Chapter Thirteen
Sadie had never been called out like that by people she cared about.
The uncomfortable truth was that Sam was right.
Since she’d taken over her parents’ business, she’d taken on this stark and strong persona, thinking that she had to be defiant and maybe even harsh sometimes.
In the beginning, it had happened all too often that men wouldn’t take her seriously, so she’d learned to act a certain way to get her point across and make a stand.
Sam wasn’t just any man.
Not only was he a widower and devoted father, he was also her husband now. He deserved her utmost respect, especially when it came to decisions regarding his daughter. Not hers.
Sadie was surprised how much that stung.
Being so involved with the business side of things, Sadie hadn’t had much time to think about the other side of life for a woman.
She’d never really thought about being a mother before, but now that Ruby had tumbled into her lap, all full of giggles and bouncy curls, something quiet had begun to stir inside her chest. It felt like longing, like wanting something more.
“God, I need Your help to change my ways,” she said into the silent room, as she sat in front of her large mirror, gently brushing out her long brown wavy hair.
She paused. “I need Your guidance on how to do this… this whole marriage thing. And also, how to be a mom without overstepping my boundaries. You’ve led me through my toughest time, stood by me whenever I needed You.
This is new. I don’t know how to navigate this without Your help.
Please, give me Your strength and Your wisdom to make this work. ”
She looked up at the ceiling, then she finished brushing her hair until it was glossy and soft, braided it with silk ribbons, and climbed into her bed.
“Dear Heavenly Father, watch over all of us. Protect us. Fill everyone’s heart with Your love, Your grace and Your light to lead us into the next day.
Especially Sam’s. I think he needs You more than anyone.
Amen.” She blew out the candle on her nightstand, pulled her blankets up to her chin and laid down.
Sadie knew that it was still only early days and things would take time to adjust and get used to, but she hoped and prayed that they would get better—not worse.
***
The next morning started off with glorious sunshine and a bright blue sky, and Sadie vowed to be extra nice and understanding today.
She had just left her room to go downstairs for breakfast when she heard small footsteps running down the hallway toward her.
“Sadie!” Ruby called out to her as she came bounding toward her.
“Good morning, little angel!” Sadie said as she turned around, then crouched down with her arms wide open. “Did you sleep well? You sound so happy!” Ruby almost stumbled over her own feet, which made her burst into peals of laughter before she flung herself into Sadie’s arms.
Sam rushed out of his daughter’s room, but when he saw Ruby in Sadie’s arms, he slowed down. He combed his fingers through his long dark hair and gifted Sadie with a gentle, shy smile. Sadie reciprocated it, watching him as he walked toward them with long, steady strides.
“Didn’t I tell you not to run?” Sam asked Ruby with a soft tone. “You’re going to fall again if you keep doing that.” His daughter just giggled again.
“But I wanted to see Sadie!” Ruby called out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I want to tell her the surprise!” She pulled out of their embrace and beamed at Sadie with her big green eyes.
“What surprise, Sweetheart?” Sadie asked curiously, watching Ruby bouncing happily on her feet.
“Papa said we are going to town!” she exclaimed happily. “To buy dresses and shoes!” Sadie looked up at Sam, who smiled awkwardly.
“We are?” she asked, surprised. “Today?”
Sam leaned forward and offered his hand to help Sadie to stand up.
Some dark strands of his hair fell into his mesmerizing blue eyes, which he quickly brushed back.
Sadie slid her small hand into his much larger one and instantly felt the heat radiating from it. The warmth traveled all the way up her arm, settling deep in her belly.
“If you still want to go?” Sam replied with a slightly raspy voice.
“Yes! We want to go,” Ruby called out to both of them, still bouncing around.
As he pulled her up, Sadie swayed slightly against him and had to steady herself with one hand against his solid chest. They both didn’t move for a second.
Seeing him this close again, she started to notice more things about him—how straight his nose was, the shape of his eyebrows and the curve of his lips. She remembered the softness when they’d kissed at their wedding ceremony…
Heat crept into her cheeks and her heart seemed to be drumming some irregular beat. Did this mean that Sam was no longer angry with her? Sadie hoped that they would simply forget about their argument from the previous night.
