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Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12, NIV
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ANASTASIA HEARD THE timer buzz, indicating the ten trays of croissants were ready to pull out of the middle oven. Thankfully, these ovens were state of the art and the buzzing sound chirped loudly. She could hear the timer from any location in the bakery. She hadn’t tired of admiring them since her first day, or maybe the second, once all three were shiny clean.
Each commercial oven also had five racks instead of the standard two or three in residential ovens, allowing her to bake in large quantities to keep up with demand. She put the oven mitts on and pulled the trays out of the oven after checking one of the croissants to see if it was done. The croissants were perfectly baked with a golden buttery outside, light and flaky inside. She slid each tray into the tall cooling racks on wheels and then pushed the cooling rack aside.
Then the buzzer went off for the oven containing her twelve boysenberry pies, enough for at least two or three days by storing them in the cooler. It was a popular flavor in Wyoming, and topped with whipped cream, customers would love them. They did sell a few pies whole, but she found they loved being able to purchase by the slice, too.
She rolled the cooling rack near the oven containing the pies and quickly pulled out the trays with three each, sliding those into the cooling rack, also. Glancing at her wristwatch, she could see she only had to wait about three more minutes and the butter cakes would be done. She’d made fifteen of the cake loaves. She would allow them to cool and then drizzle a glaze infused with lemon zest over the rich, buttery cakes.
What a relief to have most of the baking done by nine o’clock in the morning. In her opinion, it paid off to arrive at the bakery before dawn. The only items left to bake were the frosted sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, and the chocolate chip cookies for tomorrow. However, she’d likely have those finished by noon and be able to go home at two o’clock for the day. The weekend had tuckered her out and she needed rest. Amy and Caroline were happy to finish out the day since they hadn’t had to come in so early, and it was Champ Greer’s day off, but he’d return tomorrow. He’d left a note in the communication log that Saturday had gone well.
As soon as she finished pulling the buttery cakes out of the oven, her cell rang. It took her by surprise to find Jed calling on the other end of the line. “Hey Jed, what’s up?”
“Can you meet me at the barn in five minutes? It’s important.” Jed’s voice sounded urgent. Something was up.
“Sure,” she replied. “Make it about ten minutes though. It will take me a few to walk up there.”
“Okay, see you then.” Jed sounded happy, but she had no idea why.
Anastasia removed her apron and asked her cashiers to hold the fort down. Then she walked to the barns and found Jed looking more handsome than ever, leaning on a horse trailer parked outside the first barn, a coy grin on his face.
“You look happy,” she remarked.
“I am, but you’re going to be even happier.” He grinned at her.
“All right, tell me what’s happened?” She raised a brow and waited.
“Tell me where you’d like me to deliver Bridie Jane and Lollipop. With the help of my boss and our team, I was able to capture them for you this morning.”
“No. Seriously?” Her hands flew to cover her mouth and her eyes grew wide as she studied the outside of the horse trailers and then Jed’s face.
Then movement around the trailer side caught her eye, and she saw Lollipop crane her neck to peek out a small window in the trailer. She’d recognize that white heart shaped marking on her forehead anywhere. “Oh my, you’re not kidding! You captured her for me.”
It didn’t take her long to recover from her surprise. When she did, she jumped straight into Jed’s arms as her spontaneous side took over. She placed her hands on each side of his face and kissed him, long and tenderly. She could hardly deny the love growing in her heart for the cowboy who surrounded her with his patient strength and compassion. When she pulled back, the revelation had surprised her, shock written all over her face at the emotion running through her soul.
Anastasia promised herself she would never let this cowboy go, and from that moment forward, she’d never tell him again she merely wanted to be friends. If only he’d ask her to be his girl. Even that didn’t matter. She was going to stick to him like butter on toast, like frosting on cake, like peanut butter and chocolate. It didn’t matter if he asked her. She surrendered her whole heart to him. They would be inseparable if she had anything to do with it.
A LITTLE WHILE LATER, after she’d had a chance to pat Lollipop and Bridie Jane on their foreheads and soothe the flustered animals with her calming voice, Jed sat with her on a bale of hay, holding her hand while he shared the morning’s events with her. They could hear a few of the mustangs try to kick inside the trailers, but for the most part, they were beginning to settle down.
Jed cleared his throat when he’d finished relaying his adventures. “So tell me where you’d like Bridie Jane and Lollipop to be delivered? Do you need to make a phone call to anyone? The trailers are leaving as soon as Logan has finished making the arrangements.”
