Chapter 6
E zra paused with a spoon in the air as a knock sounded at the door. He looked around the dinner table. His wife, their four children, along with his unmarried siblings—Lois, Rufus, and Ada—sat at the table.
“Is anyone expecting a visitor?” he asked, assuming that they would all say no.
As he figured, everyone shook their heads.
“We have plenty of food. Whoever it is, invite them to come in and sit down and eat,” his wife said. Alaska’s face was serene and content as she spooned mashed potatoes into their one-year-old’s mouth.
“All right. I’ll do that.” He gave her a smile and hoped that it showed all the love he had in his heart for her. She’d changed a lot since they got married, but he had too. She’d helped shave some of his rough edges off, and he supposed he’d done the same for her, although he credited her conversion to the Lord and her desire to live for Him more than he credited himself.
As for him, he knew that God had given him Alaska because he needed a softening influence in his life. He needed the sweetness and the beauty, the feeling of being cherished and loved and supported. He hadn’t realized how much responsibility he had lying on his shoulders, nor how heavy it was, until Alaska had come along beside him with her arm around him, helping him to shoulder the burdens and being there for him whenever he needed it.
Marriage had been the best thing God had ever given to him.
He pushed back from the table and strode toward the door, hoping that whoever it was would agree to come in and sit down and eat. He didn’t like missing mealtime with his family.
He opened the door to see someone who looked vaguely familiar to him and thought maybe he was newer in town.
“Hi, I’m Cash Johnson, I moved in with my Aunt Karen, and I’m running the car dealership she owns.”
“Good to meet you, Cash. I recognize you from church.”
Was that his imagination, or was there a little bit of relief in Cash’s eyes?
He gripped the hand that was held out, and they shook.
“I wanted to know if I could talk to you for a while. I wanted to say a minute, but it’s probably going to take longer than that if you entertain my proposal at all. I... It’s a matter of some urgency.”
“All right. Is it so urgent that you can’t sit down and eat a bite with the family, first? We’re all sitting at the table. You caught us during mealtime.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I could wait outside.”
“No need. My wife said we had plenty, and if I know her at all, she’s got a spot set at the table for you right now.”
“Well, that makes me feel better that I’m not going to be taking food out of your mouth.”
“I don’t know how much you know about the Clybourns, but we’re a big family. We always have plenty of food. And it never goes to waste.”
That was true. Someone was always looking for a snack, or grabbing something from the refrigerator, or popping in in the middle of the afternoon because they missed lunch because they were out in the field trying to get the hay in before the rain or something.
“I knew you were a big family. I think I heard twelve kids?” Cash asked as they walked to the kitchen.
“That’s correct. All but three of us are married. You’ll meet those three at the table right now.” They walked into the kitchen, and Ezra introduced Alaska, his two sisters, and Rufus.
Maybe it was his imagination, but Cash’s eyes seemed to linger a little longer on Ada, and there was something odd in the air when they shook.
Ezra didn’t know much, and he knew his wife would have plenty to say after they were alone, but he thought Ada’s cheeks were a little bit more pink than they usually were.
He had been correct about there being a seat set for the visitor, and they sat down, passing food and talking about the weather and different events in town—the rodeo, the sale barn, the price of cows, the price of cars, which was a new one for Ezra, and the state of the economy, which seemed to be looking up.
Cash seemed like a nice guy, not dominating the conversation, but adding intelligent comments, and also telling a short story about a couple who had bought a BMW from his lot and then, inexplicably, had driven away in the cheapest and oldest car on the lot. Leaving their BMW sitting there running.
“They didn’t even realize it. I figured things out and called them the next day, and they had no idea that the car they’d driven home wasn’t the BMW they’d bought.”
It was a story for the adults, although the children seemed to enjoy listening to him as well.
