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  “Howdy.” Uley waved, her heart almost stopping.

  Beth took two steps toward her. “Hello.”

  The usual pleasantries did not come. Instead, the two established ladies of Tin Cup stared at each other for a full minute before either of them spoke another word.

  Uley spoke first. “You’re so beautiful, Beth. I’ve been watching you for the longest time, just wishing I could be like you.”

  “Is that why you were going to Ohio? So you could become like me?”

  “Yeah.” Because I thought Aaron deserved someone like you. Because you’re such a proper lady. And you’re his sister.

  Beth took one more step toward her. “I can teach you things. You don’t have to leave, you know.”

  “I’m not aiming to leave anymore.”

  “You’re not?”

  Uley shook her head. “No.”

  That was all Beth needed to hear. “Will you go to my brother, then? Will you tell him that? He’s been hurting something awful.”

  The tears Uley had needed to shed for days finally rose in her eyes and spilled out over her cheeks. “He’s been staying away. I’ve been waiting and waiting. How is it that searching for the Father’s path can often leave others hurting?”

  “Ah,” Elizabeht said. “I do believe that your own journey set Aaron off on an important journey all his own. Him, the one who always tried to control things.”

  Uley didn’t wait to hear anymore. She untied her horse’s reins and did her best to swing up on top of the animal. “I hate skirts. They’re all I ever wanted. And now I can’t ride in them worth a fiddle without strings.”

  Beth ran up to help her. “Here. I’ll teach you to sit sidesaddle.”

  “I don’t have time to learn it right now, Beth. Will you teach me tomorrow? I’ve got to find Aaron.”

  Beth grinned. “Aaron’s been stomping around his room at night like an ox trying to break out of its yoke. I’ll sure be glad to get some sleep again.” She took Uley’s hand momentarily. “I care for my brother, Julia Kirkland. I see he cares for you, he needs you very much. You ride that horse any way you know how.”

  “Do you know where I might find him?”

  “He’s up on Gold Hill, prospecting in the creek.”

  Uley dug her heels into the horse’s flanks. The animal bolted. Her skirts caught the wind and billowed out about her. Her hair, unfettered, bounced in taffy-colored curls against her back. She reined the animal toward the trees and kicked him again, lying low on his back as he sprang into a full gallop. The freedom of her hair and the running horse and her tripping heart filled her with joy.

  At first, when she entered the clearing, Aaron didn’t see her. He knelt at the creek’s edge, his attention focused on working a shallow pan in circles.

  She dismounted and tethered the horse.

  “Aaron!” she called. “Aaron Brown!”

  Aaron thought his visitor was Beth. He left the pan on the ground and rose, shading his eyes. But the woman sprinting toward him was no one he knew. She held her billowing pink calico skirt with both hands and ran, her curls hanging in dark ropes around her shoulders. “Aaron. It’s me….” she called.

  And that’s when he knew.

  “Uley?” he bellowed. Had she really come? “Uley!”

  His breath caught in awe as he identified her. He’d never seen anyone—anyone—as fair and beautiful as the coltish girl racing toward him through the high-country meadow.

  It became perfectly clear that she had every intention of launching herself at him again. He already knew the damage she could do. He’d been knocked off his feet by this woman more than once. But today he chuckled and braced himself as she flung herself at him. Today he was ready for all the blessings the Lord wanted to throw at him.

  He caught her in his arms, swinging her around and pressing her against his chest.

  “I’m not going away,” Uley finally managed to get out.

  “I’ve found some gold, enough to build a cabin and stake a claim up here.”

  “You did? Aaron, that’s wonderful!”

  “You must tell me what you want, what you believe the Father is leading you toward now. But, if you would have me, I’m wanting to make it our home, Miss Julia Kirkland. Would you be my wife, share it with me? We need a good reason to bring that Pastor Creede back to town.”

  She gazed into his eyes, happy at last, happy beyond measure. “Yes,” she whispered, cupping his face in her hands. “Oh, yes.”

  The only thing left to do, Aaron figured, was to kiss her. So he did. He kissed her with a yearning just as rich and wild as the Continental Divide country that surrounded them. And when he set her down to stand in the meadow grass beside him, Aaron knew full well they’d stand together like this for a lifetime.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  It almost seemed too sweeping to take in.

  Aaron scooped her up into his arms and held her there while she clasped her hands around the back of his neck.

  “Tell me more,” she urged him.

  “I’ll show you,” he said. “I’ll show you where we’ll build the cabin. I’ll show you where we’ll build our life with the Lord together.”

  He kissed her once again, a signet of all their tomorrows. Their path together had not been easy, but they had trusted the Father to guide their ways. Their world had been righted because they’d sought the Father’s power, not their own. Their love for each other would only be surpassed by His own. Aaron carried her through the autumn-ripe grass toward the creek that would run beside their home.

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  Uley made the choice to accompany her father to Tin Cup without praying about the consequences first. What other choices do you think she might have had?

  When Sam and Uley rescue Tin Can Laura from the blizzard, Uley realizes that Jesus spent time with women very much like Laura. Are there any women from the Bible who remind you of Laura? Does Laura remind you of anyone you’ve known in your own life?

  Do you think Aaron Brown made the choice to pursue Harris Olney because of his own pride or because of God’s calling?

  After she accepted the Lord, Laura had a difficult time “becoming a new creature” among the residents of Tin Cup. This happened because the miners wouldn’t allow her to change. Search your own heart. Is there anyone in your life whom you aren’t allowing to change? In what ways can you approach this situation differently?

  In what ways is Uley’s deception of the miners in Tin Cup similar to Laura’s sins? In what ways is it different?

  There are several spots in this story where Uley could have blamed circumstances on herself. She could have looked backward, being angry with herself, instead of trusting the Father in spite of her mistakes. Is there a place in the plot similar to an instance in your life when you might have been tempted to blame yourself for something that happened instead of trusting the Father for the outcome?

  At what point in the story does Aaron Brown truly turn himself over to God? On what do you base your answer?

  Joseph Devendish, owner and president of the Tin Cup bank, was the first person besides Uley who let Laura step forward into a new life. What convinced him to do that?

  Toward the end of the story, Aaron did not seek out Uley because he was certain she wouldn’t want him now that she had so many male admirers in Tin Cup. Do you ever hold yourself back in your faith this way, thinking that there are other people more worthy than you to approach the Father?

  In what ways is this story of the 19th-century West relevant to your own life and faith life?

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-5959-5

  BLESSING

  Copyright © 2005 by Deborah Bedford

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