“You know, I’ve been thinking about it since last night after you asked me what I’d want to do with the horses, and a little more this morning while I was baking.” She scooted closer to Jed, as though she couldn’t be near enough to him. “I’d like to hire Landon to break them in and train them at Blazing Star Ranch. I mean, he’s the best trainer in the country. I know he’s probably wildly expensive, but I know he’ll do a good job. Maybe he’ll even work out a special price for me.” Anastasia turned to look Jed in the eye. “Plus, he understands the racing circuit for Lollipop better than I do. However, I have to get back to the bakery. I’ve left Caroline and Amy alone for too long as it is, and today is Champ’s day off. Will you ask Landon for me?”
“Are you sure? Cheyenne is a bit of a drive from here.” Jed reminded her.
She eyed the horse trailer. “I’m sure. It will give us somewhere to go on weekends, you and I. We can stay with my brother, McArthur, and spend time with your family, spend time at Blazing Star with these beauties.”
“WAIT A MINUTE. SO lemme get this straight.” Landon’s eyes were wider than Jed had ever seen them. “You’re just going to give these legendary horses to a girl who might eventually marry someone else? You told me yourself, she only wants to be friends.”
“Yeah.” Jed shrugged. “I know. That’s still a possibility, but I have my hopes.”
“It’s not even that I’d want you to give them to me. You could keep them for yourself. They’re born champions. Do you have any idea of how much money you could earn in quarter horse racing with horses like these?”
“Yeah.” Jed nodded. “I know. It’s not about the money.”
They were standing on the covered bridge at Landon’s request, where he could talk some sense into Jed away from all of the spectators over by the trailers where the beautiful herd had finally been captured. He’d not even dreamt of capturing the whole herd. He’d only hoped to capture the filly and the mare, or even one of them. He turned away and paced, glimpsing the little white chapel some twenty yards away, the impact of Jed’s generosity fully sinking into the depths of his soul. It was a completely selfless thing to do. He had no guarantees he’d ever see the girl and those horses again.
Ever since he’d been on this ranch, strange things had been happening. It had been like coming home—home to a time he could remember when he was a child—when he’d believed. It was as if Jesus Himself had reached down from heaven and touched his heart, through these friends, through these experiences. He stood there, looking at the chapel, staring at it, while the world stood still for a moment.
“You okay?” Jed asked.
“Yeah, I can’t really put it all into words.” Landon continued staring at the chapel.
First, he felt this strange peace every day while roaming their trails. Then, he met all of those wranglers. Christians, believers, miracle workers. Their owner turns out to be a preacher, Reverend Logan Haven. The wranglers turn out to be the deacons in the little white church, even Jed.
Then, he met Trisha, a woman who taught him he could love again, trust again, hope again for a future. And that sister of hers, who amazed him with the story of trusting in God instead of legends. The stubborn one. He had to admit, there was beauty in her dedication and faith which drew him to take a deeper look, a second look at Christianity.
Another cincher, when he met Trisha’s family. They were so blessed, so happy, leading such a rich life together. They made him laugh and enjoy life again, kinda like being with the 4-H kids when the tent fell on them. All four of Jennifer and Curt’s children around the dinner table with those smiles, and every one of them had carried their own little children’s Bible to church, clutching it to their hearts as they climbed steps bigger than they were up to the doors of God’s house.
“It’s like God is breathing new life into me, showing me what’s really important, what He did for all of us on that cross, becoming the sacrifice for our sin, so we wouldn’t have to perish. It’s kind of overwhelming when I think about it. And Trisha said it is so much more, because that’s only the beginning of where it starts. I mean, here I’ve believed in a legend, when Jesus is there to give us this more abundant life than a legend could ever begin to bring us. I mean, the horses are pretty cool, clearly talented, but I think because of the disasters that came to my own front door, I was desperate to believe in anything to take it away. In reality, all the millions of dollars in my bank account don’t hold a candle to the wealth of having love, family, friends, and new purpose.” Landon was referring to Jennifer’s family and the rich friendships these people had with each other. He didn’t know if Jed understood what he was saying, but he could see Jed nodding in his peripheral vision, even as he stared at the chapel like a light bulb was going off in his head and heart.
