A Love to Last Forever (11 page)

Nick sat at the table, nursing a cup of coffee and trying hard to get up the gumption to do something other than sit around and feel sorry for himself. All winter he’d tried to push aside his feelings for Beth, but it wasn’t any use. Even with all of the extra work he’d taken on helping Evan build his house and reading the New Testament from start to finish, Nick always seemed to have plenty of time for thinking about Beth.

“You ever gonna get tired of moping around?”

Nick looked up to find Simon watching him rather intently. “I’m not moping. I’m just thinking.”

“Well, it looks like moping to me. Honestly, why don’t you just go over to the Gallatin House and tell Beth how you feel?”

This surprised Nick. “I don’t know what you mean.” He got to his feet and took his cup to the dishpan.

“I’m thinkin’ you do,” Simon answered, following him. “You’ve been pining over her all winter. Even Ellie commented on it to me the other day. You hardly even speak two words to each other at church.”

“Can’t a fellow just put his mind to God when he’s at church?”

Simon bellowed a laugh. The sound filled the house and instantly caused Nick to regret even talking to his brother. “A fellow sure
could
put his mind to God when he’s at church, but your mind is a little crowded with other folks, and there’s no sense in you denying it.”

Nick shrugged. “You go on thinking what you will. Just leave me alone.” He went to get his coat from where it hung behind the door.

Simon reached out his hand to hold the door in place. “Look, I’m not meanin’ to pry. You know that.”

Meeting his brother’s sympathetic expression, Nick calmed. “I know. I’m sorry. I figured the best way to put Beth from my mind was to have nothing to do with her.”

“And did it work?”

“What do you think?”

Simon chuckled. “I think you’re in a sorry state. Just go talk to her.”

“But she has feelings for that railroad man.”

“So help her to have more feelings for you,” Simon suggested. “Besides, I don’t know how you can be so certain she cares for that Murphy fellow. Just because he kissed her doesn’t mean she liked it. It’s not like she went with him when he left.”

“I know, but she couldn’t very well just up and leave. He probably asked her to marry him. That’s probably why he kissed her in the first place.”

Simon shook his head. “Don’t you think we would have heard about that by now? You know women can’t keep quiet about such things. Millie would have told us.”

“I would have told you what?”

Millie swept into the room, and Simon quickly diverted the conversation. “You don’t suppose they’ve canceled Beth’s party, do you?”

The young woman stepped forward with a stack of bedding. “Not at all. Last I heard, the surprise was still on. Nick, would you mind helping me carry these quilts over to Gallatin House? Gwen suggested a couple of us might even wish Beth a happy birthday and put aside any suspicions she might be havin’.”

“I think that would be good.” Simon pushed Nick toward Millie. “You could wish her happy birthday, then have a long overdue talk.”

Nick didn’t want to nurse false hope about the matter, but helping Millie did seem like the perfect excuse to get close to Beth. He took the bedding, leaving Millie free to collect her shawl.

“You’d best hurry if you want to talk to Beth,” Millie said, pulling her shawl around her shoulders. “Gwen planned to have her drive the wagon out to the Shepard ranch in order to keep her busy and out of the house all day.”

“Yeah, and Lacy came for the wagon nearly fifteen minutes ago,” Simon added.

Nick shifted the quilts and pulled open the door. “Then let’s go.”

Beth had already headed out for the Shepards’ by the time he arrived at Gallatin House. Just when he had in mind what he might say to her, she wasn’t there. Frustrated, he left Millie and her quilts and headed over to Hank’s store.

Beth’s smiling face quickly filled his thoughts, and no matter how hard he tried to think of anything else, Bethany Gal-latin consumed him. Why did this have to be so difficult?

Over the winter, Nick had come to understand the importance of being right with God. He’d even gotten baptized last month in the hot springs. For some reason, he’d thought this might make everything suddenly fall into place, but it didn’t. Beth didn’t come running to him for affection. Peace didn’t rush over Nick, dispelling the demons of the past. Frankly, life didn’t seem all that different, even though Hank and Pastor Flikkema assured him he had really and truly been forgiven of his past sins.

