Tracie Peterson - [Heirs of Montana 04] (47 page)

Daisy whinnied as if to urge Dianne to join the others. No doubt the mare was anxious for a long rest and a rubdown. They would stay here tonight and venture on home tomorrow. She would be a guest on the ranch. It was no longer her home.

“Funny, all the other times coming here, I still felt as if I were a part of it. Now…” She let the words fall silent. Dianne shook her head and smiled. “Now it’s just a part of me—a part of who I’ve been—instead of who I’ll be.”

The sound of a wagon rose up from the north. Dianne turned Daisy, uncertain as to who might be approaching. She put her hand to the brim of her hat to block the sun, but still she couldn’t make out the figures on the wagon seat.

She waited there until they drew closer, then gasped aloud when she realized it was her brother Trenton and his wife, Angelina. She urged Daisy forward to close the distance more quickly. Her breath caught in her throat.

“I can’t believe it’s you!” she cried as she drew up beside the wagon.

Trenton, now showing signs of his forty-four years, grinned. “It’s me all right.”

“How … why … I mean …” Dianne stammered in disbelief.

They all broke into laughter at her strange greeting, but it was Trenton who sobered first and offered explanation. “I have a great bit to tell you. I’ve been working on something, and that’s part of the reason we’re here.”

“Working on what?” Dianne asked. All she knew for sure about her brother these last few years was that he was still alive and living in the Washington wilderness with Angelina.

Angelina patted her husband’s arm. “Go ahead and tell her first. She should know before the others.”

Dianne was truly curious now. “Know what?”

Trenton pushed back his hat and looked down at the reins in his hands. “I’ve been working with a lawyer. A good man—a godly man. He’s trying to secure a pardon for me. He’s managed to get witnesses to support my claims of innocence. We have to deal with three different states, but we’re hopeful that given my circumstance, we will win. We’ve also managed to make good friends with a certain state senator.”

“Who?” Dianne asked, still in a state of disbelief.

Trenton laughed. “Andrew Danssen.”

“You mean Robbie and Sally’s father?”

“The same one. He understands what happened to me back then. He’s agreed to help.”

“Then you’re going back to Missouri?” Dianne felt her heart pound more rapidly. Her breathing quickened. What if it didn’t work out? What if Mr. Danssen couldn’t help—worse yet, what if he changed his mind and all of this was just a trick to get Trenton back in Missouri? They’d hang her brother as sure as anything.

Trenton looked to Angelina. “Yes. We’re going back. My lawyer said it was important to our case.” He paused momentarily and his expression saddened. “I just couldn’t keep running. I couldn’t live with myself anymore. I hope you understand.”

Dianne heard the pleading in his voice for her acceptance. “Of course I understand. Oh, Trenton, I know this can’t be easy for either of you. I have to admit, I’m terrified.”

“Don’t be,” Angelina said. “Trenton and I have long discussed this. Facing up to the past is what’s right. It won’t be easy, and it might not go our way. We’ve talked about all the possibilities.”

“I hope you know you’re both welcome to come back and stay with us.” Dianne knew she was saying it more to Angelina in case things did go wrong, but she meant it for her brother as well.

“The ranch doesn’t look the same to be sure,” Trenton said, nodding toward the valley.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Dianne said, laughing. “Cole and I now own the Walking Horseshoe.”

“What happened to Lawrence and his boys?”

“Chester is dead, and Jerrod and Roy were hanged for their crimes, including what they did to you and Sam.”

“I see.” Trenton nodded thoughtfully. “I hope God had mercy on them.”

“After what they did to you, I’d say that’s a very generous thought,” Dianne said softly.

“Forgiveness is important. It makes all the difference in how a person can move forward with his own life. I had to learn to forgive.”

“I did too,” Dianne said. “It hasn’t been easy, and in fact, I know I’m still working through matters where the Lawrences are concerned. Though I desire to put it behind me, my human nature is very protective of my loved ones.”