Ezra found himself extremely curious as to what Cash wanted to talk to him about. Ranching? Was he interested in buying his own spread? Did he want to purchase some beef grown on the ranch? He had multiple people in town asking if they could purchase beef from him. They actually had started selling it in a small way and hoped to maybe eventually expand their operation to include internet sales as well. They just needed to find the time. As many people as they had working on the ranch, they had plenty for everyone to do.
Finally, they were done eating, and Cash gathered up his plate and silverware as he stood.
Ezra figured Cash had no idea how impressed he was over that. A lot of men expected to be waited on hand and foot and didn’t think about the mess that they were making until someone pointed it out to them.
Regardless, they helped the ladies clear up the table before his wife shooed him and their visitor away.
“I have a little study off the living room. We can go there.”
Cash nodded and followed him out of the kitchen.
Ezra tried to make sure that outwardly he was calm as they walked casually to the room, although inwardly he wanted to rush ahead. What in the world could this man want?
“Come on in and have a seat,” he said, waving his arm at the two chairs that sat in front of his desk. He turned on the lights, shut the door, which was a sign to all of his children and siblings that he was not to be disturbed, and walked around, sitting down on the other side of his desk.
Sometimes he left his desk a mess, when he got interrupted in the middle of something and had to jump up and go assist with a birth or fix a piece of farm equipment, but his wife always tried to make sure that she kept things tidy.
And he appreciated that, especially now as he sat down, noting the neat desk and the comfortable-looking space, with bookshelves full of farming and ranching books, a few little knickknacks that his wife had set around, as well as a plant in the corner that he assumed didn’t take much care, since he never gave it any. Again, his wife took care of that.
There were so many of her little touches around, things that she never mentioned, and he almost always didn’t notice. Did he take her for granted? If he asked her, he knew she would answer him honestly. He made a mental note to be sure to check in with her. He didn’t want her to feel like he didn’t appreciate her.
“Thank you for the food and the hospitality. It was unexpected but very much appreciated,” Cash started their conversation.
A man who wasn’t afraid to step out, taking the bull by the horns, so to speak, and lead. Ezra liked that.
He nodded. “Be sure to pass your appreciation on to my wife again.” He added the “again” because Cash had already thanked her. “Now, what can I do for you?”
“I have something that is perhaps a little unbelievable. But I thought that I should bring it to you so you could see exactly where I’m coming from.”
He pulled a letter out from his shirt pocket, unfolded it, and then turned it around so that it was right side up for Ezra.
Ezra had suspicions as soon as he saw that there was a letter, and then as Cash turned it around, he was certain.
One of his brothers, Tobias, had gotten a letter just like that.
“Now, I don’t know for sure whether it’s legit or not.”
“I can tell you it is,” Ezra said immediately, without waiting for Cash to finish.
Cash straightened, leaning back with his eyes flying to Ezra’s. “You know?”
Ezra nodded. “One of my brothers got this exact same letter. None of us were sure it was legit. But everything that it said was absolutely true.” His eyes skimmed down the letter. Then, his heart stopped. “You only have three days.”
“I know.”
“I guess I’m not sure how this involves me, unless you heard that our family might have gotten one, and you wanted to confirm?” From the reaction that Cash had, Ezra was guessing that he hadn’t known, because he looked totally taken aback.
“No. I’m here to ask if Ada might be interested in marrying me.”
There was silence in the small room, and suddenly the walls felt way too close.
Ezra felt like a father figure to his siblings. Even though his twin sisters, Priscilla and Phoebe, weren’t that much younger than him, and neither was Ada, he felt like he was the one who had stepped up and taken responsibility for the family after their parents had died in the car accident. Regardless of how close each of his siblings were to him, he loved them all like they were his very own. And while he would never admit to anyone, not even his wife, that he had any favorites, Ada was his favorite.
She had been quietly serving all of her life. Anything that she had been asked to do, she had done it. She never complained, she never shirked, she never brought a lot of attention to herself, but she was always there, always helping, always in the right spot to do the hard jobs, always willing to do the jobs that no one else wanted. Always being a peacekeeper, settling arguments, willing to take the worst jobs, again and again, if it kept everyone else happy.
