Of course he wanted to be at the meeting of the rails. It was the culmination of all the blood, sweat, and tears that he and so many others had put into seeing the nation whole. But to be summoned by the likes of Thomas Durant was no honor. Levi picked up the barrel of foodstuffs he’d procured from the mercantile tent and slid it all the way to the back corner of the wagon he’d purchased from the preacher. The man’s wife’s eyes had grown large when she realized how much Levi had been willing to pay. She’d muttered something about the Lord providing. He made a mental note to ‘provide’ the good preacher with a new carriage when the celebrations were complete. The minister had to be a saint to deal with such an ungodly woman. He’d had to swallow his laughter when she’d walked into the soon-to-be church with what looked like a ring of a dozen canaries strapped to the top of her head. Levi chuckled at the memory. “What are you doing out here, son?” Doc Gordon stood in the open doorway to the barn.
