Page 5 of Marrying the Billboard Cowboy

With a deep breath, he reached for his phone. She hadn’t given a return address, just an email address. So he typed it in, the blank page suddenly daunting. What could he offer Kaitlyn McCallum, this woman who had already weathered so many storms?

“Dear Kaitlyn,” he typed carefully, his deliberate nature guiding every tap of the tiny keyboard. “Your letter stood out to me amidst many. Your strength, your candidness, and your will to move forward resonate with me more than you can imagine...”

Zeke sent the email before doubt could reclaim him.

3

Kaitlyn’s fingers ached from pouring endless cups of coffee, the scent of grease and burnt toast lingering in the air. She tucked a stray lock of brown hair behind her ear, only to have it fall back into her face as she leaned over to refill another chipped mug. The diner hummed with the pre-holiday rush, patrons more harried than usual.

“Smile, Kaitlyn, you look so... drab,” chided Mrs. Jenkins, her overly rouged cheeks puckering as she sipped her tea. “A little lipstick wouldn’t hurt.”

The well-meaning but insensitive remark dug its claws into Kaitlyn’s pride. If only Mrs. Jenkins knew that makeup ranked far below food and shelter on her list of necessities. Not to mention how hard it was to get a shower when you slept in your car.

“Sorry, Mrs. Jenkins. I’ll try to remember that next time.” Kaitlyn offered a practiced smile, her voice barely concealing the weariness that clung to her like the faded apron around her waist.

Retreating to the kitchen, Kaitlyn sank onto a cracked vinyl chair in the corner, the coolness of the material seeping throughher thin uniform. The screen of her battered phone lit up, a new email notification flashing.

“Zeke Reynolds” the sender’s name read, and her heart stalled for a moment. He had replied to the hasty application? A mail-order bride to a man she’d never met felt like a plot point from a different life, not the desperate act of a woman with nothing left to lose. She’d honestly expected never to hear back.

“Kaitlyn,” the email began, and her breath caught as she scrolled through the words. Zeke explained his situation at Redemption Ridge Ranch and the need for companionship, a partner in life and faith. But was this leap of faith meant for her?

His email was brief. Nothing flowery or emotional, but there was an authenticity in every word that settled her nerves.

“Could this really be my escape?” she whispered to herself, tracing the edge of the cracked phone screen. Her mind raced with possibilities and fears. Was this door, opened by a man with deliberate words and an obvious strength, one she dared to step through?

“Kaitlyn, table six is asking for you!” The cook’s gruff voice jolted her from her reverie.

“Coming!” she called back, slipping the phone into her pocket, the weight of Zeke’s message pressing against her thigh as she pushed through the swinging doors to face the diner once more.

Decision loomed over her, as heavy as the winter clouds gathering outside the fogged-up windows.

Later that day, sitting in her car waiting for Stetson to come out of school, Kaitlyn tapped the backspace key more times than she cared to admit, erasing yet another attempt at drafting her response. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, uncertainty knotting in her stomach. She had to be cautious, honest without being vulnerable, but it felt like walking a tightrope without a safety net.

“Dear Ezekiel,” she started again, the name feeling foreign on her tongue. “Thank you for your message. Your situation at Redemption Ridge Ranch seems both challenging and rewarding. I’ve never been west of Denver.”

She paused, chewing on her lower lip. The truth of her circumstances poked at the corners of her mind, but she couldn’t afford to let it spill into words—not yet. Not when so much was at stake.

Her eyes traced the careful dance of words across the screen. “I believe in facing trials head-on, with faith as my guide. I’m drawn to the simplicity and purpose you describe at the ranch, and I wonder if perhaps there’s a place for me in that picture. Can you tell me about your days there?”

Sending the email left her with a hollow sensation, as if she’d just cast a lifeline into the sea, waiting for rescue or rejection.

Only hours later, when Zeke’s reply landed in her inbox, Kaitlyn’s breath caught. With trembling hands, she opened the message, heart hammering against her ribs, as she leaned against the wall next to the cot. Tonight, they’d made it to the shelter in time to get one of the coveted spots.

“Kaitlyn,” Zeke wrote, “believe it or not, I never intended to seek a partner like this. But that’s another story, one that will make far more sense once you meet my rascal of a little brother, Gideon.”

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she read his words.

“As for my days,” he continued, “they aren’t especially glamorous. Today, I met with the vet, repaired some shingles on the barn, then I repaired a fence as the sun went down. Like I said, nothing fancy. If that’s what you’re expecting here, you’ll be sadly disappointed.”

Kaitlyn imagined the scene, the sun dipping behind the mountains. A longing stirred within her, a yearning for peace, for a shared silence filled with meaning.

“I don’t need fancy,” she replied, completely unaffected by Zeke’s gruff words. “Today, I scraped gum off the bottom of the tables at the restaurant.”

Kaitlyn’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, her heart thrumming with a mix of fear and hope. Each tap on the keys felt like a step closer to an unfathomable cliff. To tell Zeke about Stetson meant risking the fragile thread that connected them, yet withholding such a vital piece of her life felt dishonest, a betrayal before their story even began.

“Momma?” The small voice broke through her reverie. Kaitlyn turned to find Stetson’s dark eyes fixed on her, a furrow of concern etching his youthful brow.

“Yeah, buddy.” She forced a smile, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead. “What’s up?”

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