Angel In The Saloon (Brides of Glory Gulch) (21 page)

“He sure does.”

They sat in the porch swing and Amelia recounted the
events of the past week to Paul. He listened with particular interest as she
told of how God healed her inner turmoil and of Mrs. Marcus’ change of heart. He
squeezed her shoulder and kissed her temple.

“I guess people’s lives are bound to change when God
sends an Angel to town.”

Amelia was not locked in her room again until the
following evening---Saturday---around six o’clock.

“Good evening. Is my niece ready, yet?”  Corrin
greeted Mr. Marcus as lady-like as she could, even though she held him in
contempt for how he had treated her niece.

“I’m afraid she won’t be going to the party tonight. We
feel it’s in her best interest that she not visit that den of evil.”

Corrin gasped at the nerve of this man and she was
about to tell him so, but quickly composed herself.

“Sir, I’m going to take my niece to that party.” She
pushed her way passed the little man and in a few confident strides, she stood
at the foot of the stairs

A gun being cocked shattered the quiet air behind her.
She pivoted and saw Mr. Marcus pointing a rifle at her.

“I think you’ve intruded upon our Christian home long
enough, Miss Dannon. I’m asking you to leave.”

Corrin looked fearfully toward the narrow staircase
that must be holding Amelia prisoner. Was this old man serious? She stepped
onto the first stair, but he stepped in front of her, steadily pointing the
rifle at her.

Well, if she couldn’t get Amelia out of there, there
were plenty of others who could! She retreated hurriedly back to the saloon.

The party was already under way. People around Glory
Gulch were certainly different from those back East who were forever
fashionably late. Here, if a party was to start at seven o’clock, one had
better pass the word around that it started at eight.

Corrin had hoped Jeremiah would be there, but he hadn’t
arrived yet.

“Where is she?” Paul asked when he touched her arm.

“My guess is that she’s locked in her room again. We’re
just too evil for Amelia’s own good.” Corrin said wryly. She considered telling
him about the rifle, but decided against it. Knowing Paul wouldn’t stand for
that kind of behavior toward her, she feared somebody might get hurt.

Paul’s face filled with disgust. He headed toward the
door, but Corrin caught his arm.

“No,” she said. ”You need to stay here with your
guests. We’ll wait for Jeremiah. He’ll get Amelia away from those people.”

It was almost seven thirty before Jeremiah arrived. Corrin
quickly ushered him into the kitchen and blurted out the story of Amelia’s fate.
He sighed deeply and then smiled at her.

“I’ll . . . excuse me . . .
we’ll
be back
before you can say Paul Bunyan.” He winked at Corrin and then rushed out the
door kitchen.

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The Marcus’ didn’t answer the door when Jeremiah
pounded on it. He persisted, pounding and pounding. Finally, he called to them
in his booming, masculine voice, “It would be a shame to break down such a well
built door in the cold month of October! There’s snow on the higher mountains! Looks
like snow’s on its way here too, and lots of it!”

When the door opened he shoved it back and strode into
the house, his huge, virile frame hovering well over that of Mr. Marcus who held
a rifle to him.

He glared in Mr. Marcus’ direction, pushed him aside
and headed up the stairs, ignoring the threats and protests coming from behind
him.

When Jeremiah arrived on the landing he called to her.
“Amelia! Where are you?”

 “Jeremiah!” came her immediate reply from behind a
door down the hallway. “I’m in here! At the end of the hallway!”

In three huge strides he was at her door, the Marcus’
on his heals as Mr. Marcus continued to shout protests and quote scripture at
him. He grabbed the doorknob, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Where’s the key?”

“We’ll not hand her over to a sinner such as you!”

“Have it your way, then. Amelia, move away from the
door!” He gave her a couple of seconds to do so and then, with all his force he
kicked it open and grabbed her up in a big bear hug, lifting her off the floor.
He put her down and stepped back, noticing that her bruises were nonexistent. He
thought she looked absolutely beautiful, despite the ugly dress she was
wearing.

“Miss Amelia Jackson. Mr. Paul Strupel kindly requests
the honor of your presence at a party being given in his honor. Do you accept?”

“Yes!” she smiled beautifully as a tear trickled down
her cheek. “I sure do!”

“Then may I suggest your pink party gown? I know Mr.
Strupel was particularly fond of how you looked in that dress. Actually, so was
I.”

Amelia blushed “I don’t know where my clothes are. They
took them away.”

Jeremiah glared at the couple who were totally
intimidated by him now, even though Mr. Marcus still held the rifle.

“Her clothes are in a trunk in this room.” Mrs. Marcus
answered him as she pointed to a door beside her.

Jeremiah strode past her and proceeded to locate a
lamp on a table just inside the door. Lighting the wick, he advanced to a trunk
at the foot of the bed whereupon lifting the lid, he recognized all of Amelia’s
pretty clothes and easily located the party gown that had so enthralled him
when he first saw her wearing it. Then he returned to her room and gently
placed it in her hands.

“Now don’t be taking too much time getting ready, we’re
already forty-five minutes late.”

Amelia grabbed his arm before he had drawn away and
pulled it toward her. She smiled and then reached to find his face, tenderly
touching his cheek. Keeping her hand in that position she stood on her tiptoes
and kissed him there. “Thank you,” was all she said, but somehow he knew she
meant so much more than that. He did love her.

“You’re quite welcome, Ma’am. That’s what I do best---rescue
damsels in distress. Now remember, don’t take too long.”

“Jeremiah?”

“Yes?”

“Shoes?”

“Coming right up.”

“And a hair bow. And my lace gloves, please?”

