Page 62 of A Cameo for a Cowgirl

Mom sounded like she was trying to tiptoe through landmines with that conversation. Exactly what had Harrison said to her parents on Friday night? Had he said something about her? Is that why her mother was being cagey?

Her mother looked at her. “Cassie, I know that I may have accused you of being lacking in the hospitality or grace department, but I understand now that this has not been easy. I’m sorry if I’ve done things that have made you feel hurt. That was never my intention.”

“I know that, Mom. I do appreciate you saying it though. Because it hasn’t been easy.”

Her mom’s eyes softened. “Why do you think that is?”

“Because I haven’t really known what to do with these feelings.”

“Feelings about Harrison?”

She nodded. “He told me before that he likes me, and I said that I couldn’t go out with someone who wasn’t a Christian, but now he is, I don’t know what to do.”

“It’s early days,” her mom cautioned. “Nobody is saying you have to go out with him, especially if you don’t want to.”

“But that’s the thing,” she whispered. “I think I do. He’s a lot nicer than I first thought, and he’s fun, and for some reason he seems to value me. But even that scares me because I can’t see a future with a man who lives in Hollywood. How can that work when I live and work here?”

“But you don’t have to live and work here forever.”

“Mom, you know it’s been my dream since I was a little girl to run this ranch one day.”

“But dreams can change.” Her mother smiled. “I used to dream of being an academic, like Hannah’s mother, and then I met your father and visited Three Creek Ranch. I soon knew that I had a different call on my life.”

Huh. “I never knew that.”

“As The Heart Draws isn’t just the pretty title of a book or a TV show, Cassie. God is in the business of drawing people to Himself, and He uses the Holy Spirit to touch people’s hearts, in the hopes that they will find a relationship with Him.”

Okay… “I know that. And we’ve seen that just now. But I’m already walking with God.” Her lips twisted wryly. “Admittedly I haven’t been walking too closely, but I’m trying to be better.”

“But the Holy Spirit keeps prodding and pressing and speaking to people, not just to salvation, but to allow people to be shaped into God’s purposes for their lives. Whether that means you change or God does something dramatic in a person’s life and alters their careers, we just have to keep following those inklings when they come.”

She nodded. She knew that too. Knew the implications of what happened when she didn’t do that. Like that still small voice would end up speaking even more faintly.

Cassie tucked her mother’s words close to her heart as she went to work the next day. And the next. And the rest of the week. She was thankful that summer meant Three Creek Ranch’s haying needed attention, and she could help her dad instead of possibly running into Harrison on the set. It gave her more time to figure out what to say.

She just hadn’t expected her father to ask about her feelings for Harrison, something Dad had never done for any guy she’d liked before.

She’d admitted to feeling conflicted, and he nodded. “Even I can see he’s got some charm, but you do need to be careful. He’s a new Christian, and while I sense that these are questions that have been tugging at him for a long time, it’s easy for some of those emotions to get mixed up with relationship stuff, and we don’t want to confuse him.”

“Which is why I’m very happy not to try to make anything happen.”

“I think that’s wise.”

She kept praying for wisdom, and the thought crossed her mind to return to Franklin’s apartment. But with her brother and Hannah returning from their honeymoon this week, her presence probably wouldn’t be welcome. And part of her despised the idea of changing her routine just because a man was involved. Maybe Hannah’s mom’s feminist views had rubbed off on her more than she suspected, but it didn’t seem the way a modern woman should live. Especially for someone who was going to try to keep her feelings for him tamped in the brotherly department. He was a brother in Christ now, after all.

Her phone buzzed in her back pocket. Mal. She called to her dad, “I need to take this call.”

“Cassie? Thank you for coming by.”

Cassie settled into the seat that Mal gestured to in the dining room. Mal had asked to see her without providing details, but the look on his face didn’t suggest any trouble. “What can I help you with?”

“We wanted to run something by you, and you don’t have to say yes, but it would be wonderful if you did.”

“I’m happy to help if I can.”

“We have a scene that we’re shooting soon, and we just received word that Brenda—remember our stunt woman?—is sick and unable to join us in time.”

“Oh, I didn’t know. Poor thing.”

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