he wanted to read every one of them. They needed to be cleaned and salvaged, and Bishop immediately thought he and his siblings should do it for their mother’s birthday, which was only about six weeks away now.
He tucked the letters back into the box, intending to get them into something cleaner as soon as possible, and returned his attention to the safe.
A legal-sized envelope sat on the other half of the safe, and Bishop’s fingers trembled as he reached for it. He knew what it contained before he’d opened it. After Daddy’s death, he and the other children had found envelopes with money in them all over the house.
This one held money too—a lot of money. More money than Bishop could count with a glance or even a few minutes.
Several sheets of paper accompanied the money, and Bishop pulled them out to look at them.
“To my son Bartholomew,” he read aloud, realizing this was a letter for Bear. Cactus had one. Judge, Preacher, Arizona, Mister, and Bishop. His sat on the bottom, the last child, but not the least.
“I’m good for tonight,” Montana said, and Bishop looked up from his letter, having only read the first line.
He felt heaven shining through him as Montana came toward him. “This is incredible.”
“They’re love letters,” she said, her countenance beaming too.
“My mother’s been looking for them for years and years.” He slid the letters back inside the envelope to keep them somewhat clean. “Thank you.” He drew Montana into a tight hug. “This is like striking gold. Thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything,” she said, though she did wrap her arms around him too. “I just moved a stove and found a hole.”
He didn’t care. To him, she’d done something, and he was grateful.
“Did you hear me say I was good to go tonight?”
Bishop pulled away and looked at her. So many things were said between them, though neither one of them said a word. “Yes,” he said, his voice slightly cracked. “Should we say six? That should give us enough time to hike to the falls and get set up.”
“Six is great.”
Bishop couldn’t believe how much difference a half an hour and a phone call could make. His life felt like someone had turned it inside out since the meeting ended, and he couldn’t wait to get back to the homestead and show his siblings what he had.
“Let’s see if we can get everyone to come to the homestead to see what you found,” he said.
“Really?” she asked, glancing around at the cabin. He knew what she was thinking, because they did have a lot of work to do.
“Yeah,” he said. “This is more important.” He pulled out his phone and dialed Bear.
“Yep,” Bear said.
“First off,” Bishop said. “She said yes, and we’re going out tonight.” He grinned at Montana as her eyebrows went up and Bear cheered for him. “Second, I found Mother’s love letters, and I think we need an emergency sibling meeting at the homestead. I’ll head back now and make the chicken and gnocchi soup, if you can get everyone there for lunch.”
Silence poured through the line, and Bishop couldn’t help laughing.
“You really found the letters?” Bear asked quietly.
“Montana did,” Bishop said. “She’ll be at lunch too.” He reached for her hand, letting her close the distance to slip her fingers between his.
He lifted her hand to his lips as Bear said, “I’ll get everyone there.” And when Bear spoke like that, Bishop didn’t doubt him for a second.
Chapter Eleven
Bear Glover leaned against the column at the top of the steps on the front porch, anxious for Bishop to arrive. His nerves had been singing since his brother had called a half an hour ago, and he sincerely hoped he wasn’t waiting while Bishop kissed Montana.
He told himself even Bishop wouldn’t do that before even going out with a woman, but Bear knew hormones and blondes did strange things to his youngest brother.
He’d sent a text to the family string the moment he’d hung up with Bishop, and he’d called Sammy only a few seconds after that.
She’d been elbow-deep in someone’s engine, but Logan had promised he’d tell her about the love letters and the lunch at the homestead, and Bear was still waiting for her confirmation that she’d be there.
She was a Glover now, and Bear wanted her here more than anything.
Bishop had texted during the phone call that he had an idea for how they could clean up the letters and present them to Mother for