Page 89 of Falling for the Cowgirl
His labored breathing filled the silence. His chest tightened. And then before anything could work to stop him, he held out his hand. “I’ve fallen down, God. I need you to hold me up and walk alongside me.”
He waited and prayed, letting God’s presence and peace settle around him. Although he might stumble many more times in his life, he wanted to move forward as a good man whose steps were ordered by the Lord. And to do that, he knew exactly where he needed to go.
Chapter
28
“How much longer do I need to wear this blasted thing?” Ivy tugged at the neckerchief covering her eyes.
Judd guided her toward the door of the cabin they’d built last month. “Quit your bellyachin’, or you’re gonna ruin the surprise.”
“I’ve got too much work to do today for surprises.” Even as the words left her mouth, she couldn’t contain her smile.
So much had happened over the past two months since she and Judd had moved out to her ranch. They’d lived in tents during September and part of October while they’d labored on the cabin, outhouse, and smokehouse. For the last couple of weeks, they’d been busy getting the interior of the cabin fixed up, installing a stove, and furnishing it by using the stash of money she’d saved up.
They didn’t have fresh produce of their own, but Greta had been more than willing to share the bounty from her garden since Judd was the one who’d done most of the hard work on it. Ivy had spent long hours preserving vegetableswith Greta, while Judd had done some hunting and had started smoking meat for the winter.
Now the shelves Judd had constructed were full to the brim with canned goods. Even though Ivy knew she could always call on her brothers over the winter if she ever got in a bind, it felt real good to have everything stored up.
She’d had just enough money left to make her first sheep purchase from Utah, and the seller had promised to deliver them before winter set in. With the end of October drawing near, snow had already started to fall in the higher elevations. They didn’t have too many more days left before additional snow would make the mountain passes difficult for traveling—if not impossible.
Even if she didn’t get her sheep before winter, she was still mighty happy with all she’d accomplished.
As Judd opened the door and the cold air swirled through her skirt and sent a chill over her bare feet, she was guessing somehow the sheep had come in and Judd had kept them over at Flynn’s or Brody’s and was hoping to surprise her with them.
Her heart swelled with affection for this man who’d become a father and mentor over the past weeks. He was crusty on the outside, but deep down he was the softest man she’d ever known.
“Come on now,” he said testily. “Quit dragging your feet, or you’ll force me to get the cattle prod back out.”
Her smile only widened at the thought of the summer day when he’d climbed up to her room and prodded her out of bed. He hadn’t coddled her like everyone else. He’d been downright rough. But it had worked. He’d woken her up to her need to stop trying to build her life on a crumbling foundationand instead to find her acceptance in God’s unfailing love, in the One who would never leave or forsake her.
She still missed Jericho something fierce. And at times her heart and arms ached for baby Willa. She’d always miss them, especially Jericho. But she was learning to take her aches to the Lord instead of trying to bear them all herself.
As she stepped outside, the cool dew on the grass settled between her toes. “What is it?” she pestered Judd again. “You gonna make me wear this thing all day?”
He harrumphed and led her a dozen paces away from the cabin. The morning sun bathed her skin with warmth even if the air was chilly.
She breathed in deeply, relishing the scent of the juniper and spruce that bordered the cabin. She was finally home. Not just because she had a place of her own, but because the restlessness she’d felt for so many years was drifting out of her life. A new peace had come in to take its place. Even her resentment toward her ma didn’t seem quite as important anymore. Or maybe now that she’d experienced such deep heartache at losing Jericho, she could sympathize better with the losses her ma had faced.
“Alright.” Judd brought her to a stop. “Now hold still.”
She remained motionless as he tugged the knot in the neckerchief free at the back of her head. When the cloth fell down, she blinked against the brightness of the sunshine. As she took in the sight that met her, she gasped.
There in the middle of the clearing stood what appeared to be half the town of Fairplay—men, women, even children. “Surprise!” came a chorus of happy shouts.
“Holy Saint Peter!” Where had they all come from? And when had they arrived? No wonder Judd had kept her busyinside the cabin for the past hour, helping him dry and sort seeds for next year’s planting.
Judd was grinning like a little tike who’d just roped his first livestock. “They’re here for a barn raisin’.”
“Barn raisin’? You said we’d have to make do with a lean-to for the winter.”
“That ain’t what your brothers said.” He nodded to the forefront of the crowd where Flynn and Wyatt and Brody stood, hammers and saws in hand, watching her expectantly. “They insisted we needed a barn before winter, and they organized this whole thing.”
Behind them sat half a dozen wagons overflowing with mill-cut lumber.
She couldn’t pay for the supplies. Not yet. But someday, when she started not only shearing her sheep but breeding and selling her lambs, she’d pay them back.
“It’s a gift,” Flynn said, as if reading her mind.
