Jarrod paused on his way to meet his mother for lunch. It just didn't seem right, the young woman seated on the bench outside the hotel, crying disconsolately. There were only a couple days until Christmas and in the lawyer's mind, it was a time of happiness and togetherness, not a time for the brokenhearted weeping he saw before him.
"It's much too lovely of a day and you're much too pretty to be sitting here so sad," Jarrod said gallantly as he sat beside the blonde woman. "Can I render any assistance?"
She sniffed and looked up, a chagrined look on her face. "Oh, no sir," she replied softly, "I'll be all right."
"Well, you look as if you could at least use this," Jarrod told her and held out a handkerchief. She smiled at him and gratefully took it to dry her blue eyes before handing it back.
"Thank you."
In spite of her assurance that she'd be fine, Jarrod couldn't bring himself to leave her sitting there all alone without making sure whatever was causing so many tears wasn't too serious. "Is there somewhere I can take you, miss?" he asked. "Stockton's a fairly safe town, but it wouldn't do to have you getting lost."
She shook her head and when she dissolved into a fresh round of tears, Jarrod wondered what he had said.
"I don't have anywhere to go," she admitted between sniffles. "I was supposed to meet my husband, but he's not here and the hotel is full and I just don't know what to do."
"And you don't know anyone in town?" Jarrod asked in concern.
"I've never been to Stockton before. I just arrived this morning."
"Well, why don't I escort you to the sheriff's office and see if he's had any news of your husband?" Jarrod stood and reached for the bag on her lap as he considered which of the reputable boarding houses in town might have room for the young woman. He was taken aback when he realized she was heavy with child and quickly changed his mind. His mother would never forgive him if he just abandoned her at a rooming house; she would want the expectant mother invited to their home while she waited for her husband.
Extending a hand to help her off the bench, Jarrod smiled. "I'm afraid I've been rather remiss and haven't introduced myself. My name is Jarrod Barkley and I'd be honoured to have you join my mother and myself for lunch after we check with the sheriff."
"Emma Fisher. I don't really know how to thank you for your kindness, Mr. Barkley."
Jarrod felt the smile that now adorned her face was thanks enough. "No thanks are necessary," he assured her. "Besides, it's Christmas."
Jarrod escorted Emma to the sheriff's office and quickly outlined her problem. Emma gave Sheriff Madden a description of her husband and he frowned thoughtfully.
"I don't recollect anyone matching your husband's name and description, ma'am," he told her, "but I'll keep an eye out. Where can I contact you?"
Emma started to speak, but Jarrod cut her off.
"She'll be staying at the ranch, Fred," the dark haired attorney told him.
"Just send someone out if you hear anything."
Emma tried to protest, but Sheriff Madden just chuckled. "You're in good hands, Mrs. Fisher," he assured her, "and I'd hate to be in Jarrod's shoes if his mother found out he didn't invite you."
Jarrod gave a laugh of his own. "See you later, Fred," and he escorted Emma out of the sheriff's office.
"Mr. Barkley, I can't impose on your hospitality," Emma objected, "especially around the holidays."
The debonair attorney's blue eyes twinkled. "Well, you can argue that with Mother," he told the pretty blonde as he ushered her through the doors of the Cattlemen's Hotel, "but you'd have to be a better lawyer than I am to win that case."
Jarrod spotted Victoria Barkley sitting at a table on the far side of the room. He saw his mother's brow rise in askance as he led the obviously pregnant woman to her table.
"Mother," he introduced, "this is Mrs. Emma Fisher. I've invited her to have lunch with us."
Victoria smiled graciously as Jarrod held Emma's chair for her. "We're delighted to have you join us, Mrs. Fisher. Are you a client of my son's?"
Emma ducked her head and blushed as the waitress brought over menus and coffee. "No, ma'am. He… well, your son is a very kind man."
"Mrs. Fisher seems to be in a bit of a predicament," Jarrod explained. "Her husband hasn't met her as planned and there seems to be no room at the inn." His eyes twinkled.
Victoria gave him a look of reproach. "I do hope you've invited her to stay at the ranch, Jarrod."
Winking at Emma, Jarrod replied, "Why, Mother, the idea never even crossed my mind."
.
Jarrod had to stay in town to finish his work before picking his youngest brother up from the train station later that afternoon, so Victoria drove Emma back to the ranch after lunch. Victoria had refrained from asking their new houseguest any questions over lunch, but the trip back to the ranch was the perfect opportunity to find out the young woman's circumstances.
"Please forgive me if I'm being too forward," she started, "but I can't help but wonder why your husband agreed to let you travel in, well, your advanced condition."
"He doesn't know," was the soft reply.
Victoria didn't say anything; she just waited for Emma to continue.
