Page 36 of Loving Decker

Mama Dawson squeezed her hand, and Faith leaned over with an arm across her shoulders.

“We love you, Faithy Haws. Don’t you forget that.”

The words to the scripture came back into her mind.His hand is stretched out still.

“Love you too, Mrs. Dawson.”

She hesitated for a moment, but when the parade started, she knew they had some time before the first event. “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

She turned her kind, wise eyes on Faith, sending a wave of yearning for her own mother through her. Faith cleared her throat and commanded her mouth not to waver. “This is kind of deep.” She leaned closer. “But I know we believe God is always watching out for us, and I know He must be. I’ve been seeing blessings in all kinds of places, but how do you keep believing that? How do you keep pushing forward when there is so much going on that is hard right now?”

Mrs. Dawson patted her hand, and to Faith’s surprise, the great matriarch’s eyes filled with tears. “Well now, life isn’t as easy as we all thought it would be, is it?”

Faith laughed. “No. I never thought I’d be orphaned at my age without even my grandpa to talk to.” She meant for the words to ease her pain, to keep things light, but her voice caught, and then tears filled her eyes. “I know God’s there, but why do so many hard things have to happen?”

“Oh, my dear Faith. You know, we didn’t plan on Mr. Dawson leaving us so soon either. The boys and I, we planned on a grand retirement for the big man.” She shook her head. “And I’ll tell you what, Maverick didn’t plan on Bailey leaving him on their first wedding day. Grace didn’t know, bless her heart, that she was being born into some tough beginnings. Old Mrs. Walton didn’t plan on being widowed and nearly kicked off her land.” She sighed. “There’s a lot of hardship going on in just about every home.”

“So how does everyone keep on believing?”

“Same way you do. We don’t believe in a God that paves our way with gold streets and easy paths. The God we believe in never promised that life would be easy. In fact, the very life and death of Jesus would indicate that bearing His cross with Him would be a challenge sometimes.”

Faith nodded. “But then what is the promise for those who believe? I just always thought we would be blessed.”

“Oh, my darling, we are. Look around. See the blessings. And the biggest one of all happens right here.” She pressed her heart as though something precious resided inside. “We can feel his love, his grace, joy, peace. No matter what is going on all around us, this feeling right here can stay with us.”

Faith nodded, a certain peace returning to her. “Yes, I have felt that.” She wished it would stay, but she would try to see God in her life more. She would try to notice.

“And I’ll share a secret with you.” Mrs. Dawson winked. “If you’re ever feeling far away from Jesus, and you’re not sure how to get that feeling back again, just start thanking Him. Open your mouth in praise and thanks and don’t stop until the love returns.”

Her eyes filled with a different kind of tears, and a surety filled Faith while listening to Mrs. Dawson. “He is good isn’t He?”

“Yes, the very best.”

Chapter Fourteen

Decker brushed down his horse. “Hey, bud. We’re gonna ride again. You ready for this?”

Champ’s responding nicker made Decker smile. “You’re a good boy.”

His event wasn’t up for a while—they were swapping around the typical order of events—and he wanted to make sure he saw Faith. There was something incredible about that woman. She surprised him all the time with even more strength and character and goodness. He was pretty sure, at this point, he’d never find another woman like Faithy Haws.

But as much as he wanted her in his life, he wasn’t so sure she was determined to have him in hers. She seemed interested, sure. But she seemed about as equally interested in everything else they were dealing with. Which was understandable. There was some big stuff going on right now.

He needed to somehow take things to the next level.

Maverick called out into the microphone. “And now, for the event everyone has been waiting for, barrel racing, featuring a return to the arena by our own Faith Haws.”

The crowd went crazy, and Decker ran to the opening onto the arena. He stood up on the bottom rail of a chute and got a clear view.

She was on the opposite side of the arena. He knew she sat on Electric in the shadows beyond his sight. On the signal, she came racing out into the light. Her face had a look of pure concentrated joy, so much so that he burst out laughing. “You go, Faithy!” He waved his hat in the air.

The crowd cheered her on, but he knew she couldn’t hear one bit of it. When you’re out there, everything was strangely quiet.

They raced to the first barrel, hugged it as tight as they could, raced around to the second and back again. Then off she went, flying, back to where she’d started. Her times flashed up on top.

“Wow! Faith has done it again! Should we tell her that if this were a real competition rodeo, she’d have broken her own record?”

The crowd cheered again.

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