Let There Be Light (37 page)

“Sure enough,” said the postmaster as he hurried behind the wall and returned with two envelopes. “This is it for today.”

Dan took the envelopes. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. How’s Mrs. Brady doing?”

“Pretty good. She has her moments when she gets lonesome for her husband, but that’s to be expected.”

“Sure. Well, tell her hello for me.”

“Will do.”

As he walked toward the wagon, Dan looked at the envelope on top. It was addressed to Suzanne, and was from the Alamo Sanatorium in San Antonio, Texas. When he looked at the second letter, he saw that it was addressed to him from a Jenny Blair in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

He climbed up into the wagon and opened his own letter. A broad smile spread over his face when he pulled out the photograph with the letter, and saw how lovely Jenny Blair was.

As he began reading the letter, his heart quickened when he read that she had blond hair and blue eyes. He was thrilled the way Jenny expressed herself, and he was impressed with her testimony of salvation.

When he finished reading it, he looked back at the photograph. “Jenny Blair, you’re blond and blue-eyed … my ideal girl! And I feel—well, I feel good about you!”

Dan folded the letter and replaced it in the envelope with the photograph. “Lord, I believe You are speaking to me about this one. I’ll let Suzanne read it and see what she thinks. When she read the other six letters, she had the same feeling about them that I did.”

Suddenly, Dan found himself covered from the harsh rays of the sun and looked up. A high wind was shoving dark, heavy clouds across the sky from the west. “Hmm. Looks like we’re going to get some rain.”

By the time the
Box B
wagon was turning off the road and passing through the gate of the ranch, there was no sunshine to be seen. Lightning spread jagged branches across the dark sky, shooting fiery roots toward the earth.

Dan noticed Suzanne looking at him from the kitchen window as he drove the wagon up to the back porch. She opened the door while he was hopping down, and stepped out on the back porch. “Looks like we’re going to get rain, Dan. We don’t get rain often here, but when we do, it’s usually a gully-washer!”

“So I’m told,” he said, gathering the grocery sacks from the wagon bed.

When his arms were loaded, he moved up the steps and carried them into the kitchen. The aroma of hot food cooking made his mouth water. “Mmm! Smells good. What are we having?”

“Irish stew.”

“Suzanne, you’re going to make an Irishman out of me if you’re not careful.”

She laughed.

As Dan set the sacks on the cupboard, he said, “There was a letter for you. I stuck it in the sack with the nails and screws. I’ll bring it in when I come back.”

Suzanne nodded and watched him dash out the door, closing it behind him. She went to the cupboard and began taking out the groceries.

Outside, the wind was growing stronger. Dan climbed back onto the wagon seat, put the horses in motion, and drove up in front of the tool shed, which was near the barn. He deposited the tools and supplies inside the shed, slipped both letters inside his shirt, and led the team to the barn. Leaving the wagon under its usual shelter beside the barn, he unhitched the team and led them inside the barn.

When he had removed the harness and hung it up, he took off the bridles and put the horses in the corral, where they joined the saddle horses.

As Dan was closing the barn door, the smell of rain was strong in his nostrils. A strong gust of wind plucked at his hat, but he was able to grab it before it was gone. He pulled it tighter on his head, and with long strides, headed toward the house. He was almost there when stark white bones of lightning cracked through the blackness of the sky directly overhead. As he hopped onto the back porch, a roar of thunder like a bellow of rage shook the air.

A sudden deluge came out of the clouds, splashing on earth and buildings like a waterfall. Dan stopped at the door, glanced at the heavy rain, then moved inside. He hung his hat on a peg by the door, then reached inside his shirt and pulled out the letters. He looked at Suzanne, who was at the stove, and said above the roar of the rain on the roof, “Looks like your gully-washer is here.”

“I’m not surprised. Those clouds have looked plenty heavy since they first started to gather.”

Dan handed Suzanne the white envelope. “Here’s your letter.”

She took it, noticing at once the letter still in his hand and the big grin on his face.

The woman looked at her letter and frowned.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well, as you saw, it’s from the sanatorium where my sister is. It’s probably a bill for something extra they had to have done for her. What’s that you have there?”

Dan looked at the envelope in his hand and the grin made its way from ear to ear.

Since he didn’t reply, Suzanne said, “Well, if you don’t look like the cat that swallowed the canary! What’s in that letter that’s got you so happy? Who’s it from?”

He cleared his throat. “It’s from a prospective bride, and it looks pretty good to me.”

“Oh, really? Must be really a good one from the looks of you.”

“It is. And it’s far above the other six. Hey, I just thought of it! This is letter number seven, and seven is God’s perfect number! This has to be the right girl!”

“Now, Danny boy, be careful. Tell me she’s not blond and blue-eyed.”

Dan cleared his throat again. “I can’t tell you she’s not, but I was already planning to have you read the letter and give me your opinion, just like I had you do with the others. I trust your judgment better than mine in this bride search. I’m too close to the forest to see the trees.”

Fierce lightning fluttered through the windows, followed by a deafening clap of thunder that shook the house. Fat drops of rain were splashing against the windows, driven by the wind. Dan said, “I see you’ve already closed the windows in here. How about the rest of the house?”

