Chapter 5

Six months after that night with Juliann, Jarrod was on his way home from Carson City on the stage along with three other passengers. The stage came to an unexpected halt and the driver jumped down calling out to the passengers:

"Looks like we are gonna have to take a little detour. The bridge we usually drive across has been washed away."

There were several groans heard, even one from Jarrod himself. He had been looking forward to getting home and off the hot, dusty trail. It looked as though he would be delayed.

"Where will we go?" One of the passengers asked.

The old driver took his hat off and scratched his balding head.

"Jackson's about twenty miles East of here. We can stay the night there and then head out for Lodi."

Jarrod's heart stopped at the mention of Jackson. That's where Juliann was living, wasn't it? His mind tried to recall the conversation between Juliann and his mother at the church picnic. He'd never been to Jackson, never had any reason to go there before now. He wondered how she was doing and whether they'd be able to see one another. Of course, Simeon would be there as well, and Jarrod would have to be careful how he acted around Juliann. He couldn't help but let a smile cross his face at the thought of seeing her again.

It was late afternoon when the stage pulled into Jackson in front of the small hotel. The passengers disembarked, thankful to be off the moving stage for a while. Jarrod looked around, hoping to see where the supply store was. He was certain Juliann had said they were the only one in town so it shouldn't be too hard to find. He went inside the hotel with the others, secured a room for himself and then washed up. He was tired but couldn't help but feel some excitement as well.

Richardson Supply Store was located at the end of Main Street. Jarrod walked in, took his hat off and looked around. There were no other customers that Jarrod could see, and no one was in the front of the store. The bell that sounded above the door would alert anyone in the back to his presence. Jarrod began perusing the display case, not really interested in much.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, may I-"

Jarrod turned around and was face to face with Juliann. Her chestnut colored hair was piled on top of her head in an attractive style and she wore a blue dress that matched her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked sounding breathless, unable to believe he was standing before her.

He smiled. "The stage I'm on had to take a detour. We're staying the night."

Juliann felt her pulse quicken. Staying the night. Oh, but what a fool she was. They'd already made the mistake of getting too close. They shouldn't do it again because it took everything in them both to stop before. She took a step back, and Jarrod couldn't help but notice how she tensed up.

"This is a nice store," Jarrod said, hoping to eliminate the awkward moment.

"Thank you," was all Juliann said. Her mind was running through possibilities of being able to spend more time with Jarrod. She couldn't ask him to supper at her house because Simeon would be there, as would her mother. While Simeon would probably be oblivious to anything regarding her, she knew her mother would pick up on the energy between her and Jarrod.

"Where's Simeon?" Jarrod asked, bringing Juliann's thoughts back into focus.

"He's out making a delivery. He won't be back at the store today," she wasn't sure why she felt the need to mention that fact and felt foolish.

"And your mother? How is she?" Jarrod was hoping the small talk would help Juliann relax. He was cursing himself for not considering that Juliann wouldn't be as happy to see him as he was to see her. She was probably feeling the same guilt he had over their night in his office all those months ago.

"She's fine. She lives in a small house not too far from us. She really likes it. We've...we've gotten closer the last few months." Again, with the oversharing, she berated herself internally.

"I'm glad."

An awkward silence settled between them and Jarrod cleared his throat self-consciously. This had been a mistake. He should have stayed in the hotel and she never would have known he was here.

"Well, I guess I'll be going. I just wanted to stop by and say hello."

"I'm glad you did," Juliann said. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she blinked them away. Jarrod didn't say anything else as he walked out of the store. Juliann watched him cross the street, but he never turned around. Her heart felt heavy and she struggled to make it through the last hour the store was open.

She walked home, wishing again that things had turned out differently. She made supper and placed it on the table. Her mother knocked on the backdoor and Juliann welcomed her in. Simeon came in just after and washed up. He was in a foul mood as usual and nothing Juliann did was right. The potatoes were over cooked, the meat tough and the bread stale according to him. He berated her over and over while her mother looked on. Simeon had long ago dropped the facade of being nice to his wife in front of his mother in law. There was nothing Letha could do but watch and hate the fact that she'd pushed her daughter into this marriage so long ago.

Letha had been excited at first when Jarrod Barkley had shown interest in Juliann. He was from a well to do family and she could tell he'd go far in life. There was talk that because of his charisma, he'd one day run for a political office. Juliann's eyes always sparkled when Jarrod was around.

Simeon began to come around the Stettler homestead as well. He seemed like a nice young man from a neighboring town but Letha could tell Juliann wasn't all that interested in him.

Jarrod and Juliann were getting quite serious and there was talk of a wedding in the near future. Letha began to have doubts, knowing that if Jarrod ran for a political office, their family would be scrutinized. Of course, no one could find fault with the Barkleys. But Letha had a secret, something that she hadn't told anyone except her husband which had proven to be a big mistake. When Letha and Carl Stettler married, Letha was already carrying Juliann. But Carl wasn't the father. He seemed to resent that fact and made sure Letha knew at every opportunity that she was a worthless former saloon girl he'd redeemed. Letha was glad though that Carl treated Juliann as if she were a prized possession. He was always showering her with gifts and attention, seemingly knowing in his heart that Juliann didn't deserve his contempt. She hadn't asked to be born. Then Carl had died. Juliann missed her father terribly and, in a way, Letha did as well. Because with his death, it meant their financial situation was precarious.

So, If Jarrod and Juliann married and someone were to dig into the past of Jarrod's wife, they would find out she was the daughter of a former saloon girl. Any chance Jarrod had of attaining political office would be ruined. Letha couldn't stand the fact that Jarrod would blame her daughter. She couldn't let that happen, so Letha began to push her daughter toward Simeon. Juliann resisted, until Letha explained her reasonings. At first, Juliann said it wouldn't matter, that Jarrod loved her for who she was, not caring about her mother's past. But once Letha explained how it would hurt Jarrod's career, Juliann began to agree. Letha told Juliann that if she loved Jarrod, she would protect him. And that was just what she did.

Now as Letha watched Simeon do to her daughter what her husband had done to her, she knew she'd made a mistake. It turned out that Jarrod Barkley had no intentions of running for any political office, wanting instead to maintain his law practice and help the individual. What a fool Letha had been. She didn't really want to protect the Barkley's reputation as much as her own. No one had to know she had been a saloon girl. More than likely, no one would have even questioned Letha's past.

"Maybe next time you can fix a decent meal," Simeon said as he stood pulling his watch from his pocket to check the time and walking toward the door. "I'm off to the saloon to play some poker with the boys. Don't bother waiting up. I'll get what I need from there with one of the girls." Simeon made it very clear to Juliann that she was no good in many areas, particularly the bedroom.

Juliann refused to let any tears fall as she cleared the table. Letha helped her, keeping silent. In many ways, Juliann had it much worse than Letha had in her marriage. She didn't think Carl ever visited the girls at the saloon after they were married but if he did, he was at least discreet. Simeon was brash about his visits, even going into great detail about his activities with them because he knew the knowledge hurt his wife, not caring who was listening.

When they were finished, Letha asked, "Will you be coming to stay tonight?"

Juliann almost said yes but changed her mind. "No. I think I'll go visit Molly for a while. Her husband is out of town and the new baby is keeping her up at night. I think I'll just go and help her out."

Letha nodded and then left. Her heart was heavy for the burden she'd placed on her daughter. Her mind was busy, trying to think of a way to help, but she couldn't come up with any answers.