Lawless Love

Chapter Three

"Any letters, Tim?" He nodded and went to the back room to get their mail. He came back holding two letters and a package. "Here ya' go ma'am." He handed them to Sarah and went back to sorting the other mail. She looked them over and they were all from Lucilla. She stared trembling with excitement  and anticipation. Jake walked over to her and put a hand on her arm to steady her hands.

"They are all from Lucilla, Jake." she said with a hitch in her voice. "Well, open one darlin'." He motioned to the letters. She took the most recent and gave the rest to Jake. Her hands were trembling. She could hardly contain her excitement. She carefully unfolded the letter from her best friend.

My dearest Sarah,

I hope this letter finds you well. I was thrilled to hear of your marriage. I do apologize for not being able to attend. I am also hoping that your baby will be healthy and your labor will go easily. I have been planning to come visit you before the summer comes. I miss you terribly and I cannot wait until we can be together like we used to. I do plan on staying for awhile after the baby comes to help you both anyway I can. I hope you also received the package I sent. Please consider it a late wedding gift. I do look forward to your next letter. I will send you a telegram when I am prepared to leave for my visit to you. I love you, my darling Sarah.

Sincerely,

Lucilla

She looked up from the letter with tears streaming down her face. "She is coming to visit before summer." she whispered. Jake stepped closer and put an arm around her and pulled her close to him. "I have been meaning to tell you that I've been sending letters to your friend and have been plannin' on surprising you. Seems she beat me to it." He confessed. She looked at him, a little disappointed with his deception.

"Let's go home so you can rest some and open the other letters. I'm kinda interested to know what's in this here." He tapped on the package. "Okay, Jake. I am kind of tired." She didn't lie but wasn't entirely honest. They walked out back out onto the street and headed back to the wagon.

"Sarah, wait a minute!" They turned to see Liza waving out the door of her father's store. They walked back to see what she needed. "What's wrong Liza?" Sarah asked, concerned that something bad happened. The girl was grinning as big as could be. "Mama wanted me to show you something and I forgot until now." She said excitedly. Sarah and Jake followed her back into the store. "What do you want to show me?" Liza held up her hand and opened the swinging door and a litter of puppies came running out. 

"Oh my gosh! They're adorable! Jake, may I?" Lafitte barked and jumped around. He got down on his belly so he could play with them. Jake nodded and Sarah got down to pet with them. They were on her in a flash which made her giggle. One caught her attention. He looked like Lafitte but had a circle around both eyes, instead of one. He was fighting the hardest for her attention. She picked him up and he yapped at the others. "He's perfect!" She turned to Jake, who was holding Lafitte at bay so he didn't knock Sarah over. Liza smiled at them.

"Do you wanna take that one home? Our dog had another accidental litter. My pop would be happy to get rid of one." Liza confessed. Sarah looked at Jake and he nodded again. Sarah squealed with excitement. This day was just getting better as it went. She held the puppy for Lafitte to check him out and he tried playing with him and jumped up. "Okay, Lafitte, we'll take him home with us." She hugged Liza. "Tell your mother thank you! This is a great birthday present!" Jake nodded and they all turned to leave.

They walked back to the wagon. He helped her up, followed by Lafitte and the new puppy. He walked over and untied the horses. He climbed up, grabbing the reins and got them moving. 

They rode in silence. Sarah was smiling which made Jake smile. I can't believe he didn't tell me he was writing Lucilla. I thought we didn't have any secrets. But, it isn't the worst thing. It's not like he's cheating on me. Jake c****d his head at her, wishing he knew what she was thinking. "Did you enjoy yourself in town, Duchess?" She looked at him and smiled bigger. "Yes, I did. Thank you so much! I really needed it."

The puppy nipped at Lafitte making him yelp. Jake grabbed the puppy by the scruff to get him away before he caused more problems."That's enough out of you mutt!" Jake scolded. The puppy barked at him which riled Lafitte. "Jake, what are you doing? He's just a baby! Put him down." she yelled at him. He stopped the horses so he could handle the situation.

"I'm not gonna have him causing problems with Lafitte." He grumbled back at her and put the little dog down. She looked back at him, thoroughly shocked that he actually raised his voice at her. He regretted it the second the words came out. Her eyes swelled with tears ready to attack his manliness. His gut wrenched. 

"Dammit Sarah, I can't stand seeing you cry and you know that." She just cried harder which upset him more. "I know he's a pup but he's gonna learn who's boss and it ain't him. Lafitte is top dog." He thumbed at the puppy Sarah was consoling in her lap. Lafitte looked at her and whined pathetically. She pet him and sniffled and wiped her tears. "I'm sorry Lafitte. I will never let him hurt you again baby boy." She looked at Jake and put the puppy on the floor.

"I'm sorry for getting so upset over this. I think I just need to lie down when we get home." She smiled meekly. He snapped the reins and the horses started going again. They rode the rest of the way home in silence. How dare he raise his voice at me? He knows I can't handle stress right now and him yelling is stressful. If he keeps it up, I'm likely to go into early labor. 

She couldn't wait until they got home to open the package. She untied the string and tore at the paper. She carefully lifted the lid and gasped. "What is it, Sarah?" She gently pulled out a crystal butterfly. Tears threatened to fall again. "This belonged to Lucilla. I told her that I always admired it. I never dreamed she would give it to me." She placed it back in the box. She held it close to her chest with a permanent smile on her face.