Chapter 2

A month later, the family was gathered in the dining room, eating a hearty breakfast. The day was going to be busy for all. Jarrod and Nick were headed into town as it was time to hire extra ranch hands for the round up and a cattle drive. They decided this year to hire enough to go on the cattle drive as well as leave a full crew to take care of the ranch. In years past, they would leave only one or two ranch hands to see to the care of things, but Jarrod wanted a full crew. He didn't want to take a chance that something would happen, and Heath and Nick agreed.

Victoria was going to visit a sick friend and help for the day with her children. Audra had made plans with Malcolm and his family for a picnic while Heath would be working on some fence lines that had fallen.

Sarah decided she would go into town too, but later in the morning. She woke up feeling fine, but usually after breakfast she needed to lie down. She had tried eating a lighter breakfast as opposed to a heavy one, to help with the nausea, but it didn't seem to matter. She ended up losing most of it anyway. Once she rid herself of breakfast, she felt fine and ready to continue with her day. Jarrod worried about her, but Sarah insisted she was fine. She looked like she was losing weight, but neither Sarah nor Dr. Merar seemed concerned.

Sarah walked Jarrod to the door, and he kissed her on the cheek. She was already beginning to look a little green.

"I'll see you for lunch?" he asked.

"I'll be there."

Jarrod smiled and stroked her cheek and walked out the door. Sarah made her way upstairs and waited for the inevitable to happen.

It was close to noon before Sarah made it into town. She had fallen asleep after becoming ill and woke up feeling refreshed. She rode into town in the buggy Ciego had been instructed to have ready for her. The streets were crowded with men seeking work. There were long lines at many of the makeshift offices the ranchers had set up and the line at Jarrod's office was no exception.

As Sarah stepped down from the buggy and tied the reigns of the horse, she heard a commotion and looked up to see a crowd gathered. She watched for a moment and saw men laughing hysterically. Wonder what's so funny? She asked herself. Just then, a young woman walked through the crown, her face red, with anger or embarrassment, Sarah couldn't tell. The young woman looked dejected, and Sarah felt compassion for her.

As the woman passed by, Sarah said, "Excuse me. My name is Sarah Barkley. Are you alright?"

The woman smiled sadly and said, "Just looking for work and no one seems to want to give me a job."

"What are your skills?"

"I've worked on several ranches. Grew up on one in Arizona."

"So, you're looking for ranch work?" Sarah asked, somewhat taken aback.

The woman's chin lifted. "I've worked just about every position on a ranch. I even have letters of references. I can do the work if someone would just give me a chance."

Sarah found herself liking this woman immediately.

"Have you tried the Barkley Ranch yet? My husband and his family own the ranch and are looking for extra help."

"I was headed there next."

"Let's go. I'll put in a good word for you with my husband. What's your name by the way?"

"Emma. Emma Moore."

"Well Emma Moore. Let's go get you a job."

The two women smiled at each other and walked toward Jarrod's office.

An hour later, Jarrod and Nick were staring at Sarah and Emma with somewhat incredulous looks on their faces. When Nick had seen Emma with Sarah, he was immediately attracted to her. Emma had long brown hair braided down her back and the creamiest complexion he had ever seen. Her soft green eyes and long lashes were captivating. She was dressed in denim pants and a cotton shirt, her hat in her hands.

But when Sarah announced Emma wanted a job at the ranch, Nick almost spit out his drink that he had been taking. Emma glanced over at him but said nothing. She was used to that kind of reaction.

Jarrod stared at her wide eyed and then looked over at his wife. That she was serious was clear. He half hoped that Emma was just a friend and that they were having one over on the brothers.

Jarrod cleared his throat and said, "Well, Miss.. ah.." he glanced at the papers she had handed him.

"Miss Moore. You are looking for a job?"

"That is what we said dear," Sarah commented dryly. Jarrod glanced over at his wife, letting her know he wasn't pleased. Sarah smiled impishly and Jarrod had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from returning it.

"Yes sir. I'm looking for work."

Jarrod nodded and looked over at Nick who was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He was glaring at Emma who was ignoring him all together.

"What experience have you had?"

And the interview went on from there and lasted for ten minutes. Nick never said a thing and Jarrod found himself relieved. But this was the calm before the storm he knew.

"Well, if you'll just wait outside, we'll let you know in a few minutes."

Emma's shoulders drooped. She knew what the answer would probably be, but at least she wasn't being laughed out of the office...yet.

"Emma, wait for me okay? We'll go to lunch together," Sarah said. Emma nodded and closed the door behind her.

"There is NO WAY we are hiring THAT woman!" were the first words out of Nick's mouth.

Sarah glanced at him and then said to her husband, "Well, what do you think, darling?"

Jarrod knew he was going to be in trouble either way. If he hired Emma, Nick would be furious. If he didn't, Sarah would be furious. He was trying to decide which would be the lesser of the two evils. Before he could say anything, Sarah spoke.

"I really don't see what the delay is. She has experience and even letters of recommendation which is more than most of the men you hire."

"Just where will she sleep? Certainly not in the bunkhouse and we can't be building a whole other place just for her!" Nick said.

Sarah smile her sweetest smile at Nick and said, "The tack room."

"What?!" both Jarrod and Nick said at once.

"The tack room. It has a lock on the door and plenty of room for a small cot. There's a stove to keep her warm at night and she would have the privacy she needed."

Jarrod smiled despite himself. Seemed that Sarah had everything figured out. Nick, however, wasn't going to be won over too quickly.

"If we hire her, then we will be the laughingstock of the whole Valley! Not to mention that women will be coming out of the woodwork for us to hire."

Sarah turned to her brother in law. Jarrod walked around the side of his desk and sat down. He hid a smile and leaned back to watch the show.

"You'll hire any man, no matter his race, whether he is from this country or not, whether he is qualified or not. But the only thing keeping you from hiring Emma is the fact she is a woman! That is so unfair!"

"A ranch is no place for a woman to work!"

"Well, your father didn't have a problem with letting your mother work there!"

"That's because she HAD to. Once they were established, she didn't have to do any of that work anymore."

Jarrod decided he had let the conversation go on long enough. He didn't want Sarah getting worked up and he stood between the two.

"Nick, I see no reason not to at least give Emma a chance. If it doesn't work out, either by her not doing a good job or if the men are too distracted, we'll let her go."

That Nick was not happy was clear, but he also had the presence of mind to think about Sarah's condition.

"Fine. But if she can't pull her weight, she out!" he said and stormed out of the office.

Sarah put her arms around her husband and said, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. We'll have to see how this goes."