Glorious Montana Sky (The Montana Sky Series) (6 page)

Thinking of his wife and the troubles in his marriage made him sad. While he didn’t regret his missionary work, in seeing how his parents had aged, Joshua wished he hadn’t left for so many years. He and Micah had missed too much time with them.

Two men, both carrying toddlers, moved closer. One also had a youngster about Micah’s age at his side. The dark-haired, olive-complexioned boy had his father’s green eyes. “You won’t remember me,” the man said, taking off his hat and exposing his shoulder-length blond hair
. “Jonah Barrett. Me and Seth Flanigan, here—” he lifted his shoulder in the direction of the dark-haired man “—have our wagons parked just yonder. We can see that your trunks get to the parsonage.”

Mary Norton placed her hand on the man’s arm. “Dear Mr. Barrett, so kind of you to offer.”

“Jonah Barrett?” Joshua stared, speechless, remembering the young man who’d been about five years older than him. Jonah’s drunken father had pulled him out of school after the death of his mother, and, from then on, he’d only glimpsed the other boy going into or out of the saloon.

“Yes, indeed,” Jonah said, extending his hand to shake. “I wanted to thank you for that time I showed up in the middle of the church service looking like a rag-picker. Hadn’t attended for years since my ma died. You. . .young shaver that you were. . .got up from your pew, calmly walked down the aisle, took my hand, and escorted me up front to sit with you.”

Joshua had forgotten that incident, but as Jonah mentioned it, the memory came. Mostly he recalled his instinctive wish to give some comfort to a young man whom he could tell was hurting and out of place.

“Scalawag that I was to them, the whole congregation was burning holes in my back,” Jonah added.

“Mine, too,” Joshua grinned.

“I never returned to church.” Jonah gestured to a woman holding the hand of two boys who looked to be about four and six. “Until Lina, that is. This is my wife, Mrs. Barrett.”

The pride in Jonah’s voice and the look of love he gave his plump Italian-looking wife made a lump rise in Joshua’s throat.
Who would have thought Jonah’s unhappy situation would turn out so well?

Jonah jiggled the small girl in his arms. “But I never forgot your kindness. I had very little kindness. . . . What there was stands out.”

The quiet words settled into the hollowness in Joshua’s soul, warming him. “Well. . .” He trailed off.

Jonah grinned. “Once Lina came into my life, she changed everything. Church or Mass every Sunday that we can make it to town.”

Lina Barrett lifted her chin in obvious satisfaction.

Joshua clapped his hand on the side of Jonah’s shoulder. “A good wife is above rubies.” He smiled at Lina. “I’m glad things changed for you.”

“Like night and day.” Jonah nodded toward the children with him. “This is my son, Adam, and my daughter, Maria.”

Joshua glanced from the girl with the curly brown hair in Jonah’s arms to Adam who’d been eying Micah. He broke into a grin. “I can’t believe you have children.”

Jonah’s green eyes sparkled. “So do you.”

“I know. But I still remember us as so young.”

Seth Flanigan stepped forward and playfully jostled Jonah. “Let someone else get in a word, Barrett,” he said in a teasing tone, reaching out to shake Joshua’s hand.

Joshua barely recalled Seth. The son of a saloon girl, the older boy had kept to himself in school and hadn’t attended church.

Seth held a toddler who possessed the same compelling gray eyes as his father.

Joshua glanced at a girl, who looked almost Micah’s age, standing next to a pretty blonde woman in the early stage of pregnancy, and then at the young one in her arms. Both children had the gray Flanigan eyes.

Seth introduced his wife, Trudy, who wore a fashionable blue gown and matching hat.

“My sister and her husband are missionaries in Africa,” Mrs. Flanigan said. “Do you know Anna and Martin Ramsey?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t.” Joshua shook his head. “Where in Africa? We were in Uganda.”

“Cameroon.”

“Ah, I know some information about Cameroon and would be glad to discuss it with you, give you details of the life of a missionary and his family.”