“All done. I was pretty sure we were going to get this rain.”

“Do you want to read this letter now or wait till after supper?”

“I can read it now. The stew won’t be ready for another twenty minutes.”

Dan took the photograph out of the envelope and handed it to Suzanne. “Take a look at this.”

She stepped to the cupboard, picked up her half-moon spectacles, and looked at the photograph. “She’s a pretty one, all right. And she’s a blonde. And from what you said a moment ago, she has to have blue eyes.”

“Yes. She says so in the letter.” As he spoke, he took the letter from the envelope and extended it to her.

She smiled, handed him the photograph, and began reading the letter.

Dan looked at the picture, drinking in her beauty.

When Suzanne finished the letter, she looked up at Dan with a twinkle in her eye. “You’d better get a reply to Miss Jenny Blair quickly, Danny boy. She may have answered other mail order bride ads. Not only did she write a heart-touching letter, but she is exceptionally beautiful.”

“That’s my opinion too.”

A slight frown pinched Suzanne’s brows together. “She’s almost too good to be true.”

Dan chuckled. “Yes. I was thinking the same thing. But I imagine that’s how Jim Brady felt when he first laid eyes on you.”

Suzanne looked up at him and smiled. “Now, aren’t you the diplomat?”

“Nothing diplomatic about it. I think you’re still beautiful, and you are one of the most charming ladies I have ever met.”

Suzanne shook her head and took off the spectacles. “That sweet compliment will get you a double portion of Irish stew!”

“Great! And when my stomach’s full, I’ll write the letter to Jenny and put sufficient travel money with it. I’ll ride into town and mail it first thing in the morning.”

“Smart boy!”

“Do you want to read the letter from the sanatorium before we eat?”

“Guess I’ll do that. Why don’t you go get washed up?”

Dan wheeled and went to the washroom just across the hall from the kitchen. The rain beat on the roof of the house and soaked the windows while he washed his hands and face.

When he was through, he returned to the kitchen to find Suzanne sitting on a chair by the table, letter in hand, weeping. Her
spectacles lay on the tabletop. When she looked up at him, a veil of sadness covered her usually lively eyes. Dan’s heart went out to her. He rushed to her, bent over, and put his arms around her.

“Suzanne, what is it?”

“My sister died on August 4. They buried her the next day.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Dan said softly.

“They have included the bill for the funeral and burial plot.”

Suzanne clung to him and wept for a long moment, then pulled a handkerchief from her dress pocket. Dan released her and stood back so she could wipe the tears from her eyes and face.

Sniffling, she said with a shaky voice, “Sarah—my sister—was my last relative on earth. I’m … I’m the only one in my whole family that is still living.”

“I can relate to that. I know what it’s like to have no living relatives, Suzanne. I, too, am a sole survivor. But you know what the Lord said in His Book. ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ All of those we hold dear may die before we do, but our heavenly Father will never die.”

Suzanne sniffed and dabbed at her nose. “That’s so true, Danny boy, and it’s wonderful to know. I told you Sarah was saved at the same time I was when we were children.”

“Yes.”

“It’s such a comfort to know that she is no longer sick and lonely, but she is safe and well in the arms of the Saviour. I can’t wish her back in this world for a moment, but as old as I am, I know it won’t be long till I’m in the arms of Jesus—and with my loved ones who are there with Him in heaven.” A watery smile graced her lined face.

Dan nodded. “I’m sure Jim is waiting, ready to be the first of all your loved ones to meet you at the pearly gates.”

She sniffed again. “Oh yes. What a glorious day that will be. Of course, I want to see Jesus first of all.”

“I’m sure you will.”

She looked him square in the eye. “I want to tell you something.”

“Yes?”

“Since I won’t be sending money periodically to the sanatorium
for Sarah’s care anymore, I’m going to give you a substantial raise in salary.”

“Oh, Suzanne, that isn’t necessary. And especially since you have to pay for the funeral and burial plot.”

“I’ve had money set aside for that for quite some time, so that’s already taken care of. I’m going to triple your salary.”

Dan shook his head. “Now, Suzanne, you can’t—”

“Oh yes, I can. The ranch makes me a good living, and without the expense of caring for Sarah, I can afford to pay you well.”

Dan rubbed the back of his neck. “How about just doubling my salary?”

Suzanne set her jaw stubbornly. “No. You’re doing a wonderful job, and I’m tripling your salary. Anyway, you’re going to need it when you marry that girl the Lord is sending you.”

Dan’s face tinted. “You’re a case, Mrs. Brady, a real case. I don’t know how to thank you, but to say thank you. I appreciate having the job in the first place.”

On Thursday, August 24, Jenny Linden picked up the mail at the post office during lunch break, and her heart leaped in her breast when she found a letter from Dan Tyler.

She rushed out of the post office and sat down on a bench in front of the building. With trembling fingers, she tore the envelope open, and with the letter were two hundred dollars in cash and a photograph of three smiling young men in Confederate uniforms.

Her eyes went quickly to the letter:

Jenny bit her lips. This is the man who murdered her father. She studied his face in the photograph, considered the letter, and told herself he seemed like such a nice man. Generous, too. He had included far more money than she would need for the trip to Mogollon. How could he be a murderer?