Rodeo Ashes by Vannatter Shannon Taylor;

Author:Vannatter, Shannon Taylor;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2013-08-27T16:00:00+00:00

ten

Inwardly, Lacie cringed. Don’t show fear. Don’t let him see you sweat. If she screamed, would they hear her in the sanctuary?

“He kicked me out.” Trent’s voice broke, despite his rage.

“Why?” Relax. He’s not angry with me. Just a boy, hurt by the man he should be able to trust.

“He was drunk, and I wanted to go to church.” Trent raked his hand through his hair. “I couldn’t find the truck keys, so I woke him up to ask where they were. Guess it made him mad.”

Lacie shuddered. “What about your mom?”

“She left us.” Trent’s voice hardened. “A long time ago.”

So not equipped for this. In her world, families loved each other and stayed together.

“You go in the youth room.” She patted his arm. “I’ll go get Stetson. And we’ll find you a place to stay.”

Trent nodded and trudged to the youth room.

She ran down the hall. Her mother’s words echoed from childhood—no running in the church. But with her heart in her throat, her feet didn’t slow.

❧

What was up with Lacie? About the time Quinn decided she was skipping church, she entered the sanctuary and whispered something to Stetson. He left and still hadn’t returned. Beside Quinn, but eons away, tension rolled off Lacie through the sermon. He ached to put his arm around her. She practically ran to the altar as soon as the closing hymn began.

Teary eyed, she came back and stood beside him.

The altar call closed, and a deacon dismissed them with prayer. The crowd began to disperse.

“Are you okay?” Quinn whispered.

“It’s one of the boys from the youth group.” Lacie’s voice caught. “His dad hit him and kicked him out.”

Quinn shook his head. “What would possess a man to do such a thing?”

“Alcohol.”

“How old is this boy?”

“I think he’s eighteen.”

“Wonder if he’s ever done any ranch work?”

One corner of her mouth lifted. “You still need a hand? I don’t know if he has any experience.”

“I could train him.”

“That would be awesome. Now he just needs a place to stay.”

“I can take care of that, too. Hank lived in a cabin on my property.”

She grabbed his arm. “You’d really do that?”

“Sure, why not?”

“You don’t even know him.”

“No, but he needs help, and I’m in a position to help.”

She hugged him.

Right there in church.

He could get used to it.

❧

An elbow jabbed Lacie in the ribs as she stepped inside Moms. She adjusted Max on her hip and turned around.

“I take it things went well on your date?” Kendra whispered. “Y’all were awful cozy in church this morning. I saw that hug.”

Lacie smiled, and warmth spread through her. “Good. Really good.”

“I’m so glad. Did he ask you out again?”

“We’re having dinner before the rodeo Friday night.”

“Are you still torn?”

“Not as bad.” The character she’d seen him show this morning—helping a boy he didn’t even know—made her like him even more. “Did you hear about what’s going on with Trent?”

“Stetson told me about his dad. The jerk.”

“Quinn’s gonna let him stay at his ranch and hire him as a hand.

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