Montana Morning (32 page)

“Yes, I’m sure he
does.” Addy smiled, as she praised God for the many things she and Jack had
shared when they walked and talked in the evenings after the others had gone to
bed. “And I know he feels the same way about me.”

“That’s been the
problem all along, Addy.  Don’t you see?  I always knew deep down, if
I needed Red he would be there, no matter how bad things got between us. 
I never let him know I would be there for him.  I’m not sure I knew it
myself.  I watch you and I can’t believe what I see.  Addy, anyone
can see Jack is truly the head of this family.  I always thought that made
a woman a weakling, second best.  But as your faith in him grows stronger,
you grow stronger too.”

“That’s the way
love, the kind of love we will share as man and wife, should work, Maggie.”

Addy gave her a
wink and they started back to the house.  “You can have it too, Maggie,
but you will have to have faith first, faith in God and in Red.”

“Addy, when we get
back to town, I’m going to take my husband home and explain to him exactly how
much faith I have in him.  Can we live in your house until we get the
apartment done?”

“You bet!” Addy
told her as they approached the table where the men were finishing up their
business.             

“I’m almost afraid
to ask what you ladies have been up to.” Red smiled and gave Addy a questioning
look.

“We’ve been
plotting against you,”  Addy stated with a grin, “but you’ll survive it.”

***

Walking down the
lane under the star-filled sky, Jack explained to Addy the details of the
timber management plan.  Bill Vann would be up several times in the next
week.  Once he had a five- year plan mapped out, he and Jack would meet
with Fred Connelly to review it and make any changes.  Red would be
drawing up the working agreement and working with the pulp plant and mills on
sales agreements.  “Red has sure taken hold of this thing.  He’s
really good at details and scheduling,” Jack told her as they turned back
towards the house.

“Maggie told me
this afternoon he might start a business to help other people do this kind of
project.”

“If he does, he’ll
be a success.”  Jack knew it was late and tomorrow morning was going to be
starting before sunrise, but he wanted to ask, “Addy, do you have any ideas
about when we can get married?”

“With all that has
been happening around here, I’m surprised you’ve had time to even think about
that!” She looked up in surprise.

“Are you trying to
tell me you haven’t given it any thought?”

“I can’t think
about anything else,” Addy admitted, as she started to blush.

“Do you want to
wait until Chad can be here?” Jack smiled down at her bright pink cheeks.

“He won’t be home
until Christmas!” Addy couldn’t believe Jack wanted to wait so long.

“I didn’t say I
wanted to wait until Christmas, I asked if you did,” he teased. 

She kissed his
neck, his cheek, his eyelids and moved to his lips.  Two could play at
this game; several minutes later she stepped back.  “Does that answer your
question, Cowboy?” Addy asked as she gave him a triumphant grin.

“Woman, you are
playing with fire, and you know it!”  Jack growled playfully.  “Name
a date.”

“Okay, let’s see
now. You start haying tomorrow morning and the auction is in two weeks.
 When is the logging operation slated to start?”

“Somewhere around
the fifteenth of September,” Jack said as they strolled back to the house.

“What do you think
about the first Saturday in September?  That’s about four weeks from now.”

“The first
Saturday in September, it is.  Addy, do you remember the day we sat in the
back pew of the church and you asked me if I was sure you were the woman I
needed?”

“Yes, I remember,”
she whispered softly.

“I want to tell
you again, in front of God, and witnesses, in that church.”

“I’ll call Mark
tomorrow and reserve the church, and Maggie and Amy and . . .”

“Woman,” Jack
kissed her gently and turned her towards the door.  “I’ll cut the hay; you
take care of the wedding.  Deal?”

“Deal!”

“You look like one
of those Appaloosa horses Grandpa Will told me about.” Scotty giggled as he
admired Addy through the pickets in the fence.

“Talk about the
pot calling the kettle black, Mister, you don’t look any better,” she said and
kept splashing on the paint. “Sure was a good idea to start in back.”

“Well, at least
it’s an improvement,” Scotty chuckled, as they continued painting, him on one
side and her on the other.  “By the end of the day, we should have this
fence about half done.”

