Chapter Five
“Is that him?” Walter yelled as soon as he was within earshot. It was almost scary how worked up he already seemed.
Sadie stood half a step behind Sam, nervously and angrily shaking, deeply worried about how this interaction would go.
After all, she and Sam had only just met.
They’d barely had enough time to talk about a possible alliance, let alone the details of what a possible marriage might actually look like.
Sadie had not expected Walter to show up like this.
“He’s the man you need protection from,” Sam murmured quietly over his shoulder toward her, so Walter wouldn’t hear. It wasn’t a question, but rather a statement. Sadie nodded. Looking up at him with pleading eyes, she couldn’t really tell what he was thinking.
Could she dare ask him to help her in that moment? She wasn’t sure. Her mind was reeling. What was she supposed to do?
Before she could spiral into a full-blown panic, Sam did something she didn’t expect. He took her hand and pulled her arm through his—hooking them together exactly like a husband and wife would.
Sadie’s breath hitched, but Sam’s hand squeezed hers gently without him saying a word. He just stood there, perfectly still, calmly watching.
Obviously, she had hoped for his support in some kind of way, but she was surprised at this reaction from him, regardless. Yet, she was immensely grateful.
Exactly like last time, Walter dismounted his breathless horse, yanked on the reins, and dragged it toward the stairs, away from the much-needed water trough.
As silent and still as he was, Sadie noticed the tension in Sam’s body when he saw that. Looking up, she saw his jaw muscles tightening. He was grinding his teeth. She felt oddly pleased that Sam bristled the same way she did when it came to her uncle’s behavior.
“Walter!” Daniel called out to him. This time, he stepped out without waiting for Walter to leave his horse. Daniel didn’t ask, he just took the reins from him. “Let me look after him,” he said firmly, shooting a glance up to Sadie. She gave him a quick nod.
“He doesn’t need looking after!” Walter shouted angrily. “He’s useless!”
Much to Sadie’s horror, Walter actually tried to kick at the gelding’s front leg. Thankfully, he missed. What a despicable human being!
“Well, he got you here in one piece,” Daniel told Walter with a deadpan expression. “Though I’m not sure the poor thing will be able to carry you all the way back home. Not the way he’s wheezing right now.”
“Nonsense!” Walter yelled at Daniel with a red face. “Don’t be so dramatic! It’s just a horse! If he goes, I’ll just buy a new one.”
The tiny hairs at the back of Sadie’s neck stood up. She was shaking with rage. Knowing how much her father had loved these animals, it was inconceivable that Walter could be so cruel to them.
Daniel didn’t budge. “Trust me. Unless you want to walk, I suggest you leave him with me!” he said firmly.
“Ah! I don’t care,” Walter replied, waving his hands dismissively at Daniel. “I’ve got more important matters to attend to.” With that, he turned toward the porch.
Before he climbed the steps, he tapped the dirt off his much darker suit pants, swearing the whole time he did it. The sand-colored dust showed up even more on the navy blue than it had on the beige. Sadie couldn’t hide her grin, though Sam seemed to straighten up and looked even taller.
Walter wiped his forehead with a handkerchief and finally joined Sadie and Sam.
“You didn’t answer me, niece!” he immediately complained to her. “Is that him?”
“Don’t be rude,” Sam replied calmly, before Sadie could. Walter stopped in his tracks and actually stared at Sam with his mouth open.
“Rude?” Walter asked, clearly taken aback.
“Yes! You waltz in here as if you own the place, yet I have never seen you before.” Sam said firmly. “Who are you?”
Sadie was shaking. “Let me introduce you, dear husband,” she chimed in with a sweet smile, clamping her fingers as tight onto Sam’s arm as she could.
She could only hope that he understood what she expected of him.
“This is my uncle, Walter Nielsen,” she said before she turned to Walter. “And this is my husband, Sam Brown.”
Walter scoffed loudly. Then he looked at Sam from the top of his hat to the tip of his toes.
Walter wasn’t a small man, but Sam was still almost a foot taller, which was another thing that Sadie was very happy about.
The fact that Sam was able to force her uncle to look up at him pleased her more than she could say.
“Sam Brown, you say?” Walter asked, narrowing his eyes at Sam suspiciously. “Why have I never heard of you?”
“I’m not from here,” Sam said matter-of-factly, not offering anything else.
