“Sheriff, are you saying you want to adopt them?”
“If that’s what it takes. I want us to be one big, happy family.”
The judge smiled and banged his gavel. “It’s done. The papers will be drawn up making you their new father. Now, go see how your woman is doing, Sheriff.”
Abe nodded. “Thank you, sir.” He grabbed Daniel by the arm and pulled him toward the door.
* * * *
Ike sighed as he paced back and forth in the hospital’s large waiting room. It was a good name for the room, since all you could do was sit and wait. There were five rows of straight-backed chairs, ten chairs in each row. He should know, he’d counted them several times. He wished somebody would tell him something. When they’d arrived, they’d taken Sarah back immediately. The doctor had come back and told him they would have to operate to remove the bullet and that it didn’t look good. “Humph, at least they could have told me something I didn’t already know.”
He looked up, his shoulders slumping when Abe walked in. Then, his eyes widened when Daniel walked in behind him. “Boy, what are you doing here?”
“Never mind about that. What have they said about Sarah?” asked Abe.
“Practically nothing.” Ike told Abe everything he knew. “Daniel, how did you get to St. Louis?”
“I rode Blackie to Jefferson City and then took the train.”
Ike’s brows rose. “You rode one of Sarah’s horses to Jefferson City and then caught the train. How did you pay for it?”
Daniel shrugged. “Miss Sarah left us money so we’d have whatever we needed until she came back.” He raised tear-filled eyes to Ike. “She is coming back, isn’t she?”
Ike bit back a curse and pulled the boy into a hug. He glanced at Abe. “How’d it go in court?”
Abe smiled, his eyes twinkling. “Everything is perfect. They dismissed all the charges against Sarah and arrested the ones running the orphanage, and we’ve just adopted all four of Sarah’s young family.”
Ike’s mouth dropped open. “We’ve what?”
Before Abe could explain, the door opened and a doctor walked in.
Ike held Daniel tighter. “Is she alive?”
The doctor smiled. “Yes, and she’s very lucky. The bullet missed her bowel so there’s not as much chance of infection. We were able to remove it, and it missed all her major arteries and bones. She should make a full recovery.” He glanced at Daniel and frowned. “Could I speak to you alone?”
Abe put his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Would you please wait for me outside?” The boy hesitated for a moment, and then shuffled his way out the door.
The doctor looked at Abe.
“It’s okay, doc. This is my brother Abe and we’re both responsible for Sarah. You can talk in front of him.”
“Very well. As I said, the bullet missed her major vessels and bones, but it did cause a fair amount of damage. I’m afraid Miss Keevers will never be able to bear children.”
Abe grinned. “That doesn’t matter as long as she’s gonna live.”
“I agree.” Ike pumped the doctor’s hand vigorously. “Thank you so much. You’ve given us back our life, doc.”
The man smiled. “Just be patient with her. It’ll be a long recovery for her. She won’t be able to leave the hospital for at least a week to ten days. Then, she’ll have to be taking it easy for at least a month. You came very close to losing her, and you’ll have to give her plenty of time to recover.”
“We’ll give her all the time she needs, doc,” Abe promised.
“Then, I have to be going. I have another surgery in an hour. If you have any questions, you can give them to the nurse and she’ll get word to me.” He turned and hurried out the door.
Ike looked at Abe. “What do we do now?”
“We marry the girl and take her home.”
Ike snorted. “It ain’t gonna be that easy and you know it. You know what she’s always said about her star wishing. She’s always wanted a big family. This news is gonna be devastating to her. All she’s ever wanted is her own family to love.”
Abe grinned. “Oh, I think we can give our little darlin’ just what she wished for.”
Epilogue
Sarah looked up at the sky and inhaled deeply. It was good to finally be coming back to Kansas with Abe and Ike. She’d lain in that hospital bed, and later in a small boardinghouse until she’d thought she might go mad. Poor Ike had been forced to endure her nasty temper. But, after seven weeks of resting, the doctor had said she was fit enough to travel home, as long as she didn’t overdo.
Ike had sent word to Abe, and they’d started the long journey back to Big Springs. The train had been the worst. The constant rumbling of the wheels on the tracks, and the bitter cold, had made the trip seem much longer than it really was. Sarah had been especially grumpy because she’d missed Christmas with the children. They’d sent her little gifts, but Abe had thought the weather too unpredictable for them to travel to see her. Sarah sighed. He’d been right. They’d had two large snowstorms, and he’d kept them snug and warm and well fed through it all.
