Page 21 of Married By Midnight
Instead of keeping away from Ian she found herself drawing closer to him. Dell returned to managing the farm. Mostly he was getting ready for the inevitable event that would occur.
While Ian slept, Sarah spent her days going through boxes, drawers and closets to determine what needed to be thrown out or sold. When he was awake, she read to him from the Bible or one of the books from her father’s library.
Sarah dreaded having to pack up the books. It was heartbreaking work going through her parents’ items, and she could only do it for a little bit at a time.
She figured it was easier to do it now than if the farm had to be sold. Most of the clothes she had given to the church to be distributed to those who needed them. She would do the same with her mother’s belongs. But right now, small lots of time was all she could handle.
She just finished sorting her father’s clothes and came across a pair of pants and a shirt that she thought would fit Ian.
“I found these for you…” She lifted her eyes and her mouth formed a round O.
Ian was standing by the window wearing just a pair of brown pants. She could see the muscles sculpting his back and tapering just above his belt.
His arms were curved in all the right places, and Sarah thought they were the perfect arms for holding someone tight. Sarah envied the girl that would have those arms around her.
There were bruises still marring his perfect skin. Sarah wanted to run her fingers over his back and soothe his pain. She quickly averted her eyes and chastised herself for having such thoughts.
He’s just a man, she thought to herself. She had seen her father without a shirt, but Jacob Abrahams did not look like the man in front of her. She felt flush and quickly dropped the clothes on the bed before backing out of the room.
Still looking at the floor, she backed into the door on her way out. She quickly spun and ran down the hall to the kitchen.
“Sarah!” Ian called. “Wait.”
He followed her down the hall pulling a shirt over his head.
“Do you want someone to see us?”
“There isn’t anything to see.”
Sarah peeked through her fingers. He was wearing a shirt.
“I need to empty the water.” Dell had set up a tub in the bedroom and Sarah had filled it with hot water.
“Leave it to cool and then we can use it to water the garden.”
“I finally feel alive again.”
“You look much better.” The swelling on his face was gone, just leaving behind yellow and green bruises.
“Dell said he is preparing a place for me in the bunk house.” Sarah nodded. He looked at her with soft brown eyes. Sarah could see gold flecks reflecting in his eyes. He took her hand. “Thank you for saving me, Sarah.”
Sarah allowed the warmth to seep into her hand. “Dell took care of you. I didn’t do anything.”
“I know you came in at night to check on me. You fed me so I’d get better. You called the doctor. Dell may have stitched me up and slept on the floor, but it was actually you that saved me.”
“I think Dell is ready to move back into the bunk house.”
Ian laughed. “He was complaining that his back was hurting.”
Sarah pulled her hand from his. “I believe that. I’ll be happy too. I could hear his snoring all the way to my room.”
“Would you like a cup of coffee?”
Ian nodded and Sarah turned to go to the kitchen. Sarah filled two mugs with coffee and placed them on the table. She sat in one chair, while Ian sat in the other.
He wrapped his hands around the mug and took a sip. “This coffee is good.”
“Thank you. I prefer tea but I ran out.”
