His smile crinkled the edges of his eyes. “It’s taken hard work and perseverance.”
“Of course.” She’d hoped for more detail. “No setbacks?”
The smile fled. “I’ve had some for certain.”
“But you never wanted to give up?” Why did she press him? Because, she admitted, she wanted to know about this man. What did he consider important? Where had hefound his strength, and did he turn to God when he sought encouragement?
“Working hard for my place has been my dream since we began to live on the Jarvis ranch.” He lifted the lid on the coffeepot, swirled the grounds, and dumped them into the slop pail. “Gib encouraged me. All hard work yields a profit, he’d say. One time…” Nash paused his story as he poured the fresh coffee grounds into the pot and added water. “I had found two maverick calves in the bushes. They were unbranded, and no other animals nearby. That means they belong to anyone who finds them, so Gib said they were mine. Two heifers.” He put more wood in the stove and set the pot to boil. “I pictured them as the beginning of my herd. Gib helped me get my own brand. You can imagine how proud and happy I was when I put it on that pair.”
His crooked smile suggested a slight embarrassment over how pleased he’d been.
To let him know she understood and didn’t think him silly, she patted his forearm.
With a quick nod, he continued. “I wish I could say I started my herd with them, but I didn’t.” His lips flattened into a hard line. “They both died.”
“No! Oh, Nash, how disappointing.” Her fingers tightened on his arm.
He covered her hand with his. “Thanks. It was a bitter blow. When I found them both dead, I got very angry. I couldn’t even tell how they’d died. Gib said maybe they’d eaten a poisonous weed, but I searched and never found anything.” His shrug didn’t convince her he no longer cared.
“So what did you do?” Obviously, he hadn’t given up his dream.
“I packed up a saddle horse, told Ma and Gib that I was going into the mountains, and rode away.”
“They didn’t try and stop you?”
“Nope. Guess they figured I needed to sort things out for myself.” The coffee sputtered, and he pulled it aside.
She set out enough cups for everyone, and he filled them. Together, they carried them to the table where the others sat visiting. Mother remained sleeping, sometimes calling out in her sleep.
Addie and Nash took their coffee to the cupboard.
“How long did you stay in the mountains?”
“Two weeks. I made a camp, and every day, I rode around, enjoying the scenery. At first, anger and disappointment raged through me. But a man can’t be in the mountains without being aware of God’s power and majesty. Day by day, other things replaced my anger.”
Outside, something snapped. They held their breath, waiting to learn if it meant another landslide or a falling tree. But the only sound came from the rain battering the roof.
“When did you decide to return?” Addie asked when it seemed he wasn’t going to continue his story.
“One day, I sat on the crest of a hill overlooking a beautiful valley. I sat at a crossroads. I could forget about hard work and find an easy way to get what I wanted.”
The way he quirked his eyebrows made Addie think he’d seriously considered the latter. A little tremor twitched across her shoulders. There were some dreadful ways of taking the easy route. Taking advantage of others, robbing people, holding up trains?—
“Even as I thought that, I knew I’d never stoop to doing the things others did. Hurting others. Robbing others. The easy way held no appeal. I made a decision as I sat there. I would honor God in my dealings. If He choseto bless my work, fine. If He let me struggle without achieving what I had my heart set on, I’d accept that too.”
“Nash, that is such a powerful choice. And He’s blessed you?”
His smile sent silver lights dancing straight into Addie’s heart.
“You know that green valley I told you about?”
“Yes.”
“That’s now mine. That’s where my ranch is.”
“Oh, how wonderful!”
He squeezed her hand. “God is good.”
