Love Inspired January 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: Her Unexpected CowboyHis Ideal MatchThe Rancher's Secret Son

by Debra Clopton

  Morgan yanked a chair up and crossed his arms. His hiked brow posed the same question.

  Rowdy nodded slowly, mulling over what Tucker had said. Tucker wasn’t a man of a lot of words. Rowdy set his coffee on the side table and sat up. “I do,” he said aloud. He’d made a commitment to God that he was going to wait for his direction in his life. He’d made more mistakes along the way where Lucy was concerned, but she hadn’t just dropped in his arms for nothing.

  Rowdy was certain of that.

  “Then the question is, are you going to see this through, wherever it goes, even if it’s not in your favor?” Morgan finally spoke and Tucker nodded as he talked.

  “I’ve been so caught up in the fact that I wasn’t right for Lucy that I never even stopped to consider if God had a different reason for me being here for her.” His mind was suddenly churning. He told his brothers about Liz showing up and how it had affected Lucy.

  “She barely spoke to me after that. And just wanted to go home. Then she told me she couldn’t see me anymore.”

  “And you gave up, just like that?” Tucker asked. “That’s not the guy I know.”

  “Hey, I changed, remember?”

  Morgan shook his head. “Rowdy, just because you changed doesn’t mean you roll over and play dead. God’s not going to do all the work, you know.”

  Rowdy scowled at his brothers. “Hey, why are y’all still here, anyway? I’ve got somewhere to be.” He stood up and strode through the house and straight to his truck.

  “It’s about time,” Tucker called after him.

  And Morgan’s, “We’ll be praying for you both,” was the last thing he heard before he slammed his truck door closed and revved his engine.

  It was time to see his girl....

  * * *

  Lucy couldn’t help but worry that she’d hurt Rowdy. She’d been so upset after the date that she’d not said much, and she’d left him in her driveway in a very unkind way.

  Just as he had done from the moment she’d told him about Tim and her burns, he’d again done as she wished. He’d not tried to kiss her and he’d kept his hands to himself. He’d been nothing but kind to her. And all that he’d asked of her was to give this, this thing between them a chance.

  And then this Liz person showed up and made her...what? Jealous? Feel inferior in a physical way?

  Liz, as horrible as she was and as much a soul that Lucy knew needed the Lord in her life, had shown Lucy that Rowdy deserved so much more than either she or Liz could offer him.

  By Tuesday morning Lucy knew she had to talk to Rowdy. Pulling up to the ranch, she looked around for Rowdy’s truck but she didn’t see it. She learned from Jolie and the kids on Monday during afternoon art class that no one had seen him on Sunday and he hadn’t shown up at the main ranch compound at all on Monday.

  Lucy hadn’t shown up for church on Sunday, either, and felt guilty about that, but she had been too upset.

  As she looked around now, her spirits plummeted further because she’d felt compelled to talk to him. Not feeling like seeing anyone else, she turned her truck around in the parking lot and headed back home. In her rearview mirror, she caught a glimpse of Tony coming out of the barn, leading his horse. But she didn’t stop. She was in no shape to talk to anyone right now. Except Rowdy.

  Once she made it back to her house, she slammed out of her truck and walked to the barn. She pulled open the double doors and didn’t bother to close them behind her. Her boots clattered on the steps as she jogged up to her studio. She had every intention of trying to paint, but Rowdy stared back at her from his painting and all she could do was stand there and stare back.

  She loved him.

  It was as clear in the painting as anything she’d ever known in her heart. She’d painted the picture with love and she hadn’t even recognized it until now.

  Closing her eyes, she let the realization pour over her and she tried to absorb what it meant for her. Nothing.

  How long she stood there she wasn’t sure, but she tried in every way to convince herself that her falling in love with Rowdy was a blessing sent from God to help her heal. But it wasn’t, and there was no use trying to convince herself of the fact.

  “Lucy, are you up there?”

