jenny’s husband. It took only a moment for Brooke’s eyes to adjust to the darkened interior. Then she spotted Jenny walking toward her from the back of the room, a large smile wreathing her plump face.

“Brooke! It so good to see you! You come!”

Brooke giggled. “Of course I came. How did your pies sell?”

“Sell just fine. Just like dat.” She snapped her fingers and smiled.

“Oh good. I’m so glad. Sky and I came to town to buy supplies, and I wanted to make sure I came by to say hello. I miss female company so much out at the farm that I head to the barn to have a chat with Bess, the milk cow.”