Chapter 9
Henry
It was a good thing that the camera went off and Henry had rushed to Deer Lodge.
It was even a good thing that he had made the rash decision to put a strange woman into his truck and take her to Butte with him—to Donna's.
What had he been thinking? Henry's involvement in Amelia's spiritual conversion had been unintentional, but he still felt good about it and hoped the girl from California would continue learning and growing.
Henry had been converted, but he never experienced tears the way she did.
He never experienced tears at all. It didn't occur to him to wonder if his reaction was enough until he saw her reaction.
It was sweet, and it tugged at his heart.
He could tell she was happy and thankful, and her vulnerable, sincere reaction caused him to feel tight-chested.
He felt that way again when Donna handed her the Bible.
He had heard Donna tell someone she had owned it for fifty years.
He called Donna as soon as Josh and Amelia left for the cow barn.
The Bible was sitting on his desk, and he did it while he was looking at it.
He told her he would bring it right back, and she said he should do no such thing.
He then added that Amelia would have no problem borrowing it and sending it back.
But Donna insisted that she wanted the girl to have it. Henry told her the offer stood if she ever changed her mind, and they left it at that when they got off the phone.
Josh came back within the hour.
Henry had been working with Candice, and he was in her stall.
"What happened with you and Amelia?" Josh asked, first thing.
"What do you mean? Nothing."
"How'd she end up with you this morning?"
"You didn't ask her?" Henry asked, brushing Candice's blonde coat.
"No, we didn't talk about that. I wanted to hear it from you."
"I found her in the barn this morning. She was hanging out with Candice, in the stall."
"She was in here by herself? Or was your mom in the barn?"
"No, she was here by herself. But she was okay. She knows what she's doing with animals."
"That's the one I told you Candice likes. She was petting her yesterday, and Candice didn't care."
"Yeah, she can have access to the barn. I trust her. She knows not to go in Candice's stall again. I don't mind if she comes in here, though, even without Mom."
"They're leaving tomorrow, anyway."
"Yeah, but they'll be back in a few months for that movie. So, just know for then, too. I trust her. She can be in here."
"How'd she end up in Butte with you?"
"She was in here this morning when I came by.
Mom wasn't up yet, so she rode with me thinking we would just give my neighbor a ride to church.
But Donna talked her into staying, and then that was the whole morning—you know, because that little church Donna goes to, they have Sunday school and church and everything. "
Henry was relatively sure he had evaded the question while giving Josh enough of an answer. He didn't want to expose the girl for sneaking around, and he didn't want to expose himself for overreacting to it.
Josh seemed appeased. At least Henry thought he was until he brought her up again.
"Because I thought maybe you were falling in love," Josh added. That was completely unnecessary. Henry actually laughed at it. He laughed so heartily that Josh said, "What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing's wrong. It's just that I don't believe in falling in love."
"Oh, you're too jaded?"
"No, I just know that's not how it happens.
You don't fall anywhere. It's not some magical thing that happens to a person.
If you wanna love somebody, you just pick the best option for yourself, and then you decide to love them.
And be honest and loyal, and communicate, and all that stuff that you're supposed to do when you love someone.
If someone says they're falling in love or they have love at first sight, it's just about appearance. "
"What?" Josh said, laughing. "That is so jaded."
"No, it's not. It's just the truth. The greatest commandment is to love. It's a commandment, which means it's within our power to control it. If it weren't in our power, then it couldn't be a command. It's not a mysterious feeling that overtakes you. It's a choice. A decision."
"Okay, mister logic, come tell me that again when the woman of your dreams comes across your path one day."
Henry laughed and shook his head. "I might think of someone as the woman of my dreams one day, and if I do, I'll decide to love her and be loyal and good to her."
"So, we're both right," Josh said.
Henry smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we're both right, I guess.
" Henry wasn't overtaken by any magical feeling regarding Amelia Banks.
She was beautiful, and he was attracted to her, but it wasn't love at first sight.
There was just no such thing. He was, however, looking forward to seeing her again in a few months.
Unfortunately, that would not come to pass.
One day, out of the blue, about a month later, Alex Stockton called Henry and said the series would have to be postponed.
The first thing Henry thought of was Amelia. He had been looking forward to seeing her again. Alex promised it was still on track, but a few months had seemed to take forever, and now it was being extended another year or so.
Henry decided to make a building to bide his time. He knew of Alex's plans to go to a second location to shoot some of the scenes that were in or around old buildings. Henry had the idea of making an authentic-looking building on-site for Alex to use.
The whole idea had nothing to do with the fact that he could potentially have more time with Amelia if they did more of the scenes on site. He told himself that she had nothing to do with it. The building was its own thing. It was a good project for the ranch, and Henry sold his parents on it.
He and his dad decided to build it together. They had quite a bit of help, but they were both highly involved, and it was a fun experience for them to have together.
The new start date was set for May of the following year, and the building took up a lot of that time. Months passed, and Henry's days were full with his horses and the building project.
