Chapter Seventeen
Sadie stared out of the window and pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders. She was wondering if Sam had actually gone into town or if he was coming back here right after his visit at Sampson’s Cove. She had no idea, though she was starting to worry.
What had started out as normal rain with a soft pitter-patter had turned into a full-blown deluge, crashing loudly against the window panes, making it impossible to see the outside. The odd rumble of thunder added to the loud noise.
So far, Sam hadn’t returned yet.
Meanwhile, his daughter was fast asleep in her bed.
Sadie was baffled that she could sleep through such a ruckus. After what Ruby had described as “long and hard lessons in school”, the little girl had told her that she was exhausted and needed a well-deserved afternoon nap.
Sadie backed away from the window and walked over to the large bed, making sure that Ruby was tucked in. Then Sadie slipped quietly out of the room and closed the door before she walked down the stairs. Thankfully, the thunder had lessened somewhat, but the rain was relentless.
For a moment, Sadie wondered if she needed to worry about flash flooding and if her horses were in any kind of danger. Some of the lower fields sat right next to the river, which could potentially break its banks if this rain didn’t let up.
She slowly made her way toward the back of the house to make herself a cup of tea.
Louise was taking a break before she would return to make dinner, so the large kitchen was deserted, almost silent.
While Sadie waited for the water to boil, she put a few logs onto the fire, which created a warm glow and chased away the gloominess lurking in all the empty corners of the unused space.
Sadie poured a tiny amount of honey into her chamomile tea and was about to sit down at the counter when the back door burst open, crashing hard against the wall.
She watched aghast as Sam came storming inside. To say that he was soaking wet was an understatement.
He slammed the door shut behind him and started to peel off his drenched clothing—first his coat and Stetson, then his soaked and almost see-through shirt underneath, dropping each item heedlessly on the floor. His long wet hair looked black now and thick strands dangled dripping into his face.
Sam was moving quickly and Sadie was so in shock, she hadn’t moved an inch, which meant that Sam was utterly unaware of her presence.
The second his shirt came off—revealing rippling muscles beneath taut skin and a dusting of hair covering his broad chest—Sadie forgot to breathe.
The moisture made his smooth and tanned skin shimmer.
It was mesmerizing. She froze and couldn’t take her eyes off him.
That’s my husband. Oh, my!
When his hands went to open his trousers, she blushed profusely and spun her head to look away, which finally caught his attention.
“Sadie! What are you doing here in the dark?” he shouted, clearly startled.
“I was having some tea!” she shouted back defensively.
When Sadie tentatively turned to look at him again, Sam was just standing there with his hands on his hips. Still very much shirtless. He looked at her, bewildered, but didn’t say anything. Sadie couldn’t help herself and watched the rapid movement of his heaving chest.
Sam finally realized that he was in a rather inappropriate state of undress, and quickly spun around. He grabbed a small towel from a stack of linens nearby, but that barely covered half of his upper body.
Sadie giggled when she saw his distraught face.
Sam grabbed another, much larger one and draped it over his shoulders.
Sadie was almost sad when he was able to cover himself up completely.
He turned back around and they stared at each other for a long moment of silence.
Then, he seemed to get uncomfortable and moved over to the fireplace to try and warm himself up.
His face looked stern, almost angry. Was he mad that she’d surprised him?
Sadie wondered what he was thinking. They were married, after all. Would he kiss her again—now, that they were alone, in the middle of the afternoon…?
“Your uncle was at Sampson’s Cove,” Sam said then, bursting her tender little bubble.
“What?” Sadie blinked rapidly to shake off the fog misting up her brain.
“Walter came riding up as we were leaving,” Sam told her with a scowl. “Remember that business proposal he came up with, asking for your money to buy a neighboring ranch?” Sadie’s eyes went wide.
“Yes! Is he going to buy Sampson’s Cove?” she asked, instantly worried. “We can’t allow that to happen! He’d be our immediate neighbor!”
Sam nodded at that, slightly tilting his head.
“Why is he always around?” he asked, half to himself. “I have a bad feeling about him. Not just for the obvious reasons. And with this fire right next door, things are suddenly a lot more dangerous for you and us here.” Sadie nodded again.
