She’d texted Logan once that evening, but it was late and he hadn’t answered, so she’d decided to wait until the following morning to get in touch with him. She didn’t want Logan’s phone to go off and wake up Judah past his bedtime. Plus, she figured waiting until the next morning to call would give Logan time to cool off if he was angry with her for not making their meeting.

  Instead, she’d texted him. Sorry. Will explain later.

  Apparently, that hadn’t been good enough. Not that she blamed him. If she was in his shoes, she’d probably feel the same way. Even though she hadn’t meant to, she’d essentially stood him up.

  She did try to call him again—several times—but it always went straight to voice mail, which meant one of three things. One, his phone was out of battery and he hadn’t charged it yet. Two, he’d turned off his phone, because he didn’t want to talk to her. Three, he was ignoring her calls.

  If she had to guess, she’d pick door number three. At this point she was going to have to hunt the man down and follow him around until he promised to listen to her.

  Thankfully, Granddad didn’t have any broken bones and had returned home with only a few bumps and bruises. The hospital had admitted him overnight for observation, and Molly had offered to stay the night by his side. Avery had come the next morning to relieve her.

  Molly hadn’t done much more than doze in the hospital, thanks in equal parts to worry and a very uncomfortable chair, so she went home and straight to bed, where she slept for several hours. After she woke, showered and ate, the first thing she did was try to call Logan again.

  And got sent straight to voice mail.

  That was two days ago. Logan still hadn’t answered his phone. She was beginning to really feel as if he wasn’t ever going to speak to her again.

  She texted, hoping he’d at least read his texts from her. Please answer your phone.

  She wanted to apologize for missing their meeting and explain about Granddad in person, or at least by a phone call, but not through a text. For one thing, if he got a vague message about Granddad, she knew he’d worry about him, although he’d have no reason to do so. Granddad was back to shuffling around the house being his usual grumbly-bumbly self, sporting just a few black-and-blue spots and aches and pains to show for his big fall.

  She stared at her phone, willing it to ring—or at least for her to get a return text message from Logan.

  Just when she thought he wasn’t going to respond, she got a text message. Meet me at our bench at 6 p.m. next Saturday night. Come alone.

  Okay. What was this about? Wasn’t this similar to the message she’d originally sent him, only with a different date on it? Was he trying to joke with her? She couldn’t imagine how that could be, not with the way everything had gone down recently.

  She didn’t understand.

  It occurred to her that a much younger, much less mature Logan might be playing what he considered tit for tat. Make her meet him at their bench with no intention whatsoever of showing up so she could understand how he’d felt when she stood him up.

  But Logan wasn’t anything like the boy who’d broken her heart all those years ago. He was a man now, a father with a child. And whatever he was, he wasn’t cruel.

  It was going to be difficult to wait two more days until Saturday evening, but she would take him on his terms. She would go and hope they could have the conversation she’d had to miss the other night. She had a story to tell, and it went far beyond taking her grandfather to the emergency room.

  It was time to share the truth of her heart with him.

  The whole truth.

  * * *

  At first, Logan couldn’t understand why Molly had dropped him like a hot potato. When Molly had texted him the night they were supposed to meet at their bench, he’d let it go without reading it. He was just too tired to deal with any kind of drama.

  Then he’d about had a panic attack when he finally realized his phone had been out of battery all the next day. He’d put it on the charger as he always did in the evening, but he hadn’t realized the charger was unplugged until a whole day later. He’d been out helping his dad fix the wraparound porch and hadn’t had his phone with him. Then, when he’d checked it and had plugged the charger into the wall, he’d seen that Molly had called a number of times, and he felt terrible about it.

  She obviously wanted to clear up whatever issue had kept her from seeing him the other night. But he was tired of passing like ships in the night. When he next spoke to her, he wanted it to be in person—and he wanted to do it up right.

  He’d hoped to catch up with her at church on Sunday. That’s when he’d finally heard what had happened to Molly’s granddad—when the pastor asked them to pray for him and for the whole Winslow family.

  He’d known it had to be something like that. He’d just known it.

  He wished now he would have known what was happening. She’d needed support, but she hadn’t reached out to him until after the fact.

  But she had texted him later that evening and he hadn’t responded. He didn’t have a good excuse for that. He’d been tested, and he’d failed.

  But he wasn’t giving up. Far from it.

  “Hey, Judah,” he said, calling his son to his bedroom. “You want to come here a minute?”

  “Y-yes, Daddy?” Judah padded into the room with Rufus at his heels, a book in his hand. He’d been reading on his own much more often now that Rufus was a part of the family.

  “I’ve been thinking about Miss Molly,” he said, and then waited for Judah’s reaction, which was immediate and wholehearted.

  The boy smiled. “Are we going to see Miss Molly again?” he asked eagerly and without a single stammer.

  “I think it’s about time we do. But I want us to do something really special for her, and I was hoping you’d help me plan out what that will be.”

