Chapter Twenty
Once again, the church was filled to the rafters with people. The whole town came to attend the usual Sunday service and Sam felt oddly at peace being there.
After he’d spoken to the priest during the week to arrange everything for Ruby’s christening, there was nothing left to worry about—so he didn’t—which surprised him a little. Especially today being that day.
Knowing that Elizabeth used to love Sunday services and that she’d want him to be here gave him solace and made it bearable for him to go through with everything. After all, this wasn’t about him.
After Sam’s long talk with Sadie, something inside him had stirred for the first time in a long time, and although he didn’t want to admit it yet, a tiny flame had lit inside his heart, making this entire experience much easier to digest. Sadie, Ellen, Daniel, and Hattie were all there to support him and his daughter.
“Are you all right?” Sadie whispered to him. She’d asked him at least five or six times already and he knew that she just wanted to make sure that he’d get through the day. He nodded with a soft smile.
“I’m fine,” he whispered back. “Please don’t worry about me.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, her brown eyes as warm as caramel. Sam took her hand and kissed the back of it.
“I’m sure,” he said. They shared another smile.
Sam didn’t miss how gorgeous Sadie looked that morning.
She wore a pale green satin dress with embroidered white flowers and birds.
Her silky brown hair was artfully pinned up and several white and green ribbons had been worked into it to match.
Watching her talk and laugh with the people in church before the service made him realize once more just how beautiful she truly was. It warmed his heart.
He also noticed how the townsfolk eyed the two of them up with great curiosity, and Sam overheard some of the comments about when they might expect their first child together.
Idle gossip, he thought, but it made him wonder. Their marriage was practical, not emotional, but their bond was growing. Would they ever get there? Would they actually fall in love and maybe have a real marriage one day?
Remembering today’s date, he instantly felt that it was inappropriate to think about that, but it was in that moment that Sadie looked over and smiled at him. He couldn’t help it. She was stunning, so he had to smile back.
However, his main focus was Ruby, who was overly excited that morning because Sadie had put the thought into her head that God would bless especially her today. Ruby hadn’t been able to sit still since they’d arrived at church.
Since the first order of the dresses they’d ordered for her had been delivered, Ruby had picked out the only white one among them for today, because it was embroidered with thousands of pink and lilac roses.
Ellen and Sadie had made an extra effort in braiding the same colored ribbons into her golden blonde hair. She looked very cute.
Sometime nearer the end of the service, the priest motioned for Sam to come up to the baptismal font, which stood a little to the side. Once again, colorful bright light fell through the stained-glass windows directly onto that spot, and Sam began to think that this wasn’t coincidence.
Picking up Ruby, he walked her over to the font. Sadie, Ellen, Daniel, and Hattie followed. After it was established that Ellen and Daniel would be Ruby’s godparents, the priest began speaking the words.
“Do you believe in the Lord, our Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit?” he asked Sam, who replied first and foremost for Ruby and Elizabeth—both of them had always had their hearts wide open for the Heavenly Father.
“Yes,” he said, which was promptly confirmed by a resounding “Yes!” from Ruby. The priest smiled as he gently painted a cross on Ruby’s forehead.
Then, he carefully poured a small amount of water over Ruby’s head, which startled her, but it made her giggle. She cackled so loudly that half the congregation began to laugh. It was a very precious moment indeed.
Sam heard later that Sadie had warned Ruby that this would happen and that she shouldn’t cry but embrace it, because it was the cleansing of her soul through God.
Sam was very proud of his daughter and when the priest sprinkled more water across her arms and legs, Ruby beamed at the holy man with bright eyes.
Sam recognized that his girl embraced God with absolute abandon, and he secretly wished that he could do the same thing. To be uninhibited and fully open.
As soon as the service was over, everybody attending church wanted to congratulate Sam and Ruby to her christening.
Once again, the small group could barely get away from it all.
Meanwhile, Ruby seemed to love all the attention.
A lot of the townsfolk showered her with gifts—mainly silver coins—and plenty of well-wishes.
