KIMBERLY DIDN’T SLEEP THAT NIGHT. EVERY TIME she closed her eyes, she saw Chet walking away from her with that long stride she’d come to love. It had hurt, his leaving like that, but it wasn’t as if she couldn’t guess why. He figured she was leaving Kings Meadow, and he wasn’t about to ask her to stay. And that’s what hurt the most.
Please, God. Make him ask me to stay.
Chet had never actually said the words, “I love you,” but he’d seemed to say it without words in a dozen different ways. The concert. The hot springs. The riding lessons. The kisses. The dancing on the Fourth. The work they’d done together on Ultimate Adventures. All of it had brought them closer to each other.
Around six o’clock in the morning, still unable to sleep, she arrived at another conclusion: She didn’t want to leave Kings Meadow. Not for any job. Not for a big salary. Not for a return to the big city. Not because she’d fallen in love with Chet—and she most definitely loved him, despite all her attempts not to. No, it was because she’d found a new kind of life here. A good life. A contented life. She’d found a new family, too, although she couldn’t claim them as hers. Not yet. But she wanted to claim them. If only Chet would ask her to.
Several hours later, Kimberly and Tara arrived at the ranch. Wearing jeans, boots, cotton top, and a cowboy hat, Kimberly hoped she didn’t look as tired and frayed as she felt. Anna was alone when they got there. Chet and the boys were all up at Cabin #1, putting fresh linens on the beds, checking supplies, and making sure the large canvas tent was secure should a strong wind blow through. The ranch hands had separated the “dude stock” into a paddock and were now busy cleaning saddles and tack. Two used golf carts, purchased the previous week, sat in readiness for the use of the guests.
“What can we do, Anna?” Kimberly asked.
“Not a blessed thing. Everything for tonight’s barbecue is ready and in the coolers. The grill’s in the back of one of the pickups. Chet took brochures for all the different excursions that are available up with him to the cabin. You know the Wainrights already signed up for white-water rafting on Tuesday and gold panning on Wednesday. That leaves them several days still to fill, if they choose.”
“They might want to relax in the hammock or go riding.”
“That’s what I’d do,” Anna said with a smile.
Kimberly glanced in the direction of Cabin #1. Should she go up there to see Chet or should she wait until he returned?
“Mom,” Tara said, “I think I’ll brush the horses so they’ll look their best when Patty gets here.”
Tara hurried toward the barn.
Kimberly drew a quick breath. “I guess I’ll see to a few things in the office.”
Before Kimberly could head for the guesthouse, Anna asked, “Did you and Chet have a quarrel?”
“No.” It was the truth—they hadn’t quarreled—but still it seemed a lie.
“Something happened.” Anna’s eyes narrowed as she studied Kimberly. “He’s been in a strange mood ever since yesterday, and you look like you’ve been dragged through a knothole.”
Kimberly would have loved to bare her soul, but it didn’t feel right to talk about her feelings with anyone before she talked about them with Chet. Only, what if he didn’t feel the same way? What if he never meant to propose as she’d begun to believe he might? Maybe she’d been wrong about him. Maybe he’d wanted a girlfriend and not a wife. Once burned, twice shy. And if he didn’t love her, if he couldn’t love her, wouldn’t it be better if she relocated to Seattle, far from the memories of another broken heart?
“My dear,” Anna said. “Would you do me a favor while you’re in the office?”
“Of course. What is it?”
“Pray about whatever is troubling you.”
Sudden emotion overcame her. Before she could burst into tears, Kimberly nodded and hurried away.
“Pray about whatever is troubling you.”
She hadn’t prayed about her feelings for Chet, had she? She hadn’t asked for God’s will to be done when it came to where she should live or what work she should do. She rarely prayed much beyond those arrow prayers of “Help me, Lord!” or “Please, God.” That wasn’t the kind of praying Anna meant, and Kimberly knew it.
In the office, she closed the door behind her. Instead of going to the desk, she went to the single bed that stood in one corner of the former bedroom. She knelt on the rug and folded her hands atop the bedspread. The position felt awkward. But it shouldn’t, and it shamed her. Kneeling in prayer should be the most natural of positions for someone who professed to be a Christian.
She closed her eyes and tried to think of the right words to say. But eventually she realized she didn’t need to censor her words. She didn’t need to sound intelligent or righteous. She needed to be honest, to pour out her heart. And so that was what she did. Talked things over with the Father who loved her. No pretense. No shaving of the truth. Frank. Honest. And more than a little broken.
CHET DIDN’T HAVE ANY CHOICE BUT TO BE AT THE house to welcome their guests. If he could have avoided it, he would have. He wasn’t ready to face Kimberly again. Not yet. There was an ache in his gut that wouldn’t go away, and he knew seeing her would only make it worse. As it was, he managed not to run into Kimberly until after the Wainrights came up the drive in their rental minivan, a big dust cloud trailing behind them.
Anna, Tara, and the boys joined Chet, and they walked as a group toward the vehicle that had parked in a recently designated parking area. “Where’s Kimberly?” he asked Anna in a low voice.
“In the office.”
He glanced back at the cottage, wondering if she’d heard the sounds in the barnyard. She must be eager to see her friends.
The front doors of the vehicle swung open at the same time the side doors slid toward the back. Their guests’ feet had barely touched the ground before Tara raced over to one of the girls, and the two of them embraced. They laughed and hugged and laughed again. They talked rapidly at the same time. Chet hadn’t a clue what either of them said, but they understood each other.
Once Jeffrey Wainright joined his wife on the passenger side of the van, Chet stepped forward, offering his hand. “Welcome to the Leonard ranch.”
“Thank you. We’re glad to be here.” They shook hands. “Beautiful country.”
Chet heard Kimberly’s approach a moment before Irena Wainright smiled and called out her name. The women didn’t embrace as their daughters had, but they clasped hands and greeted each other with warmth.
Irena took one step back and gave Kimberly a thorough study. “Look at you. You’ve gone native.”
Chet hadn’t noticed what Kimberly wore. He’d just been glad to see her and wondered why he’d been so desperate to avoid her. But now he noticed. From the top of her white hat to the tip of her boots, she looked one hundred percent Idaho cowgirl.
And it broke his heart that it might not be true.