The Rancher’s Spirited Bride

by Chloe Carley

  She reached the bedroom and lifted her hand, intending to tap on the door softly, but the minute she touched it, it opened. It hadn’t been latched and Sara Jane peeked into the room, seeing Lily lying on the bed, Tara and Pearl on either side of the bed.

  Ma had a damp cloth and was running it over Lily’s forehead. Tara held her hand and was breathing and encouraging Lily to do the same. Sara Jane looked further into the room and saw the doctor standing at the foot of the bed. The man looked fairly concerned, as did the two other women.

  Sara Jane started to close the door, but Ma caught the movement and met her gaze. “Come in, Sara Jane.”

  She swallowed and then did so, slowly making her way over to the bed. Lily’s hair was damp, and her eyes were filled with pain. “Everyone was wondering if everything was okay up here.”

  “The babies are coming. Her pains are coming very quick now,” Tara told her quietly.

  “That is a good thing, right?” Sara Jane asked.

  “Yes and no. Yes, because it means they’ll be delivering very soon. No, because it’s very hard on Lily as there is no time between the pains,” Doctor Matthews answered her. He smiled at Lily and then glanced at his pocket watch when she groaned as another pain hit her. “That was only five minutes since the last one.”

  “The babies are coming now.” Ma wiped a cloth across Lily’s brow and encouraged her softly, “It won’t be long now, child. Breathe and rest before the next pain hits.” She then looked up and focused on Sara Jane. “Who is downstairs?”

  “Everyone.”

  “Go and boil some water but have one of the men carry it up the stairs. I don’t want you spilling it on yourself and getting burned. Use the largest pot you can find. And hurry.”

  “Yes, Ma.”

  Sara Jane rushed down to the kitchen. The largest pot she could find was up on a tall shelf and she looked around hurriedly for something she could stand on.

  “What’s happening?” Carl asked from right behind her.

  She pointed to the pot. “I need that down. They need hot water right away.”

  Carl reached up and brought down the pot, but instead of handing it to her, he carried it over to the large barrel of water in the corner and began to ladle water into it. Once it was half full, he placed it on the hearth. “What else do they need?”

  “That was all they asked for,” Sara Jane told him, wringing her hands as she remembered the pain in Lily’s eyes. “The babies are coming now”

  Carl nodded. “When the water is hot, I’ll carry it upstairs for you.”

  “Thank you,” she told him. She followed him from the kitchen and delivered the news from above stairs to the others sitting there. Jace looked very worried and she did her best to assure him that Lily was doing fine. “She looks tired but she’s doing well.”

  “The doctor doesn’t think anything’s wrong?” he asked.

  “No. Ma thinks the babies will be here soon. I’m sure they can’t wait to meet you.”

  Jace gave her a tense smile and then Pa spoke up. “Babies come when they are ready. Gideon took almost two days before he decided he was ready to come into the world. Shawn, on the other hand, was almost born in the wagon on the way home from Sunday church services.”

  “What about me, Pa?” Sara Jane asked.

  “Well, you were by far the easiest birthing your ma went through. She knew she was going to have you that morning and you were kind enough to allow her time to get her chores finished up. It wasn’t until late that afternoon that your ma finally retired to our bed. I offered to send someone for the doctor, but by the time he arrived, she was already holding you in her arms.”

  Sara Jane smiled. “Jace and Lily will be holding their babies soon.”

  “I hope so,” Jace told her. “Not knowing what’s happening up there is driving me crazy.”

  “The doctor’s up there. So are Tara and Ma. Tara told us she’s helped to deliver lots of babies. Does that help?” Sara Jane asked, stretching the truth just a tiny bit. She wanted to tell him everything was going to be fine, but she couldn’t lie to him when she didn’t know. In truth, the doctor had looked very worried and there was a tension in the room that let Sara Jane know everyone was worried about the outcome. But Jace didn’t need to know that right now.

  Jace gave her a small nod. “It does. Thank you, Sara Jane.”

  She nodded and then headed back into the kitchen. The water was still not quite boiling, and she stared down into the pot, watching the small bubbles beginning to form on the bottom. When a loud cry filtered through the floorboards to her ears, she jerked and looked up.

  Lily is hurting. God, please … if You’re listening like I always believed You are, please help Lily right now. Help the babies come soon so that she won’t hurt any more.

  “Is the water ready?” Carl asked quietly.

  She gazed into the pot once more and nodded. “Yes.” She led the way up the stairs, and then waited while Carl set the pot down right outside the door. “I’ll take it from here.”

  Carl went back down the stairs. Sara Jane picked up the heavy pot and slowly carried it inside the room, sitting it down in an out of the way place. Ma smiled at her, “Thank you, Sara Jane.”

  “Is there anything else I can do?” she asked.

  Tara shook her head and then murmured something to her ma. Ma listened and then nodded once. “That will be all, Sara Jane. Please go back downstairs. It won’t be long now.”

