Her Baby Dreams (16 page)

Sam and Stanley were nodding in agreement.

Stanley cleared his throat. “We watch you at church, too. You got an extra burden fer them women. We kin see it in yer eyes.”

Applegate slapped the counter. “We put two and two together. Until jest a second ago we didn't know fer shore that our hunch was right. But now we do. And if thar is one thang we know, you ain't the kind of man who would put pain in a woman's eyes like we seen in them ladies' eyes when they got to Mule Hollow.”

“'At's right,” Sam snapped. “You are a good man, Dan Dawson. The kind of man 'at gets their eyes ta shinin'.”

Dan's chest tightened. In his heart he believed he was a good man. That he was a godly man. “Why can't I feel confident that I'd be a good father?” he asked, his words quiet. Stan and App heard them despite their hearing problems. Both men reached out and clapped him on the shoulder. Sam did, too.

“Satan will bring a good man down with any lie he can make him believe,” Applegate stated.

“The good book says, ‘As in water answereth to face, so the heart of man to man,'” Stanley murmured.

“'At means like water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man,” Applegate said. “Just so you know.”

Dan smiled at that. First time since yesterday. God had made him a new heart years ago, when he'd asked the Lord to come and dwell in him.

“You might have had a sorry sodbuster to call a dad here on earth, son, but you are now a child of the king. And that's what counts,” Stanley said.

“Do you love her?” Sam asked.

Dan nodded. “I do. With all my heart. I haven't actually told her. I told her I couldn't see her anymore.”

“Then what are you sittin' in here with us fer?” Applegate bellowed. “Why ain't ya over thar knockin' on her door?”

“Yeah,” Stanley said. “Go on, get over thar and tell her you was jest mixed up, but we done set ya straight.”

“It's not that easy,” Dan said as he stood, dug change out of his pocket and laid it on the counter. “Thanks for the good advice. I'd appreciate it if you'd pray for Ashby. And for me. I've prayed all my life for the Lord to ease my mind where this was concerned. That's all I'm asking.”

“We'll pray fer you,” Sam said. “We're gonna pray you come ta your senses and put us all outta our misery. Dan, you got a chance ta get married and have a passel of kids. Kids you can bring up to love the good Lord. Why in the world do you want to throw that away? The Lord is givin' you a blessin'.”

Dan had no answer and headed toward the door.

Applegate stepped in front of him, his skinny chest bowed out. “It's almost like spittin' in the good Lord's eye, if ya ask me.”

Dan hesitated, then sidestepped App. “Thanks, fellas.” He walked outside, pausing to stare across the street at Ashby's store. She'd be at work in a couple of hours. He wondered how she was. Wondered if Applegate was right—was Ashby his miracle and he was spitting in God's eye by holding out for iron-clad clarity?

A
shby was sweeping the plank sidewalk in front of her shop, watching each car and truck turn onto Main Street. She'd spent a long night tossing and turning. And praying.

She loved Dan. How could she fix this? What if he didn't come to his senses? She was upset with him. How could he tell her to trust the Lord, and yet he didn't? How could he tell her all that beautiful stuff about his mother and yet he was destroying her every wish and hope for him by giving in to a completely irrational fear? Yet she couldn't judge him on that. She hadn't been there. Her childhood had been a fairy tale in comparison to his. While she'd been complaining about dressing up and not being taught to ride a bike, he'd been suffering at the hands of a monster…. She blinked back tears as her anger flared toward his father. Taking a deep breath, she said yet another prayer for Dan. And looked longingly down the street wishing he would materialize.

She was about to go inside when she saw Emmett striding across the street toward the candy store. When he reached her, he stopped.

“Hi, Ashby. Nice day.”

She smiled. “Yes, it's a real nice day. Are you okay?” Up close she could see beads of perspiration on his forehead. It wasn't even ten o'clock, and though Texas summers were hot even at this hour, Ashby didn't think that was his problem.

“Dan tells me I need to talk to Stacy more, but I'm not the best in the world at polite conversation.”

“You're doing well right now.”

