“I…” he began at the same second, but paused and smiled into her eyes. “That was…”
She smiled in return. “I haven’t…”
They burst out in nervous laughter.
“May I walk you to your door?” he asked finally.
“Yes.”
When they reached the porch and Holly was about to reach for the doorknob, she paused and turned. “I’m sorry, Ryan. You had something important to talk to me about.”
He nodded. “Yes.” He paused and stared into her eyes. As much as he hated to do it, it was time to come clean about the land. “Holly, I…”
He was interrupted by the sound of his phone trilling in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked the screen. “Excuse me. It’s Annabelle.” He answered the call and listened. Even Holly could hear the hysteria in his sister’s voice.
“Okay, okay. I’ll be right there.” He ended the call and turned to Holly, his expression apologetic. “I’m so sorry. I have to go. Annabelle purchased a horse—a stallion—a couple months ago and took delivery today. Anyway, she went to check on him a few minutes ago and he managed to get past her. I guess he made it to the north pasture and she needs help corralling him.”
“Oh, my goodness. You’d better go.”
“We’ll talk later?”
She nodded. “Yes. Go. Annabelle needs you.”
He strode off, heavy-hearted that he hadn’t managed to finally tell her the truth about the land beneath her home.
As he sped home to help his sister, his mind refused to be quieted, but his thoughts were on Holly, rather than his sister’s current predicament. The darned horse could just wait.
He considered what had just transpired between him and his new neighbor. They had kissed. He raked a hand through his hair, suddenly worried he’d made a grave mistake by kissing her. But it wasn’t as if he’d planned it. Sure, he’d thought about it—about the attraction between them—but his timing certainly needed work.
If she ever learned he’d kissed her on the very night he’d intended to finally come clean about everything, that on a warm summer evening beneath a beautiful nighttime sky, he had opted to kiss her rather than finally tell her the truth, she probably wasn’t going to be very happy about it. What if she came to believe he had taken advantage of her? What if she ended up hating him for keeping his secrets?
As he pulled up to his house, Annabelle burst out the front door and met him in the drive. “Ryan, I can’t catch him. He ran off and I’m afraid he’s going to hurt himself.”
Ryan growled an unintelligible response and ran past her and around the house to the back. He started off in a fast clip toward the farthest pasture. As he drew closer, his lungs bursting from the exertion of running, he could finally make out the silhouette of the big horse against the dark sky.
He pulled to a stop, bending at the middle to get a breath. He finally rose up and considered his options. Fortunately, the horse was haltered and its tether still hanging from his neck. “Hey, boy,” Ryan said softly, approaching with his hands out in front of him. “Be still, boy. It’s okay.”
The horse dropped its head and pawed the ground. He emitted a threatening sound that brought Ryan to a stop. “Hey, now,” he said softly. “Calm down, boy.”
The horse appeared to watch him, as if sizing him up. As if by magic, its manner softened. Ryan detected the shift from aggressive to submissive and reached for the tether. “There you go,” he said. “I’ve got you. Let’s get you back to your stall. You’ve had a long day, haven’t you, fellow?”
He led the big stallion back to the barn, where Annabelle awaited him. She sighed with relief as they approached. “I was afraid he was going to jump a fence,” she admitted, as Ryan walked past her.
“Naw, he was just letting off a little steam,” Ryan said affectionately of the big horse.
“You’ve always had a way with horses,” Annabelle observed.
“Naw, that’s you,” he said, as he carefully urged the stallion into his stall. He eased the wide door closed behind him and then breathed a sigh of relief.
“No, Ryan,” Annabelle said pointedly, “you’re the one with the true gift around here. Ben called you the horse whisperer when you were little.”
“I don’t remember that,” he said, furrowing his brow.
“Yes, you do! If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have horses around here. Don’t you remember asking Mom for a pony when you were about four? Ben told the story all the time.”
He searched his memory. “I guess I don’t.”
