by Barbara Goss
“Let’s get dressed and find out how soon we can get a train heading west.”
Chapter 17
Addie ran out to meet their rented buggy before it had even stopped in front of the house. She helped Fiona down, hugged her, and then greeted her son who’d just hopped down from the buggy.
“I’m so glad you found her and brought her home, Sam,” Addie said.
“It’s so good to be back. I've missed you all,” Fiona said. “Where’s Martin?”
“He’s been staying at your place. It was easier than riding back and forth. He’ll be glad you’re home and so will the whole church congregation. His sermons have left a lot to be desired since he's had to run your ranch for you.”
“Seriously? Sam asked.
“No, I’m kidding—his sermons are always good.” Addie laughed and then asked, “Will you come in for a bit?”
Sam jumped back onto the buggy's driver’s perch. “No, we’re going home.” He looked at Fiona fondly. “We have some catching up to do.”
“Wait!” Addie said. “It’s too late in the day for Fiona to cook a dinner, and I just happen to have a pot of beef stew simmering. Let me get some for you to take home.” She ran into the house and returned minutes later with a pot of stew. “And send Martin home. You two need some privacy,” Addie said, winking.
As Sam and Fiona pulled up in front of their house, they both sat in amazement—the barn was up, and it was beautiful.
Martin was on a ladder, painting it red. He climbed down, balanced his brush on the rim of the paint can, and ran to meet them. “I’d hug you both, but I’m sort of full of paint.”
“The barn’s beautiful,” Fiona said.
“We got it up in just two weekends. I’m almost finished painting. I just have the one side left to do,” Martin said.
“I’ll finish, you go home,” Sam said as he helped Fiona down from the buggy. “Those are Mother’s orders, not mine.”
“How did everything go?” Martin said.
“It’s a long story, Martin,” Fiona said, “and I’ll share it with you another time, but I didn’t kill Mr. Littlefield.”
Martin blew out a breath of air. “Excellent.”
Despite the paint on his hands, Sam hugged his brother. “Thanks for everything.”
“You’re welcome,” Martin said. “Is everything good between you two now?”
“I jumped to conclusions,” Fiona said. “Sam wasn’t seeing Abigail at all. She's been writing him letters and he's been throwing them away. When I found the one he hadn't been able to discard, he went and had it out with her. That’s why we saw him coming from her place.”
“Ah…that explains it. I couldn’t be happier,” Martin said as he mounted his horse. “Stop by tomorrow and tell me all about the Littlefields.”
“We will,” Sam shouted after him.
As Sam and Fiona approached the porch, Sam scooped his wife up and carried her into the house.
“I thought that was only done the first time a married couple enters their home,” she said.
“It is, but since this is sort of a new beginning for us, I thought it proper.”
She put her arms around his neck. “You really are the perfect husband.”
“I am,” he laughed, “and I’m so glad you realize that.”
“And you aren’t a bit conceited, either.”
Sam laughed. “Not a bit.”
“So, when are you going to make me a pie crust?”
“Any time you want me to.” He kissed her nose and set her down.
“What about the stew?” Fiona asked.
“I’ll bring it in later. Let’s go into the sitting room.”
They walked through their little home together. “I've really missed this place,” she said.
“Me, too,” Sam said. He turned Fiona around and put a hand on each of her shoulders. “I need you to promise me something.”
“What?” she asked.
“That you’ll never walk out on me again, and that you’ll come to me if you ever think I’ve given you reason to.”
“I promise.”
“And you’ll never keep things from me.”
“I promise, but—”
“But what, Fiona?”
“But would you have married me if I’d have told you I’d killed a man?”
Sam sighed and ran his hand threw his hair. “Honestly?”
“Honestly.”
“It’s hard to say what I might have done, but I think I still might have. To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure. Maybe you were right not to tell me.”
He pulled her close. “Let’s just start over from today. From now on, we’ll share everything and trust each other. If either of us has a problem, we’ll solve it together.” He kissed her lightly on the lips. “How does that sound?”
“Perfect,” she said.
Sam kissed her again, more passionately. “Let’s check out the upstairs.”
Fiona went about her daily tasks, happily knowing that Sam would pop in from time to time hug and kiss her and then return to his work outdoors. To her, it meant he'd missed her as much as she'd missed him when they were apart.
She wondered how she’d gone from marrying Sam just to change her name, to being so much in love with him that her heart seemed to skip a beat whenever she thought about him.
Not only had she found true love, she had a family and she felt as if she belonged somewhere, which meant the world to her. Poor Jane didn’t know what she was missing by not marrying Sam. It was odd how things had worked out. Had it been divine intervention?
