Deb Kastner - His Texas Bride

“Things didn’t turn out quite the way you’d planned.” It was a statement, not a question.

“No. They didn’t. But life never does, does it? At least I have Tyler to show for my efforts, even though I haven’t been the greatest dad. And you have your tourist ranch.”

Ellie was so surprised, she stood suddenly, knocking Buck off balance and onto his backside in the hay.

He didn’t know, did he? About the ranch, and the role he now played in it? Somehow she’d assumed someone had told him why he was here, besides to attend his mother’s funeral.

She offered him a hand up, which he willingly took, giving her the crooked grin she’d once found so adorable, and that still did funny things to her insides.

What should she say now?

Should she be the one to tell him about the ranch?

No, she decided suddenly. Let the lawyer do the honors. There was no reason she had to be the one to spring such news on the man. In fact, given the circumstances, she was probably the last one who should be blabbing anything to Buck.

“Tyler is a very special kid,” Ellie remarked, smiling gently at Buck.

“Just don’t let him hear you call him that. He thinks he was born forty years old. And I suppose my lifestyle hasn’t lent him much in that arena.”

Ellie didn’t ask about Buck’s wife, Julie. She knew the story from Mama Esther, heard it during many of the long talks they’d shared. That Julie had abruptly deserted Buck was almost more than Ellie’s mind could comprehend, but that she had likewise abandoned her own two-year-old son—well, that was entirely beyond Ellie’s frame of reference. She still felt angry every time she thought about it.

“You’re a good father, Buck,” she stated emphatically. “Anyone who sees you with the boy can tell that.”

“He doesn’t think so,” Buck muttered. “And I’m not so sure of that myself. He’s got so much anger built up inside of him. I think he might just explode some day.”

“Maybe I can help with that,” Ellie offered. “My ranch is called therapeutic for a reason.”

Buck lifted an eyebrow. “It’s kind of you to offer, Ellie,” he said, running a hand down his face, “but we aren’t going to be in town that long.”

Ellie nodded, but inside, she knew otherwise. Buck didn’t know it yet, but he was going to stay. She had to make him stay, or everything she’d worked for her whole life would go up in smoke.

The ranch. Her ministry.

Everything.

And she wasn’t about to let that happen.

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