The Reluctant Bride - Chapter 3

Sadie was Worried About her Future

 

 

Chapter 3

Sadie was mulling over in her mind knowing Lacey wanted to talk to her in the morning and it caused her to wonder what it could be.  Finally she was able to drift off to sleep.

 

Come the morning there were a half dozen roosters competing with each other on who could crow the loudest. They woke Sadie up and she lay there as the same thoughts returning to her from last night.

 

She wondered what time Lacey got up - - just as there was a knock at the door. It was Lacey and he said it's time to get up. Breakfast is on the table and nobody waits on any one else. 

 

Lacey's kids were all up and dressed and eating the grits and bacon. Elena's husband Joseph was almost finished when Sadie made it to the table.

Lacey was outside looking over the horse he got from the saloon cowboy and decided it might be alright for one of the kids to ride, but it wasn't a good cow pony.

 

After drinking some coffee, Sadie caught up with Lacey and told him he was hard to find in the morning. He said my mornings are usually busy.

 

There were several men that didn't fit the mold of how Sadie thought a farmer should look. Lacey had been talking to the men before she found him and after she interrupted his conversation he told the men that they knew what to do so get on with it.

 

He asked her if she had ate breakfast and she said, “Just coffee.”

 

He said he also had coffee but now he was hungry. They went in and Lacey told the cook to whip up a fresh batch of biscuits, ham and eggs and maybe some grits and gravy.

 

Sadie said you must be hungry to eat all of that. He said this may be my only meal today because I have a number of things to deal with.

 

They had some more coffee while waiting for breakfast to be ready and Sadie's thinking was all over the place. What does he have in mind? Does he want to marry me? Maybe just move in and live with him and on and on.

 

Finally Lacey spoke and said, “You need to consider your future and since you no longer have a job teaching you need to return to your home back east.”

 

He went on and said, “I have another situation for you to consider.”

 

Her mind snapped to attention and she was thinking, “What if he asks me to marry him how should I answer that. What if he wants me without marriage or maybe to wed some cow hand who works for him.”

 

She was getting all flustered just thinking about the possibilities. Just come on and say what you want to say she thought.

 

He wiped some gravy from his chin that fell from his biscuit and took a sip of hot coffee and then said; "I have a proposition for you since things are like they are.”

 

She waited for him to have another sip of coffee with her nervousness increasing.

 

He said, “You have seen my little flock?”  

She said, “Yes.”  

 

He went on they are almost too much for Elena and besides they are speaking Mexican half of the time I need someone to come in and take them over and educate them. It will be complete control where I will only be available if something serious comes up. This will be your full time job with better pay than you were receiving in the town school. If this interests you then I will fix everything up as you want it.

 

As he talked Sadie began to relax for this was something she could have only hoped for. After an hour of discussion with some give and take they understood each other and she said yes she wanted the job.

 

He reddened and stiffened as he said there is something else I wish to talk about somewhere down the road later on but that is all for now.

 

He called the children in and explained to them that Sadie was in charge as of now and they must obey her or be disciplined by her. They each said they understood and he ordered a few additions made to the house for a better teaching situation.

 

As Sadie thought about everything she was relieved as well as disappointed. She was concerned that he might want to marry her and felt let down that he didn't. He did say he had something else in mind for later on so she felt she might have that to deal with in the future. The next weeks she completely took the children over and they took to her both personally and her discipline.

 

Sadie was a little disappointed that she didn't see Lacey as often as she wanted to. She wanted to discuss the children's progress and just have time alone to talk to him. She learned that he wasn't just farming but had a large herd of cattle and something else she wasn't sure of what it was.

 

There were a lot of men working for him and they had separate quarters for each operation. Only three men worked at the farm house keeping things up and guarding the children, and another four families who actually did the farming.

 

Then there was Elena and her husband who were like a part of the family she saw to the cooking, washing and cleaning, with a couple of young girls to help her with all these tasks.

 

Sadie noticed Lacey was becoming gaunt and rawboned from too much work. She finally got up enough nerve to mention he had lost weight and was getting too thin. He said he knew it but soon he would be able to back off and turn most of the work to others. She felt she could speak up a little more now and said; "The children needed to see you more often and it is important to interact with them as much as your time would allow," to which he agreed and said, “Soon.”

 

A month later he began to spend most evenings with the family of which Sadie counted herself as being a part of.  She considered this to be her home for the time being and the kids as her own. What ever the foreseeable future was, time would tell.

 

To be continued.