Sarah's Surrender (9 page)

Luke glanced at Jack and rolled his eyes. His friend grinned. To Luke's way of thinking, he was glad Sarah wasn't the flirty type. Nannette might make cow eyes at him and hang on his arm, but her flirtations didn't affect him. Another woman had already staked a claim on his heart—she just didn't know how much yet. Somehow he had to find a way to show her the depths of his love.

He wished he could talk to Jack about it, but broaching the subject was difficult and not something easy for a man to talk about.

A cheer rang out from the crowd, drawing his attention to the tent. Several men were rolling up the sides. A clock somewhere rang out nine chimes. Apparently the lottery would start on time today.

Luke leaned against the wall of the doctor's office, settling in for another long, boring day. He'd much rather be currying a horse, riding fence, or even branding instead of standing all day burning daylight. But this was his last chance to get free land and to offer Sarah the home she longed for. If he had a nice house, would she consider marrying him?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

He blew out a long breath, drew out his knife, and started cleaning his fingernails. It was better than doing nothing.

Colonel Dyer read out the name of the first winner, and cheers resounded as a gray-haired man squeezed through the horde and made his way onstage. He took a bow, raising more cheers.

“Cleaning fingernails in public is not exactly gentlemanly behavior.” Jack chuckled.

“Can't help if I'm bored.”

“You don't have to stand here all day. Go on. I'll let you know if you win.”

He shook his head. “Naw. I reckon I'll wait. I want to be here in case Sarah wins.”

Jack leaned in closer. “I imagine you're hoping she doesn't.”

Luke gazed at him for a long while then glanced at Sarah, glad to see her in conversation with Nannette. “I don't exactly know how I feel. She wants a place of her own. I want to see her dreams come true, but …”

“You want to be a part of those dreams.”

His jaw tightened as he nodded. But he was afraid that he wasn't part of Sarah's dreams. He cast another quick glance at Sarah, glad she was focused on Nannette's animated story. “What if she doesn't feel the same?”

Jack rolled his head around, popping his neck. “You need to pray. Make sure that it's God's will for her and you to be together, and if it is, trust Him to make that happen.”

Luke listened to another man's name being called out. Jack almost always turned a topic to God. There was a time Luke hadn't given God much thought, but having been around Gabe, Jack, and Lara's grandpa, three God-fearing men, for so long, his ideas on faith and God had changed. He wasn't the strongest believer, but he did believe. He leaned a foot against the wall behind him and pocketed his knife. Now was as good a time as any to pray.

He gazed up at the sky. A few small clouds floated by like fluffy dandelion puffs.
Lord, I know I haven't talked to You much, but I aim to do better. Jack's sermons have settled in and made me realize I need You in my life. I'd also like to have Sarah—the woman I love—by my side, but I need You to help her see that she needs me—that is, if it's all right with You.

“Well, well,” Colonel Dyer said, “the next winner is a lady—Miss Sarah Worley of Guthrie.”

Sarah squealed. She jumped up and grabbed Luke's arm. “I won! I won!”

She rushed down the steps. Jack cast him an odd look then followed her.

“How about that?” Nannette watched Sarah and Jack make their way to the tent.

Luke couldn't move. Couldn't suck in a breath. He felt as if a horse sat on his chest. If Sarah had land and a home, what need did she have for him?

Pure joy bubbled through Sarah in a way she'd never before encountered. Her dream was finally coming true. She thanked God all the way to the stage. She couldn't stop smiling and glanced over her shoulder to share her joy with Luke, but Jack was the one following her. Luke was nowhere to be seen. A smidgeon of her delight dimmed, but nothing could ruin this day. She tried to see what had happened to him, but the crowd blocked her view of the doctor's porch.

At the stage, Jack helped her up the steps, and then Colonel Dyer took her hand, assisting her onto the platform. “Congratulations, Miss Worley. You're one of a handful of women to have won a homestead.”

“Thank you, sir. I'm so excited and honored.” She almost said she couldn't believe her name had been called, but God had led her here, so why should she be surprised?

“If you'll go over to the table there, Chief Clerk Macy will inform you which day you need to return to the land office to select your lot.”

“Thank you.” Sarah smiled at Jack. They crossed to the table where Chief Clerk Macy sat.

“Congratulations, Miss Worley. The assignments of land will begin on August 6th, but only one hundred twenty-five homesteads will be assigned each day. Everyone whose name was drawn before yours will get to choose before you will. The land office will be closed on Sunday, the tenth, so you'll need to be here on Monday, August 11th to pick your homestead off the map that shows which ones are still available. Since you're number 512, you'll be twelfth in line. If you don't show up before the office closes that day, you will forfeit your claim. There are no exceptions to that rule. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir. I'll be here.”

“Good.” He handed her a paper stating her name and winning number 512 then nodded. “Congratulations, Miss Worley. Have a nice day.”

“I already have.” Sarah beamed at him as she took the paper. Cheers rang out for another winner. The plan was to draw many more winners today, so the officials were keeping a quick pace. As Jack escorted her down the stairs, several men congratulated her.

Jack leaned down. “Now that you're a landowner, you'll probably get gobs of marriage proposals.”

