Rocky Mountain Oasis (27 page)

“That’s nice. Is Shar still determined to become a teacher?”

Brooke took a sip of her coffee. She glanced back and forth from Sky to his parents. How close their family seemed, and she’d only seen them together for minutes. She rubbed her finger around the rim of her cup as Rachel laughed, a low melodious sound.

“As determined as ever. She only has one more year, and she’ll be done with her studies. Your father and I finally convinced her to slow down a little, or she’d be done already and itching to leave us.”

Sean took Rachel’s hand, giving it a squeeze.

“How about Cade? And Victoria? What is she up to these days?”

Brooke didn’t miss the way Sky’s parents glanced at one another after this last question. A tingle of jealousy marched down her spine, but she refused to acknowledge it. Rising, she moved to refill the coffee cups and completely missed the answers Rachel gave to Sky’s questions.

Sky and his parents talked late into the evening. Brooke remained fairly silent, allowing them to catch up, only speaking when she was spoken to.

Finally, Sky called the evening to a close. “I hate to end the evening so soon, but I have to be in Pierce City very early in the morning. How long can you stay?”

“As long as two weeks if that is all right with you two. We’ve made arrangements at home to be gone that long,” Sean said.

“Great!” Sky exclaimed. “The trial should be over before then, and that will give me some time to spend with you. I hoped you weren’t going to have to rush home. We have a spare room out in the barn. I built a fire in the stove out there when I was taking care of your horse so it should be warm. The bed is small for two people, but it’s comfortable.”

Sean winked at his wife. “We don’t mind a small bed, do we, honey?”

“Sean!” Rachel blushed but smiled lovingly in her husband’s direction.

“All right, you two.” Sky grinned. “Come on. I’ll show you the way.” Turning to Brooke he said, “I’ll be right back.”

She nodded but didn’t look his way. She busied herself with clearing off the table and wiping it down.

Rachel and Sean lay snuggled in bed in the small room out in the barn. It was a bit chilly, but warming up fast with fragrant pine popping in the stove. Though her body was weary from a long day on the road, Rachel felt the need to talk about their new daughter-in-law before they went to sleep.

“She is very sweet and thoughtful,” she said. “But I felt her trembling when I hugged her after we first arrived. I somehow think she might be afraid of us.”

“I got that impression, too. I don’t think she is so much afraid of us, though, as she may be afraid of what we will think of her. Do you remember how you felt around my mother when we first got together?”

“Yes, I was sure she’d know what a terrible girl her son had fallen in love with and that she’d banish me from the family for good.”

“Her son was not a goody-two-shoes either, if you will recall.”

There was regret in Rachel’s voice. “Yes, I remember.”

Sean pulled her closer to him and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “It’s all in the past. Let’s not rehash it now. God has forgiven us, and we have forgiven each other, so we forget what is behind and press on toward our goal, right?”

“With the Lord’s help.”

“That’s the only way, dear.”

“But Sean—” Rachel turned toward her husband, trying to see his face in the dark—“do you think we should have wired ahead that we were coming? You know, given her a couple of days to get used to the idea?”

“Looking back, that probably wouldn’t have been such a bad idea, but we’re here now, so it’s too late. We’ll have to make the best of the situation.”

“Maybe if I share our story with her she will understand a little more how we feel about her? That we will love her, no matter what?”

“I think that’s a good idea, honey. Why don’t you bring it up tomorrow?”

There was a lull in the conversation. Then a sudden thought struck Rachel, and she sat up in bed. “Do you think Sky has been sleeping out here?”

Sean drew his wife back down by his side. “Well, maybe, but if he has, it won’t hurt for them to be pushed together a little bit. The more she’s around him, the more she’ll see he’s not going to hurt her. I get so angry, Rachel, when I think of what that girl must have been through.” She felt the tremor that pulsed through him. “Why God allows men like that to live, I’ll never understand.”

Rachel stared up into the darkness. “We will never understand God until we get to heaven, will we?”

Sean kissed her on the forehead. “I suppose not.”

She sighed in contentment. “At least he loves her.”

Sean chuckled. “Now, how do you know that? Did you and Sky have a private conversation that I missed?”

“No, dear. I can see it in his eyes.”

They were quiet for a time, and then Rachel returned to their earlier discussion. “Hopefully she’ll be more comfortable around us in the morning once she has had time to get used to the fact that we’re here.” She twirled a strand of her graying brown hair around one finger. “In all the excitement I forgot to ask about Jason. I wonder how he’s doing.”

Sean sighed. “I’ve had him heavy on my heart for the last several days. I’ve really been praying that he won’t forget the things Mother and I taught him as a boy. He needs to give his life back to God.”

“Let’s pray for him now, Sean.” Rachel grasped one of Sean’s hands, and they prayed together for Jason. They prayed he would remember all those things he had been taught, and that he would be convicted of the life he was now living.

