Brooke walks through her front door and closes it very softly behind her. Her mind swirls with thousands of thoughts and it is as though her head won't stay held up. She tries to slip into her room without Jeremiah seeing her, but just as she is to her door he calls her name. Taking two steps back she looks at him with the brightest most curious eyes she can muster.

"That's an awful low looking head to have just come from seeing your boyfriend," he says raising his eyebrows at her and holding her gaze.

She quickly looks at the floor. "He's not my boyfriend."

Jeremiah lowers the volume on the TV and cocks his head to one side. "Close enough isn't he?"

Throwing her hand down by her side like a little kid she can't hold it in anymore. "Apparently not!" Tears begin to steam down her cheeks and her head feels as though it will explode at any moment.

Never having liked it or known what to do when his sister cries Jeremiah stares wide eyed at her for a moment before jumping up and wrapping her in a silent hug. "What happened, Sis?" His voice is quiet and steady.

It takes her a minute before she can gather herself together. When she has wiped the tears from her eyes she settles on the couch beside her big brother and dives into the story. "In Midland he had asked me if I would wait for him since he wouldn't be around a ton with taking care of the ranch and stuff. I told him yes."

"And then?" Jeremiah pushes lightly. She has already gotten too far into the story for her to stop now, those are his thoughts anyway.

"And then today he said he doesn't want me to put my life on some sort of hold just because of him. That the ranch is probably going to be a pretty permanent thing and he doesn't want me to throw down my life here to be with him. He said it like what I want doesn't even matter!"

Jeremiah laughs at himself on the inside. Even though he should probably be mad at Gary he just can't make it happen. Nothing in him will let him feel even the least bit upset with him. "Did you tell him that?"

She looks at him as if he just asked her to jump in an alligator pond. "No! Guys don't listen worth a flip."

"Ouch," he mutters with a slight grin on his lips. She glares at him so he drops the smile. "I'm serious though. He thinks he's looking out for you and probably doesn't know that he is hurting you so bad. You need to tell him how you feel. We don't read minds, especially not a woman's."

Brooke doesn't say anything for a long moment. "Are you sure that would really work?"

He looks at her and narrows his eyes. "Do you think I just like hearing myself talk or something?"

"Okay smart butt," she mumbles rolling her eyes and trying to hide her grin.
***

Gary guides his pickup through the drive through of Dairy Queen to order a bowl of ice cream. He isn't ready to see all his family just yet. Not so soon after saying words that felt like coughing up grass burs. Once the ice cream is in his possession he heads towards the ever busy rodeo grounds on the out skirts of town. 

He shifts his pickup to park just in front of the red pipe fence of the arena. Several pickup and trailer are parked not far away. Inside the arena he spots, what appears to be, a family of four all riding side by side around the outside. The sight makes him smile and remember the days that his own family had all gone riding together. The older they all got the less and less it occurred, but that had only made it all the more precious.

For a brief moment he can almost see he and Brooke riding together, but before that thought has time to fully take off he shakes his head. Right now is hardly the time for thoughts like that.

Shortly after his ice cream is gone he cranks his pickup up and shifts it into reverse. As he waits for a little boy on a bay horse to cross the road he can't help the smile that pushes his lips upwards. He turns his left blinker on and picks up speed as he turns onto the road leading to Jaelyn's house. The rest of his family is likely there by now and wondering were he is.

"Where have you been?" Andrew calls as Gary's pickup rolls to a stop at Jaelyn's house.

Gary smiles and shrugs. "Oh who knows, nowhere important anyway."

Andrew narrows his eyes and cocks his head to one side. "You aren't good at lying."

With a huge cheesy grin Gary says, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You get everything lined out before you left?" Benjamin asks as he shakes his oldest son's hand. He has a knowing smile on his face and his voice is full of sincerity.

Gary chuckles. "I think so, I guess we shall see when I get back."

Before Benjamin has a chance to reply Jaelyn hollers at Gary. "Is Brooke going to come over?"

He feels his heart rate pick up and twinge of hurt prick his heart. "Oh, uh, I don't think so." He hopes his voice is more convincing that everything okay that he feels it is.

She looks at him oddly, but just says, "Okay."

The family shares stories, catches up, and plays games while steaks cook on the grill. Jaelyn and her mom enjoy the time together while making the side dishes in the kitchen. Gary tries out throwing his three little brothers at football. While Tyson and Benjamin talk about dad life and perfect the steaks.

In a short bit the food is done and they are gather around two tables inside the relatively small living-dining room. As they eat the noise quiets downs and the sound of forks against plates is heard.

Gary's eyebrows scrunch together when his phone vibrates in his pocket. No one, that he can think of, would be texting him. Mrs. Carol would call if she needed something. Although, knowing her it would have to be something major to call, because she is all about family time. His mind stops running with thoughts when he reads the message that has popped up on his phone.

We need to talk. Meet me at the park in an hour.

He feels his heart rate pick up as his finger swipes his screen to reply. Momentarily his thumbs hang over the keyboard as he tries to process what to reply with. Finally he settles on just saying 'Okay'.
***

Gary carefully makes his way over to where his dad is pulling out a garage size trash can. Looking around he gets his dad's attention. "I've got to go meet someone right quick. If possible don't tell the rest of them where I went, please."

Benjamin gets a sly grin on his face. "Are you asking me to lie?"

Cracking a smile and shaking his head as he remembers the same question being asked when he was a kid Gary looks his dad in the eye. "You know that is not what I meant by that."

His dad chuckles. "Of course. Yes, I will do my best."

"Thanks dad!" Just as the words get from his mouth he starts jogging to his pickup. As he puts it into drive and heads towards the park he begins to sweat and get nervous. "Lord Jesus, help me to lay this at Your feet and leave it there. Father, I want to be in Your will. Teach me to leave everything at Your feet instead of picking it back up."

As he begins to walk through the park his palms become incredibly sweaty, so much so that where he wipes them on his pants becomes damp. A lump forms in his throat when he spots her pacing the sidewalk just ahead of him. "Hey, Brooke," he says when he is just a few yards from.

"Hey," she lets out a deep breath with a very, very nervous smile. "Okay, so I'm going to just come out and tell you what I wanted to talk to you about and try not to make this overly awkward."

Not sure what to expect Gary only nods. His mind races with thoughts of what might unfold before him.

"Earlier you said that you didn't want me to drop my life for you and all that. Did you ever think about what I might want?" She is back to pacing the sidewalk and she watches her feet as she does. "I don't exactly know what I want, but I know that God isn't ready for this to be over. I just want to be walking in God's no matter if we are together, apart, just friends or what. I think we should pray about it and then we can let God decide what happens."

It is silent, except for the tweeting of the birds and the rustling of the leaves in the wind. Then Gary extends his hand and says, "Can I pray right now?"

Brooke nods sitting down on the metal bench beside him. She slips her hand inside his larger one and bows her head.

"Lord, we come to you this afternoon thanking you that you are concerned and care about something as small as who we are friends with much less who we spend the rest of our lives with. Thank you that Brooke is such a wonderful woman and sought you to know that we need to seek you together. Father, please guide us in this path. Help us to lay our relationship, our wants, and our thoughts at your feet not to be picked back up, but only held if you place them in our hands. Please prepare us for whatever you have for us and whomever we may come in contact with. We love you, Lord Jesus. In Jesus Name we pray, amen."

A/N
I didn't forget this week! Sorry that I didn't have one up last week time just slipped away from me.

What do you think??

Thanks so much for reading and commenting and sharing with friends! Y'all are the best!