She swatted his arm, receiving a chuckle for her efforts.

She searched for Luke and found him. He stood in the same spot he'd been in earlier, watching her approach, but he didn't look very happy. Was he jealous she'd won a homestead and he hadn't? Or did he think she shouldn't be living on her own? It was true that she never had. Of course, there would be adjustments, but for the first time in her life, she was the one who would make the decision where she would live. And that felt grand!

She climbed the few steps to the boardwalk platform, and Luke was there, offering his hand. She accepted it then stopped in front of him. Her heartbeat galloped as she slowly lifted her gaze to his—and there was the smile she longed to see.

“Sorry. I think I was shocked into a stupor when your name was called. I mean, the odds of it were so slim.”

So, he never thought she had a chance?

“Congratulations.” Luke smiled, and then his gaze darted toward the crowd surrounding her and he stepped back.

Several men squeezed in to congratulate her then moved back to where they'd been standing.

“Oh, this is so exciting!” Nannette rushed forward and took hold of Sarah's hand. “Do you know which town site you want to live near?”

“I'm hoping for a homestead in the Anadarko vicinity, since it's the closest to Guthrie.”

Jack stopped at the top of the stairs. “Those towns are nearly a hundred miles from one another.”

Sarah frowned. That sounded so far from her loved ones, but she was a pioneer, forging a home in a new land, and like other pioneers, she had to make sacrifices to get what she wanted. “But the train goes most of the way. I'm just not sure if it reaches those new towns yet.”

“Always the optimist.” Luke winked over Nannette's head.

“It's better than being a pessimist.” Sarah shot him a teasing grin.

“So, now that you have your land, shall we go back to the hotel?” Nannette waved her frilly fan in front of her face, her toe tapping on the boardwalk.

Sarah glanced at Luke and Jack. She might have won her land, but they hadn't. She should stay to support them. “I think I'll hang around here for a while. I'm hoping Jack and Luke both get land, too.” She wasn't opposed to having friends close by as long as she got her home.

Nannette snapped her fan shut. “Well, I for one am ready for tea, and I simply must get out of this sun. I don't dare go home with freckles. Mother would have a conniption fit.” She batted her lashes at Luke. “Would you care to escort me?”

Sarah recognized the tic in Luke's cheek—the one that appeared whenever something bothered him, but he was too much of a gentleman to refuse. He smiled and offered his arm. “Of course. Shall we?”

Nannette made a great show of blushing and taking his arm, then shooting a victorious gleam at Sarah. For the briefest of moments, she longed for a cow flop to hurl at Nannette. Instead, she waved and took her seat on the bench again.

Jack chuckled and squatted down on his heels. “You'd better watch her. She's bound and determined to win Luke's heart.”

“Why would that matter to me? If he wants that shallow, rich woman, he can have her.”

Jack stared at her for a long moment. “I don't believe for a second that you mean that.” He wagged his index finger in her face—a rare thing for the peace-loving pastor. “Just beware… A man's heart is sensitive. He can only handle so much spurning before he turns his sights on someone else.” Jack rose and leaned against the building, facing the tent once again.

She looked in the direction Luke had gone. She wasn't jealous of Nannette's blatant attempts to woo Luke. She just didn't like that kind of behavior. It was beneath a proper woman. In fact, it reminded her of how the ladies of the night who'd worked for her father had acted when flaunting themselves to garner the attention of the men who visited the bordello. Shameless.

She'd always be grateful to Jo for helping her get away from that horrid place. It was certainly no place for a girl of twelve to have been living.

Glancing at the paper she still held in her hand, she considered how much her life had changed—and would change again soon. She was a landowner, or would be once the paperwork was completed. She already knew the style of house she would have built—a simple two-story clapboard painted white with dark blue trim. With a picket fence around the front yard.

Leaning her head against the wall, she sighed and gazed up.
Thank You, Lord, for making my dream come true.

Luke stomped across the street, glad to be away from that crowd of people packed closer than new bullets in a box. Glad to be away from Sarah. Could she not see how much he cared? How he was worried sick about her living alone? Concerned how she'd make ends meet with no job or steady income?

Nannette jerked on his arm. “You're not listening to a word I said. I declare, where in the world are you, Luke?”

The last place he wanted to be, that was for sure. “Just thinkin', I reckon.”

“Well, stop thinking and listen. I asked you to explain to me why a pretty woman like Sarah wants land so bad. I don't for a moment understand why any woman would want to live all by herself on the prairie—or wherever her land is.”

Luke couldn't share Sarah's secrets, but maybe he could pacify Nannette so she wouldn't harass Sarah later on. “It's not so much the land she wants as it is a home—and to fulfill a promise she made to her mother. Owning a homestead will enable her to build a house that belongs only to her. She's never had that before.”

“What has she been living in? A tepee?” She released a loud huff and tossed out her hands. “Hasn't she been living in a house all her life? Why is that so important? I mean, most women would want to live in a town with people to visit, decent evening entertainment, and stores where they can purchase the things they need. Why doesn't she buy a house in a town that's already built?”

He assisted her up the steps and into the near-empty hotel lobby. “I reckon I can understand wanting to build on virgin land that no man has ever touched before. There's an excitement in it.”