He wanted to kiss her again but held off. “You are as well.” He crossed his arms to keep from taking her in them. “I never expected to find love in Cheyenne, but I’ve been thanking God all weekend that I did. That He sent you my way.”
“I’ve been thanking Him as well, Charlie. For you. I wasn’t at all sure how I could possibly get through this situation with Da, but knowing you’re there for me helps a great deal.”
“How’s your father?” The intensity of the moment fell away as they focused on Clancy.
“About the same. He sleeps most of the time, but the doctor said that’s to be expected. The medicine makes him sleepy.”
Melody went to work pulling out a plate for Charlie. She had included some sugar cookies with the bread and chicken, and Charlie reached for one first thing.
“I’ll start with dessert.” He bit into the cookie with a wink.
“It would seem to meet with your approval. That is, if the look on your face is any indication.” She put the food on his plate and handed it over. “I’m sure sorry Jefferson did this to you. Da told me he didn’t think the man could be trusted. Jefferson had asked to court me, but Da refused him.
“Then Jefferson told me the other day that he wanted to spend time with me and help. What a laugh that is, considering what he did. I saw him on Friday night, and he had a large suitcase with him. Said he was leaving this town forgood. I asked him about the fact that he supposedly wanted to marry me, and he said he had only been teasing. The man doesn’t have any honor.”
Charlie put the cookie aside and sat down to eat the fried chicken. “Of course, we don’t know for sure that Jefferson Lane is responsible, but if not him, then I don’t know who it could be. The place wasn’t broken into. The person responsible appeared to have keys, and I’m afraid when I fired him, I failed to get those back.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Charlie. It’s not like you intentionally forgot. You had a lot on your mind.”
“That’s for sure. I’ve been going over the books with a fine-tooth comb and realized Jefferson had been stealing money from the bank. When I confronted him, of course he denied it. Even suggested my brother was responsible, but then I reminded him the losses continued after Jacob returned to Chicago. Jefferson never did admit responsibility.”
Melody sat in the chair opposite Charlie’s desk. “So now what?”
“Now people are terrified that their savings have been lost. I told them even if I had to use my own money, they wouldn’t be out. The bulk of the bank’s money was locked in the safe behind me. Jefferson didn’t have the ability to open it, so the money is still there. Unfortunately, that didn’t do much to assuage folks’ fears.”
“People are that way. When we arrived here last summer, there were rumors of Indians attacking folks in the area. Someone thought they’d seen a bunch of mounted warriors on a nearby ridge, and even though there was no evidence of anyone being there, people were unwilling to listen to reason and wouldn’t calm down until the army posted men around the town. When the army got back from searchingfor the Indians, they announced that the attacking warriors that had been spotted were nothing more than a small herd of dairy cows.” Melody smiled. “People had just let their imaginations go wild.”
Charlie grinned. “Attacking dairy cows, eh?”
She nodded. “It’s always something. Da taught me to refrain from getting too excited about things until I have all the facts. ‘Be keepin’ yar wits about ya, me girl.’” Melody did her best to imitate the older man.
Charlie laughed. “Sounds like him.”
She sobered. “I’m going to miss him so much, Charlie. Dr. Latham came by and checked on him. He said Da will pass in the next few days. I don’t want to leave him alone, so our neighbor is sitting with him now, even though he’s just sleeping. I should get back.”
Charlie hated to think of Clancy Doyle leaving them. He’d come to truly enjoy the older man’s company, as well as his philosophies on life and spiritual insight.
“I won’t let you go through this alone, Melody. I want you to know that.”
She nodded. “I do. My friends are making known their desires to help me through, and I so appreciate their kindness. But there’s an emptiness that Da’s passing will leave that no one person can fill. A big emptiness that terrifies me.”
“No person can fill that emptiness, but Jesus can. He’ll be your comfort and assurance of better days to come. Your father wouldn’t want to leave you with an empty spot in your heart. He’d tell you to let the Lord make things right.”
Melody considered his words a moment. “I want to be strong like that, Charlie. I want to just give it to God and trust Him. I know He’s good and able to ease my sorrow, but...”
“But what?”
She didn’t answer for a long time and instead looked down at her hands. Charlie thought maybe she wouldn’t answer.
“It’s so much easier to speak the words than to walk the path.” She raised her head and met his gaze. “I’m afraid, Charlie.”
His heart nearly broke at the fear in her eyes.
“What if my faith isn’t strong enough? What if I fail this test?”
“You won’t. The devil wants you to think you will, but you won’t. God has promised He’ll never leave nor forsake you. You have Him at your side, and His strength will be enough. His grace will be sufficient, just as it was for Paul.”
“When I was a little girl, I came to God out of fear. Fear of hellfire and eternal separation from Him. My mother told me that Jesus had died in my place to pay for my sins. That made me sad, but she said without that sacrifice I could never be right with our heavenly Father. I remember praying that Jesus would save me and that I would belong to Him. I’ve always found such comfort in that, and even in the pain of losing my mother, I found solace in knowing God was there for me.
