Page 19 of Her Cowboy Blind Date

“I guess you pray about it, and cross that bridge if it happens. Sam’s telling the truth. He’s not looking for love.”

“What is he looking for?” The big question that bugged her. Was there an ulterior motive? Was she overthinking the situation?

“He needs to survive being near Miley at the wedding.” Cindy chopped carrots at the island.

“Why’s the wedding such a big deal?” Plenty of people went to weddings on their own.

“It’s Miley.” Cindy sighed. “Gilead is a small town. Too small, sometimes.”

“What do you mean?” She plucked potatoes out of the sink.

“I briefly dated a guy from church who was good friends with Matt.”

“Miley’s husband?”

“Yup.” Cindy moved the chopped carrots to a plate. “He went to the same college as Miley.”

“Why’s that important?”

Cindy’s frown deepened. “It was a few years ago, when Sam was still in a long-distance relationship with Miley. The guy I was dating told me Miley had hit on him. She’d wanted a casual fling. He said no, of course.”

Miley might be a cheater. Charming. “How’d you know he’s telling the truth?”

“He showed me the text messages. I had Miley’s number in my phone, and the numbers plus her weird abbreviations matched.”

“Wow.” Becky had more in common with Sam than she’d realized. “Does Sam know about this?”

Cindy shook her head. “I couldn’t tell him. At that time he was only seeing Miley when she returned to Gilead during college breaks. I figured Sam would work it out himself, break up with her, and move on.”

“Is that what happened?” She hoped and prayed he’d moved on. Sam didn’t seem like the type of guy who’d hold out hope for reconciling with his newly married ex-girlfriend.

Cindy shook her head. “Not exactly. It didn’t take long for Miley to dump Sam and move on with Matt.”

“Oh.” Miley sounded like a piece of work. Sam had a lucky escape, from the sounds of it. “What does this mean for the Easter wedding?”

“Miley might try to mess with Sam’s head. Matt will be busy with best man stuff, and Miley isn’t in the bridal party. She’s a man-eater and Sam will be a vulnerable target if he’s on his own.”

Becky found a large saucepan. “I can’t see Sam having anything to do with Miley.” He had integrity.

“You haven’t met Miley. For years she had Sam all wrapped up in her.”

“I’ll think on it.” Sam seemed sincere in his faith, and he was a regular church attender. He wasn’t a fake, wasn’t a player, wasn’t a cheater. He wasn’t like Jarrod.

Sam’s close friend being Miley’s brother-in-law made it more complicated. Miley being unfaithful with Sam would blow up the extended family.

Cindy’s heart was in the right place. She wanted Sam protected from Miley’s wandering ways. Could Becky maintain a healthy friendship with Sam that stayed in the friend zone? Could she help Sam and protect her own heart?

CHAPTER 5

Late on Saturday afternoon, Sam rode with Uncle Joe along a perimeter fence. They’d check the fencing was intact and doing its job of keeping the cattle in and the predators out.

He’d woken early and had oatmeal for breakfast with the ranch hands before heading out to start their day. Ranching had a different routine and pace of work to his farm mechanic job. Most days, he spent more time driving his truck from place to place than actually fixing stuff.

He’d enrolled in a new mechanic course, starting after Easter, to update his farm machinery technology skills. Computers ran the world and that included farm machinery. He’d rather be on a horse and appreciating the natural beauty of God’s creation.

His day had run smoothly. After lunch, Uncle Joe had shown him the ranch accounts and provided an overview of their operations. The ranch was in a good financial situation. External assets were in place to provide a financial buffer during drought and other rough years.

He’d discovered Mom was in the process of selling off a portion of her share. She wanted a lump sum to top up her retirement fund. He was frustrated he’d learned this information from his uncle rather than Mom.

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