He smiled sheepishly. “Nah, it's Stacy I get all tongue-tied around.” He nudged a pebble with his boot. “I'd wait a lifetime to have her love me if I had to. But Dan tells me I need to make a move. That I need to take it slow and easy, but keep upping her trust level.”

Ashby could visualize Dan's handsome face, all earnest and sure as he encouraged Emmett. She'd fallen in love with that side of him. He was a remarkable man. Not at all the man she'd first thought. “I think that's sound advice,” she said.

Emmett nodded. “Dan's a good man.”

Ashby met Emmett's penetrating gaze. “Yes, he is.”

“Well, I'm gonna go in here. You have a nice day.” He tipped his hat and strode toward the candy store. Ashby took a deep breath, then said a prayer for him and Stacy. With Stacy's past it might take a little while, but Emmett was all in.

How about you? Are you all in, Ashby?

Stacy could be a fortunate woman. Only time would tell. For Emmett's sake, Ashby prayed he'd succeed.

Ashby loved Dan. He hadn't said he loved her. He'd never made her any promises. But she knew suddenly that she was in. All in. As Lacy and the gang had told her before, if it was in God's plan for her to have children, she would. In
God's
time. Her heart hurt at the possibility that children weren't in His plan for her. Emmett had said he'd wait a lifetime for Stacy to love him…that was how she felt about Dan. God had finally sent her an answer through the shy cowboy. She would wait patiently for Dan to heal. She would show him how much he meant to her.

She took a steadying breath and placed her trust at the throne. Like Emmett, she was just going to have to put her love and her faith out there and see if her dreams came true.

Taking one last look down the street, she went inside the shop. She had work to do.

Her love life might be in shambles, but that didn't stop the world from turning. God was in control; she was going to stop fighting Him over it.

She'd just opened the door when she heard the bawling of cattle and looked down the road. Dan's truck was coming her way. He was pulling a trailer packed with cattle who were making all kinds of noise.

Her heart was galloping as Dan came to a halt in the middle of the street. He jumped out of the cab almost before the wheels stopped turning.

“I am a selfish man, Ashby Templeton. And an incorrigible flirt. And I've been as blind as they come for the last few weeks. God sent me a miracle and I almost turned you away.”

Ashby expected him to halt at the sidewalk, but he didn't. He kept right on coming. One minute he was talking, and the next he'd enveloped her in a hug and lifted her off the ground. “This is me, Ashby,” he said against her ear. “I'm all of those things. You told me you loved me and I didn't know what to say. I got over an hour down the road and something three very wise men told me this morning finally got through to me. I didn't think I was good enough for you. Or that I would be a good father.”

“You'll be the best father ever.”

“I want to be more than anything. But like they said—” he nodded toward the diner where three sweet men could be seen peering through the open door “—I have a responsibility to live up to. I can wipe away the past by bringing my babies up in a home with a dad and a mother who love them and the Lord. The fellas reminded me that Satan is the master deceiver…and I finally realized I was letting him make a fool of me by keeping me from grabbing on to God's blessings. You are my blessing. Oh, Ash, I was a certifiable fool. Please say it again. Please tell me you love me.”

Ashby laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you. And you are no fool. There's no point in slowing down life, though, unless I get to enjoy it with you.”

He pulled back and looked deep into her eyes. “You sure about that?”

She nodded, knowing in her heart that none of her past experiences mattered. Dan was a man of substance and fun, all wrapped up behind that beautiful smile.

“Well, darlin',” he drawled as he lowered his head toward her. “Will you marry me?”

She sighed against his lips. “In a heartbeat.”

Down the sidewalk, above the bawling of the cattle, Ashby heard a cheer.

“It's about time,” Esther Mae called.

They turned to find Ashby's favorite ladies standing outside of Heavenly Inspirations, and the gals from the candy store stood watching, too. Ashby had come to Mule Hollow because she thought her time was running out. What she'd found was that it was just beginning.

She looked up at Dan. “Yes, it is,” she said, laughing.

“You got that right, darlin',” he said, then kissed her.

And in his arms, Ashby knew she'd found her place.

The place where all her dreams would come true.

