Daring to Start Again: An Inspirational Historical Romance Book
Page 21
Sarah pressed her lips together. “Well, yes, of course. I won’t make you not see your papa. It was just going to be a surprise for him, that’s all.”
Sammy nodded. “I want to be there when you tell him. It will be funny to see his face. I think he is going to like it.”
Sarah hoped so. What she needed to discuss with him was going to be a hard subject. She still didn’t know what or how she could tell him.
“Well, I guess that will give us enough time to finish our cocoa and get some nice clothes ready for you, right?”
Sammy grinned. “Oh, yes. I want to take my new red dress that you made me. I bet Bianca will be jealous, but that’s okay. You can make one for her, too, can’t you?”
Sarah nodded. “Of course I can, honey. I’d be glad to. But I thought her favorite color was orange? I reckon I’d better make her an orange dress instead.”
Sammy threw her small head back and laughed happily.
“What did I say?”
Sammy’s laughter didn’t stop. “You said you reckon!” she exclaimed.
Sarah lifted her eyebrows. “Yes, I guess I did. Why did that make you laugh?”
“Because you never say that! You have an accent. You don’t sound like you’re from here in Oklahoma. You don’t say you reckon. Papa says that. Steven and Clara say that. But you’ve never said that before.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything, I reckon.” Sarah purposefully said the phrase again, just to see Sammy’s smile. It was so cute. She was an adorable child.
“Let’s take our cocoa upstairs to my room,” Sammy said, conspiratorially, leaning toward Sarah. “We can pick out what you want me to take and what I want to take, and I have to remember my dolly, too.”
“Okay,” Sarah said, liking that idea. She and the little girl got up from the table and went through the dining room door and around to the stairs. As they went up, Sarah thought about what she would have to do that night. Her heart squeezed with anxiety, but she pushed the feeling down. It wasn’t time for that now. She had to enjoy as much time with Sammy as she could while she was still there.
No telling whether Bobby would send her away one he found out the truth about her. She hoped with all her heart that he would understand she was ashamed of her father and brothers. She didn’t mean to put anyone in harm’s way.
If only she’d remembered to bring Bobby’s letters with her. Her father would never have found out where she’d gone.
If only she’d remembered the letters.
Chapter 23
Bobby rode up to the house as fast as he could, jumping from the horse before Journey came to a complete stop. He ran up the stairs and into the house, calling out for Sarah and Sammy.
“Papa!” he heard from upstairs, followed by the sound of his daughter’s pattering feet running down the hall. She appeared at the top of the stairs and began to descend at lightning speed.
“Be careful!” Bobby warned. “You don’t want to fall. You might get hurt. Slow down.”
“Papa! I missed you! Sarah says I’m going to the Dyers’ tonight. I’m going to have so much fun.”
She vaulted herself into Bobby’s arms. He hugged her tight, glad to see she was okay. Sarah appeared and came slowly down the stairs. She didn’t look unhappy, but she did look a little worried. He wondered if she had something to discuss with him that had prompted this sudden trip for Sammy. It wasn’t the first time the little girl had spent the night with the Dyers. At one point, when Bobby was particularly busy with the ranch, she’d stayed there for almost an entire summer. But she’d had a ball and Bobby was there so often himself, it was like they’d both taken a vacation from staying at their own home.
“Sarah.” She stepped up close to him when he held his hand out. “I was worried about you two for a minute. Looks like I didn’t have to worry, you’re both as beautiful and bright as ever.”
He leaned to give Sarah a kiss on the forehead. She closed her eyes. He could tell the motion relaxed her when her shoulders dropped down a little.
The sun was almost behind the mountains when the three of them set out for the Dyer farm. Sarah was quieter than usual, but Sammy was all talk. She told him about the little girlfriends she’d made at the schoolhouse. She told him about telling Sarah about Maxine.
He remembered the imaginary little girl well, as if she’d really lived there. Sammy had made it very real for him and Cookie, to the point that there was, at one time, a place set at the table for the nonexistent child.
The Dyers didn’t seem surprised to see the three of them. It made Bobby wonder if this was already planned, if they were expecting it. If so, then the plan Sarah had concocted hadn’t come about because of McKinney. He’d come off the path from his ranch and he’d mentioned Sammy. But this plan to have Sammy out of the house had to have been decided on beforehand.
