I’ve got some portable tables, too, for bigger groups like this one. You can help put ‘em up.”
“At your service, milady.” He doffed his hat, and she made him breathless with another dazzler of a smile.
As soon as the wagon pulled up, he jumped off, not waiting until she parked it near a stand of frees. “I’ll be back for those tables in a minute,” he told her, assuring her he wasn’t running off, but needed time alone before he said something he doubted she’d want to hear, mostly something like them needing to be together.
The “in love” thing he’d save for some other time.
Satisfaction all but smothered him. For he knew there’d be some other time.
7
Ma was simply too wise. Kelly had listened to her and not discounted the sparkles.
Singing some Reba as she pulled lunch fixin’s from her wagon, Kelley positioned herself so she could enjoy the eye candy of Jason putting up the portable tables. Quick, easy, he looked like he’d done so a million times. Well, maybe he had. She chuckled. She had no idea exactly what fixtures composed a commune. Beneath his khaki long-sleeved shirt and snug Wranglers, his muscles moved lusciously, and her blood surged at the sight.
A commune, huh? She dumped ingredients in a massive wooden bowl and considered. What had his life been like, on the run, no firm foundation? No crazy, annoying, fabulous, indispensible siblings? No parents who had committed for better or worse?
Just like Ma with Pa, Kelley had discovered deep down that Hearts Crossing Ranch was just what Jason needed. Not just for now, but forever. Roots and hard work, in-laws and outlaws, supper together and Wednesday devotions, the faith in Jesus that made you whole. All things goofy, nutty and wonderful that made up a family. And as she sprinkled homegrown dried blueberries across the vegetables, she knew Ma’s reminder about leaning on God had been just what she’d needed to hear.
A vision of Jason old and gray at her side had begun to grow since four twenty-eight this morning. Once again, Ma had been right. Not only about the sparkles, but also that God’s Word never returns void. He does provide, and surely that meant providing the bread of life to Jason. Kelley’s own faith might have taken a beating of late, but since yesterday, the love and faith, those foundations of Hearts Crossing, had taken hold of her again. She’d suspected she’d feel better, coming home, and she’d been right.
She tossed her specialty dressing in everyday mayonnaise jars. Truth was, God had never let down anybody. He might say no, He might reply not now, even not ever. He might allow sorrow and tribulation—and He had, but for one reason only, to teach that He alone had the power to sustain you in the troublesome day to day, to provide you with all you needed, in the here and now—and most importantly, forever in Heaven.
There hadn’t ever yet been a child of God who didn’t roil on the seas of earthly storms. Today, here under the same sun that blessed Hearts Crossing Ranch for more than a century, Kelley realized she weathered such a storm. If Vegeterra wasn’t deigned to be long for this world, God would lead her down another path.
And just maybe He had led her home. For the past few years, she’d been busy as a sous chef in Denver or working her fingers off in Sunset Hills. Maybe this time, she was to stay put. Start the next chapter. She knew in her heart if God said no to Vegeterra, He wasn’t saying not ever. Just not now, not there. The year’s experience as a businesswoman as well as chef had certainly taught Kelley an abundance of new lessons in finance and recipes. She knew she hadn’t wasted her time.
Thank you, Heavenly Father.
“Looks good.” Jason said at her side, his chore completed. Her heart all but exploded.
“Thanks.” She had made the artfully arranged salad a hundred times, but Jason’s compliment, as he helped lay out the platters of cheese, sliced
“At your service, milady.” He doffed his hat, and she made him breathless with another dazzler of a smile.
As soon as the wagon pulled up, he jumped off, not waiting until she parked it near a stand of frees. “I’ll be back for those tables in a minute,” he told her, assuring her he wasn’t running off, but needed time alone before he said something he doubted she’d want to hear, mostly something like them needing to be together.
The “in love” thing he’d save for some other time.
Satisfaction all but smothered him. For he knew there’d be some other time.
7
Ma was simply too wise. Kelly had listened to her and not discounted the sparkles.
Singing some Reba as she pulled lunch fixin’s from her wagon, Kelley positioned herself so she could enjoy the eye candy of Jason putting up the portable tables. Quick, easy, he looked like he’d done so a million times. Well, maybe he had. She chuckled. She had no idea exactly what fixtures composed a commune. Beneath his khaki long-sleeved shirt and snug Wranglers, his muscles moved lusciously, and her blood surged at the sight.
A commune, huh? She dumped ingredients in a massive wooden bowl and considered. What had his life been like, on the run, no firm foundation? No crazy, annoying, fabulous, indispensible siblings? No parents who had committed for better or worse?
Just like Ma with Pa, Kelley had discovered deep down that Hearts Crossing Ranch was just what Jason needed. Not just for now, but forever. Roots and hard work, in-laws and outlaws, supper together and Wednesday devotions, the faith in Jesus that made you whole. All things goofy, nutty and wonderful that made up a family. And as she sprinkled homegrown dried blueberries across the vegetables, she knew Ma’s reminder about leaning on God had been just what she’d needed to hear.
A vision of Jason old and gray at her side had begun to grow since four twenty-eight this morning. Once again, Ma had been right. Not only about the sparkles, but also that God’s Word never returns void. He does provide, and surely that meant providing the bread of life to Jason. Kelley’s own faith might have taken a beating of late, but since yesterday, the love and faith, those foundations of Hearts Crossing, had taken hold of her again. She’d suspected she’d feel better, coming home, and she’d been right.
She tossed her specialty dressing in everyday mayonnaise jars. Truth was, God had never let down anybody. He might say no, He might reply not now, even not ever. He might allow sorrow and tribulation—and He had, but for one reason only, to teach that He alone had the power to sustain you in the troublesome day to day, to provide you with all you needed, in the here and now—and most importantly, forever in Heaven.
There hadn’t ever yet been a child of God who didn’t roil on the seas of earthly storms. Today, here under the same sun that blessed Hearts Crossing Ranch for more than a century, Kelley realized she weathered such a storm. If Vegeterra wasn’t deigned to be long for this world, God would lead her down another path.
And just maybe He had led her home. For the past few years, she’d been busy as a sous chef in Denver or working her fingers off in Sunset Hills. Maybe this time, she was to stay put. Start the next chapter. She knew in her heart if God said no to Vegeterra, He wasn’t saying not ever. Just not now, not there. The year’s experience as a businesswoman as well as chef had certainly taught Kelley an abundance of new lessons in finance and recipes. She knew she hadn’t wasted her time.
Thank you, Heavenly Father.
“Looks good.” Jason said at her side, his chore completed. Her heart all but exploded.
“Thanks.” She had made the artfully arranged salad a hundred times, but Jason’s compliment, as he helped lay out the platters of cheese, sliced
Similar Books
