I glanced at Henry, and he seemed a little surprised, but he gave me a smile.
"Listen, baby, I've got other Bibles in the house, and I can't take that with me. What would make me feel the best right now is if you take that and use it."
"I'm not sure I know how to use it," I said honestly.
"You just open it and read," Henry said.
"That's exactly right," Donna agreed. "That's what I was about it say. Open it and read it."
I hugged her and promised I'd come see her the next time I was in town, and the next thing I knew, I was in the passenger's seat of Henry's truck, heading back to Deer Lodge.
I had Donna's Bible in my lap.
We rode in silence for a couple of minutes when we first got onto the road. It was different than the silence on the way to Butte. This time, I wasn't scared that Henry was mad at me. This time, the silence wasn't awkward at all. My heart was full, and my mind was swimming with thoughts.
"What in the world will I tell my sister?" I asked, marveling at the thought.
"What do you mean?"
"About this. About me. I mean, I feel like a completely different person. What do I tell her?"
"The truth, probably." He was so matter-of-fact with his answer that I just sat there for a minute, thinking.
I stared out the window, absentmindedly gazing at the horizon line and thinking about eternity. "Should I tell her something happened?"
He shrugged. "That's up to you. I think it's different for everybody. Thank goodness," he added.
"Thank goodness what?" I asked.
"Thank goodness about everything. That you went to the barn, and with me to Butte. That Donna made you go to church."
I smiled when I realized what he was saying. "I know, thank goodness," I said, dazedly.
"I'm stunned about the Bible," he added, thoughtfully. "That's a precious gift."
I felt an ache in my chest at his words.
"Nooo," I said instantly. The book was on my lap, in my hands, and I extended my left arm with it, handing it back to him like it was a hot potato and I was going to drop it. "Don't tell me that. I didn't want her to give me this. I think it's her favoriteone. She has marks all over it. I think it was an impulse decision. I'm not taking it if it's precious."
"It is precious to her," he said, nodding. "But I also know she wants you to have it."
"What about her kids?"
He shook his head and shrugged like he didn't quite know what to say. "All I know is that Donna is a smart lady. She said she had other Bibles, and I'm sure that's the truth. She's sharp. She knows what she did. If she regrets it, she'll tell me, and I'll get it back from you."
I had been holding it between us that whole time, and I pulled it back when he said that.
"Will you? You promise? You should even tell her I'd be happy to borrow it for a week and give it right back to her. I can just leave it with your mom… or mail it back, overnight."
He glanced at me when I said that. He seemed thankful that I would be sweet to Donna. He took up for her, and that made him even more attractive. (If that was even possible.) The guy looked like a male model, for goodness sake. He was a rough-natured cowboy with the face of the men I saw on billboards and ads back home in California.
"How is a college student able to have a dog? I guess you don't live in the dorms."
"No, we don't. Our dad bought a house. It's a duplex. There are two apartments upstairs, but Ty and I have the lower part. And PJ, of course. It's in San Francisco, so our yard's not huge, but we do have some grass. There's a gorgeous park near our house, and the weather's always nice in San Francisco. I take him on walks, and there's a playground where we go and do training… similar to the place I'd like to open."
"How much time do you get to spend with him?"
"I'm at school full-time, but the house is near campus, and I get to come home between classes. We spend a ton of timetogether, actually. And he's only two, so he has a lot of energy. That's how we found Disc Dog."
