one.
That quiet voice had whispered a different approach. A new way. Surrender. Let go. The last shall be first. Jack never even got as far east as Topeka. In the stillness of a night as cold and alone as any he had ever known, he had hunkered down on his knees next to his horse and tried to listen to that voice.
Amid the blackness inside him, his own failings came to him one by one. He heard the clangor of his rebellion, his rage, his deceit. The echoes of his violent rejection of God drifted through the cavern of his empty soul. As he listened to the din of his stormy life, Jack recognized a future as hopeless as his past. Remembering the Jesus Christ to whom Caitrin’s soul belonged—that refining fire who could bring gold from raw ore—he surrendered to the Master, begging to be filled with the harmonious melody of forgiveness.
At that moment the raucousness had stopped. Silence reigned.
And then a sweet song began inside Jack. Peace filled the cavern.
Hope stretched out before him like a bright pathway leading to eternity.
For the next few days after his night of repentance, he had walked on that shining path. He had listened to the music of that quiet voice. Drifting in a sort of daze, he had decided that a return to Hope was the answer he’d been searching for. He would make a public offer of reconciliation with his enemies. Then he would go one step further.
And that’s when the buzz of rebellion stirred to life inside him. Revenge, chaos, hatred, it screeched, all but drowning the heavenly music in his soul. From that moment, Jack had been engaged in a different sort of battle, a fight that only prayer had seen him through. Gritting his teeth against the torment inside him, he lifted his head and faced his former foe.
“Seth,” he said, “I’ve come to make peace.”
Seth’s dark eyebrows lifted a fraction. He looked down at Rosie. The woman’s face had paled to an ashen white, but she gave her husband a nod of reassurance and gathered Chipper into her lap. Leaving her side, Seth walked around the table to stand in front of Jack.
“You want peace,” he said. “Why?”
“For the boy. I don’t want him to grow up with the notion that you and I hate each other.”
“I’ll see to that. I’ve never been a man of vengeance, Cornwall. The trouble between us doesn’t change the fact that you’re his uncle, and I’ll make sure he always remembers his Gram and Gramps. Rosie and I plan to raise Chipper in a home where godly love is the rule.”
Jack nodded. “It’s good to know that.”
“You didn’t need to come back here and interrupt my wedding to get that promise out of me. What is it you want?”
“I reckon I came to put your notion of godly love to the test.” Jack drank in a breath. Say the words. Say them now. He cleared his throat. “I’m here to ask a favor of you, Hunter.”
A ripple of murmurs raced through the crowd. Seth’s eyes narrowed. “There’s only one thing I’ve got that you want,” he said. “And you can’t have him.”
“This is not about the boy. I told you I gave him up, and I did. Whether anyone here believes it or not, I’m a man of my word. I won’t lay a finger on Chipper.”
Seth’s blue eyes still were hooded in wariness. “I’m a dirt farmer, Cornwall. What could you possibly want from me?”
“Permission.”
“Permission for what?”
“Work.” Jack listened to the hubbub that followed his request. He couldn’t let the crowd’s displeasure derail him. With God’s help, he would win over his enemy and make a place for himself. He needed a place like Hope, a place where he could make time to silence the rebellion inside him and listen to the quiet voice. He needed time to learn and grow. He needed hope.
“Like you, Seth, I’ve been fighting a war,” Jack said. “While I was gone, the family home was looted and burned. The farm was stripped. We had to move out. There are folks in Missouri I’d just as soon never lay eyes on
That quiet voice had whispered a different approach. A new way. Surrender. Let go. The last shall be first. Jack never even got as far east as Topeka. In the stillness of a night as cold and alone as any he had ever known, he had hunkered down on his knees next to his horse and tried to listen to that voice.
Amid the blackness inside him, his own failings came to him one by one. He heard the clangor of his rebellion, his rage, his deceit. The echoes of his violent rejection of God drifted through the cavern of his empty soul. As he listened to the din of his stormy life, Jack recognized a future as hopeless as his past. Remembering the Jesus Christ to whom Caitrin’s soul belonged—that refining fire who could bring gold from raw ore—he surrendered to the Master, begging to be filled with the harmonious melody of forgiveness.
At that moment the raucousness had stopped. Silence reigned.
And then a sweet song began inside Jack. Peace filled the cavern.
Hope stretched out before him like a bright pathway leading to eternity.
For the next few days after his night of repentance, he had walked on that shining path. He had listened to the music of that quiet voice. Drifting in a sort of daze, he had decided that a return to Hope was the answer he’d been searching for. He would make a public offer of reconciliation with his enemies. Then he would go one step further.
And that’s when the buzz of rebellion stirred to life inside him. Revenge, chaos, hatred, it screeched, all but drowning the heavenly music in his soul. From that moment, Jack had been engaged in a different sort of battle, a fight that only prayer had seen him through. Gritting his teeth against the torment inside him, he lifted his head and faced his former foe.
“Seth,” he said, “I’ve come to make peace.”
Seth’s dark eyebrows lifted a fraction. He looked down at Rosie. The woman’s face had paled to an ashen white, but she gave her husband a nod of reassurance and gathered Chipper into her lap. Leaving her side, Seth walked around the table to stand in front of Jack.
“You want peace,” he said. “Why?”
“For the boy. I don’t want him to grow up with the notion that you and I hate each other.”
“I’ll see to that. I’ve never been a man of vengeance, Cornwall. The trouble between us doesn’t change the fact that you’re his uncle, and I’ll make sure he always remembers his Gram and Gramps. Rosie and I plan to raise Chipper in a home where godly love is the rule.”
Jack nodded. “It’s good to know that.”
“You didn’t need to come back here and interrupt my wedding to get that promise out of me. What is it you want?”
“I reckon I came to put your notion of godly love to the test.” Jack drank in a breath. Say the words. Say them now. He cleared his throat. “I’m here to ask a favor of you, Hunter.”
A ripple of murmurs raced through the crowd. Seth’s eyes narrowed. “There’s only one thing I’ve got that you want,” he said. “And you can’t have him.”
“This is not about the boy. I told you I gave him up, and I did. Whether anyone here believes it or not, I’m a man of my word. I won’t lay a finger on Chipper.”
Seth’s blue eyes still were hooded in wariness. “I’m a dirt farmer, Cornwall. What could you possibly want from me?”
“Permission.”
“Permission for what?”
“Work.” Jack listened to the hubbub that followed his request. He couldn’t let the crowd’s displeasure derail him. With God’s help, he would win over his enemy and make a place for himself. He needed a place like Hope, a place where he could make time to silence the rebellion inside him and listen to the quiet voice. He needed time to learn and grow. He needed hope.
“Like you, Seth, I’ve been fighting a war,” Jack said. “While I was gone, the family home was looted and burned. The farm was stripped. We had to move out. There are folks in Missouri I’d just as soon never lay eyes on
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