Smiling, Mrs. Flanigan placed a hand on her chest. “I’d like that. Thank you, Reverend Norton. I dearly miss Anna.” She pulled her daughter to her side in a hug as if needing comfort.

The Barrett and Flanigan children looked well-fed and well-dressed, bright expressions on their faces—as different as could be from the thin, scruffy boys their fathers had once been.

Seeing the two happy families made Joshua realize what he was missing.
I want what they have: a stable home blessed with an abundance of joy, me having meaningful work, and Micah with a happy smile on his face.

Micah and
Adam Barrett warily eyed each other—a pair of male dogs sniffing, not sure whether to fight or be friends.

Adam pulled a wooden slingshot out of a pocket.

Micah’s expression brightened. “I have one, too. Father made me pack it in the trunk. Can I see yours?” He set down the valise and held out his hand.

The locomotive behind them gave a hiss and a chortle. The whistle blew, and the train inched forward.

The Barrett boy handed his over.

Micah studied the slingshot. “Mine is made of wood with a figure carved here.” He pointed to the Y. “These are the legs.”

“Come, Micah,” Joshua said. “We are keeping your grandparents waiting. Give Adam back his slingshot. Perhaps you two can go hunting later.”

Micah’s face closed up, obviously remembering the hunting he’d done in Uganda with his friends. He returned the slingshot and picked up the valise.

Mrs. Barrett leaned forward toward Micah. The breeze lifted a strand of hair from her chignon. The corkscrew curl bounced against her cheek. “Your grandmother told me about you on our wedding day,” she said to the boy and glanced over at Mrs. Flanigan. “Do you remember that conversation, Trudy?”

The other woman nodded, her expression nostalgic. “I do.” She looked over at Joshua’s mother. “Dear Mrs. Norton. You were worried about baby Micah, whether he’d be healthy in Africa. Yet, here he is, safe and sound, reunited with you. The answer to your prayers.”

His father placed his hand in the small of his wife’s back. “Yes, indeed. Long years of praying for the health and happiness of the family we loved who were so far from us.”

Sudden tears gleamed in his mother’s eyes. She made eye contact with each of the three men, then gazed at the children in front of her. “The answers to many of my prayers are standing here before me.” She spread her arms, fingers wide. “I feel very blessed.”

Joshua glanced at his father, saw smiling, happiness softening the austerity of his face, and he felt a rush of gratitude for the steadfastness of his parents. He cleared his throat. “Shall we head home, or do you think I have to go around and greet everyone?”

With a whoosh and a chug-chug-chug, the train pulled away from the station, the noise interrupting them.

They waited a moment, then his mother said, “Oh, no, dear. There’s a party the day after tomorrow. You can talk to everyone there.”

“The party’s not for us, I hope.” His dismayed expression must have conveyed his feelings because both Seth and Jonah burst into laughter.

“It’s springtime,” Seth said. “The good citizens of Sweetwater Springs will take any excuse for a party. I’m told there’s supposed to be ice cream.” He winked at Micah.

“Ice cream!” The boy perked up. While at the Maynards’, Micah had been introduced to the treat, and like any child, well, like any
person
, he loved ice cream.

“Yes.” Mrs. Barrett beamed at Micah. “An ice cream social. Adam will introduce you to all the other children, won’t you, son?”

Adam nodded.

Joshua let out a breath of relief. “As long as we aren’t the guests of honor.”

“You’ll be the unofficial guests of honor,” Jonah said. Laughter crinkled the lines around his green eyes, even though his expression remained deadpan.

“Especially for the ladies,” Mrs. Flanigan added.

Joshua suppressed a groan. “I’m still in mourning,” he said with a stiffness in his voice, which he hoped would convey his objection to any matrimonial schemes the women might be hatching. But even as he said the words, the thought of Miss Bellaire flashed into his mind, and suddenly, his objections vanished. He wondered if she’d wish to leave her father for long enough to attend the party.

“You all head on home,” Seth told the Nortons. “Jonah and I will see to your trunks. We’ll leave them on your porch.”