  Rowdy!

  Her heart jumped into her throat and she panicked. He was here! “Yes,” she said, stilling herself for a very hard conversation. But it was one that needed to be started and finished. She would not walk away from this again. Rowdy deserved to know her heart.

  His steps were quick as he, too, jogged up the stairs. She was startled when she saw him. He hadn’t shaved and a five-o’clock shadow roughened his jaw. He stopped inside the doorway for the first few seconds. Lucy fought the need to wrap her arms around him and tell him she was so sorry.

  To tell him that she trusted him and that she knew he was a changed man. That everything he’d shown her of his character had been that of a man of integrity.

  “Lucy, I’ve come to say my piece.” He crossed to stand just a step away from her. “You’re a stubborn woman. And I’ve realized that I’ve been letting you have your way just a little too much.”

  What?

  “I’m a changed man. I have messed up and messed up some more and I’ll mess up in the future, I can promise you that. But I can promise you that if I give you my word about anything—and I mean anything—I’ll come through with it. I’ll never lie or cheat on you. I’ve never done that with anyone, even before I made a commitment to God that I was changing the way I lived. So you can rest assured that with a good woman like you—the woman I love—that I’d be a man of integrity till my dying breath.”

  Lucy’s temper had spiked at the high-handed way he’d started off, but that anger had diffused like a popped balloon.

  “I believe you,” she said. And it was so true. “You are not Tim. Tim was never the man you are and I’ve come to realize that as I thought about this for the past few days.”

  He’d said he loved her.

  Lucy closed her eyes and let the bittersweet knowledge seep into the dark places of her heart. Tears threatened and she backed them into a corner knowing this was not the time to cry or to be weak. And it was most positively not the time to be selfish.

  Touching his cheek, she smiled at him. “I treated you badly, Rowdy. So badly, and I am so very sorry for that. You are so special. But you have this all wrong. I was upset the other night because...” She couldn’t tell him she was jealous. “Because I realized when I looked at Liz that you deserve so much more. More than she or I could give you.”

  His brows met and his head cocked as if in question. He started to speak and she shook her head.

  “Please, I need to finish.” She pulled her hand away and took a deep breath. “When I said I couldn’t do this, I was saying that I can’t. Not because of anything you’ve done. I just can’t do it. Beneath this shirt is a body so scarred that even I have a hard time looking at it. I don’t have it in me to share. As a wife, I’d feel so inferior.”

  “Don’t talk that way,” he snapped, letting his eyes fall to her work shirt. “I don’t care what your body looks like. Lucy, I love you. The fact that you have scars doesn’t matter to me. They would only remind me of the strength and courage you’ve shown in the face of great adversity. You are beautiful to me, mind, body and soul.”

  She hardened her heart against what he was saying. She refused to let her guard down. “No, Rowdy. I’m damaged beyond repair in my mind and I can’t—” A crash downstairs halted her words. Rowdy spun around and started for the stairs just as the nicker of a horse sounded and then hooves pounded on hard ground.

  Running to the window, Lucy felt sick when she saw Tony galloping across the pasture like wolves were chasing him.

  “Rowdy, it’s Tony. He must have heard what I said.” />
  “Come on.” She raced down the stairs and didn’t ask questions as she jumped into his truck. She held on as he backed out of the driveway as if they’d been shot out of a cannon.

  “Where will he go?”

  Rowdy didn’t say anything. He turned into a drive a few yards down the road that led into a pasture of the Sunrise Ranch and drove over the cattle guard and into the pasture that stretched between her house and the ranch. Lucy studied his profile as they bounced over that rutted gravel road. They hadn’t gone far when he detoured to another road and spun gravel, fishtailing to make the direction change. He was angry.

  Everything about him radiated anger as they charged over the pasture in pursuit of Tony.

  All she could think about were the scars on Tony’s body. And the pain her words must have caused him.