Surprisingly, Sam didn’t mind. This day wasn’t about him, it was about his sweet young daughter and he wanted her to experience all of it as much as she could.
It took almost another hour and lots of running around with the other younger children outside of the church before they were finally on their way back home to the ranch, where they’d celebrate Ruby’s christening.
It was a beautiful day outside—probably one of the very last ones where you could be outside and not be too cold—with the sun shining warmly from a deep blue sky.
When they arrived at the house, Sam was surprised to see all the white paper and silk garlands softly waving in the breeze. The entire porch was decorated.
“Ah, Louise! You’ve outdone yourself again,” Daniel called out to the cook, who’d prepared an entire buffet with a huge variety of warm and cold as well as sweet and savory snacks on the porch.
“Today is a very special day for our Ruby!” Louise replied with a wide grin. “Anything for this little angel!”
“You truly are the best,” Sam told her, which the older woman took with a beaming smile before she once again disappeared inside the house in a hurry.
Everybody who’d been invited brought Ruby presents and she took every one with grace and gratitude. Sam could see a lot of Elizabeth in her, but it didn’t hurt. It made him proud.
Hattie had knitted her a sweater for the cooler weather.
Ellen gifted her with a new easel for the paintings Ruby had recently got into, and Sadie with a whole array of painting supplies.
Sam hadn’t even known about Ruby’s new hobby.
Daniel handed her a hand-carved horse that looked exactly like Black Shadow, which was an instant hit. Ruby never set it aside.
“What did you get her, Sam?” Hattie asked him with a curious smile. Sam grinned from ear to ear.
“She’ll get it a little later, when she’s calmed down,” he said. Hattie raised both eyebrows.
“Oh, now I’m curious!” she said to him, as Ruby and several young children came running by. Sam didn’t even know whose children they were, but Ruby was happy and that was all that mattered.
Standing there on the porch, surrounded by friends and his small family, Sam realized that he was feeling something he hadn’t felt for a long time.
He felt everybody’s joy, the sense of community, and even hope.
He saw the smiles, heard the laughter and the jokes, the children’s cackle, and felt the warm sun on his face.
Sam felt content in that moment, maybe even a sliver of happiness.
Sam watched Sadie crouch down so she could speak to Ruby at eye level, as they were having an animated conversation with lots of giggles and hugs.
“It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” Hattie said next to him with a soft smile.
“About what?” Sam asked, following her gaze back to Sadie and Ruby.
“Maybe God is not taking things away from you anymore,” she explained quietly.
Sam tensed slightly, but he forced himself to relax.
He didn’t want to be like that. Especially not on this day.
“Perhaps God is trying to give you something back. Ruby is very taken with Sadie. As much as it pains me, Ruby never got to know Liz. But now she is getting to know this wonderful young lady. My heart is at peace with that.”
Sam glanced at Hattie. Her face had gotten older, she had a few more wrinkles around her eyes, but she was still very beautiful, simply an older version of Elizabeth.
Seeing her smile at him right then gave him once again the impression that Liz was smiling through her.
Then Hattie put her arm around his, hooking them together.
“It’s all right to let go,” she said to him.
There was slight moisture in her eyes. “It’s what Liz would have wanted.
It’s all right to love again, someone new.
My daughter will never be forgotten. Ruby is too much like her.
But you are still here, Sam. Your heart is still beating and Sadie deserves true love.
Maybe God brought you two together for a reason. Allow yourself to follow.”
Sam quietly released a long breath.
“Wouldn’t it hurt you to see me happy with another woman?” he asked her, his voice almost inaudible. Hattie squeezed his arm and she looked straight into his eyes.
“Are you asking me? Or are you asking yourself?” she responded.
“I love Sadie. She is very good to Ruby and she is very good to you. This woman is bright and smart and she has so many qualities my own daughter had. Missing Elizabeth doesn’t mean that you have to stop existing.
You are still too young to give up hope, Sam.
I would welcome to see you happy with whoever gives you the love you deserve. ”
Sam pulled Hattie into a tight hug, which she reciprocated.