“Your wish is my command,” and he stepped out the door
to the other room to retrieve the things she requested. He returned to her room
and deposited the things onto the bed, then closed the door as much as it would
shut behind him.

He herded the older couple back downstairs amidst
their protests.

“I’m going to sue you for everything you’ve got!” Mr.
Marcus spat out.

“Yeah, well there are two things you need to think
about first,” Jeremiah said as he helped himself to sit on a chair. “First,
there are no lawyers up here. You’ll have to travel four hours to Glenwood
Springs to find one, and you’ll probably have to travel back and forth several
times in the course of this ordeal.” He crossed his legs. “I don’t know if you’ve
ever been to the lumber camp, but you’re certainly welcome to my half of my
home. It’s one of those buildings that’s log halfway up with a tent on top. My
brother owns the other half, so I don’t think you’ll get much use out of it.”

Mr. Marcus narrowed his eyes at him, sighed, and sat
on the sofa.

“Yessiree,” Jeremiah continued. “You’ve got more
belongings in this one room than I have in the entire camp, but you’re welcome
to it.” He noticed the Marcus’s gaze toward the staircase, so he turned and saw
Amelia gracefully descending on the carpeted stairs.

Jeremiah stood, a lump forming in his throat. He
remembered the last time she’d worn that dress. It was the night he decided to
let her go. “You look lovely, Amelia.”

“Thank you.”

He took her arm and escorted her to the door, Mr.
Marcus on his heels, presumably to lock the door behind him. Reaching into his
pocket, he pulled out a few dollar bills and stuffed them into the older man’s
coat pocket. “For the upstairs door.”

Then he helped Amelia out onto the stoop. Jeremiah
turned and announced, “I’ll be by for the rest of her things first thing in the
morning. Please have them packed and on the porch before I arrive.”

Riding back to the party Jeremiah heard quiet, lovely
humming coming from the delightful and beautiful young lady sitting in front of
him on his horse.

“You amaze me sometimes.” His voice broke the silence
of the cool night air.

“Why do you say that?”

“You just came from being held prisoner for nearly a
week and you’re humming.”

“Jeremiah, I wasn’t a prisoner. God placed me there so
that he could work on me.”

“Amelia, are you trying to tell me God wanted you to
be locked up for a reason? Why would he do something so cruel?”

“Well, my dear friend. He knew I was still hurting
inside from the attack. I hadn’t worked through all that yet. Being alone in
that room for so long allowed him to get my attention and help me heal my inner
turmoil. And I also realized that I had a lot of repenting to do.”

“Repenting?” Jeremiah laughed at the thought. “Oh no, don’t
tell me you did something horrible . . . like saying a cuss word.”

Amelia aimed a punch at him and it caught him on the
arm. “You’re making fun of me. I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

“You’re right, I don’t understand. But I’m trying to. I
just can’t picture you having anything to repent about. You’re the sweetest,
most compassionate person I’ve ever met.”

“Why, Jeremiah Cowan. What a wonderful thing to say. Thank
you so much. But the Bible says, ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God; being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that
is in Christ Jesus.’  Did you hear that, Jeremiah? That means every person on
this earth is a sinner, and we can only be redeemed through our faith in
Jesus.”

They rode the rest of the way without talking; Amelia’s
gentle humming permeating through the chilliness and the message of her words
resounding through the heavy barriers of Jeremiah’s heart.

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Paul had become a door watcher. The party had
officially started over an hour ago, although most guests were there long
before that.

Finally, the door swung open and Jeremiah walked in
with Amelia. Paul smiled with delight. She looked lovelier than he had
remembered and he nearly flew to her side. He scooped up her left hand and
placed his free arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the temple.

“I was so worried about you, my sweet, sweet Angel.”

“Please, don’t worry about me any longer. I’m moving
back home tonight.”

Her smile captivated him and for a moment there was no
one else in the room but her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to get you a gift.”

“Don’t you worry about that. Cowan just gave me
everything I ever hoped for,” he said as he kissed her temple again.

“Excuse me, but I need to talk with Amelia for a
moment.” Corrin pulled her niece away from Paul.

“But she just got here, Corrin. And I’ve hardly seen
her at all this week.”

“I just need five minutes,” Corrin said over her
shoulder as she ushered her niece into the kitchen.

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Inside the secluded confines of the back room, Corrin
blurted out her feelings to her niece. “Oh, Sweetie, I’m so sorry I sent you to
that place. I should never have done that. I missed you from the moment you
first left. You’re my only daughter and I had no right to treat you like that. I
was just so frightened because you were hurt. Please, I just hope you can
forgive me.”

“Aunt Corrin. I’m so proud to be your daughter. You
don’t have any reason to need forgiving.” Amelia smiled genuinely and lovingly
toward her and grabbed her up in a tender embrace.

“Oh, yes I do.”

“Aunt Corrin. God wanted me to be there because I had
so much to work through. Without this week of solitude to reflect and meditate
and pray, I might have become a very angry and bitter person. So this week was
the best thing that could have happened to me. I hope you can understand what I’m
saying.”

“Yes, I think I do understand.” Corrin nodded her
head, even though her young niece couldn’t see the gesture. “I’m just so glad
you’re back. I love you so much.” She embraced Amelia as if she’d loved her all
her life.

“I love you too, Aunt Corrin.”

Corrin’s eyes welled up with tears, but joyful
laughter reigned in her spirit. This wonderful young lady had touched her life
in such a different way than she could have imagined.

They rejoined the party, immediately being accosted by
Paul. He whisked Amelia off to the dance floor, holding her closely as he spoke
adoringly into her ear. Corrin allowed her this night of freedom, the thought
of her sister entrusting such a precious treasure to her nearly overwhelming her.