There was a moment of quiet as Steven waited. When Bobby stepped back, he dropped the big round pole into the hole and they both proceeded to pack it in.
“You goin’ to get your lady friend today, right?” Steven asked.
Bobby was a little surprised his foreman even remembered him mentioning it. “Yeah, sure am.”
“You still need us to watch Sam?”
Bobby nodded. The image of his five-year-old daughter ran through his mind. Samantha looked just like her mother. She would be the spitting image of her when she was older, which meant Bobby would have to keep a good eye on every man she was ever around.
“Yeah, I don’t think I should take her to the train station. I don’t know how she would handle that.”
“She’s gonna have to meet the woman anyway, Bobby. Better sooner than later. But it’s up to you. Ya know we’ll watch her for ya. That’s where she’s at right now.” Steven grinned as he stomped on the pile of dirt he’d just pressed into the ground around the base of the fence post.
“I know. Yeah, I’m just gonna leave her at your house till I pick up Sarah.”
“Sarah. Always thought that was a pretty name. If we have another girl, we might name her that.”
Bobby stared at Steven for a moment while the man was peering at the ground, examining the work he’d done. It wasn’t like him to express such a sentiment. He was gruff but endearing, and the women flocked to him simply because he represented such strength.
Bobby was blessed to have him as a foreman. He kept the crew in line, immediately gaining their respect the first day they worked for him.
Taking advantage of the man’s current mood, Bobby pulled Sarah’s most recent letter from his back pocket and unfolded it while leaning on the shovel, the blade piercing the soft ground below his feet. “She’s like a poet in some of her letters,” he said. “She says here that she has been longing to see new places and get to know new people. She has nice handwriting and sounds real smart.”
“That will be good for Sam,” Steven said. “She needs a momma. Five is too young to be raised by a papa.”
“Too young for a little girl, I agree,” Bobby replied, nodding as he stepped away from the post. “I think we did a good job with this,” he added, studying the fence post, which was straight up and down. “Let’s get some lunch.”
“You know, you don’t have to run into marriage real fast,” Steven said as they walked away from the post. “You can just have her around as a companion, make sure the two of you work well together.”
Bobby nodded. He’d been thinking the same thing. He recalled the first time he mentioned his plan to Steven, who’d said Bobby should be careful. Sometimes, those situations didn’t turn out well, in his opinion.
But, based on the letters, he was sure she was honest and trustworthy. She seemed perfect for him and his daughter.
Bobby suspected Sam would need some help when she reached her formative years, when she would be changing into a woman before his eyes. He wouldn’t know how to deal with that. He very much doubted Samantha’s mother would have known what to do. She wasn’t the smartest woman in the world. Beautiful, but nothing between her ears, nothing filling her brain.
He hadn’t loved her. He’d hoped he would grow to have feelings for her, but she was not only stupid, she was spoiled and bratty. She flirted with every man she was around, even after they were married, even when she was very obviously pregnant.
He hadn’t felt relief when she’d died giving birth to Samantha. But he hadn’t mourned her for long, either.
Bobby didn’t bother looking for anyone to take care of Sam while he worked. After Rebecca died, Steven’s wife, Clara, had offered to take the baby in her care. She had a one-year-old little boy at the time but swore she could handle it. She also had her older daughter, who had just celebrated her eleventh birthday.
Four months ago, Steven told Bobby they were going to have another baby. He was worried about Clara because she hadn’t been feeling well. It made him nervous to think she would go through childbirth again.
At that moment, Bobby decided it was time to move on. There were no women in Comstock that caught his attention. But he made it his goal to find another woman to help him with Sam because Clara didn’t need the extra burden.
“I’m glad you’re sure about this, boss,” Steven was saying as he pulled a sack from one of his saddlebags. He reached in and grabbed an apple, bringing it to his mouth and taking a large, loud bite. He chewed, giving Bobby a thoughtful look.
Bobby shook his head, walking to his own horse and getting out the lunch he’d prepared for himself. “Don’t know what you’re talking about, Steven.”
Steven snorted softly. “Ya know darn well what I’m talking about. How do you know this woman will be good for Sam? Good for you?” He shook his head. “She’s a stranger. I don’t know how I’d feel letting a stranger watch my children.”
“She’s not a stranger to me,” Bobby said. “She’s written me a lot about helping other people and how much she wishes she had a loving family of her own. She’s an orphan, she’s never known what it was like to have a family.”
“And you have one ready for her right here, don’t you?” Steven nodded, looking like he might understand what Bobby was saying. He was a compassionate man. It was one of the things Bobby liked about him.
“Yeah, that’s right. Not many women I know could write the words she writes. It’s… eloquent.”
“Ten-dollar word,” Steven teased. “Nice.”
“I don’t want Sam to be disappointed. But I really think this is what’s best for her, and Sarah is the right one. I prayed for guidance and… well, I just had that feeling about Sarah’s letters, even from the first one. I’ve got the justice of the peace lined up. And if Sarah isn’t on the train… well, I sure don’t want Samantha to be disappointed further. She’s too curious. She’ll know we were there for a reason.”
“Plus, her pa will be pretty angry. That would mean she took your money, probably cashed in the ticket.”
Bobby shook his head. “She’s not going to do that. She wouldn’t have answered my ad and kept writing if she wasn’t serious.”
Steven looked skeptical. “You sure?”
Bobby nodded. “I’m sure.”
“Well, I’m wishing you the best of luck with that, you know. Sam has grown close to our hearts. We love her as much as our own children. I know Clara is going to be at least a little protective at first.”
