Sarah entered the store in a reasonably good mood. She had given her situation and Jacob's proposal a lot of thought. If she did run off and married Jacob, a man that she barely knew and ignored her parent's plans, they would totally disown her. But by rejecting Jacob and staying in this situation, she was giving up her dreams. But was her situation really that dire? She hadn't really argued the point with her parents. They had no idea how unhappy she was. It was time to clue them in on her feelings. Looking at the time, she realized that it was nearing time to open the store. She'll have to talk to her parents later. If she planned to talk them into letting her have the store instead of Phillip, she needed to be on top of her game. Being a girl, that meant she had to work harder. She couldn't relax and get lazy like her brother.

Whistling a happy tune, trying to keep her mood positive, Sarah got dressed in a soft blue cotton dress, brushed her hair and did her makeup and then was out the door, not even nodding to her mother, who was in the sitting room crocheting yet another scarf or sweater for her father. It was a beautiful day as she walked to her family's store. People nodded to her as she passed them on the street. The sky was blue and the birds were chirping away. At face value, it was a good day indeed and Sarah looked forward to working the counter and conversing with customers. Maybe Jacob will come in and she could tell him that she didn't want to marry just yet, but she would like to be courted. Maybe he could talk to her father and express interest in her. After all, the Hockley name was still good. He may convince her father that he was a better choice.

She arrived at the store, expecting it to be locked and the lights out, but was surprised to find the opposite. The door was unlocked and the lights were on. Frowning, Sarah entered to find her father and brother behind the counter counting up the money for the register. She ignored the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she heard her father instruct her brother about operating the machine.

"Daddy? Phillip? What are you doing here? I usually open the store," Sarah questioned.

Sarah's father looked up from his instructions, seemingly surprised to see her there. "I am teaching your brother how to count up the register since he will be running the store for now on. What are you doing here?"

Sarah blinked, taken aback by the news. "Wait...but I run the store. What's going on?"

Phillip stood there silently as their father gave a big impatient sigh. They had gone through this a number of times. Sarah should have gotten the picture long before now. "We've already talked about this, girl. Phillip is inheriting the store, so he's going to have to start running it. As for you, it's time for you to start acting like a well brought up lady and make Thomas an obedient wife. There is nothing else to say on the matter."

"But daddy, that doesn't make sense! Phillip has never shown interest in the store, where I know the business forwards and backward! Why not make him get married and give the store to me?!" Sarah argued, deciding to just put her idea out on the table. There obviously wasn't going to be easing her father into the idea.

"That doesn't even make sense. My decision is final! Now go home and help your mother. There's a wedding to plan and she's wanting to go over dress ideas with you," Her father ordered, his voice cold and stern.

"What?"

"Go home and help plan your wedding to Thomas! You want to look forward to something, look forward to that! I will not be talking about this again!"

"But daddy..."

"Go home!" Her father all but roared.

Hurt and devastated, Sarah ran out of the store, but not home. She was determined not to go back to that house, where all of her choices had been taken away, all of her dreams dashed. If her dreams were to be saved, there was only one place to go. There was only one chance to snatch control of her life away from her parents.

Arriving at the Dawson farm, Sarah pounded on the door, hot tears still streaming from her eyes. It was Jack Dawson who opened the door.

"Sarah?" Jacob appeared behind him, concern clear in his blue eyes. Sobbing, she ran past Jack and right into Jacob's arms. "Hey, what is it? What happened?"

Sarah clung to Jacob as if he was a lifejacket on the sinking ship that was her life right now. In a way, that's exactly what he was. Her one and only chance to keep control of the life that was being taken over at a rapid pace it seemed. "It's awful! I can't believe him...it's like he doesn't even care about how I feel about anything!"

Rose came into the room, frowning at the situation. She looked at Jack, who simply shrugged, confused about what was going on.

Ignoring both of his parents, Jacob gently rubbed Sarah's back, trying to calm her down. He didn't know what had sent her here, but he'll do anything and everything to make it better. "What happened?"

Sarah pulled away a little and wiped her tears away with a trembling hand. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. "I woke up this morning, thinking that I hadn't given my parents a chance. That maybe I could talk to them and let them know how unhappy I was with this situation. Let them know that I felt like I could run the store. That I was the one that held the most interest in the business and it'd be best if I inherited and Phillip be the one that got married to some rich heiress. I thought that all I had to do was talk to them and they'd understand."

"But they didn't?"

Sarah sniffed and shook her head, feeling like a fool to give her parents that much credit. "I went to the store to open it for the day just to find my father and Phillip. They didn't even warn me ahead of time. It's like I didn't even matter. My father's giving Phillip control of the store, starting today and I was to go home and help mother plan for my marriage to Thomas."

"Oh Sarah...I'm sorry."

