Chapter Eleven
Sadie stepped past Sam and out of the house, seething. She knew that her uncle was a scheming and deceitful man, but it was an entirely new experience to hear him talk to her husband behind her back like that.
She stormed toward him so furiously, it didn’t give Walter enough time to adjust to her so suddenly. For a second, he seemed shocked.
“How dare you?” she yelled at him, utterly outraged. “You will never get a single penny from us! Do you hear me? You are no longer welcome here! Leave! And don’t ever come back!” She was so angry, her whole body shook.
Then she felt Sam’s hands gently gripping her waist to pull her back a little. Even though she wasn’t mad at him, this was not the time for him to intervene. It took everything in her not to pull away from him—only because she didn’t want to embarrass Sam in front of her uncle.
Walter watched them intently, and he had the audacity to laugh.
“I thought I’d try,” Walter said with a shrug.
Then he turned, but before he walked down the steps, he paused and looked over his shoulder at her.
“By the way, you don’t get to tell me what to do, niece!
This was my brother’s ranch, so I have every right to be here as much as you do. So, see you soon.”
Sadie wanted to scream, but she was all too aware of the two large hands holding her back. Her anger overpowered her brain, but there was a slight tingly sensation trickling down her spine, which confused her. She took a deep breath and focused on her uncle.
Walter nonchalantly jumped down the steps and screamed for his horse.
It was oddly satisfying to see him stand out there in the hot sun. It was muggy now, because of the rain earlier—a most uncomfortable feeling with no breeze going. Walter started to pull on his collar, fan himself, but Daniel took his sweet time before he brought him the horse.
Sadie still thought that it was all too soon for the poor gelding.
Looking up at the sky, she noticed some dark clouds rolling in from the west again.
Since the weather seemed very unpredictable that day, it was possible that her uncle might get soaked in a sudden burst of rain on his way back.
It would hopefully force him to slow down.
The thought made her feel a little better and she relaxed.
Sam slowly pulled his hands away from her waist. Sadie couldn’t really tell whether she liked that or not. The space felt suddenly cold, another odd sensation. Neither of them said anything. They just watched Walter leave.
Daniel groaned when he saw Walter kick the gelding’s flanks hard to get him to move faster, but the poor animal struggled with the still muddy ground, slipping dangerously in places.
“What I would give to take the horse away from for good,” he said, shooting Sadie a pointed glance before he turned and walked away.
“Me too!” Sadie said with a sad face. “Me too.”
***
First Week of October — Mid-Morning
Sadie, Ellen and Ruby were in the kitchen, learning how to make scones. Louise had received a recipe from an old friend of hers from England, so now they wanted to try them out.
“What’s clotted cream?” Ellen asked, as she glanced at the small piece of paper. “Does that mean there will be chunks in it?” She crunched her nose at that. Ruby giggled.
“We don’t want chunky cream, do we, Ruby,” Sadie said, and they both laughed at the disgusted faces they all made.
Louise looked at the recipe, pointing at the bottom part of it.
“I can’t say for sure how it’ll turn out,” she said with raised eyebrows, “but apparently it’s the opposite of whipped cream. It says here that the cream will instead be cooked over low heat.”
“And they normally eat it with fresh strawberries?” Sadie asked. “We don’t have fresh strawberries anymore.”
“Then we’ll use whatever we do have,” Louise said with a pointed look. “I’m sure it’ll be delicious with strawberry or even blueberry jam. I made a lot this year.”
Sam marched into the kitchen, interrupting their little discussion.
“Someone is coming,” he announced as he pulled off his Stetson to comb through his long hair. It had become his signature move and Sadie couldn’t help but watch him every time he did it.
“Is it Walter, again?” she asked with a heavy sigh as she washed the dough and flour off her hands. Sam shook his head.
“Doesn’t look like it,” he replied. “It looks like a single rider with two extra horses in tow.”
“Oh!” Sadie said, instantly perking up. “That’s probably somebody coming to sell his horses,” she explained with a smile. She marched out of the kitchen and straight to the front door to welcome the visitor.
Sam followed her with a slight scowl on his face.
“Does this happen often?” he asked, seemingly not very excited about it. Sadie looked up at him with an innocent expression on her face.
“Every now and again,” she replied, studying his concerned frown. “I’m in the business of trading horses. This is part of it.” Sam grunted at that, which Sadie found rather peculiar. They stepped out onto the porch.
As usual, Daniel and another ranch hand were already walking down from the barn, both carrying their rifles.
“Why does it bother you?” she asked Sam, who had his eyes glued to the stranger trotting toward them. He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he just watched in silence.
“Because,” he finally said, not offering anything else. Sadie shrugged and stepped down from the porch, while Sam stayed behind.
Acknowledging Daniel and the ranch hand with a nod, she walked toward the man coming closer. Sadie didn’t recognize him. He was a middle-aged man with a scruffy brown beard wearing average clothes. Nothing out of the norm.
“Hello!” he called out to her once he was close enough. “I’d like to speak to someone about selling my horses,” he said.
“You’ve come to the right place,” Sadie told him with an inviting smile. “My name is Sadie Nielsen. How can I help you?”
The man stopped his horse several feet away from her. His gaze kept jumping to Daniel rather than Sadie.
“Like I said,” he remarked with a blank face. “I’d like to speak to someone about selling my horses. Are you the husband?” he asked Daniel. Her foreman shook his head.
“That would be him,” he replied and nodded toward Sam standing at the top of the steps of the porch.