Sam worked tirelessly. Starting a cattle ranch from scratch was hard work. He had fences to erect, cattle to check on, outbuildings to construct, and stock to be branded. He often came home so exhausted, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but he was never too tired to make sure she was close to him. In the mornings, he always made up for any neglect. Fiona smiled to herself as she thought about it.
Martin couldn’t help them out too much, as he had to help his mother with her ranch, as well as fulfilling his church duties.
One night, Sam came in looking exhausted and announced, “We have to hire some help.”
“Can we afford it?” Fiona asked.
“No, we’re barely getting by—what with the lawyer and the trip to Boston, we’re hitting rock bottom.”
“I’m so sorry,” Fiona said with sincerity.
“It’s a fact that we spent the money, Fiona, not that it wasn’t necessary or that I'm sorry for spending it. It was money well-spent, as far as I'm concerned. We’ll make it up once we get going.” He kissed her. “It was worth that much and more to clear your name, and you have nothing to be sorry for, and I don’t regret it.” He kissed her again.
“I agree: you do need help around here. Maybe we could get someone who’d work for room and board.”
“Now, that’s a good idea—if, of course, I could find someone I trusted. We can’t have just anyone living under our roof.” Sam scratched his head. “There is enough room for a bed in the little room in the barn I set aside for an office. It could be used as a bunkhouse for now.
“I’ll go into town and spread the word. Great thinking, sweetheart!” He gave her a loving kiss and left for town.
While Sam was gone, Fiona chopped up vegetables for supper. She heard a buggy pull up out front and ran to the door, hoping to see Addie. She swallowed a lump in her throat when out stepped Abigail instead. She spoke a few words to the driver and then walked up the steps to the front door.
“Can I help you?” Fiona asked through the screen door, trying to keep her voice level.
“I think we need to talk,” Abigail said.
“I really don’t think we have a thing to talk about,” Fiona said, drying her hands on her apron.
“We do—trust me.”
Fiona stepped out onto the small porch and motioned to the two rocking chairs. “Have a seat. Please be quick in getting to the point; I’m in
the middle of preparing dinner.”
Abigail was wearing a ruffled orange dress with brown trim, looking as flashy as ever. Fiona waited for Abigail to sit before sitting herself, which she did, but on the edge of the seat, prepared to dart into the house if things got unpleasant.
“I’ll come right to the point: I’m with child. Sam’s child.” She raised her head as if proud of her accomplishment.
Fiona felt dizzy, and she grabbed the arms of her chair to steady herself. She took several deep breaths before she was able to reply to Abigail.
“It’s been months since Sam has been with you, and you surely don’t look like you’re increasing.”
“Oh, but I am. I hide it well. I have to in my line of business,” she said.
“What do you expect me or Sam to do about it?”
“I want financial support as well as his public acknowledgment of the child.”
Fiona just stared at her. “Why are you telling me this? Have you told Sam?”
“No. I thought I’d tell you, since he won’t answer my letters or even see me.”
Fiona’s head was spinning. She both hated Sam and loved him at once—hated him for getting them into this situation and loving him when she thought about their separating because of it.
Fiona stood, walked into the house, and closed the screen and storm doors. She watched Abigail retreat to her buggy and continued to watch until it disappeared onto the main road. Fiona felt physically ill. She covered the food she'd been preparing and went upstairs to lay on her bed where she did a lot of thinking as to how to solve the dilemma while she prayed. She remembered the vow she and Sam had made when they’d returned from Boston, rejecting her basic urge to run from the problem. She’d stay and face it, just as Sam had helped her through her problem.
Fiona heard Sam come in and call for her and sprang up, knowing she had to face him. She reminded herself that Sam hadn’t shunned her when he'd heard she might have murdered someone. Fiona vowed she wouldn’t leave him either. Instead, she’d stay by his side and help him through this.
She got up, walked down the stairs, and called, “I’m here, Sam.”
Sam appeared at the bottom of the stairs before she'd reached it. He held out his arms, and she flew into them. “I love you, Sam,” she said, clinging to him.
“What’s wrong? Why were you upstairs? Are you unwell?” he asked with concern, and he felt her forehead.
“I’ve had quite a surprise today, and it sort of knocked me for a loop. I’m afraid dinner isn’t even started,” she said.
“That’s all right. We’ll go to Rosie’s. I can eat a substandard meal now and then,” he said with a smile. “What’s the surprise? Is it what I’ve been hoping and praying for?”
“What have you been hoping and praying for?” she asked.
“That you’re increasing.”
Fiona couldn’t resist remarking, “Someone’s increasing, but it isn’t me—it’s Abigail.”
Sam dropped his hands from her waist. He turned somewhat pale. “What?”