  “Flowers,” Judah said straightaway, without taking a breath. “Girls like flowers. Molly really likes flowers. She told me.”

  “Yes, she does,” he agreed. A bouquet of flowers was a good start. “Okay, so definitely flowers. Maybe some more of those carnations she likes so much.”

  Hmm. Or maybe a dozen red roses would be more appropriate for this occasion. He was going to have to think about that.

  “Her favorite color is blue,” Judah supplied enthusiastically.

  “Wow. You’ve really paid attention to Miss Molly,” Logan said, so proud of his son his heart welled until it nearly burst out of his chest. “What should we get her that’s blue?”

  Judah furrowed his brow and the tip of his tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth as he thought it through. “Could we g-get her blue flowers?”

  “I don’t see why not. Good idea. What else do you think?”

  So not roses, then. Carnations it was. He was pretty sure he could find blue carnations. She’d love them.

  “Something gold for her neck?” Judah suggested. “Or a sparkly ring? Don’t girls like stuff like that?”

  “Hmm,” said Logan as a light flicked on in his brain. His son really was a genius. Of course, he’d already thought of a ring. That was kind of a given, considering what his next move would be. He had actually gone shopping for one, though he hadn’t completely settled on his choice.

  But a necklace—that went above and beyond. And he was looking for above and beyond. It was something special in which Judah could participate. Logan was already picturing the fine details.

  He also had an idea for the bench where he planned for them to meet her, but he suspected trying to explain what he wanted to do would be too confusing for Judah, so he left that part out for the time being.

  “Daddy?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Are we asking Miss Molly to marry us?”

  Logan laughed. His son was definitely the kind of kid who went straight to the point. “Would you like that?”

  Judah nodded so voraciously he almost looked like a rag doll. Rufus wasn’t sure what to do with that kind of movement. He tilted his head to the side and regarded Judah in confusion, clearly wondering if he needed to step in, or if Judah was just being silly.

  That only made Logan laugh harder.

  They were going to be a wonderful little family here—him and Molly, with Judah and Rufus and any other little ones God might eventually bless them with.

  If Molly said yes.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The bench was empty.

  Then again, Molly was half an hour early and didn’t expect Logan to be there waiting for her yet. Her anticipation was so high she couldn’t wait a moment longer and had beelined from the house to the petting zoo enclosure. She just wanted to take a few minutes for herself to think through what she sought to say and to try to gather her wits about her.

  She wasn’t experiencing all positive expectations, or even half-and-half. She felt more as if she were standing right in the middle of a rickety bridge that spanned a deep ravine, not knowing if she was going to make it to the other side.

  She didn’t really know where they stood, or where Logan wanted to go in their relationship. But it would be nice to finally be able to talk through everything without worrying about Judah listening in. She suspected more than a few tears would be shed tonight.

  She sighed and forced herself to take a deep breath, looking around her and enjoying everywhere her eyes landed.

  The petting zoo had really turned out well, with a lovely garden path on which to stroll and huge clay pots full of multicolored blooming flowers—which hopefully the goats would not eat. Ruby had added little gnomes throughout the scene, peeking out from behind a tree or lying on the ground with their feet kicked up and their chins in their hands. Molly thought the idea was really cute and loved how her family—and Logan—had each added their own personal touches to make the zoo special.

  She intended to hire a few teens from the high school to keep a close eye on the zoo when they opened for business. The double gates would keep the animals in while people passed through, and the teens could help the children feed and pet the animals and make sure no one—kid or animal alike—was misbehaving.

  She was still smiling at the thought when she heard the sound of a truck’s engine. As she expected, it was Logan’s truck. He was fifteen minutes early, which was a bit of a surprise, all things considered. While she tended to be chronically early, Logan was the kind of guy who slipped in at the last moment.

  Maybe he was feeling the same jittery anticipation she was.

  To her surprise, though, Judah and Rufus jumped out of the cab before Logan had even turned off the engine.

  What are they doing here?

  In her mind, she felt a sudden slamming on of the brakes, screeching to a fishtailing halt.

  Whatever Molly had thought was going to happen this evening was clearly not even close to what Logan had in mind on the menu. She’d assumed the whole reason she was supposed to come by herself was so that they’d finally have the alone time she’d so craved to work out their differences once and for all.

  Not that she ever minded seeing Judah. He always filled her heart with joy. She was just confused by his appearance when her text message had said to come alone.

  “Hey, Judah. How are you and Rufus doing?” she asked the boy. She really was happy to see him. It had been too long.

  He frowned and shook his head. “Y-you aren’t supposed to b-be here.”

  Her gaze widened in confusion. The text had said Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. She was certain of it. And it was 5:45 p.m. on Saturday night. So, yes, maybe she was a little early, but she felt certain she was supposed to be here.

  Logan approached with a grin on his face. “What Judah means to say is you’re not supposed to be here yet. I should have guessed you’d be early. That’s what threw me off last time when you didn’t appear at all. I couldn’t imagine you being late. Early, on the other hand, is definitely you.”

