Carter looked the list over and nodded. “Most of these we can get in from Minneapolis. Go ahead and order them while we still have train service.” He gave the list back to Jack.
“Will do.” He started to go. “Any word on when your pa will start bringing in the wheat?”
“Next week, I think. He said the dry weather and sunshine has done the crops good.”
“That’s great to hear.”
“I’ve been thinking we should probably do what we can to get as much flour processed as we can before they complete the line to Whitefish. I’m putting together a letter for our major buyers and sending it out today. I want to let them know what has happened and encourage them to buy extra flour for now.”
“Have you and your pa figured out what you want to do regarding shipments after that?”
“We’ve pretty much decided to talk to one of the local freighters and see if we can’t work out a deal. We’ll just need to get everything to Whitefish. If both of us go to the same freight company, they might be willing to give us a discount because the work will be consistent. We’ll offer them volume and commitment in exchange for not driving their prices so high that we have to double ours.”
Jack nodded. “I would think they’d be glad for the consistency. I’ll keep praying for you and your pa.”
“I appreciate that.” Carter paused. “Jack, can I ask you something?”
He paused. “Sure.”
“Were you and your wife both Christians when you married?”
Jack leaned back against the doorjamb and shook his head. “Not exactly. I thought because I went to church that I was saved. But I never wanted much to do with reading my Bible and praying. I didn’t really like going to church, but it was expected.” He scratched the side of his jaw. “Miriam grew stronger in her walk with God, but mine fell by the wayside.”
Carter tried to conceal his surprise. He never would have thought his business partner was resistant to God. Then again, he only had to look at his own behavior lately to see no one should be on a pedestal. He’d ignored the Lord regarding Ellie, and look where his pride landed him.
Jack continued. “Of course, by then we already had our oldest boy. I’m ashamed to say the fights we had were something terrible.” He shook his head, his expression pained. “Makes it hard to have unity and peace with someone when you don’t both honor the same things or hold to the same values.”
Carter leaned forward, resting his forearms on his desk. “How did you resolve those issues, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Don’t mind at all.” Jack smiled and made his way to his own desk. He sat down and clasped his hands behind his head. “At some point I had to be honest about my own heart. Those fights usually started over something little, but I can pretty much point it all back to the fact that I wasn’t right with the Lord. I was a hard case, Carter. I’m not proud of that.”
Wow. Jack’s honesty was humbling. And thought-provoking.
Carter drummed his fingers ... he didn’t want to wrongly judge Ellie again, but Jack’s words helped him understand some of her outbursts. She’d even said a few times she knew God existed, but she couldn’t understand Him. “How did Miriam respond to all this?”
Jack blew out a breath and sat up straight in his chair. “I thought I’d lost her a couple of times. Had she believed in divorce, I know we wouldn’t be together today. However,she was more determined to please God than me. She said if God hated divorce as the Bible said, then she wasn’t going to have anything to do with it, even if it meant she had to live in misery with me.”
Carter felt tears sting his eyes. He’d known Jack and Miriam for years. They were as deeply in love as his own parents, that was evident every time they were together. That they’d gone through such struggles and come out whole ...
That kind of faith was what he needed. When was the last time he’d truly stood for the Lord like Miriam had?
“Her determination was something I had to face every day.” Jack’s voice cut through Carter’s thoughts. “She kept teaching the boys from the Bible and taking them to church, even when I stopped going. I tell you, Carter, I was in a dark place where very little of God’s light got through.”
“What changed things?”
Jack gave a laugh. “God did. He allowed me to get injured. I was laid up for weeks. None of my so-called friends came to see me, but folks from the church did. The pastor came every couple of days.” He shook his head. “We started talking, and little by little I discovered I’d never understood what it really meant to belong to God—to be saved from hell. I thought just because I’d been raised in the church that I was all right. The pastor helped me to see the truth, and I gave my life to God.”
He let out a chuckle. “Miriam almost danced a jig. Her spirits brightened, and I swear she reminded me of when she was a girl.” His expression sobered. “I hate what I put her through, but she never gave up on me.”
Carter leaned his head back against his chair. If he pursued Ellie as a possible wife, it could be as bad as it hadbeen for Jack and Miriam. Maybe even worse, considering Carter’s lack of patience. Especially when he felt he was right about something. He had no doubt he was right about God, but he hadn’t been right in how he’d gone about his friendship with Ellie.
“Well, I’ll go get these things ordered.” Jack straightened and started to head out of the office.
“Jack.”
The older man turned and paused.
Carter swallowed and gave his friend a smile. “Thank you for sharing your story with me. I appreciate it.”
