His Texas Bride (15 page)

Still, Ellie was surprised by Tyler’s words, especially given the past few minutes. “You’re not?”

Tyler shook his head. “No. Not really.”

“I guess I don’t understand,” said Ellie.

Tyler was looking edgy all of the sudden, and once again he glanced at his father for support.

Ellie brushed a lock of hair from the boy’s forehead. “Don’t worry, Tyler. You can tell me anything.”

Buck stepped forward, laying his hands on Tyler’s
shoulders. “Tyler and I have something we want to ask you,” he said huskily, his look warm and gleaming.

Ellie’s gaze widened on them both as Tyler nodded vigorously and Buck grinned.

“Dad wants to marry you,” Tyler blurted suddenly. “You love him, right?”

Ellie was caught so off guard, she nearly fell over. Her knees felt like gelatin. Whatever she’d expected Tyler to say, this wasn’t it.

She raised her eyes to Buck and saw the confirmation of love beaming from his gaze. He smiled and nodded.

Ellie wanted to answer, but the lump in her throat had grown to the size of a large boulder. Her heart pounded. As if a dam had burst, love welled in her heart for both of her men and sheer joy made her dizzy.

“How would you feel about staying around here forever?” she asked the boy.

Tyler’s answering smile was more than adequate.

Buck leaned over the young man and planted a soft kiss on Ellie’s lips. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“How could I refuse both of you?” she asked with a joyful laugh.

“Exactly,” Buck agreed. “Why do you think I brought Tyler along with me? I didn’t want to give you the chance to refuse.”

Ellie reached her hands out, one hand brushing Buck’s cheek and the other brushing Tyler’s. Matching grins flashed back at her. Father and son.

Soon to be
her husband and son.

“My two men,” she murmured tenderly.

Tyler stepped out from between them, allowing Buck to pull Ellie close and kiss her again. Ellie was
dizzy with delight and happier than she had ever been. Vaguely, she heard Tyler’s voice from what seemed like a long distance.

“All right!”

With a secretive expression, Buck reached into the front pockets of his black jeans and then pulled out his hands, clenched in fists. “Pick a hand.”

Ellie brushed her long hair back with her hand and then pointed at Buck’s left fist. With a twinkle in his emerald green eyes, he opened his hand, but it was empty.

“Pick another hand,” Buck suggested.

Tyler laughed in delight, and Ellie joined him.

Her heart roaring in her ears, Ellie took Buck’s other hand and turned it over, pulling at his clamped fingers. Buck toyed with her a moment before opening his fist.

On the flat of his palm was an engagement ring, a simple gold setting with a sparkling solitaire. Ellie gasped, forgetting momentarily how to breathe.

“Oh, Buck. It’s beautiful,” she whispered as he slipped the ring on her left fourth finger.

“It was my mother’s,” he explained huskily. “I know she’d want you to have it.”

“I’m sure she’s smiling down from heaven right now,” Ellie said, pressing a soft kiss to Buck’s scratchy cheek. “I think she might have had this in mind all along.”

Buck squeezed her hand and kissed her ring finger. “I imagine she did.”

Dear Reader,

Babies should come with a warning label: Will Become Teenagers! My three teenage girls keep me hopping, and it is a great privilege to share with them the joys and sorrows of growing up, even if there is much pain involved. No one said being a parent was easy. When my children suffer, I suffer. Yet God has given me more blessings than I can count with my daughters, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It was a beautiful journey for me to write a teenager into
His Texas Bride.
I loved every minute with Buck, Ellie and Tyler, and hope you do, as well.

I love to hear from my readers and try to respond personally to everyone. Please join my fan page on Facebook. I am on MySpace at: www.myspace.com/debkastner. You can also contact me directly by e-mail at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you!

In Christ’s love,

1. What made you pick up this book? Was it the cover? The author? The back cover copy?
   
2. In
   His Texas Bride
   Buck ran away from his problems instead of trying to work them out. Have you ever been in a situation from which you wanted to run? How did you deal with it?
   
3. Ellie had the rug pulled out from under her feet when Buck disappeared from her life, yet she moved on and focused on God. Relate an experience when you felt the “rug” was pulled out from underneath you. What did you do?
   
4. In the book Buck’s ex-wife, Julie, chose to face those from whom she must ask forgiveness. Is this always the best course of action? Why or why not?
   
5. Why was it important for Buck and Tyler to forgive Julie? Have you ever struggled with this?
   
6. To which character in
   His Texas Bride
   do you most relate? Why?
   
7. What do you consider the prominent themes of
   His Texas Bride?
   How do they relate to your life?
   
8. Buck held on to his anger toward his mother until he’d almost forgotten why he was angry in the first
   place. How does this happen, and how can you avoid having it happen to you? (See Ephesians 4:26)
   
9. Although Ellie considered her therapy ranch a Christian ministry, there is not much overtly Christian about what she does. Would you consider this a ministry? Why or why not?
   
10. Ellie was thrilled to watch Buck work with Morgan, a little girl with Down syndrome. Sometimes people find it uncomfortable or difficult to interact with those with physical or mental disabilities. Discuss your own experiences with people with disabilities.
    
11. Do you agree with Buck and Ellie’s decision to let Tyler know Julie was his birth mother?
    
12. Have you ever acted rashly and then regretted it? What was the situation, and how did you handle it?
    
13. Because Ellie lost her parents, she had a very close relationship with Mama Esther. Is there anyone in your life who feels like true family even though they aren’t blood relatives?
    
14. Have you ever lost sight of a hope or dream? How did you cope? Did you eventually see God’s hand working in the situation? What hidden blessings did you find?
    
15. What will you remember most from this book? What lessons about love and faith did you learn?