It was now February, and nearly a year had gone by since that day when Donna gave Amelia her Bible.
He hadn't spoken to Amelia Banks at all since then. He had thought about her, but he didn't know what to say when he reached out. He knew he'd be seeing her soon, so he didn't reach out.
He was thinking about her the whole morning, though, and he was calling her on the phone now. He had gotten Amelia's number from his mom. She answered on the second ring.
"Hello?" she said. Her voice was sweet, and he smiled at the memory of her.
"Hey, this is Henry Sutter, from the ranch in Montana."
"Yeah, of course, Henry."
"Hey, I have some sad news about Ms. Donna."
"I know," she said.
"Oh, you already heard?" he asked, feeling surprised and wondering how that would've been possible.
"Yes, I heard. We kept in touch. I would talk to Ms. Donna once a week. I left a message when I didn't hear from her, and a lady from the church called me back and told me what happened."
"Yeah, she was almost a hundred, so it's weird to say it was unexpected, but it felt unexpected."
"Yeah, her family was talking about how pneumonia gets a lot of people."
"I'm glad she didn't suffer," Henry said.
"Yeah."
"When did you talk to her family?"
"It wasn't just her family. It was other people at the visitation, too," she said.
"Did you go to the… wait… where are you? What visitation? I’m going to the visitation tonight. Tomorrow morning's the funeral."
"I know, but there was also a visitation earlier, at the church."
He cleared his throat. "Are you in Butte?"
"Yes," she said.
"You came to Montana? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Uh, because I didn't have your phone number."
"You could have got it. Just like I got yours."
"Well, I didn't. But I'm here. You're finding out now."
"Are you sad about Ms. Donna?"
"Of course I'm sad. She was my friend. She called me every week to check and make sure I was reading my Bible. She was my accountability partner."
"I didn't know she did that. How did she even get your number?"
"I called her first. I was worried about taking that Bible.
I called the church to ask for her phone number and then I contacted her to make sure she didn't want me to send it back.
We talked for three to five minutes a week, but it was an important five minutes for me. I'll miss her a lot. I'm sad."
"Same," he said.
"At least we know where she's at," she said.
"Yeah. Do you want a ride? I’m going up to the visitation for an hour tonight, six to seven, and then I'm going to the service in the morning. Do you want to ride with me?"
"I'm leaving in just a bit because I have to be there at five. When I stopped by earlier, I got volunteered to work in the kitchen area tonight. I'll just drive my rental like I planned since I have to be there early. Thank you, though."
"I can have you there at five. I'm on my way home now. I have to shower and change, and then I'll pick you up. Text me the name of your hotel."
"I'm at a house."
Henry felt a wave of jealousy. "Whose house?" he asked.
"A rented house. Like Airbnb."
"Oh, text me the address, and I can pick you up. That is if you want me to. I'll get you there on time."
"Yes, I'd like that. Thank you, Henry."
Henry's little sister, Bailey, knew Donna but couldn't make it to the funeral the following day, so she was going to stop by the visitation tonight. He messaged her saying that he was going early, but he would stick around until she came by.
He went to the address Amelia had given him, and he knocked on the door.
It was February, and it was cold out, so she let him in. The whole place was inviting, and he didn't know if it was her or the house itself, but it smelled nice.
She made eye contact with him. She smiled sadly and reached out to hug him. "I wish I had gotten to see her again. I told her I would."
Henry held onto her, and she held him back. "No, don't worry about that," he said. "She was happy. It was all good. You'll see her again."
"I know. That's the good part."
Her grip loosened slightly, but she did not let go of him. She needed the hug, and he started to realize that maybe he did too.
They stood there for at least a full minute, saying nothing. Henry had never hugged anyone like that before. They embraced for so long that his feelings changed as it went along.
"Goodness, I needed that. Thank you, Henry." She said, smiling a little as she broke away and took a deep breath.
"I needed it too," he said.
She stopped and stared at him with a serious expression. "Do you need to go longer?"
"No," he said, smiling at her for being so cute and sweet. "That was enough. I'm just saying, it felt good. Nice. Not that I…"
"You don't have to explain," she said.
"I'm glad you're here," he said. "I'm glad you came to this."
"Me too," she said, smiling at him.
She was beautiful.
"You didn't tell me you were coming," he said.
She shrugged. "I thought I'd see you at the visitation. I assumed that."
"Yeah, I guess. How long are you in town for?"
"Just last night and tonight. I'll head back tomorrow afternoon."
"You've already been here a day? Are you flying out of Butte?"
"Yeah. I mean, I have a connecting flight in Missoula, but it's easier this way since I'm in Butte the whole time."
Henry was interested in what she was saying, but he couldn't stop staring at her. It was the hug that had done it. He was distracted, thrown off, surprised at his own reaction to seeing her again. Henry was too distracted to realize if it was his turn to respond.
"All right," she said with a smile. "Shall we?"
"Sure," he said, snapping out of it and realizing this woman had him mesmerized.