Page 36 of The Rancher's Vengeful Heart

She was about to say Hosea and Gomer...but caught herself in time because she also remembered that Gomer happened to be guilty of adultery.

Yeah, scratch that.

"Stel?"

The catch in Tassy's voice made Stella realize just how much her friend was counting on her for reassurance.

"Um..."

Oh, please, God, help me out.

And that was when the answer came to her.

"The words 'love at first sight' weren't explicitly mentioned in the Bible, but thereisone story in the Book of Genesis."

Stella herself was feeling much and much better as she looked up the verses in her Bible app, and she just had to close her eyes for a moment.

Thank You, God.

She cleared her throat and began to read.

When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel. “Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant.

And he replied, “It is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.

And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.

Stella waited for Tassy to say something, but there was only silence on the other end. "Tas?"

And that was when she realized her friend had started to cry.

"I really needed to hear that, Stel," Tassy whispered. "And I can't thank God enough for giving me a friend like you."

Chapter Eleven

"LUCIUS?" HIS MOTHER'Svoice tinged with bewilderment as she joined his stepfather on the phone in loudspeaker.

"I hope I didn't catch you or Papa at a bad time."

"No, of course not," Joy was quick to assure him. "But...this is also unlike you. Is there some reason why you wished to speak to us both?"

"There is, actually. I wanted you both to hear from it first, and if it's alright with you, I'll leave it to you to let the others know."

"It's not like you to beat around the bush like this," Alrich observed soberly.

Since his stepfather was right as always, Lucius took this as a sign to simply get on with it.

"I got married today."

His mother let out a gasp while his stepfather remained silent, which was also typical of the older man.

"Her name's Tassina. You've never met her, but I'm certain you'll like her a lot. She's...great." Lucius could feel his skin flushing as he found himself fumbling for the right things to say.

"I'm, um..." Joy's voice was faint, and Lucius had a feeling his mother was also struggling to find something to say.

"Congratulations, son."

It was only after hearing this did Lucius even realize how tension had held his entire body rigid, and he could feel himself gradually relaxing as Aldrich went on talking in his usual gruff voice. "We look forward to meeting her soon."

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