“She stopped by today to tell me that she wants you to support the child and acknowledge it publicly.”
Sam sat on the sofa. He put his head in his hands.
Fiona sat down beside him. “We’ll get through this together, Sam.”
He put his arm around her and drew her close. “It’s impossible, Fiona. I was always careful. I never, ever released a seed of mine with her. I was dumb, but not an idiot.”
“So how could she be—?”
“It has to be a cruel trick. If she’s increasing, it isn’t by me, I assure you.”
“I believe you,” she said.
“But how could you? I mean, do it without…” Fiona was a bit lost for words.
“I’ll explain later,” Sam said, pulling her tighter against him. “You were ready to accept her condition and stick by me?”
She nodded. “My love for you is deeper than that, Sam, and we did make that promise.”
He kissed her forehead. “I’m so glad because I don’t know what I’d do if you turned away from me because of this. I need you, Fiona. My life has been beautiful since you’ve stepped into it. I still can’t get over how I didn’t fall for you the moment I laid eyes on you. I was instantly fond of you, but the rest came later, as I got to know you. I don’t ever want to go back to a life without you in it. I’ve never been this happy in my whole life.
“What I really think is that Abigail told you this in an attempt to split us up. I think it was a direct insult to her vanity that I preferred someone else. I doubt she’s increasing and certainly not from me, but in a way, I’m glad this happened.”
“You are? Why?” Fiona asked.
“Anyone can say those three words. Anyone can say, I love you, but you've shown me you do by your willingness to stick with me and try to solve the problem. If anyone will be increasing from my seed, it will be you, my wife. In fact…” he said with a playfully evil look, "I think I’d like to plant a few right now.”
He carried Fiona upstairs and closed the bedroom door.
Epilogue
The planted seed had been fertilized, and Fiona was increasing in no time. Neither of them responded to Abigail, and sure enough, as the months passed, only one woman grew with child, and that was Fiona.
They’d called Abigail’s bluff and their love had held them together. If Abigail only knew her threat brought them even closer together than before.
As Fiona held her baby son in her arms, she asked Sam, “We agreed if it was a boy you’d name him, and if it was a girl, I’d name her. So, what will we call our son?”
Sam smiled and put his finger near the baby’s hand. When baby grabbed it, Sam smiled. “He’s a strong one.”
“Of course. He takes after his father,” Fiona said, fondling the baby’s head.
“I want a biblical name, the name of a strong person.”
“No, Sam—we are not calling him Goliath.”
“Oh, but you see, Fiona, my sweet, it wasn’t Goliath that was the strong and smart one—it was David. David Samuel Jordan.”
“I love it,” Fiona said.
He bent down and kissed her. “I have to go check on Hector’s work, but I’ll be back in no time. It was a great idea to hire him for room and board. He’s such a good worker, and since he has no family, you’ve made him feel like part of ours.”
“Because I know what’s it’s like to be without a family,” Fiona said.
“Would you send Mother and Martin in on your way out? I hear they’ve been waiting for quite a while to come in and see David.”
He kissed her. “I will. I love you, and you did a remarkable job giving me a son.” He kissed her again. “I didn’t think life could be more wonderful than it’s been since I've met you but today it exceeded my expectations.”
“Mine, too,” she said. “I thank God for it all.”
After Sam had left, Martin and Addie nearly knocked each other over as they rushed in to see little David.
“How are you feeling?” Addie asked.
“I’m a bit sore, but happier than ever,” Fiona said.
Martin looked at David in awe. “He’s really something,” he said.
Fiona got the feeling Martin wished he had someone and would one day have a child, too.
“Your time will come, Martin,” she said.
Find out if Martin finds love in book 2 in this series.
THE END
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Other books by Barbara Goss:
1.
Forbidden Legacy
2. Captured Heart
3. Stolen Heritage
4. Dangerous Illusions
5. Silent Love
6. The Final Vow
7. The Kissing Bridge
8. Drawn from Darkness
9. Temptation by Moonlight
10. The Romantic Ruse
11. Shadow of Shame
12. Shadow of Deceit
13. Shadow of Regret
14. Shadow of Hope
15. Shadow of Love
16. Shadow of Faith
17. Shadow of Second Chances
18. Sunshine in the Rain
19. Mail Order Mishap
20. Mail Order Vixen
21. Mail Order Ruse
22 Mail Order Calamity
23 Mail Order Compromise
24. The Guilty Proposal
25. The Reckless Proposal
26. The Shotgun Proposal
27. The Housekeeper's Proposal
28. Dan McCall's Bride-
29. Looking for Love
30. Delightfully Deluded – Coming Oct. 15
All my books are also available in audiobook form on Audible.com, iTunes, and Amazon.
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