Page 39 of The Cowboy Who Came Home

“I’ll say grace,” Alex said. He cleared his throat, folded his arms, and squished his eyes shut. Finn could barely get his cowboy hat off before Alex said, “Lord, we’re grateful for the many blessings Thou has bestowed upon us. We’re glad for the blue sky today, and clear weather. We’re grateful we had a good sermon today about service, and bless us to serve those around us.”

He continued on, but Finn could only hear the rushing of blood in his own ears. The preacher had talked about service today. Surely Edith and Alex wouldn’t turn away his offer of service.

“Amen.”

Finn lifted his head, and he looked at both Alex and Edith. Alex didn’t seem to notice the charge in the air, because he reached for a plate and the spatula for the hash. Edith didn’t move a muscle.

Finn reached out and picked up a plate and handed it to Edith. “Alex, I just told Edith I’d like to come work on your ranch until you get the sinkholes fixed and your fields back in order.”

“That is not what you said,” Edith said.

“That is so what I said.” Finn used the tongs to pick up a few pieces of bacon, and he went back for some sausage as Edith scoffed.

“No, you said you wanted to come work for us.”

“I do,” Finn said, glancing at her. “There are nine sinkholes here. They’ll take a while to get patched up and reseeded, and meanwhile, someone has to look after the ranch.”

“I can look after the ranch.” Edith snatched the tongs from Finn, and he pulled his hand back while she angrily got her own breakfast meats.

Alex had said nothing, and Finn looked over to him. “I don’t need pay,” Finn said. “Or room and board. I’ll just come in the morning and do whatever you need me to do. Then I’ll go home at night.”

Alex chewed and swallowed his food. “I’m sure we’ll get by.” He met Edith’s eye, and Finn didn’t like the silent conversation they had.

Frustration built inside Finn, but he managed to spoon some hash onto his plate. “So Pastor Scott said today to serve those around you,” he said, not sure where the words had come from. “But that requires that there’s people who need serving, and that those people are humble enough to accept the help when it’s offered to them.”

His words got spoken into pure silence in the farmhouse, and that meant something with how many animals Alex and Edith had surrounding the table. Their dogs and cat went with them into the house or outside of it.

And right now, they’d all fallen silent. Finn forked up a bite of hash, his stomach cursing him for being hungry and attempting to eat in a moment like this. He put the perfectly seasoned potatoes in his mouth, waiting for Alex or Edith to say something.

He managed to swallow, and he finally dared to look over to Edith. She ducked her head instantly, her cheeks a lovely shade of pink that indicated her embarrassment. Finn didn’t want that, and he reached over and covered her hand with his.

“I want to come work here at Coyote Pass with you two,” he said with as much force as he dared. “I think you could use the help, and I’m not doing anything at Three Rivers.” He looked over to Alex, who had gone back to eating. “I’ve been prayin’ about it, and it feels right, and that’s why I had my daddy drive me out here to crash your Sabbath Day lunch.”

He finished his strip of bacon and asked, “So, what do you think?”

Chapter Twelve

“All right,” Alex said, and Edith flinched with the words.

“All right?” Edith asked.

Her brother ignored her. “Have you fixed a sinkhole before?”

“Sure have,” Finn said, and Edith felt like the world was completely out of control. Hurtling through space too fast, on a collision course with an asteroid or a moon. Something.

“Then I’d love your help,” Alex said. “Because I haven’t.” He flicked a glance over to Edith, who stared back at him. “Neither has Edee.”

“You love big machines,” she said.

Alex grinned at her. “Sure do.”

“Alex.” She wasn’t sure why she was whining. She’d get to see Finn every day if he came to work at Coyote Pass. Her face felt like someone had implanted hand warmers into her cheeks.

She didn’t want Finn to come work at Coyote Pass, because it was embarrassing for her. She didn’t want to admit they needed help, but that didn’t seem to matter. Everyone with even one working eyeball could see they needed help. God knew it, and He’d whispered as much to Finn.

And blast him, the cowboy had listened.

“Excuse me,” she said as she pushed her chair away from the table.

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