Chapter 11
Astrange urgency to pray for Harrison chased Cassie home from the airport, accompanied her evening meal, followed her to sleep. The man needed God, anyone could see that, and it sounded like God was on his case.
The next day she didn’t see him, which was good, as she didn’t know what she’d say. But she did see Ainsley who looked at her in a way that suggested Harrison might’ve shared with her too.
“Cassie? I, um, hope you don’t mind, but Harrison mentioned some things you said the other day about dating—”
She tensed. Oh dear.
“—and we ended up having a really good conversation about God—”
What?
“—and anyway, I hope you don’t mind that I stepped in.”
Cassie blinked. “Are you serious? You talked to him about God?”
Ainsley nodded.
Wow. “You’ve done better than me.”
“I think it was your stance about not going out with a non-Christian that really got him thinking.”
Oh. Oh! “Well, that’s good.”
“I’m praying for him,” Ainsley said.
“Me too,” Cassie admitted.
Ainsley was called away, and Cassie’s phone rang with a query about an upcoming booking. She dealt with that, then checked with Lance about whether she was needed on set anymore. She’d really like more time before she was placed in a position where she might see Harrison and feel obliged to talk to him again. Fortunately, the crew were able to go on without her help, and she could help her dad with haying instead. Time with him was just what she needed instead of the constant tumult of questions and confusion.
“You know I employ others, Cassie,” her dad said. “You don’t have to put your hand up every time there’s a need. You deserve a rest after all your hard work last weekend.”
Maybe, but spending time with her godly father and his quiet nature allowed more time to pray, something she did as she refocused on tying down tarps over the stacks of hay.
Yes, she could admit it. Harrison attracted her. And no, it wasn’t just his smile or abs or anything like that. Something within her sparkled to life in his presence, their banter providing anticipation, and dare she say even some ease and joy, in their encounters. Maybe there was some truth to those rumors about opposites attracting, after all.
But while she could admit herself susceptible to the man’s charm, it didn’t mean anything more. It couldn’t, not while he wasn’t walking with God. And even then, the tangle of motives for wanting him saved added to the clutter in her heart. Lord, forgive me. Help me to want Harrison to find You for his sake, not my own. Touch his heart with Your love, Lord.
Her phone chimed—some parts of the ranch had excellent reception—and she dug it out to see her sister’s name lighting the screen. “Jess?”
“Hey, want to come and stay with me for a night or two in the city?”
“Why?”
“Because.”
“Because why?” she asked suspiciously.
“Because I’m staying here in Franklin’s place and I could really do with some company. And didn’t Hannah give you a nice voucher to spend at a spa here?”
She had. And maybe Dad was right and it would be good for her to get away. Between the planning for the wedding and all the ranch things of late, the idea of getting a few days of quiet—even if it was in the city—sounded like heaven. “Um, sure. I’d need to check the schedule, and see if Dad needs my help, but I might be able to swing it.”
“Great! I do think that while Franklin is away us kitty cats should play.”
“I’m not sure if that’s how that expression is meant to go.”
“I don’t care. I’ve been working with animals all day and I think I’m turning into one. So you can see my need for some sanity and a sister who might need some time out.”
“Franklin does have a well-located apartment.” Near restaurants, and movies, and galleries. Effective distractions, all.
“And it would be a shame if it was not being appropriately appreciated while he’s away.”
“I’ll talk to Dad now.”
“Great! Hey, do you think that Poppy would like to come too?”
“She might, but she’s in Winnipeg.”
“What’s she doing there?”
“Bailey needed her for something.”
“Oh, to have a job where you can just drop everything,” Jess teased.
“Right? Then there are those of us who find it super easy to walk away from the cows and fences and stuff.”
“You have a hard life, that’s for sure.”
“You know it.”
But the idea of getting away, of hanging out with her sister, another person who could talk sense and bring clarity, sure held a lot of appeal.
“I’d forgottenhow much fun this is!” Cassie grinned at Jess across the restaurant table. Below them, the lights of Calgary gleamed as the sky tinted with orange and pinks of the setting sun. If a girl was going to go eat fancy food with her sister, then this revolving restaurant located in the top of the Calgary Tower was the place to do it.
“I’m loving this black truffle fondue,” Jess said, dipping a skinny fry into the cheesy pot.
“Thanks Franklin, for your generosity.” Cassie clinked glasses with her sister.
Franklin and Hannah’s gift voucher was part of a thank you gift to Cassie for organizing their wedding. She hadn’t minded cashing it in tonight, even if the truffle-flavor of the fondue was a little strong for her liking. Everything else was perfect. Everything else yesterday and today had been perfect.