“Only if I don’t
take time to fix lunch or supper.”

“I don’t think
Grandpa would be too pleased with that idea!”

“Speaking of your
grandpa, maybe we should take a break and run some lemonade or cold water out
to the field.” Scotty pounded the lids back on the cans of paint and wrapped
the brushes while Addy put the cold drinks into the thermos.  The men saw
them coming across the field and shut the equipment down.

“What on earth
happened to you two?”  Jack looked at the bespattered messes standing
before him.

“Looks to me like
they had a war with a couple of those paint guns, and both of them lost!” 
Will was grinning from ear to ear. 

“If you’re just
going to be insulting, we’ll turn around and leave . . . with your drinks,”
Addy threatened.

“Have either of
you looked in the mirror?” Andy asked.

“That bad, huh?”

“Let’s put it this
way, I hope you got SOME paint on whatever it is you’re trying to paint.”
             

“We’re painting
the fence around the house,” Scotty declared with pride.

“Guess you can’t
hurt it too bad,” Jack said and ducked, as Addy took a playful swing at him.

Soon they were all
resting in the shade of the tractor enjoying their cold drinks. “How is the
cutting going?” Addy asked, as she looked out over the field.

“If our luck holds
out and nothing breaks down, we will be through with the first two fields by
dark.” Jack was obviously pleased with how it was going, and he gave his dad a
wink.  “In fact, I was just telling Pops if we kept up this pace, you and
I could move the wedding up another week.”  Her jaw dropped and she
started to stutter, as the men broke out laughing.

“I think he got
you, Gal,” Will teased.  “I think he got you!”

 She blushed
and shook her head.” I must be out of my mind to marry into an outfit like
this.  Let’s get back to work, Scotty, these ingrates have picked on me
enough for one morning.” 

***

It took the better
part of three days, but she and Scotty finished the fence, and by the time they
were done, they both were getting more on the fence than themselves.

“Want to start on
the barn next?” Addy teased, as they washed out their brushes for the last
time.

“No way,
man.  I’m sick of painting.”

“No way, man?”

“No way, Addy.”
Scotty corrected, as he admired the fence.  “It looks a bunch better,
doesn’t it?”

“Sure does. I
can’t wait for the men to see it.”

“You won’t have to
wait long, here they come and they don’t look happy.”

Addy turned to see
them coming out of the field with the baler in tow.  They parked it in the
shed and when they didn’t come to the house, Addy went to check.  Jack was
under the baler swearing under his breath.

“Jack?” she asked
hesitantly.  “What happened?”

“What do you think
happened?  The damned thing is broken down again,” he cussed and threw a
wrench at the tire.  “Addy, get out of here, would you?  Go play with
your fence.” She turned and walked from the barn with tears running down her
face.  She knew how upset he was, and she understood why, but still . . .
was this the way it was going to be every time something went wrong. Would he
shut her out in anger?             

“Addy?” 
Scotty saw the tears and fell into step with her.

“Scotty, would you
do me a favor?  Put the rest of the painting equipment back in the
basement and then go play outside.  And Scotty,  stay away from the
tractor shed.” She went to her room and shut the door quietly behind her. Addy
sat in the window seat and looked over the peaceful meadows below.  Almost
absentmindedly, she opened her Bible.  It opened to First
Corinthians. 
‘Love is patient.  Love is kind.  It does not
envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always
protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never
fails.’

 What was it
she had told Maggie just the other day?  Jack knew she believed in him,
would never leave him.  It was so easy to say, when things went smoothly,
but now? Once again she prayed for patience, for understanding, for
strength.  But most of all she prayed that God would teach her how to love
Jack, to be his helpmate when times were not good, like today. She read it
again and again . . .
Love is patient.  Love is kind. It does not . .
.’ 
Soon she heard him calling her name and there was a soft knock on
her door.

“Come in, it’s open.”
Addy wiped the tears away as she smiled up into his tortured face.

“Oh, Addy,” he
slumped down beside her in the window seat.  “Honey, what have I done?”