  Sara Jane paused for a moment halfway down the staircase as she dealt with her emotions .She’d been so relieved when Ma had told her to go back downstairs, but now she felt guilty for not being able to do more to help ease Lily’s suffering.

  When her friend cried out, an anguished and lengthy groan that set Sara Jane’s teeth on edge, she hurried down the stairs and walked straight out the front door. She didn’t grab her duster or slide her feet into her boots, she simply walked to the corner of the porch. Only then did she give way to the tears she’d been holding back. She hugged herself against the cold.

  When her duster fell around her shoulders, she looked up to see Carl standing right behind her. “You’re going to get sick if you keep coming outside without your boots and coat.”

  “I just needed a moment.”

  Carl wrapped his hands on her shoulders. Needing the comfort, he was offering, she leaned back against his chest and a moment later he wrapped his arms around her upper chest. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “I know,” she murmured, surreptitiously wiping a tear away. She walked out of his arms and told him, “We should go back inside. You’re not wearing a coat.”

  “Neither were you until I brought it out to you,” he reminded her. She nodded and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her back to the front door. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry…”

  “For what?” Carl turned her to face him. “For feeling emotions? Those are natural and they don’t make you weak.”

  “I hear what you’re saying but I allowed myself to become fearful of something just because I don’t have any control of it.”

  “There are many things in this life that we don’t’ have control of, darlin’.”

  Hearing his use of the endearment caused her to blush. “You know I don’t like being scared.”

  “I don’t know anyone who does, but you never have to worry about being scared and alone. Not anymore. I plan to be here to make sure of that.” She shivered and he took a deep breath. “Ready to go back in?”

  “Yes. Carl … thank you.”

  “I’d ask for more than just some pretty words, but not with your pa and brothers sitting right inside. I’ll just remember, and you can owe me at a later date.”

  “Owe you what?”

  “A kiss. I’ll collect, don’t worry your pretty head about that.”

  Chapter 22

  Three days later

  “Sara Jane, I’m headed over to see Lily and the babies,” Ma
called up the stairs.

  “Wait, I want to go with you,” Sara Jane called. She tucked the blanket she’d just finished into the canvas bag and then hurried to join Ma.

  “I figured I’d stay with her and give Jace a few hours to check on the cattle and the horses.”

  “I’ll say hello to the babies and then I might take Shiloh out for a ride. The snow is mostly melted, and I know she’s been missing our rides.”

  “Just don’t go too far,” Ma advised her.

  “I won’t.” They arrived at Jace and Lily’s house and quietly let themselves in. Jace was sitting in the chair by the fire, putting on his boots.

  “Good morning,” Pearl told him. “How did everyone do last night?”

  Jace scrubbed a hand across his face. “The babies were awake, but never at the same time.”

  Pearl smiled and then spied Tara in the kitchen, a small newborn infant held securely in her arms. “And how is,” she glanced beneath the corner of the blanket and then added, “Laura, this fine morning?”

  “She is doing very well, but letting the entire ranch know of her hunger,” the older woman told her with a smile.

  Sara Jane followed and was shocked when Tara turned and then handed her the tiny wrapped bundle. Sara Jane clutched Laura to her chest, panicking for a brief moment before she calmed herself and adjusted the baby so that she was cradled tenderly in Sara Jane’s loving arms.

  “Hey, little girl. You need to give your ma and pa a break and sleep at night.”

  “She will,” Tara murmured.

  “How is Lily?” Pearl asked.

  “Very sore and tired. Adam was sleeping when I brought this little one down. They’ve been waking at different times since yesterday morning.”

  “If that doesn’t correct itself soon, we’ll have to help it along,” Pearl told her, earning a nod of agreement from Tara.

  “How do you fix the sleeping of an infant?” Sara Jane asked.

  “Simple. You keep one of them up, even if they cry and fuss. We won’t worry about that for a few weeks, but Lily will need additional help for a while,” Tara answered her. “I was thinking about seeing if you would be amenable to Jasmine or Polly coming out to the ranch to lend a hand here? With two babies to care for it really is going to take many people these first few weeks, maybe even months.”

  Sara Jane was only half listening as she watched the tiny blue eyes staring back at her. “You should ask Polly to come out here. She had several younger siblings, but Jasmine has never been around babies before.” And Shawn and she deserve some time to get to know one another away from the whispers and rumors going around town.

  “Polly would be a good choice,” Tara agreed.

  “That is fine with me, as long as it’s okay with Jace and Lily. With another set of hands helping out with the babies, we could have someone here around the clock for the next several weeks.”

  “Isn’t Pa going into town this afternoon?” Sara Jane asked.

  “He is. I’ll go with him and hopefully bring Polly back with me.”

  “I’ll make sure the other guest bedroom is ready for her,” Sara Jane offered.

