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Colton headed back to the boardinghouse after Rosie showed him her talent with the iron. He had no desire for his sister to work like a common house maid, but she seemed quite happy with this new skill, and he couldn’t bear to hurt her feelings by suggesting such duties were beneath a Benton.

He thought about all that Emma had said and knew he was being a hypocrite. Maybe he was worried about Rob’s intentions toward his sister because his own toward Emma were skewed. After all, his brothers had insisted he come here to woo her and reclaim control over all that had belonged to Tommy.

But that isn’t why I want to marry her. I love her. I’ve loved her since I first saw her. She’s everything I’m not.

Even her newfound use for religion didn’t bother Colton as he once thought it might.

Instead, he found her comments on faith and God to be a tender reminder of his mother.

She had so often spoken of God as if He were right there with her.

She spoke of having talks with Him as if He might actually listen and respond. And she believed that He did just that.

Emma’s new faith stirred a sort of longing in Colton that he couldn’t explain.

Her presence did much the same. There was something about her that made the emptiness in his life all too evident.

He had tried to fill it with businesses and education.

He had enjoyed his time at the university and later studying law.

He held a great appreciation for the law and its structured procedures.

He continued walking even as he passed by the boardinghouse.

He had to think things through and figure out what was to be done.

He would meet with some representatives from the Union Pacific tomorrow and discuss the future of their prospective railroads.

The Bentons hadn’t yet let it be known publicly that they were considering the sale of their railroad to a larger line.

His brothers were anxious to get things concluded, however.

They had plans of their own for future investments and other interests.

The railroad was not without a world of problems, and those problems only grew as the line aged.

The upkeep was constant, and labor forces were demanding higher wages and better working conditions.

His brothers felt it was time to get rid of the railroad and eliminate the troubles that came with it.

They felt there were much better places to invest their money.

Walter and Ernest both had purchased property in Dallas and had great plans.

Colton had some hesitation about letting the railroad go.

It was their father’s legacy, something he had built with great pride to leave his four boys.

He had seen a future where they would expand and invest in the various established lines, perhaps even buy out lesser railroads.

But they weren’t as wealthy as those who owned the larger lines.

Those men were considered titans of industry, and Lawrence Benton was not listed among them.

Locally he’d done well, and in Missouri, where he started, he had amassed a small fortune.

But he never came close to an association of peerage with Vanderbilt, Morgan, Gould, or Hill.

Father had died regretting that fact, but he still left behind a worthy financial platform for his sons.

Colton stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets and glanced around him.

Cheyenne was a city just coming into its own.

The biggest goal was statehood, and the citizens of Cheyenne were leading the charge.

There had been multiple appeals to Washington, and all had gone unheeded.

In reading various newspaper accounts, Colton believed the biggest problem was the inability of Washington politicians to truly understand the value of Wyoming.

They held it as a territory, and for now, that was enough as far as the government was concerned.

However, Colton knew the day was coming when all the remaining territories would be divided into states.

New surges of immigration west were happening with regular occurrence, and people were pouring into the vast frontier to homestead even now.

He liked the feel of this territory pushing toward statehood and all that could be accomplished under those auspices.

The fact was, it challenged him to something more.

He had lived in Texas for close to twenty years.

First in Houston and then Dallas, and it had never felt like home.

Missouri hadn’t filled him with a sense of permanency either, but he figured that had more to do with his youth than anything else.

Emma had commented on his unwillingness to leave Dallas due to business, but in truth, Colton had been afraid to travel.

Afraid that his discontentment would cause him trouble, and that once he got out into the world, he might find the place he truly belonged.

And then what? Leave his family? It had been hard enough to go away to school.

At least with that, he was firm with himself about it being only temporary.

Just as he was when deciding to accompany Emma and Rosie to Cheyenne.

However, as the days passed in Cheyenne, Colton was less and less convinced that he wanted them to be temporary.

Especially if he was unable to convince Emma to return to Dallas.

“Mr. Benton, I thought that was you.”

Colton looked up to find Charlie Decker walking toward him. “Mr. Decker.” Colton gave a tip of his hat.

“Please call me Charlie. I’m not that much older than you.”

“I will, thank you. Call me Colton.”

Charlie smiled and nodded. “What has you out here today, Colton?”

“I just needed a walk to clear my head and reflect.”

“Time for quiet prayer. ‘Prayer preserves temperance, suppresses anger, restrains pride and envy, draws down the Holy Spirit into the soul and raises man to heaven,’ so says St. Ephraim the Syrian.”

“I don’t believe in such a thing as saints.”

Charlie chuckled. “What about prayer?”

Colton shrugged. “I’m not much on that either. My mother was a praying woman. She talked to God as if He were truly listening.”

“So you believe in God, but not that He listens to us?”

A smile edged Colton’s lips. “I like the way you speak your mind, Charlie.”

“As a schoolmaster, I’ve learned that’s the best way. Shall we walk together a little?”

Colton nodded and fell in step beside the man. For a while, neither said anything, but it seemed Charlie was waiting for an answer to his question.

“I do believe in God, but I’ve always felt that He has no reason to be concerned with me.”

“And how do you figure that, Colton?”

“I suppose I equate it to the president of the United States. He exists, but I’ve never seen him. He’s busy with his various duties and performances. He is my president as much as yours; however, he doesn’t know anything about me. I’m just one of millions who live under his direction and guidance.”

“You can hardly equate the God of the universe to a mere man. God is all knowing, so of course He knows you, Colton. The Bible says He’s numbered the hairs on your head, and that before you were born, He knew you.”

“All right, so let’s say He knows me. He’s the God of heaven and earth, all knowing as you say. He knows what has taken place and what is yet to come. How is it possible, then, that my prayers should matter at all to Him?”

“Because we are His children, and He loves us. He wants to hear from us, just as I want to hear from my children. Prayer builds our faith in God. It draws us closer to Him. As we pray, we see God at work.”

“But do you believe He truly hears us and answers?”

“I do.” He smiled. “I’ve seen far too many prayers answered to think it happenstance.

Were you close to your father, Colton? I only ask because .

.. well, I wasn’t all that close with mine for a long while.

I rarely really spoke to him, nor he to me.

There was a void there, and had I been willing to make it otherwise, our relationship might have been completely different.

I think the same is true in our relationship with God. We should speak to Him regularly.”

“And tell Him what?” Colton looked at Charlie, trying to ignore that a part of him truly wanted an answer that might change his mind.

“Everything,” Charlie said, chuckling. “Tell Him everything. Your fears, your hopes, your desires, your concerns. He is pure love, Colton. That love is vast and renewing. There isn’t anything you have to say that God isn’t willing to hear.”

Decker’s words stayed with Colton long after they went their separate ways. They stayed with him well into the night, long after the boardinghouse fell silent and the boarders had fallen asleep.

Even now in the wee hours of the morning, Colton could hear Charlie urging him to tell God everything—that He would hear, that He cared.

Unable to sleep, he rose and went to the window. He sighed at the glimmer of light on the horizon.

“I want to believe. Emma believes, and it’s changed her. ... It’s given her hope ... peace.” He shook his head, feeling overwhelmed. “I want to believe.”