Jedadiah's Mail Order Bride (11 page)

Catherine beamed at her daughter.  "So you were paying attention after all.  I couldn't tell."

"When it comes to cooking, Ma, I'm not in your class," Sarah said.

“Sarah is so lucky to still have her parents,” Clara said .  “Both of mine passed away before I came out to marry Will."  Seeing the confusion flash across Catherine's face, she said, "Will was Luke's twin brother.  I came out to marry him but he was shot and killed trying to protect me from a drunken cowboy just as I got off the stagecoach.  When Luke came to take care of Will, he talked with John and Grace and they talked to me.  Since I had no money and no family back in Philadelphia, Luke proposed, I accepted and John married us.  It was a whirlwind time."

"How awful to have your fiance killed right in front of you on what was to be your wedding day," Catherine said.

"I had never met Will and we had shared three letters.  At that time, I had no feeling for him but it was tragic to see a young life taken so needlessly.  Luke is the kindest, most considerate, and gentle man I have ever known.  He is a wonderful husband and father," Clara said.

"I feel the same way about Jedadiah.  We're two lucky women aren't we, Clara?"

"We truly are."

The evening came to an end too quickly.  As they were leaving, Clara said, "We will be seeing you again before you leave won't we?"

Sarah said, "Oh yes, they will be here for three weeks."

Clara said, "Come on children.  We need to get on home."

The three men were standing off to the side.  "Jacob, it has been my pleasure to meet the father of such a fine woman as Sarah.  I look forward to seeing you again."

"Thank you, Luke.  I share the feeling," Jacob said.

With everyone in the carriage, Luke clucked to the horses and they were on their way.

"Such nice people," Catherine said.

"They really are," Sarah said.  “We are so blessed in so many ways.”

They went back into the house...

* * *

All too soon, the visit was over.  The words, the thank yous had all been said.  At the train station, Catherine asked, "Will we see you again, Sarah?" 

“I sincerely hope so, Ma.  I want to see my sisters again.  I miss them, especially Martha.  Would you be sure to give Martha a hug for me.  And tell her I’m all right."

Just then, the conductor called out, "Aalllll Aboarrrd."

"John Lucas, tell your grandma and grandpa goodbye.  They have to go now."

Catherine held out her arms and he walked into them.  "Goodbye Grandmagrandpa."

"Goodbye darling.  You take good care of your ma for me, okay?"

He nodded.  "I will,” he promised.

One last hug of her daughter, and John Lucas and Sarah Catherine.  Then a fierce hug for Jed.  "I love you Jedadiah.  You're a good man and thank you for taking such good care of my girl."

"Thank you, Catherine.  I'm so glad I was able to meet you.  Jacob, thank you for the visit.  It was wonderful," Jed said.

"No, thank you Jedadiah for making it possible.  Sarah loves you with all of her heart and I can see why.  You take care of them, you hear?"

"Alllll Aboarrrrrd!"

They climbed aboard the train, and stood on the rear platform.  A cloud of steam spewed from beneath the engine.  The big 8 steel wheels spun, spewing sparks.  A huge cloud of dark smoke rose from the smoke stack and the train pulled slowly from the station.  The Barnette family stood, waving until the train was but a speck in the distance.

"Come on kids, let's go home", Jed said.  With one arm around his wife's waist, and holding Sarah Catherine in his other arm, they went to their carriage and climbed in.  With a soft cluck to the horses, they headed for home.

A month later...

The
Barnette Family had once more made the trip to the train depot to meet their visitors.  Jed's parents were coming in on the afternoon train.  Sarah had a struggle controlling John Lucas and Sarah Catherine, who was now walking.  Little John was interested in everything and was peppering her with questions.

Sarah tried to make a game of it.  "First one to see the train gets a prize."

"What kind of prize, Ma," asked John.

"It will be a surprise," Sarah said.

"A big surprise?"

"Yes, John, a big surprise.  Listen!  Do you hear that?  I think it's the train," Sarah said.

"I think I see it.  Do I get the prize, Ma?"

"You can't see it yet.  And, you're looking the wrong way.  It will come from that direction," and she pointed to the east.

About two minutes later, the train came into view.  "I see it, Ma, I see it.  Do I get the prize?" asked John hopping around with excitement.

"You certainly do," his mother said.  And like any good mother, she was prepared.  She reached into her pocket and pulled out a peppermint stick.  "Save it for later, John Lucas, you don't want to be all sticky when Grandma and Granpa Barnette get here."

