Page 52 of His Eighth Ride

He didn’t say anything else, and Opal absolutely felt everything between them shift. Tag’s emotions swirled with the heat waves being cycled onto the porch, and Opal wanted to reach out and touch him, absorb some of what he felt so she’d know what it was.

She did, sliding her fingers along his arm and to his hand. He dropped it from his cowboy hat and continued with, “We’re really thankful to be together tonight.”

He paused again, and Opal wanted to say, “Amen,” to that. She was grateful and glad to be with Tag in such a simple environment. She’d liked other men before. She’d dated them for a lot longer than she’d been seeing Tag.

But something about their relationship felt old, too, like they’d known one another for a lot longer than they had. As Opal waited in this serene space for Tag to continue his prayer, she definitely liked Tag more than anyone else she’d ever dated.

She liked him a lot.

A lot, a lot.

She liked him so much it started to feel like…love.

“Thank you for a clear day,” Tag said next, his voice about half the volume it had been before. “Bless us to have a good dinner tonight, and bless Opal to find a house she’ll be really happy in for a long time. Bless everyone on this farm with what they need to be healthy and happy, especially Kyle as he continues to recover from his latest cold. Help us to take care of each other and those around us who need it. Amen.”

“Amen,” Opal murmured, and she pulled her hand away from his. He reset his hat and wouldn’t look at her.

She picked up the fork on her plate and went for the potatoes first. They held a smokiness that only came from bacon, and her taste buds started rejoicing before she’d even taken a bite. When she did get the food in her mouth, she moaned at its deliciousness.

Tag chuckled, but he didn’t ask if she liked it. She obviously did.

“Have you always gone to church, Tag?” she asked.

“Mostly,” he said. “My parents were pretty active growing up. My mama praises Jesus for everything.” He grinned at her. “I know you grew up religious.”

“Yeah,” she said, getting another forkful of food as she looked at the tips of the flames down below. “I feel like I’ve come and gone in my faith.”

“Come and gone?” He spoke in a calm, easy voice, without any judgment at all.

“Yeah,” she said. “Don’t you have, I don’t know, seasons? Times when you’re really faithful, and you go to church every week, and you’re reading the scriptures, and you’re trying to serve others. And other times, where you’re…not.”

“I suppose so, yeah,” he drawled.

“I barely went to church when I was in medical school,” Opal said. “There was no time.” She let her memories of what felt like a long time ago stream through her. “I was constantly tired. I didn’t pray, didn’t study, didn’t read anything for my soul.”

She looked over to him. “In some ways, I thought I was freer.” She went back to her dinner, wondering why she’d started thinking about this tonight. Why she’d asked him this. “Every now and then, I’d get these little pinches from heaven. A reminder that I wasn’t alone, and that Jesus wanted me to come back.”

“Did you?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Slowly. Finally, God shouted at me to leave my job and come here.” She gave him a sly smile. “Not sure if you know, but I can be pretty stubborn, and I resisted Him for a while. Months, actually.”

“And yet, here you are.”

“Here I am.” She finally tried the chicken, which made her mouth sing and her heart happy. “This is so good, Tag.”

“Thank you.” He let a beat go by. “So you finally listened?”

“Yes,” she said. “And now, God is telling me I need my own place, but there’s nothing out there for me. It’s confusing.” She let out a little sigh, but she wanted tonight to be perfect. “What about you?” she asked, trying to perk up her voice. “Do you want your own place someday? Your own horses? A boarding stable? A farm?”

Tag didn’t answer right away, and Opal ate a couple of bites of chicken before she looked over to him. “Ah, I see the answer on your face.” The firelight flickered against his fine features, making Tag twice as handsome as he already was.

“I think about it,” he said.

“Lindsay Lewis is selling her hobby farm,” she said. “Might be of interest to you.”

“Hobby farms don’t make much money,” Tag said. “We’re not all married to CEOs and billionaires.”

Opal jerked her head up, her heart suddenly pounding, pounding, pounding. “Billionaires?”

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