“Rachel, I want you in our lives because we love you. I love you.”
“You do?” She loved him, too, but she was afraid to say the words, afraid to believe this moment was happening.
He grinned and brushed a hand across her cheek. “I do. While I was in Tulsa, I asked your dad to do me a favor.”
“What’s that?” Was that her heart melting, pooling up inside her?
“I asked him if he would do the honor of officiating at a wedding.”
“Oh.”
“I told him I’d like to date his daughter for a few months.” He pulled her close, touching his lips to hers, sweet, seductive and then gone. “And I asked him if he would walk you down the aisle and then step behind the pulpit and marry us.”
“Wyatt.” She whispered the word close to his ear and he turned, brushing his cheek against hers.
“So now I need to ask you, Rachel Waters, if you’ll be the wife of one very hard-headed cowboy. This isn’t about being ready to move on. This is about being ready to love you for the rest of my life.”
Rachel closed her eyes, replaying his words, the words she’d been waiting for, wanting to hear. She’d dreamed of those words and how it would feel at this moment. And now she knew. She knew that shivers would tingle up her arms and down her spine. She knew that her heart would twirl inside her chest.
She now knew that he would lean and his hands would cup her cheeks as he dropped the sweetest kiss on her lips.
But in her dreams it had never been this wonderful.
“Rachel, will you marry me?” Wyatt whispered the proposal again after kissing her long and easy.
She nodded and tears pooled and slid down her cheeks.
“Of course I’ll marry you.”
Wyatt held his breath as she said the words he’d been waiting to hear and then he released his hand from hers and fished the ring out of his shirt pocket.
“I was hoping you might say yes.” He grinned, his face a little warm. “So I stopped at a jewelry store on the way home and told them I needed the most beautiful diamond for the most beautiful bride.”
She stood in front of him, sweeter than cherry soda on a hot summer day and everything he wanted in life. He reached for her hand and slid the ring onto her finger. The diamond glinted, winking the promise of forever.
“I love you,” he whispered.
He held her close, thankful to have her in his arms again. She felt good there, in his arms. She felt right. This felt right.
This was something only a fool would let go of. He wasn’t a fool. He might be a hard-headed cowboy, but he knew what he wanted and he knew when to hold on to it.
She moved her hands to his shoulders and then to the back of his neck as he captured her lips in a kiss that promised forever.
“I love you, too.” She whispered close to his ear and he held her tight.
No way would he ever let her go.
Epilogue
Wyatt walked out of the barn and saw his wife and kids in the backyard. Ryder stood behind him. The two of them had been working cattle all day, giving immunizations and taking care of other details that had to be dealt with. Little bull calves were now steers. Ears were tagged.
The two of them were dirty and pretty close to disgusting.
Ryder slapped his back. “Brother, that’s a nice little family you’ve got.”
Wyatt smiled and he couldn’t agree more. But he wasn’t going to give Ryder room to gloat. He knew where Ryder was going with this conversation. Wyatt counted to three and waited for it.
On cue Ryder spoke, a big smile on his face. “Wasn’t it just a couple of years ago that I said something about needing a boy in our family to protect all of these girls?”
Wyatt continued to ignore his little brother. Listen to Ryder, or watch his family playing together in the backyard. He picked ignoring the pest at his side. Even if he was right.
“Yep, that’s one cute little baby boy you’ve got.” Ryder, loose limbed and way too sure of himself, took off across the yard. Andie had the twins in a big playpen, keeping the “little fillies” as Ryder called his girls, corralled.
Wyatt smiled when Rachel turned to find him. She was more beautiful today than she’d been on their wedding day. That day, dressed in a cream gown and walking down the aisle with her dad, that had been a day.
But today, with their little boy tucked safe in the pouch that hung around her neck, today she glowed. Today, just looking at her knocked him on his can.
He choked up a little, thinking about Rowdy’s birth. He had feared losing Rachel. He’d been afraid she’d slip away.
Now those thoughts were pushed aside. He had a wife, two beautiful daughters and one handsome little guy.
“Are you going to come and push your daughters?” Rachel called out, bringing him back to earth.
“On my way.” He hurried across the lawn. When he got there he kissed her first, holding her close for a minute, loose in his arms. And then he kissed the dark head of his little boy.
God had brought her to Dawson and then brought him home. Good planning, God. He smiled as he pushed Molly high and gave Kat a lighter push.
Good planning.
Dear Reader,
Welcome back to my favorite fictional small town; Dawson, Oklahoma. I love Oklahoma. I’ve never lived there, but if I had to move, that’s the direction I’d head. Oklahoma has history, horses, ranches…and let’s not forget: cowboys.
I hope you enjoy Rachel and Wyatt’s story. When Wyatt Johnson first arrived back in Dawson, I knew that his story had to be told. It is a story about healing and moving past our pain.
It is also about trusting God with where we are in our lives.
It was obvious that Wyatt would need a woman who could handle his pain and stand up to him when he was hard-headed. Enter pastor’s daughter Rachel Waters. As you read Rachel and Wyatt’s story, I hope it touches your life. And if you’re dealing with your own pain, I pray that God heals your heart.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Without knowing Ryder and Wyatt’s phone conversation, Rachel assumes it is about her, and about Wyatt not wanting someone like herself pushed off on him. Why would that be her first assumption?
Wyatt is getting over his wife’s suicide. How does his faith come into play?
How effectively is Wyatt dealing with grief and raising his daughters?
How does Rachel’s childhood play into the person she has become and why?
Wyatt has a difficult time leaving his girls. Is his protectiveness about faith or lack of faith, or not about faith at all?
How does Rachel’s childhood weight issues affect her as an adult?
Wyatt realizes he has gone through stages of grief. Do you believe he moved forward a step, and if so, when?
Rachel and Wyatt are like most of us, drawn to one another and fighting the attraction, including the chemistry that pulls them together. Do you believe they made wise choices in their relationship, and how?
Rachel steps further into Wyatt’s life by taking the job with his children. How will this change their relationship, or will it?
When do you think Rachel falls in love with Wyatt?
What reasons does Rachel have for wanting to stay with her parents? Are those real reasons or excuses, or maybe both?
Wyatt is willing to let Rachel go because of his own fears. What do you think those fears are, and how does he overcome them?
Rachel’s parents allowed her to stay at home with them all these years. What helped them to see that it was time for her to move on with her own life and make choices that are right for her?
When Rachel finally chooses her own path, how do faith and her own desires play into the decision?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7993-7
THE COWBOY’S FAMILY
Copyright © 2011 by Brenda Minton
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