Chapter Three
Pony Creek Ranch
Four Days Later — Noon
“Are you reading Sam’s letter again?” Ellen asked with a knowing grin. Sadie shot her a pointed side glance and fanned herself with the paper in her hand. They both stood out on the porch, waiting for Mr. Brown to arrive.
Despite the season already being mid-fall, it was unusually hot today. Sadie kept dabbing her face and upper lip with a handkerchief, because she didn’t want to look all sweaty and disgusting when the man finally came to talk to her about the proposal.
The one where she—Sadie Nielsen—was proposing to a possible husband.
Sadie squealed and spun back around to her friend.
“This is absurd!” she screamed, wide-eyed.
“I can’t possibly do this! How am I supposed to ask a stranger to marry me, just because I blurted it out in a panic?
” Ellen bit her lips and all too obviously tried to suppress a laugh.
Sadie wasn’t feeling like herself. She was completely overwhelmed with all of this
Over the last few days, she and Ellen had sifted through over seventy letters, which had been an unexpected and overwhelming response to her newspaper ad.
There had been quite a few that were instantly discarded, but a handful had sounded quite interesting, so Sadie had started the process of contacting them one by one.
Since she knew some of the possible candidates from church and seeing them in town, Sadie had decided to meet with the ones she didn’t know yet first.
Sam Brown had been the one who’d replied to her telegram without delay, which Sadie and Ellen had both seen as a positive point, showing his real interest and not wasting her time. So, he’d been chosen to be her first visitor.
“We can always cancel this appointment immediately and start to make plans for your wedding with Walter,” Ellen declared matter-of-factly, acting as if that was even an option.
“No!” Sadie yelled with a horrified expression.
She knew that Ellen meant it as a joke, but she didn’t find it funny.
She was too nervous for humorous comments like that.
“Anyone would be better than him!” She was so frustrated, she wanted to stomp her foot like a three-year-old child.
“I don’t know what to do! Help me! I am panicking! ”
“I can see that,” Ellen confirmed with a nod, still fighting a giggle.
She walked over to Sadie, took both her hands and forced her to look at her.
“Breathe, my dear! Take a deep breath in… and back out. In… and out. Don’t forget who you are, Miss Nielsen!
If anything, that man should be nervous.
Not you!” Ellen gently pulled the letter from her fingers and opened it to read the words herself. Again.
Sadie inhaled a big gulp of air and held her breath.
“He has neat handwriting,” Ellen commented with a grin. “Maybe that hints at him being very clean? And the fact that he used to be a sheriff shows that he is a man of the law, so his heart must be in the right place,” she added, pointing at the passage in the letter.
“But why is he no longer a sheriff?” Sadie asked with a worried look. “Did they kick him out because he wasn’t actually that righteous and law-abiding after all? He could be one of those corrupt ones…”
“Give the poor fellow a chance!” Daniel called out to her, jumping up the steps to the porch. “Don’t run all those crazy scenarios in your head when you haven’t even met him yet!” He smiled at Sadie and squeezed her arm. Then he beamed at Ellen, who reciprocated it without hesitation.
Sadie released a heavy sigh. Why couldn’t she just meet someone nice like Daniel and fall in love naturally?
“I heard there’s lemonade to be had today?
” Daniel asked, peeking past Sadie at the spread behind her.
Without having to ask, their cook, Louise, had pulled out all the stops, creating a lovely little buffet with baked goods, fresh fruit, and several options of drinks to welcome their guest. Sadie couldn’t even put into words how grateful she was to her for doing that.
“Not for you!” Ellen remarked, gently slapping his arm. “At least, not until Sam arrives.” Daniel’s expression changed to a slightly more serious one.
“Sam, hm? I can’t wait to meet this guy to see what he’s all about,” he said, pulling his shoulders back. Ellen and Sadie exchanged a quick glance.
“He’s not coming to see you!” Ellen exclaimed with a giggle. “He’s here to see Sadie, so you better be on your very best behavior!”
“Of course I will be!” Daniel said. “Aren’t I always?”
Ellen pulled a face that clearly questioned his statement. He huffed, as if he was offended.
Sadie shook her head at those two and couldn’t help but smile. As nervous as she was, she was so glad that her best friends were here. She knew that they were merely trying to distract her and that this was their way of showing their support.
“Is that him?” Louise suddenly asked behind them.
The portly forty-five-year-old woman was standing in the doorway leading out onto the porch while holding a large tray with more delicious goodies.
