Sawyer: Book One in the Texas Diva Series

Chapter One

So, here I am doin' my least favorite thing, wearing a dress. Normally I wouldn't even come close to wearin' somethin' as crazy as this, but I'm doing this to "Honor my parents" as my Aunt Clarice said. 

     "Sawyer honey, hurry up! Your uncle's got the wagon waiting!" I heard my aunt say from downstairs.

       "I'm comin'!" I yelled down. I turned back to the mirror and looked at my reflection one more time. My strawberry blonde hair was piled high into something that looked like a twisted beehive. My aunt had seen the hairstyle in the Mercantile catalog and insisted that I try it out. My eyes went down to my dress. It was a buttercream yellow with a black rose lace overdress that is itchier than poison ivy. But apparently, my outfit is "in style" in the northern states. I quickly ran down the stairs where Aunt Clarice was waiting for me. 

      When I reached the bottom, she frowned at me and said," How many times do I have to tell you not to run down the stairs? It's not ladylike." 

   "Yes, ma'am." I said with no enthusiasm. 

    She motioned for me to hurry up and I walked out the door ready to face the November cold. Uncle Matthew helped Aunt Clarice into the wagon seat, as she was heavy with child. That was the reason I was now facing cold rain to go somewhere I don't want to be.

    After Uncle Matthew had helped me up, the wagon headed down the muddy road towards its destination, the cemetery. As mud sloshed on the road, I began to think about the events that lead to this dreary day.

It all started on the day Mama and I had a big fight 'bout my schoolin'. She had just gotten back from gettin' stuff for dinner and told me she'd received a telegram from Aunt Clarice that her baby was due soon and she wanted Mama to be there for the birth. Mama asked if I would mind if she and Papa could go visit Aunt Clarice in Bonham. Of course I didn't mind, the farther away she was from me, the better. So I told her it was fine not hiding the excitement in my voice. I was lookin' forward to my next couple weeks alone. The day Mama and Papa boarded the stagecoach it was sunny, just like my mood but little did I know it would be the last time I ever saw them.

Three weeks later I was going to deliver bread to a friend when the stagecoach arrived, and to my surprise out stepped my Aunt Clarice followed by my Uncle Matthew. Her auburn hair was pulled up in a tight bun, her green eyes rimmed in red and her once thin figure now round and plum all dressed in black. I walked over and asked, "Aunt Clarice! What are you doing here? Are my parents taking another stage?"

Aunt Clarice looked at me, her eyes filling with tears 

    "Sawyer, your parents are dead."

"What do you mean dead?" I asked quizzically.

    "Sweetheart, the stagecoach crashed."

  My eyes filled with hot tears that ran down my face as Aunt Clarice pulled me into a hug.

 The wagon hitting a bump in the road brought me out of my thoughts. As the wagon pulled up to the cemetery, I closed my eyes, held my breath, and prepared myself for what laid ahead.