  She started praying. In the distance she glimpsed him, riding low as he and the horse practically flew up one hill and disappeared over the other. In the distance she could see the stable.

  “He’s going home.”

  “Yes. He’s going to the stable,” Rowdy said tersely, sounding as though he’d known exactly where Tony would go. “The place he feels safe.”

  Lucy snapped her head to stare at Rowdy. His curt words had been matter-of-fact. “How do you know that?”

  “When he first came to us, that was where we’d find him when things got too hard for him to handle. He’ll go into a stall.”

  When they reached the yard, Lucy was shocked to see the boys climbing out of the arena with looks of concern and curiosity on their faces as they headed toward the stable. Tony’s horse was standing alone at the entrance, breathing hard. But Tony was nowhere to be seen.

  Rowdy bailed out of the truck in an instant and she followed.

  “Stop, guys. Let me go in by myself,” he commanded Wes and Joseph, who were almost at the entrance but had stopped when they saw Rowdy.

  “He was flying when he rounded the arena and charged through here,” Joseph said.

  “Flying,” Wes echoed, spitting a sunflower seed. “What’s wrong with him, Rowdy?”

  Lucy walked past them without answering. “Let me, Rowdy. I did this. I need to fix it.” Without waiting, she walked into the barn and started down the center of the alley. About halfway down she saw a stall gate slightly ajar. Tugging it open, she stepped inside. Tony was sitting in the corner—his knees drawn up and his arms folded over them with his head down.

  After all the pain this kid had suffered, she’d just caused him more. It was unbearable to her. Foolish, foolish woman.

  Swallowing the lump in her throat and praying for the right words—something she’d been sorely lacking of late—she sank down beside him in the soft hay. “Tony. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s nothing but the truth,” he said, not looking up. He swiped his face on his shirtsleeve. “I came to tell you that I met a girl.” His words were muffled against his arm.

  Normally for a kid of fifteen, this would be no big deal, but Tony didn’t talk to girls much. He was shy around them and she knew exactly why, just as most of the fellas did. His burns.

  “I think that’s wonderful,” she said, but he shook his head. “I know you worry about your scars.”

  His head shot up and he glared at her. “I heard what you told Rowdy.”

  Shame suffused Lucy. I’m damaged beyond repair in my mind and I can’t— “I was so afraid,” she said, aching inside with regret. “Oh, Tony. It’s complicated.”

  “Yeah, it’s easy to tell me one thing and believe another. You made me believe God would have a woman out there when I grow up. And for her my scars wouldn’t matter.”

  “Everything she said is true,” Rowdy said, entering the stall. “There will be someone out there who won’t care. Who will love you with all their heart.”

  He was talking to Tony, but Lucy knew he was also telling her.

  “But the key will be whether you love that woman back. Because that’s going to be the tough part, Tony. You’ll have to love that person, too, because even if she doesn’t have physical scars, she’ll have warts of some kind. We all do. She’ll have messed up. She won’t be perfect. But if you love her enough to trust her with your heart and your scars, and to trust what God has done for you, then you have nothing to worry about.”

  Tony was looking from Rowdy to Lucy.

  “Is that how you feel about Lucy?”

  Rowdy gave him a smile that melted her chilled, ashamed heart. He nodded. “I love Lucy, scars and all. Especially with her scars. But the question is, how does she feel about me?”

  Tony and Rowdy were both looking at her.

  “Don’t let your scars stop you, Lucy,” Tony said, trying to give her courage. “Do you love him?”

  Lucy nodded. How could she not after everything he’d just said? “I do love you, Rowdy.”

  The words were soft, but they were sure. She held her hand up, and he took it and tugged her to her feet.

  “Can you trust me with your heart and your scars? And to love you always?”

  She knew she could. “Yes. I already do.”

  A to-die-for smile flashed across his face and he pulled her into his arms—a sense of home sweet home swept through her at the ironclad strength that wrapped around her.