“Thank you,” Joshua said, grateful for the offer. “Good to see you both, again.” He gazed at their wives and children. “And doing well.”

At his words, each man glanced at his wife and exchanged a look with her.

The love on their faces made Joshua’s throat close. He remembered sharing those kinds of looks with Esther years earlier. He remembered too how the gazes had faded away, changing to expressions that were often pinched with disapproval and resentment on her part, withdrawn on his, until finally, there were no longer any loving exchanges. Esther hadn’t even softened to him on her deathbed, although Joshua had tried to remain caring until the end.

Old sadness arose in him. Joshua said subdued good-byes and took back his valise from his son.

A family stood at the foot of the stairs to the platform.

He recognized John Carter and had no problem remembering his wife Pamela. Before Joshua left for the seminary, John’s journey to Boston to find a bride had been the talk of the town. When the couple returned, the newlyweds had an impromptu party, with people coming for miles around to celebrate their marriage. Mrs. Carter had gained some weight since Joshua had last seen her, probably from the three children she’d borne, but the kind expression on her plain face hadn’t changed
.

As he exchanged greetings with the Carters and they introduced their two oldest children to Micah, Joshua saw an air of assurance about Pamela that was far different from the timid bride he remembered.

The couple waved good-bye, promising to meet again at the ice cream social.

The Nortons moved on. Pondering the changes he’d seen in the people he’d talked to, Joshua fell into step with his parents and Micah as they picked their way among the wagons, mounted riders, and pedestrians. He’d never seen Main Street so crowded. “Mother, you sure have powerful prayers. Goes to show you. . .Jonah and Seth are the last boys I would have expected to grow up and become solid citizens.”

She took his arm and squeezed. “God’s hand has been on both of those boys. He led the right women to them, and that made all the difference in their lives. It’s given me a great deal of pleasure to watch them fall in love, have solid marriages, and start families.”

With a pang of envy, Joshua looked away. The left side of the road looked familiar:
the schoolhouse and white church with the steeple. On the right, however, a half-finished four-story hotel rose into the sky, very like the tall structures of any city. The brick mercantile and some of the false-fronted buildings were the same, although the structures had weathered. But another new place, not quite as tall as the hotel, was also half-finished.
Simple Sweetwater Springs was growing up.

He pointed. “What’s that going to be?”

“Anthony Gordon’s office building.”

Gordon?
He didn’t recall the man.

“Mr. Gordon’s only lived here for a year,” his mother explained. “Well, not even a year. He married our schoolteacher and started up a newspaper.” She waved to one of the wooden structures. “He’ll move when the new building is finished.”

So many changes.
“Are there a lot of new people around?”

His father nodded. “If you count the babies born, probably several hundred more since you’ve been gone. Then we have the transient workman—carpenters, plumbers, and such. They’re busy ants. The rate those buildings are going up astonishes me. But Gordon and Livingston give the men Sunday morning off so they can attend services. And to their credit, most of them do. I’m hoping many will remain here after their work is over.”

They walked past the white church with the broad gray steps and matching door. “Looks the same,” Joshua commented.

“It is.” His father smiled. “Packed on Sundays. I’m starting to think we either need two services or a bigger church.”

Joshua gave a wry shake of his head. “I can’t imagine that.”

The parsonage sat behind and to the right of the church. The house looked smaller and more worn down than Joshua remembered.

His mother hurried up the steps of the porch and turned to face them. She extended a hand to both Joshua and Micah. “Welcome home, my dear boys!”

Micah stared at his grandmother with big eyes.

His mother had always been the quiet one, loving and gentle. Her display of emotion surprised and touched Joshua. He took Micah’s hand in his and led him inside.

Home. We’re finally home.

Delia watched Reverend Joshua Norton move through the crowd. Even though her stomach was tight with fear for her father, the press of the minister’s hand lingered in her memory, and she felt comforted by his touch. She started to follow the men carrying Andre.