Beginnings (Crawley Creek Prequel) Read Free

Abe is out of town?” she grumbled.
    “Won’t he be back this evening?” Nick asked,
hopefully.
    “No, he called early this morning and said
the rain delayed part of the cattle auction. To be there for that
bull he wants, he’ll have to stay again tonight.” She turned away
as the line began ringing. Once she’d placed her call to the local
veterinarian, she turned back to find Nick snagging a cookie from
the cookie jar. “Smit will be here within the hour.”
    Nick blushed when he realized she’d caught
him, and grinned showing the gap where he was missing a front
tooth. Though he wasn’t much to look at, Nick had become Abe’s
right hand man, and Sera knew he was trustworthy. She counted him
as one of their closest friends. If Crawley Creek succeeded, he
would succeed, and they’d made sure to reward him as the ranch
grew.
    “I’ll head on out and wait for him.”
    She nodded, “Thanks Nick. This is going to
be expensive isn’t it?”
    “Probably, but it would be more expensive if
it took down the whole herd.”
    “You’re right about that.” She sighed and
rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “Just seems we’ve been dealt a
lot of blows lately. It gets tiring.”
    Nick was peering at her through narrowed
eyes when she looked up again. “Mrs. Crawley, iffin you don’t mind
my saying, you’ve been looking a might peaked lately. Like you
ain’t feeling so good.”
    “Why do you insist on calling me Mrs.
Crawley? After five years you ought to be able to say my name,” she
grumbled, ignoring his observation.
    “Fine. Sera, are you feeling okay? Is there
something wrong?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
    She felt tears burn her eyes as she nodded.
“Everything’s wrong, but I don’t know how to fix it.”
    Nick shifted awkwardly, and she realized
that her tears made him uncomfortable when he said, “Do you, uh,
need a handkerchief?”
    Dabbing her eyes with the bottom hem of her
apron she shook her head, “No, thank you. I’m sorry, I’m just a bit
tired lately is all.”
    He patted her shoulder tentatively, and then
edged toward the door. “Are you sick in the mornings? Maybelle got
all teary-eyed when she was carrying Daniel, but she was real sick
each morning, too.”
    It took her a minute to realize he was
surmising that she was pregnant, and then she began to laugh
uncontrollably, tears falling from her eyes once again. “No, I’m
not pregnant. In fact, that’s the problem. I can’t get pregnant.
I’m barren.”
    Nick grimaced and shook his head, giving her
a sympathetic look, “I’m sorry to hear that…”
    She stomped her foot and held out her hands
in his direction, pleading with him. “Gosh darn it. I wasn’t going
to tell anyone until I told Abe. Please don’t tell him. I need to
figure this out...”
    Nick shook his head. “I won’t tell a soul.
Your secret’s safe with me.”
    Relief washed through her, and she gave him
a teary smile of gratitude. “I’m sorry to dump on you like this. I
hate having to ask you to keep it from Abe.”
    Nick hesitated for a minute, and then
sighed. “Mrs. Crawley—er—Sera, I know you probably already know
this, but keeping secrets is hard on a marriage.”
    “Tell me about it.” She groaned. “I just
found out, and with our anniversary, and Blossom, and the cattle
auction, well, I just haven’t had time to figure things out. But I
will. Just, please, don’t say anything. It’s going to break his
heart as it is to find out I can’t have children. I don’t want him
to find out from someone else.”
    “I said I’d keep your secret, and I will.”
He reached for the door, and then glanced back. “If you need
anything, anything at all, you just ask. Me and Maybelle will help
however we can.”
    “Thank you, Nick. It’s good to know that we
have such good friends.”
    “I’m gonna go wait for Smit now. I’ll let
you know what we find out.”
    Sera watched as he disappeared out the door
and around the house