Page 79 of Her Cowboy Blind Date

Sam had been in high school when he’d first volunteered for the play. So much had changed in seven years. His annual involvement with the passion play had strengthened his faith. He’d miss hanging out with the cast and crew next year.

Connor had become a Christian while playing the Jesus role. Sam was glad he’d been at church this morning to witness Connor’s baptism. Sam prayed that Connor’s faith would continue to mature and grow strong roots. He looked happy with Zoey and her adorable little girl.

Letty’s beaming smile, mostly in Dawson’s direction, had surprised Sam. Letty and Dawson had managed to get to know each other and avoid Mrs. Alleghany’s gossip radar at Heavenly Brew. Not an easy feat to accomplish.

Logan Miles had snagged the town gossip spotlight. He’d already left Gilead for sunny California. Logan’s people were issuing a press release tomorrow on how Logan’s role in the passion play had impacted his faith journey. Sam would keep on praying for Logan, and pray Logan would stand firm in the face of inevitable media storms.

Becky glanced at her phone and whispered near his ear. “We should get moving.”

“Yup.” Sam did a round of farewells with Becky. He was non-committal in his comments when people mentioned next year. Who knew what next year would bring?

In January, when Cindy had proposed the blind date idea, Sam had never expected that a blind date could lead to something more. His relationship with Becky would face challenges. He prayed they’d have a constructive conversation during their drive to the ranch.

At the wedding reception, he’d realized that it wasn’t the logistics of a long-distance relationship that had broken his relationship with Miley. Absence hadn’t made his heart grow fonder. If Miley had stayed in Gilead, he’d have worked out sooner that she wasn’t the one for him. Miley still behaved like the immature sixteen-year-old he’d started dating all those years ago.

He left the party with Becky, and a long stretch of highway lay ahead. Miles of corn fields surrounded them. This was Kansas. He’d miss Kansas when he made the permanent move to Colorado.

Becky turned in her seat. “I’m ready to talk about Jarrod.”

“Okay.” He kept his eyes on the road. Settled back in his seat. They had hours to talk, including a small detour via his favorite diner. A chocolate shake would hit the spot.

“My sister, Kelly, introduced me to Jarrod.”

“She’s the sister who’s in Japan.”

“That’s her. Kelly is very different to Mel. Kelly likes to party, and that’s where I met Jarrod.”

“Did you party a lot?” The question had to be asked.

“Not really. Partying with drunk people who like being high isn’t my thing. I’m anti-drugs and not into drinking.”

Sam nodded. He hadn’t seen Becky drink alcohol since they’d met, and he agreed with her anti-drugs stance.

“Jarrod was charming and good looking. He’s a well-known actor in Australia who’d failed to break into Hollywood.”

“Is Hollywood where Jarrod met Logan?”

“Yes. They’d partied in L.A. and Jarrod had picked up a supporting role in Logan’s movie that was filmed in Australia.”

That made sense. “I’m guessing Jarrod introduced you to Logan.”

“He did. Jarrod was on his best behavior around me. He went to my church and said all the right things. Jarrod had said he respected my views on not being intimate outside of marriage, and he never pushed the issue.” She sighed. “He had me fooled.”

His grip tightened on the steering wheel. “What went wrong?”

“Everything. It all started to unravel in January last year. We visited Byron Bay and stayed with Logan in his beach house, not far from town.”

“Sounds nice.” That explained the Byron Bay photos.

“The house was amazing, with a pool as well as the beach nearby. It was summer and the paparazzi were out in force.”

“I don’t know how Logan puts up with all those photographers in his face.”

“It’s not fun. You know the photos in the article? Jarrod cut himself out of them.”

Sam gritted his teeth, hoping he’d never meet Jarrod in person. “There were three of you in the photos.”

“Four of us in the Byron Bay photos. Logan was with a bikini model and wannabe influencer who was desperate for paparazzi attention.”

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