A Texas Sky (Yellow Rose Trilogy) (5 page)

with what was on his mind. "Do you happen to know

whether the pastor is open to questions? I have a few."

"Indeed, he is," Marcus answered as he stirred the

coffee his wife had just brought to him. She returned to the

kitchen to finish cutting pieces of cake. "Is there anything I

can help you with?"

Dakota frowned down at his plate for a moment before

admitting, "Were those verses this morning saying that the

church was having problems?"

30 lori wick

The doctor nodded. "Earlier in the chapter, Paul warns

the people about the seriousness of adding anything to the

gospel. Do you know what I mean by 'gospel'?"

"Salvation?"

"Yes. Their big issue was circumcision."

Dakota's brows rose on this, but he stayed quiet.

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"Some people were still insisting that the men be circumcised,

though Paul made it very clear that salvation

comes by faith alone through Christ alone. Pastor mentioned

the freedom this gave them, but they started to treat

that freedom carelessly and were falling into sin toward

each other."

"But the church was new! How could there be that

many problems so quickly?"

Marcus smiled. "I don't know too many people who

don't have problems or past experiences that affect the way

they think and act. These people were no different. They

had been used to blood sacrifices and circumcision. Now

Christ had come along and taken all that away. And that

was wonderful for these folks, but old habits--especially

ones that make us feel comfortable--can die hard."

"So what type of sins are we talking about? I mean, how

were they treating each other?"

"The verses that are coming up have a pretty serious

list. Paul calls them the works of the flesh, and they include

adultery, fornication, hatred, and much more. Maybe mis

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was what they were saved out of, and with the way they

were acting, he feared they would go back to this life. At

the end of that chapter, he goes on to tell them how important

it is to walk in the Spirit and gives another list, this one

full of righteous acts for them to practice."

"But these people had heard the gospel and been

saved?"

"I believe so, yes, and I don't wish to make excuses for

them, but keep in mind that salvation does not take all

those old temptations and actions away. We still tend to

think of ourselves first and want our way much too often."

ATexasSky 31

Dakota couldn't argue with that Until recently, his own

life and wants were his main concern. He cared about his

family and his job, but he could now see how self-centered

he'd been. At the same time, he had to admit that he was

changing. The doctor was willing to talk for hours, and

Dakota's questions were not about his own life, but that of

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Jesus Christ

S"3^^r

Thinking about how good it had been to talk to Dr.

Scott, Dakota left their home and headed straight to Brace's

small abode. Not until Mrs. Scott had asked if they would

see him next week did Dakota realize he had no idea what

his plans were. It was time to see Darvi. Because he wasn't

staying at the boardinghouse, he realized Darvi had no way to tell him when she wanted to leave for Stillwater. For all he knew, they'd be pulling out of town first thing in the

morning.

Dakota arrived at the house about three o'clock,

knocked softly on the door, and waited. Dressed in an elegant

day dress the color of dark plums, made more elegant

by its unadorned lines, Darvi answered.

"Oh, Dakota!" she said in soft surprise. "I wondered

when I would see you again."

Dakota stepped inside as she held the door and then

understood why she whispered: Brace was sound asleep in

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the rocking chair.

Hat in hand, Dakota smiled a little before turning back

to Darvi.

"What day did you want to leave?"

"Will Tuesday work for you?"

"Thaf s fine. I'll check the stage schedule and get back--"

"I don't want to go by stage," Darvi cut in.

Dakota blinked.

"I thought we'd be going on horseback. I want to go on

horseback/' she clarified.

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Dakota couldn't help the way his eyes moved over her

elegant dress. "The stage will be much more comfortable."

"And also more unreliable."

Dakota nodded slowly, thinking that it was her choice

but also asking himself what he'd gotten into with this

favor.

"I'll check into renting a mount for you."

"Uncle Marty has two horses now. He said I can take

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one of his."

So Brace knows about this,

Outwardly Dakota nodded calmly, but his mind was

already doing mental calisthenics as he went over the route

to Blake and then on to Stillwater. The terrain wasn't bad,

but it wasn't always the safest. On his own he wouldn't

have given it a thought. Taking Darvi put it in a whole new

light

"What if we took the stage to Blake and then rented

horses for Stillwater?"

Without so much as a moment's hesitation, Darvi shook

her head no. She didn't look stubborn, just certain. Dakota

decided to let it drop,

"Okay. How early do you want to leave?"

"I was thinking five."