Nick stepped up on the walkway in front of Bishop’s Emporium and paused at the door with a sigh.
I figured getting saved
would make everything else right in a fellow’s life. Seems to me it’s
just going on as it always has.

“Hello, Hank.” Nick spied him up on a ladder. He was wrestling with a box and grunted a greeting. “Can I help?”

Hank lost control of the crate and watched helplessly as it crashed to the floor, spilling out a variety of metal pieces. He muttered something Nick couldn’t hear and climbed back down. “No. I can’t even seem to help myself all that well.”

“What seems to be the problem?”

“I seem to be the problem,” Hank said, scooping up the fallen merchandise. “I was just doing a bit of rearranging. Storekeeping is pretty new to me, even now. I’m learning to never put heavier items up high.”

Nick laughed heartily. “I can see the wisdom in that. Still, I think you’ve done a great job. Your store rivals any of those in Bozeman.”

“Maybe, but I’m betting their owners know more about what they’re doing.” He shook his head and put the broken crate and pieces aside. “So what brings you here today?”

“I guess a little cabin fever. The weather’s turned nice, but I know it’s probably just foolin’ us.”

“I’d like to think winter’s over and done with,” Hank replied. “I thought Boston winters were bad, but Montana beats those by a mile.”

“It can be taxing, to be sure. For all the time I’ve been here, I find this time of year the worst. You get excited about a warm day and think you’re finally headed into summer, and then without warning you wake up to six inches of snow.”

“I’m not sure I’m very well suited for this life, to tell you the truth.”

Hank’s confession only added to what he’d said earlier. Nick could hear the frustration in his voice. “I suppose it’s pretty different from back East. It’s different enough just from Kansas.”

“It’s the isolation that sometimes gets to me. I’m used to places with plenty of noise and commotion, and then I come here, and the change is both welcoming and unnerving.”

“You don’t figure to leave, do you?”

Hank shook his head. “No, but I do feel a little displaced.” He frowned. “Sometimes I’m not sure I’m cut out for anything here.”

Nick smiled. “Well, this store has sure been good for us.

You seem pretty good at running it.”

“To be honest, making money is something I’ve always had a knack for, but when it comes to knowing how to be a husband and man of God—and even a Montanan—I feel far less equipped.”

“I know what you mean when it comes to being a man of God. I’ve been reading the Bible all winter, and I feel like I’ve only just begun to see what it’s all about.”

“Some folks spend a lifetime trying to understand God,” Hank replied. “My problem comes in the discomfort I feel when my wife knows more than I do about spiritual matters.”

Nick nodded, thinking of Beth and how much it meant to her to marry a Christian. Even if he could find a way to woo her—convince her that he was worthy of courting—could he ever hope to be a spiritual leader in her life? It was an issue he’d never really considered.

Gwen smiled a greeting when her husband came home for lunch with a guest. Someone was always dropping by Gallatin House for a meal or to soak in the hot springs. The place was rapidly becoming more than a mere stage stop.

“Mr. Vanhouten, we haven’t seen you in quite a while. I heard that your wife was back East visiting relatives.”

“That she is, and it’s where I intend to go. The Montana winters have been too much for her, and I’m too old and cantankerous to live without a wife.” He smiled and gave Gwen a wink. “Besides, it gets too cold at night to sleep alone.”

“That it does,” Hank said, grinning at Gwen.

She felt her cheeks flush and turned away. “Well, I’m sorry you’ll be leaving us. Are you planning to sell out?” She motioned to the table and didn’t wait for his response. “Please sit, and I’ll bring you both some lunch.”

“I’d like that.”

Gwen wasn’t sure where Lacy had gotten off to, but given that they weren’t expecting guests for lunch, she really couldn’t fault her sister. “I’m not sure if Lacy will be joining us, so we can go ahead and eat.”