Now, she was finally heading toward the farm. The stagecoach had pulled in on time, and Abe had left a note on the jail door saying he’d left the buggy at the livery for them. She was kind of disappointed that he’d not been there to meet her, but the weather was getting worse. The temperature was dropping, and they were probably in for another heavy snowfall.
She’d wanted to go back to her own farm, but Abe had moved the children to their place after the first big snow. They had more room since their house had six bedrooms, and Abe had convinced her they’d be safer with him.
“Who’s taking care of Cupcake and the chickens?” asked Sarah.
“Abe moved them out to our place so he wouldn’t have to make the trip over there daily. Angus has been taking care of them.”
Sarah leaned back and decided to enjoy the scenery. She was snug in her winter coat with a matching hat and set of mittens. Ike had even tucked a wool blanked around her, and placed heated bricks at her feet. He’d been determined not to take any chances with her health.
It took almost two hours to make the trip. The roads were icy, and would have been too dangerous to go any faster. Ike let the horses amble on at their own pace, letting them find the safest route on their own.
“I can see it!” Sarah spotted the smoke coming from several of the chimneys on the roof of Ike’s house. Each of the bedrooms had a small, wood-burning stove, and it looked like they were all in use.
Ike unfolded the blanket and lifted Sarah from the buggy. He took her arm and led her toward the front door.
“Where are we going? Nobody ever uses the front door.”
One side of Ike’s mouth tilted into a lopsided grin. “Today, we do.” He held tightly to her arm as they climbed the frozen steps and knocked loudly on the door.
Sarah frowned. “Since when do you knock on your own door?”
His grin widened, and he pushed the door open. He stood back and motioned for her to go in first. She hesitated, and then walked ahead of him. She’d been afraid coming to their home would be awkward. They’d been after her for weeks to agree to marry Ike, with him being the oldest, but she’d firmly said no. She didn’t want to tie them to a woman who’d never be able to give them children. She’d stay awhile and enjoy their companionship, but then she’d move on so they could find a wife that could give them what they needed.
Sarah stepped through the door and gasped. The front room had a huge tree decorated with strings of popcorn and colorful ribbons tied around the branches. There were even crocheted stars or snowflakes hanging in places. A rag doll with wings perched on the very top. She moved closer, and Ike came to stand beside her. “What kind of tree is that?”
“It’s a Hackberry tree.” He nodded toward the bottom where she saw a root ball wrapped in what looked like a wet blanket. “As soon as our late Christmas is over, we’ll plant it out back so we’ll have it again ne
xt year.”
Sarah felt tears gathering in her eyes. “You and Abe waited to have Christmas with me?”
He hugged her close. “Of course we did, honey.”
“Christmas wouldn’t be the same without you.” Abe smiled at her from the kitchen door.
“Abe!” She walked over and gave him a passionate kiss. “I’ve missed you.” She leaned back. “Where are Rachel and the boys?”
He smiled. “They’re here. They’re just giving us some time to say our hello alone.” He pulled her close. “Welcome home, darlin’. We’ve waited a long time for this day. We want you to consider this your home, Sarah. We want you for the rest of your life. Sarah, we want you to be our wife.”
She tried to pull away. “We’ve talked about this, Abe. I’m not going to marry either of you. We’ll just give it time and see what happens.” She patted his cheek. “Don’t worry. I’m not planning on going anywhere anytime soon.”
Ike walked up behind her and nuzzled her neck. “I should hope not. You’ve been the one wishing all these years on the stars, and it wouldn’t be fair for you to take off when your wishes are finally coming true.”
She stepped back. “What are you talking about?” A sound had her turning toward the kitchen. “Is that a baby crying?”
“Uh-oh.” Abe grimaced. “Sounds like somebody’s not happy.”
Sarah moved around him and opened the door to the kitchen. She took one step inside and stopped. The room was full of children. “What’s going on here?” She saw Daniel, Zeke, Jonathan, and Jake. Rachel was holding a baby. A young boy stood near the stove. “My goodness. You’re William Mathers.” He was taken away by Miss Rivers and Mr. Estes right before she ran away with the children. Turning around, she saw two more little boys and two little girls she didn’t recognize. “Abe, what’s going on? Who are all these children?”
