Page 32 of Her Cowboy Blind Date

He was a charmer. “You’ll cope.” Alice had an acre of patience in dealing with her fun and flirty fiancé. Leo was an extrovert who could talk to anyone. Anywhere. Anytime. “You’ll see me all the time when the play opens.”

“True. True. We’ll be living in this auditorium.” He paused, listening to the loudspeaker announcement. “Time to go back onstage and kill myself. Again.”

She snickered. “You’re too happy to play Judas.”

“You’ll see the depths of my despair. Ciao.”

She shook her head. Leo was hilarious. The next act was a short scene called The Despair of Judas. How Leo could flip a switch and move like lightning into tormented Judas’s headspace was beyond her comprehension. The orchestra set the tone with dramatic musical backdrops.

Sam appeared by her side. “We’re back on in five. We’ll move the plants onstage for the next act with Pilate.”

“No problem.” The fake potted plants were featured in multiple acts. Her job, when the current scene ended, was to remove the stool Judas used to hang himself. A morbid thought.

She’d picked up the rhythm of the rehearsal schedule. It was one thing to see individual acts during various rehearsals, but it was nothing like watching the acts pulled together in sequential order. She was intrigued by the thought of seeing real donkeys playing their part in the play.

Sam was right. She could ditch the script notes and follow along with his clever prop rotation system. It helped that they moved the smaller props, including chairs and tables. She was impressed by the efficiency and speed of the set changes made by the crew.

Her feet were sore, but she stayed near the stage, following the play, entranced by the action taking place. Powerful. Compelling. Spellbinding. Jesus’s suffering was greater than her minor issue with sore feet. His feet were pierced for her transgressions. His body nailed to a cross. The emotional rollercoaster was exhilarating and exhausting.

Sam was by her side for the final acts. They watched in silence. The second to last act broke open her floodgates. Tears streaked her cheeks. Too many tears to wipe away with the back of her hand and hide the evidence.

The joy in the final act was a gentle balm for her soul. He is risen. That phrase had a deeper meaning now she’d seen the barbaric actions that led to His death played out in front of her eyes. This was only the rehearsal, and she felt like she’d gone a few rounds in an emotional wringer.

The curtains closed on the final act and she let out a long and heartfelt sigh. Wow. If only she’d visited the Bavarian town of Oberammergau during their once-a-decade passion play season. The passion play in an outdoor theater would be amazing to watch, even though her German was rusty.

Sam placed his hand on her forearm. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She sniffled and wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. “It’s intense.”

“Wait until opening night. The atmosphere with a full house is out of this world.”

“I can only imagine.” She helped Sam move the props backstage and out of the way. They wouldn’t have exclusive use of the college auditorium until opening night. “Sam, about church. Are you going to your church tomorrow morning?”

He nodded. “Have you changed your mind?”

“I have, actually. I’d love to visit your church tomorrow.”

“That will work.” He paused. His gaze drilled into her, seeking answers. “Why the change of heart?”

“There was a situation. Last week at college.”

“This doesn’t sound good.”

“Put it this way.” He didn’t need to know the ins and outs of why she’d changed her mind. “It would help me if we were seen around town together.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Are you saying you want to do the fake relationship?”

“Sort of. Not really. I don’t know.”

“I have my reservations, too.”

“It can’t hurt for us to be friends who spend a lot of time together. People will draw their own conclusions.”

“That they will.” Sam turned to her. “Do you have dinner plans?”

She shook her head. “Cindy’s at the ranch. I was going to microwave something easy from the freezer.”

“From your supply of precooked meals.”

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