Sadie, Ellen, and Daniel all spun around and stepped closer to the edge.
“Let’s hope it’s him and not Walter!” Ellen said, earning herself a quick warning glance from Daniel.
Sadie hugged one of the thick beams holding up the porch roof and stared at the tiny figure approaching the ranch house. Unlike the mighty dust clouds Walter liked to announce himself with, there seemed to be no rush with this one. The rider rode slowly at a very gentle trot.
Sadie wondered if that was a good or a bad sign. Was he not eager to meet her? Or was he hesitating and just as nervous as she was? Her heart was racing. Hopefully, she wouldn’t faint.
Ellen stepped to her side and gently pulled her away from the beam. Then, she turned her around to face her and made sure that Sadie’s hair was still in its right place. They’d been busy all morning making sure Sadie would look her absolute best.
Her long brown curls alone had taken hours to brush to a high gloss, then Ellen had pinned her hair into an elaborate updo she was immensely proud of.
She’d even decorated it with a few tiny satin flowers.
Thick ringlets framed her pretty round face and the pale green satin dress she wore really emphasized the color of Sadie’s golden-brown eyes.
Ellen fussed over Sadie like a doting mother, adjusting a ringlet here and brushing over the skirt of her friend’s dress there.
“Good?” Sadie asked impatiently. Ellen beamed at her.
“Beautiful!” Louise commented after she’d placed the tray onto the table. “Whoever is coming, his eyes will fall out of his head when he sees you, darlin’!” She smiled at Sadie and rushed back inside the house.
“You look stunning, Sadie,” Daniel said, genuinely smiling at her. “Ellen did a fantastic job!” he praised, winking at Ellen. “I’ll be nearby if you need me.” He jumped off the porch, and as always, he kept a close eye on the rider.
“Are you all right?” Ellen asked Sadie, who kept staring at the slowly approaching figure.
Sadie shook her head.
“I don’t know,” she said warily. Her hands were shaking. “At least it’s not Walter!” she added with a quick, bursting laugh, but then her face took on the same worried expression again.
“You’ll be fine, Sadie,” Ellen said matter-of-factly. “Don’t forget, you are the one holding all the cards. You can always say no, if you don’t like him.”
Sadie nodded at that, even though she doubted that she’d be strong enough to do that. Wouldn’t that be rude?
“Having said that,” Ellen continued firmly, “don’t forget about Walter!”
Sadie cringed when she heard that name. It did help to calm her nerves somewhat and she was able to focus a bit more on the rider and his horse.
Being a horse breeder’s daughter, Sadie couldn’t ignore the magnificent all-black equine with the long wavy mane and thick, swishy tail. The way it held its head up high and its strong and steady gait hinted at a male, maybe even a stallion.
This man clearly had impeccable taste when it came to his horse.
Going by the sheer size of it, Sam Brown looked to be tall and broad-shouldered.
He was close enough for Sadie to be able to see his long dark hair loosely falling down to his shoulders, but he had pulled his hat deep over his face, so she couldn’t see much of it yet. Why wasn’t he looking up to see her…?
Then, Sadie realized that he wasn’t alone.
A young girl sat in front of him. She seemed quite animated as she pointed at everything along their way, and Sam was clearly responding to her. The way he held her with one hand, not even steering his horse much with the other, showed his confidence.
This was something that Sadie found instantly attractive.
Ellen stepped closer and squeezed her arm, then looked back at his letter.
“He didn’t mention having a daughter,” she quietly pointed out. They exchanged a quick glance.
“Let’s hear him out first, before we draw the wrong conclusions,” Sadie suggested. Ellen nodded with a smile and folded up the letter before she shoved it inside her sleeve.
They both watched Sam ride up to the large water trough, giving his horse the opportunity for a drink first. It pleased Sadie to see that the horse’s wellbeing was so high in his priorities.
Sam dismounted his large black stallion, making sure to keep one hand securely on the little girl. She looked around with curious, wide eyes. When she discovered Sadie and Ellen standing on the porch, her little face broke out in a beaming smile and she waved.
“Sadie!” she called out to them, which took both women by surprise.
“We don’t know her, but she clearly knows you,” Ellen said with a giggle. Sadie waved back with a gentle smile.
Instead of one of her ranch hands, it was Daniel who stepped out toward them to tend to the horse. Ellen rolled her eyes. Sadie chuckled.
“Hello! My name is Daniel. I’m the foreman,” he introduced himself with a friendly smile, stretching out his hand to the visitor. Sam took it without hesitation.