If you're still reading, I hope you're having a great Valentine's Day. My day consisted of going to various doctor's appointments, so I thought I would spread some love by giving you the next chapter. I expect reactions to the topic introduced in this chapter, but it seemed somehow apropos given today's date. Further A/N at the bottom.

As you know, none of this is mine. I love reviews, but more than that, I love the outpouring of support I've gotten. It has been a blessing far more than I ever imagined.

Fifteen minutes later, Max carried a tea tray into her living room and found Sam and Cody cuddled into the recliner. Both were sound asleep. She'd just have to call River Bend and see if things could be handled by the cowhand who'd stayed back.

An hour later, her phone rang and it was Brynna, frantic because Sam wasn't answering. Finally she had called the bunkhouse and was relieved to find her children safe and sound. Brynna, of course, had no way of passing that message along to Max's son. If she had managed to contact her husband with the spotty cell phone reception, he didn't pass the fact that Sam was at Three Ponies along.

It was nearly ten a.m. and Max was having a lovely time with Cody. He really reminded her of Brian at his age, quiet but stubborn with a happy disposition that was only shaken by feelings of unease. He hooted "S'ake!" as a the group of Ely men climbed the stairs after settling their horses. Presumably, there were there for a midday meal before heading out again to finish working with the cattle.

Entering and giving a hello to his mother, the youngest Ely scooped up the child, who pressed his fluffy head into his windblown jacket. "Hey, Codster. Where's your sister?"

The toddler said "'am?" and began to look around for his sister.

"She's in the living room." noted Nate, who stopped conversing with his parents and brothers abour lunch in order to inform his brother of his best friend's location.

Jake walked out to the living room, and saw Sam curled up in the recliner. He was at a loss for words at the emotions that ripped through him as he beheld her. He'd been gone a few days and he wondered with some trepedation, "How will I manage a whole year without her?"

Contrary to his brother's opinions, he was no fool. He knew exactly how he felt about her, and he'd tried over the past six weeks or so to tell her, and to show her. He was committed to her, he realized, as he had been since that day in the hospital. He lifted her from the chair and sat down. Sam woke slightly, only to mutter his name and burrow into his chest, much like her brother did.

"Brat, I think we should get married." Jake whispered this.

"M'love you. Get married later. Sleeping now." Her groggy voice spoke. A moment later, he head flew up from his chest, the reddish strands billowing about her sleepy face. "Married? What the hell are you talking about?" She looked furious, and sleepy. It was funny. When Jake smiled, she hit him on the back of his head. "Explain. Please."

He rubbed the spot her small hand had conected with and blew out a breath. "Brat, it makes sense. I'm not saying today, or even tomorrow. Maybe before I go away to school."

She was half asleep and confused "How does this make sense? You're leaving! Why would you want to leave a wife behind, rather than just..?"

He cut her off quickly. "I want you to know that I'm committed. I want things to be settled for you to come out to school with me Can you imagine Wyatt letting us alone at school?"

She looked pensive "No, but...Jake, we'd need his consent. And I don't think he'd give it. And a wedding, so quickly." She didn't elaborate on how impossible putting something together would be. He wouldn't care. She thought back to her 12th birthday. She'd planned the whole thing for months. She hadn't wanted a 13th, because everyone had one of those. Sam was determined for it to be wonderful, and Jake had poked fun at her plans.

His voice was firm, "I don't care about any of that. We can make this work. I'm 18. You'll be 17 by the time I...go" He fell silent. "Didn't Wyatt emancipate you, when you left to live with Sue?"

She spoke "He did, but how could we go behind his back, Jake? There's no honor in that. You know it, and so do I."

"Please, Brat. Think about it. Please."

She climbed off of his lap and sighed "All right. I will."

When Sam entered the kitchen, Max was chopping up something for the salad she was preparing. As Sam was leaving a short time later, Max wrapped her arms around Sam and Cody and hugged them to her. If it lasted a second longer than usual, no one noticed.

Jake walked her and Cody to the car. As he tightened the buckles of the carseat around Cody's squirmy body, Sam spoke. "You can talk to my father. On second thought, I think we should do it together."

When the baby was secure, he turned towards her and spoke. "I think...that will be best." Although it did not fit with his orginal idea of how the conversation would have gone, having Sam there were certainly negate any sense Wyatt may have about them not being honest about what they wanted to do.

Sam spoke "But we really need to talk about what we want before we do."

He opened her door on the other side of the truck and gestured for her to enter. At that moment, Cody began to protest his confinement. Sam entered, started the truck and looked at Jake. She spoke anew "I'll call you, later tonight."

Hours after a long conversation in the barn, well, long for Jake's standards, Sam was sitting in the swing on the porch. It was chilly, but she needed the open space to think about what he had said and her own feelings. He had logically pointed out a solution to each concern she had voiced, but at the end of the day, she knew how they proceeded from here was entirely her choice. Could she really do this? Marry him, before they had even had a real chance to know one another? Of course, even as she thought that, she realized how stupid it sounded. I know him. And she did, she knew things about him that no one else in the entire world ever would, because she had been there with him. Her mind churned and she thought about how Aunt Sue had impressed upon her how much young people changed. What if we change, and it doesn't work out? She realized that she was already faced with this issue, no matter they defined their relationship.

Nevertheless, Sam was conflicted. She sat for another two hours, thinking. At the end of the night, when the darkness shifted and she felt the dead of night shift into place, she rose. As she walked up the stairs, she considered her options. By the time she fell into bed, she was no closer to an outcome that she was totally comfortable with. She knew she needed to talk to Jake again. She briefly considered emailing Jen, but she knew that nothing Jen said would make any real difference. She needed, at the end of the day, to make this choice on her own.

When she said as much to Jake the next day, he disagreed. "Brat, don't you think we should just talk it out?" His reasoning, though he didn't say it, was this: he knew Sam was seriously considering what he had said. If she wasn't, she simply would have ignored the conversation last night and moved on like nothing had ever happened. The fact that she brought it up was telling. Even more telling was the idea that she was concerned that it wouldn't work out in the long run, which meant she was past the stage of considering if a marriage was a good idea to considering how they could make it work. It might seem small, but he knew it was a huge distinction, one that made him feel light and heady inside.

She did a double take. "You want to talk something out? As in a long drawn out conversation? With our families?"

"Yeah. I think it will be good."

What did the Pennsylvania German pastry behind this keyboard do there? What do you think? Too soap opera like for your liking? Remember, a decision is a process.