Trisha’s sister living in the Tetons didn’t have a ton of wealth, but they were wealthier than he was in every other way. He might have his millions, but they had laughter, truth, and love ringing through the house. Not to mention, the way Jennifer and Curtis were studying their Bible together the morning he’d gone over to their house with Jed and Anastasia, before the fishing trip. There went a couple with love for each other. The way they held hands with each other and talked to each other. His wife hadn’t wanted to go to church, let alone sit together reading the Bible, but when he read it, the words leapt off the page at him.
Then, for good measure, the Lord let Jed catch the first trout. Call him a little irrational, but that had been another little nudge. Then, that sermon, opening his eyes to the truth of the Messiah. Five-hundred eyewitnesses! Over and over again, he’d read the account in I Corinthians 15:6. That’s a whole lotta people to see a resurrected Jesus after He’d been brutally murdered. How could atheists discount five-hundred witnesses? In modern day law, eyewitness accounts counted for a lot of weight. Then, the peace they’d all walked out of the church with that Sunday before the safari. How did one explain that? It was still deeply serene in the depth of his soul, as if the finger of God had put His touch on his heart and mind. And now, this! The final piece to the puzzle seemed to be Jed giving away the horses to a girl who wanted nothing to do with him except friendship.
“I guess I’m still stunned about you giving away those horses. I didn’t even expect to bring in the whole herd. You got Logan to help you go after the entire herd for a tractor for someone else’s property—and to give Anastasia her beloved horses. I work in a corporate world where people don’t give away legendary horses. They try to win thousands or millions with them.” Landon figured he probably sounded like he was rambling.
Jed attempted to explain something he was barely grasping. “I try to wake up every day now as a Christian and realize I’ve been translated to live in the Kingdom world, even though we wait for the Messiah to return. While we’re waiting, we bring His Kingdom with us wherever we go. It means a lot of sacrificing what we want for what He wants.”
They all kept saying to know Jesus, develop a relationship with Him, spend time with Him, read His Word. Maybe the kind of love Jesus had was inside of Jed, helping him love a girl who kept rejecting him. Maybe Jed cared about her because Jesus was living inside his heart. It was exactly the kind of love he wanted to have in his heart again, the kind he’d once had, before life had become so hard. It was starting to look like it was harder to not believe than to believe. All he knew for sure was he wanted what they all had.
And now, on top of everything else, Anastasia was offering Blazing Star a chance to train the legendary horses. Logan was offering to sell him three from the herd. Some cousin by the name of Chase was going to buy three of them, and Logan was going to keep two of them. Anastasia would have the other two. So, his trip wouldn’t be wasted. He’d still come home with three more potential champions, on top of being able to train Anastasia’s horses. It was remarkable, all of it, how it was working out. He could see God’s hand all over it.
He closed his eyes and prayed silently from his heart, right there, standing in the middle of the covered bridge. He prayed the prayer he’d prayed out loud on Sunday with the whole church body, only they’d all been in their pews. Praying it twice seemed to cement it in his heart. Dear Lord Jesus, forgive me for all the things I’ve done wrong, the mistakes I’ve made. I believe again. Come into my heart and live. Teach me to love like you love, like Jed is doing. I’ll do my best to live for you for the rest of my days. Amen.
Landon turned around and smiled at his friend, a wave of peace washing over him again. He didn’t feel that much different, but he knew he’d done the right thing. Everything was going to fall in place. He couldn’t wait to buy a ring for Trisha.
“Jed, I’m rededicating my life to the Lord. I’ve been running for a long time. I’m not even sure how long, but I’ve come home now. You can tell Anastasia I said yes. I’ll train her horses. I’m going to cut her a deal too, since the publicity we’ll receive for training them will bring more customers and prestige our way. And one more thing...” Landon paused.
“What’s that, my friend?” Jed asked, a smile spreading across his face.
“You’ve really impacted me by your love for Anastasia, your patience, and your generosity. It’s really made me think about how I need to stick with Jesus and find ways to be selfless.” He paused. “I hope you get your girl in the end. Somehow, I think you will, with God’s favor.”
“I agree.” Jed nodded. “Say, not to change the subject, but how soon do you think you could have this filly ready to race in a futurity race? I’m sure she’ll ask me and I don’t have an answer to give her. Can you ballpark me?”
“I don’t know. Every horse is different. Next summer for the time trials would be best.” Landon Callahan drew in a deep breath, thankful for the changes in his life, the biggest being he’d found truth was way better than legend.