Brother and sister left the barn. Annabelle kicked at a clod of dirt, an attempt to release her frustrations. “Dad disapproved of your love for animals. It’s why you began avoiding horses.”
“I don’t avoid them,” he said, forcing a smile.
“Yes, you do. Sure, you ride occasionally, but you have little time for them. It’s a shame too. For me, riding is the best way for me to clear my head. I ride along—talk to God about my troubles—and before I know it, I’m feeling much better about whatever ails me.”
“Whatever works, sis,” he said noncommittally, and started for the back of the house.
She ran after him and pulled him to a stop. “Well, did you tell Holly about the property mix-up?”
“I … tried.”
“What do you mean, ‘you tried’?”
“Just that. Every time I tried to tell her this evening, we were interrupted.”
She gave him a dubious glance. He raised his right hand. “It’s true. First, Drake and Bill showed up. And then Jim. Oh, and then the rest of the town.” He gave a rueful shake of his head. “Sort of reinforced the fact that small-town living may not be for me.”
“You’re telling me you couldn’t carve out a single moment to tell her the truth?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”
She considered his words, and then sighed. “Hey, what did Drake and Bill want? Isn’t it odd for them to head this way after work hours?”
“It’s odd for them to head this way at all,” he agreed. “Apparently, they stopped for dinner, with the intent of coming by the house after.”
“Why were they coming by?”
He gave a brittle laugh. “Apparently they’re confounded by my continued absence from the workplace.”
“Yes, well, you are the boss,” she said drolly. “When do you intend to go back to work?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
She hesitated to speak her mind, but opted to forge ahead. It wasn’t as if she didn’t give him a piece of her mind on a fairly regular basis. “Ryan, listen. Do you think it might be time to make a big change—you know, as in, quit the business?”
“Quit?”
She nodded. “Yes.” She turned away from him briefly, but turned back to snare his gaze. “Look, Drake and Bill stopped by here while you were away.”
“Why?”
“They wanted to broach a, er, well, a particular subject with me, and wanted to get my opinion.”
“Go on.”
“They’re going to offer to buy you out. They pretty much told me that your heart just isn’t in it.”
“Oh, yeah? They told you that?”
She nodded. “They said you don’t seem to derive much satisfaction from a job well done.”
His eyes narrowed and he considered what Annabelle had just told him. On one hand, he was furious that these men had the gall to suggest he leave the business his father had founded, but on the other hand, he’d given the idea quite a lot of thought himself. It wasn’t as if he needed the money. Both his father and mother had left him and Annabelle substantial trust funds, as well as the home and the lands around it. Neither needed to ever work again if they didn’t want to.
Unfortunately, he was his father’s son and railed against the notion that someone whom he had hired was attempting to take what rightfully belonged to him. An array of emotions criss-crossed his face. His sister stood silently by, in order to give
him the space to process. Finally, she spoke, “Ryan, what are you thinking?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t considered selling out myself, but it infuriates me that they have the gall to suggest it.”
“In their defense, you haven’t been on the job for so long, they probably forgot what you look like.”
“Yeah, well, there’s that,” he said with a humorless laugh. “I don’t know, Annabelle. Everything is happening so fast. I don’t know what to do about work. I can’t seem to make a decision about the property to save my life. Do we sell it, or do we keep it? And if we keep it, do you develop it into some sort of horse lovers’ paradise? But if we make that choice, do we hold off until you return to Washington? Because I’m not sure I’m up for the venture on my own, if truth be told. And then there’s the situation with Holly and Brianna. I’m afraid I’ve ruined any chance of a…”
“Of a what?” she prompted, folding her arms over her chest.
He took a deep breath and forged ahead. “Of a future with Holly…”
Annabelle gasped. “Did I just hear you right?”
His lips twitched into a smile. “I don’t know, sis. I, uh, well, I have feelings for her. I mean, I don’t know her that well yet, but I want to get to know her better.”