The past day of sleeping in and being free of responsibilities had been just what her mind and body needed. Watching dumb movies on Franklin’s large screen TV had been a treat too. She’d love to see his face at the recommendations that would start popping up on his account after what she’d been viewing. Another part of her wondered if he’d realize that a number of those movies had starred a certain Mountie impersonator who was currently living at Three Creek’s western town.
But watching Harrison, in the privacy of her own—well, Franklin’s—space was good. It only reinforced how a man who had played a himbo in a Baywatch-like show, the hot guy with a different girlfriend each week, was so wrong for her. That even if he wasn’t immediately disqualified by his non-Christian status, he would be by his roles. Sure, it wasn’t like he had ever played a sex-crazed vampire or psycho killer, but he’d played enough roles that made her hesitate some more. Like, how much kissing did one actor actually need to do? The thought that a man who looked like that and had said he wanted to take her out for dinner made her wonder where else he’d like to take her.
She glanced around the dining space. “Do you feel a little conspicuous, being the only two female diners when everyone else is a male-female couple?”
Jess shrugged. “I don’t care.”
Cassie eyed her sister. “So, um, has Tom ever taken you any place like this?”
“Tom?”
“Tom Chavez? You know, the Tom who is always talking to you any chance he gets.”
“Oh, please. We’re just friends,” Jess scoffed. “Besides, I don’t know if Franklin would want one of his teammates going out with his sisters.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s got the potential to mess things up if it goes wrong,” Jess said matter-of-factly, before eating another fry.
Huh. Jess had clearly thought this through. Which meant that she wasn’t perhaps as non-aware of Tom as she might like to portray. Which meant it was her big sister duty to say, “But what if things went right?”
Jess gave another half-shrug. “To be honest, I don’t really have time for a relationship right now. I’m snowed under with work, and I have to work as much as I can to pay off my loans.”
Cassie winced. “I bet you’re thankful for the scholarships you received.” As the smartest sibling in the James family, Jess had received more than a few awards over the years.
“So grateful. But hey, I don’t mind working, even though it would’ve been nice to spend the day with you, instead of dealing with more cats and dogs.” Jess sipped her virgin margarita. “You’ll appreciate this. I even got to deal with a python today.”
“Yeah, no. Not super appreciating that.”
Jess laughed. “So, how is the handsome hero?”
Honestly, it was like her sisters were related the way they carried on sometimes. “He’s fine.” That was safest to say. He probably was fine, anyway.
“You know he wasn’t the one responsible for changing the movie at Hannah’s girl’s afternoon.”
He wasn’t?
Jess eyed her. “That was Poppy.”
“Oh.” Her gaze dropped to the white tablecloth. Maybe he wasn’t as self-absorbed as she’d thought.
“Some of the other women weren’t loving the non-period appropriateness of the movie, so they were happy enough to change it. And Poppy was happy enough to oblige.”
Her heart knotted, and she peeked up. “Do…do you think she likes him?”
“Poppy? Like Harrison?” Jess blinked. “You mean as more than just a friend?”
Cassie winced, hating how her question had exposed her. “She did spend an awful lot of time with him that Saturday, driving him to the hospital then back home.”
“She did that because somebody else wouldn’t.”
Jess could melt glass with that gaze. Cassie didn’t have the heart to justify why she hadn’t.
“Besides, I don’t think it would matter if she did.” Jess’s lips curved.
No, Jess wasn’t implying what she thought she was, was she? Although hadn’t that been exactly what she’d wanted to know? Oh, how had she gotten stuck in this no man’s land of ambiguity? Where had straight shooter Cassie gone? She swallowed, then finally admitted, “He asked me to have dinner with him.”
Jess didn’t seem one bit surprised. “And?”
“And I said I wouldn’t have dinner alone with a man unless he was a Christian.”
Jess clinked her glass against Cassie’s. “Good for you.”
“Yeah, but since then I’ve felt bad. Like, I’m trying to stand up for my values, but this world does not make it easy.”
“Sure doesn’t.” Jess’s gaze held steady. “But it’s a good thing we have a God who understands that, and gives us grace and strength when we need it.”
Oh, she needed it.
Cassie was thankful for the waiter’s interruption as he asked if everything was satisfactory.
“It’s great, thank you.”
She glanced out the panoramic window. The restaurant had rotated to now show a different view, one reaching beyond downtown’s high-rise buildings and stretching through the prairies to where the peaks of the Rockies could just be seen. Where the ranch was. Where the western town was. And where a certain man was. The man she’d watched on TV today, and a man who desperately needed Jesus. Lord, touch him.
* * *
Harrison graspedthe bouquet in one hand and knocked on the door. She’d already called him forward, but this was taking things to a whole new level. But after the past few days of questions that forever circled in his brain, he needed to finally ask them or go insane.