"When I tried to talk to father...tell him what I thought should happen, he just yelled at me to shut up and go home. He wouldn't even consider it. He didn't even care. He just wants things his way and that's it. I won't even try with mother. She's just like him! I have no control over anything and it's not fair!" Sarah began to cry again, leaning into Jacob's embrace, feeling safe there.

"Oh Sarah, this is awful. I know you must be devastated."

"I worked so hard, just to end up some decorative arm candy while my brother runs the business that I love and worked to make a success out of into the ground! I didn't know what to do...I can't go home...I don't want to go home...so I came here."

"Well, I'm glad that you did. Come. Jack had made some pancakes and they're pretty good. There's some left if you want to eat something," Jacob offered, wanting to make her feel at home somehow.

"I'm not hungry...I'm just sad. I thought that they respected me. I thought that we were different than the other well off families. How wrong I was. They made me think that I had some control of my life when really I had none."

Rose winced, at those words as she was reminded of the night she had met Jack. How she had felt like she had no control of her own life. How she had been desperate to wrest it away from her mother and Cal at all costs. She shivered at the memory and stepped closer to Jack, thinking what would have happened if he hadn't been there to tell her not to do it. She was grateful that there was no stern of a ship to jump off of for Sarah. That the girl's instincts brought her here instead of towards a more tragic solution.

"Jacob, why don't you and Sarah go into the sitting room. It'd be a lot more comfortable than standing in the foyer," Rose suggested, feeling more relaxed as Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulders, probably sensing where her thoughts were going. His memories were probably sending him there as well.

"Good idea, mother. Come, Sarah. Let's sit down and talk about this, okay?" Jacob lead her into the sitting room, where they sat on the couch. Jack and Rose followed but remained standing in the entranceway, wanting to know what was going on, yet still wanting to give them some sense of privacy. "Okay, let's talk. You feel like you have no control over your life?"

Sarah sniffed and shook her head. "If I have any, it's very little and soon that will be gone even. I don't know what to do or if I even can do anything."

Sarah did know what she could do, but she wasn't sure if Jacob had been serious and she didn't want to make him feel obligated to help her. She didn't even know if it was the right thing to do. Really, it was the crazy thing to do. She barely knew this boy, where she had known Thomas her whole life. But she didn't love Thomas and there was no real future with Thomas, other than becoming what she most feared. A housewife whose only goal in life was to look good and have babies and keep house. At least with Jacob...she really liked him and there was a possibility of her dream of owning her own store coming true! With Jacob, she would have control of her future. But again, she wasn't going to bring it up. She didn't want him to feel like he had to marry her. It was his life too.

Jacob took her hands in his and looked directly into her eyes, wanting her to see the sincerity there. He had been serious the night before when he had suggested marriage. That want hadn't changed. He deeply felt that he and Sarah were meant to be. "Sarah...I meant what I had suggested last night. Do you remember? About marrying me? I mean...I feel like we were meant to be in each other's lives and...I've never felt this strongly about anyone and I want to make your dreams become reality."

"Jacob...you don't..."

"Hear me out. By marrying me, you would be taking control of your life once and for all. You'll be following your own path. One that you wanted, not one your parents planned. I know, marriage is not on your top list of goals right now. But it's the only way to get you to that store you want to own. Your way to being more than a housewife and it'll give you a husband that will help and support you all the way to making that happen. I may not be Thomas Henshaw. I may no longer be as rich as him, but I know how to make and run a business. I know what is needed and I even have some connections to do it. I think if we put our heads together, we'll not only get a store but one that is better than your father's. One that is yours and will mean more because you built it. Let your brother have the family business. Marry me and we can build something better."

"I don't know what to say...I like you...okay I more than like you. I've more than liked you from the first moment you stepped into my father's store with your beautiful smile and pretty eyes. I just don't want you to feel obligated."

"It was my idea. How can I feel obligated? If I didn't want to marry you, I wouldn't have suggested it yesterday, right?"

Sarah chuckled and met his eyes, feeling as if a weight was coming off of her shoulders. "Right. Okay...okay yes. I'll marry you as soon as possible. I want to be your wife."

Jacob grinned and resisted the urge to whoop with joy. "You hear that mother? I'm getting married."

Rose simply smiled and leaned her head against Jack's shoulder. She was a little concerned, but Jacob was a grown man and he was in love, and Sarah may not realize it right now, but Rose was pretty sure that the girl was in love with Jacob as well. Why else would he be the first person she ran to when her life seemed to be falling apart?

"This is crazy," Sarah giggled, feeling more hopeful than she had when she first arrived on the Dawson doorstep.

"I know. It doesn't make any sense. That's why I trust it," Jacob kissed her hand, feeling good about this decision. He didn't know what the future held, but he was sure it was going to be a happy one.