Melinda and the Wild West by Linda Weaver Clarke Read Free Book Online Page A

refreshing.
    As they stood in this small cove between the
mountains, a new world opened up around them. It was like a
fairyland of greenery that one could only imagine in storybooks and
tales. The tall magnificent cliff above them was white with brown
and green moss covering the jagged surface. In the river were large
moss-covered rocks that were protruding above the water, and dark
green shrubs surrounded them on every side.
    There was a stream of water pouring out of
the mountain and amidst all this was a nest of white butterflies.
Dozens of them flitted about merrily. Gilbert noticed Jenny’s
immediate interest in God’s most beautiful creations, as if a
reverent feeling had come over her. She said nothing as she slowly
walked toward them and sat down to watch. He continued to watch his
daughter’s expressions and noticed the effect the butterflies were
having on her. How was it that nature could bring such joy to a
person?
    He watched as Jenny slowly extended a finger
towards them and kept very still. Soon a butterfly landed on her
finger and her eyes brightened. He saw her look up at him with a
smile, as if hoping he had seen the butterfly on her finger, and he
chuckled softly. Gilbert had told her that certain varieties of
butterflies would land on a person’s finger if one stood still
enough, but she had disbelieved it at the time. And now, she was
testing his knowledge. This made him chuckle even more.
    He noticed how still Jenny was sitting and
as soon as one butterfly flew off her finger, another one landed.
How incredible! This was one of the most peaceful places Gilbert
had ever been.
    As Melinda looked around, she noticed that it was a
sort of wonderland to these children and they were in awe of the
beauty that nature had created here. She watched their eager faces
and enjoyed seeing their curiosity as they walked around. The
children laughed in delight and that made the effort of coming here
all the more worthwhile.
    This was the first time Melinda had ever
spent time in this kind of atmosphere and she could not take her
eyes off the magnificence of this view. After all of them had
dipped a toe into the freezing river and drank their fill of fresh
cool water, they took out their lunch and began eating.
    Gilbert sat down beside Melinda and said
humbly, “Thank you for asking me to come along. I can see that
Jenny needed this little excursion.”
    Melinda smiled. “You’re welcome.”
    “I’m sorry I was so stubborn at the ranch
and gave you such a bad time.”
    “I understand. Being an only parent can be
hard.”
    He nodded. “I worry about Jenny a lot and I
have to make decisions that I think are right.”
    “I understand. I don’t know how you do it —
being a single parent. But I do admire your independence in taking
care of Jenny. She’s an intelligent young girl, but her former
teacher made her feel otherwise. I’ve noticed that she has great
qualities. She has a lot of love to share and I believe you have
taught her that.”
    Gilbert steadily gazed into her eyes as she
spoke. He liked what she was saying about Jenny and he enjoyed the
pleasant sound of her voice. He noticed how her green eyes seemed
to sparkle as she talked. She was a very positive person and he
liked that about her.
    “I’ll let you finish eating,” he said as he
rose to his feet. He turned and went back to the rock where he was
sitting and watched his daughter as she conversed with Peggy. It
was not long until Gilbert was joking around with them and making
them giggle.
    “If you don’t watch out, these butterflies
might follow you home like a lost puppy and then what would you do?
What would you feed them?”
    This made the girls giggle as they tried to
search for an answer, but they knew he was teasing them and that
made it even more fun. When Melinda saw that the children were done
eating, she rounded them up to leave.
    Gilbert stood on the ground below the large
flat boulder and helped the children down by lifting