He cleared his throat.
“But I will pay for her clothes,” he quickly added.
“Yes, of course,” she replied with a nod. He hesitated for a second, but then he stepped away and straightened his posture.
“Good,” he said. “We should go right after breakfast,” he suggested.
“Yay!” Ruby cheered, who was already grabbing onto the balusters, attempting to walk down the stairs by herself. When Sadie saw it, Sam was already right there, picking up his daughter, tickling her into frenzied giggles.
“You really don’t listen at all, do you?” he mock-scolded her. Sadie couldn’t help but smile. Looking up at the ceiling, she thanked God for listening to her prayer.
***
By the time they were ready to leave, spirits were high.
Daniel had readied the lightweight buggy, which was pulled by a stunning white mare named Whisper for Sadie, Ruby, and Ellen, and one of the ranch hands had saddled up Black Shadow for Sam.
The way the two horses nuzzled each other’s noses as Sadie stepped out of the house was such a beautiful sight, she immediately thought about how pretty their foals would be.
“I think Black Shadow and Whisper should make babies,” Sadie said to Ellen as they made their way to the carriage, both swinging Ruby in between them by her arms.
“They would look amazing,” Ellen agreed.
“Some pairs are just meant to be together,” she added with a pointed glance at Sam, who was swinging his long leg over his stallion at that very moment.
Sadie released a small sigh and blushed slightly as she watched Sam turn the horse with the controlled strength of his thighs, not even holding the reins.
“I wonder if Sam knows how good of a rider he is,” Sadie said quietly, as both women lifted the little girl onto the seat of their buggy. They both joined her on either side, then Sadie took the reins and gently led the white mare toward the road.
Sam nodded to her, then the little trek left with Sam taking the lead.
“You never told me your favorite colors,” Ellen said to Ruby, so the little girl proceeded to name every single color she could think of, adorably counting them all off on each of her little fingers.
“Woah! That’s a lot of favorites!” Sadie finally said. “Do you know what favorite means?” she asked genuinely. Ruby nodded, making her thick golden blonde curls bounce around her innocent face.
“All the best things?” she replied with a shrug, holding up both of her palms.
“Kind of,” Sadie replied with a soft smile. “Of all the things you like, your favorite is the one you like most,” she explained. Ruby looked at Ellen, who nodded at her encouragingly. Ruby’s nose crunched up while she was thinking hard about her answer.
“But what if I like pink and yellow the most?” Ruby asked with a worried look.
“Well, then we will have to get one of each, I’m afraid,” Sadie said with a serious expression.
“And what about green?” Ruby asked. “I don’t want blue to be sad,” she said.
They continued their little color discussion for a while longer, until Ruby started pointing at the last leaves falling off the trees.
Most of them were already bare, but some stubbornly held on, despite it being October already.
Winter was fast approaching, even though it didn’t really look or feel like it yet.
By the time they arrived on the outskirts of town, Sam held Black Shadow back and rode beside them, because he wasn’t sure where the seamstress’ shop was.
Sadie steered the buggy away from Main Street, where all the chaos and mostly the big stores were, and they ended up in a much quieter and noticeably cleaner neighborhood.
The narrow single-lane road suddenly opened up to a small marketplace, which was entirely paved with cobblestones and had a small fountain in the middle.
Very small and dainty-looking shops were dotted around everywhere, and on the eastern side sat Pemberly Tailors.
Sadie parked the buggy right out in front of it.
Sam dismounted Black Shadow to help the women step out from the buggy.
“I’ve never seen this place before,” he said, curiously glancing around.
“Not many people know about it,” Sadie told him. ”I don’t like shopping on Main Street. This is a very safe neighborhood. Nothing will happen to us here.”
Sam picked up Ruby from the buggy and scanned the entire market square. Sadie followed his gaze. It was very quiet and judging by what the people here were wearing, the few that were around clearly seemed to be on the wealthier side.
He nodded curtly. Then he followed the two women to the entrance door.
“I’ll have to go and speak to the sheriff,” Sam said to Sadie. He was clearly torn. She could see the worry in Sam’s face about leaving his daughter behind, so she put her hand reassuringly on his forearm.