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And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28, KJV
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TORY WAS LATE TO THE barns. Being on time was not her trademark, but she had managed to be on time to everything else concerning the pageant, even early a few times. In general, she was fashionably late for everything. She’d been practicing her violin when she should’ve been heading to the big barns on the north side of the property. Mrs. Ava Taylor and Miss Marla Tremont had arranged a picnic lunch and an afternoon of horseback riding for the contestants.
The last one to the two horse barns, Jed had pointed her in the direction of a stallion, saddled and ready to ride. “Thanks, Jed.” The mustang looked like a dream to ride, and tall for the breed.
Someone approached to ask him a question, so Jed and the inquisitive guest disappeared around the corner leaving Tory to mount the horse without help. This wasn’t any problem at all in her mind. She had her own horse at home and considered herself a seasoned equestrian.
Only this horse wasn’t cooperating. She stuck one of her pink leather cowgirl boots in the stirrup, but the horse was fidgety and took several steps forward as soon as she attempted to swing into the saddle. Her hand slipped from the horn of the saddle and her foot dislodged. Somehow, she landed face and belly down on the rump of the horse, the edge of the rear of the saddle digging into her rib cage.
Her hands still held the reins, but her arms and legs dangled down over each side of the horse. It crossed her mind that being unfamiliar with the horse, she should’ve waited for Jed to offer an introduction and mounting assistance, but she’d been all too eager to prove her own worth. Besides, she was late. The rest of her party had already ridden out toward a pond somewhere out on trail number three.
“Tory?” Bronson’s voice rang out in the barn between the two rows of stalls from somewhere behind her as she heard the sound of cowboy boots approaching. Had that been a slight chuckle she detected?
Having anyone discover her in this position on a horse was an embarrassment, but having Bronson discover her like this was beyond humiliation. She rolled her eyes at herself and started to giggle. She wanted to slide off the horse and act as though nothing was out of the ordinary, but it was too late for much recourse. He’d surely wonder how she’d managed to get herself into this predicament. “Y-yes?” She tried to sound nonchalant.
“I’d recognize those pink boots anywhere.” Bronson sidled around the horse until he was in front of her face. He looked amused. “Need a little help?”
Tory managed to prop her chin up by resting her elbows on the rump of the horse. She gave him the prettiest smile she could manage as heat rose to her cheeks. “Why, yes, you could say that.” The man could find her in a puddle of mud and her heart would melt.
Bronson held out a hand to steady her as she slid down off the backside of the horse until her boots landed on the immaculate cement barn floor. The wranglers kept the barn well-organized, tidy, and swept clean.
“Thank you,” she said, giggling when she looked up into his eyes. “I’m normally pretty good with horses, but this one moved while I was mounting.”
“That’s Storm, Logan Haven’s best stallion. He can be restless and antsy sometimes.” He patted the horse. Then he pointed to a step-stool she hadn’t seen before. “Plus, he’s kind of tall. Feel free to use the step-stool if you ride him again.”
“Tall? You don’t say?” She giggled again, tipping her hat up so she could see his face better.
“Ready?” He picked her up and set her on the horse in a side saddle position. She easily swung a leg around this time. After he adjusted both of the stirrups for her, she placed both of her boots in them. “Thank you, Bronson.”
“You headed out for the picnic on trail number three?” He took his cowboy hat off and ran a hand through his hair, holding a hand on the horse to steady the frisky stallion.
She nodded, “I studied the brochure, so I think I know where it is.”
“Would you care to join me for pizza this evening at a place I know in Lander?” Bronson looked up at her, adding, “We could talk about your ideas for hosting the Pioneer Week and I could pick you up at your cabin, say around seven?”
“I’d love to. See you at seven. Cabin eight.” She gave him another of her sweet smiles, flipped one of her brunette braids over her shoulder, and urged the horse forward with a nudge of the stirrups at his girth. She knew all of the pizza places in Lander. There weren’t many and none were too far from the property, but she guessed he’d be driving a pick-up truck like most cowboys she knew. Sitting up straighter in the saddle, she rode the horse out of the barn like a princess with a smile as wide as a Wyoming prairie.
SINCE BEFORE LOGAN and Jill had left for Ireland, Buck had been working hard every evening to clean up the two-bedroom cabin Logan had gifted him. This time he’d brought Jed along to help move the furniture in he’d brought from a storage unit. Maybe Logan was right. He just needed to put his faith into action. What better way than to begin preparing a home for his wife and act upon the belief God would wake her up out of that deep sleep?