And now, it was Friday evening, and with the shooting schedule meaning he’d gotten off early, he’d arranged for Maxine to pick up these flowers so he could deliver them himself.
He took a delicate sniff. He hoped she liked wildflowers. They didn’t smell like some flowers he’d given women before.
The door opened, and Mrs. James appeared. “Harrison?”
He cleared his throat like a nervous schoolboy. “Hello Mrs. James.”
She smiled. “Leonie, please.”
“I, uh, wondered if Cassie was at home.” Her car said she was.
“Oh.” Her gaze dropped to the flowers then lifted to him. “I’m afraid she’s not here. She’s been in the city the past few days.”
In the city? Doing what? There with whom? Was she on a date—with a good Christian man? “When does she return?”
“On Sunday, after church.”
Church. Of course. He should’ve known.
By then these flowers wouldn’t look as fresh and would be fit for the trash. “Um, is Poppy here?” She might appreciate flowers as a thank you for all the driving she’d done for him.
“I’m afraid you’re all out of luck. She’s in Winnipeg helping out a friend.”
He thrust the bouquet at her and smiled his most charming smile. “Well, these are for you. To say thank you for your hospitality on that day I got bitten.”
Leonie took the brown paper-wrapped bouquet gingerly, and smiled. “I’m sure the original intended recipient would still like them when she returns.”
“No, don’t tell her.” He took a step back. “I don’t want her to know.”
“But she’ll see them, and ask questions, because heaven knows my husband hasn’t given me flowers in thirty years.”
“Oh.” His heart sank. “I didn’t realize that. He should have, though. I mean, given you flowers.”
She chuckled, fortunately. “That’s what I’ve said more than once.” She gestured for him to come inside. “Would you like to join us for dinner? It’s just me and Derek tonight.”
“I shouldn’t. You two probably would like to spend the night together.” He winced at how that sounded. “I mean—”
“We’ve spent plenty of nights together.” Her eyes twinkled. “But if you’re trying to say we should go on a date then I’m afraid we don’t do that very often either.”
“Well, tonight could be the perfect opportunity.”
She shook her head. “Not for a man who gets as exhausted as he does. Besides, Derek says he prefers my cooking to anything he can get in a fancy restaurant. And when we can have the best Angus steak in the province here, why spend a fortune paying to eat it somewhere else?”
Good point. “He sounds loyal.”
“He is. I’m very blessed. Derek is such a good man, a faithful husband, and a loving father.”
Harrison’s heart prickled.
“And I don’t mind if you’re here to explain why I suddenly received flowers from a handsome young man, even if we both know I’m not who he came to give flowers to.”
“I shouldn’t.”
“You should. We’d like the company.” She turned, leaving the front door wide open, leaving him no choice but to follow down the hallway to the kitchen.
There they found Derek James, who shook Harrison’s hand, even as he eyed the flowers Leonie held. “Pretty flowers.”
“Harrison got them for Cassie, but gave them to me because she’s not here.”
“Cassie, huh?”
The rancher’s assessing look straightened Harrison’s shoulders. “I wanted to talk to her, but Leonie said she was out.”
“So he’s stuck talking to us instead.” Leonie winked at Derek, which drew a small smile. She turned to Harrison. “Are you a steak man?” Her brow furrowed. “You’re not vegan or anything like that?”
“I like my meat.” Good thing it was true. Otherwise he sensed there’d be no hope to win any points with Cassie’s parents who ran a beef cattle ranch.
Derek nodded, then invited Harrison to get a beer from the fridge. He declined, but took a zero-sugar Coke instead.
“You don’t drink?”
“No.” He swallowed. “My dad was an alcoholic, and I’ve grown up not wanting to be anything like him.”
“I’m sorry that was your experience.”
Harrison shrugged. “It’s life. But I guess I’ve learned that everyone can take responsibility for their choices.”
“Not everybody does though.”
“True.”
The conversation triggered memories of when he first arrived and complained about so many things, blaming others. Was it any wonder that Cassie didn’t want anything to do with him? He sighed.
“What is it, son?”
Son. Emotion pricked his eyes, clamped his throat. For so many years he’d longed to feel like someone’s son, to feel part of a family, that it took a while to answer. Then he realized just what Cassie would think of him poking his nose in again, peeking into her world. She’d hate it. She’d hate him. He needed to leave. Now.
He rose. “I’m really sorry, but I just remembered I need to go.”
“Are you sure you can’t do that after you eat?”
The scent of frying garlic and onions was nearly more than he could bear. “I don’t think she’d like me being here.”
“Who? Cassie?” her father asked.
He nodded.
“What are you? A man or a mouse?”
Right now he felt a lot like the latter. Which finally reminded him of yet another Cassie encounter where he’d fallen short. “I’m sorry. I—”
“Son, sit down.”
