Page 26 of Married By Midnight
“Would you like a cup of coffee?”
Ian pulled out the tin of tea. “I think this would be better.”
Sarah’s eyes went wide. “Oh my. That is a large tin.”
“I know you had used the last of your tea. So, I thought this would last you quite a while.”
Saran took the tin and wrapped her arms around Ian, embracing him. “Thank you so much. This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” She felt silly crying over a tin of tea, but she was so overcome with emotion. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and then went to put the kettle on.
“That’s not all,” he said, lifting one of the boxes with a string. “I brought us a cake as well. Do you have a plate?”
Sarah pointed to the cupboard. Ian took out three plates, a knife and two forks. He set the cake and the knife on one, and forks on the other.
Sarah finished preparing the chicken. She put the cut-up pieces in a bowl of buttermilk and set a towel over them while the pieces soaked. By the time she washed her hands, the kettle was piping hot.
She put a teaspoon of tea leaves in her favorite kettle and poured the boiling water over the leaves, giving the pot a little swirl. She placed the pot on the table next to the cake and then fetched two cups.
Ian sliced two pieces of cake and slid one on the plate in front of her. Sarah had never tasted anything like it. Pound cake, Ian called it. She sipped her tea and enjoyed her cake while Ian filled her in on all the memories he remembered.
She watched his face light up as he talked about his life in New York and the people he met while train jumping. Sarah just enjoyed listening to him.
She wished she could freeze the moment and sear it into her memory. For a moment, life was perfect.
That perfect moment was short lived. After a delicious dinner of fried chicken and cornbread, with pound cake for dessert, the men went back to the barn, leaving Sarah alone with her thoughts.
Dusty and Jesse mentioned that they had found work at the Snyder ranch and would be leaving at the end of the week.
Sarah wanted to cry. There was no way she could pay everyone... or anyone. She understood and promised that as soon as she found some money, she would send their wages along.
Everyone was leaving. All the farm hands were going to be gone. Ian would eventually leave. That would leave her and Dell alone in the house.
Sarah warmed up the tea that was left in the pot and carried a cup into her father's office. It was becoming her place of refuge. She sat behind the large oak desk and twirled on his chair while sipping her tea.
“Miss?”
Sarah looked up. Dell was at the door. “Come in, Dell.”
“I just wanted to know if you found a solution to those papers Mr. Mathews brought by.”
Sarah motioned for him to sit. “Not yet. Why do you ask?”
Dell rubbed his chest. Perhaps he had indigestion from dinner. “Maybe selling the farm is the right thing. You can take the money and get a new house. Find a husband and settle down.”
“If I could find a husband, none of this would be happening.”
“Miss Sarah, you can't stay here forever hiding away.”
“What am I hiding from?” She tried to disguise the annoyance in her voice but couldn't.
“Memories. Feeling guilty that you didn't die with your parents.”
“I don't feel guilty,” she responded a bit too sharply.
“I've known you since you were a little girl. You were always outgoing and adventurous. You were ready to take on the world, right any wrong. That is why so many people loved you. You have a good heart, Sarah.”
“Where is this going, Dell? I need to clean out the desk.”
“When my wife died, I didn't want to live. In fact, I went out of my way to take any dangerous job I could. When those didn't kill me, I decided to kill myself. Slowly. I had nearly drunk myself to death when your father rescued me.”
