Caroline smiled softly. “No, that’s not what I’m saying, Dottie. I’m talking about faith.” She put her finger on her sister’s chest just above her heart. “It’s in here. That’s where you have faith. And if you have it, you will have peace, too. Trust in him. He will give you peace to get through this.”
Again, Dottie was quiet, staring out over the land. “I don’t want to leave here, Caroline.”
“I know you don’t. I don’t either. We will have to see what happens. But right now, we really need to be strong for mama and papa. Do you agree?”
After a moment, Dottie nodded. “Okay, Caroline. I’ll pray on it and maybe he will make me feel better and bring someone who will give Daddy a lot of money and everything will be okay.”
“That’s the spirit, honey. You pray and we’ll see what happens.”
Chapter Two
When Caroline woke up the next morning, her first thought was that she wanted to go back to sleep. She didn’t want what was happening to happen and her anxiety level was rising. She swung her legs over the side and sat there for a moment, thinking.
She was just twenty and had concentrated on her family’s business and her secretary job since she was 17. She had only one boyfriend in her life so far. He had left with his family the year before and she had missed him ever since. She’d had no love interests since then and hadn’t really been looking. She was always busy with work, her family or the restaurant.
She pulled on her robe and went down the stairs, smelling the strong smell of fresh coffee. That meant her father and brother were either already up or about to. She and her sisters didn’t drink coffee.
She pushed open the door to the kitchen and saw her mother at the table, crying. When her daughter came in, Anna tried to stop, wiping her tears with a tissue. “Oh. Good morning, Caroline.”
“Good morning, mama. Are you all right?”
Her mother didn’t answer, just held in a new batch of tears. She shook her head.
Caroline went to her and leaned to put her arms around her shoulders. “It’s going to be okay, mama. Something will change this situation and make it right again.”
“I hope you are right, Caroline.” Anna got up and went to the stove. She stood there cracking eggs into the pan and moving a spatula around to scramble them. Caroline wondered how many she was going to put in the pan when she didn’t stop adding them. She went to the stove and took the egg batch from her mother and stopped her from her cooking.
“Mama, you must calm down. You must have faith. Something will make this turn around. I just know it.”
“I can’t imagine what will save us, dear.”
Caroline sighed. “God will provide, mama.”
Her mother only stirred the eggs around in the pan, listening to them sizzling as they cooked. She added some butter and continued stirring. “Yes,” She said, finally, in a calmer voice. “I do believe that.”
Caroline set the eggs in the refrigerator and turned back to her mother. “Good. You know, that’s gonna be the biggest batch of eggs you’ve made for just this family. There’s no way we will eat them all.”
Her mother didn’t reply. Caroline went to the table and sat down, pouring herself a glass of water first. She pulled her father’s newspaper to her and read the headlines. She pulled the paper to her when she saw the headline. New president of the United States had been elected. It was supposed to be a good thing for the country. They would see.
“Did you see this?” She asked, pushing the newspaper toward him.
“I just got up, Caroline,” He answered, nodding at his mother when she set a cup of coffee in front of him. “Thank you, mama.”
“Look at it.”
He pulled the paper to himself and read the headline. “Well good. That’s what this country needs. I’m glad.” He said, pulling it closer and reading the article, unfolding the paper as she had done to read the whole article. “It’s a good thing.”
“I agree.”
“Did you see this, mother?” David pulled the top paper from the rest and left it there on the table. He stood up and went to his mother, who took the paper from him.
Caroline looked down at the paper still on the table. She pulled it to her and read through the ads while they remarked on the new president. When her sister and father came in, they were notified of the event immediately. For a while, their personal problems were almost forgotten.
Caroline sat at the table, reading through the ads while they talked. There were jobs open and obituaries displayed there. One particular set of ads caught her eye and she slowed her scanning. There were men in the West looking for brides.
It wasn’t something she’d ever thought about or considered. She barely knew such a thing existed. None of them looked particularly enticing until she came to the second to the last.
Well-to-do casino owner looking for bride from the West. It said. Intelligent, kind-hearted woman requested. Any age.