“So what happened to the others? Weren’t there some girls and another boy in the family?” Trenton asked.

Dianne laughed. “We have a lot to catch up on.” It had been over three years since Trenton had written, and Dianne had had no way to share all the details with him since he and Angelina had last moved. “Come on. Let’s go join the others. We can talk all night if need be.”

The valley was strangely quiet as Trenton and Dianne stepped out onto the porch to talk. It was late, but they’d had little opportunity to be alone. Trenton looked at his sister and shook his head.

“So much has changed. We’ve all changed.”

“To be sure. I hope you’ll stop in Virginia City to see Zane and his family before you head on.”

“Oh, I will. I wish we could catch up with Morgan too, but that sounds impossible.”

“He’s always working. His guide business keeps him busy nearly year round. Sometimes he and David come here in the winter to rest up.”

“It’s hard to imagine Morgan being a father, but from what you said it sounds like he and David are quite close.”

“Close enough the boy wanted to have Morgan adopt him proper-like. He’s a sweet boy. I can’t say I wasn’t shocked when Morgan first showed up with him, but now it seems David has always been a part of the family. He just turned sixteen, you know.”

“I keep thinking about you when you were sixteen. Remember how you bullied us all into going west?”

Dianne turned up the lantern on the porch so she could better see her brother. “Bullied? I didn’t bully anyone. I merely encouraged.”

Trenton laughed heartily. “Your encouragement left little room for negotiation.”

She shrugged. “It seemed the right thing to do.”

“And so it was. I can’t help but think of how different my life might have been if I would have joined you.”

“I know,” she said, her voice betraying her regret. “I’ve often thought of that myself. I know you’ve seen too much of the ugly side of life. I can’t even imagine, nor do I try to.”

“That’s good, because it would serve no purpose. At least no good purpose.” Trenton moved to the porch rail and sat down on it. He breathed in deeply. “I really like it here. I love this time of night when everything has settled down. I could lose myself in it.”

“I know exactly what you mean.” She sighed and leaned against the rail next to him. “Sometimes I can’t help but wonder who I would have been if I’d never come here.”

“Oh, you’d probably be married to Robbie Danssen and still living in New Madrid. Maybe running the general store. Or maybe Robbie would run for senator like his pa.”

“Maybe.” Dianne knew it wouldn’t be a life she’d want, however. “Don’t you find it amazing that God could somehow work everything out to put us here? I mean, there we were born back East and all our family lived there except for Uncle Bram. Most folks never travel farther than ten or twenty miles from home in all their lifetime. Then we up and move hundreds, even thousands, of miles away. I’m still dumbfounded by that at times.”

“I know. And I’ve learned I can’t live with regrets—that’s why I have to go back and try to make amends. I know I’m not guilty of most of the things the law might try to pin on me, but I have to try to make it right.”

“Are you … afraid?” she asked hesitantly.

Trenton didn’t answer for a moment, and Dianne worried that she’d said the wrong thing. She was about to apologize when he spoke.

“I do get anxious about it sometimes. I just turn it back over to God, though. I can’t let my imagination take over. Otherwise, I’d see myself convicted and hanged before I had a chance at getting the pardon.” He shook his head. “I don’t deserve a pardon. I let innocent people die.”

“Could you have stopped it?”

“I doubt it. I mean, the Wilson brothers were meaner than anybody I’ve ever met. They didn’t care anything about life—not even their own lives—or else they wouldn’t have lived as they did.”

“I’m so sorry that had to be a part of your life.”

“It didn’t have to be,” Trenton admitted. “I made mistakes and deliberately took the wrong path at times. I kept justifying it to myself, but it always came back around to sin. Now those consequences are mine to bear. Even if it takes my life, I’ll have a clear conscience before God.”

Dianne admired him more than she could say. “You know I’ll be praying. God will honor your obedience. Things may not turn out exactly as we hope, but I trust God to make them turn out the way He wants them to be.”

