Chapter 24
It was a beautiful day. There had been a small scare a few days earlier when the weather had forecasted rain for the day, but the forecast had changed, and the high was supposed to be close to eighty, with clear skies all day long. The next day was supposed to be even a little warmer, with the same clear skies. Two days, perfect weather. God couldn’t have been better to them in any way.
Phoebe stood on the steps, holding Erin’s hand as they watched the first cars pull in. Tillman was already out, directing traffic, doing some last-minute preparation, and helping livestock trailers to back into the right pen.
The Baldwin family had allowed them to use the auction lot in town to house some of the animals, particularly the ones they were going to be using tomorrow.
Everything seemed to be falling into place.
Phoebe had been up hours before the sun, cooking and getting things ready. They had a lot of vendors who were selling food, crafts, and other miscellaneous items, but she was selling food to make money for the ranch as well. Over the last week or so that Erin had been on the ranch with them, Phoebe had done a lot of sitting by her bedside, and then as Erin got slowly better, they had walked hand in hand around the ranch, stopping and watching Tillman work for a good while, which was something Phoebe would never get tired of and Erin seemed to enjoy as well.
Phoebe felt like she bonded with Erin better than she ever would have been able to if Erin had come to them not sick.
Tillman had enrolled Rowan in school already, and Rowan had seemed to fit right in, taking to it like a duck to water.
Phoebe was thankful for the little things, the way things had been coming together, in all areas. The judge had even called an emergency session that had given Tillman full custody. It was up to him to decide how much Nicole got to see the kids and how often.
The last Phoebe had heard, Nicole was planning on moving out to North Dakota. She had a job at the diner if she wanted it, and there had been a room for rent above the hardware store.
That wasn’t super thrilling to Phoebe, and she could feel Tillman wasn’t exactly ecstatic about it either, but they both knew what was best for the children, and they would welcome and encourage Nicole as much as they could. But Tillman had made it clear that part of his life was behind him and Phoebe was his future.
The only thing that bothered her was that there seemed to be something bothering Tillman. The last two days if she looked at him when he wasn’t aware of it, there seemed to be a worry line between his eyes, and his face was a little tight.
She only noticed because she spent so much time studying him that that slight change made a big difference to her.
She had asked, casually, if there was something wrong, and he’d answered her quickly, too quickly in her opinion, that everything was just fine.
She wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but it had cast a cloud over what should have been one of the best days of her life.
“You said I could help you with the food, right?”
“You sure can, honey,” Phoebe said as she looked down at Erin. She had taken a chair out to the booth where they would be, and she hoped that she would be able to get Erin to spend some time in it. She didn’t want her to overdo it. Even though her recovery had seemed to be going without a hitch.
Rowan was stuck to Tillman’s side, and she smiled as she watched the father and son walk across the parking area, talking to a cowboy, while Tillman gestured toward the paddock and the parking area they had designated for trucks with trailers.
Whatever was bothering him, she supposed he would tell her eventually. But she was worried it had to do with Nicole, and maybe he was regretting his decision to walk away from that and create a new life with Phoebe. Maybe he had figured that the opportunity to have a regular family, which his children most assuredly would want, was right in front of him, and maybe he thought he was making the wrong decision.
Lord, please give me the strength to want all the best things for these kids. Help me to be able to give up what I want, in order for them to have a happy life. If that’s Your will.
She meant that with all her heart.
Smiling down at the sweet little girl beside her, she said, “Are you ready?”
“Yep!” Erin said with a big nod of her head.
Phoebe smiled again, and they set out across the yard, ready for their big day.