Free Jedadiah's Mail Order Bride by Susan Leigh Carlton Page B

saw Jed standing there, holding his son, tears cascading down his face. His lovely, tired wife was smiling, tears pouring from her eyes also. Luke and Clara pulled back from the door, letting the Barnettes have their privacy. “Wasn’t that just the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?” she asked her husband. He just nodded, put his arm around her shoulder and led her back to the kitchen.
     
    Jed stayed in the bedroom the rest of the night, holding Sarah’s hand while she slept, their son in the cradle Jed had so lovingly built.
     
    He went into the kitchen and found his best friend asleep on the floor, his head resting on the saddle. Clara was asleep in a chair, her head resting on the kitchen table. She stirred when Jed came into the room and asked, “Is Sarah asleep?”
     
    Jed nodded. “I’m going out to see to the stock and get some wood for the fireplace. Clara, I can’t find words to tell you how much I appreciate your being here. It means a lot to me, and I know having you here was a great comfort for Sarah.”
     
    “That’s what friends are for, Jed. They take care of one another. She would do the same for me and will, if I’m very lucky.”
     
    “Who’s looking after your boys? Hetty?”
     
    Clara nodded. Hetty was the cook and housekeeper for the Hastings and had been with them since they were married. “I’m going to have to get Sarah some help.”
     
    Clara put her hand atop his. “Maybe for the next time. The first one is the one you really enjoy. Just the two of you. Watch him grow, teach him to be the way you are. You need the help on the ranch, Jed. It’s getting too big for one man to handle. Get some help and give yourself more time with Sarah and your baby.”
     
    Luke had roused himself and said, “Listen to the woman, Jed. She’s right. You need the help and Sarah needs you. You go back with her. I’ll see to the stock, and the wood.”
     
    “What did I ever do to deserve such friends?” he asked.
     
    “To get a friend, be a friend,” Luke said.
     
    Sarah stayed in bed the next day, using a bed pan to relieve herself, and propping herself up with a pillow to eat the meals fixed by Clara. Luke went back home to take care of his ranch. Clara stayed for three more nights, sleeping, at Jed’s insistence, in the bed with Sarah. On the third day, Sarah stood,holding onto Jed’s arm, gingerly walked into the kitchen.
     
    After Clara went home, Jed was overly careful. He steadfastly refused to let her do anything. He insisted on doing the cooking, the laundry and cleaning.
     
    He had found help for the ranch chores. He had found two young men that needed the work. They were relatively inexperienced but made up for it by working hard. It was a boon for Jed because it freed him of the many small things that had to be done, giving him more quality time with Sarah and John Lucas, their new son. By the end of the first month things had returned to near normal. The doctor in Laramie had examined Sarah and Elias and pronounced them both healthy.
     
    * * *
     
    1883…
     
    Jed and Sarah had added to their land holdings and they now exceeded 2,000 acres. Their herd had been increased to 700. The two young men Jed had hired turned out to be hard workers. After the last crops of the season were in, Jed and the men built another cabin to be used as a bunk house.
     
    “Sarah, this house is just not big enough for us anymore. I think we should build another one, a good bit larger. Let’s go into Laramie and talk to some of the people that know about these things.”
     
    “We are probably going to need more space. I’m late and you know what that means.”
     
    “It means, you’re going to get your little girl, finally.”
     
    Jed told Sarah, “Next year, we’re increasing out farming area. We’re making as much off the vegetables as we are the cattle. It’s going to pay for our new house.”
     
    They rode into Laramie to get Sarah checked out by the doctor. While