  Well, that was a relief. She was expected, after all.

  “Sooo,” said Logan, picking his hat off by the brim and threading his fingers through his hair. “This is a little awkward to have to ask you, but would you mind taking Judah into the barn to see the donkeys for a few minutes?”

  “I—” She paused for a moment, staring into Logan’s eyes for a clue as to what this was supposed to mean.

  He gave her nothing. Total blank.

  “Umm...” She nodded. “Sure. I can do that.”

  Logan leaned down and whispered something in Judah’s ear, punched something into his cell phone and slipped it into the back pocket of Judah’s jeans.

  Grinning, Judah rushed to grab Molly’s hand and dragged her into the barn.

  “C-come on, Miss Molly. We have to go see Taco and Beans. Right now!”

  They had to see the donkeys? Not that he wanted to see the donkeys, though he was as enthusiastic as always where Taco and Beans were concerned.

  Something was definitely up, but Molly couldn’t even begin to guess what it was. She knew enough to figure out it was a surprise of some kind and that Judah was involved, so she relaxed and allowed the boy to pull her into the barn.

  Clearly, today wasn’t going to be a day for serious conversations. On the other hand, it was a day for the four of them—Logan, Molly, Judah and Rufus—to get back together for the first time in forever.

  And she was okay with that.

  “I was thinking of making straw hats for the donkeys to wear,” she told Judah, giving Beans a good scratch under his chin. “You know, cut out holes for their big ears. What do you think of that?”

  He giggled.

  “And maybe neckties to go with the hats? We could do green and red at Christmastime and other colors for other times of the year.”

  “I d-don’t like to wear neckties.” Judah’s serious demeanor was back full force and then some. It was one of the things that made him so precious to Molly.

  Of course he didn’t like to wear neckties. Not many little boys did. And for a sensitive boy like Judah, especially, he would feel the pressure as if he were being strangled.

  She backtracked.

  “I don’t think your daddy likes to wear neckties, either,” she said. “Now that I think about it, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him in a tie.”

  “N-no. He just wears T-shirts. And his hat,” Judah confirmed.

  “So, then, we should probably nix the neckties for the donkeys. They would probably feel the same way about ties as you and your daddy do, don’t you think?”

  Judah nodded fervently.

  “Maybe we can come up with something else for them to wear. A blanket or something. But you like the idea of the hats?”

  He nodded. “And s-so would Daddy.”

  Logan had always worn a tan cowboy hat, even back in high school. It was part of the country culture. There were many ranches in the area, and rodeo was very popular among the young people.

  And she had to admit, she loved a man in a cowboy hat.

  Love.

  Now, where had that come from?

  She glanced at her phone. Only five minutes had passed.

  “How long do you think your daddy expects us to stay in here?” she asked.

  “T-ten minutes. He gave me his phone and s-set it to go off on an alarm,” Judah said, pulling Logan’s phone from his jeans pocket. “F-four more minutes before we can go outside.”

  “Do you want to see the miniature horses while we wait? They’re really cute.”

  He shook his head. “C-can we just stay with the donkeys? I like the donkeys.”

  Molly smiled softly. Taco and Beans had become sort of a safe space for Judah, acting in some ways the same way Rufus did. She never would have thought of donkeys as being service animals, but for Judah, they really were.

  “You bet, little man. Why don’t we grab some apples from that basket over there and feed them a special treat?”

  Judah was more comfortable with the donkeys now and wasn’t afraid to pet them or feed them fruits and vegetables, so he grabbed a couple of apples and gave them each one, a contented smile on his face as his donkeys enjoyed crunching on their tasty treats.

  In the meantime, Molly checked the time on her phone, wondering what Logan was up to that required her to go hang out in the barn with the donkeys.

  This was going to be the longest four minutes of her life.

  * * *

  Logan should have known Molly was going to be early. Except for that one time when she didn’t show at all, she was always at least a few minutes ahead of whatever time she was supposed to meet with someone. It was definitely a teacher thing.

  With only ten minutes to spare, he’d had to get busy fast. He thought perhaps he should have set the alarm on his phone for fifteen or twenty minutes instead of just ten, but really, how long could he expect Molly to hang around with a couple of donkeys in a barn?

  She had to be getting bored in there.

  She’d been cheerful about it, at least. And though to say she’d looked surprised to find he’d brought Judah and Rufus along with him would be an understatement, she’d rolled with the punches. She was good that way.

  Logan already had most everything ready to go, but there was one thing he had still to do that required him to be alone for a few minutes to set up. Now that he was in a rush, he realized he maybe should have sneaked out here earlier in the day to take care of the project, but then Molly would have happened upon it when she’d arrived early at the enclosure, and that would have ruined everything.

  He’d barely finished and was just putting away his cordless drill when Molly and Judah wandered out of the barn.

 

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