Page 49 of Wish You Faith

Monday morning, Evan had picked up Rosie from her house so that they could carpool to work together. He’d shown up early enough to be invited in for breakfast. Mom made pecan pancakes and totally accepted him.

Oddly enough, Mom was the one who had no problem with a whirlwind romance. In fact, she reminded Rosie that her maternal grandparents had gone on a blind date, and by the end of lunch at the soda fountain counter, Grandpa had proposed and Grandma agreed. They were married a month later and went on to be happily married for sixty years until Grandpa passed away.

That insta-engagement record still stood in the Hamilton family.

So, was Evan her boyfriend or not?

Travis dropped down to one knee, and he held up the biggest diamond engagement ring that Rosie had ever seen. It glittered under the midday sun.

“Will you marry me?” Travis yelled.

“She can’t! She’s taken!” A male voice yelled out from among the Christmas trees.

Rosie’s breath caught. She recognized the voice because she had been listening to it every single day for more than a week.

Evan stepped into the dirt path between the trees. He was half a foot shorter than Travis, and was no match for the bodybuilder and gym owner.

Regardless, relief washed over Rosie. She thanked God that Evan was here with her. She didn’t want to be afraid of Travis, but he was making her uncomfortable by the day.

Truth be told, she just wanted a peaceful life, to do her work, and be with Mom in what might be potentially her last year on earth if her cancer returned.

It hadn’t been in Rosie’s plan to have a boyfriend in the midst of it.

Evan stepped closer.

“What did you say?” Horror washed across Travis’s face.

Rosie almost pulled Evan behind her to protect him from any physical blows that Travis might inflict—although she didn’t believe that Travis was violent. He was simply desperate.

He had broken up with Bellina to free himself up for Rosie. To Rosie, that was a silly mistake that she’d tried to clarify many times to no avail. Bellina hated her, but they still had to cross paths at the tree farm.

Evan put his arm around Rosie’s waist. “You can’t marry someone else’s girlfriend.”

Are we like high school kids here?

Rosie dared not say a word.

Wait a second.

Did Evan just make a declaration?

Rosie’s knee almost buckled. If not for Evan holding her, she might not be standing right now.

She was finally someone’s girlfriend after years of being single. She hadn’t dated since… Oh, she couldn’t remember when. She hadn’t expected to find a boyfriend anytime soon. She’d been so busy working and taking care of Mom, at the expense of her personal life.

Along came Evan, and two weeks with him was enough to move her heart and make it warm up every time he was around. He was nice to Mom, and she liked him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t cook, and that was a negative.

Wait...

What am I doing? Evaluating him?

“I thought she was single.” Travis’s broad shoulders slacked. Both of his knees were on the ground, and he looked so dejected that he was almost crying.

Rosie started to feel sorry for him. “I pray that God will bring you the right girl.”

Travis frowned. “Don’t you bring God into this. If God was so good, He’d give you to me.”

“Someday you’ll find your Mrs. Right.” Evan’s arm felt warm around Rosie’s waist.

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