“That’s true. Maybe we should set up some guards to watch the house and barns,” Sadie suggested. Sam finally smiled at her.
“You are very smart, you know that?” he told her, but then his frown was back. “Do you think your uncle could have something to do with it all?” he asked hesitantly.
Sadie took a long sip from her tea. Then she nodded.
“It’s possible,” she admitted quietly. Sam’s eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up.
Sadie hesitated, but then she looked straight into his eyes.
“For as long as I can remember, Walter has always caused trouble. It’s not that I remember a lot about him, but I know that he and my father never really saw eye to eye. ”
Sam walked over to the counter and sat down opposite her. When his towel opened slightly, unexpectedly revealing too much skin, Sadie blushed and averted her gaze, even though she didn’t want to look away. Sam quickly wrapped himself back up.
Sadie didn’t know what else to do in that moment, so she just kept talking.
“I know that my father tried to build the business together with him,” she said, “but from what I’ve heard, my uncle never showed any interest in learning the trade or to put the work in.
At some point, Walter even got caught stealing money from my father.
He kicked my uncle out and told him to never come back. ”
“Yet, he does,” Sam concluded with a sigh.
“Only since he’s heard of my parents’ deaths,” Sadie added. “I never saw him again while my father was still alive. Walter has only shown up a few weeks ago, shortly before I met you.” Sam nodded slowly.
A small beam of sunlight fell through the window onto the counter and they both looked up.
“I guess it stopped raining,” Sam said dryly, his voice raspy.
“I guess it has,” Sadie replied, quickly taking another sip from her tea. She suddenly realized the intimate space they were in. They hadn’t been alone like this before, where they just talked freely. It made her scalp tingle and the fluttery feeling in her stomach was back again.
“I should go and get changed,” Sam said then. “Get some dry clothes on.”
Sadie pulled her lips into a tight smile.
She could barely nod, because the second Sam got up from his seat, her eyes caught another glimpse of that strong body of his.
He walked back to the spot where he’d initially dropped his wet clothes, picked them up, and hung his coat as well as his Stetson onto the hooks next to the door to dry.
Then he draped the towel he’d borrowed over the line running across the large window. With his torso completely bare, he bent down to pick up his shirt, wrung it out and draped it next to the towel onto that same line.
Sadie held her breath almost the entire time.
Her husband was a stunning specimen of a man.
Was she imagining things, or did Sam move a little slower than he usually did? Either way, Sadie enjoyed the show thoroughly, albeit having to avert her gaze every now and again, or she feared she might burst at the seams.
“I’ll be right back,” he told her with a cheeky smile, then he left the kitchen. Suddenly deprived of air, Sadie inhaled deeply.
“Dear Lord, You sure are testing me!” she said into the now empty room. “But thank You very much for sending me this amazing man and for allowing me to marry him! There is no other way—it must have been You who sent him to me. Thank You!”
She drank the rest of her tea, then she went back, about to go upstairs to check on Ruby.
Sadie had barely put her foot onto the bottom steps when a harsh bang coming from the front door echoed loudly through the foyer.
“Niece!” an all too familiar voice sounded from outside.
Sadie paused on that bottom step, contemplating whether she should let her uncle in or not. Especially after the conversation she’d just had with Sam. Sadie looked upstairs, hoping for Sam to show up on the landing, but he didn’t.
“I know you are in there! Let me in!” Walter yelled, banging his fists again and again at the door.
It was obnoxiously loud and grated Sadie’s nerves.
“You still haven’t shown me any proof for your marriage!
I need to see it now, or I will take the ranch!
” he screamed, sounding almost hysterical. She took a step toward the front door.
“Wait!” Sam whisper-screamed as he came running down the stairs. He was still buttoning up his shirt, shoving it inside his fresh pair of trousers. Sadie got a little flustered.
“Whatever he wants now,” he whispered to her, “you and I need to present a united front. We need to convince him that we are happily married, that we love each other and that there’s no possibility of him taking over the ranch!
These surprise visits need to stop! I want him gone and out of our lives. ”