She ladled bowls of thick beef stew and brought them to the table. Within a few moments, she had added fresh baked bread and butter, applesauce, and hot coffee.

Mr. Vanhouten ate rather noisily for several minutes, then paused to declare, “You Gallatin gals sure can cook.”

Hank patted his stomach. “A fellow could grow fat and lazy in this house.”

“Hardly,” Gwen countered. “We Gallatins don’t keep company with idleness.”

“Hank tells me business is good,” the older man said, reaching for another slice of bread. “I’m glad to hear it, too. With new folks coming to settle these parts, I don’t feel so bad in leaving. The last thing I’d want to do is go off and have you sitting on a bunch of land you couldn’t use.”

“What do you mean?” Gwen looked to her husband and back to Vanhouten.

“He means that I’ve just agreed to buy him out,” Hank answered before Vanhouten could say anything more.

“What?” While she knew Hank could more than afford to purchase the land, it seemed strange to her that he’d said nothing at all.

“I really didn’t have a chance to discuss it. I hope you’ll forgive me,” Hank said apologetically. “He only asked me about it a few minutes before we showed up here.”

Mr. Vanhouten nodded. “It’s true. I figured Hank here was the only one with enough ready cash to buy me out quickly. Other folks would have to go seeking a loan or want to take it on credit. I need to be able to complete everything by May so I can head out to Indiana and join my wife.”

“But we’re not ranchers, Hank.” She thought of the vast acreage the Vanhoutens held, as well as their livestock.

“I know that. Mr. Vanhouten is selling his stock to the Shepards. I’m just buying up the land around here.”

“Deputy Shepard wanted to know if he could have dinner,” Lacy announced as she entered the dining room. Dave followed a few steps behind, hat in hand.

“If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Of course it’s not,” Gwen replied, getting to her feet. “There’s plenty. As you can see, we have another guest for the meal, as well.”

“We were just talking a short time ago,” Vanhouten told them.

Dave took a seat at the table and nodded. “That we were.”

Lacy helped Gwen serve Dave and then took a seat beside her sister as the conversation picked up again.

“So you were saying you only bought the land,” Gwen began.

Hank slathered butter on a piece of bread and nodded. “That’s right. I thought it was a good purchase. I hope you agree.”

“What land did you buy?” Lacy asked.

“Mine,” Vanhouten answered for Hank. “I sold it all to him.”

“Mr. Vanhouten has decided to move back East. Mrs. Van-houten has difficulty with our winters here,” Gwen added.

“I had no idea you were thinking about moving from Gallatin House,” Lacy said in an accusing tone. She looked at Gwen as if for answers.

“I don’t plan to move,” Gwen replied, suddenly realizing that perhaps Hank had thoughts on the matter he’d not yet shared. She turned toward her husband. “Do I?”

He laughed, as did Mr. Vanhouten. “No. I have no plans to move,” Hank assured Gwen. “I didn’t even buy the house. Just the land. The house and ten acres are going to someone else.”

“What fool would buy a house and so little land? Why, it’s a good six miles away and surrounded by ranch and farmland,” Lacy said, shaking her head. “That makes no sense.”

Dave cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I guess that fool would be me.”

Everyone but Vanhouten turned in surprise. It was Gwen who questioned him first. “You bought the house?”

“Yeah, I did. I thought it might be a good investment. With the town growing and all, the sheriff and I were talking about how it wouldn’t be long before regular authorities would be needed over this way. I was just trying to think ahead.” He frowned. “It didn’t seem foolish at the time.”

“It wasn’t foolish at all,” Hank replied. “I think it’s a good idea. With the thoughts I have to plot out a real town, it will be perfect. We’ll head in that direction, and you’ll be perfectly situated to be our town marshal.”

Dave finished eating in a rather abrupt manner and got to his feet without comment. “I guess I’d better get back to work.”

Gwen could see that he was upset. Clearly, Lacy’s comments had hurt his feelings.

“Lacy, come help me,” Gwen commanded. She smiled at Hank. “I’ll leave you two to further discuss your business dealings.”