Read Online Glorious Montana Sky (The Montana Sky Series) by Debra Holland - Free Book Online Page B

good-bye, promising to meet again at the ice cream social.
    The Nortons moved on. Pondering the changes he’d seen in the people he’d talked to, Joshua fell into step with his parents and Micah as they picked their way among the wagons, mounted riders, and pedestrians. He’d never seen Main Street so crowded. “Mother, you sure have powerful prayers. Goes to show you. . .Jonah and Seth are the last boys I would have expected to grow up and become solid citizens.”
    She took his arm and squeezed. “God’s hand has been on both of those boys. He led the right women to them, and that made all the difference in their lives. It’s given me a great deal of pleasure to watch them fall in love, have solid marriages, and start families.”
    With a pang of envy, Joshua looked away. The left side of the road looked familiar: the schoolhouse and white church with the steeple. On the right, however, a half-finished four-story hotel rose into the sky, very like the tall structures of any city. The brick mercantile and some of the false-fronted buildings were the same, although the structures had weathered. But another new place, not quite as tall as the hotel, was also half-finished. Simple Sweetwater Springs was growing up.
    He pointed. “What’s that going to be?”
    “Anthony Gordon’s office building.”
    Gordon? He didn’t recall the man.
    “Mr. Gordon’s only lived here for a year,” his mother explained. “Well, not even a year. He married our schoolteacher and started up a newspaper.” She waved to one of the wooden structures. “He’ll move when the new building is finished.”
    So many changes. “Are there a lot of new people around?”
    His father nodded. “If you count the babies born, probably several hundred more since you’ve been gone. Then we have the transient workman—carpenters, plumbers, and such. They’re busy ants. The rate those buildings are going up astonishes me. But Gordon and Livingston give the men Sunday morning off so they can attend services. And to their credit, most of them do. I’m hoping many will remain here after their work is over.”
    They walked past the white church with the broad gray steps and matching door. “Looks the same,” Joshua commented.
    “It is.” His father smiled. “Packed on Sundays. I’m starting to think we either need two services or a bigger church.”
    Joshua gave a wry shake of his head. “I can’t imagine that.”
    The parsonage sat behind and to the right of the church. The house looked smaller and more worn down than Joshua remembered.
    His mother hurried up the steps of the porch and turned to face them. She extended a hand to both Joshua and Micah. “Welcome home, my dear boys!”
    Micah stared at his grandmother with big eyes.
    His mother had always been the quiet one, loving and gentle. Her display of emotion surprised and touched Joshua. He took Micah’s hand in his and led him inside.
    Home. We’re finally home.

    Delia watched Reverend Joshua Norton move through the crowd. Even though her stomach was tight with fear for her father, the press of the minister’s hand lingered in her memory, and she felt comforted by his touch. She started to follow the men carrying Andre.
    Before she could move, Mr. Livingston held out his arm to her. “If I may,” he said with a charming smile.
    Anxious to follow her father, Delia slipped her hand around Mr. Livingston’s arm and allowed him to escort her through the crowd. She glanced up at the “Welcome Home” banner and, with a pang of guilt, realized they must have disrupted Reverend Norton’s homecoming celebration. I’ll have to apologize to him.
    At the foot of the platform stairs, a couple waited with their two children. A faded dusty carriage with yellow wheels was parked near them.
    “John Carter and his wife Pamela, their two older children.” Mr. Livingston murmured in her ear. “The foremost rancher in the area.”
    Delia said a quiet thanks to the Carters.
    Mr. Carter