The Bull Rider's Baby. Brenda Minton

Okay, not a question she wanted to answer.

       She resituated herself on the wooden bench and pretended she really didn’t care what happened in the arena. She didn’t care that Dylan, her little brother, had just settled onto the back of a bull.

       Travis, older than Dylan by a couple of years, stood in the arena, ready to rescue their little brother if need be. Jackson had the role of pick-up guy, sitting on his big chestnut gelding, reins loose in his hands, but the horse in control.

       Sophie’s new sister-in-law Elizabeth leaned close. “It really will be okay.”

       Sophie nodded but she couldn’t ask Elizabeth what she knew. Elizabeth was sweet. She was kind; she wanted to comfort Sophie. And she knew very little of the turmoil inside Sophie at that moment.

       “I know.”

       Elizabeth reached for her hand. “I’ll pray, too.”

       Sophie nodded again and this time she couldn’t answer. The gate flew open. Sophie had always thought of herself as a strong person. She knew how to work past her pain, how to get things done.

       She closed her eyes as her little brother came spinning out of the chute on the back of a bull. She squeezed them tighter when she heard the crowd scream. Elizabeth’s hand on hers held tight.