Follow a Wild Heart: A Christian Contemporary Western Romance Series by Natalie Bright (top reads .TXT) 📗

“I can make a living doing this. I feel strongly about it.” He told them about taking Carli to the art museum, meeting Brad Travers, and how he wanted to learn about making life-sized bronze sculptures. He took a deep breath; his palms were clammy but now was as good a time as any. “I don’t want to run the Rafter O.”

That last revelation was met with stony silence from both his mother and father. His dad frowned with cold fury glowing in his eyes, then looked around the barn, seemingly processing what Nathan had just said.

His mother took hold of her husband’s hand as if to calm his nerves before he said something they’d all regret, and looked at her son. “Nathan, we want you to be happy. We want all of our kids to be happy. That’s the bottom line.”

After several long moments his father cleared his throat and finally spoke. “Son, we want the best for you. But this little hobby of yours is not going to pay the bills or support a family. You have an obligation to this ranch and to the legacy your great-grandfathers began. I took over for my dad. You’re the fifth generation of Olsens on this land. I’m not going to allow you to throw away everything you have here to make little metal doo-dads.” His father looked at him with a mixture of confusion and anger glinting in his eyes. Nathan’s heart clenched with pain.

“Angie could run the ranch with you, Dad. She’s a natural.”

His father stood, walked closer, and pointed a finger in his face. “Your sister is not the oldest. The Rafter O always goes to the oldest boy. It’s been like that for generations.”

Nathan thought about asking what about families that don’t have any boys, what then? But he didn't want to make his father's head explode.

It was out now, so he might as well go for broke. “I want to be an artist.”

Skip Olsen’s face turned a bright shade of red as he stared at his oldest son. “What are you doing to this family?”

There was that phrase again—“desires of your heart”. Oh, Lord. You really do care about us. Please help my dad understand and let him not be disappointed in me. The scripture flashed through Nathan’s mind again. He was overcome with emotion, but he couldn’t see how he could make them understand. This wasn’t a hobby. This was a lifetime commitment. He needed to study and learn and devote every waking hour to pursuing his dream. A cattle ranch did not play into his plans.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Carli stepped out her front door to join Lola’s early morning yoga class and tripped over a bouquet of flowers. Big yellow sunflowers surrounded by daises and delicate baby’s breath with blue cornflowers, red, pink, and orange mums, all tied together in a vivid jumble with a red and white checkered bow. She bent to pick them up and found a card.

"Carli, Thanks for listening. You are very special to me. Fondly, Nathan."

Carli glanced up to see Lola walking towards her and waved before turning to take the flowers inside and find a vase and water.

“Wow aren’t those pretty! Secret admirer?” Lola asked as she followed Carli into the kitchen.

“They’re from Nathan,” said Carli in a serious, quiet tone.

“Nathan did good. He’s so thoughtful and such a nice young fella.” Then with a twinkle in her eye, she asked, “You think there’s something there?”

“Lola, it’s just a thank you. He took me to an art museum in Amarillo. That’s all it is.”

“Maybe for you, Carli. I think that boy...er, man...has a lot more on his mind. He’s had his eyes on you since the first time you met. He comes from good stock. You could do a lot worse.”

“You know I have so much going on in my life now—the equine program for the kids, plus trying to learn everything I can about running this ranch. I don’t have time for a boyfriend.”

“But one day, don’t you want a husband and a family of your own? Pretty soon you'll have to start thinking along those lines. That’s all I’m saying.” Lola got a vase down and filled it with water. Carli didn't mind Lola knowing her way around the kitchen.

“Yes, Mom,” Carli teased, and arranged the flowers into the container. “You know, not everyone gets married and has kids. This is the twenty-first century after all. Women have more choices nowadays.”

“You gonna call and thank Nathan?”

“Yeah, I should do that right now. I might be a little late for yoga class.”

“And, Carli, speaking of families.” Lola laid a warm hand on Carli’s shoulder. “You know. if you ever want to research the Jamesons, I’m always here to help. I’m not trying to rush you, it’s just that I’m sure there are tons of family papers stashed all over this house. Your Grandma Jean never threw anything away. I can help. Just whenever you’re ready.”

Carli swallowed the lump in her throat and pulled away from Lola’s touch. She focused on arranging the flowers in the vase to avoid eye contact. Maybe Lola didn’t know about the birth certificate. Maybe Jean or Ward never told anyone about the identity of her birth father, if they knew. It was her secret for now, and she trusted Nathan to keep it to himself. She wanted to do the research on her own for a while and wasn’t ready to tell Lola just yet. From what she had recently learned about small communities, any bit of gossip relating to the Wild Cow Ranch and her heritage would ignite like a prairie fire all over the county, and she'd be in desperate need of a team of smoke jumpers to extinguish it.

“Thanks, Lola. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Come whenever you can. I’m sure you’ll feel good after stretching, maybe get rid of some stress. I’d better get going. The ladies should be