When He Returns by Amelia Smarts

Author:Amelia Smarts [Smarts, Amelia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-01-25T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

That night, Sadie hardly slept a wink. However, there was work to be done, so she couldn’t indulge in sleeping in. Bedding needed washing, butter needed churning, and she needed to kill and pluck a chicken at some point that day. With Wade there, she didn’t want to serve bland potato soup, so she intended to ensure there was a much grander meal of fried chicken or fish on the table every evening he was with them.

Wade joked and laughed with the twins, talked with Grace about California, and helped Ada with the last of her homework before school. Sadie stayed a distance apart, keeping busy on cooking breakfast, but it gave her a contented feeling to hear her siblings so relaxed. The normal squabbles were absent, and everyone seemed happier with Wade there.

She spooned scrambled eggs onto six plates and placed a fresh loaf of sliced bread in the center of the table along with the remaining butter. Wade sat in the same spot at the table he’d occupied as a child and offered to say the blessing. A rush of bittersweet memories flooded Sadie. Her pa had always said the blessing, and it felt good to have a man once again doing the same. Though she and Wade had never gotten along as children, there was no denying the family felt more complete with him there.

“So, Wade, can I go back with you to California?” Grace asked, passing him the salt and pepper. “I want to see more of the world than this sleepy old town.”

She phrased the question lightheartedly, but Sadie knew she was only halfway joking. Wade seemed to know it as well because he answered her in a serious voice as he sprinkled his eggs with pepper. “That will depend on whether I think it will do you good, Grace.”

She cocked her head. “How will you know?”

“I just will,” he insisted gently. “I knew it was better to leave you when I set out before, and I’ll know now if that’s changed.”

Grace’s eyebrows lifted with surprise at the mention of his disappearance five years previously.

“Of course,” Wade continued in a regretful tone, “what would have been best was if I’d stayed here instead of abandoning all of you. For that I can’t apologize enough.” He looked around the table at each of them, and Sadie felt that he gazed at her for an especially long time.

“That was ages ago,” Grace said, giving him an encouraging smile.

“Yes, it was,” he agreed. “But I fear the repercussions of my abandonment are long-lasting. I hope someday you all can forgive me.”

“Of course we forgive you, Wade,” Grace assured him. “We’re just glad to have you back.”

Sadie looked away. She didn’t think the apology was necessary, when the impetus behind his decision to leave was not his fault. If Sadie hadn’t been so cruel toward him all those years ago, he almost certainly would have stayed. She remained quiet throughout the rest of the meal, while the others joked and laughed with each other.

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