Something inside of him cracked. It seemed to release a weight he’d held onto for too long.
It was as if tiny pieces of him just started to float away, making him feel lighter.
His guilt as well as his need for revenge slowly dissipated and morphed into something new.
His anger about the way it all happened was still there, but his need for justice seemed less unhealthily obsessive.
He’d never give up finding the perpetrators, but his revenge was no longer the only thing driving him.
Sam had a new family he needed to protect.
Releasing Hattie from that embrace felt like more than just releasing her from a hug.
It was as if he was releasing his old life. He almost didn’t want to let go.
“You’ve got to be kidding!” Daniel said somewhere behind him and Sam turned to look, not expecting anything major.
A rider came racing down the road toward the house. Sam instantly bristled.
Sadie rushed to Sam’s side.
“What does he want now?” she asked, noticeably nervous. Sam put his arm around her shoulders, squeezing them gently.
“I’m sure he’ll let us know as soon as he gets here,” Sam said with an angry tone. The fact that that man didn’t take their warnings seriously enough to stay away made Sam furious. They’d told him not come by unannounced, yet here he was, racing toward the house like a manic person.
By the time Walter stopped in front of the porch, everybody was watching his arrival. There were quite a few people on the porch, all standing close to the front watching the crazed man mishandling his poor horse. Daniel immediately jumped down to take his wheezing gelding from him.
Meanwhile, Walter spread out his arms, sunning himself in all the attention.
“Oh, my, what do we have here?” he jeered with a wide grin. “A private gathering? And I wasn’t invited? The only true member of this family?” He took two steps at a time coming up onto the porch and walked through the small crowd as if he owned the place, dramatically turning as he went.
“I’m the most important person here! How did I not know about this?” he called out to nobody in particular. The guests started to exchange curious looks, shooting glances at Sadie and Sam.
“You are most certainly not the most important person here!” Hattie scolded as she stepped forward. Sam was about to jump forward to save her, but when Walter turned around to her, he seemed taken aback.
“Today is Ruby’s day!” Hattie stated matter-of-factly. “And I won’t have anybody ruin that for her! I don’t know who you are, marching in here like that, but you are clearly a very rude person!” Sam couldn’t help but feel immensely proud of her.
“Well, I happen to be the soon-to-be owner of this ranch, Ma’am…” Walter said with an arrogant snort, but Sadie cut him off.
“No, you aren’t! And you are not welcome here, either!” she yelled angrily. “We’ve told you that you are not allowed to come here unannounced anymore! So, what are you doing here, ruining our day?” Walter smiled at that, but as soon as his eyes found Sadie, his expression turned sour.
Sam released a low growl as he pressed his wife close to his side, because Sadie’s whole body was trembling with rage.
“There you are,” he said with mock surprise, casting a quick glance at Sam before returning his glare back to Sadie. “How nice to see you again, niece! I’ve got fantastic news for you! Would you like to hear them?”
“Should we go inside to talk privately?” Sam whispered into Sadie’s ear, but she vehemently shook her head.
“No, let him talk openly in front of everybody,” she replied, looking directly at her uncle. “Let’s hear what lies he’s got to tell today.”
Walter’s nostrils flared, but he quickly shrugged it off and put on his brightest fake smile.
“You won’t like what I’ve got to say, niece!
” he said self-assuredly, looking around at everybody.
“I had a lovely talk with my lawyer yesterday. A very important meeting. It’ll change everything, making me the sole owner of this lovely estate,” he proclaimed with a strange laugh.
Sadie scoffed, but some women gasped in shock, hiding their open mouths behind their hands.
“Is that lawyer a paid criminal? Who is he?” Sam called out to him. His anger started to bubble up to the surface and he knew that it could break through anytime if Walter kept going like this.
“You’ll find out soon enough, but I would start packing if I were you,” Walter said dismissively. Then he turned his back to Sam and Sadie, loudly asking the people behind him. “So, what are we celebrating here? Is it a birthday? Another fake wedding? What is it?”