"Ted came out west about eight months ago to make a future for us," Emma explained. "I didn't want him to worry about me being all alone, so I didn't mention anything when I found out I was with child. Then a couple weeks ago, he wrote he'd found a steady job and saved up some money so I could come join him for Christmas." She smiled and blinked back a tear. "I know I shouldn't have travelled, but I just miss him so much and I want him to be there when the baby is born. And then when he didn't meet me…" Emma turned to face Victoria and the older woman could see the concern on her face. "I'm worried about him, Mrs. Barkley. I'm worried why he wasn't there."
Victoria smiled reassuringly. "Oh, there are lots of reasons he could be delayed. A broken wagon wheel, the road being blocked, trains delayed. I'm sure he'll turn up shortly."
Emma nodded and turned to watch the passing countryside and Victoria felt a kinship with the young woman. She remembered being pregnant with Jarrod, and how hard it was to be building their new life with Tom gone so much of the time.
"So what type of work does your husband do?" Victoria wanted to know.
"He said he found a job at a lumber camp not far from Stockton," Emma replied. "He wrote that it was a good place to work and he said the pay was more than decent. Even housing for the men's families."
"I wonder…" Victoria mused aloud before she asked, "Did he say where the camp was or what the company's name was?" There were a few lumber operations not far from the valley and two of them were owned by the family.
But Emma shook her head. "No, he didn't, Mrs. Barkley, why…?" Emma's question was cut short as they pulled into the yard in front of the white mansion and she gasped.
Victoria reined the horse to a stop. "Here we are," she said brightly, politely ignoring Emma's shock. She smiled at the dark-haired cowboy who came up to give her a hand out of the buggy.
"Hello, Mother. How was town?" He gave her companion a wide smile.
"Oh, busy as you can expect this close to the holidays. This is Mrs. Emma Fisher," she introduced as he extended his hands to help the young woman to the ground. "Emma, this is another of my sons, Nick. Emma will be staying with us for a few days."
Emma reached into the back of the buggy for her bag, but Nick beat her to it.
"Now what kind of man would I be if I let a lady carry her own bag?" he said with a dashing grin. "Besides, I'd be sure to hear it from Mother later." He took Victoria's few parcels out of the boot as well and followed the women to the house.
"Oh, Silas," Victoria said as the family retainer greeted them at the door, "Mrs. Fisher will be a guest for the next few days. Is the large guestroom ready?"
"I aired it out just this morning, Mrs. Barkley," Silas said with a smile for Emma. "It's nice to have you, Mrs. Fisher." He took the bag from Nick. "I'll just take this upstairs."
Victoria took Emma's hand and guided her to the stairs. "I'm sure you'd like a chance to rest and freshen up. I'll show you where everything is and you can join us down here whenever you feel like it." She turned back to her son. "Nick, can I speak to you in the library when I come back down?"
Nick gave a nod of acquiescence and Victoria accompanied Emma up the stairs, stopping at an open doorway. "This will be your room while you're with us, Emma. If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."
"I don't know what to say," Emma said gratefully.
Victoria patted her hand. "You don't need to say anything. Why don't you have a rest? You have to be taking care of yourself."
Emma nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. Barkley."
Victoria waited until Emma shut the door behind here, then returned downstairs and headed into the library. Nick was placing the cue ball on the pool table for a practice shot when she entered.
"Nick, do we have a copy of the payroll for the logging camps?" she asked.
Nick took his shot, neatly putting a ball in the corner pocket before he straightened up. "I know I sent one with Heath when he went up there last week," he said, replacing his cue and going to the desk, "but Jarrod always insists we have more than one copy. I'm sure it's here somewhere. Why?" He started rifling through the papers on the desk.
"Our guest's husband works at a camp not far from here and I'm wondering if it could be one of ours," she explained. "He wasn't in town to meet her as promised and I think we should see if we can find him."
Nick held up a folder. "Here it is," he pronounced, opening it. "What was the name?"
"Fisher, Ted Fisher."
"Fisher, Fisher…" Nick ran his finger down the list of names and then stabbed at one. "Ted Fisher. Right here. He's up by Indian Springs, where Heath is. We can ask when he gets back."
"Isn't your brother supposed to be back today?" Victoria asked slowly, an uncomfortable feeling building.
"Yeah, today or tomorrow, depending on the weather." Nick saw the look of concern on Victoria's face.
"Hey, now," he said, trying to alleviate her concern, "There can be a lot of snow in that pass this time of year. I'll bet he and Fisher are almost to town by now." He put an arm around her shoulders and gave a squeeze. "Heath's a big boy. He can take care of himself."
Victoria firmly willed herself to believe it. "Of course he can. But if he's not back by dinnertime tomorrow, you, Jarrod and Gene will go look for him."