 

Dear Readers,

 

Thank you for reading
Her Baby Dreams.
I hope you've enjoyed spending time in Mule Hollow with me and the gang!

I loved writing Ashby Templeton and Dan Dawson's love story. Like Dan, I believe with all my heart that nothing in our lives is wasted if we use it for God's glory. Whether it's something joyous, something painful, a horrible injustice done to us or some terrible mistake we've made in our past—God has a purpose for you and for me. Our past makes us into who we are today, and if we lean on God, all things are possible. We can utilize our experiences to fulfill our calling in a way uniquely our own. I love verse 1 Corinthians 7:7, “Each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.”

Dan Dawson's past gave him a heart for at-risk women, and his own experiences and natural personality led him to help in his seemingly shallow way. Maybe I was stretching it a bit, but I loved writing this big flirt's story and watching Ashby fall in love with him. I hope I gave you a few hours of entertainment, as well, maybe even a chuckle or two.

Until next time, live, laugh and seek God's purpose for your life with all your heart.

 

 

 

P.S. I hope you'll join me back in Mule Hollow in July for
The Cowboy Takes a Bride,
when Hollywood dreams and small-town dreams collide!

1. Discuss all the reasons why stepping out of her comfort zone during the pig scramble was a positive action for Ashby. Share an experience with the group that you may have had while daring to step out of your comfort zone.
   
2. Dan didn't mean to cause Ashby to make a bad impression on all the eligible cowboys when she first came to town, but he did. How did he try to fix the problem? Given all you eventually learned about Dan, were his actions realistic?
   
3. As a young child trying to make his mother smile, Dan realized he could use his playful personality to make others feel better. I loved creating Dan's character. Discuss the aspects of his life that shaped his character.
   
4. Dan realized at the end of
   Her Baby Dreams
   that he was letting Satan deceive him with fear and insecurities from his past. How? Have you let or are you letting the “master of deception” keep you away from God's blessings? How?
   
5. Ashby's childhood was one of privilege. It was very different from Dan's life, yet she had her own problems. How did her home life affect the choices she made in adulthood?
   
6. Ashby's mother and Dan's mother each had an impact upon their child's life but in very different ways. Discuss the differences between these two women and what they thought was important.
   
7. What kinds of values do you want to instill in your children? What do you hold important in your life that might have a negative effect on your child? A positive one?
   
8. Dan tried to leave his past and his ministry behind, but when No Place Like Home moved into town, he felt that call again. Do you believe we each end up where God wants us? Do you believe God is in control of your life?
   
9. Have you ever felt as if God was ignoring your prayers? Ashby and Dan each believed that God was ignoring them. What did Dan want most? What did Ashby want most? Does it seem God ignores you at times? Why? Do you think He was ignoring Ashby and Dan? What lessons was He actually teaching them?
   
10. Ashby fell in love with Dan, a man who wasn't sure if he could overcome the deep emotional scars that made him afraid to become a father. What sacrifices were they each willing to make for the other in the end? What are your thoughts on this? What does the Bible teach?
    
11. Rose told Ashby that it was much easier to tell someone else to trust the Lord than to do it. Do you find this to be true? The Bible says in Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Why do you think sometimes even those of us who believe this verse and claim it as our own sometimes struggle in the midst of turmoil to trust that God is still in control?
    
12. Dan had prayed all his life that the Lord would take away his fear of fathering children. Were his fears valid? Why and why not?
    
13. As I wrote
    Her Baby Dreams
    I was reminded that God loves me. And He loves you, too. In verse after verse He reminds us not only that He loves us but also not to be afraid, that He is with us always. Why do you think He repeats these messages so many times?
    
14. Did you identify with any of the characters? If you answered yes, would you like to share with the others in the reader group? If you enjoyed
    Her Baby Dreams,
    what did you like the most?
    
15. Here are a few of the Bible verses that inspired the plotting of this book. Read and discuss how they helped form the characters in
    Her Baby Dreams.
    

• Galatians 5:6, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love.”
  
• Romans 8:25, “If we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently.”
  
• Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”