  “Thank you. I should probably go and find your pa, so he doesn’t leave without me. Tara, will you be okay here until I get back?”

  “Of course. I slept for several hours last night.”

  “Sara Jane, I’ll be back this afternoon.”

  “Okay. I’m going to stay for a while and hold babies.”

  Sara Jane carried the baby with her up the stairs. She nudged the bedroom door open with her toe and stepped inside to see Lily sitting up in her bed, the other baby lying on the mattress next to her. Sara Jane handed her the small bundle in her arms and then picked up the other infant.

  “Good morning, Adam. Aren’t you a perfect little man today?”

  “I don’t know if I’d say he was perfect in the sleep department. He is very loud when he gets upset,” Lily told her tiredly.

  Sara Jane observed the new mother; seeing the dark circles beneath her eyes, she knew Lily hadn’t been getting enough rest. “What can I do?”

  Lily gave her a weak smile. “Nothing. Just sit and talk to me. Tell me what’s been happening. I feel like I’ve missed so much, even before the babies arrived.”

  Sara Jane tried to fill her in on everything, including what was happening with the women from the boarding house in town.

  “Well, you know that Tara has been living out here. Ma is going into town with Pa to see if Polly would want to come out here for a few weeks to help out. She had lots of siblings and might like a change of scenery.”

  “That would be nice. I liked Polly and it would be fun getting to know her better.”

  “I agree. So, let’s see … what else?” Sara Jane relayed all the news: Marybeth had been married to a circuit preacher, Tara used her wealth to help the other women, the sheriff was sweet on Jasmine, and Stephanie was helping out at the mercantile. She concluded with, “They will be coming out here for Christmas supper. Ma talked to me about it last night.”

  “Christmas is still a few weeks away. I shall have to make sure I’m up and around by then. I want to introduce Laura and Adam to everyone.”

  “You will be, we’ll make sure of it. Now, what can I do?” She looked down to see Adam had fallen asleep in her arms. She felt like her insides melted a bit as she looked down on his cherubic face. He and his sister were hard to tell apart, save for a tiny little red mark on the back of Adam’s head. Her ma had called it an “angel kiss” and but it looked more like a small butterfly in Sara Jane’s opinion.

  Lily pushed herself up in the bed, grimacing a bit and Sara Jane asked, “Are you hurting?”

  “No, just sore. Tara assures me it will go away in a few days. I wonder if you could help me change into a fresh sleeping gown? I know it’s too soon to take a bath, but I would truly like to freshen up and brush my hair.”

  Sara Jane carried the sleeping infant in her arms over to the wooden cradle in the corner. An identical one sat next to it and she went back to the bed and scooped little Laura up, blanket and all. After settling her in the other cradle, she helped Lily swing her legs over the side of the bed.

  “Shall I go get Tara?” Sara Jane asked when Lily’s face went white with her exertion,

  Lily nodded and Sara Jane hurried down the stairs. “Tara, Lily needs you.”

  “What’s wrong?” Tara asked, wiping her hands on her apron as she headed for the staircase.

  “She wanted to change her gown and brush her hair, but just moving her legs to the side of the bed pained her and her face went all white.”

  “Silly girl,” Tara made a tsking sound. “It’s too soon for her to be moving about. Where are the babies?”

  “I put them in their cradles.”

  “Good.” Tara turned halfway up the stairs and told her, “Why don’t you heat up some water and bring it up? I’ll help Lily freshen up, but then she needs to rest and sleep as much as she can before the babies wake up again.”

  Sara Jane nodded and headed back downstairs. She put some water on the hearth and then busied herself washing up the dirty breakfast dishes. Once that was done, she checked on the water. It was plenty warm enough for bathing and she lifted it off the hearth, but she didn’t realize that her apron had gotten caught on the handle of the oven and she stumbled, the pot of hot water tipping dangerously toward her.

  She struggled with the heavy pot, fearing she was about to be doused by the hot liquid, when suddenly a pair of hands appeared over her shoulders and steadied the pot.

  “Let go,” a terse voice told her, and she gratefully did so and then reached down and unhooked her apron.

  Carl shook his head. “You could have gotten seriously burned.”

  “I know,” she told him with a shaky breath. “I didn’t realize my apron had gotten tangled up until it was too late. Thank you for saving me.”

  Carl looked stunned for a moment and then nodded. “You’re welcome. Wha
t are you doing over here boiling water? Lily already had her babies.”

  “I came over with Ma to see the babies and ended up staying to help Tara. Ma went into town to see if Polly would come stay out here and help with the babies for a few weeks. They are keeping everyone on their toes.”

  “I imagine they are. So … the water?”

  “Oh, yes. Lily wanted to freshen up and Tara asked me to heat some water up. I would have been fine if I hadn’t gotten tangled up.” She moved toward the table where the pot was sitting and reached for it once more, but Carl stayed her hands. “I should take this upstairs before it cools off and I have to start again.”