Nate felt his heart lurch at the old man’s words. Could he truly tell him what plagued his heart? Would Red look down on him if he knew what he had done?
Each morning the Cowboys for Christ gathered in one of the empty stalls to start their day with a devotional and prayer. A practice that had filled Nate with peace, hope, and a positive outlook for the day ahead. Since arriving at the ranch, Nate had been shocked to find grown men of God confessing to imperfections, slights, and wrongs. Even the head wrangler and part-owner of the place, Chase Haven, had confessed to getting short-tempered with his little girl’s poor sleeping habits.
Silence filled the upper storage area of the barn as Nate struggled with his inner demons. His heart cried out for the relief of confession, but his mind balked at sharing. Closing his eyes he opened his mouth and began.
“There’s something I need to put right before I can move on,” he said, his voice soft. “As a senior in high school, I turned my back on my biggest mistake.” The young man’s dark eyes lifted, meeting Red’s blue gaze, surprised to find not condemnation, but understanding. “I had a girlfriend back then, and well, you know how things go. I was determined to go to college, to get my degree and nab a fat cat job. There was no room for her and a baby in the mix. We were just kids and,” Nate swallowed hard, “and I walked away without a backward glance.”
Red rested a hand on Nathan’s shoulder, the way he might on his own grandson’s if he needed comfort. “You think you need to make amends.”
“I’m afraid to find out what happened,” Nate’s reply was raw honesty. “Whatever happened to Rainy and the baby rests on my shoulders. I should have stepped up and taken responsibility or at least offered an alternative to whatever she was forced to do.”
“That’s hard, son,” Red agreed. “What you’re feeling is the prompting of the Spirit to make things right or at least confess your wrong-doing in the situation.”
“I don’t think I can,” Nathan sighed. “I’m just not strong enough. I’ve only been a Christian a year, and I don’t know how to handle something like this. I don’t even know where to begin.”
“You begin in prayer,” Red’s words were soft and he bowed his head. “Ask God for the strength, wisdom, and opportunity to do His will. The rest is up to Him.”
Chapter 2
“Are you sure you have everything? You have enough clothes. Did you pack warm jackets? You know it could get cold out there.”
“Mom,” Rainy only managed to keep from rolling her eyes. “We have everything. Did you pack? You’ve been fussing so much about me that you’ve probably left half of your stuff in your room.”
“Oh, my!” The older woman threw her hands in the air racing back toward the house.
“I’ll help Mrs. Smythe,” a tall blonde woman called striding toward the house and giving a wave to her oldest friend. “Be back in a sec Rainy.”
“Thanks, Anne,” the petite dark-haired girl waved turning back to the packed SUV. “What do you say, little man?” she checked the straps on her son’s car seat. “Are you ready to go.”
“Let’s go, Mommy!” the four-year-old shouted, offering her a huge dimpled grin.
Rainy, brushed a lock of dark chestnut hair from her son’s forehead, noting the soft highlights of gold in his thick locks. He was the most precious thing she had ever known, and she loved him with all of her heart.
“We see horsies, Mommy?” the boy asked.
“We will see lots of horses. I’ll even take you for a ride if they allow it. You have to be a good boy though. No tantrums.”
“I be good.”
“You are my angel, aren’t you Lucas?” Rainy leaned over kissing the boy who grabbed her neck, hugging her tight. Until this tiny miracle, that almost wasn’t, came into her life, she had never known a love so pure and perfect. He was her world, and as he grew, she was starting to find her feet again.
A teenage pregnancy on her own had thrown Rainy for a loop, especially when the man she had believed loved her had walked away, leaving her to deal with the situation on her own. If not for her parents and her best friend, she didn’t know if she would have made it.
“I have everything now,” Mrs. Smythe hurried back out of the house, Anne loaded down with two suitcases and a duffle bag. “I think I’m ready.”
Rainy smiled at her mother. Short, plump and often flustered Mrs. Smythe was still the rock that Rainy had leaned on during the past five years. “Where’s dad?”
“Oh my goodness!” Mrs. Smythe was off again heading back to the house as a tall, severe-looking man stepped out of the house. “Are you finally ready Dana?”
“Yes, I was just coming to get you. I’m so excited.”
“We can tell,” Mr. Smythe drawled making the two younger women laugh. Although, tall and austere Owen Smythe had a dry wit that often had his whole family in stitches. He had been devastated when his only daughter had broken the news about the baby and had threatened every kind of retribution on the young man who had run off leaving her to deal with the problem on her own.
“Go, Poppa, go!” Lucas urged. “I wanna see the horsies.”
Within a half-hour, little Lucas was asleep in his car seat as the big red SUV ate up the miles. Anne sitting in the back seat chatted with Rainy, talking about handsome cowboys, and romantic evenings under the stars. “I think they even have a cattle drive and chuckwagon cookout.”
“I’ll fit in everything I can between nap times and dinner,” Rainy said.