She was such a servant, she had such a heart for the Lord, always seeking to serve. She could have been married ten or fifteen years before, but she never felt like God had brought the right one around.
“Ada is an amazing person. She would make you the best wife you could ever possibly have.”
Cash’s eyes lit up a bit at that, like he hadn’t been sure.
“Do you and she have some kind of relationship I don’t know about?” Ezra finally thought to ask. He hadn’t even considered that Ada might be doing something behind his back. She just wasn’t that kind of person. Although she was in her mid-thirties, and she certainly did not need to ask his permission before she talked to someone. Even though he suspected she would.
“No. I’ve seen her at church, and I saw her last night when she was helping Kendra with her children. But no. There is no relationship that you don’t know about.” Cash seemed very determined to make sure that Ezra knew that, and Ezra appreciated the fact that the man was trying to ease his mind, obviously.
“I see.” He paused. “What made you decide that Ada would be the one for you?”
“Like I said, I saw her yesterday, and I just had the right feeling. Not that I live by my feelings—my emotions. I don’t live by those. But sometimes God gives me a gut feeling, where I just have that soul-deep thought that things are going right. I had that when I met Ada, and I had it even more today while we were eating. But Ada has no idea that I’m considering her, and when I discussed this with my aunt, she suggested I talk to you first.”
Ezra nodded, liking that the man did not go straight to his sister but came to him first, apparently to be vetted, although Ezra was not sure.
“What do you hope to get out of this talk?” Ezra asked, figuring that he might as well get it out in the air right now. Maybe Cash was just informing him of his intentions and had no intention of allowing Ezra to check into his life.
“My aunt said you probably wanted to vet me. To check out my past. I’m here to make sure you know it’s an open book. And I’m here to get your permission. I assume that it would mean a lot to Ada to have you say, ‘yes, this man is acceptable.’ Especially considering that we have three days to make a decision. If I had an infinite amount of time in which to court her, it would be completely different. Although... I would still have come to ask permission.”
Ezra nodded, trying to keep his face impassive, although Cash’s words had greatly impressed him.
“Is there anything you want to tell me about yourself? Is there anything I’ll find when I start to check?” He made sure to say “when,” not “if.” He was going to check this man out. He certainly was not going to give his permission for his sister to be married in three days without doing due diligence.
“I think you probably know my current situation. I’m living with my aunt, and I’m working at her used-car dealership. I think she would like for me to buy it from her eventually, but all I promised her was that I would do my best to try to get it turned around. It’s been in the black the last two months since I started. I wouldn’t have guessed this,” he said with a slight smile on his face, “but I’m pretty good at selling cars.”
“That’s handy when you’re helping with a used-car dealership,” Ezra commented.
“Exactly. I guess, it’s really not me. God has blessed my life beyond measure. Except for one thing that turned into a really, really big thing that affected every area of my life, I felt like I was living under a golden cloud. God just blessed me so abundantly that I kind of thought that was the way my life was always going to be.”
“So when you got hit by this one thing that was really terrible, it sent you for a loop?”
“Yes,” Cash said, without elaborating any more.
Ezra kind of understood what he meant. Up until Ezra’s parents had died, Ezra had felt the same way. His life had been magical. His childhood was amazing, his parents were the best, he’d been training to take over the ranch or at least go into partnership with his dad. His dad had wanted all of the siblings to feel welcome and free to stay and was willing to expand in whatever direction they all needed to go in order to have a place where they could work and earn their living.
And then, his parents’ death had been the big thing that had made his life stop feeling like it was blessed beyond words and had made him wonder if God even loved him. How fickle his faith was. It wavered big time in that fiery trial, but he had emerged stronger in faith and more grounded in his relationship with God than ever.
“Are you going to tell me about this trial that you endured?”
“I’m still enduring it. And yes. You couldn’t give your permission without knowing.” Cash took a breath, as though it was difficult for him, and Ezra braced himself.