The Diary of Jerrod Bently, J.W. Osborn [the false prince series TXT] 📗

look of you, Sam, I am sure that she was,” Victoria replied “Now stand up and look in the mirror at yourself.”
Cautiously Sam got up from the chair and returned to the mirror. An elegant looking dark eyed stranger stared back at her. With her good hand she touched the soft contours of her hair. She was amazed at what she saw. She was beautiful, her sun tanned face accented by her natural beauty and new look. “Is it me?”, she questioned.
Victoria smiled. “It sure is,” she said “And you look so pretty with your hair up. Now, wait right there, Sam,” she added, “I want you to try something on.” Sam looked down at the long Indian skirt she wore and then back at Victoria. “Well, we both look about the same size,” she commented,” What did you have in mind? “
“ I think I have something that will be perfect for you.”, Victoria said. As Victoria left the room, Sam thought back to her days in Philadelphia and her over bearing aunt saying the same thing and the result had not been a good one. Sam was not a girl who cared about “the latest fashions for ladies”, she liked her wrangler’s clothes and her hat. She was a cowgirl and that was how she liked it.
Victoria went through her closet, finding a pair of black gauchos and a white linen blouse. She held them up and smiled. “Perfect.,’ she said to herself, and then went to her jewelry box for a few accessories. She chose a black silk bolo tie with a silver and turquoise slide from her jewelry case and on her way back to Sam’s room, grabbed her extra pair of riding boots. That was how she saw Sam Dodge. A young woman of simple elegance. When she walked back into the room with the clothes draped over her arm and the boots in her hand, Sam gave her a doubtful look. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about dressing up,” she confessed “Aunt Lillie used to buy me all these silly looking dresses and to be honest with you, I hated them.”
“Maybe she didn’t think about basic things, like black and white,” Victoria replied as she showed Sam what she had brought. “Would you like to try these on and see how you look in gauchos?”
“All right.,” Sam agreed as she accepted the clothes. Victoria helped her get out of her sling and the clothes she had been wearing and into what turned out to be a wonderful new look for her. Sam slid her small feet into the tall boots and looked at her reflection. She’d never really thought about how she looked before, but now she was very pleased. “I like it, “ she said “I could ride in this.”
“I do,” Victoria replied as she went to her and put the bolo tie around her neck for a finishing touch. “You have made me look so different,” Sam marveled as she stared at her reflection “How did you do it?”
“You did it Sam,” Victoria replied “You are just beautiful!”
“Jerrod said that,” she said quietly.
“That is because you are,” Victoria replied.
“Do you think he would like my hair up like this?”, she asked shyly.
“I think he would love it, honey,” Victoria replied. “Would you like to show your uncle?”
“Show me what?” And there he was standing at the open door of Sam’s room. His arms crossed and a cockeyed grin on his face. Doc had come in from the barn. When he saw Sam standing in front of the mirror, he stopped short. “Sam?,” he said “Is that you?”
She blushed “Yes,” she replied. “Victoria fixed my hair.”
Victoria was adjusting Sam’s sling so her healing arm was again supported . “Doesn’t she look wonderful.”
“She sure does,” Doc replied “Poor Jerrod is going to lose his mind when he sees you like that , honey girl.”
Sam giggled. “Jerrod wouldn’t know me dressed like this,” she replied.
“Any man would be proud to be seen with you on his arm. Especially, Jerrod Bently.”, Doc said.
Sam smiled. “Thanks , both of you,” she said as she turned back to the looking glass, intrigued by the reflection it returned..

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Sam was happy staying with Doc and Victoria. She had gotten used to living in the small town of Portersville and most of all, she enjoyed having Trouble and Desert Rose in the back paddock where she could visit them anytime she wished. But there was such an empty place in her life when she thought of her Grandfather and Jerrod. She missed them and wanted to be with them, to finish the job she had started, but that was not possible. She was still recovering from the accident that had nearly taken her life.
Sam was learning many new things from her Aunt , like cooking on an iron stove instead of over an open fire. She had not done so well at first, and Doc told Pede and Hap Jr., he could have built a bridge over Buzzard Creek with her biscuits, and singled his roof with her salted ham. Pede laughed “The poor young feller what wants to marry her will stave to death waitin’ for her to learn to cook.” They all had laughed. “Well,” Doc agreed, “It might run in the family. Her grandfather is about the worst cook I have ever known.”
However, there was hope, Sam. She had Victoria Stevens to teach her. After a while, she got the hang of it all and was doing much better with her cooking skills.

One morning Sam felt so confident after making breakfast for Doc before he went to work, that she decided she’d go to the bakery with Victoria and help her. Returning from the privy, feeling a bit green, Victoria met her in the kitchen. She was washing up the dishes and humming to herself. “Did Doc leave already?”, Victoria asked as she pulled out a chair and sat down. The sight of the coffee in the cup she had left made her feel sick all over again, but it passed.
“Yes,” Sam answered “He left just a few minutes ago. You want me to go after him?”
“No,” Victoria replied “He’ll be over at the shop by twelve today.”
“Can I go to the bakery with you?”, Sam asked as she hung up the dish towel and turned to look at her aunt. “Jumpin’ rattle snakes, Victoria?” she declared in surprise as she beheld the look on her aunt’s face, “You look awful! What is the matter?”
Victoria managed a smile. “Sit down, Sammy,” she said “There is something I want to share with you.” Sam was very worried when she seated herself opposite her aunt at the table. She reached out and took hold of Victoria’s hands. Victoria smiled at her. “It’s all right, Sam,” she said quietly “I do feel awful and I have been sick just about every morning for the past few weeks.”
“You want me to go get Dr. O’Brien for you?” Sam asked, now more than a little concerned. Victoria saw the fear in her dark eyes, and sensed that she was thinking about the loss of her mother. “Sam,” she said “I think I am going to have a baby. That is why I have been sick and out of sorts these past few days.”
Sam looked back at her, studying her face. Then she smiled “Does Doc know?”
“Not yet,” Victoria replied “And I am not really sure yet myself, so we have to keep this a secret until I know that I am carrying your uncle’s baby.”
Sam uttered a sigh of relief, “You had me worried for a minute,” she said. “I am so happy for you and Doc,” she added. “And I will have a new cousin one day in the not to distant future.”
“Let’s see,” Victoria mused, “You are Doc’s niece.. So this baby would be your first cousin.”
“I don’t have any cousins,” Sam said quietly “Just my brother, Brian.”
“How long as it been since you have seen him?”, Victoria asked.
“About five years,” Sam replied “He’s in Philadelphia with my Aunt Lillie.”
“Doc’s sister?”, Victoria inquired. “What is she like?”
“Believe me,” Sam said firmly “You don’t want to know.”
“I imagine you and her did not see eye to eye,” Victoria commented.
“Not at all,” Sam replied in distaste “I was glad to get home to Texas. I don’t like city life.”
Victoria, feeling somewhat better now, rose from her chair. “Come to the shop with me for a little while?” she said. “But if you get tired, you must tell me and I will have Doc or Hap bring you home.”
“Are you going to make those cinnamon cookies today?”, Sam asked.
“Yes, I am,” Victoria replied as she reached for her shawl. “Go check on the horses, Sammy and I will meet you out front.” She paused, her hand on the back of her chair. “Remember,” she said firmly “, not a word to Doc or anyone about the baby.”
“Sam grinned “I won’t say a thing,” she promised.