She took his
greasy hand in hers and brushed it with her lips.  “Had a bad day and took
it out on the first person who walked through the door, maybe?” she said as she
gently brushed the hair out of his eyes.

“Can you ever
forgive me?  I had no right . . .”

“Jack Kilbourne, I
love you more than life itself.  I can’t remember a time,” she began.

“After the stunt I
just pulled, how can you even look at me, let alone love me?” he groaned.

“That ticked at
yourself?”

“Yeah, I am. 
I don’t honestly know what came over me.  I thought I was handling
everything all right.  You know?  Losing Mary, Scotty’s injuries, the
boycott, the bills, the auction and then the baler quit again and I just lost
it.  Dumb thing is, it’s not a big deal. ”

“Jack, don’t you
think maybe it’s about time you turned this whole mess over to God?” Addy asked
softly.  The last thing she wanted was a fight, and she prayed he would
understand what she was saying. 

Jack chuckled and
shook his head.  “God is going to do the baling for me?”

“That’s not what I
mean and you know it.  I’m talking about the sorrow, doubts and
fears.  Cowboy, you’re a wonderful man, and I love you dearly, but you
can’t continue to carry the weight of the world alone. You cannot solve all of
your problems along with everyone else’s. You’re pretty close,” she smiled into
his eyes, “but you are not perfect; only God has claim to that title.”

“But I hurt you,
the one person on this earth, I never wanted to hurt; and that crack about
playing with the fence.

“Like I said, not
perfect,” she laughed softly, “but then neither am I.”

“Really?  I
think you are,” he told her, as he traced her cheekbone with his black finger.

“I hate to
disillusion you, Cowboy, but I’m far from perfect.  One of these days I’ll
have
‘a
bad hair day’
and then watch out,” she warned him. 
“Just do me a favor, when that day comes, keep reminding yourself that you love
me until I get over it.”

“I’ll do that!
 I still feel like a ‘Grade A’ chump for the way I growled at you.”

“Good!” she
declared giving him an impish grin, “maybe you’ll remember not to do it again.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

“I, Sir, am not
your mother.”

“You don’t have to
tell me!  First of all, if I’d have taken my foul temper out on her like
that, she’d have hit me with a switch.” Jack closed his eyes and took a very
deep breath.

“Honey, I’m so
sorry.”  He took her in his arms and rocked back and forth.  “If I
ever lost you . . . I looked all over the place for you and I couldn’t find you
anywhere.  Scotty finally told me you were in the house; he was none too
friendly about it either.  Seems like I’m not the only one around here who
knows I behaved like a first class jackass.”

“I didn’t say
that!”

“You didn’t have
to; he saw the tears.” Jack smiled down and kissed her hair. “As much as we
love one another we’re still going to hit some bumps now and again, aren’t we?”
he said wishing it wasn’t true.

“Guaranteed to
happen,” she agreed. “What do you say you and I go down and admire the fence?”

“Good idea. Maybe
I should wash up a bit first, although most it has been transferred to your
face by now.” he said as he tapped her on the end of the nose with his greasy
finger.

***

Scotty watched the
house in silence, as Will sat down beside him on the corral fence.

“What’s wrong,
Scotty? You look mad enough to spit nails,” Will observed.

“Nothin’.”

“Well now, that
nothin’, whatever it is, must be eatin’ on you something fierce.  You
didn’t even notice me as I came across the yard.”

“Grandpa made Addy
cry,” he snapped.

“Trouble in
paradise, huh?  Well, son, I wouldn’t let it get me all worked up if I
were you; that happens between people, even when they love each other.”

“Why do they do
that?”

“Don’t usually
mean to, it just happens sometimes.  It’s mighty easy to hurt somebody,
especially if they love and trust you; that’s why we should always try to be so
careful.”

“Grandpa wasn’t
careful at all.” Scotty was hanging onto his mad.

“It looks like
they must have cleared it up!”  Will nodded in the direction of the front
porch.  Addy and Jack were walking around the yard, looking at the
fence.  Scotty hopped down from the corral and ran to join them.