Sadina's Stocking (Strong Hearts, Open Spirits Book 3)

by Danni Roan

  A soft giggle escaped Sadie as a twinkle entered her eyes. “Now I believe you have a barn to order,” she tittered, kissing him lightly and skipping away.

  Chapter 13

  “I love me a good barn buildin’,” Bayer growled, hefting five large pieces of lumber onto his shoulder and heading toward the heavy wooden frame that was taking shape on the foundation of the old barn.

  “What you like is a barn feedin’ and barn dancing,” Mrs. Crumps groused.

  “On’y if I get to dance with you,” Bayer tossed over his shoulder with a grin.

  “Hrmph,” Mrs. Crumps snorted, but a grin spread across her face.

  The sound of hammers and saws filled the crisp air as women bustled about in brightly colored dresses, filled long tables with food.

  “I can’t believe how the whole community turned out to help,” Sadie said, placing a large chocolate cake with chocolate frosting on the dessert table.

  “Folks is like that ‘round these parts,” Mrs. Crumps offered, straightening the red and white table cloth.

  “You look perty happy,” she commented, making Sadie blush.

  “I am,” Sadie admitted. “I’ve made some mistakes in this marriage, I’ll be the first to admit it, but that’s past now.”

  “Don’t be too hard on yourself, honey,” the housekeeper said. “That first man ‘o yours was no good. It ain’t your fault he left ya and anyone could understand you being skittish like.”

  Impulsively, Sadie grabbed Mrs. Crumps and hugged her tight. “I just had to accept that God’s plans for me are perfect. It set my heart free.”

  Neither of the women saw Darlene slip off toward the new barn.

  Ed looked up from the last piece of wood he’d just nailed to the corner of the barn, squaring it up tight and smiling as he caught a glimpse of his beautiful wife hugging his taciturn housekeeper.

  “Why, Ed Hampton,” a sniveling voice tugged at his patience.

  “Darlene,” he said, unable to keep his displeasure from his voice.

  “I sure am sorry about your barn,” she continued, reaching for his arm. “I’m sure my daddy can help you out with anything you need.”

  Ed tried to pull his arm away, but she held to it tightly.

  “Of course, you could just give up this whole thing, and come away with me.”

  “Darlene, I’m a married man,” Ed ground out in frustration, “have you no decency?”

  “Oh, her,” Darlene wrinkled her nose, “but you just married her to help her out.”

  Ed stopped in his tracks, his temper rising with every word. “Darlene Miller, I married Sadie because I love her. I’ve always loved her and nothing will ever change that.”

  “Aren’t you noble,” the girl giggled. “You can be honest with me,” she added, then lunged, planting a kiss firmly on his lips.

  Ed shook the girl off with a grunt and grasped her arm. “I believe I should see your father.” He smiled, but Darlene missed the hard gleam in his eye as he practically dragged her toward the meal.

  “Ed, slow down,” Darlene simpered, “I’m not going anywhere you know.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Ed grumbled under his breath.

  From the tables, Sadie saw Ed frog-marching the simpering Darlene toward the line of men filling their plates and she couldn’t help smiling as she moved in the same direction.

  “Mr. Miller.” Ed’s voice boomed, making all heads turn in time to see him pull Darlene to a halt in front of her father. “Mr. Miller, do you know what your daughter just said to me?” Ed barked.

  “What, what?” a portly man asked, gazing up at Ed.

  “What, indeed,” Ed said. “Mr. Miller, your daughter just asked me to go away with her then threw herself at me and kissed me.” Ed’s eyes glinted with a hard light as he thrust Darlene’s hand into her father’s.

  “I’ll say this and I’ll say it only once. I love Sadie. I married her because I love her and I’ll stay with her because I love her.”

  “But, Ed,” Darlene snapped, “that’s not true and besides, she’s a divorced woman.”

  A soft gasp rippled along the tables as all eyes fell on Sadie, who immediately flushed.

  “Is that true?’ an older woman Sadie knew from church asked, looking Sadie up and down.

  “What happened honey?” Another woman stepped up to Sadie, placing a hand lightly on her arm. “Did he beat ya?” her eyes were kind and accepting.

  “No,” Sadie said, “he didn’t beat me. He left me for another woman.”

  “See,” Darlene squawked, “she couldn’t even keep a man.”

  Ed slipped up next to Sadie, wrapped an arm around her waist, pulled her to him protectively, and began to speak.

  “No Ed, let me.” Sadie’s words were soft but firm. “It’s true my first husband left me for another woman.” She looked around at the assembly of friends and neighbors. “I was a young, impressionable woman when I first wed.”

