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had been married. “Thank you.”
    “You met those kids yet?”
    I glanced at Mr. Montgomery. “Pardon?”
    “Jason Hatch had five kids. They belonged to his sister, who passed away. Nobody told you?”
    “I…surely you jest. You must have him mistaken for someone else.”
    “I doubt it.”
    People had begun to arrive, securing horses to the hitching post, while filing into the church.
    “Let’s discuss this afterwards,” said Louisa. “We’ll get to the bottom of it soon enough.”
    Mr. Montgomery’s grin was perplexing. “We sure will.”
    “Oh, here comes Samuel,” said Paulina. A tall, rugged-looking man strode towards us carrying a blonde-haired toddler. “That’s my daughter Laura. She’s the one I told you about, mother. Her parents died of cholera during our travels. I’ve never been able to locate her family, but…” she eyed the child with warmth…“I’m entirely fond of Laura. I wouldn’t dream to live without her.”
    “You’ve done a wonderful thing, my dear,” said father. “All of the children are handsome and well-behaved.”
    “You won’t be sayin’ that in an hour,” mumbled Matthias.
    Louisa elbowed him gently. “Shush.”
    “Let’s go in, folks,” said Samuel. “It’s about to start.”
    “This is my husband, Samuel Tucker,” said Paulina.
    “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said mother.
    “I’m mighty obliged to have such a lovely wife.” He shook her hand. “And I believe I have you to thank for that.”
    “That’s kind of you, sir.”
    Father held out his hand. “We’ve heard all about your heroics on the trail. You saved our daughter from cholera.”
    “She had it all right, but I nursed her through.”
    “We’re indebted to you,” said mother.
    The baby in Paulina’s arms fussed. “I hope he’s quiet during the service.” Louisa and Matthias had gone in already. “We should find some seats.”
    The pews were filling up, as we made our way down an aisle, passing a row of children who appeared to be without chaperones. The older girl watched over two girls and two boys. I heard her say, “Now pipe down, Connor. Pastor Bailey won’t be happy with you, if you make noise and disturb the congregation.”
    He’d crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t care.”
    “When you get a paddling, you’ll care plenty.”
    I sat with mother and father, four rows from the pulpit. It was comforting to be in a proper church again. Our Sundays on the trail had lacked such amenities; although the pastor who traveled with us had delivered sermons, we had to bring our own chairs to sit on.
    When Pastor Bailey arrived, standing before us, I was surprised by how young he appeared. He had taken over the church after my sister’s husband, Frank, had died. He couldn’t have been older than twenty-five, with thick, dark hair and pleasing features.
    “Good morning,” he said. “I’m pleased to see so many of you here.” His smile seemed to pause on the row behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder, spying the children I had seen on the way in. “Today I would like to talk about faith, and how my faith has been tested these past two weeks by circumstances beyond my control. We are sometimes given more than we are capable of handling. I’ve found myself in such a situation. I felt entirely out of my depth. It was as if I’d been thrown into the deep end of the ocean.” He gazed around the room.
    It was mildly astounding that a pastor would begin a sermon on such a personal level. I found his candor endearing, wondering exactly what sort of stress he had endured, which obviously had affected him greatly.
    “Some of you know of my ordeal. I thank you for your support in my time of need, although I’m hardly the one suffering. There are five little souls who are far worse off than I. I’ve been called upon to help; yet I’m hardly qualified. I’ve been praying for an answer.” He glanced at me. “And I do believe it’s finally presented itself. I knew