“Are you going to change your family name and the ranch name to Brown, now?” Walter questioned, then, with a huff, tilting his head toward Sadie. She shook her head. Walter raised his eyebrows. “Why not?”
“That’s a business decision,” Sam replied without hesitation. “Her name is established and well-known. Wouldn’t make sense to change it.” Walter looked increasingly frustrated.
The fact that Sam didn’t elaborate further impressed Sadie. He clearly knew how to speak to men like Walter, who didn’t like the short answers Sam was giving him. His aggravation was as obvious as his hatred for his horse.
“When did you get married?” Walter asked then, looking directly at Sam’s non-descript face. Much to Sadie’s surprise, Sam turned to her with a warm smile.
“Not soon enough,” he told her, which instantly made her blush. “She made me wait longer than was necessary,” Sam added. Sadie didn’t even have to fake her shy smile. Walter’s eyebrows pulled into a dissatisfied scowl.
“January,” Sadie told him. “Fifteenth of January. My late mother’s birthday, if you remember.” Walter scoffed at that.
“Of course, I do! Who do you think I am?” Walter yelled, though Sadie was sure that he didn’t remember any of the important dates.
Sam didn’t show any kind of reaction to the date or the mention of her late mother outwardly, but his hand gently squeezed hers. He understood, and Sadie appreciated his acknowledgement.
Walter spotted the table with all the pastries and drinks. He didn’t ask, he just went over and helped himself to a full glass of lemonade and not one, but two large tartlets. It was as if he’d forgotten that Sadie and Sam were standing right there, watching him stuff his face with his mouth open.
Sadie and Sam exchanged a quick glance, reassuring herself. Then she focused on Walter again, because that man was not to be trusted.
Her uncle made some strange grunting noises as he enjoyed another full glass of lemonade, two cookies and a whole bowl of fresh fruit, before he released a loud burp and finally turned back to Sadie and Sam.
He dabbed his mouth with one of the linen napkins, then tossed it onto the table, right near the untouched food.
Sam tensed again, but Sadie clamped firmly onto his arm, even though she was deeply disgusted.
“Well, regardless of the story you are trying to make me believe,” Walter finally said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
“I will need to see proof! A marriage cannot exist without proper certification. Some kind of paper that confirms your union in the eyes of the law and that God you believe in.” Walter’s beady eyes flashed at Sadie when he mentioned that.
It was clearly a jab. “I’m sure you have the proper documentation?
A marriage contract? Some kind of record? Hm?”
“Of course we do,” Sadie replied confidently, even though she knew she was lying. She wanted to wipe Walter’s smug smirk off his face.
“If you don’t,” Walter continued, self-assuredly pointing at Sadie and himself, “you and I will have to have a talk about my inheritance and the money you owe me!”
Sadie gasped. Sam looked down at her, but didn’t react openly. If he had internal thoughts about what he’d just heard, she wouldn’t have known.
“How dare you? There is no inheritance for you! I don’t owe you a penny!” she exclaimed. Walter laughed quietly at that. Sadie had fallen into his trap.
Sam pressed Sadie tightly against his side, and she was so angry at herself that she’d fallen for her uncle’s bait, her entire body was trembling. Sam’s hand pressed against her back and his thumb rubbed gently along her spine, calming her down.
Surprisingly, it worked.
Suddenly, there was a commotion inside of the house behind the door.
It burst open and a loudly cackling Ruby came running outside with Ellen chasing after her, clearly trying to catch her. Sadie’s eyes went wide in shock. Ellen shot her an apologetic side glance.
“Papa!” Ruby called out as she ran toward Sam with her arms wide open. Sadie immediately thought that this would expose her lie and blow up their whole story. She watched in agony as Sam bent down to pick his little daughter up.
“I won!” Ruby exclaimed breathlessly. “I’m so fast! Ellen couldn’t catch me!” she proudly told Sam, who smiled at her warmly.
“Did you behave while you were inside?” Sam asked her. Ruby nodded confidently and her blonde curls bounced around her cute little face.
“I was really good!” she informed him. “I didn’t touch anything. And I listened.”
“It’s true!” Ellen confirmed, grinning at Ruby. “Until she found out that she could get away from me.” Ellen made her hands look like claws and Ruby giggled loudly.
