The question hung in the air. Why did he have to phrase it that way? It couldn’t be about what she wanted. It had to be about what she needed. A ranch hand and a marketer. And a friend.
Perhaps they weren’t so different after all.
“I need the help.” What was wrong with her voice? Why had it gone all whispery?
His gaze dipped to her lips for a moment. Or did she imagine it? Or he could simply be wondering why she was whispering.
“I know,” he said.
What did that mean? It could mean so many things. It could mean nothing.
She blinked and swallowed and willed her traitorous heart to slow its gallop.
“I won’t let you down,” he said. Again with the multiple meanings. Did he really care about her or was he trying to sell himself the way he sold computer parts for multimillion dollar companies?
The din of the party in the background interrupted her trance. The door opened and children spilled out.
“My pony,” Natalie shouted, charging toward them.
“Wait, Nat. We need to clean the chocolate from your face.” Cindy followed.
“There he is,” shouted one boy, pointing at Josh.
A second boy drew his fake sword from a plastic sheath.
Back to work. Paisley brushed her hands together. She would have to put all thoughts of Josh on hold. She was probably better off this way. To truly think rationally, she couldn’t be standing close enough for him to—
A tiny body bumped into her legs.
Paisley stepped forward to balance herself. Another tiny body blocked her sure footing. Wobbling on one leg, she reached for the gate. A plastic sword swiped randomly, knocking her hand away.
The earth teetered. Paisley swung her arms in an attempt to find something stable to grip. Nothing. She gritted her teeth for the landing. Hopefully she wouldn’t fall on top of any children. That wouldn’t make for a good business review.
Josh’s warm body leaned into hers. A solid arm wrapped around her back and held her in place. The scruff of facial hair rubbed against her temple.
She caught her breath. Because it would have been safer to literally fall head over heels.
Her pulse thrummed louder in her ears. The heat in her chest radiated to her limbs. She’d felt this way once before. It was so real, Josh had to feel it this time.
She searched for his eyes. They would tell her everything.
Josh’s head bent forward. He ducked toward the ground and came back up with Natalie hooked in the crook of his elbow. The little girl had no idea how lucky she was.
“Oh, how cute.” Natalie’s mom, Cindy, stopped in front of them. “I didn’t get the chocolate off her face, but this will actually make for a cuter picture.” She pulled a cell phone from her purse.
Josh smiled for the camera. Paisley pinched her lips into a similar position.
“Hold on. I’m going to angle to the side to get Sundance in the picture, as well.” Cindy tapped on her phone screen then stood up proudly. “I’ll post this on Facebook and tell everyone how great you two are with birthday parties, Paisley.” She lowered the camera and smiled. “Are you coming to church tomorrow, Josh? Because I should warn you that everyone will think you’re a couple.”
Josh turned his grin toward Paisley. His eyes flashed with delight at the warning. But it wasn’t entertaining to her. Because there was no chance they’d ever end up together.
She lifted her chin. “Cindy, you can tell them he’s my ranch hand.”
“Woot-woot.” Josh let her go to press a palm overhead and raise the roof. “I got the job.”
Paisley shivered in the sudden chill and dodged tiny bodies as she made her way to the party room to start cleanup. If Josh was dancing over her “hiring” him, then that must have been all he’d been after with his sales pitch. And she’d been a fool to suspect anything more.
Chapter Six
After Cindy’s warning, Paisley dreaded going to church with Josh. But it wasn’t like the guy was going to sleep in. He’d been the one who’d suggested she take her problems to God in the first place—back in high school when he caught her talking to Ranger after one of Dad’s blowups. It had been before he kissed her. When she’d thought he was the one who walked on water. But whether she’d liked him then or not, she’d liked the idea of being able to talk to someone who might actually make a difference. So she’d started going to church.
But now she had to go with him as if they were a couple. Hopefully Cindy would quiet all the wagging tongues with the explanation of their employer/employee relationship.
