A Mail Order Bride for the Miner (Love by Mail #2)(6)

"So am I," Claire piped up. "I’m godmother to their brood."

Sarah smiled. "That’s so lovely."

"Well ladies," Cole began, placing the now empty plate on the table. "I better go and take care of business."

"Just don’t over-work yourself," Mercy said, placing a hand on her hip.

Cole laughed and kissed her on the forehead. "Of course. I’ll be back before dinner."

Sarah hoped they could get back to the topic of Hank, but the moment was lost. When Cole was out the door, Claire pounced. "Now, let’s talk about your wedding dress."

*

All week, her stomach had been in knots more tangled than a cowboy’s ropes, but Sarah clenched her fists. Only a yellow belly would run from a wedding now. After all the fussing the women did over her, she couldn’t very well disappoint them now, could she?

Sarah’s sisters and Hank’s siblings had gotten along well when the two families arrived for the celebrations. His sisters doted over her, his brothers were quite charming, and Sarah’s mother wept for joy nearly constantly as she showered Sarah with marital advice.

All the preparations led to that very moment. She just had to wait for the cue to enter the church. Who was it playing the piano? Ah, yes, Bridgette Haynes. The young girl had been taking some piano lessons and volunteered her service for the wedding.

Sarah took a deep breath when the music started and entered through the door that someone opened for her. She caught Betsy’s eye. Hank’s younger sister smiled at her, and immediately Sarah felt better. Betsy was the giddy one, always smiling and chatting, she couldn’t hold her mouth for five minutes. Sarah remembered the girl mention something about a surprise waiting for her later and a shiver went down her spine. She didn’t like surprises, especially after all the excitement of the wedding.

Finally Sarah stepped beside Hank. The corners of his mouth stretched upward. He had a dimple! She felt herself blush. She hoped he would smile more often as time went by - he looked so handsome when he did.

The pastor’s words barely registered in her mind as he begun the ceremony. Her mouth felt dry, but she hoped the familiar situation would put her at ease. She’d been to many a wedding before… and Mercy helped her memorize all the right lines.

But the usual verses were not spoken. At first she thought maybe the pastor just had different chapters prepared, maybe the pages of his bible got stuck. But he did not stop or slow down, he just breezed through the statements, till he came to the last part of the ceremony.

“I do,” Hank grunted.

Sarah blinked slightly confused. But there was no changing her mind now. She put on a brave smile.

“I do,” she almost whispered.

Hank shuffled towards her and kissed her right cheek. She blushed and glanced at the people out of the corner of her eyes. Some were smirking. Others seemed perplexed. She was, too. Had he kissed her on the cheek out of respect? Or because he was expecting a different bride – one without scars?

Sarah mustered a smile as her Ma wept into a handkerchief. She felt her own eyes welling up. She wished they could stay longer, but the children had been getting restless and feverish. Louisiana’s warm seasons hadn’t prepared them for the incoming winter.

Hank bent his elbow beside her. She took it, and looked up at his face noticing a few drops of sweat trickling down his neck. He didn’t look at her, busy nodding and smiling at the guest they passed, who showered the newlyweds with congratulations.





Chapter 4


His shoulder tightened under the weight of her hand. Betsy was hopefully out the back door by now. He cleared his throat and turned to Sarah, who had a blindfold on. It took him a while to convince her to wear it, which in turn planted doubts in his mind. What did he let Betsy talk him into?

He opened the door and led his wife inside. Betsy was still at the table, lighting a candle, one of many that filled the room. Hank scowled as his sister looked up, but she just grinned, winked at her brother, and tiptoed out the back.

“H-hank?” Sarah called out.

He squeezed her hand. She didn’t flinch. Good, he wasn’t being rough. Years of gripping a pickaxe didn’t exactly prepare him for a lady’s hand. Warmth spread across his cheeks and chest. Good thing Sarah was wearing a blindfold.

He took off the blindfold and smiled as her stepped aside. “Surpri–“

Sarah’s eyes widened. Good, he thought expecting a squeal of joy he had heard from his sisters many a time. But Sarah just glanced from candle to candle burning bright in the dark house.

There was no squeal of joy, nor a tearful smile. Instead, a shriek of horror filled his ears, and then screaming her lungs out she fled the house.





Chapter 5


Sarah grasped one of the trees next to the winding path to town. Her throat burned as she took deep breaths trying to calm herself down. She closed her tear filled eyes, but she could not get the image out of her mind. All those candles, all that fire.

She no longer smelled the stew, she heard bubbling back at Hank’s house. She no longer saw the candles. Suddenly she was back at her childhood home filled with smoke that made her choke and the smell of burning flesh.

Sarah buried her face in her hands and sobbed. A candle. It all started with one candle back then. As if on cue, the scars on her face tingled. The left side of her body felt hot, as if someone set it aflame once again… She stumbled, and fell to her knees.