A telegram arrives for Sean and Marita accepts it. She goes looking for him in the barn. One of the leaves falls from its hanging place and almost hits Marita. She looks down at the fallen leaves then looks up to find Sean smiling at her.

"Hi there" Sean smiles as he looks down at the love of his life.

"Hi" Marita breathes. "This, uh, telegram just came for you."

"What's it say?" Sean asks.

"Received your communication. Representative will arrive in Lexington next week. George W. Martin, Consolidated Tobacco Company" Marita reads.

"Do you know what this means?" Sean says excitedly.

"No" answers Jeremy, who came into the barn as Marita was reading the telegram.

Sean jumps down from the loft. "It means they're coming to us. You tell Pa I've gone down town talk to the other tobacco farms. You tell him I've got good news" Sean says.

Sean is so excited. He looks from Jeremy to Marita.
"You are the reason this moment is happening" SM

He grabs her face and kisses her with all his might. He doesn't care that Jeremy is standing there watching. He loves her so much that restraint is becoming almost impossible. The kiss ends and Sean looks at her, smiles and shakes his head.
"I still cant believe you are real" SH
Sean leaves the barn and goes into town.

"I can't believe he kissed me in front of Jeremy" MH
"Oh, he is wearing me down" MM
Marita smiles and slowly turns to see Jeremy's reaction. He looks embarrassed more than anything else. Marita has to take a deep breath and give herself a little fan before she goes back to work.

***********************

William is running against Jerald Clancy and is playing dirty. John Turner has Clancy beaten up, thus weakening his run for Assemblyman. The family has suggested Sean run in the place of Clancy. Sean ponders it and realizes that he would be away from Marita and their relationship could jeopardize any political aspirations he may have. He'd like to run, but he is not willing to give up Marita. After dinner, he heads to the barn to think.

"I'll have to talk to Marita before I make my decision" SM
"Marita's here" SH

"Don't tell me you've come here to cast your vote for Sean Logan" Sean says without turning to face her.

"As a matter of fact, I have" Marita encourages him.

"You know, I was thinking, if I ran for office and won, it'd change my life."
Sean looks at her. "I'd be gone at lot."
"I'd be away from you" SH

"And I'd have to worry about what other people expect of me. I, I don't like that." Sean says.
Translation: People expect me to be with Vivian, not you.

"That's exactly why you should run. You understand what people need. You know how to get things done. There's nobody who could do this job better than you. It would only be for two years." Marita says.

Sean walks closer to his vision of loveliness.

"She is so unselfish. That's why I love her so much" SH
"Yeah. Vivian would probably have a hissy! I'm glad I didn't marry her" SM

"Two years" Sean says, realizing Marita is supporting him 100%.

Marita nods and smiles. "Or maybe you'll lose."

Sean smiles. His decision is made. Marita supports his running, so he will run.

***********************

Marita is in garden tending to her beloved flowers. She hears the carriage approaching and knows Sean is home. She happily gets up in anticipation of seeing him. She heads toward the house with a smile on her face but is stopped dead in her tracks at what she sees. Sean has brought a young lady home. Marita is disappointed and hurt and turns back to her flowers.

"Who is that Sean has brought home?" MH
"I can only go so far with Sean. He needs another kind of woman to share his life
with" MM
"He needs a woman who loves him and you are that woman" MH
"No I am not!" MM

Later that evening, Marita is sitting on the bench enjoying the night air. The moon is shining bright and the stars are lighting up the sky. The night is absolutely beautiful. She begins to cry but refuses to admit why.

"I'd be fooling myself if I thought we could be more that just friends. I can't compete with "society" ladies, especially since Sean will be in the public eye" MM
"You don't know who that woman is and you are already marrying him off to her. Sean's here" MH

"Hey" Sean says from behind her.
Marita wipes her tears and puts a smile on her face. "Hey" she turns as he sits next to her.

Sean looks at her and sees she has been crying. "What's wrong?" he is concerned.

"Oh nothing. I'm being silly" Marita lies.
"I lo..."MH
"QUIET!!!" MM

"I've never known you to be silly." Sean insists.

"Well there is always a first time for everything." Marita tries to make light of the moment. Sean looks at her with concern and knows she will tell him when she is ready.

"I invited Camille Foster to dinner this evening. She has offered to work on the campaign. She seems to know the political arena and has some good ideas." Sean tells her, having no idea that Camille was the cause of Marita's tears.

"See I told you you had no idea who that woman was. Now you know. He's not interested in her" MH
"Yeah, Yeah" MM

A sadness that had accompanied her tears suddenly disappears.

*********************

Consolidated Tobacco Company has reneged on their offer to come to Lexington because Sean is running for office and they feel it would be a conflict of interest. Sean is devastated because the other farmers were depending on him. Marita takes a step to him to offer support. Sean looks at her with great disappointment in his eyes. He knows she is there for him but right now he needs to be alone. Marita understands and feels the devastation as much as Sean does.