Paisley stole a glance at Josh as she pulled into the parking lot of Big Sky Chapel. He didn’t look like a ranch hand. With his slick, bright blue jacket and shiny boots, he looked like a business man on a ski vacation.
Josh didn’t notice her looking at him, because he was too busy taking in the building with its stained glass steeple above the log frame set on the resort golf course. “This is gorgeous. I go to church in an elementary school gymnasium,” he said.
Another reason she could never live in a big city. She rolled Big Red between two other trucks and shifted into park. “It is gorgeous. Lots of people get married here.”
He smiled across at her. “Maybe you’ll get married here someday.”
Not in her plans, but he probably thought she was heartbroken from having her engagement called off, and he was trying to cheer her up. “Come on,” she said. “We need to tell everyone you’re my ranch hand so they don’t start planning our wedding.”
Josh chuckled and escorted her inside. He wasn’t helping her avoid gossip with the way he held the door open and got her a coffee. But she didn’t have to worry for long because Dot and Annabel whisked him away and made all the introductions for her.
He sank into the wooden pew next to her as the worship band took the stage. “I’m going to have trouble hearing a word of today’s sermon with that view,” he whispered.
She didn’t blame him. Behind the stage, three logs framed a triangle-shaped window looking out at the frosty mountain tops and an expanse of bright blue sky. But Pastor Taylor always had a way of making his messages relevant to wherever was happening in her life. Once the music ended and the first advent candle had been lit, she waited for him to bring Christmas alive for her in some new way.
“This is the time of year pastors talk about Mary and Joseph and the shepherds and angels and magi . . . but what I am most fascinated with is the star.”
Stars. Definitely relevant as she’d named her ranch after one.
“I once went to a planetarium where they explained the whole science behind such a phenomenon. But it was a little over my head since I’m not much of a science guy. I’m more of a history guy. And I want to know the history behind how the magi knew to look for a star.”
Paisley had never stopped to consider the question before. It had always been one of those Bible stories you heard when you were little and took for granted without asking questions. Kind of like the original Star Wars trilogy.
“We know the magi had come from the east. And we know that the magi were recognized for science and insight, which was often mistaken for magic in those times. This puts them in the same area and the same group that Daniel would have been in when Israel was captured by Babylon as well as the same area and group as Balaam—the guy who’d once been hired to curse Israel, but he couldn’t do it and ended up blessing Israel instead.”
Oh . . . Paisleys lips parted in awe as she connected the dots. Balaam spoke the truth about the Jews to another nation, and then Daniel taught what it meant. The idea made sense.
“I want to look at three passages that could have given the magi the knowledge they needed to seek out Jesus and then what that means for us. First, how did the magi even know about a star? When was a star mentioned in the Bible?”
Paisley knew there were prophecies, but she’d never really studied them. She let people like Pastor Taylor do that.
“Balaam
prophesied, ‘A Star shall come out of Jacob.”
Wow. That was to the point.
“Second, is time frame. Had generations of magi been watching the sky for a star? Or had they known exactly when to look for it?”
Paisley sat up straighter. If the magi had known when to look for a star, how had the Jewish people missed it?
Pastor Taylor read from Daniel 9. It didn’t reference the kind of calendar she was used to, but it definitely set the time frame for “the Anointed One.”
“This link with Daniel and Balaam is as apparent in what the magi knew as with what they didn’t know. They had to go to Herod to find out what Micah prophesied later on.” Pastor Taylor paused to make sure everyone was listening. “He’d said the Ruler of Israel would come out of Bethlehem.”
Paisley knew about Bethlehem thousands of years after the birth, but the Israelites had known about it before. Which made it even more amazing to think the Israelites had missed his birth. Strangers from a distant land presented to them what had been right in front of them the whole time.
Pastor Taylor closed his Bible. “It’s a beautiful story, isn’t it? But what can we learn from it?”
Paisley tilted her head in thought. This wasn’t the usual Christmas sermon about God’s love and giving gifts. It wasn’t simply a history lesson, either.
