Heart of the Sandhills by Stephanie Grace Whitson

explained why he wanted to use oak instead of pine for the railing, why just the opposite would work better for the decorations high up on the gables, and how long the work was likely to take.
    While Robert and Mrs. Marsh talked, Daniel watched Abner plowing the field in the distance. His heart slowed down and he relaxed a bit. Presently he found himself thanking God that Abner Marsh had not recognized the only surviving member of the trio of thieves who had once plotted to steal the man’s three best horses.

Seven
    Hatred stirreth up strifes . . .
    —Proverbs 10:12
    Leighton Hall
    May 5, 1867
    Dearest Genevieve and Daniel,
    There is no easy way to say this: measles is making the rounds in New York and has stopped at Leighton Hall. Meg has been very ill. She has recovered but has a long convalescence ahead of her. God spared everyone else. But we cannot come to Minnesota, dear ones.
    Elliot sends his love and has departed once again for Washington where he feels he can do more good than in coming to you. He is determined to be a member of the new commission visiting Niobrara this summer and, if God wills, may come in the fall to gather up Aaron for the return to New York. That is the good news in this letter. Aaron is coming to Minnesota. We have just returned from sending him off at the railway station. And now a word from Meg .
    Looking at the child-like scrawl that slanted awkwardly across the page, Genevieve frowned. She read:
    Dear Mama-Gen and Daniel,
    I am so sorry not to be coming with Aaron, but he promises that if I work hard this summer and through the year to adjust, that he will certainly bring me to see you next year. I have asked Aunt Jane to let me tell you myself. My eyesight was affected by the measles. But I can still see light and dark and I am learning to get around the house very well. Grandmother is getting a tutor who works with the blind and he will be teaching me to do all kinds of things, even making my own tea. It is very hard, but when I remember all that you have suffered and how brave you have been, it helps me to be brave, too. I have seen roses and the sunset, and I know how eyes change when a person looks at you in love. I think that is quite a lot to have seen, don’t you? I love you both very much. Meg
    At the bottom of the letter, in inch-high letters, Gen read,
    Hello Ma. I am five. I can write my name see? HOPE .
    Daniel and Glen had come to their favorite place on the farm to read the letter, a rock ledge that jutted out from the ground behind Jeb Grant’s barn where a spring bubbled out of the earth. More than once they had removed their shoes and dangled their feet in the cool water while they talked at the end of a hot summer day. But this spring evening their attentions were drawn more to the graves beneath the cottonwood tree that shaded the rock than to the music of the bubbling spring. Death had nearly taken Meg. And although defeated, death had left its mark and Meg was blind. And so, Daniel Two Stars gathered his wife into his arms while she wept.
    “Why?” Gen sobbed. “Why would God do that to Meg? I don’t understand.”
    Daniel sighed. “More and more I don’t understand the God we serve, Blue Eyes,” he paused, “but I trust Him.”
    “It hurts,” Gen sobbed.
    “I love you, little wife,” Daniel said, “I don’t know what else to say. I am here. God is here. We both love you.”
    “It doesn’t seem fair. For Meg to have to—suffer.”
    “It is not fair,” Daniel said gently. “But it is, and God will work it for good. He loves Meg more than we do.”
    “How did you get to know so much?” Gen muttered grudgingly.
    “I tried doubting His love. It didn’t work very well,” Daniel said, hugging her fiercely. “He just kept on pulling me back.”
    Gen sighed and kissed his cheek. “I’m glad He did,” she said. “I needed to hear those things. And I need you.”
    Daniel returned her kiss. “See that you remember my wise words for the times