They only spent a few minutes with Steven and Clara, as it was already growing late and they wanted the children to have time to play. Not to mention the fact that Sarah obviously had something planned.
When he’d gone in the house, he hadn’t been met by the smell of food cooking, which meant Cookie wasn’t there, either. That was a dead giveaway that this whole night was already planned out.
But why did it give the impression of being sudden? Was it because of McKinney? Maybe he was just left with a bad feeling after encountering the man and his sons.
He hated being confused. He could tell something was up. But what was it?
On the ride back from the Dyers’, Sarah was still quiet. It was more obvious now because Sammy wasn’t chattering away like the little chatterbox she was.
After a while, he couldn’t take it anymore. He made himself wait until they were back at the house before speaking. He took her hand before she could make a motion to get out of the wagon.
“Sarah, wait a minute. Can we talk?”
Sarah gazed at him. He could see she was nervous but was trying to hide it from him.
“Of course, Bobby.”
He tilted his head to the side, giving her an affectionate look. “You planned this out for a while, didn’t you?”
Sarah pressed her lips together, dropping her eyes with a shy look on her face.
He grinned instinctively. She was such a beautiful woman.
“I did,” she said, so softly he could barely hear her.
“I think it’s wonderful,” he said, reassuringly. “But you didn’t make any food yet. What will we eat for dinner?”
“We can’t have a late dinner?”
When she looked up at him, her eyes sparkled in the light of the lanterns. He assumed one of the ranch hands had lit the porch lamps before he left, because they weren’t lit when the three left for the Dyers. She looked so sweet and innocent in the flickering light.
“I… I guess we can. It just seems like you would probably have planned this out a little better.”
Sarah looked guilty and he regretted his little joke.
“I’m sorry, Sarah. This is really sweet of you. I don’t mean to make you feel bad.”
“I know you didn’t,” Sarah was quick to say. “It’s just that… well, things got a little off the rails today and I lost track of time.”
Bobby nodded. “Yeah, I know, I saw the quilts left in the basket out there by the clothesline.”
Sarah gasped. “Oh no! I left two in there to be hung up! And I didn’t bring the others in! I’d better do that.”
Bobby grabbed her arm when she suddenly jerked away from him. “No, no. It’s late. Your work is done for the day.”
“But they won’t dry. They won’t be flat. They’ll be all…”
“Stop worrying about it, Sarah. Please. This is supposed to be our night, isn’t it?”
Sarah nodded. “Yes. That was what I had planned, anyway.”
“Well, then, let’s make it a good night. Let’s have a light meal and sit in front of the fireplace and enjoy ourselves a glass of wine. Would you like that?”
Bobby raised his eyebrows. “Almost? What did I leave out?”
Sarah laughed. “Just the bright stars above us.”
“So, this is why you wanted Sammy to go?” Bobby asked gently. She nodded. He squeezed her hand. “Well, let’s go inside.”
He debated whether he wanted to tell Sarah about McKinney. Had he talked to her? Had she seen him when he came onto the property? He had to have come from the ranch, unless he was wandering through the woods. He had said he didn’t know the way back to town.
Maybe the man really had gotten lost.
But McKinney had mentioned Sammy. What had he meant by that? Had he just seen Sammy, or did he talk to her, too?
Bobby tried not to think about the man. He really wanted to concentrate on Sarah. But he wouldn’t be able to do that until he got it off his chest.
The two of them went inside and while Sarah prepared a meal for them, he went to the parlor and started a fire. He made sure the two chairs in front of it were angled toward each other and close enough for them to hold hands. He got out two glasses for wine and took a moment to go to the cellar and pick out a good bottle.
He ran his fingers across the labels, holding up a lantern so he could read them. When he settled on a nice vintage red wine from 1819, he pulled it from its slot and blew the dust from the label.
Satisfied, he went back up to the parlor.
He was rubbing a cloth over the bottle to get rid of the dust when Sarah came in the room.
“The meat is heating up,” she said. “I thought we could enjoy a glass of wine beforehand.”
She was looking nervous again. Bobby nodded. A little wine might just be what was needed to make the woman relax and tell him what was on her mind.
“I met a friendly stranger today,” Bobby said, opening the wine and pouring the burgundy liquid in the glasses. He filled them halfway, set the bottle down and picked up both glasses, one of which he handed to her.
She took it with a grateful smile that was probably intended to hide the fear in her eyes.
“Oh?” she said, sounding too much like McKinney.
