AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How does this sound? A community gathering at the Horseshoe Bend Ranch, with one hundred percent of the proceeds to benefit Main Street Church restoration.”
Her mouth swung open. She was stunned by Tate’s generosity. His beautiful gesture. Emotion began to well up inside her. Her eyes filled with tears. She forced herself to stuff it down inside her so she wouldn’t ruin the moment by blubbering like a baby.
Dear, sweet, amazing Tate. A heart as big as Horseshoe Bend Ranch.
“Oh, Tate. I can’t think of a more beautiful setting. Acres of land. Wide open spaces.” She clapped her hands together as ideas began to form in her head. Before she got ahead of herself with the details, she needed to get something straight with Tate. “Are you sure you
r parents will be okay with this?”
Hosting an event at the ranch would be a huge undertaking. The Lynch family would be the unofficial hosts of the community event, standing side by side with her father, the man they’d tried to oust from the church. She also knew that the Lynches were very private people who had withdrawn a bit from the community after the accident. Would they even allow this event to take place at the ranch? Would Maggie welcome her and her family on to her property?
Under the circumstances she wanted to be as diplomatic as possible. She didn’t want to insult Tate or his family, but she couldn’t ignore the huge elephant in the room.
“I don’t want to bring up ancient history, but there was a point in time when Maggie and Frank were waging war against my father. If they had their way he wouldn’t still be leading Main Street Church. Do you think they’ll try to stand in our way?”
Tate didn’t even flinch. “A fourth of that ranch belongs to me. Another fourth to Holly. There won’t be a problem with hosting the gathering at Horseshoe Bend Ranch, Cass. You have my word on that.”
He was standing there with his arms folded across his chest, as strong and solid as a marble statue. She had no choice but to put her faith in him. He’d never once given her a reason not to. As always, Tate was as good as his word.
“Instead of a set ticket price, maybe people will be asked to contribute only what they can afford to pay,” Cassidy added. “I think that’s fair.” That way no one would be excluded from the gathering.
“That’s a wonderful idea. That way people who are hurting financially can still come,” Mona said in an exuberant voice.
“It won’t matter whether they give five dollars or fifty,” Doc added, a huge grin breaking out on his face.
“I’d like to add that the timing of this coincides with the church’s anniversary. Main Street Church has been standing for two hundred years. Perhaps we could tie that in with the gathering,” her father suggested.
“That’s a great idea,” Tate said. “By emphasizing how long Main Street Church has been around it really forces folks to realize how important it is to the community.”
“I was also thinking that I could paint with the kids at the gathering. I could show them different art techniques that I’ve learned over the years.” Cassidy threw her idea out there, feeling a bit uncertain as to how it would be received. She knew certain people in town didn’t view her favorably. And it wasn’t as if she lived here anymore. Would folks even view her as part of the West Falls community? It didn’t really matter, she realized. She wanted to do something to support them. She wanted to be able to help Main Street church. And teaching kids how to paint was something she’d always dreamed of doing.
“Cassidy, the kids would be thrilled,” Mona cried out.
Tate shook his head at her, his eyes filled with a mysterious look she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“What?” she asked. “Don’t you like the idea?” She was practically holding her breath waiting for him to answer. She didn’t know why it mattered so much to her, but she cared deeply about his opinion. With a single word he could lift her up or crush her.
“I love the idea. I was just thinking that West Falls has no idea what you could do for this town. With your huge heart and creativity, you could really whip this place into shape.”
Tate’s warm praise lifted her spirits even higher. Although she’d come back home to tend to her mother, she’d thought a lot lately about being in West Falls for a higher purpose. She knew God worked in mysterious ways. Perhaps she was standing in the very place she’d been meant to be this whole time.
* * *
Tate practically had to drag himself away from Main Street Church. He was on the clock now, and he felt obligated to head to the Sheriff’s Office to relieve some of his deputies. Cullen had stepped up last night by riding out the storm there. He’d actually driven out during the downpour to help out one of the locals who’d been trapped in a stalled car off the Interstate. As far as Tate was concerned, he’d earned his stripes last night.
Strangely enough, all he could think about was Cassidy. Beautiful, sweet Cassidy. Somehow he’d forgotten that she had a heart as big as the great outdoors. It had been convenient to forget all the wonderful things about her and focus on the negative. It had been a survival technique, he realized. In order to get through the most painful ordeal of his life he’d chosen to think of her in purely negative terms. That way he wouldn’t be tempted to miss her...to follow her to Phoenix and beg her to take him back.
Reckless. Unfeeling. Cruel. Disloyal.
He knew now that those things he’d thought about her weren’t true. Cassidy had been little more than a teenager at the time of the accident. At eighteen years old she’d been scared and traumatized and vilified by the community she adored. Sheriff Keegan had even issued a warrant for her arrest. Who wouldn’t have run away from all that? Who wouldn’t have wanted to make a fresh start in a town where their name wasn’t mud?
It was clear to him what was happening. There was no point in fighting it. He could feel the cloud lifting over his heart. For so long he hadn’t even been able to think about Cassidy without bitterness welling up inside of him. Now, she was all he could think about. Dream about. And he was finding it very difficult to imagine West Falls without her, although he knew it was only a matter of time before he’d have to say goodbye.
* * *
Cassidy spent most of the morning at Main Street Church with her father. After Tate headed to the Sheriff’s Office, her father led her down the hall to his private office and shut the door. He ushered her to a chair then leaned against the back of his desk with his legs crossed. He steepled his hands in front of him, a thoughtful expression etched on his face.
“Before we get started on new business, I think we have some unfinished business to settle.”