He obeyed.
“Harrison, what is it that you really want to know?”
And like a geyser spilling a lifetime of dirt and gunk, out it all came.
Harrison’s desire to make amends with Cassie. Ainsley’s comment about being unequally yoked. His questions about God. The truth about his past. He probably got way too real and raw and honest, and there were times he saw Leonie bite her lip and Derek frown that tempted him to veer from honesty. But he sensed this was a rare moment in life that had been handed to him and he could either live the rest of his days with these questions or could finally ask someone who seemed pretty wise. And even though some of his questions involved Derek’s daughter, he was considerate enough to answer them.
Three hours later, he realized that maybe this was why he’d felt a prompting to get the flowers and come here tonight, and that it wasn’t because of Cassie, after all.
“So I can sit here and tell you all kinds of things, son. But it’s best you read it yourself.” Derek yawned.
“I’m sorry. It’s late.”
“Hey, this is a conversation worth staying up for.” Derek smiled wearily. “But I do have an early start tomorrow.”
“I’ll go.”
Derek grabbed his arm. “But not before I pray for you.” He closed his eyes, and Harrison figured he’d better do the same. “Heavenly Father, help this young man see that You desire a relationship with him. Help him to know Your love, the real love of a Father unlike any he’s ever known. And thank You for Your promise that those who seek will find. We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.”
“Amen,” Harrison whispered.
“Now, you’ve got those verses? Look ’em up. And keep seeking. If you go in with a closed mind that’s exactly what you’ll find as it’ll all feel closed off to you. But if you’re truly wanting answers, then you know what to do.”
He swallowed. Nodded. Thanked him for his time. “Please tell Leonie I really appreciate the dinner. It was delicious.”
“You’re welcome, any time,” she called from the hallway, dressed in a quilted robe, not unlike one his grandma used to own.
Maybe that’s why he went over and hugged her, but after a moment’s freeze, she didn’t seem to mind, patting him on the back while he tried to find composure.
He exited immediately, not wanting them to pity a man whose eyes threatened to spill at any moment as emotions toyed with him. Despair that he’d likely just killed any chance of them accepting him wrestled with concern at what Cassie would say when she knew what had happened tonight, while a faint hope beckoned that he might finally be on the right path.
The western townwas silent by the time he returned. The sensor security lights helped light the way, so he found the back of the barber’s easily. He unlocked the door, went inside, and sat on the bed and toed off his shoes. The Bible sat there, goading him.
But then the memory of what Derek had said, and the memory of what his grandmother used to say, urged him to pick it up. So he did, opening the front cover, spying a dedication to Cassandra. He traced the name, wondering if this had once belonged to Cassie, and if so, had she put it here for him to read. That thought instantly felt self-indulgent, so he flicked over a few pages until he found a table of contents.
It had been a long time since he’d read a Bible, but he knew the book that Derek had mentioned was towards the back, so he turned there. As the pages flicked over he recognized names. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. The book of Acts. Romans. First Corinthians. Then the next.
The words that Ainsley had said, that Cassie had implied, that Derek had mentioned, about not being yoked with unbelievers. It was there in black and white, in the seventh chapter. The next chapter reminded of the importance of being holy, avoiding sin, of repentance. He flicked back another page, read chapter five. The reminder to live by faith, not by sight. The plea to be reconciled to God. The declaration that for a believer “anyone in Christ” was a new creation, the old had gone, the new had come. He could see how this linked with the last verse in the next chapter, where God said “I will be a Father to you and you will be My sons and daughters.”
A Father. A loving Father.
He flicked over to the next book, Galatians, and found the verse Derek had said could be found in chapter three, that promised that all believers were considered children of God because of faith. Then in the next book, Ephesians, the first chapter again reiterated that God had predestined people to be adopted as His sons because of what Jesus had done.
And as he read the verses Derek mentioned, something stirred deep, deep within.
It was clear, and perfectly summed up in the verse his grandmother had loved, how God had sent His son Jesus into the world to save sinners. That God offered mercy. That it was a matter of faith, of believing, but when one did, God wiped the slate clean and made a man a new creation. That God wanted people to live holy, wholly to Him and His ways.
He could kind of understand Cassie’s objections now, and what Ainsley had tried to say. He already knew how fame or fortune or alcohol or dysfunction could blind a man’s eyes to the truth. His father’s legacy and rejection were not a fair representation of who God was, and Harrison would be shortchanging himself and his future by continuing to think otherwise.
He swallowed. His heart was whirling, thoughts swirling, memories at war with the promise of freedom and hope for the future.
And wetness splotted the page as he slipped off the bed and sank to his knees and lowered his head and prayed.