Page 64 of A Jilted Bride for the Cowboy

“The answer to all the problems is so simple. If she married me, her parents and Paul would have to back off. I could easily negotiate the canceled wedding payments and—”

“Pardon me.” Grandfather waved a hand. “You pitched marriage like a business deal?”

Graham closed his eyes and gathered what little remained of his courage. “Too much so, I think.” And wasn’t that just what Paul had done? Graham was such a moron.

“Do you love her?”

What was with all this love-talk all of a sudden? “Of course, I do. What’s not to love? She’s amazing. Beautiful. Kind.”

Grandfather muttered something Graham couldn’t quite catch.

“What?”

“Even in my day, a man had to be more romantic than that to get his girl. You have to woo her, boy. You could say those things about nearly any woman. About Stephanie. About Paisley. About Kaci, or Heather, or—”

“Stop.” Graham held up his hand. “Stephanie’s married. The others are nice enough, but I don’t love any of them. Only Cadence.”

“Then you need more than beautiful and kind. What makes her special to you? Why her and not Kaci? Is it because you can solve her financial dilemma?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why?”

Why, indeed? And did he need to get down to brass tacks like that? He thought back to Pastor Smith’s homily at Eli and Harper’s wedding last week. Were all wedding sermons based on First Corinthians 13? Maybe he should reread the passage and figure out what love was. How his love for Cadence was different from how he loved others.

“Did you tell her you love her?”

Graham thought back to the conversation that dark night. “I did, but maybe too little, too late.”

Yeah, he needed some time in God’s word before he could figure this out.

* * *

What was love?

Cadence knew the definition, sort of. She knew she wanted to be the recipient of it, not only the giver. But the more times she’d gone over Graham’s ridiculously awkward proposal, the more she’d realized that he hadn’t intended it the way it had come across.

Yeah, he wanted to rescue her. An admirable quality, right? But he’d also said he loved her, and she’d thrown that back in his face, told him he didn’t know what love was.

Like she was some sort of expert. Ha. Obviously not, or she wouldn’t have lashed out at him that way.

Graham would probably always remain a little bit awkward. He wasn’t smooth and suave like Paul and most of the guys she’d been around since college. But look where that had brought her.

If she ever married, it would be for love. She’d know she was in love. She’d know the guy was worthy of her love and wouldn’t misuse her trust.

But how could a woman know for sure? She was only human, after all, and people were good at hiding things. Of showing the side of themselves they wanted others to see.

She was guilty of that herself. Always breezy. Always smiling in the selfies she took for social media. She’d learned how to make her eyes crinkle to make that smile look absolutely genuine every time.

Was that persona what Graham thought he loved?

No. He’d seen behind the facade. He’d been there to pick up the pieces and help her escape the mess she’d made.

He’d rescued her.

And around she went. She couldn’t hate him for that being part of his nature, even when she felt embarrassed that he felt the need to take care of her that way. That he saw her as weak, when she wanted to be seen as strong.

Lord, help me.

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