Sarah My Beloved (Little Hickman Creek Series #2) (9 page)

He gave her a hard look that also contained the tiniest
measure of tenderness. "We'll see." Snatching up a tiny strand
of her hair, he rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. "You
can contact my assistant, Herbert Austin, if you need anything,
Sarah. Your mother's documents are in safe hands. I will dispense them and your assets upon your request." She could
see he was making every effort to hold his wounded emotions
intact.

She shrugged, and he dropped both hands to his sides. "I
don't have need of them just yet," she replied. "I'm not marrying so that I may obtain my properties, Stephen. I'll let you
know when I decide to lay claim to them. In the meantime,
they may sit there and collect interest-or dust, for all I care."

He shook his head in disbelief. "You're really something,
Sarah Woodward. You have all that money, and no place to go
with it. Look at you, holed up in some filthy, dust-ridden town,
about to marry a farmer you don't even know, all because of
some penchant to carry out an assignment from God. All I can
say is I hope you know what you're doing."

His words stung, but she recognized them as a cover-up
for his disappointment. After all, he'd thought his trip to Kentucky would be sufficient to convince her to marry him. Little
had he known it would only drive her in the opposite direction.

"Thank you for coming to see me," she said, granting him
a weak smile. "Try not to worry about me."

Wistfulness stole into his expression. "I could have made
you happy, you know."

"I know you would have tried," she replied.

Leaning close, he brushed her cheek with a light kiss.
"Good-bye, Sarah."

"Good-bye."

And just like that, Stephen Alden walked out the door and
out of her life-and Rocky Callahan walked in.

The wedding was a small affair, attended only by Emma,
Sarah's witness, and Benjamin Broughton, who stood as witness for Rocky. Besides the witnesses, a small crowd of guests
made up the informal gathering. They were Liza Broughton,
Benjamin's new wife; Rocky's mother and father, Frank and
Mary Callahan, whom Sarah had not met until just before
the ceremony; and, of course, a grim-looking Rachel and an inquisitive Seth. Mr. Callahan's living room, small though it
was, served as the meeting room. Although she'd had little
time to peruse her surroundings, Sarah's first impression of
the house was that its stark appearance reminded her of a
flowerless garden. She decided a few rugs, some cheery wall
hangings, and bright new curtains would add a pleasant, cozy
touch. Perhaps she could enlist Rachel's help in decorating.

After some persuasion, Jonathan Atkins, the new minister,
had agreed to wed the couple on short notice. His argument
that a courtship should precede the marriage would have made
sense to anyone else, but to Rocky and Sarah his advice fell on
deaf ears. Both had determined that the marriage should go
on. They had to think about the children. The time for getting
to know each other would naturally follow.

Sarah didn't know what Rocky had told the man to convince him, but when they both emerged from the back room of
the preacher's small farmhouse, Jonathan Atkins gave Sarah
a brief smile and a nod of approval. The wedding date was set
for Thursday, a mere two days away.

Now, dressed in a coral silk gown, Sarah stood beside
Rocky, holding tightly to a small bouquet of dried flowers and
praying that the ceremony would hasten along. Her heart took
a giant leap when Reverend Atkins asked her if she promised
to love, honor, and obey her husband.

Love? She'd always supposed she would marry for love, had
even dreamed of it. Now look at her. Still, she couldn't deny
the overwhelming sense that she was doing the right thing,
that God Himself had brought her to this point. She'd experienced His peace amidst the uncertainty, and no one could
take that away from her.

Out of the corner of one eye, she chanced a hasty peek
at her groom. Clad in black, he looked more appropriately
attired for a funeral than a wedding, particularly when she
sought out his expression and found the clear-cut lines of his
profile surly and stern. He hadn't even gifted her with a single
smile the entire morning, which greatly perturbed her.

Despite all that, she couldn't deny his handsome looks.
Tall and well-muscled, his mile-wide shoulders filled up the
coat he wore, and although Sarah was of medium height, she
felt small in comparison. Thick, black hair, needing a good
trim, fell in wavy disarray over his damp forehead, while his
taut, square-set jaw clenched. He was nervous, of that she was
certain-perhaps even regretting his decision to marry.

"Miss Woodward?" the preacher asked, stealing her from
her moment of reverie. "Do you take this man?"

"Oh, yes-I do," said Sarah, jumping to attention, aware
of Rocky's impatience when he shifted his brawny weight from
side to side. Her eyes caught his and held for just the briefest
of times, and she visibly shivered under his cold stare. Oh, Lord
in heaven...

When the reverend coached the couple to kiss, Sarah
objected with a curt shake of the head, but her groom ignored
her silent protest and hastily turned her into his arms, planting a hard, insensitive kiss square across her lips, leaving her
breathless and dizzy on her feet. Just as quickly, he released
her, set her back from him, and granted her the first of an
attempted smile. "Hello, Mrs. Callahan," he murmured, one
eyebrow slightly arched, his tone mysterious.

Rounds of congratulations followed, as the few guests came
up to wish the couple well. "I'm happy for you, Sarah. I hope that we can be friends." Liza Broughton, the woman who'd
replaced Sarah as Benjamin's bride, smiled while squeezing
Sarah's hand. Petite, pretty, and exuding warmth and kindliness, she was impossible to dislike.

"Thank you," Sarah returned. "I shall look forward to it.
Would you pay me a visit one day soon? I'm afraid I'll need
some help decorating." She looked around the small farmhouse and whispered, "As you can see, this place needs some
freshening up."

Liza giggled and wrinkled her nose. "You should have seen
Benjamin's house when I first moved in. At least this house
appears clean enough."

Sarah nodded her agreement. "I heard his mother came
over and gave the house a good cleaning."

