Samuel had not been far off. Almost exactly five years after they had wed, the railroad approached them about buying land to come through town. Sarah had let Samuel handle all of the negotiations. His business acumen left her in little doubt that he would do what was best for them as well as for the town. The railroad did not go in overnight; construction takes time. As a new spring was upon them, though, the railroad was getting ready to launch.
The Martinez family now ran the stage office. A couple of years of drought had made this a good choice for the family. They had done a fantastic job with it, too. Sarah knew her papa would be proud to see what the family had accomplished with the stage office as the town had grown. There would still be a stage coming to Larkspur until the trains got more regular, but the family was prepared. Thanks to a sound proposal Mr. Martinez had presented to the railroad people, the business would now be called the Larkspur Stage and Railway Office.
From where she stood on the front porch of Larkspur’s hotel, Sarah was able to look out toward the railroad. She came out here most mornings and felt that, from her vantage point, she was able to watch the changes coming to Larkspur. It was almost like looking into the future, she would tell Samuel.
Thoughts of Samuel warmed her heart as Sarah thought back over the years since they had wed. Sarah’s life before Samuel was boring by comparison. Everywhere he went he seemed to bring life with him, painting the world around him in bright vibrant colors when before it had been only monochromatic. She loved the color that Samuel brought into her life and never wanted to go back to the way she had been before.
“Hey love,” came the voice behind her.
She hadn’t heard him come out but was glad he had joined her on the porch. Leaning back into Samuel’s broad chest, Sarah sighed. They didn’t get many moments alone together, so she always cherished it when they did.
Altering his original design plans for the hotel, Samuel had added living accommodations for his family onto the back area of the ground floor. Not everyone would enjoy living in a hotel, but Sarah had taken to it quite nicely, much to his delight.
The early months of their marriage had shown them both that she was never going to be an extraordinary cook. Samuel loved his wife dearly and would never have said or done anything to hurt her feelings. When he first broached the subject with her about them having living quarters at the hotel, her first question was, “Does this mean we would take our meals in the dining room?”
Samuel’s sincere answer of, “We can eat in the dining room whenever you want to, but we don’t ever have to eat there,” was met with a shriek as Sarah jumped up and hugged him with a near stranglehold around his neck.
After kissing her husband soundly, Sarah exclaimed, “I’ve never wanted to say so, because I know it’s my job, but I’ve got to be honest. I can’t stand cooking! And I’m lousy at it, too! I don’t even like my own food. I’m worse at cooking than I am at making coffee! How you’ve been able to put up with it I’ll never know! Could we truly eat in the dining room? That won’t get too expensive?”
Samuel assured her they could eat every meal in the dining room if she desired. Over time they also put a table in the kitchen so the family could eat in there whenever they wanted more privacy and for those times when the dining room was too full.
Leaning back into her husband now, Sarah asked, “Where’s Ethan?”
“Your son, my dear, is taking a bath under the careful watch of the kitchen staff.”
“A bath? It’s barely sunrise. What happened?”
“I never knew one child could get into so much mischief. He asked if the fireplace was hot. I said, ‘No, it’s not hot right now.’ He apparently thought I mean it was okay to climb into the fireplace. It took less than a minute for me to turn around, but by the time I did, he was black from head to foot. All I could see were his eyes and teeth when he beamed at me as if he’d discovered gravity.”
“Do you think we’ll ever have any more children?”
Sarah had longed for a passel of children. They had been married for more than three years before Ethan came along, though, and so far there had been no siblings. She was content with the life God had given her, but she still wondered sometimes what it would be like to have a daughter, and she certainly thought it would be good for Ethan to have siblings. Being an only child had been rather lonely for her, and she wanted something more for her son.
“I think, love,” Samuel began softly, “that God grows families in all sorts of ways.”
****
Watching Sarah, waiting for the moment when she would realize what he was saying, Samuel continued, “Ida is my family, and I grew up with her, but her mother did not birth me.”
Sarah pivoted to look at her husband, her expression hopeful, “Are you thinking something specific?”
Samuel’s eyes wandered off toward the railroad and then back to Sarah. “I have heard talk recently of an orphanage up in Montana. It’s been mentioned to me several times, actually, in passing. When I hear something over and over again, it makes me wonder if God is trying to tell me something.”
“Adoption?” asked Sarah on a whisper.
“Would you be okay with that? Raising children who were not your own?”
“Oh Samuel, but they would be our own! If God sees fit to bless me with another pregnancy, I will care for and love that child with all my heart, but my heart is not so small that I could only love children I had birthed. Could we really adopt?”
“We don’t want to rush into this. I will write to the orphanage to see what I can learn, and in the meantime, we will keep this in prayer. This is a child’s life we’re talking about, and we want to make sure we are not rushing ahead of God.”
Sarah nodded, enthusiasm giving cadence to the motion. Samuel added cautiously, “Adopted children aren’t always easy. Sometimes they are angry and defiant, carrying deep hurts and fears that don’t show on the surface.”
Samuel was remembering back to his childhood when Ida’s family had taken him into their home. Though they had long ago ceased to have power over him, some of those memories were still painful. Resting her hand on his cheek she said, “Sometimes those angry defiant children turn into amazing wonderful people. They simply need love and patience.”
Samuel gazed down into Sarah’s eyes and knew with certainty that, while Sarah may see the future when she looked out of town toward the railroad, all he had to do was look into her eyes to see his future. Every step of it was going to be an adventure as long as he had this woman by his side.