Priceless

Chapter 10: Sucker Punched

Thane pulled the truck to a stop just outside the gate to the Promised Land, shifting into park and looking over at Nessa. "This good enough?"

She nodded, giving him a grateful smile. "Thank you. I'll be quick."

"As long as you get back in the truck, take your time," he told her with a wink.

She opened the door and slid out, calling, "I promise!"

Thane glanced out his windshield as Reba pulled her Jeep around them and off to the side, waiting for Nessa to take her pictures. She'd been wanting to send some to her brother but had gotten side tracked by their two day trail-cutting mishap. Thane offered to let her take some of the gate and the ranch on their way out to shop for boots.

As promised, she didn't take long, snapping a couple of the gate and then a few of the view behind it before climbing back into the truck. She buckled herself in before scrolling through the photos.

"Did you get what you wanted?" Thane asked.

She nodded. "Yep, looks good. Let's roll." She kept her eyes on the ranch as Thane pulled back out onto the main road, watching until she couldn't see anymore. Then she turned back to him, saying, "You're right, that gate doesn't look so intimidating in the daytime. Impressive yes, but with the mountains and the fields behind it, it doesn't look so big anymore."

Her smile seemed brighter than normal today and Thane wasn't sure if that had to do with a day off the ranch, contacting her brother or something else. They hadn't revisited anything about their conversation last night, not that they'd had time alone up until now. She'd fallen asleep and he'd taken her upstairs to put her to bed, greeted by a surprised Reba. She hadn't asked questions, just quietly let him in and watched as he laid her down and tucked the blankets around her.

Thane hadn't offered any details, simply gave Reba a smile and a goodnight before heading to his own room. It took him much longer to fall asleep, his heart and his mind in chaos over Nessa. He'd prayed for a while, first with words until he ran out, and then silently, letting the Holy Spirit do the talking for him.

No matter how much he felt that God wanted him with Nessa, he knew that ultimately the healing wouldn't come from him. It wasn't his love that would take away her pain. Only God could heal her heart.

Their conversation had ended without much resolution, but despite that she seemed more relaxed around him than ever. Her walls were slowly falling and he prayed she'd let him in.

The cab fell quiet as she worked to attach her photos to a text for her brother. When finished she laid her phone aside and settled back against the seat with a sigh, a living contrast to the girl who'd climbed into his truck a week ago.

"Is your brother as into the outdoors as you are? You said your Dad hunts. Does Caleb?"

She nodded as she looked over at Thane. "Yeah, he hunts. He's nowhere near as into it as my Dad, but he's gotten a deer every year since he started. But if you're asking if my brother would love Colorado and horses and cutting trails the way I do, I would have to go with no. He'd be more likely to book an excursion for the experience, but I can't see him doing the work."

"What is he into? You said he plays football, right?"

"Yep. Wide receiver. He's been playing football from the time he could walk. Peewee all the way up through high school. This is his senior year, so it's a big deal." Her gaze drifted out the windshield, growing a bit sad and wistful. "I didn't get to watch him play very much. I was too busy screwing up my life my freshman year of college and after that, I didn't go home very often because I couldn't handle living under the same roof as my mother."