Free In the Paths of Righteousness (Psalm 23 Mysteries) by Debbie Viguié

tampered with.
    Everything seemed to be in order and after a while the other two cowboys stirred and got up. They both nodded to him as they went about their preparations.
    Jeremiah went over and quietly began to roll up his sleeping bag, not wanting to disturb Cindy. He knew she couldn’t have gotten very much sleep. She had still been wide awake when he’d finally let himself go to sleep. He’d wanted to remain awake until she had fallen asleep, but had ultimately decided that getting the hours he’d need to be alert today were more important. Besides, she was sleeping so near him that if she had tried to get up again he would have known it instantly.
    She finally awoke, blinking slowly. Then she smiled up at him and he felt warm to the center of his being.
    “Morning, sleepy,” he said.
    “What time is it?” she asked.
    “A bit after six.”
    She yawned. “That’s early.”
    “Yup. You’re not the last one up, though.”
    “I bet Kyle is awake.”
    “Yes, and already hard at work,” Jeremiah noted.
    Cindy rolled her eyes.
     
    It only took Cindy a few minutes to get dressed and be ready for the day to begin. She had just heard that breakfast wouldn’t be ready for about another twenty minutes when she saw Kyle approaching her.
    “Hey, sis. Care to take a walk with me, or a hobble with me at least?” he asked.
    She nodded. She had been getting along okay that morning without the makeshift walking stick as long as she moved slow.
    She couldn’t help but wonder what it was Kyle wanted, though, as they began walking slowly away from the camp.
    “How are you feeling this morning?”
    “Better, I can put weight on my ankle, but it’s sore still.”
    “Best to rest it up at least another day,” he said, surprising her slightly.
    “Thanks.”
    “I’m sorry that you got hurt. It should have been me on that horse,” he said, sounding guilty.
    She reached out a hand to grab his arm. “It’s okay, you couldn’t have known.”
    He nodded. “It’s just strange. First Martin, then that. Last night I was beginning to think this trip was cursed.”
    “And now?”
    “The dawn brings with it optimism the night could never dream of,” he said.
    “That’s beautiful.”
    “Thanks. I stole it from a girl I dated in college.”
    She nodded, not sure what to say. The silence stretched on as clearly he didn’t know what else to say either.
    “So, Mom tells me you have a new girlfriend,” Cindy said, looking for something to fill the silence. “Last year apparently you took her over there for Thanksgiving if I remember correctly.”
    “You know, you could show up to Thanksgiving every once in a while,” Kyle said.
    “Is that your way of avoiding the topic?”
    “I don’t know, maybe. I just don’t want you to get all weirded out.”
    “I’m not going to get weirded out hearing about your girlfriend,” Cindy said.
    “Okay. She’s a year younger than I am and she’s an interior designer although that doesn’t even begin to cover it. She’s amazing and she can do anything from renovate a house to make a gourmet dinner for twenty. I swear, she’s like the next Martha Stewart.”
    “Hopefully without the prison record,” she couldn’t help but snark.
    He looked at her and she felt bad. That hadn’t been a nice thing to say, especially when he was trying to be open with her.
    “I’m sorry, go on,” she said.
    “We met a little over a year ago while I was on location in Prague. She was there on vacation and it was just...magic.”
    “That sounds really nice. Does she live near you?”
    “That’s the freaky part. Only twenty minutes away and yet we had to go all the way to Prague to meet.”
    “Sometimes that’s how it is with people who lead such busy lives,” Cindy said. “Not everyone is lucky enough to just bump into their next door neighbor and fall in love.”
    “You seem to have been.”
    “Excuse me?” she asked.
    “Hello, the rabbi? Earth to Cindy. Can you read