“God, please bring Jason back to You. Show him all he is missing by living for himself and not trusting You with his life. Help him to return to Your loving arms. Lead him beside Your still waters. And be with Brooke. Help us to be a witness to her. She also needs Your love, Lord. Help her to understand that she will never be worthy of Your love but that it is a
free
gift, given in Christ Jesus. Bring her to feed in Your green pastures. These things we ask in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.”

When Sean had ended the prayer, Rachel lay quietly in the dark, wondering just how God was going to answer their prayers.

Sky walked slowly back toward the house after showing his parents to their room. Moving up onto the porch he raised one leg onto the rail, looking up into the moon-washed sky. The snow had stopped, and now sporadic clouds scuttled lazily across its surface, alternately blocking out the light and then revealing it.

Sky folded his arms across his chest. The cold was bone-chilling, but he wanted to give Brooke plenty of time to prepare for bed before he came back into the house.

It was good to see Mother and Dad. It had been far too long since he had spent any time with a member of his immediate family. He only wished the circumstances surrounding the death of Fraser were different.

His thoughts turned toward the inquiry that would take place tomorrow. “Lord,” he prayed aloud, “be in this trial. Work things out according to Your will. You know who committed this crime. Bring them to justice. And help all those who conduct these proceedings to be satisfied with the evidence. Don’t let any false evidence be used just to convict
someone
. Help us to figure out who the guilty really are.”

He paused in his prayer as his thoughts turned back to Brooke. “Lord, help me with Brooke. Help me to be patient with her. Give her confidence in me. Help her to know she can trust me and make me trustworthy, Lord. Show me how to be a good husband. Protect her, Lord. I don’t know what she was afraid of at the funeral, but please don’t let any harm come to her. Yet the most important thing I ask is that You bring her to know You. She needs You in her life, Lord. She needs to acknowledge her need of a Savior. Help her to know that nothing she has ever done is too terrible for You to forgive. Help her to find peace in You. And if You don’t mind—” he smiled sheepishly at a space between two sluggish clouds—“would You make her fall in love with me, while You’re at it?”

He watched the clouds for a few minutes more, enjoying the beauty of the night. Then he knocked on the cabin door.

“Come in,” he heard her soft reply.

Opening the door, he moved quietly into the warmth of the house. Brooke lay in the bed with her back to the room, but the lamp was still burning on the table so he knew she had expected him. Pulling off his boots, he blew out the lamp and then eased under the covers next to her. He felt her stiffen, but when he turned his back to her and said, “Good night, Brooke,” she relaxed again. He closed his eyes, satisfied that she had accepted this next small step toward a complete relationship as husband and wife.

“Sky?”

He was surprised when she spoke. “Yes?”

“Will you please tell Jenny tomorrow that she is more than welcome to come here and stay with us for a while?”

“I hadn’t thought of that. It’s a good idea. I’ll tell her.”

“Thank you. Good night.”

“Good night.”

The next morning Brooke awakened to someone shuffling through the cupboards. Momentarily startled, she sat up, wondering who it might be. Glancing toward the window, she saw it was still dark outside, but the lamp was burning low on the table. Then memory flooded her mind. “Sky?”

He stood up from where he had been bent, peering into the cupboard. “Sorry I woke you. I was trying to be quiet.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to find some breakfast. You’ve moved things around a bit since I last looked in here.”

Forgetting that she wore only her long flannel nightgown, Brooke threw the covers back and moved toward the cupboard as she said, “I’m so sorry, Sky. I didn’t even think about how early you would have to be in town today. I should have thought to lay something out for you last night.” She moved around confidently getting bread out, slabs of ham into a pan, and eggs in another.

Sky stood by with a jar of preserves in hand, his mouth slack. His heart pounded like a stampede of wild mustangs as he realized what a great feat had just been accomplished in their relationship. Brooke was not nervous. Usually if something happened and she was caught off guard, like not having breakfast or dinner on the table at the right time, she would be so jumpy she was almost panicked. But today...

“Now where is that jar of jam?” Brooke interrupted his thoughts. “I know I left it right here last night.”

Brooke turned toward him just as he snapped his mouth shut. “Oh, there it—” She broke off when she saw his expression. “What?” Then, looking down, she realized she was still in her nightgown. Heat suffused her face.

“It’s not that, Brooke. It’s just that you aren’t tense this morning.” She gave him a blank look.

“The last time I came in the house and breakfast wasn’t quite ready, you were so nervous you almost jumped out of your skin. You even spilled your milk, remember?”

She nodded, realizing what he was saying rang true. She no longer feared Sky would turn out to be like Hank or Uncle Jackson. She had finally accepted that Sky was a man of integrity. What you saw in Sky was what you got. He didn’t put on a face in public and then act differently at home. Suddenly she wanted Sky to understand at least this one aspect of her life. She made a small gesture with her hand near her waist trying to come up with the right words to explain. “It’s just that Hank...,” but she found she couldn’t go on. Unbidden, tears sprang to her eyes and she turned to the stove to stir the eggs.