“Then I’d like to speak with ya!” the stranger called out to Sam as he slid off his saddle. He ignored Sadie completely, who was walking toward the horses.
“I’m the one running the horse business,” Sadie told him with a friendly smile when she came face to face with the man, who was the same height as her. She could tell that he was about to walk right past her. He eyed Sadie from tip to toe with a leery stare.
“These are prized horses, very special ones,” he told her with a suspicious glare. “I’d rather deal with the man of the house. As a woman, you wouldn’t understand the value of these amazing mares.” Sadie’s eyebrows shot up.
Since she’d taken over the business, there hadn’t been very many incidents with rude clients.
Sadie could only think of one or two. When this man walked right by her, almost brushing against her as he pulled his horses with him, she was forced to quickly step aside—which instantly made him number three on that list.
Sadie pulled her shoulders back and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She didn’t feel the need to justify herself in that moment. Looking up at Sam, she was curious to see how their interaction would pan out. Sam was still watching the stranger with a blank expression on his face.
Sadie shot Daniel a quick glance and they both grinned.
“Are you the husband?” the visitor called out to Sam after he’d tied his horse to a beam in front of the house. The two mares were still tied to the saddle.
“I am,” Sam confirmed with a nod, but he didn’t move from his spot. The stranger’s face instantly transformed into a beaming smile.
“Well, I’ve come to sell you two of my best mares,” he declared proudly, pushing out his chest. “I’ve only heard good things about this place, so I thought you’d be exactly the right man to talk to.”
While the stranger started with his sales pitch, Sadie quietly approached the two mares and started to look them over. The first thing she noticed were the blankets covering both of the mares’ bodies. Pulling them off, she gently started to examine them.
“I can assure you that these two are of the highest quality,” the seller continued.
“And since they are both of Arabic descent, they are the finest quality mares you’ll ever find.
They are both very healthy and still young, barely three and four, so you’ll be able to breed many more highly valuable foals with them.
With that in mind, I figured that a fair price would be around a thousand dollars for both of them. ”
Sadie burst out laughing. The stranger tensed.
“First of all, these two mares are not of Arabic descent,” she corrected him. “They are average quarter horses.” The man spun around and glared at her.
“You don’t know what you are talking about, woman!” he shouted, clearly outraged. This time, it was Sadie who ignored him as she continued her examination.
Sadie heard the click when Daniel took the safety off his rifle. The man clearly heard it, too, because he stared at her foreman nervously.
She shot Daniel a glance and shook her head to let him know that she was all right for the moment before she turned back to the horses.
“They are both too tall and the bridges of their noses are too straight, which is a clear giveaway,” she explained.
“Secondly, both of them are much older than you are telling us. This one,” she pushed her fingers over the first mare’s muzzle to expose the teeth, “is already well over ten or eleven years old. And this one,” she proceeded to do the same with the other horse, “is even older than that, more around fifteen.”
“You are spewing nonsense!” the man screamed angrily. “You know nothing! I will only deal with your husband. Step away from my animals!”
Sadie looked up at Sam, who was now casually leaning against a beam, watching her with great interest. His previously grumpy face was replaced by curiosity and she thought she could see a slight smile lifting the corners of his mouth. It emboldened her even more.
“On top of that,” she continued as she ran both of her hands over the mare’s bodies, “they are malnourished, they should be much thicker, and their hooves haven’t been worked on in months.
Look at these bones sticking out right here!
” she told the man, pointing at the horse’s ribs.
“Is that why you tried to cover their bodies with blankets?”
“I tried to keep them warm!” he yelled back.
“Therefore,” Sadie added confidently, “your price of a thousand dollars is not only horribly inflated, it’s insulting. I’ll offer you fifty for both. Not a penny more.”
“Fifty?” the seller turned back around to her with a scowl.
“Only because these mares need better care than what you are offering them,” Sadie replied matter-of-factly. Spinning back around to Sam, the stranger pointed back at Sadie.
“This is outrageous!” he yelled at Sam. “Are you allowing that woman to speak to a man like that?”
Sam pushed himself off the beam and finally came down the steps.
“Of course,” he said as he marched straight past the man. “She is my wife and allowed to freely speak her mind. She clearly knows more about horses than you and I combined.”
The man stared at Sam with his mouth open, utterly bewildered.
Sadie’s heart skipped a beat when she saw him walk toward her with long strides.
His presence alone made her feel safe, but she had to admit that the things he said to the men coming to her ranch really made her feel seen.
It was a different kind of protection from the one Daniel provided. She really liked how it grounded her.
Sadie swallowed hard when he stepped closer and looked down at her with a concerned expression.
“Are you all right?” he asked quietly. “He’s very rude.” Her breath hitched when she saw the softness in his mesmerizing blue eyes.
Sadie nodded, then shrugged.
“I’m fine,” she told him reassuringly. Sam inhaled sharply. Then his face changed to the angry scowl again as he turned to walk back.
“Watch your mouth when you speak to her!” he said to the seller in a growly tone as he walked past him. “You came here asking for money, so you better treat her with respect!”
Sadie smiled at that. Sam was exactly what she’d want a real husband to be: reassuring, strong and so very handsome. Realizing that Sam was her real husband made her chuckle. It was a happy little giggle that bubbled up from out of nowhere.
She watched the seller, who seemingly struggled with the turn of events.
“This place is horrible,” he proclaimed. “I’m taking them somewhere else!” He rushed back to his horses, mounted his saddle and rode off—without his blankets.