He smiled and walked over and took her hand. “This is the large, loving family you’ve been wishing for on those stars all your life.” He pointed to the two little girls. “This little blonde beauty is Amy and she’s six years old, and this little brunette beauty is Ellen and she’s five.”
Ike walked over and put his hand on one of the boy’s shoulders. “This handsome young man is Andrew and he’s nine years old, and this handsome young man is Michael, and he’s seven. You already know little William.”
Rachel laughed and bounced the baby. “This little angel is Esther and she’s eleven months old.” The baby squealed with laughter. Rachel walked over and handed her to Sarah.
Sarah held the baby close and smiled down at its chubby cheeks. She had a smattering of red hair on her head and a winsome smile. She looked over at Abe. “What’s going on?”
“All the time you were recuperating with Ike at the hospital, and at the boarding house, I was working with Sheriff Watson to track down some of the children Hannah and Raymond sold off. We weren’t able to find them all because some of them had run off from their new homes.”
Ike walked over and let the baby grab his finger. “The sheriff is still looking for them, but for now, nobody knows where they are.”
Abe put his arm around Sarah’s shoulder. “Once we recovered the children, Abe and I decided they needed a home they could depend on.”
Sarah looked around the room. “So you brought them here? They let you just take them?”
Abe ran his fingers through his hair. “Um, no. We didn’t just bring them here. We’ve adopted them, every last one of them including Rachel, Daniel, Zeke, Jonathan, and Jake.”
She looked around again. “You adopted ten children?” She was having a hard time getting her mind to accept what her eyes were seeing.
“Yes,” Abe said. “We’ve adopted them, and now they need a mother.” He and Ike both dropped to their knees on the kitchen floor. They spoke at the same time. “We love you, Sarah Keevers. Will you do us the honor of becoming our wife and making our big, loving family complete?”
Sarah tried to blink away her tears but felt several slide down her cheeks. She looked around at the hopeful smiles on all the children and then looked down at the baby that was happily chewing on her thumb. She took a deep breath and looked at Abe and Ike. “I’d be honored to be your wife and the mother of these wonderful children.”
The men surged to their feet to encase her and the baby in a hug, while the other children gathered around to join in. Sarah closed her eyes and said a silent prayer. Thank you, Mamma. Star wishes really do come true.
THE END
WWW.MISSYMARTINE.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I was born and raised in the great southern state of Tennessee. In my youth, I studied nursing and spent several happy years working in the hospitals there until I branched out into medical management in 1980.
In 1998 I was managing a medical supply house in Chattanooga, when I met the love of my life. The only problem facing me then, he lived way out in Oklahoma. You see, we had met in a chat room!
He romanced me daily with love letters, flowers and phone calls. It wasn’t long before I uprooted myself and moved west to join him. We married in 1999, and then continued our fantasy romance all over the world. Together we have traveled in almost all of the Continental United States, and taken trips to Canada and China.
I retired from working in 2002 and it wasn’t long before my husband was encouraging me to find some kind of outlet to occupy my time, something that was challenging and rewarding. I was already obsessed with reading about romance, and I began to think I could probably write a good, romantic story. My husband heartily agreed with me. With that encouragement, I began writing my first book. I wasn’t really convinced that anyone else would find it interesting, but he pressed me to take a chance and send it in to a publisher. To my surprise, it was accepted, and now I’m able to share it with readers everywhere who like a “happily ever after” story.
Today, I’m living in California with my, still romantic, husband of twelve years, and our boys. Our boys consist of Beau, Midnight, and Bubba, three male cats that allow us to live with them and serve them at their leisure. I continue to write almost daily, hoping that someone, somewhere will get the same enjoyment from reading my stories, that I get from writing them.
Also by Missy Martine
Ménage Amour: Anna Doubles Down
Siren Classic: A Wolfen Heritage 1:
Discovering Her Wolfen Heritage
Siren Classic: A Wolfen Heritage 2:
Denying His Wolfen Heritage
Ménage Amour: A Wolfen Heritage 3:
Changing Their Wolfen Heritage
Ménage Amour: Table for Three
Ménage Amour: Sequel to Table for Three:
Catch Her When She Falls
Available at
BOOKSTRAND.COM
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Martine, Missy - Star Wishes (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 26