Pastor Taylor leaned over his pulpit. “We can learn God has a plan to restore your life. He knows the how, the when, and the where, exactly like he knew about Jesus’s birth. And he wants to reveal it to you. But if you don’t seek God’s direction, you could easily miss it.”
Paisley shifted uncomfortably. What would it look like to have her life restored? Maybe it was inheriting the ranch. Maybe it was creating a family through the people whose lives her ranch would touch. Because that was the only way she’d ever have more family. God wasn’t going to bring Grandpa or Mom back from the dead. He wasn’t going to heal her diabetes. Yeah, it had to be her ranch. Her Bright Star.
“When you find God’s direction, it doesn’t only bless you. It blesses others, as well.” Pastor Taylor motioned for the worship team to take the stage again. “The magi did find Jesus. They brought Him gifts that we will talk about more next week. Today I want to end with one of my favorite Christmas verses about how the gifts of the magi touched Jesus’s mother. In Luke 2:19, it says, ‘Mary treasured up all these things in her heart.’”
Christmas wasn’t about gifts. It was about treasure. Paisley smiled at the memory of Grandpa Johan calling her min skatt—my treasure in Norwegian. He’d always made her feel precious. He’d be proud of what she was doing with the ranch.
The band performed a song about the Christmas star, leaving Paisley relaxed and thankful. She had a blessing from heaven, and she wanted to share it with others. Even if that other was Josh.
The congregation began to break up, and Josh turned her way. “Great message.”
“It was.” She might as well practice what she’d learned. “Wanna go for a trail ride after lunch?”
It had to be a test. Why else would Paisley have invited him to go riding with her when she usually tried to avoid him? She’d hired him as her ranch hand, and she wanted to make sure he was up for the work.
He was. Or he hoped he was. It had been a while.
Josh followed her out to the barn. He was dressed more for skiing than horseback riding, but at least he’d be warm.
Paisley nodded toward a gold gelding with black markings. His mane had been clipped short so that it stood up on end. “You take Butch,” she said then led a lighter tan mare to the grooming stall and saddled her. “This is Cassidy.”
Josh followed her lead, taking the tack she pointed to. “Butch, Cassidy, and Sundance?” he asked. Sundance had been the smaller horse Paisley had led the party girl around on the day before.
Paisley unhooked her bridle from the wall and slid it over Cassidy’s muzzle. “Notice a theme?”
The process came back like he was climbing on a bike. It felt challenging yet soothing at the same time. And Butch was much easier to work with than the bucking broncos Josh used to ride. “I’m thinking your grandpa was a fan of Western movies.”
Paisley caressed Cassidy’s neck before walking her out to the middle of the alleyway and mounting. “Yep. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was his favorite movie. He sold Kid before he died.”
Josh tested the stirrup then swung a leg over Butch’s rump. His leg muscles resisted both the weight and the flexibility required for the maneuver, but sitting in a saddle again was almost a relief. Like he’d been holding his breath and hadn’t realized it. He could breathe again. He needed to do this more often. “Speaking of Robert Redford movies, did you know our family is going to the Sundance Film Festival next month? My sister-in-law Emily Van Arsdale has a film being shown.”
Paisley headed for the barn door. She smiled back at him. “I heard about Emily from Sam. Is it weird being related to a superstar?”
Josh squeezed Butch’s sides with his legs. Butch moved forward on cue. Josh relaxed, loosening his death grip on both the reins in his left hand and saddle horn in his right. They emerged into the bright sunshine and stomped through the snow. “Emily doesn’t act like a superstar. Though it was pretty funny the way Tracen told us they were dating. We’d all been discussing her like you would a normal celebrity, then she walked into the room.”
Paisley chuckled. “Sundance should be fun. You’ll be surrounded by all kinds of celebrities without even knowing it.”
If he had the money by then to go. His family would be willing to let him stay with them for free, but he hated the idea of not carrying his own weight. “Yeah.”
Paisley pointed to a grove of trees on a hill. “I like to ride up that way so I can look out over the ranch. It’s also a really pretty place to ride at night if you like star gazing.”