“And who do we have here?” Walter announced himself. “How very precious!”
Sadie didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry. This whole situation was too unpredictable and there was too much on the line.
Walter stepped awfully close to Sam, trying to touch Ruby’s face, but Sam instantly turned her out of his reach and took a step to the side.
“Don’t touch my daughter!” he said with a noticeable growl and the warning in the tone of his voice was palpable. Even Walter heard it. He raised his hands defensively and stepped back.
“No offence!” he said with a chuckle. “She’s your daughter, you said?” Walter turned directly to Ruby. “How old are you, precious child?”
“Almost five!” Ruby declared proudly, spreading out all five of her fingers at him.
“How very interesting,” Walter noted, tapping the tip of his nose with his long finger. “So, that means that she can’t be yours, then,” he surmised with a smug grin.
Sadie didn’t know what to say to that. Ruby’s appearance had thrown her entire timeline off and Walter was smart enough to realize it.
“She isn’t,” Sam said confidently. “Ruby is my daughter from my first marriage.”
Walter’s grin died like a seedling in the desert and his scowl returned.
“Oh,” was all he said, clearly disappointed.
Sadie’s eyes flew up to Sam’s face. She could only hope that her relief didn’t show too much. Thank you, Lord, for sending me this man!
In that same moment, Ruby stretched her arms out to Sadie with a beaming smile.
“Sadie!” the little girl called out, and Sam turned to hand his daughter to her. Sadie hugged the little girl so tightly that Ruby giggled.
“Can we go to the baby horses now?” Ruby asked innocently.
Ellen held up her hand.
“I told her we would go see the foals,” she explained with a shrug.
“Oh, well, then, we shouldn’t let her wait any longer!” Sadie exclaimed with a pointed glance at her uncle.
Sam stepped next to them and put his hand protectively on Sadie’s shoulder, though Sadie assumed he was mostly shielding his daughter from Walter, who suddenly seemed uncomfortable.
“Well, then,” Walter said with an annoyed expression on his face. “I shall leave you to it. But I’ll be back to confirm the legitimacy of the documents. This isn’t over, yet.”
He snatched another cookie from the buffet and turned without saying goodbye. Sam raised a single eyebrow and shared a disbelieving glance with Sadie, but she just shook her head.
“Bring me my horse!” he yelled out to whomever would hear him, as he overconfidently strolled down the steps of the porch.
It took a while before Daniel reappeared, leading Walter’s gelding back to him. He was clearly reluctant to hand Walter the reins.
Just like last time, Walter mounted the horse without another word and immediately forced the animal into a wild gallop. They both disappeared quickly in a thick cloud of kicked-up dust and dirt.
Ellen came to take Ruby from Sadie and the two of them joined Daniel as they walked toward the barn.
Before Sam could follow, Sadie put her hand on his forearm to hold him back.
“Thank you,” she said earnestly. “I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am to you for what you did for me today.”
Sam dropped his head before his blue eyes looked up at hers.
“Don’t mention it,” he said after a short pause. “That man is one of the worst human beings I’ve ever come across and I’ve seen my fair share of bad people. Walter is… I understand why you did what you did.”
Sadie held her breath, hoping that he might agree to her proposal.
“I really didn’t know what to expect when I came here today,” he continued. “One of my biggest concerns is and always will be my daughter. That’s why I didn’t mention her beforehand. I wanted to see your reaction when you saw her, whether you would be annoyed or not.” Sadie shook her head at that.
“No! She is such a sweet girl,” she said quickly, wanting to reassure him that Ruby wouldn’t pose a problem at all. Sam smiled at her and she bit her lip, so she wouldn’t interrupt him.
“Ruby is happy to be here,” he continued. “That’s the most important thing for me. We might have to figure out some details and whatever it is we need to do to make this legal, but from what I’ve seen here today… I think this could work.”
It wasn’t a clear yes. But it wasn’t a no, either. Sadie needed a clearer answer.
“So, are you willing to marry me?” she asked hesitantly.
Sam didn’t answer immediately. He looked at her face, at her hair, and for a moment she thought that he’d reach out and touch it.
He didn’t, though he was clearly contemplating what to do.
Sadie couldn’t read his expression and she grew increasingly nervous, because he took such a long time to speak.
Then he smiled at her, and Sadie’s heart skipped a beat.