“It’s never too late, my dear. Never. Thankfully, we serve a God of second chances.” The words were hushed, but firm.
Taking a long, slow breath, Madysen forced herself not to simply hear the words, but to allow them to sink in.
Granny watched her with a gaze that seemed to bore through to her soul. “I’m not saying that things will change overnight. This is going to take some time. You and your sisters and grandfather will need to sit down and have some serious discussions about it. You need to pray about it. Take the time that you need to heal.” She pointed a bony finger in Madysen’s face. “But don’t waste the chance that God has given you to restore the relationship with your father. You’ll always regret it if you don’t.”
Her words rang true, even though Madysen wanted to stay angry and hurt. But she shouldn’t. She would regret it. Could she live with that? No. Time did heal wounds. Perhaps she simply needed to give Dad time as well. And spend a lot of time on her knees in prayer for her father rather than allowing the anger to fester. A sense of release filled her. Granny was right. It didn’t have to happen right away. “It’s hard to even think about.”
“I know. But with the good Lord’s help, we’ll make it through. We will. You may never be close to him again, or even trust him, but you alone are the one to determine if you’ll be at peace with him. I believe that once the shock wears off, you’ll come around to extending him grace. I’ve always admired that about you, Madysen.” She stood up and looked down, love shining from her eyes.
“I don’t feel like extending him grace.” Why did she feel like a petulant child as she said it?
“And maybe that’s at the heart of this problem. Holding on to your anger goes against the very heart of your nature. It’s worth considering.” She picked up the tea tray and took it into the other room.
Madysen’s conscience pricked. Her friend and mentor was correct, of course. But she couldn’t deal with it right now.
The older woman returned and grinned at her as she took her seat again. “Now let’s turn our minds to happier things. Did I tell you that my grandson has come back to us from the Yukon?”
Thankful for the change in subject, Madysen stuffed thoughts of her father aside. “No. How lovely.” She forced a smile. “I remember we’ve often prayed for him.”
“Indeed, we have. I’m hopeful that he’ll stay with us and settle down. Maybe even raise some sheep.”
“Sheep? Why sheep?”
“We had a sheep farm long ago, and Daniel loved it. I guess I’m hoping that he will find joy in life again. And if that involves a few stinky sheep, I think I can handle it.” Granny glanced over her shoulder as she got to her feet. “Come help me clean up the kitchen, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
Madysen complied, eager to share about her own new venture. “I have sheep. I didn’t get a chance to tell you. It started out as a rescue to keep Judas from selling them for slaughter. I actually stole them.”
The look of shock and surprise on Granny’s face made Madysen laugh.
“Well, that wasn’t my intention, but I heard he was going to send them off early in the morning, so Havyn and I snuck into the place where he kept them and herded them home.”
For the first time, Granny genuinely seemed speechless.
“I see I’ve surprised you. We didn’t actually steal them, we paid Judas for them, I promise.”
The older woman blinked several times. “I think I’m more surprised that they followed you. A stranger?”
“Well, not exactly. At least not at first. It wasn’t easy, let me tell you. But a lot of grain and coaxing, and a couple of sticks, helped us get them home. Then we went to see Judas the next day, and he allowed us to buy them from him. He thought it very amusing that I went to such lengths to save some sheep.” Warmth filled her chest. A good, satisfying feeling. “Turns out, I’m quite good with them. To make things even more adventurous, we discovered they were all ewes that were expecting, so now we have plenty of babies and milk.”
Understanding lit Granny’s face. She lifted her chin and nodded. “Ah . . . thus the new venture.”
“Yes! We’re going to make cheese.” Madysen couldn’t contain her excitement. At least something was worth celebrating.
“That is splendid, my dear. Did you know that we used to make a living with cheese production on our farm? Daniel knows far more about it than I do. He used to help his mother with the recipes. I’ll bet if you ask him, he would share some insight and maybe even a recipe or two.”
“Really?” Oh, praise be to God! Someone actually knew how to make cheese from sheep’s milk. “That would be incredible. Do you really think he would help?”
“Oh, I’m sure he will.” Granny’s eyes twinkled.
“This is an answer to prayer. John and I were just talking about how we had a lot to learn. He knows how to make mozzarella from cow’s milk because he used to help his family. He even taught us how. But we want to expand to make other cheeses.”
“Then Daniel is your man.” Granny began washing dishes, and Madysen took up a dish towel to dry. “So,” Granny continued, “tell me all about the wedding and the marvelous shows you did at the Roadhouse. I heard that you Powell girls have been quite the hit.”
Turning the topic to music was the perfect choice. Granny was right, once again. How many times had she told Madysen that it was best to think on the positive things?
THREE
Daniel Beaufort lifted a heavy crate and brought it to the front of the new display in the mercantile. “Here you go, and I hope that’s the last one.” He shot a grin to his father. “Because I don’t know if my back can take any more.”
Dad laughed as he limped around the crates. “You’re young, and you haven’t even broken a sweat yet. I doubt these are anything compared to what you carried up the routes to the Yukon. You haven’t said much about it, but I’ve heard enough stories.”
He’d thought to spare his family the details of his years away. Mostly because he didn’t want to share the dark times. But he hadn’t meant to shut his father out. “Oh, don’t remind me. Just a year’s worth of supplies weighed almost a ton. I don’t have fond memories of hauling that over the ice and snow. Back and forth. Back and forth. Makes my back ache all over again.”
Dad winced. “Makes mine hurt just thinking about it. How many trips did that take?”
Daniel tilted his head back as he tallied. “To be honest, it must have been a couple hundred trips over that same treacherous trail.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what I was thinking to take on something so daunting.”
“Well, I won’t require anything of that magnitude here. In fact, that’s the last of it.” With a wink, Dad stuck his thumb out toward the counter. “Can you handle the register for me while I finish up the paperwork?”
“Of course.” Daniel wiped his hands on his apron and surveyed the store. He’d been in Nome for six days and already things had settled into a nice routine. Dad and Granny hadn’t pried. Just let him rest and dive into a new life. Being with family again fed his soul after the aching loneliness he’d experienced in the Yukon.