Chapter Two
McNeill Residence — Bellevue
Three Days Later
Sam walked into the small, modest house on the northern outskirts of Bellevue and was greeted by his daughter’s happy little squeals coming from the sitting room two doors down.
He shrugged off his dusty coat, pulled off his hat, and hung them on the hooks by the door before combing his fingers through his long, dark hair.
It had been yet another exhausting day, uselessly chasing after gangsters who might have something to do with his late wife’s murder four years ago.
This latest lead had turned out to be just as futile as all the others before.
Coming up empty every single time was tiring and infuriating, which often manifested itself in pent-up anger and a deep sadness. Just like today.
Sam leaned back against the door and closed his eyes for a second, trying to calm his breathing before going to see Ruby.
He didn’t want his child to see him defeated.
She sounded so happy in that moment. He didn’t want to ruin that for her.
It was bad enough that he’d wasted another whole day with his search instead of spending time with her.
If only he could shake his obsession over trying to find the ones responsible.
Thankfully, Elizabeth’s mother, Hattie, was more than happy to look after Ruby.
She’d also been the one to take both of them in after they’d lost everything in the fire.
Hattie was the sweetest woman, pouring all the love she had into Ruby now.
Sam was more than grateful to her. She’d done so much for both of them.
Sam inhaled deeply, pushed himself off the door, and put on a smile for his daughter before he stepped into the hallway to greet them.
“Sam! You’re back! Just in time for supper!” Hattie greeted him with a warm smile. Ruby bounced toward him with a beaming smile, holding a small doll her grandmother had made for her a couple of years ago.
Sam crouched down and spread his arms wide for her.
“Papa!” his daughter called out to him excitedly. “You’re home!”
Compared to Sam’s darker complexion with his long black hair and his icy blue eyes, Ruby was the spitting image of her mother—a much softer and warmer image.
Thick golden blonde ringlets framed her round little face and her big green eyes sparkled when she smiled happily.
Just like Elizabeth’s used to. Ruby’s tiny arms wrapped tightly around his neck and she hugged him as hard as she could, which he reciprocated.
The little girl made some of the tension in his shoulders dissipate. It was one of her magical powers.
“Hello, Sweetheart,” Sam said with a thick voice. Somehow, Ruby always managed to make him a little emotional. “Did you have a nice day with grandma?”
“Oh, yes!” she exclaimed enthusiastically. “We even baked cookies!”
“Ruby! You weren’t supposed to tell him yet,” Hattie mock-scolded her with a grin. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”
Ruby didn’t release her hug when she looked back at Hattie with slight worry on her face. Then her head spun back around and she beamed at Sam again.
“Surprise!” she called out. Sam couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Oh, really?” he pretended to be clueless. “What’s the surprise?”
“We made really yummy cookies for you,” Ruby told him happily.
“For me?” he asked with wide eyes. She nodded so wildly her curls bounced all over the place and her dainty little bonnet slid a little to the side. He put it back in its place and gave her a sweet little kiss on the cheek.
“Well, I can’t wait to taste them!” he said, trying to match her happiness.
“But first, we’ll have supper,” Hattie chimed in. “I don’t know about you two, but I am starving.” Sam smiled at her with an agreeing nod.
“Same here,” he said to her, as he straightened to his full height, taking Ruby up with him. She giggled loudly at that. “Can I help you with anything?” he asked. Hattie waved her hand at him.
“It’s already all done,” she reassured him. “Just sit and relax. You look a little tired, dear.” Then, she walked off into the kitchen at the back of the house.
Sam’s mother-in-law wasn’t wealthy, but her late husband had been successful with some smaller investments in the past, so now Hattie was able to live comfortably in a lovely little house in a nice neighborhood.
When she’d invited Sam and Ruby to stay with her after Elizabeth’s passing, Sam had been determined that it would only be a temporary solution until he’d found his footing again.
He hadn’t.
Four years had passed and every time he thought about it, he felt guilty.
In all that time, all he’d done was chase after the ghosts of the men who’d destroyed his whole life in a single night.
Four years and he still didn’t know who’d been responsible.
Yet every time he got word from one of the sheriffs in the region about the tiniest hint of a similar theft or robbery or pattern, he’d go out to investigate.
By now, he had a whole network of sheriffs involved in his search, even though he’d given up his own badge when he’d turned into a widowed father.
He put Ruby down so she could run ahead toward the dining room, though he remained standing where he was in the doorway between the hallway and sitting room. It was fitting, because he was stuck between his old life and his new one.
“Are you coming, Papa?” Ruby called back to him. She burst out of the dining room, ran back to him, and grabbed his hand. “Come quickly! Food is waiting.”
He gladly followed his daughter. It snapped him out of his spiraling thoughts.
They all sat down in their respective places. Hattie and Ruby both bowed their heads to pray. Sam didn’t. He didn’t want to worship a God who’d taken his wife from him. He only bowed his head out of respect for his mother-in-law and daughter.
