Page 34 of A Cowboy's Convenient Marriage

Chapter 13

Cash couldn’t believehow tight his stomach felt. Tight, and squirmy, like there was a can of worms open and crawling around in it.

For some reason, he really, really enjoyed his time with Ada. He truly cared about what she said. It wasn’t about the money. Although he would be lying if he didn’t admit that there were parts of him that would be absolutely devastated to have a chance of getting one billion dollars and to lose that chance.

Still, Ada was one of those girls that were once-in-a-lifetime. She was sweet and intelligent and loved the Lord, which was the most important thing, but she also had a sense of humor, and she wasn’t afraid to work. Not in the house, not on the farm, whatever needed done, she did it. She loved her family, and it was obvious that they loved and adored her.

If there was such a thing as a perfect person, he figured Ada was it.

He tried to think about her flaws. Maybe she was a little bit of a homebody. If God called him to someplace far away, Ada might have trouble going. In fact, he kinda thought she might have trouble going off the farm.

Leaving the farm and leaving her family. She admitted that she was in her thirties, and had never been away from her family. She didn’t seem to realize how odd that was, and she wasn’t ashamed of it at all. Actually, he liked that. But, when she married him would she see him as the head of her new family? Would she still feel pulled back to her siblings?

If he was moving to Virginia, he wouldn’t think twice, because it would be far enough away from her family that he wouldn’t be afraid that he’d wake up every morning to her running to them for some reason or another. Especially, if they ever had any kind of disagreement, he could see Ada being the kind of girl who would go home. Home, meaning to her original family, and not the one she was making with him.

Beyond that, he could see her maybe as too much of a giver. If there was such a thing. He wasn’t sure that there was though, because the Bible didn’t put any limitations on what people should give. Of themselves, of their money, of their time, of anything that God had given them. It seemed like the more a person gave away, the more God gave them. It was a principle that he talked about in His Word. And, it wasn’t limited to just money and things. Ada lived that out beautifully, but...again he wondered if maybe it was too much. Even as he felt like there was no such thing.

It was an odd feeling, but he’d never seen anyone who seemed to be as selfless as what Ada was.

Otherwise, he couldn’t think of any flaws. Sometimes flaws came out as you got to know a person. Phrases they repeated, or jokes they told constantly that were funny at first but became irritating after the twenty millionth time.

Only time would tell about that. But those weren’t major flaws. Those were just little things that he could absolutely live with. Anyone could, if they were serious about loving their spouse through good times and bad.

Lord, help me to accept whatever it is that you work out. It’s out of my hands now, and into yours. Place on Ada’s heart whatever it is that you want, and help her to have the answer that is best.

He pulled into the yard, and to his surprise, Ada was sitting on the porch swing, seemingly waiting for him, because when he pulled in, she closed something. As he looked closer, he realized it was a Bible. She set it on the railing, and then walked down the porch steps.

She was in her bare feet. Immediately thought of Abby, his ex-fiancé. She would never go anywhere in her bare feet, and especially not walking around outside. But, he was in a different place here. Abby would have been a perfect wife for his big mega church in Virginia, but Ada was a perfect country church wife. She wouldn’t be happy in the more populous area in Virginia, and...she might look a little out of place anyway. The thought bothered him on some level, but he didn’t examine it too closely. Because it didn’t matter. He had left Virginia, and he wasn’t going back.

Ada met him as he got out of the car.

He opened his mouth to say something but she said, “If your offer is still open, I say yes.”

He leaned his head back and laughed.

“I was so nervous coming here. I was praying, and...even if you hadn’t said yes, I wanted to ask if it would be okay if I could court you.”

“Really?” she asked, sounding very surprised.

“Yeah. After spending the day with you yesterday, I... am having trouble finding any faults. Other than perhaps you are attached to your family more than is comfortable.” Maybe he shouldn’t have told her what he thought her faults were.

“That’s funny. Because I couldn’t think of any faults about you.” She tilted her head, and spoke in a kind of sassy, almost flirting way. He blinked. She was flirting with him? That was definitely what it seemed like. He liked it.

Of course, she buttered up to him, too, because she told him she didn’t see any faults in him. He laughed at the idea and decided that he might as well challenge her on it.

“No faults? I think you didn’t spend enough time with me.”

“No. I just turn a blind eye to the faults in people. And I don’t see them. In anyone.” She lifted her shoulder and winked at him.

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