Chapter Eight
He was pushing his horse as fast as he could, but he couldn’t reach the riders far ahead of him.
Gloomy shadows crept in all around him and it became harder to see.
His heart was beating out of his chest and his fear felt like a rope around his neck, slowly cutting off his air supply.
A bloodcurdling scream cut through the night…
Sam jolted awake, his body jerking abruptly into an upright position. His breath came in flat bursts, his hair clung to his sweaty face and neck.
He wasn’t out there chasing after those riders. He was sitting in a bed, in a dark room only lit by the dying embers in the fireplace. His new home.
It had been that dream again. The same one that had haunted him ever since that horrible night.
Sam ripped his blanket off, slid his feet onto the cool wooden floor, and sat there for a second to collect himself. The clock on the mantel said half past four. No point in trying to go back to sleep now.
Not that he ever could. Not after that nightmare.
He walked over to the small washstand in the corner, poured some water from the pitcher into the large wash bowl, then splashed his face with it a couple of times.
He took a cloth, soaked it in the cold water and wiped his neck all the way around and over his bare chest. It cooled his heated body, calmed his breathing.
When he’d moved into this house mere days ago, Sam had hoped that this wouldn’t happen anymore. So far, it had happened every night, reminding him not to give up his search for Elizabeth’s killers.
He stepped to the window and pulled the curtain aside to look outside. It was still dark, but the sky was clear. Perfect time to patrol the property line.
From the first day he’d come to meet Sadie, as soon as he saw the vast plot of land she owned, he thought that Pony Creek Ranch could be a target. He’d made it his job to patrol the area, learn about every single nook and cranny and map the entire property in his head.
Daniel had shown him all the barns, how they operated and the business side of things. He’d introduced Sam to all the ranch hands and house staff, but Sam knew that he wanted to expand his knowledge from the small area in the center of the land all the way to the furthest property lines.
He would not make the same mistake twice, thinking that they’d be safe because of a few fields and some fencing.
Sam washed up, dried himself off, and got dressed. By the time he put on his boots, the tiniest sliver of light appeared on the horizon, so he knew that he’d be able to see enough once Black Shadow was saddled up.
He quietly left his room and stopped in front of Ruby’s door, listening for any noises, before he padded down the stairs as silently as he could. Walking by the open dining room, he remembered the incident from the night before and instantly felt guilt.
Sadie’s intentions had been pure and good, and he’d reacted like an idiot toward her.
Maybe it was time to stay away from the whiskey for a while.
Sam hadn’t been completely drunk, but alcohol didn’t exactly bring out the best side of him.
He shouldn’t have taken his anger out on her the way he did.
He vowed to apologize to her as soon as he saw her.
Stepping into the kitchen, he was surprised to find Louise already at work.
The fire in the hearth was roaring, lighting up the whole room, while she was humming to herself, kneading a large piece of dough on the counter.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted toward him.
She looked up before he could say good morning.
“Sam! You’re up early!” the middle-aged cook greeted him with a warm smile.
“I’ve just made coffee!” She immediately left the dough and walked over to the coffee pot on the stove, where she grabbed a cup to fill it with the steaming black brew.
Louise was a short, portly woman with kind amber-colored eyes.
Her dark hair had silver-gray streaks in it, giving her a striking look.
“Thank you. I didn’t expect to see anyone this early,” Sam replied as he waited.
“Ah, I have to get up long before the birds start singing, or I won’t get everything done,” she said with a soft chuckle. “I don’t like to be up late. At my age, sleep doesn’t come easy, anyways.” She handed him the cup. “Would you like some sugar or cream in it?”
Sam shook his head. “Black for me, thank you,” he replied. He smelled the dark liquid and it woke up his senses.
“How are you settling in, dear?” Louise asked as she walked back to the big blob of dough, getting right back into kneading it. “Do you like it here?”
Sam took a little sip from his coffee. Then, he nodded.
“It’s a beautiful place,” he said non-specifically. “I’m still getting used to it all.”
“That’s understandable,” she said with a smile.
“How does darlin’ Ruby like it? Is she happy here?