Josh tugged the reins to get Butch to turn. “I’ll follow you.”
Despite the freezing temperatures, the sun warmed his face. If he was going to be broke and unemployed, this was the place to do it. He closed his eyes to soak in the rest of the experience. The crunch of snow. The rhythm of the horse’s movements beneath him. The earthy scent of animal and pine needles. The ring of a phone.
His eyes snapped open. His phone was ringing? That meant . . .
“Oh, sorry.” Paisley halted at the edge of the grove. “This is the spot where I always get cell coverage. Let me check and see who’s calling.” She dug into her pocket.
Shoot. Her phone had been ringing, not his. Not that he even had a ringer. He’d programed the jingle from his last commercial campaign to play instead. But if his phone had coverage here, maybe he should call Marcus and give the man the phone number to Paisley’s ranch. That way Josh would be able to find out immediately when his job was reinstated.
He dug into his own pocket as Paisley frowned at her screen. “It’s my dad.”
“You can get it.” Josh dismounted, ignoring how stiff his legs felt already. “If we have coverage, I’m going to make a call, too.”
Paisley shoved the device back in her pocket. “I’ll talk to him later. He probably wants to know about the loan, and there’s no news yet.” She swung a leg off Cassidy to join him in the snow. “But go ahead and make your call. Now is a good time to tighten our cinches anyway.”
Right. Tighten cinches. Josh took a few steps into the trees for privacy. Just in case Marcus had bad news. He didn’t want Paisley to overhear. He didn’t want to feel her disdain. He yanked off a glove and dialed.
Well, he’d worried for nothing. Marcus didn’t answer. Probably avoiding his calls. Or maybe just avoiding work because it was Sunday. The voicemail beeped for Josh to leave a message. Josh sighed. But this was what he’d expected, wasn’t it?
“Hey, Marcus. I want to let you know I’m staying in a place without good cell service, so if you need to get hold of me for any reason, you can call the office phone for Bright Star Ranch. Just google Bright Star Ranch. I
designed the site myself, so . . .” Yeah, like that would impress his boss. Josh could design websites in his sleep. “Hope to talk to you soon. ’Bye.”
He rubbed his face and made his way back to Paisley. He didn’t feel like riding much anymore. And the rock that had formed in the pit of his stomach would surely make him harder for Butch to carry. “Where now?” he asked out of duty.
Paisley smiled up the hill and rubbed Cassidy’s neck. “Let’s take these horses for a run.”
She was in her happy place. He wouldn’t ruin it for her. Plus, a little exercise might help him shake the depression. He shoved the cell phone back in his pocket and grabbed the saddle horn to climb up.
She looked over her shoulder, eyes flashing in pleasure, and one side of his mouth curved up at her contagious joy. Did he ever get that much pleasure from anything at work?
Josh didn’t have time to consider it because the girl already had Cassidy breaking into a run. He squeezed his knees together once. Twice. And then the wind was blasting him in the face, snow was flying behind them, and his body rocked to the sound of Butch’s hooves.
All right. This was good therapy. Anytime he was frustrated with not hearing from Marcus, he should climb on Butch and leave his troubles behind.
His right foot slipped. He jerked sideways. He gripped the horn to regain his balance. But the horn wasn’t where it was supposed to be. The horn was shifting toward Butch’s right flank.
The saddle rotated around Butch’s belly. Because he hadn’t checked the cinch like Paisley told him to.
Butch continued to chase Cassidy, but Josh needed him to stop if he was going to get off safely. He reached up from the horn to grab the reins with both hands and yank. He may have ridden bucking broncos before, but that had always been with a saddle firmly in place.
The saddle rotated farther under the weight of his right foot. His body flung to the side. The reins flopped out of his reach.
“Paisley!” He shouted her name in case he ended up flying sideways into a tree and getting knocked unconscious. In case she needed to find him and give him CPR.
Finding Love In Big Sky, Montana (Resort to Love--Finding Love line Book 2) Page 6