The train pulled into the station, cinders from the smokestack clouded the air and steam escaped from somewhere beneath the locomotive.  When it was completely stopped, the conductor hopped down and placed a metal step in position so the passengers wouldn't have to make a long step.  Two drummers carrying their bags, came down the steps and hurried off in the direction of the saloon and hotel.  A cowboy stepped down and behind him came a gray haired man with a weathered face, telling of long days in the sun.  He stopped, took the hand of the lady behind him and steadied her as she stepped from the train.

Jed rushed up to them.  "Ma, Pa!  You're here.  You're finally here.”  He had tears in his eyes as he hugged his mother.  “It's been so long.  I missed you every day."

"I missed you too, son," said Mary Barnette. 

His father stood there, his arms hanging stiffly at his side.  There was no sign of a smile.  Jed embraced him tightly.  The arms remained by his side.  Elias Barnette had never been one to show his feelings.  It was a sign of weakness and he was not a weak man.  "Welcome to Laramie, Pa," he said.  "I'm glad to see you.  Come meet my family."

"Sarah, this is my father, Elias and my mother Mary.  Ma, Pa, this is my wife, Sarah.  The little man is John Lucas and this is my beautiful daughter, Sarah Catherine."

Sarah immediately hugged Jed's mother, and said, "Welcome.  I'm so glad to meet you.  You raised a wonderful son and now he's a wonderful husband and father."

"Thank you," Mary said in a soft voice.  “It's nice to meet you too.”  She squatted and opened her arms.  "John, would you give me a hug?"  He strode over to her and placed his short arms around her neck and hugged her fiercely.  "You give a really nice hug.  You're strong, too."

"I won a prize," he said.  “I was the first to see the train."

"You did?" his grandmother said. "What was the prize?"

He pulled out his peppermint stick.  "This.  I'll share but we can't eat it now 'cause we'll get sticky, Ma said."
 

Patting
him on the back, his grandmother said, "You're a nice boy.  Did you know that?"

"Yes, Ma tells me that too."

Holding out her arms, she asked "Sarah Catherine... That's a big name for such a little girl.  Would you let Grandma hold you.”  Little Sarah leaned willingly and let her grandmother take her from her mother.

Sarah could see the tears welling in her mother-in-law's eyes as she became acquainted with her only grandchildren.  She turned to Elias and said, "Mr. Barnette, I'm glad to finally meet you.  Jedadiah has told me so much about your farm.  I'm sure you'll appreciate Jed's farming efforts.  It kept us going during a hard time.  He has a lot of respect for how hard it was for your being a farmer now."

Elias's hard, craggy face softened and he said, “Farming is not easy."

Jed said, "We've got good land, Pa.  Our vegetables are doing really well.  The grass is high and green for the cattle.  You'll like it.

Before we head home, we want to stop by the church and introduce you to our pastor.  John and Grace are two of our best friends.  John married us and he baptized the kids."

"You had the children baptized?" his mother asked. 

"Oh yes, we certainly did.  Sarah insisted on it."

"That's good," his mother  said.  “I'm glad you did."

After meeting John and Grace Carruthers, everyone climbed aboard the wagon and they headed home, Jed's mother holding her granddaughter on her lap and talking to her.  Sarah just smiled.  Jed's mother apparently got along well with children.  Sarah Catherine had already captured her grandmother's heart.

As they rode along, Jed kept talking to his father, but it was pretty much a one-way conversation.  When they reached the ranch boundaries, Jed said, "We're now on our land, Pa.  You'll see our farming area off to the left in a few minutes."

"I don't see your house.  How much land do you have anyway?"

"We have a little over 2,500 acres now, with our homesteads and what we bought."

"Man doesn't need that much land," his father said.

"Actually, we do, Pa.  We grow vegetables for our own use and we make a real nice profit on selling the rest to Asa at the store in Laramie.  We use most of the land for grazing for the cattle.  We're building the herd back up.  We lost over half of it to hoof and mouth but they're coming back.  We'll have some to sell to the Army after spring roundup. 

There Pa, that's the beginning of the vegetables.  I'm anxious for you to take a look at it.  Maybe you can give me some advice on what to grow.  We're just about the only source for Laramie to get vegetables.  We make almost as much off them as we do the cattle."

The taciturn old man did not reply, but he had been keeping a close eye on the fields as they rode by.  In his chest, a swelling of pride existed for the son that had embraced his own profession.  He wouldn't tell his son though.  That would be a weakness and he was not a man to show his emotions.

Jed stopped the wagon to the side of the barn.  One of his cowboys came up and said, "I'll take care of the horses, Jed."

"Thanks, Cale.  First, give me a hand getting the trunk in, would you please?"

"Sure, boss."