Negotiations begin and John Turner offers the farmers three cents a pound instead of the original five cents a pound. Sean addresses the farmers.

"Can I talk to you just for a minute. Come on back. I'm as disappointed as you are that that buyer we were counting on didn't show up. My tobacco is sitting here just like yours" Sean says.

"It's different for you Logan. You don't have a family to feed. I mean how are we suppose to get through the winter if we don't sell?" one of the farmers says.

"How are you going to get through the winter on three cents a pound?" Sean asks.

"We listened to you once before and our price went down" the farmer says.

"What if you do take the offer. What is he going to offer you next year, two cents a pound? What about the year after that? Are you gonna give him money just to take the crop off your hands. You gotta stand up to him. You let him take advantage and the problem is going to get worse and worse. He's just gonna walk on you. Don't be so willing to throw away your hard work. Throw away your dreams. Don't do that" Sean pleads.

"You have until tomorrow morning" the farmer says.

Marita is among the tobacco growers as Sean address them.
"I'm so proud of him" MH

Sean decides to drop out of the race and take the tobacco to Virginia himself. Ned convinces him to wait until the morning to make a decision like that. As Sean unties his horse, Marita comes up behind him and touches him. He turns at her touch.

"Whatever you decide to do, I believe in you" Marita says.

Sean's mind was racing, but as soon as he heard her words, he became focused. He is once again so grateful for her support.
"Oh Marita, what would I do without you. Every time I'm ready to give up, you come along and give me a second wind" SM
Sean looks at Marita and still can't believe she is real. She is all that really matters. He can't stop himself as he reaches out to caress her soft cheek. At this moment, he is beyond words.
"I love you" SH

**********************

Sean enters Ned's study and Ned hands him a letter.

"Harry Griffith came by here earlier with that letter. It was left for him at the Jockey Club anonymously" Ned says.

Ned hands Sean the letter. Sean reads the letter and is instantly concerned about Marita. He balls up the piece of paper.

"If anyone touches her...." SM
"I've got to protect her" SH

"Throwing it away won't help. I'm sure there are other copies. Is there anything I should know about...... you and Marita?" Ned is afraid to ask.

"Are you asking me if this is true" Sean says.

"I guess I am" Ned says, not wanting to hear what he knows is the truth - Sean loves Marita.

Sean walks to the entrance of the study. His main concern is Marita. He is torn up inside. If anything happens to Marita because of this letter, he does not know what he'll do.

"No" Sean answers as he holds up the balled up letter.

"If this accusation is public knowledge..." Ned says.

"I can't stop people from saying anything they want to say" Sean insists.

"If someone gets hurt..." Ned says.

"Pa! I would NEVER do anything to compromise her. EVER!" Sean says with tears in his eyes.
"I love her, Pa" SH

Ned hears Sean's heart loud and clear.

"I'll handle this Pa" Sean says.

The next morning Sean rides out to see Marita and tell her about the letter.

"Someone is threatening to send this letter to the newspaper." Sean hands her the letter. Marita reads the letter and he sees the fear in her eyes.

"I'll take care of it. Don't worry." Sean says. He gently caresses her cheek to comfort and assure her.
"I love you Marita and I wont let anything happen to you or us" SH
"I'll see you when I get back" Sean promises.

Marita smiles and says, "OK".

He mounts his horse and heads for Vivian's. Sean tells her that it would be in her best interest if the letter were not published. She quickly agrees.

***********************

In spite of John Turner's dirty tricks, the tobacco farmers get their eight cents a pound and Jerald Clancy wins the election. The town people are gathered to hear their new Assemblyman.

"Marita is here" SH
Sean looks up and locks eyes with her. He is in another world.
"She is amazing." SM

Clancy offers Sean a job as Deputy Secretary of Regional Affairs. Sean is brought back to this world and looks to Clancy. He remembers what Marita told him about his understanding what people need and knowing how to get things done. He accepts the position. Pa, Lexy and Alice congratulate him. As he shakes the hands of his new constituents, Sean looks for those eyes.

He finds them instantly and all he can do is stare at her. Even though they were surrounded by hundreds of people, they were all alone in this moment in time. As the days go by, he falls deeper and deeper in love with his best friend. He smiles at her.
"I love her so much. How did I get so lucky?" SH

Marita watches as Sean's family congratulates him on his new position. She is so happy for him and very proud of him. As she meets those beautiful blue eyes, Marita realizes that the battle is over. She closes her eyes for a moment and smiles. Surrender is so sweet.
"I give up. I love him" MM
"Finally!!" MH
"He is amazing" MM
"Yes he is" MH
"How did I get so lucky?" MM
"I don't know girl, but I'm glad you did" MH

Her friend, her best friend has stolen her heart. Who could ask for more?

People were all around her, but all Marita could see was the love in Sean's eyes.

To Be Continued...........................