Free Love Finds a Home (Anthologies) by Wanda E. Brunstetter Page B

ever thought about that?”
     
    He shrugged. “There were days when I wished I had been.”
     
    Glenna sat there awhile, letting his words sink in. Hadn’t she felt the same way after Daddy was killed? Maybe it was part of the grieving process to think such thoughts. “How did you get away from the life of gambling?” she finally asked.
     
    He turned his head and offered her a heart-melting smile. “Pastor James Hunter found me, and I found the Lord.”
     
    “He found you? I don’t understand.”
     
    “Some men—gamblers I met on a riverboat in Mississippi—beat me up real bad and dumped me in the river. Jim was fishing nearby, and he saved me from drowning.”
     
    “But Pastor Hunter lives in Granger, Wyoming,” she reminded.
     
    David chuckled. “True, but he didn’t always live there. He used to pastor a church down south.”
     
    “So, he saved your life and told you about Jesus, much like you did for me.”
     
    “That’s right. I saw the light—like Paul in the Bible on his trip to Damascus. Shortly after my conversion, I felt led to become a minister. I traveled as a circuit-riding preacher for a few years, then finally went to Hope Academy in Omaha, Nebraska, for more training. That’s when the church here in Idaho called me to be their full-time pastor.”
     
    “God changed your heart,” she said softly. “I should have known by your actions that you were nothing like Daddy.”
     
    “Glenna, about your father …”
     
    “Yes?”
     
    “I really believe it might help if you talked about your feelings toward him.”
     
    “There’s nothing to say. Daddy’s dead, and the only good thing he ever did was give me this.” She held up her left hand to show him her mother’s wedding band.
     
    “I believe there’s some good in all men,” David murmured. “After all, your father married your mother, didn’t he?”
     
    She only nodded in response.
     
    “Through their union, you were created, and that was a good thing.”
     

     
    A small, whitewashed wooden structure, which David referred to as “the parsonage,” stood next to a tall white church. This was to be their new home. Glenna swallowed back the lump which had formed in her throat. One week ago she had no home at all. Now, thanks to her impetuous decision to marry Reverend David Green, Glenna was about to take up residence in Idaho City—as a minister’s wife, for goodness’ sake. Never in a million years had she expected her life to take such a turn. Even if David didn’t love her the way she loved him, she would at least have a sense of belonging.
     
    As they stepped down from the wagon, a short, middle-aged man with a balding head came bounding out of the church. His smile stretched from ear to ear as he extended one hand toward David. “So you’re the new preacher.” He looked Glenna up and down, then nodded in apparent approval, grinning at her, too. “This must be the little woman. A bit younger than we expected, but I’m sure she’ll fit in with some of our ladies.”
     
    David shook the man’s hand. “This is my wife, Glenna. And you are—”
     
    “Deacon Eustace Meyers,” the little man said with a flutter of his eyelids. “You need anything done around the church, and I’m your man. You need a meeting called, and I’ll get the word spread, quick as a wink.”
     
    Glenna bit back the laughter threatening to bubble up from her throat. She had no doubt about the ability of Deacon Meyers to get something done.”
     
    “I’ll show you the house first,” Eustace said, nodding toward the smaller building. “I’m sure you’re wantin’ to get settled in and all.”
     
    David grabbed two suitcases from the back of the wagon, and Eustace carried one of the supply boxes. Glenna followed, wondering if all David’s church members were as friendly and helpful as the deacon seemed to be.
     
    Once inside, Glenna wandered from room to room, inspecting her new home. It was small but quite