Page 40 of A Matter of Time

“Yeah. I’m okay, Son.”

“Look, Ma, I don’t know what’s going on or why you and Wally are lying so much, but I know you’re good people. I also remember Pa always saying ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’. I ain’t tellin’ you what to do or nothin’, but I think maybe you ought to at least be honest.”

Sadie looked up to find her son turning back to his scrubbing duties. How the hell had he gotten so smart?

More importantly, why did Amos care so much about her life that he had to go digging? Was it really just about his pride because Wally had threatened him? Or was there something she wasn’t seeing?

All those years ago, Sadie’d been convinced Amos asked for her hand because of her family’s money. Then she’d married James and her family and inheritance had up and left. Suddenly, she wondered if there was more to his proposal than she’d reckoned. He’d been married to Eleanor shortly after she’d been wed. Was he really still stuck on her?

Sadie suppressed a shudder. Holding on to jealousy for all those years wasn’t good—for either of them.

The next morning, when she opened the door, Wally stood there, his contraption hanging from one hand, his dark eyes shining like polished leather. Her first thought was to tell him about Amos’s strange visit, but when he dipped his head and pulled her in by the waist for a mind-numbing kiss, she decided it wasn’t that important.

“Good mornin’ to you too,” she said, pleased with his exuberance. “I wasn’t sure I’d see you again until tomorrow when you bring through some more of your folks.”

“I couldn’t stay away,” he said, dipping her for another kiss.

“Morning, Wally!” Teddy said, taking a seat at the table like their display was nothing.

“Morning, Theodore. How’s that project coming?”

“Working on the case. I want to get it just right.”

“Good. Always take your time with important things,” Wally said, coffee eyes drinking in Sadie, making her blush.

“I’ll get on breakfast if you two want to fiddle with your toys,” she said, reaching for a basket to go collect the eggs. Though they were down to two hogs, she still had a good amount of bacon left to work with.

“They aren’t toys,” Wally said, slipping his arms around her waist from behind and pressing his prickly cheek to hers.

“Whatever you say, Wally.”

With a warm laugh, he let her go and sat down with Teddy at the table. Sadie watched them while she cooked, humming to herself. It wasn’t just to impress her—she could see Wally really enjoyed his time with Teddy. They shared a passion for inventing things. James had to have sent the man to their door. Where else had he come from? It was like Wally had dropped out of the sky at just the right moment.

A warmth kindled in her chest, filling her body with a glow she hadn’t experienced for over two years. Some part of her that stayed constantly on alert relaxed and she smiled. Contentment was the name for the feeling.

It was a perfect day. Wally spent time with her and Teddy. They worked on his cloaking thing and then he helped with chores around the ranch. Sadie had to demonstrate the simplest things and doubled over in laughter when big ole Wally handled a pitchfork like it was the first time he’d ever encountered such a thing.

All three of them did a lot of laughing that day, and when the sun set, painting the Arizona sky above her house, she rested her head on Wally’s shoulder, and as they leaned quietly on Darcy’s fencepost, Sadie’s last defense melted. The hope turned to happiness, and she sighed, lacing her fingers through his.