Yuletide Cowboy. Debra Clopton

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      Church had started when Chance slid into the back pew. He felt awkward arriving late but he hadn’t planned on coming at all. At the last minute the Lord, or habit, had him heading to the church. Normally his church was a dusty or waterlogged arena prior to a competition’s start.

      Miss Adela had been playing the piano for the Mule Hollow Church of Faith all of Chance’s life. She had just finished playing the welcoming hymn “When We All Get to Heaven” as he slipped into the pew beside Applegate.

      “This back pew’s not the place fer you, Chance Turner,” App leaned in and whispered loudly.

      So much for thinking he’d gotten his point across yesterday. “Good morning to you, too, App.”

      Applegate hiked a bushy brow. “What’s good about it? We’re at church and the only preacher we’ve got is sittin’ in the back row with me.”

      Several people turned at his words. Since App was hard of hearing and talked loud enough to be heard in the choir loft it was a wonder the entire congregation didn’t turn and look at him. Well, okay, so most of them did. Chance had known this would happen but here he was anyway. It was like the Lord wasn’t going to let him go even when He knew Chance was struggling. “App, sir,” he whispered, “now isn’t the time for me to be up there.”

      App crossed his arms and grunted just as Brady Cannon stepped up to the podium. The sheriff taught the singles’ Sunday school class, and he and his wife, Dottie, had turned his ranch into a shelter for abused women. Chance respected them both very much. Dottie ran a candy store on Main Street where she taught the women how to run their own business. Being self-sufficient was a goal of the shelter along with helping the families overcome their abusive pasts.

      Wyatt had told him that Lynn, the woman he’d met yesterday, had recently moved from the shelter into her own place with her two sons. He wondered about Lynn. He’d hated to hear she’d had a hard time in her life. How a man could hurt a woman was beyond him…but how he could vow before God to love and cherish her and then strike and abuse her was even more incomprehensible.

      “As most of you know I’m a sheriff, not a preacher,” Brady began to speak. “I’m just the best you’ve got this morning. Or at least that’s what the elders tell me. I’m pretty certain there’s some of you out there who could do a much better job than me of preaching this morning. I hope whoever you are that you’ll step up and fill the need.”

      App shot Chance a sharp look, and he felt eyes on him from everywhere else, too. Looking to the right he saw two small heads, one dark and one blond, turned his way. Gavin and Jack were barely able to see him over the back of the pew but they were watching him. Their mother sat beside them with her gaze focused straight ahead on Brady. When the boys saw Chance looking, the blonde raised his hand and waved. The dark-headed one followed suit. Lynn caught their movement out of the corner of her eye and automatically turned. Her midnight eyes locked with Chance’s and unexpectedly his mouth went dry and his pulse tripped all over itself, pounding erratically.

      Something in that look hadn’t been there before. Some thing in the way her eyes blazed into his hadn’t seared into him like that yesterday. The moment lasted less than a second before she let her gaze drop to her boys, tapping them each on the head and telling them, with the swirl of her finger, to turn around. Less than a second but he was hung up…

      App elbowed him. “Like I said yesterday, she don’t look at jest anybody like that. If you was in the pulpit you wouldn’t have ta be lookin’ at the back of her pretty head right now.”

      The woman in front of him almost choked on her laughter as she tried to hide that she’d heard what App had said. Why hide it? Everyone would have heard him, but they were all listening intently to Brady. Chance knew there was no way they hadn’t heard App, but they were doing a good job not disturbing the service any more than it already had been.

      “App, cut it out,” he growled.

      Thankfully, App decided he’d said enough. He crossed his arms and stared straight ahead for the remainder of Brady’s lesson.

      The sheriff did a good job over the next twenty minutes. His words were about being a good steward of the talents God had given each church member, something Chance had thought he was doing until Randy’s death.

      Though Chance listened, his heart was closed off to any emotional response. It had been that way ever since Randy had fallen beneath the hooves of that bull and Chance had realized he probably wasn’t coming out alive. App could push all he wanted but Chance wasn’t up to being in that pulpit right now. And honestly, he wasn’t sure when or if he’d be ready. He felt as if a heavy horse blanket had been thrown around his heart, smothering out all the light.

      Everyone kept saying he needed time. That was why he’d come home. Time could heal most everything.

      Chance hoped it was true.

      He’d given many a cowboy a similar sermon at different times of trial in their lives. Now he was seeing how much easier it was to spout the words when you were giving advice to someone else. It was different when you were the one in the midst of the storm.

      He let his gaze slide toward Lynn once more. Something was bothering her, too. He saw it in her eyes just now, and it cut him to the core.

      Chapter Four

      “Hey, mister. Mr. Chance, hold up.”

      “Yeah, hold up!”

      Chance had cut out the second the prayer was over. He wanted to keep right on walking but no way could he ignore the small voices hailing him. He’d made straight for the parking lot and was almost to the edge of the grass, almost to the white rock and fifteen feet from his truck… He’d almost made it.

      App’s grumbling during the sermon had convinced Chance that if he hung around he’d never hear the end of it. But no way could he ignore Gavin and Jack.

      Feeling roped and tied he turned on his heel to find both boys charging after him. Lynn followed at a slow, reluctant pace. And he groaned at the sight of the Mule Hollow posse behind her! Norma Sue Jenkins and Esther Mae Wilcox were two of the older ladies who kept Mule Hollow running smoothly. They, along with their buddy Adela, had saved the tiny town with their matchmaking antics.

      They’d come up with the idea a couple of years earlier to advertise for wives for all the lonesome cowboys who lived and worked the ranching area. Despite the disbelief of everyone around them, lo and behold, women read the ads and had begun to come to town. Since then the ladies were always coming up with special events that would draw women to the town. Like dinner theater with the cowboys singing and serving, or festivals where the cowboys and ladies would meet up. So far it had worked well. He appreciated the three women, but they were also among the ones who were adamant about him coming home to preach.

      Watching their approach he prepared himself for a lecture.

      “Boys,” Lynn called, coming to a halt behind the two little dudes.

      He couldn’t help but wonder what was bothering her so…why she looked pensive and almost frightened. Was she scared of him?

      “Mr. Turner was leaving. You don’t need to bother him.”

      “We ain’t, Momma.” Gavin batted big eyes at her and then at him. “We was just wonderin’ СКАЧАТЬ