“Blessed be Thy food and the hands that prepared it,” Hattie and Ruby both prayed in unison.
They said the same prayer every time, so Ruby would learn it.
“…which will nurture our bodies, keep us healthy and strong, so we can praise the Heavenly Father and thank Him every single day for the life He provides. Amen.”
They enjoyed the hearty stew in silence for a while, but Sam noticed that Hattie kept looking at him.
He got the impression that she wanted to talk to him about something, but she didn’t know how to approach him.
It stung and only amplified that his good character had indeed died with his wife, if his own mother-in-law didn’t know how to approach him anymore.
“What is it, Hattie?” he asked gently. Her face broke into a warm smile. This woman had the biggest heart and Sam knew that she only meant well.
“I saw something in the newspaper today,” she said hesitantly. Sam promptly raised a suspicious eyebrow.
“The newspaper?” he asked, already losing interest. He didn’t care about gossip.
“I would really like you to have a look at it,” she told him. “I’m good friends with the printer’s wife and she told me about two young beautiful women coming into their office to place this ad. Apparently, they looked very put together.”
It just so happened that she had the newspaper right there, slowly pushing it across the table toward him, opened up and folded down to a small section, which she pointed at.
Sam made a face at her, but then he let his head drop to read what it said. There was so much writing on the page he didn’t immediately see what she was pointing at. The ad itself was small, yet large enough to stand out. The fancy border helped.
Urgent!
Looking for a husband.
Has to be honest and of sound character and mind.
Shouldn’t be much older than forty.
Must love horses, hard labor, and God.
Must be willing to move in immediately.
Serious enquiries may be left at the dedicated post office box.
Sam’s eyebrows shot up. He read it twice because Hattie was staring at him with an excited expression on her face, but he didn’t really have any reaction to it. He pushed the paper back to her, picked up his spoon and continued eating.
“That’s it?” Hattie exclaimed, exasperated. “Don’t you have anything to say?”
“No,” Sam replied honestly. “I’m not looking for a wife,” he added quietly, shooting a glance at Ruby, who was thoroughly enjoying her heavily buttered roll. Hattie looked at him pitifully.
“But you should,” she said empathetically, putting her hand on his arm. “You need to think about your child. She needs a mother. And as much as it pains me to say, you need to move on, too, Sam.”
He shook his head. “Why? I don’t want to,” he replied. His knife and fork were shaking, so he put them down and stretched his fingers. “I can’t. It’s too soon.”
“What would Elizabeth say to you, if she could talk?” Hattie asked carefully.
Sam’s eyes shot up. “Even though you are no longer a sheriff, you are gone most days chasing criminals. Sometimes you come home so late that this child doesn’t even get to see you at all.
That’s just not fair.” Hattie avoided saying Ruby’s name, clearly trying not to draw her attention. Sam appreciated it.
Nonetheless, he wanted to jump up and run out of the house.
These types of conversations were too hard, went too deep.
Every time Hattie tried to talk to him about these things, his throat constricted and his heart hurt as if it was being stabbed over and over.
He just couldn’t take it. The only reason he remained in his seat was Ruby.
The little girl seemed oblivious to the conversation, and he was grateful for that.
“You are like my son,” Hattie continued, squeezing his arm with a strength Sam didn’t expect.
She couldn’t hide her own emotions, either, because Sam saw the moisture in her eyes.
“The day you married my daughter, you became my son, so I worry about you just as much as I worried about Liz and now Ruby. I want you to be healthy. Even though it hurts me to say this, but I need you to move on and find happiness again. Elizabeth wouldn’t want you to waste away in this dark world of yours. ”
Sam tried to swallow around the fast-growing, painful lump in his throat. Everything Hattie said was true. He could at least admit that.
“Your daughter misses you,” Hattie continued with a quieter voice.
“She worries about you. Even though she might not remember her, she does know that she’s lost one parent already.
Lately, she keeps asking questions about what Liz was like and I tell her as much as I know, but she needs your perspective as well. ”
Sam cleared his throat, ready to interrupt the conversation, but nothing came out. Hattie pushed the newspaper slowly back over to him again.
“At least think about it?” she pleaded gently. “It won’t hurt to find out what this is all about.” Sam hesitated. “Do it for both of your hearts. I think it’s time to heal.”
Looking over to Ruby, who was pretending that a piece of potato was some kind of animal nibbling on the carrot next to it, Sam was torn.
How was he supposed to marry another woman when he was still grieving Elizabeth so deeply?
At the same time, he questioned how he could justify Ruby growing up without a mother.
His mind was reeling. All of this was too much.
“I want to ride a horse!” Ruby suddenly declared.
Hattie and Sam exchanged a quick glance. Where did that come from?
Ruby looked up at him and smiled the brightest smile. And there it was again, that familiar sparkle in her big green eyes. Sam’s breath hitched.
It almost seemed as if Elizabeth was smiling at him through her.