  “Then you’ll marry me?” he asked, looking deep into her eyes.

  “Yes. Oh, yes, I will,” she said, and with the words her heart opened wide. Tony scrambled to his feet behind them and raced from the stall.

  “They’re gettin’ married!” he shouted gleefully as he went.

  Lucy laughed. “He’s going to be okay.”

  “And so are we,” Rowdy said. “You asked me not to kiss you again. But do you think you could make an exception and I could kiss you this once?”

  Oh, how she loved this man. Touching his cheek with her palm, she drew his head toward her. “Would you kiss me forever, please?”

  And that was all the encouragement he needed as Rowdy’s lips met hers with a sigh. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  “Hubba, hubba! That’s what I’m talking about,” Wes said, and Lucy and Rowdy jerked apart to find all the boys crammed against the stall railing, peering at them. “Hey, don’t stop on our account,” the teen said, holding up a hand. “Come on, fellas, let’s give these two lovebirds some space.”

  And with that, sixteen smiling faces backed up and followed their leader out of the barn.

  “Now, where were we?” Rowdy asked, his eyes twinkling as he slipped an arm beneath her knees and swung her up and into his arms.

  Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck. “Right where I’ve belonged from the first moment I met you,” she said.

  “There you go, talking some sense now,” Rowdy chuckled, and kissed her again....

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from BAYOU SWEETHEART by Lenora Worth.

  Dear Reader,

  I’m so very thrilled that you joined me for Her Unexpected Cowboy, book two of my new Cowboys of Sunrise Ranch series! I hope you enjoyed your visit with the McDermotts and all the boys on the ranch and their friends in Dew Drop, Texas.

  This book was very special to me because it deals with the scars, both emotional and physical, that Rowdy and Lucy were dealing with in their lives. I believe we all have scars of some kind, and they are challenging to come to terms with sometimes.

  I was compelled by Rowdy’s challenge to change his life. This is a challenge many face, and their strength, conviction, courage and inspiration to do so inspired me to write this story. I pray that if you have committed your life to the Lord and are looking to make a change, that you trust the Lord, focus on Him and take His lead in your new path. Pray that He will guide your steps and put people in your path who will help and encourage you. Re
alize, too, that sometimes changing means leaving some friends behind and building new and healthy relationships. Building a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the relationship that matters the most.

  I love to hear from readers. You can reach me in any manner of ways! You can find me on Facebook at facebook.com/debra.clopton.5, Twitter @debraclopton, and Goodreads, too.

  My website is www.debraclopton.com. Or if you prefer good old snail mail, you can reach me at Debra Clopton, P.O. Box 1125, Madisonville, Texas 77864.

  God bless you in all you do!

  Until next time, live, laugh and seek God with all your hearts!

  Questions for Discussion

  Rowdy had made a life-changing decision when we first met him. Why did he make this decision?

  Lucy had lived through not one, but two life-changing experiences when we first met her. What were they?

  Lucy and Rowdy met when she literally fell into his arms. Neither one of them was looking for a romance, but they felt the instant attraction that sparked between them. Have you ever had a life-changing opportunity that arrived in God’s timing and not yours? How did you handle it?

  Lucy was still dealing with the emotional scars left over from her husband’s betrayal. The remodeling of her home was cathartic to her—she found she loved knocking out walls. When you are feeling blue, do you believe physical release can help you better than sitting and worrying?

  Tony believed no one would ever love him because of his scars. How did his friends help him? How did he help Lucy?

  When Rowdy began to fall in love with Lucy, it was confusing to him because he had vowed not to begin a relationship for a year, as he waited to meet the woman God chose for him. But he was strongly tempted to break his vow. Has something like this ever happened to you in any area of your life? How did you deal with it?

  Rowdy was trying to leave his checkered past behind him and live a better life. But it seemed that Lucy saw his imperfections and instantly didn’t trust him. Why do you think her view of him mattered almost instantly to Rowdy?