“That’s the way I see it too. I do hope …” He paused for a moment. “I hope you’ll take care of Angelina if things go bad for me. She has family, of course, but I think she’d rather be amongst my kin.”

“You know that she’ll always have a home with us.” Dianne fought the tears that threatened to come. “Always.”

“I appreciate that. I can rest easy knowing she’ll be cared for.”

She turned to her brother and hugged him tight. “I’m so glad for this time, Trenton. I miss the closeness we once shared, but I’m thankful that I have that now with Cole and you have it with Angelina.”

“We’ll always have a special bond,” he said. “There will always be a part of me that wishes for those late night talks we used to have.” He grinned as Dianne stepped back. “I’ll bet you keep Cole up all night like you used to do with me.”

She laughed, feeling much better about her brother’s situation. “Not all night,” she mused. “Just half of it.”

CHAPTER 30

“I
T’S OFFICIAL!” A MAN DECLARED, WAVING A TELEGRAM LIKE
a flag. “Montana has just become the forty-first state in the Union!”

The crowd awaiting the news cheered wildly, and a nearby band struck up a lively rendition of a Sousa march. People began dancing, do-si-doing in the streets of Helena.

“Sure seems like a lot of ruckus,” David said, looking to Morgan.

“I guess so. Guess November eighth will go down in the history books as being mighty important.”

“So what happens now?” David asked as they maneuvered through the crowd and back to their hotel.

“I don’t know. I guess we go on doing what we’ve been doing.”

David laughed. “Sure seems like a lot of fuss.”

“It’s a good thing, I’m sure of that,” Morgan said thoughtfully. “Being a part of the United States, having all the rights of a full state, is beneficial for Montana.”

“But how does that change things for us?”

Morgan looked to the boy, amazed that they now stood eye to eye. David had grown tall and lean, filling out into a strong, well-muscled young man. “I don’t know that we’ll see changes for us—at least not right away. I suppose if we owned land or were settled in just one place, we might see more of an impact. I guess we’ll have to bide our time to know for sure.”

“We still going to Dianne’s next week?”

They made it to their hotel, and Morgan stopped for a moment to look up at the two-story structure. “I don’t think we should wait. Weather’s been acting up, and who knows what next week will bring. Besides, my sister’s birthday is coming right up. I think we should buy her a present, then grab our gear and head out. What say you?”

David grinned. “I say let’s go. I like your sister’s cooking. It’s a sight better than ours. And her beds ain’t buggy like they are here.”

Morgan laughed. “That’s for sure.” There was something very satisfying in the thought of being with family again. “You go get our things. I’ll pay the bill.” David darted into the hotel without another word, but Morgan paused as the band struck up another tune. This time it was “Dixie.” So many Southerners had come to Montana after the war. He wasn’t surprised at all to hear the old song.

That tune made him think of the war and the reason they’d come west in the first place. He’s always figured to get a job with the government—exploring and maybe making maps. But instead, his time with the government had passed, and he now found himself content to lead easterners on wilderness sojourns and hunting expeditions.

The music played on, and Morgan remembered the words to the tune. “Old times there are not forgotten.” He supposed he’d never forget his upbringing—his mother and father. There were some wonderful memories of childhood that Morgan would always hold dear. He hoped he’d given David some memories that were just as good. For sure he knew he’d given David a sense of family and home. That was something that couldn’t be bought or taken by force.

He smiled. He loved David as a son—and in fact had made him that legally. He might not have married the woman he loved or known what it was to hold his own baby, but he and David shared a powerful bond that had been borne out of loneliness and desperation. It was rather like the same things that had brought Morgan to God. He laughed. “I don’t regret either decision.”

“I hope we can get the house finished before Ben and Charity get here,” Dianne told Cole as he and the boys headed out to work. The November winds had brought a numbing cold to the land, and Dianne was grateful for the warmth of her wool shawl.