Page 36 of Married By Midnight
“You’re rich, missy,” Dell said picking Sarah up in a hug and dancing around with her. He gave her a kiss on the cheek before releasing her back to the ground.
“There is seventy-five dollars in bills here,” Ian said handing her the money. She took the bills and threw her arms around Ian’s neck. “I can’t believe we found it!” She reached up and placed a kiss on his lips. She felt his surprise but then he was pulling her closer.
They heard Dell cough and pulled apart. “What are you going to do with all your money, Sarah?”
Sarah placed the bills in the pocket of her apron. “First thing I’m going to do is pay the taxes.”
The next morning, Mr. Mathews stopped by with a notification from the Tax Assessors’ office.
“What do you mean I don’t owe anything?” Sarah looked at the paper in disbelief.
“Everything has been taken care of.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your husband came to the bank and paid the amount owed when he dropped off your marriage certificate and signed the appropriate documents. I just had to get everything finalized before I dropped by with the papers.”
Sarah thanked Mr. Mathews, but inside she was fuming. It was her responsibility.Hers! Ian said that he was simply going to arranged for an extension. Not actually pay it!
Sarah was fit to be tied. She put the papers aside vowing to talk to Ian about them when he returned home that evening. She needed to do something to take her mind off what she just learned.
She touched the money in her pocket. He knew she was going to offer it to Mr. Mathews when the banker delivered the papers. Ian let her continue to think that the taxes were still outstanding.
Ian was out with Dell fixing a fence for the cows and horses to graze, otherwise she’d have it out with him right then. Dusty and Jesse had already left to go work at the Snyder ranch.
Instead she decided to take her frustrations out on her father’s office. She had sold the credenza and hutch before they found the jug of money, and the man was supposed to stop by with a wagon later that afternoon to pick it up.
Looking around the room she decided to start with the hutch that contained all her father’s books. She pulled over a wooden crate and opened the doors, her fingers tracing the spines.
She pulled the books down and placed them in the crate on the floor. She would sort them later. As she pulled the books out, she read the titles of the books before she put them in the crate. Some of her favorite memories were reading the books out loud to her father. That is probably why she enjoyed reading to Ian so much.
He was an honorable man. That is probably why he paid the taxes. He didn’t want her to have to worry about it. He knew she would pay him when she either found the money or sold the farm. That was why he stayed around. Once she paid him there would be nothing keeping him at the farm.
She pulled the next few books down and lovingly organized them into the crate. The next book was one of her favorites.Treasure Island.She and her father would create crazy stories about pirates in their own back yard. Sarah remembered making him a treasure map to her dolly.
Laughing at the memory she flipped open the book and gasped. There was an enveloped glued to the inside cover.
Sarah ran to the desk with the book and searched for her father’s letter opener. With shaky hands, she managed to open the letter and pull out several sheets of paper.
The first two were her father’s will and testament. She would have to get that over to Mr. Rodgers as soon as possible. The other were notes that her father had written regarding going into business with ... Arlan Snyder! So, the man was telling the truth!
She put that paper aside and opened the last one. She put her fingers to her mouth. She couldn’t believe it! Her father had drawn a treasure map with locations all around the farm. This must be where he stored the rest of his money.
Sarah laid the paper down and pressed the creases out with her fingers. She recognized all these places! There was the marking for the jug they just recovered yesterday. She ran her finger over the paper looking at the other marks. Many were underneath the trees where her father loved to spend time. Some were by the creek bed where they would picnic as a family. A few were even in the barn.
Sarah put the map in her pocket. She didn’t want to share this with Ian just yet. If she told him about the map, then he would delay leaving to stay with her until she found all the money.
The sound of hoof beats drew her attention to the window outside. It was Ian. He dismounted from his horse and ran into the house. “Sarah! Sarah!” he cried.
“What’s wrong. Is everything alright?”
“You need to go get the doctor. Something happened to Dell.”
Chapter 9
Ian watched as Dell was buried under the trees with the rest of the Abrahams family. The doc said Dell passed quickly from a myocardial infarction. Ian didn’t know exactly what that meant, just that it had something to do with Dell’s heart.
It took three days to get him buried. Three days that Sarah didn’t move from her bed. Dusty and Jesse returned along with the other farm hands to dig the grave under the trees. Ian paid for a pine casket and Reverend Bing presided over the simple service.