” Sam smiled at that. He’d known from the day they’d moved in that Louise had a special soft spot for Ruby.
Everybody loved his daughter, but Louise was particularly enamored with his girl.
Ruby spent a lot of time in the kitchen.
“She is very happy,” he confirmed, which elicited a satisfied nod from the cook.
“That’s good!” she said, beaming, slapping the dough into shape before she took a large square blade, cutting it into several different-sized pieces. “And how do you like our Sadie?”
Sam was about to take another sip from his coffee, but the question made him pause.
Louise had been there when he’d met Sadie for the first time, but he didn’t know if the cook knew about the ad in the newspaper and their unconventional arrangement.
He wasn’t sure if the way they’d met was common knowledge among the workers, so he felt that he needed to be careful in answering those kinds of questions.
“Sadie is a beautiful woman,” he said honestly. “Very sweet and very kind.”
Louise raised both eyebrows and tilted her head to the side.
“No need to be so vague,” she said. “I know about her ad looking for a husband.”
Sam suddenly got the feeling that he’d found an ally in Louise. He released a deep sigh, which made her smile.
“I meant everything I said,” he told her, but this time it felt more sincere. “It’s still early days. We don’t really know a lot about each other yet.”
“You need time to really get to know each other,” Louise said, while shaping ten small dinner rolls in a matter of seconds. “Sadie really is a very sweet and kind lady. She doesn’t have a bad bone in her body, despite the tragedy she had to endure.”
Sam leaned his hip against the counter, sipping his coffee, while Lousie placed the rolls onto a greased oven sheet.
“What happened to her parents?” he asked tentatively. Louise paused for a split second, then she grabbed the sheet with the dinner rolls and placed them inside the oven. Sam could see that she hesitated for a moment.
“They died in a terrible wagon accident,” she finally said with a subdued voice.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Sam replied, feeling for Sadie. He could relate, because he’d lost both of his parents at the young age of twelve, when first his mother, then his father, had succumbed to a sudden illness within less than a week.
“It was all very unexpected,” Louise continued with a sad face.
“Sadie was their only child and she suddenly had to pick up all the responsibilities by herself. Her father, Ned, was a very successful and hard-working businessman, so it wasn’t easy for her.
We all thought that his death would be the end of it all, but Sadie pulled through.
She’s done a fantastic job over the last three years. We are all so very proud of her.”
Sam acknowledged this with a nod. He liked hearing that about the woman he’d married.
It showed how strong and resilient Sadie was in the face of harsh times, though he did wonder why such a beloved and beautiful woman would have to resort to an ad in the newspaper to find a husband.
He’d thought that she’d have plenty of offers without that.
A soft beam of golden sunlight fell through the window and landed on his hands.
“I appreciate you telling me all this,” he said quietly.
“Once you get to know her, you’ll see how amazing she really is,” Louise told him. Sam smiled at that.
“I think I have a good idea already,” he replied. He drank the rest of his coffee and put the empty cup in the sink next to other used utensils. Then, he tipped his hat at Louise and left through the back door to start his day.
It was a beautiful morning with a refreshing breeze and not a cloud in the sky.
Sam had started to like riding along the outer perimeter because the path led him along soft rolling hills in the east, which were mostly covered by forest, and bubbling creeks and a stunning open landscape to the west. He’d started to recognize landmarks and natural checkpoints, learned about possible entryways as well as escape routes, and taken note of the overall layout of the ranch.
Coming up on the tallest hill, he looked over the large property.
The beautiful two-story house stood right in the middle of it, surrounded by three large horse barns and several smaller outbuildings closer to the eastern, less accessible side.
He wondered if Sadie’s father, Ned Nielsen, had planned the layout purposefully like this.
Either way, from a safety point of view, it seemed perfect.
His early morning ride did exactly what he’d hoped—calmed his nerves.
Sam was in a much better mood when he finally strolled into the dining room to eat. Ellen, Sadie, and Ruby were already there and halfway through their breakfast, having an avid conversation about the importance of tulle in dresses. Judging by his untouched plate, Daniel must have just joined them.
“Good morning!” Sam greeted them all.