Bobby gave him a narrow look. “She’s not going to judge me, is she? I don’t want Sarah feeling bad the minute she arrives. I’m sure this is already a traumatic enough thing for her. All alone in the world and suddenly in a new place?”
Steven looked down at the dried jerky in his hand. “You want some?” He held several pieces out to his boss but Bobby shook his head.
“Nah. You put too much pepper on that for my taste. Gonna make sure Sarah doesn’t do that. Ruins it.”
Steven huffed and looked offended, though Bobby knew he wasn’t. “More for me,” he grunted, sticking one in his mouth, taking off a big bite and chewing visibly but not audibly. Bobby chuckled, shaking his head. “That’s my wife that made that, you know.”
Bobby let his laugh out. “You gonna tell on me? I don’t know if I want to experience the wrath of Clara.”
Both men joined together to laugh. Clara was a small woman, petite even after two children, with the look of a pixie or a fairy. She was surprisingly strong and extremely resilient, but in a physical fight, she wouldn’t last longer than a second or two. Truth be told, Bobby didn’t even want to think about Clara getting in a fistfight. She had the temperament of an angel and the look of one, too. It would take a monster to hit a woman as small as she.
Bobby and Steven had grown close over the past seven years. Bobby was there for the births of Steven and Clara’s children, Bianca and Billy. Steven was there for the birth of Samantha. Bobby had helped with his own hands, as well as enlisti
ng three of his ranch hands, when Steven needed a new roof on his house. When Rebecca died, Clara had immediately stepped in to help with the newborn. He felt like part of their family, instead of Steve’s boss.
Bobby was just as likely to come to Clara’s defense as Steven if the big man wasn’t around to defend his wife.
“When she supposed to arrive?” Steven asked. “You got a time?”
“The afternoon train,” Bobby replied, uncapping his canteen and dumping cool water down his throat. He was instantly refreshed and smacked his lips in appreciation. He stopped when he saw Steven giving him an odd look.
“What?”
“Afternoon train should be here pretty soon. Why you still here?”
Bobby frowned, thinking for a moment. Had he lost track of time?
“Thought it came around three.”
Steven shook his head. “Nope, been gettin’ here about one for a couple months now.”
Bobby scoffed humorously. “Well, why didn’t anyone consult with me about that? I sure hope she doesn’t get there before me and have to stand around. She might get scared.”
“If she’s even on it,” Steven said skeptically.
“Stop that, Steven,” Bobby said in an insistent voice. “You gotta be supporting me or I won’t know what to do. You’re old and wise and can advise me.”
“Hey!” Steven spat at him indignantly and followed it with a big smile. “I ain’t old, but I am wise, so I guess I’ll take the second half of that and ignore the first.”
Bobby lifted both eyebrows and looked his foreman over from head to toe. He was wide and much bigger than Bobby, who often felt dwarfed next to the large man, even though he was of average height and build himself. Bobby wasn’t small. He could only imagine how a tiny little woman like Clara could handle a giant like Steven. He was probably pretty overpowering.
The thought made him chuckle.
“Yeah, well, I’m counting on ya,” Bobby said, lifting his hat and shaking his sweaty head back and forth. “I guess I oughta at least go clean up before I meet her. And she is going to be there, so don’t be puttin’ no negative thoughts in my head.”
“You got it, boss. I’m gonna help Jack with the feed.”
“Thanks.”
“And, boss.” Steven stopped him before he could mount his horse. Bobby looked at him. “Good luck. I mean that. I want ya to be happy. Have for a long time. You weren’t happy with Becky. I hope Sarah is the one.”
Bobby smiled at his friend. “Thanks, Steven. I appreciate that.”
He pulled himself up in the saddle and settled in comfortably, turning Gabriel around to go down the gently sloping hillside to the ranch house below.
Fifteen minutes later, he was riding along the dirt road toward town. The train station was on the other side of the main road down about ten miles. It wasn’t the shortest trip, but Comstock was on the other side of that, so he considered it a short distance.
The sun beat down on his freshly washed hair, drying it in the gentle breeze. He let his hat sit on his back, held to him by the string around his neck. It wasn’t yet the hottest time of the day, but Bobby felt like it was dry and dusty. He broke out his canteen before he made it to the train station.
He hoped Sarah wasn’t already there. He didn’t want her waiting and wondering. She needed to feel welcome right away. She deserved nothing but the best after being alone and on her own for so long, struggling just to get by day to day. She had basic skills, she said, but could boast of nothing important or major that she could do.
It didn’t matter to him. She said she could cook, but Bobby had a cook at the ranch on a regular basis. It was only on her nights off that he would have to fend for himself and those times, he and Samantha usually ate with the Dyers.
He rode up to the dirt lot where other horses and several buggies sat, looking around the building to see if the train had pulled up. He berated himself gently, knowing if it had, he would have heard the whistle long ago. It rang out across the valley every day, six times a day. One for arrival and one for departure. It could be heard all the way across Comstock, which was spread out over the land for miles and miles in every direction.
Just as he was dismounting, he heard the fateful sound and his chest tightened with anxiety. He was excited, nervous, a little scared—though he would never admit that. He jogged to the back of the building and went up the steps to the wooden platform. There were large carts waiting for luggage and two attendants standing with the carts, looking anxiously toward the east.
Bobby went to stand near the edge, peering into the distance as steam rose up into the air.
Sarah was almost there. He hoped she was pretty. In his mind, he pictured her blond (as she’d said she was) with a small pinched face, sickly pale with a look of desperation about her.
He felt like he could love her no matter what she looked like. Her letters had spoken to his heart.
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True Love Leaves no Doubts: An Inspirational Historical Romance Book Page 23