Page 71 of A Jilted Bride for the Cowboy

But only silence came from behind him. He crossed the great room without looking to see who might be observing him, ducked into the opposite hallway, then realized Tate knew about the meeting and would be curious how it turned out. Graham didn’t want to talk about it. He marched past the office door and out the far exit.

Now what? He paused under the overhang and allowed his eyes to adjust to the blazing late-August sunshine. It glinted off the lake to one side, while hills dominated the landscape on the other sides. He heard laughter from the lake and saw a kayak nose into the bay. A horse whinnied from the stable area.

Then silence.

God? What do I do now?

He’d felt like God led him to buy the Fosters’ house. He wasn’t about to clear their debt and let them continue the same bad habits with no consequences. The liens against their home had been paid, though, leaving them with a small amount of cash. Had he expected Cadence to be grateful? To understand immediately why he’d done it?

Out of love.

He was terrible at expressing emotion. Grandfather had challenged him on that, asking how what he felt for Cadence differed from other female friends. He certainly wouldn’t have spent this much money bailing out anyone else, knowing he’d never see a penny of it again.

Thanks to being a Sullivan — through no effort of his own — he could drop the cash in one go and not hurt.

Graham sank into a wooden Adirondack chair in the shade. He’d also done nothing to earn God’s favor or all the benefits that came from being a child of God.

God loved him incredibly more than he could ever love Cadence or anyone else. A massive wave of gratitude rolled over him and brought tears prickling to his eyes. He’d never felt all the privilege in his life quite so fully as in that moment.

God had blessed him far more than he could imagine in his earthly family and, far more, in his heavenly family.

* * *

What had just happened?

Cadence stared at the door Graham had exited. He’d offered to buy her parents’ house and give it to her.

Was he some kind of crazy?

There was no other reason he’d do something that extravagant.

Unless he loved her. Like, really truly adored her with all the single-minded focus with which a man could love a woman. And that couldn’t be true. Could it?

He didn’t talk or act like a man in love, but he definitely kissed like it.

Her lips tingled at the memory of the single kiss they’d shared. She’d started it, sure, but he’d gotten into the spirit of it in less than a split second. She wanted more, but everything was so complicated.

Mom’s gambling. Dad’s coverup. Paul’s pursuit.

Graham offered a way out that had never occurred to her, probably because she couldn’t simply cough up a cool mil or two any old day of the week without breaking a sweat. Did it even set Graham back in a way he’d notice? Would he have to make payments, or was the purchase a blip on his radar?

How could she accept his offer?

How could she not?

Right. She’d told her parents she’d pay them back for the wedding costs. If she sold the house Graham gifted her, she could do that and still… no. That wasn’t what Graham was doing this for. It wouldn’t take that kind of cash to pay off their debts. Twenty or thirty grand and she’d be clear.

Besides, if she sold the house, her parents would have to move out, and then what? Did she care if they saved face? They’d keep guilting her until she at least bought them a less pretentious house in a cheaper part of the city.

She’d never be free of the weight. Family wasn’t supposed to be a burden, especially not one’s parents. Weren’t they supposed to take care of their kids, not the other way around? At least, until old age came along, but Daniel and Amelia Foster were in their mid fifties. It should have been many years yet before Cadence felt compelled to shoulder their care.

Now she had another option, and it was already in motion. If she did nothing, Graham would buy her parents’ house — maybe he already had — and give her the deed, and she could let them keep living there. Should they pay her rent? What if Mom kept gambling?

This was too hard. She detested all her options. She’d called Graham here to accept his awkward marriage proposal, but he hadn’t let her get that far before implying she could bypass marriage and still get the benefits from him.

The financial benefits. Not the personal ones.

Because he regretted his previous offer and had found a way out of it that still salved his conscience. That’s all it was. He probably kissed dozens of women the way he’d kissed her.

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