He’d been tucking most of each of his paychecks away so he and Ella could have a fresh start when...well, he wouldn’t think about it too much. God was just going to have to heal her. He wasn’t ready to even consider the idea of his wife not pulling through this thing. When Logan had so generously gifted him the place, he made a list of what needed to be done to fix things up and realized he’d banked enough money to afford a few nice updates.
“Wow, the cabin looks real good, Buck! You’ve done a lot to the place.” Jed’s mouth dropped open as he looked in all of the rooms before hauling in the furniture. “You must’ve spent hours out here.”
“Yeah, I guess you could say it kept me busy. I don’t like being idle.” Buck looked around at the wood floors he’d swept and scrubbed. They were almost good as new now, but he’d had to put new tile in the kitchen and bathroom. He’d also had to clean the stone chimney and lay new stone tiles down at the hearth to replace the cracked ones. There were new appliances and counters he’d installed in the kitchen. A couple of windows had been replaced and now, new blinds hung on them all. He’d accomplished all of it by himself except for having the appliances delivered.
“Looks real nice, boss. Ella will like it.” Jed stepped inside the master bedroom. His voice echoed through the empty rooms when he added, “Hey, there’s a walk-in closet in here. Women love those.”
“They sure do,” Buck grinned. He’d taken the time to make the closet bigger. His wife had plenty of clothes and shoes to fill it up, but he suspected she’d need new clothes with all of the weight she’d lost being in the hospital down in Cheyenne.
While working on the cabin, he’d come to realize God was working all things together for his good. If things worked out the way he and Logan thought they would, Buck would be able to move into the cabin debt-free except for Ella’s remaining medical bills. Logan would give him a title to the place when he was sure the hospital was satisfied or satisfactory arrangements had been made and they were both assured the hospital wouldn’t come after the property.
Buck stood in the door to the bedroom so Jed—still inspecting the fancy new closet—could hear him. He had put in all sorts of new shelving and plenty of cubbies for his wife’s shoes. “I appreciate ya comin’ out to give me a hand. Seems McGuire’s busy with makin’ weddin’ plans with Katie every night or his two little girls, an’ Bronson is pre-occupied with Jill and Logan’s idea’r tuh do a Pioneer Week.”
“Yeah, I noticed they both been real busy. I kinda think Bronson’s got a thing for that Tory girl.” Jed chuckled.
“Yep, I think so, too.” Buck looked around at the cabin one last time before they’d get to work bringing in the furniture. Slowly, it had all begun to make sense. God had a way of making things come together. He’d been faithfully serving the Lord with his wife all these years by tithing, going to church, witnessing, and living a good, honest, humble life. Now, Buck began to see that though the enemy had attacked them through Ella’s sickness in the area of her health and their property, God was going to take what the devil meant for harm and bring them out stronger and better than before. Wasn’t it just like the goodness and mercy of God to come up with such a marvelous plan?
“What’s out back?” Jed returned to the main room and walked through to the dining area of the open floor plan so he could look out of the French doors leading to the deck and backyard.
Buck grinned again. “I’m glad ya brought that up. Since the inside is almost done, exceptin’ fer the unpacking tuh do, I might could use a hand with the yardwork and sprucin’ up the front porch an’ deck.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Jed nodded. “Let’s get that furniture unloaded. We can’t have Ella come home to an empty house.” He followed Buck onto the small, covered front porch. “The porch is big enough for a swing and some porch furniture.”
“Yeah, that’s one thing Ella’s goin’ tuh love. She loved to swing on our porch swing and read books.” Buck smiled to picture his lovely wife on their new porch. “I still have our swing and garden furniture. That’ll be on the next load, though.”
As they walked out to their pick-up trucks, Jed asked, “You got someone to hang curtains and help you unpack stuff? Maybe you could ask Jill or her Aunt Meredith or Sadie for some help.”
Buck opened the tailgate of the bed to his truck and rested a hand on the hand-carved headboard to the double bed he’d shared with his wife since they’d married thirty years ago. The knotty-pine piece carved with roses, leaves, and vines had been a wedding gift he’d made for his beautiful bride during the days of their long engagement. He’d been eighteen and she’d been seventeen the Christmas he’d hidden a ring in her family Christmas tree—a ring for the prettiest girl he’d ever laid eyes on, and still was in his book.
Though they’d been high school sweethearts for three years, Ella’s father had insisted on a one year engagement—and they weren’t allowed to marry one day before she turned eighteen and graduated from high school. Carving that headboard had kept him busy while he’d patiently waited to marry his bride. He shook his head in response to Jed’s thoughtful suggestion. He knew Jed was just tryin’ to be helpful, but he knew better than to mess with a woman’s domain. “Nah, I may unpack a few things, but I kinda think my wife is gonna have 'er own ideas ‘bout that sorta thing. You wait 'n see.”