The Bull Rider's Baby by Brenda Minton

Author:Brenda Minton
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2012-10-31T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

James West sat in a lawn chair next to Sophie’s garage. That mangy cat of Keeton’s was curled up in his lap. Sophie parked her car in the driveway because the old farm truck she used for the housing development was in the garage. As she got out of the car she caught a glimpse of Lucky’s mule. She smiled as the animal jumped the fence and ran off into the field.

“Hey, James.” She pulled up a lawn chair and sat down next to Keeton’s dad. “Do you need anything?”

He straightened his leg and shrugged. “Nah, I’m doing just fine. Keeton helped me down here when he left to go meet with someone about bulldozing the remains of my folks’ old house. I can’t believe someone burned that place.”

“I know. It’s a huge loss to Keeton, too.”

“Yeah, I know. He had some dreams about living here and things being the way they used to be.” James shook his head. “It would be nice, but things can’t ever be what they used to be. A person can go home, but life and time changes us all.”

“I think he knows it won’t be the same. He just wants to come home.”

“Right.” James leaned back in his chair and he didn’t look her way. “I should have put my foot down and we should have stayed here. But that’s how life is. You make choices and you can’t take them back.”

“Very true.”

“I’m sorry you lost him, Sophie.” James patted her hand, finally smiling a bittersweet smile and looking at her. “I’m sorry things couldn’t have been different for you.”

“Life is what it is, James. I’ve had a good life. I’ve done what I wanted.”

“You haven’t married and had kids. Seems to me those would have been things you wanted.”

“I haven’t met anyone.” She looked away, because his eyes had filled with tears. “I haven’t stayed single because of Kade. I missed him for a long time. Sometimes I still do. But I haven’t married because I haven’t met anyone to marry.”

“And you still have that rule about not dating bull riders.” He laughed a little.

Sophie smiled at him. “Yes, I have that rule.”

“Shame, because I think you and Keeton—”

She had to stop him there. “James, Keeton and I are friends.”

“Yeah, I know.” He drifted back to other thoughts, she could see it in his eyes, the way they clouded with other emotions. “I shouldn’t have taught those boys to ride bulls. If I hadn’t…”

She touched his arm and tried to find the right words. She thought about lectures she’d given herself over the years, and words of wisdom shared with her by her parents. She didn’t have her own advice for him, but she had recycled advice that had worked for her.

“We can’t always second-guess the decisions we made, or blame ourselves for the way life happens. We have to trust that God has a plan and that whatever happens, if we stand on faith, He’ll get us through.

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