She watched him speculatively. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was evident that Holly was a woman of faith. She doubted she would enter into a relationship with a man who didn’t have a relationship with Christ.
But then, if Ryan could fall for a woman like Holly, a woman of sound values, there might be hope for him. If it took an interest in Holly to get him back to church, then so be it. She prayed he would rediscover his love for the Lord once he got there.
She recalled that Ryan, as a small boy, had had a deep and abiding faith. She also remembered his father chiding him for his faith, calling believers sad and weak. It still surprised her that her father had retained a friendship with Ben, despite the fact that Ben was a devout Christian who lived his faith every day. She couldn’t recall a single incident of Ben ever backing down to their father. Perhaps that’s what had bonded them. Their father might not have agreed with Ben, but he respected his convictions, or rather, his willingness to fight for them.
The thought of Ben brought a tear to her eye. Ryan noticed. “Ah, Annabelle. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I know you’re stunned to hear your brother might actually be capable of loving…”
She gave a dismissive wave. “It’s not that. You’re going to make somebody a wonderful husband someday, if you’d just be yourself and stop trying to live up to Dad’s ridiculous idea of manhood. Frankly, neither one of us is like him. We’re both much more like mom, according to Ben.”
Ryan wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He felt he was much more like their father than she realized. He’d had astounding success in the family business, growing it far beyond anything his father had achieved while at the helm. What did that say about him?
“Ryan, God says, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’”
He cocked his head in frustration and glared at Annabelle. “Yeah? Okay.” Wait, hadn’t he used those very words to calm the horse?
“Ryan, be still. Don’t make any rash decisions. Give your worries to God.”
He laughed. “That’s easier said than done.”
“No, it isn’t!” she cried. “The fact is, you don’t know which end is up right now. You have too much on your plate—too many decisions to make. So, don’t make any right now. Or, I don’t know. Prioritize. We really don’t need to make any decisions about the land. Put that aside for now. We don’t need to sell it.” She paused and sighed. “I guess I do believe you need to decide what to do about the business. Ryan, I’d sell it. Drake and Bill plan to make you a terrific offer. Just be free of it once and for all. You hate it and you know it.”
“Dad would turn over in his grave,” he said ruefully.
“Yeah, and Ben will sit up and applaud.”
He searched his sister’s face. “You really think I should sell it? You don’t want your future children working in the family business?”
She gave a shudder. “I wouldn’t let them,” she asserted. “I won’t let my children profit from others’ misery.”
Ryan felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. Leave it to Annabelle to sum up his life’s work in such horrific terms. “What would I do instead, Annabelle?”
“That’s the beauty of it,” she said, beaming. “The world is your oyster, brother.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Holly walked into the house. Her mind was fraught with fear at the thought of Ryan confronting a huge horse and attempting to make it go where he wanted it to go. As naturally as she took a breath, she began praying for his safety. “Lord, please make the horse complacent. Please keep it calm so that neither Ryan nor Annabelle get hurt.”
“What is it, Holly?” Brianna asked with concern.
She quickly explained about the horse and Brianna’s eyes widened fearfully. “Should I go help them?” she asked.
“No! You should not help them,” Holly said, aghast at the thought of her sister anywhere near an escaped stallion.
Brianna’s face was rife with worry. “Holly, what should we do?” she cried. “We need to help them.”
“We pray,” Holly said adamantly, and reached for her sister’s hands. She prayed aloud for the McGraws’ safety, and even for the well-being of the horse. When she was done, she opened her eyes and caught Brianna staring at her.
“I feel better,” the teenager said, sounding surprised. “I’ve never talked to God before.”
“I do it every day, all day,” Holly confided. “I don’t know what I’d do without Him. He’s my dearest friend.”
Brianna smiled. “I guess I’ve never thought of God in those terms,” she said.
Holly suddenly felt calmer, as if she sensed that the stallion was safely stowed away in his stall. Brianna seemed to sense the change in her. “Your prayer was answered, huh?”