He nodded. “Yeah. He seemed pretty nice. Said he got lost. You see anyone come around here today?”
He wondered if she knew she was blushing like crazy when she shook her head. “I didn’t see any friendly strangers today,” she said in a tight voice. “How do you know he was friendly, anyway? He could have been dangerous. You could have been hurt.”
Bobby lifted one eyebrow and gave her a strange look. “Me? You’re afraid for me? That’s sweet of you, dear. But you don’t have to worry about me. My fingers itch when there’s a problem that needs to be solved.”
Sarah nodded. “I know,” she said. “I’ve seen you flick your fingers on your pistol like you wanted to whip it out and shoot someone in the face.”
That struck Bobby as funny. He chuckled, allowing the laughter to make him feel better. He was too tense.
Still, he knew Sarah had to be hiding something. He didn’t want to scare her, but he didn’t understand why she seemed to be keeping anything from him. Especially the presence of a potentially dangerous man.
“You can trust me. I hope you know that.”
He said the words with as much kindness as he could. She dropped her eyes and took a sip from her glass. “I do know that, Bobby. I do trust you. I know you’ll protect me when you need to. But… I didn’t see any friendly strangers here today. Or any unfriendly strangers, either.”
Bobby studied her face. There was still something to worry about, he could tell. But what was she hiding?
“Let’s sit down. How long do you think it will be before dinner is ready?”
“Maybe half an hour.” She looked thoughtful as he poured more wine into her glass. They went to the chairs and sat down at the same time. He thought it was cute when she let out a little grunt like she hadn’t sat down in ages.
“Are you tired, Sarah?” he asked.
She gave him a weary smile. “I don’t know… I guess those quilts just did me in. And I didn’t even finish them. I guess you’ll have to hire a ranch hand for me, too. But female, please.”
He chuckled. “Okay, I’ll see about doing that. But you probably want to keep getting exercise and staying in good shape. Lots of babies, remember?”
Sarah gasped. “Babies! Yes. Lots and lots of babies that I’ll have to run around after. You do want me to be in good shape, don’t you? Who else will run around after them?”
He laughed at the bright smile on her face. “We could hire a nanny,” he suggested.
Her eyes widened. “What? And have someone else teach my children, play with them, raise them? No. I know you have a lot of money, Bobby, but I want to raise my own children.”
Bobby sighed, his heart filling with love. “Oh, Sarah. You don’t know how happy it makes me to hear you say that. That’s just the kind of mother I want for my children. I knew you would be a great mother, I knew it right off. It surprises me.”
Sarah frowned for a moment. “Why is that?”
Bobby shrugged. “You were raised in an orphanage and, from what I can tell, not a very nice one.”
Sarah nodded. “That’s precisely the reason I want to be a good mother to my children. I want them to know they are loved. I won’t let anyone push them around or bully them, no matter who they are.” Her face was taut, and Bobby regretted having brought it up in the first place.
“I’m sorry. Let’s talk about something else.”
She suddenly got to her feet, crossed to his chair, and knelt by it. She took his hand and looked directly in his eyes, giving him a warm feeling that spread through his entire body.
“But I want to talk about our children, Bobby,” she said. Her words lit Bobby’s body on fire. He gazed into her loving eyes and knew that, despite the fact that she was keeping something from him, he was in love with her and there was no doubt he would work through it, whatever it was.
The man McKinney hadn’t hurt Sarah, that was obvious. And right then, that was all that mattered.
He kept his voice soft when he answered her. “You already have names picked out, don’t you?”
Her wide grin made him let out a swift chuckle. He got the distinct impression that, yes, she did indeed have names picked out.
“Oh, no,” he teased. “Don’t tell me. What have you chosen? I’ll just bet you knew when you were five years old what you wanted to name your children.”
Sarah’s smile made his heart thump in his chest. She was gazing directly into his eyes while he spoke but blushed and looked away at the end of his sentence. He chuckled again.
“Don’t make me beg, Sarah. I’m really interested. Tell me.”
“I don’t know if you’d like the names I would choose.”
Bobby scoffed light-heartedly. “Don’t be silly. I’m sure I will. You just tell me what they are and let’s see.”
It took another moment or two before Sarah answered. It didn’t matter what names she picked, he thought, he would still like them. He liked anything Sarah thought was interesting. He pushed the troubles and tension to the back of his mind and decided to enjoy the present.