Small-Town Brides Read Free

marry her.
    â€œHe’d still take the burger,” Clay said.
    Rene suddenly knew that was true. She was being a fool. Trace wasn’t going hungry because things hadn’t worked out between them. He was probably eating a double cheeseburger at the café in Mule Hollow right now—and chatting up any woman foolish enough to be sitting next to him.
    Rene picked up the burger. “Just be sure you add it to your bill.”
    â€œYou can count on it,” Clay said with satisfaction in his voice. “You’re going to owe me your first month’s pay at the rate we’re going anyway. Even with the good-customer discount I’m giving you.”
    â€œI’m a good customer?” Rene looked to see if the teasing was back in Clay’s eyes, but his hat was pulled down again. “Really?”
    â€œYou will be when you pay up.”
    Ah, yes, money, Rene thought. She was not always the best provider for herself. Which reminded her. She took a quick moment to bow her head. Thanks for the burger, God. And bless us on this trip. Amen.
    She didn’t want to make a big production about praying. Although Clay wore a tiny gold cross pinned to his hat band, she’d never seen him pray when he ate at the café. Of course, she wasn’t a poster child for prayer herself these days. Bowing her head before eating had become more habit than anything since her mother had died.
    â€œYum.” Rene took a bite of food. It tasted as good as it smelled. “This is wonderful. Thank you.”
    â€œYou pray a lot?” Clay asked after she swallowed.
    â€œSome days.” Rene said. Clay didn’t need to know about her crumbling relationship with God. It wasn’t something she was proud of. Or even understood.
    They were both silent.
    â€œDoes He do things for you? When you pray?” Clay finally asked.
    He sounded skeptical and Rene could see where this was going.
    â€œYou can’t blame Him. I know the smart thing for me would have been to keep working at the café until I saved enough to pay for any complications on this trip.” Rene didn’t want to talk about her finances, but she wanted to talk about her relationship with God even less. “I never have been good with money.”
    Clay shrugged.
    â€œIt’s just—” Rene said and then paused. So many other emotions had gone wrong for her lately that she wanted to get this one right. “Have you ever felt like life was passingyou by and you needed to do something different—even be something different—before it was too late and you missed your one true destiny?”
    Clay must have been surprised at the question, because he tilted his head up again so she could see his eyes once more. “I’m not much into destiny. But sure, I’ve felt a need to change. The last time I sat a bronc. That’s why I quit.”
    Rene had wondered why he left the rodeo, but she could see by the set to his chin that he wasn’t going to say any more on the topic. He was looking at her like he expected an answer, though.
    â€œWell, mine wasn’t quite that dramatic,” she said. “I mean, the one before this stuff with Trace.”
    No one spoke for a minute.
    â€œIt was your mother, wasn’t it?” Clay asked softly.
    Rene nodded. She’d spent years postponing her life while she took care of her invalid mother. She’d told Clay all about it. “Not that I ever regretted taking care of her. It’s just after she was gone, I looked around and what did I have left?”
    Rene swallowed. Her mother had been bed-ridden, but she was only in her fifties. She was supposed to live for many more years. Rene had been stunned when she died. God had not only refused to answer Rene’s prayers for her mother’s healing, but He had turned His back on her when she needed Him the most. It’s like He had just walked out of the room when her mother