“How brave you all were,” Miss Pringle gushed over the pie Alberta had saved.
“How valiant,” Mrs. Pettijohn agreed. “I must write to the Department of the Interior and commend Lieutenant Prescott and his men.”
“Handy fellows to have around,” Elijah agreed. He winked at Kate. “And I understand they might be around more often, especially Lieutenant Prescott.”
“Oh, did you manage to bring him up to scratch, dear?” Miss Pringle asked Kate.
“What’s up to scratch?” Danny asked, glancing between them.
Kate’s cheeks felt hot. “Lieutenant Prescott is a good friend. We’ll see if he’s anything more.”
Danny frowned. “What’s better than a good friend?”
“Two of them,” Elijah said, giving him a nudge. “Now, why don’t you tell me about that baseball game of yours again? I hear it was something.”
Danny’s eyes brightened, and he launched into his tale of triumph.
Kate only half-listened and not because she’d heard it so many times before. She had agreed to a courtship, possibly a marriage. She didn’t doubt that Danny and Will would get on well together. They had been a team from nearly the first moment Kate had discovered Will on the geyser field. Danny clearly admired him. What would he do if this courtship didn’t end the way she hoped? He’d already lost one father. How much worse to lose two.
She didn’t have a chance to talk to Will about the matter or give him the letter she’d written, until he arrived just after breakfast Sunday. Mr. Jones had headed out right before. Mr. Yates was expected at any time. Danny, Elijah, Alberta, Caleb, Pansy, Mrs. Pettijohn, and Miss Pringle were already out in the salon waiting, while Kate finished the last of the dishes. As was his habit on Sundays, Will came in through the kitchen.
Kate set down the dish she had been drying. “Are you ready to be a father?”
He froze in midstride toward her. “Today?”
“Today, tomorrow, for the rest of your life. You asked to court me, Will, but we have to remember Danny. If you marry me, you make yourself an instant father.”
He nodded, limbs slowly relaxing. “I know. When I first arrived in Yellowstone, I wasn’t sure how to react to Danny. All that movement. All those questions.”
Kate smiled. “All those questions. Everything he needs to learn to grow up to be a man. It’s a big responsibility.”
“I can see that.” He took a step closer. “Am I the sort of man you want as an example to him?”
Kate closed the distance and pressed a kiss against his cheek. “A man who learns from his mistakes? Who tries every day to be the best he can be? I can’t think of a better example.”
He rested his forehead against hers. “I will never deserve you.”
“You deserve love,” Kate said. “Everyone does.” She slipped her hand into the pocket on her gown and drew out the letter. “When you doubt that, read this.”
He accepted it with a quizzical frown.
From the salon came the sound of voices. Kate pulled back and caught his hand. “Mr. Yates must be here. Join us for worship.”
He didn’t budge at her tug. “Are you sure that’s wise? I haven’t been in a very long time.”
Likely since that horrible tragedy in Oregon. “Yes,” she insisted. “I’m learning that God wants to hear from us. He wants to hear from you too. Now, come on. Danny is expecting you.”
A husband, a father. It was a dream he’d never thought to reach. Would God really allow him such joy after what he’d done?
He felt like the shadow to Kate’s light as she led him into the salon. The dining chairs were lined up before the hearth, sofas pushed back to the walls, to give the traveling minister space to conduct the service. Kate moved into the last row with Danny, leaving a chair open beside her. Will couldn’t make himself take it. He stood behind her instead, back against the wall and feeling as if he faced the enemy across a battlefield.
Mr. Yates offered them all a smile before beginning in prayer. The words washed over Will: praise for such beautiful surroundings, thanksgiving to have been spared from the fire. Then the minister started a song. Will had heard it before, but he couldn’t find his voice to join in. The room seemed to be darkening, but he feared the darkness was inside him.
Mrs. Pettijohn’s voice boomed out over the others as they launched into the third verse.
Oh to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be.
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
The words shoved themselves past his lips, lending his baritone to the ladies’ higher voices and Kate’s alto.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Humility flowed over him, an awe as deep as when he’d seen his first geyser, watched the bison roam their grounds, and felt Kate’s acceptance. As if she understood, she reached over her shoulder with one hand and caught his.
It seemed God still wanted his heart.
Joy bubbled up inside him like mud from a paint pot. He’d nearly forgotten the words of the hymn until Mrs. Pettijohn’s voice had broken through, but the promise called to him, urged him closer.
How great a debtor to grace.
Grace that could cover even his sin.
He clung to Kate’s hand, to the hope the song offered. He dropped his gaze to her raven hair, which seemed to be shimmering. Perhaps it was because of the tears pressing against his eyes. He closed his lashes against them.
Lord, thank you for reminding me how much you love us. I didn’t deserve a second chance from the Army. I certainly don’t deserve a second chance from you, but I’m so grateful you offer one. Now I have an opportunity to share that sort of love, with Kate and Danny. I don’t know whether I have it in me, but I aim to try. Please,
