He checked their oat bins and water trough even though he was sure that Big Tom would keep them full. Tom loved horses and Jake wouldn’t be surprised if he preferred them over women.
After spending a few minutes talking to the equine brothers, Jake stepped out of the barn and immediately spotted a buckboard coming down the access road. He stared at the buckboard wondering who might be coming to visit on a Sunday. It only took a few seconds before he smiled and started walking to the house.
He reached the porch steps and waited as the buckboard slowed and then stopped just a few feet away.
Jake asked, “Wasn’t I going to take you to lunch tomorrow, Sara?’
As she stepped down from the buckboard, Sara grinned and said, “I didn’t want to waste a whole day before talking to you again.”
Her brother climbed down from the other side and hurried around the back of the buckboard.
She said, “Emmett was going to be assigned to be my chaperone after I told my parents of my intention to visit you. But he offered to come along before my father had a chance to appoint him.”
Jake grinned as he shook her brother’s hand and said, “It’s good to see you again, Emmett. You’ve grown up quite a bit from the last time we met. You’re almost sixteen now. Is that right?”
“Yes, sir. My birthday is just a couple of weeks after yours. When Sara said she was going to come out to the Elk, my father said she couldn’t go alone. I volunteered really fast, so she didn’t get mad. I know my mother was relieved when I did, too.”
Jake nodded as he replied, “I’m sure she was,” then he looked at Sara and asked, “Is there something specific that you needed to tell me?”
“Somewhat. But mostly, I just wanted to talk to you again. We just finished our after-church meal, and I didn’t have any chores, so I decided to pay you a visit.”
She then turned to her brother and said, “You can go and visit the horses in the corral if you’d like.”
“That sounds like a good idea. We only have Buster and there must be more than twenty in the corral. I’ll bet there are a lot more I can’t see, too.”
Jake said, “We have another fifty-six out in other corrals and a dozen mules, too. If you’d like to take one with you, let me know. I’ll have Bill Jackson put a halter on him.”
Emmett’s eyes exploded as he exclaimed, “Really? I can have a horse?”
“Sure. We have too many now anyway. I keep my personal horses in the barn, but the ones in the corral are remuda horses. There are some nice ones in there, too.”
“Thanks, Jake!”
As Emmett clambered into the buckboard, Jake smiled at Sara then held out his arm.
She took his arm more gently than the first time she’d used it to drag him across the street, and as they stepped onto the porch, the buckboard raced away leaving a cloud of dust behind it.
“You sure made Emmett happy. I hope Orville doesn’t get too jealous.”
“He can pick one out for his brother, too. Of course, you knew I’d make the offer as soon as you mentioned Orville; didn’t you?”
She laughed as they stepped across the porch and entered the house. Jake left the door open to satisfy Sara’s father then escorted her to the couch where they sat down.
He removed his hat and set it on the couch beside him before Sara took off her bonnet and placed it on her lap.
“I’ll plead guilty to the charge of subtly suggesting that you give a horse to Orville. But you bear some of the responsibility because you were the one to offer one to Emmett.”
“I accept your plea with its mitigating circumstances. So, other than boredom, what inspired your visit? I assume it has something to do with Kay.”
“It does. She heard that you were back and came to the house last night. but I didn’t tell her about our conversation. Orville was the one who let the cat out of the bag. It wasn’t exactly a secret. When I returned to the store, my father and both brothers were grinning at me like the Cheshire cat in Mister Carroll’s book. They didn’t overhear what we talked about, but it didn’t take long for them to figure it out. I hadn’t made any secret of my intentions after you left, so before I even returned to the house, I expected Kay’s visit and was prepared for her reaction.”
“How did she react when Orville told her?”
Sara paused before replying, “It was strange. I expected she’d be furiously jealous and tell me every reason I should stay away from you. But she didn’t. She wasn’t angry or even upset. She wasn’t happy either but seemed distant for a little while. When she did speak, she just said that I should avoid having babies. If she’d been smiling when she said it, it could have been funny. But she seemed serious, and it sounded chilling.”
“Didn’t she have her children with her?”
“No. She left them with Homer. After what she said about not having babies, I changed the subject. She didn’t stay much longer, but even Emmett and Orville thought she seemed out of sorts. I talked to my mother later, but she said it was just because she’d had the twins a few months ago and Kay would be back to normal soon.”
“Do you believe that she will?”
“I’m not sure. We just have to wait for a few months. I just hope she doesn’t get pregnant again.”
“Didn’t you tell me that she doesn’t let Homer get within ten feet of her now?”
“It was just an exaggeration of