“I believe so,” she said, smiling softly.
“Wow, that’s really something,” she said, starting off toward her bedroom. She suddenly came to a stop. “Hey, you distracted me from something important,” she accused.
“Not on purpose,” Holly protested with a smile.
“You kissed Ryan!” she said in a sing-song voice, as she began dancing around the room. “Don’t bother denying it, because I saw you.”
“You saw?” Holly cried, mortified.
“Of course. How could I not with my face pressed against the window?” She laughed with delight when she saw Holly’s horrified expression. “Don’t worry. I closed the drapes when I realized you might be locking lips for awhile.”
“Brianna!”
In response, she hurried into her bedroom. She came out a few minutes later dressed and ready for bed. She found Holly sitting in the recliner, her expression pensive. She glanced up. “I shouldn’t have kissed him,” she declared. “It was wrong.”
“Holly, it’s okay,” Brianna assured her with a laugh. “You’re over twenty-one, remember?”
“No, I mean… I have convictions, Brianna. One of the most important, and that I’ve always lived by, is that I will only date a Christian, and only someone I feel I could possibly marry someday.”
“Marry Ryan,” she said, swooning dreamily.
“Honey, you don’t understand. I can’t marry a non-Christian. To do so is to sign up for so many problems. God must be at the core of any marriage. It’s the only way a marriage can succeed.”
“Annabelle is a Christian,” Brianna mused. “Maybe Ryan is too.”
Holly considered the possibility. But she remembered Jim’s surprise at seeing Ryan at church, apparently for the first time in a long while. But then, one didn’t have to attend church to have a relationship with Christ… But on the other hand…
She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She couldn’t den
y enjoying kissing Ryan. She couldn’t deny feeling attracted to him. She couldn’t deny that she went weak in the knees when she was within close proximity to him, and that she wanted nothing more than to find herself in his arms.
“Oh, Lord,” she prayed silently, glancing heavenward. “Guide my way. Let thy will be done.”
Brianna frowned. “You just asked God for help, huh?” she said, measuring her with a look. “But what if God wants you and Ryan to be together?”
Holly shrugged her shoulders. “Then I guess He’ll work it out, but in the meantime, I have to proceed with caution.” When her face suddenly fell, Brianna hurried to her side. “What is it? Are you okay?”
“I…” She attempted a reassuring smile. “I almost forgot about my debt.”
“You’re not going to let that stop you from getting to know Ryan, right? I mean, that would be silly, Holly.”
“Hey, let’s talk about something else. I’m just not ready for a relationship anyway.”
Brianna sighed with frustration. She felt in her heart that Holly and Ryan were a perfect match. She hoped Holly wouldn’t shut Ryan out without giving him a fair chance.
As she headed off to bed soon after, she did something she had never done before. She dropped to her knees beside the bed. She put her hands together in prayer. “God,” she began tentatively, “I’m not sure I know how to pray, but I’m going to try.” She took a deep breath and continued. “God, Holly and I like it here in Washington. I know. I’m as surprised as you are. If you’re really real, you know I only agreed to come out here because it’s so much closer to California than back home. I figured I could catch a ride with some guy and head south on I-5 to Hollywood…” She smiled sheepishly. “I’ve always wanted to be a movie star… But, well, anyway, I like it here and hope that Holly and I can stay. The thing is, I feel bad that Holly has no personal life to speak of, because she’s working so hard to pay off her debt, and to take care of me…”
Suddenly, she felt awkward and rose from her kneeling position. She dropped onto the bed and lay back against her pillow. She stared out the window and into the darkness beyond. She could see nothing in the night sky. “God,” she began again, “if Ryan is the guy for Holly, could you open her heart to the possibility? Maybe you could help us out by finding a way for Holly to pay off her mom’s hospital bills so she wouldn’t see herself as such a burden to a potential husband…”
By Summer's End (Christian Fiction) Page 16