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

this marriage of convenience in the first place? She’d been foolish to get caught up in the silly notion that her life could be better. Her hopes and dreams for the future had been buried, right along with Daddy’s lifeless body. The words Pastor Hunter said at the grave site this morning had done little to comfort Glenna’s aching heart.
     
    She glanced down at the golden band on her left hand. It was all she had left of her mother, and giving it to her had been the last good thing Daddy had ever done. Maybe it was the only good thing he’d ever done.
     
    Glenna’s thoughts swept her painfully back to yesterday. She could still see Daddy racing eagerly toward her. In her mind’s eye, she saw his apologetic smile, heard the words of love, and felt his warm hand as he slipped Mama’s ring onto her finger. Glenna tried to stop what came next, but it was to no avail. She could hear that fatal gunshot echoing in her head as though it were happening again. The image of Daddy’s pale face and blood-soaked shirt would be inscribed in her brain for as long as she lived. She had known he was gone, even before the doctor came along and pronounced him dead.
     
    There had been no train trip that afternoon. Instead, she and David spent the next several hours in the sheriff’s office, giving him the sketchy details of the unexpected shooting. David had seen the murderer, and he’d even chased after him. The gunman had vanished as quickly as he’d appeared. Quite possibly her father’s killer would never be caught or punished.
     
    David had sent a telegram to one of his church members, letting him know they were going to be detained another day and, Lord willing, would leave for Idaho City the following afternoon. Reverend Hunter agreed to do the graveside service for Daddy the next morning, and they would be spending another night in the Granger Hotel.
     
    Glenna swallowed against the lump in her throat. Their second night had been even worse than the first. David slept on the floor again, and she’d refused to even look at him or say a single word. There was a part of her that blamed David for all this. Had he not suggested they get married, she would have simply gotten off the train in Granger, gone looking for a job, and sooner or later would have run into Daddy. If she hadn’t married David, Daddy might still be alive.
     
    As frustration and exhaustion closed in like a shroud, Glenna shut her eyes. Leaning her head against the window, she let much-needed sleep claim her weary body.
     

     
    David watched the rhythmic rise and fall of Glenna’s steady breathing. He was glad she’d finally given in to sleep. She had been too distraught to sleep much of the night before and had withdrawn into a cocoon of silence. His heart ached for her, yet he had no idea how to draw Glenna out. It would probably be most appropriate to leave her alone for now, letting grief run its course in whatever way she chose. During his ministerial training, David had been taught about the various stages of bereavement a person went through when losing a loved one. The first was shock. Later came denial or a great sense of loss, often accompanied by depression. Glenna appeared to be in the first stage right now, which was no doubt for the best. David needed time to read the scriptures and pray, asking for God’s wisdom in helping her through this grieving process.
     
    It was interesting, he noted, that she hadn’t been nearly as despondent when her father jumped off the train and she thought he’d been killed. Perhaps this “second death” was more traumatic since Garret had been murdered in cold blood, right in front of her. His death was final. No more wondering if he might have survived, and no more anger because he’d taken his own life. This time he’d been killed by an assassin, plain and simple. Who the man was, why he’d fired the fateful shot, and where he had gone was still a mystery which might never be solved. David’s