  Ed squeezed her tight.

  “He came from a good family, his mother seemed to love me, and he was handsome and charming. Of course, there were rumors even then, but I didn’t believe them.” Sadie straightened. “I lived for years trying to be good enough, but I never was.”

  The old pain and doubt tangled into a knot in her belly but she pushed on. “I thought it was all my fault when he finally left for good. I blamed myself, but now I realize that it wasn’t me, it was always Roger.” She lifted her chin and leaned in to Ed.

  Several of the older women gathered around Sadie shaking their heads. “Some men are just no good,” one of the church woman said, “but you’ve got Ed now,” she added with a smile.

  “But Daddy?” Darlene wailed, “I want Ed.”

  “Darlene, I don’t know what notions that school back East put in your head, but I think you need a whole new kind of education,” Mr. Miller practically shouted, handing his plate to another man, “and I think it starts today.” Still holding her by the arm, he marched her to a wagon and hoisted her aboard.

  Ed turned to Sadie, pulling her close. “You are a remarkable woman Sadie Hampton,” he said with a grin, then leaned in and kissed her in front of all the world.

  Sadie blushed scarlet as her friends and neighbors began to applaud.

  “Well I figured you didn’t get to see us kiss at our wedding, so I had to make up for it now,” Ed joshed, making the others laugh.

  ***

  “That was a fine dinner, Mrs. Crumps,” Ed spoke, leaning back and admiring the light skiff of snow on the roof of his new barn with a contented grin.

  “And now for dessert,” Sadie offered, rising and moving to the larder.

  “Best part of the meal,” Bayer piped up, his eyes still on Mrs. Clumps where she sat across from him at the table.

  The housekeeper had said that it made more sense for him to eat with them so they could work together to send and collect the dishes from the bunkhouse, but everyone knew they were secretly courting.

  Sadie returned to the table with a beautiful peach and blackberry pie still warm from the keeper.

  “Mmm, that smells good,” Ed said sitting up, waiting expectantly, fork in hand.

  “It does indeed,” Sadie agreed, a twinkle in her eye. “I’ve been craving peaches all week,” she added.

  “I like peaches,” Faith piped up, “especially when you make ‘em in pie.” The little girl smiled brightly.

  Sadie placed a slice of pie in front of Ed with a grin. “And do you think your baby brother or sister will like peach pie as well?” she asked, her eyes on Ed as she spoke to Faith.

  Ed’s fork froze just above the flaky golden crust of the delectable pastry. “What did you say?” His voice was constricted in his throat.

  “She asked if my baby brother or sister would like peach pie?” Faith bounced in her seat with excitement.

  “Are you sure?” Ed blinked at her dumbly.

  “Seems you’ve already been told twice, Edward Hampton, you’d think that’d b
e enough,” Mrs. Crumps growled, but winked at Bayer.

  “We’re having a baby, Eddie,” Sadie finally said with infinite patience.

  The news finally hit him like a ton of bricks and Ed jumped to his feet, grabbing Sadie in his arms and swinging her around with a hearty laugh before lifting Faith into his arms and holding them both close.

  “I think I’m just about the luckiest man in the whole world,” he said, his eyes shining with love.

  “Not lucky,” Sadie said, clinging to him, “just blessed.”

  The End

  Author’s Note:

  As a small child, my mother had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and a pan of porridge slid off the stove, pouring down her leg and arm, severely scalding one side of her body. The worst burns were under the arm and along the knee, both joints that depended on supple skin to move properly.

  My mother remembers her Grammy using warm tea compresses on the burned areas to aid healing and prevent the burns from healing together, which would have resulted in loss of movement along the joints. The pan of tea was kept on the back of the stove all the time and they constantly changed the compresses, keeping them damp.

  She had some slight scaring but overall healed well.

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  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for choosing to read my book. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. If you enjoyed the story, please feel free to leave a review wherever you purchased the book. Leaving a review will help me and prospective readers know what you liked about this book. It is an opportunity for your voice to be heard and for you to tell others why the story is worth reading.

  About the Author

  Danni Roan, a native of western Pennsylvania, spent her childhood roaming the lush green mountains on horseback. She has always loved westerns and specifically western romance and is thrilled to be part of this exciting genre. She has lived and worked overseas with her husband and tries to incorporate the unique quality of the people she has met throughout the years into her books. Although Danni is a relatively new author on the scene, she has been a story teller for her entire life, even causing her mother to remark that as a child, “If she told a story, she had to tell the whole story.” Danni is truly excited about this new adventure in writing and hopes that you will enjoy reading her stories as much as she enjoys writing them.