Page 28 of Married By Midnight
She put her cup down and moved closer to the mirror. She pushed and pulled her cheeks, trying to bring some color back to her face. All she managed to do was make her skin bright red. Sarah sighed. She looked like one of those clowns from when the circus came to Creede.
She unbuttoned the top button of her blouse. No sense trying to choke herself as well. She felt instant relief once that button was undone. She turned her head from side to side, looking at her face in the mirror.
She wasn’t terrible to look at. In fact, she thought if she pulled her hair out of that terrible bun, it might even soften her features.
She grasped one of the pins holding her hair in place and yanked. It took a few tries, but it finally came free from her bun.
She grabbed another. Then another. Twenty pins in all lay on the table when she was done. No wonder her head hurt all the time.
Her hair flowed in waves below her shoulders. She ran her fingers through the locks trying to tame out the kinks from being wound so tightly.
She heard the door open again. Perhaps Dell was returning for the bicarbonate. She picked up her cup and walked towards the kitchen.
“Dell. I want to ap-.” Sarah stopped short when she saw Ian standing in the kitchen. “Ian.” Her breath came out in a rush.
Ian stopped and looked at her. A peculiar look came over his face and he moved closer. “Sarah,” he said. “You look beautiful.” Sarah felt a blush creeping over her cheeks. He lifted one hand and caressed her cheek. Sarah could feel that his fingers were calloused as he gently touched her.
Sarah never had a man touch her that way. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. She felt Ian cup her chin with his other hand, so she opened her eyes.
His brown eyes were swirling with emotion. He whispered her name again and leaned down to kiss her. She tried to press her lips tightly together, but she melted as he gently moved his mouth. Her arms lifted around his neck and she pressed herself close to him. The sound of the teacup falling out of her hand jolted both out of the tenderness of the kiss.
Ian stepped back. “I couldn't help myself. I wanted to do that all day today.”
Sarah nodded. “No harm done. We just got caught up in a moment.”
Ian looked away. “Right. The moment.” Sarah could hear the hurt and disappointment in his voice. When he looked at her again, his lips were tight, and she could see a tic in his cheek flexing.
Sarah gave a little cough. “What did you need? I was just about to lock the door.”
“Dell is having chest pains. I thought maybe you have some soda I could mix for him.”
Sarah nodded. She went to the cupboard where her baking supplies were and pull down a metal tin. “Take this,” she said handing him the tin of bicarbonate soda. She grabbed a large mason jar from below the cabinet and handed that to him as well. “Put two teaspoons in the jar and add water. Have him drink it. It should settle the indigestion.”
Ian thanked her and headed to the door. Sarah followed. When he reached the door, he looked at her. “I'm not sorry about that kiss, Sarah.” Before she could respond he was gone into the darkness.
Sarah locked the door and lifted her fingers to her lips. They were still warm from where Ian had kissed her. She didn't realize how badly she needed a human connection until Ian took her by surprise.
Perhaps Dell was right. She needed to take stock of what she was doing before she killed herself.
She had put it off long enough, so she made the trek into town to see Mr. Rodgers, the attorney.
Sarah was sitting in Mr. Rodgers’s office mulling over her options. There was bad. And then there was bad.
“What would you like me to do?”
Sarah looked at the attorney. “How much would it cost to have a letter sent to the bank?”
“Two dollars.”
Sarah noticed Mr. Rodgers didn’t even blink an eye. Maybe she should marry an attorney if they made that type of money.
“And if I deliver the letter myself?” she asked hopefully.
“It would still be two dollars.” He pushed the papers back towards Sarah. “Have you found your father’s will yet?”
Sarah shook her head. She didn’t want to say that she had a stranger at the house who was consuming all her time and thoughts.At least he moved into the barn.
Sarah shook her head. “I’ve been looking, but I haven’t found it yet. Are you sure he had one?”