Again Dakota was surprised but only nodded. Maybe it

was for the best. He was coming to see that Darvi Wingate

was one classy, sophisticated woman. More than likely

they would have to take it slowly. Leaving early would

help get them there in a more reasonable time frame.

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"I'll see you Tuesday," Dakota supplied.

"Thank you, Dakota," she said, her face no longer businesslike

but wreathed in soft, delighted lines.

Dakota couldn't help but respond. He smiled back,

replaced his hat, and turned toward the door. He didn't

know what the next week would bring, but he was fairly

certain it wouldn't be dull.

like a child at christmas, dakota sat down under the

large shade tree, leaned against it for comfort, and opened

the package he had just bought from the general store. It

had taken some searching, but he finally had it.

Moving as though touching the pages might damage

them, Dakota opened a book that boasted the gold-tone

title Holy Bible on the cover. He didn't read at first but just

paged through, recognizing books that he'd discussed with

Desmond and realizing he knew just where he wanted to

read. He searched for a full five minutes for the book of

Galatians before turning to the index in the front After

finally finding it, he settled in to study. So much was

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unclear to him, but he kept at it until the fifth chapter,

where things fell a little more into place.

It was good to recognize things that both the pastor and

Dr. Scott had referred to. Dakota read the chapter twice and

sat mulling over several problematic issues. Of all the

things that suddenly became dear to him, one was the

thought he'd had while sitting in church the day before:

The Bible didn't talk about things for no reason.

"If Paul talks about this, it must have been a problem." Dakota heard his own voice and stopped. "How did they know the writing was from Paul?"

With that Dakota was off again. He spent the next several

hours reading and rereading, trying to get a grasp of

the text and suddenly realizing it must have been a letter.

33

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A Texas Sky 35

58

Shaking his head at times in complete confusion, Dakota

came away with one certainty: There was a way that God

wanted men to act, and it was laid out in this book. It didn't

all make sense, but Dakota vowed in his heart to learn that

way and do his best to follow it

S^S1*^"

"Do you want any more coffee?" Darvi asked Brace that

night

"No, thank you."

"All right. I'll go ahead and wash the pot"

Taking her uncle's coffee mug, Darvi made swift work

of the kitchen detail. When she came back into the living

room, she took a comfortable chair and put her feet up.

"I enjoyed coming, Uncle Marty. Thank you."

He waved at her as if she'd imagined his care of her.

"Youll have a good time with Merry/' he said, ignoring

her thanks. "But you've got an early morning coining up,

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so you'd best head up to bed."

"All right"

Darvi stood and went to his chair. She was going to lean

down to kiss his cheek but suddenly stopped.

"I'm leaving after such a short time, Uncle Marty. I feel

a little bad about that"

There was no ducking the issue this time. Her uncle

looked her in the eye and spoke seriously.

"You're doing better, and that's all I care about, Darvi

girl. And if things get rough again when you go home after

your visit to Merry's, you just come right back here."

With a whispered word of thanks, Darvi did bend and

kiss him. No other words were shared as Darvi left the

room, mounted the stairs, and readied for bed. lired as

Darvi was, she lay awake until her uncle came up those

same stairs, the sound of his steps a comfort to her. Praying

for him as she felt herself relax, she drifted off to sleep some

time after she heard his boots drop to the floor.

3"3''5i*

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Dakota was glad that Darvi wanted to leave early and

take it slow. He was still rather tender in spots and had

even bled some in the night, and although he no longer

wanted to sit around Austin, it was nice to know he was

going to have an easy day.

All this he had decided before he saw Darvi. She and

Brace were in the front yard when he arrived, and Dakota

thought he'd never seen anyone so loaded for bear. Gone

was the frilly dress and elegant hairstyle. In the morning

light he could see that she was dressed for the trail. Darvi

wore a brown dress he could only term "serviceable" and

had her hair and neck covered by an all-consuming hat and

handkerchief. It was such a contrast to the day before that

Dakota had all he could do not to stare.

"Here's some money," Brace said the moment Dakota

dismounted.

"I'm doing all right," Dakota replied, not taking the bills

that were being held out to him.

Brace stuffed them in Dakota's vest pocket

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"Be that as it may," he said rather softly, "you never

know whaf s going to happen with Darvi, and I didn't

mean for you to do this without some compensation."

Dakota opened his mouth to start to protest, but Brace

cut him off. "I mean it!"

Dakota watched him turn back to his niece. The two