Rose came quietly around the corner of the light brown painted house and opened the gate. To her surprise and delight it didn't squeak. Someone was around to put some grease on it recently. She looked in all directions for her family and when she didn't see any of them around slid through the opening and walked behind the trees and shrubs where she wasn't visible from the house.
Her destination was a hidden clearing beside the small creek. On the way there she spotted the eagle circling above in the crystal blue sky. Here she felt free, being out in the open was one of her favorite things to do. The warm, green grass felt good under her feet, and it fresh smell filled the air. The breeze played with her long sable hair, caressing her cheeks at the same time. Her green eyes were sparkling with longing.
Here she was free to dream without interference.
In the house with her large family, it's seemed they could never be any privacy. With five brothers, and three younger sisters there was always someone around. It wasn't that Rose didn't love them, she did, but sometimes they could be a very noisy bunch. At age of eighteen every girl out there probably lived in the cloud of dreams not shareable with her family.
She sat on the ground and took a deep breath. A few more moments of this and she told herself she'll be going back. Rose knew her mother would be furious if she stayed too long. As always, there were chores to do. Not that she mind the work, but she needed time to herself. Time to dream.
Even if the weather was still warm she felt the change was coming soon. It was in the clouds how they hug the mountains. They were closer and darker. The winter was on its way, but the days were still warm enough to lure her out.
Longingly she followed hacks soaring in the blue sky across the valley over Hedrich ranch. How she wished she could do the same. It wasn't ranch she was interested in but the owner's son. Every time she saw Adam her heart threatened to jump out of her chest.
"Rose you are daydreaming again." The voice behind startled her.
"Beth, you scared me. Can you make some noise next time you sneak behind me."
"Sure I'll bring a band with a lot of trumpets to let you know I'm coming." Beth sank down on the grass beside her.
Rose smiled at Beth. How can she be mad at her for interrupting her privacy, after all, she was her best friend and knew all her secrets. Even the ones about her love for Adam. From the first time she laid her eyes on him she loved him. Her young heart gloated at the thought of her feelings and her head dreamed of him kissing her.
..
Samuel Bolton looked out the window from his office above his shop at the busy streets outside. Everyone seemed to be rushing in one direction or the other. The coaches trying to get faster to their destinations, people crossing the street trying to avoid the traffic and the mud at the same time. Which proved to be a difficult task.
Children holding to their mother's hands, hopping along wishing for a candy at the merchant store. His own wishes were all together different, but there was no point of opening that chapter. He averted his gaze back and opened the letter and sat at his desk to read it. It was from his great aunt. She was the only live relative he still had left. Paulina was the owner of "Lonely Oak" ranch. A large spread of land east from Morgan.
She asked him to come out on the weekend.
The letter was short.
"My dear nephew I hope this note finds you in a good health. I'm getting older by the day. This is not I likely admit, but the time has come for you to visit. Your aunt Paulina."
He'll have to find time and go and visit her.
The accident he had as a child when he fell under the rolling wheel of the wagon left one of his legs shorter. As a result, he limped. He learned to live with it, and worked as hard as any man out there. When his father passed away, he inherited blacksmith shop. Business in this part of the country was good. Now he open the same type of shops in three other towns. All under his name and he employed two people in each one. He was well off financially, but he was lonely. There was no one to come to home to.
He wished to have a family, but he also knew that was very unlikely to happen. The girls didn't look his way. No woman would have him as he was. Remembering the day he proposed to a girl and she laughed in his face. It didn't matter that he was handsome, with dark hair and deep blue eyes, straight nose and nicely shaped mouth, and a set of straight white teeth. He saw their looks when he walked by. Not even the homeliest one of them wanted a cripple like him.
Samuel already accepted that. The only time the deep longing hit him was any time he saw fathers caring their giggling children on their shoulders. How he wished for a child of his own.
The people of this town always avoided any contact with him other than business. He always wondered why. It was probably because he always avoided small talk, and kept to himself. It suited him to be that way. He avoided gatherings of any kind. As a citizen, he donated money for the church, and helped with fixing the community hall, and they got used to that. It didn't change their behaviour towards him.
