Lone Pine Bride (The Brides of Lone Pine #1)(23)

There were six horses and Sadie had given her a few carrots for them which they eagerly received and ate. She stroked them in turn. She liked horses and had loved the one she usually rode at home. It wasn’t hers but she had an affinity with it, she felt, and it always trotted to her when she went to the stables of its owner to have a ride.

She would canter for hours on her own, enjoying the freedom after city life. There was plenty of space on her father’s property but it wasn’t like the country. It wasn’t as open as it was here because, although they lived on the edge of the city, they were not in the country itself.

That had not bothered her but it was so beautiful here. Even in view of the earthquake it was beautiful and when she came through San Francisco they had driven along the San Pablo Bay and then seen the sea when they actually reached the city. She had also seen the sea in New York but in both instances there was not enough time to actually go on the sand.

Once she married Seth he would probably take her round the country and also to the sea. Maybe they could have holidays in San Francisco and Los Angeles because he was obviously well off. That would be really nice but for now she would explore this area once the dangers caused by the earthquake were past.

She went for the basket of eggs and shut the barn door carefully behind her. She mustn’t let anything escape because this was Ronald and Sadie’s livelihood. Walking back into the house she put the eggs in the kitchen and went through to Sadie.

“I think Hannah is taking some milk,” Sadie said. “It feels a bit wet. It’s nice having her suck and I think she enjoys it too. I made a few diapers out of towelling but she doesn’t feel wet. I’ll have to make more.”

“Have you got enough towelling?” Hannah asked.

“Yes. We bought loads of terry towelling which seems to be more absorbent. We’ve cut it into baby size squares.”

“I’ve never paid much attention to that kind of thing,” Hannah said. “I have a niece and nephew but their mother saw to that.”

“I’d never thought of it before either because I’ve had little to do with babies and certainly not on a personal level.” Sadie bent her head to kiss little Hannah. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

“She is.” A bit wizened, Hannah thought, but her face will fill out and she was probably smaller than most babies because she had arrived two months early. If Hannah ever had any babies she would at least know how to deliver one but Seth would be bound to get a midwife and doctor. Ronald would have, she was sure, but the earthquake had stopped that.

The hours passed slowly and by the time they heard the sound of wheels outside both women were worried. Hannah stood eagerly, expecting Seth, but it was Ronald and he had the doctor with him, as well as Sadie’s mother. Laura Appleby and she made a beeline for the baby, her expression full of wonder. She lifted her from beside Sadie and sat at the end of the long sofa with her.

“She looks like me,” she said, leaning across to kiss her daughter. “How are you?”

“Well, thanks to Seth and Hannah. They were going to stay the night with me.”

“I’ll stay with you, darling. You father is coming in an hour or so.” Laura looked at her granddaughter in wonder. “She is so beautiful.”

“She is,” Sadie said, her expression much the same as her mother’s.

“Did you see Seth?” Hannah asked Ronald.

“Yes. He’ll be along in a minute.”

“I need a bit of privacy to examine Sadie,” the doctor said.

“They all helped me deliver Hannah,” Sadie said. “They don’t have to go.”

“Hold the sheet up then.” He examined carefully and pronounced everything to be in order. Now he had to visit his patients in Lower Pine, he said, because nearly everyone had gone there to recover. As he went out Seth was coming in, much to Hannah’s relief, except that the relief was short lived when he said he would ride along with Dr. Cranford.

“I’ll come too,” she said. She looked at Ronald. “Can I borrow one of your horses? We’ll bring them back before going to Seth’s farm.”

“I’ll be alright,” Seth said but she insisted and he could do nothing about it. The problem was, he wanted her to go with him and felt he shouldn’t except, of course, that it wasn’t fair to leave her with people she didn’t know well.

“I’ll go and choose a horse,” Hannah said, making for the barn.

Seth followed her. “You won’t know which one is most amiable.”

She smiled. “I don’t need amiable. I’ve already met them all when I collected the eggs for Sadie and fed the animals. I know which one I want.”

She went in, lifted a saddle from a hook on the wall and walked towards the horse she had chosen.

“I can put the saddle on,” Seth said, following her.

“I can do....” Hannah paused. He was being gentlemanly and she mustn’t be so independent. From now on she would be a couple and had to get used to it. “Thank you,” she finished.

“You were going to say you could do it,” Seth said.

“I’m used to doing things on my own. At the riding stables they would have done everything for me because they were paid, but I wanted the horse to know me well. I would brush it after we rode and I always put on the saddle.”