"Lucky you. I understand that Mr. and Mrs. Callahan are
fine Christian folks. Rocky's father is ailing, from what Benjamin tells me. Poor man."

Sarah glanced across the room to find her new husband
engaged in conversation with his father, a shorter version of
his son, weathered and frail-looking. Only briefly did Rocky's
eyes meet hers before she quickly averted her gaze, the impact
of what had happened mere moments ago only now beginning
to register in her mind.

Oh, Lord, I am a married woman.

Emma, Jon Atkins, and the elder Mrs. Callahan stood in
the center of the room exchanging polite conversation, their
hands wrapped around glasses of punch as they visited.

Rachel and Seth hovered quietly in a far corner, Rachel
in her usual morose state, Seth naturally following her lead.
Sarah frowned at the pair, wondering how she would go about
reaching them.

"They've suffered a great deal," Liza said, seeming to read
Sarah's mind.

Sarah worried her lower lip. "Yes. And I've a feeling it's
going to take some doing to bring them both around."

Liza placed a comforting hand on Sarah's silk-covered
arm. "I've no doubt you are just the person to do it, Sarah. I
don't know you as well as I would like, but from what I've seen,
you are a woman of understanding and compassion. I believe
the children will sense that."

"I appreciate that. Now if I can just figure out how to go
about it."

Liza gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. God will provide the answers."

Just then, Ben came alongside Liza and pulled her tightly
against him. "What sort of nonsense is my sweet little wife filling your head with, Sarah?" He was an attractive man, tall
and strapping like Rocky, but with a gentler, kinder look about
him. His dark eyes sparkled as they danced from Sarah to
Liza.

Sarah laughed. "Actually, your wife was filling me with
words of wisdom."

Arched brows rose in question. "Ali, on being the perfect
wife, I presume."

Sarah laughed, as did Liza. "Not quite, but I'm sure she
could give me some fine pointers."

It seemed odd, if not ironic, to be talking to the man she'd
intended to marry and not to hold ill feelings. After all, he'd
as much as made an oath to her when he'd sent for her by
way of the Marriage Made in Heaven Agency. Of course, he'd
also attempted to stop the proceedings, and he would have, had it not been for the agency's failure to keep the business
running. No, she held no animosity toward the young couple.
How could she begrudge them the love they so obviously had
for each other?

"I'm sure you and Rocky will do just fine without any pointers," Ben said, nodding at her groom, who was now engaged
in conversation with the young minister. "He's a little reserved
right now, but he'll come around."

It embarrassed Sarah to be talking about her new husband, but she was curious. "Have you known him long?"

"A good share of my life. We grew up together, attended
the same school, and," he took a breath and leaned in closer,
"got into our share of trouble as boys, I'm afraid." He threw his
head back and let forth a peal of laughter. "As we grew older
and both married," he gave his new wife a penitent look, "we
did things together as couples. He was a different man back
then, full of life." His faraway expression gave way to a trace of
sadness, but he quickly brightened. "I'm certain your marrying him is for the best. He's a good man."

Sarah longed for his confidence. "Right now, I'm mostly
concerned for the children."

All three cast their eyes on Rachel and Seth. The youngsters hadn't moved from their spot in the corner. "They seem
extremely quiet," Ben said.

"And very scared," Liza added. "I still remember when they
got off the stagecoach several weeks ago. The children and I
were watching from the classroom window. I swear Rachel and
Seth's eyes were big as boulders when they first arrived."

"Yes. I rode with them from Toledo to Lexington, and
I don't think they spoke more than five sentences the entire ride, although I did my best to coax them into conversation.
They clung to each other, frightened as a couple of baby birds
who'd just been forced from their nest."

Just then, Rocky approached from behind, making his
presence known with a slight brush of his hand in the center of
Sarah's back. She gave a jolt then prayed her husband hadn't
noticed. "Am I interrupting?" Rocky asked the small gathering.

"Not at all, friend," offered Ben, giving a warm smile and
pulling his wife snugly up against him. "We were just talking
about the children. They're looking a little glum today."

Rocky glanced in the direction of Rachel and Seth and
frowned. "They're quite the pair. I don't know what goes on
in their heads, and I'm clean out of ideas as to what to do with
them. The girl is downright cranky. I'm hoping my wife will
have some fresh insights." He presented Sarah with a genuine
smile, revealing straight, white teeth.

"I'll do my best," she promised.

"I'm afraid my sister failed to teach them proper manners.
Ma says they're just being kids, but I'm not so sure," Rocky
said. "Truth is, I'm not used to girls, particularly sassy ones."

Benjamin laughed and gave his pretty wife a sideways
glance. "I know what you mean, Rock. I've had to learn firsthand how to live with a sassy female." To that, Liza slapped
him playfully on the arm, which brought a round of laughter
from everyone present.

"What's so funny over here?" asked Jon Atkins. The handsome young minister approached, Frank and Mary Callahan
coming alongside him, and then Emma.

"We were just discussing how difficult my wife is," Ben
said.

Liza turned cautioning eyes on him. "Oh, stop it. We
were not discussing anything of the kind." Although her tone
denoted scolding, her eyes held bounteous amounts of love. It
was clear the two were used to good-natured badgering. Sarah
could almost feel a twinge of envy for their outward show of
intimate camaraderie.

"If anyone has a right to complain, it'd be Liza," Jon said.
"What do you say, Rock?"

"I'd agree with that. Ben Broughton has always been a
stubborn mule as far back as I can remember." Everyone chortled, including Liza.

"Hey now," Ben cut in, "let's be fair."

"Fair's got nothin' to do with it. We're speakin' facts," Rocky
continued. "Remember the time we three thought to take the
trip down south byway of the Mississippi? Jon and I were bound
and determined to pack plenty of supplies, whereas Ben here
thought it best to pack light and live off the land."