"He works for you?" Elias asked.

"Yes sir, we have six hands now and I think we're going to take on another two or three." 

Sarah pointed off to the side toward the cabin.  “Mr. Barnette, Jed built that house himself.  He used stones he gathered from the ranch.  He had help with the roof but he did the rest.  We lived there until we built the new house while I was pregnant with Sarah Catherine.  It's used as a bunk house for the ranch hands now."

Jed's father grunted something.  His mother had a smile as big as all outdoors.  "Son, I'm proud of what you've done.  You've really done a lot."

"Yes he has," Sarah said.  "He's worked hard and without any help until this year.  He's a good man, your son.  A very good man and a good husband and father too."

Jed was embarrassed, but it was easy to see he was proud of his work and he desperately wanted his parents to be proud of him as a man.

In the house, Mary looked around.  "It's nice, Sarah.  You've done a good job of setting everything up.  You know, we always thought, and hoped Jed would come back home and take over the farm after things didn't work out in the mine fields.  Elias thought it was foolish of him to leave all of that.  It actually broke his heart to have Jed leave the things we were holding for him."

"Jed's a proud man, Mary.  He wanted to prove to himself and to you I guess, that he could make it on his own.  He really didn't want to be a farmer, but the vegetables are a cash crop.  When we lost over half our herd, if it hadn't been for the vegetables, it would have been hard, really hard.  We both lost a lot of sleep over it.  We don't have to worry about it any more, thank the good Lord."

Up early the next morning, as was his habit, Jed went to the barn to check on the cattle, and saw his cowboys had things well in hand.  He went back inside to find Sarah and his mother busy at preparing breakfast.  His father was on the porch looking out over the fields.

"Pa, over that ridge on down past where we turned off, further down the road, is the Twin Bar H.  Luke and Clara Hastings are our closest neighbors and they're about three miles away.  They're good friends.  They have a much larger operation than we do but Luke taught me all I know about ranching.  He and Clara are good friends.  Clara delivered our children.  You'll have the opportunity to meet them while you're here."

"Jed, when are you going to come back to Lebanon and take over the family farm?"

"Pa, I'm not.  I know it's what you want but it isn't what I want and never has been.  We're happy here.  We have good friends here and our ranch is producing and growing."

"The farm is established, Jed.  I have been holding it for you."

"Pa, you don't seem to understand.  We live comfortably off the ranch."

"And what if you got hit with another outbreak of hoof and mouth disease?"

"Pa, it would be frustrating but not devastating.  Listen.  Sarah and I are rich.  I don't ever have to work again if I don't want to.  They discovered copper on our land and are mining it.  They're going to build a smelter over by the river.  On our land, Pa.  On our land, and they're paying me for it.  They also found silver but not enough to mine commercially, at least not yet.  Our children are set for life, Pa.  We might come back to Lebanon for a visit, but not to stay."

Without a word, Elias turned and went into the house,  Jed braced himself, he knew what was coming.  His mother came out.  "What just happened with your father?  He looks terrible."

"Ma, he asked when was I going to give this up and come back and run the farm.  He just doesn't understand.  I'm married, I have a family.  I'll tell you what I told him, Ma.  Sarah and I are rich.  I never have to work again if I don't want to.  Ma, they discovered copper on our land.  We're only going to get richer.  We're not coming back to live in Lebanon."

"Well, your Pa is shattered.  His life's work comes to nothing.  You don't want what he's worked hard for all of his life.  It makes his life meaningless."

"His life has not been meaningless.  He taught me to work hard and I have worked hard.  We were doing all right before the copper.  We have a contract to sell cattle to the Army.  The store in Laramie will take all of the vegetables I can produce, but we get more money per month from the mining lease than we make from the farm in a year.  We have a five year lease and it's renewable.  Even if it wasn't renewed, all of the operations revert back to Luke and me.  We could just let it sit there and still have everything we want.  There's no other way to say it.  Wyoming is our home."

His mother said, "I just don't know what to do about your father."

"I'll work on it, Ma.  I promise."

Later that day, he recounted the conversations with Sarah.  "You said the right thing, Jedadiah.  He taught you to be the way you are.  Aside from the luck of the copper, you worked hard and were successful at it.  He taught you how.  Maybe you could get him to realize it" 

Two days later, after they finished breakfast, Jed said, "Pa, come take a ride with me.  I want to show you something."  They saddled two horses and rode over to the farming acreage.  Two of the ranch hands were working in the corn field.  Jed tied the horses to a bush and they walked out into the field.  Elias bent over and picked up a handful of soil, squeezed it and let it run through his fingers.