Remembering Rainy
Whispers in Wyoming
Danni Roan
Copyright © 2020 Danni Roan
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 9798672200194
Cover design by: Erin Dameron-Hill
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Epigraph
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue
Introduction
Young, irresponsible, and determined to have life his way, Nathan Draper turned his back on his life’s biggest mistake. Now, as his heart is turned from selfish desires, he doesn’t believe he is strong enough to face the consequences of that decision. Taking a job at the Broken J is only meant to hold him over until he starts a real job, but will time with his mentor and grandfather-in-Christ help him find his way? Rainy Smythe has been living with wrong choices for five long years and finally feels she is getting a foothold on a new start. A short trip with friends and family to a dude ranch is just what she needs to get her head on straight and start living again. Will the mistakes of an imperfect past lead to the perfect future? Find out in this sweet, clean, Christian contemporary, western romance.
Chapter 1
“Nate, what are you doing in there?” Red Dixon hollered over the stall door at the young man he had recently hired on as a barn hand.
“I’m muckin’ stalls,” the tall lean twenty-three-year-old barked back. “Isn’t that what you hired me to do?”
“What’s takin’ you so long?” The old man smoothed his red and white beard with a rough hand, his blue eyes sparkling. “Don’t you know one end of a shovel from the other?”
Nathan Draper grinned walking to the stall door and flipping the latch. Red had taken him under his wing at the local church near Tipton, Wyoming a few months ago when, after finishing college, Nate hadn’t yet found a full-time job, and he needed a way to pay off his college debt while looking for a new career.
“What are you griping about old man,” Nate called, as he stepped out of the stall pushing a wheelbarrow. “I’m getting it done aren’t I?”
“Young people these days,” Red groused. “You think you have all the time in the world.”
“We don’t?” Nate’s bright chuckle and shocked expression made Red shake his head.
“I guess you’re doing alright for a city kid,” the old man jibed. “If you ever get through with the work here, I thought I’d teach you how to unload a wagon full of hay, saddle a horse, and maybe even stay up on one for more than five minutes.”
“Red you know I can ride. I lived on a ranch until I was nearly fifteen.”
“That was a long time ago,” Red Dixon glared at the younger man. “I need to know you can sit a horse in a pinch if something happens to a wrangler or someone calls in sick.”
“Alright, alright,” Nate pushed the barrow to the side of the barn. “I’m finished with cleaning stalls anyway.”
Red smiled, a grizzly expression through all of the hair on his face. He liked Nate but knew there was more to the boy dragging his feet on getting a regular job than he was telling. Sure, times were hard everywhere, but there were jobs in some industries at least. No, call it intuition, or maybe divine guidance, but Red was sure that something was holding the boy back. Now if he could just figure out what it was.
It was purely by chance the old wrangler of the Broken J Dude Ranch had met the young college student. The boy had wandered into the back pew of their tiny congregation, half-drowned from a wild Wyoming storm and Red had been right behind him. Together, they had taken up residence on the last seat, listening to the preacher share the good news of redemption and renewal.
After the service, Red had invited the young man to stay for the church luncheon, and they had soon started chatting about horses, ranches, and big dreams.
By the time lunch was over, Red was offering Nate a job at the ranch to help offset any issues with wranglers being needed outside the barn. The boy was young, strong, and fit. What more could Red need? The question was what was Nate looking for?
“Come on upstairs, and I’ll teach you to use the old hay lift. Maybe you grew up on a ranch, but this place is old as the hills, and it takes some learnin’ to do things right. I don’t need to spend the next two days filling out a stack of paperwork because you fell out of the barn and broke your skinny neck.”
“Whatever you say, Red.” Nate grinned. “You’re the boss after all.”
“And don’t you forget it.”
A half an hour later, Nate was leaning on the yard arm looking down at the empty ground below, his mind running over old regrets once more.
As a relatively new Christian, he was still struggling with some aspects of his faith. In his heart, he was renewed, but old sins and past regrets still nagged at him.
“Where’d you go, son?” Red placed a hand on Nate’s shoulder pulling him back to the present.
“I’m sorry, Red.” Nate turned, ducking his head in shame as he realized he was neglecting his work. “I’m afraid my mind wandered.”
“Just so long
