Chapter 5

When it came time for the cattle drive, Heath and Nick divided the ranch hands into two groups. The larger of the two would go with them on the trail, while the other smaller group would remain behind to care for the ranch.

Emma was chosen to remain behind, but she had to admit she wasn't upset about it. She was really enjoying Sarah's friendship and hoped that there would be opportunities for them to talk more. Emma would still be very busy, having more responsibilities, but the ladies had already made plans to go into town for lunch on Emma's day off.

It was on this day that Emma and Sarah were headed into town. Sarah was going to stop off at Jarrod's office to see him for a few minutes while Emma posted a letter at the post office. Emma dropped Sarah off and promised to be back in half an hour.

Sarah made her way into the office and smiled at Mrs. Smith.

"Is he busy?" she asked.

Mrs. Smith returned the smile and said, "He's with a client. He should be done soon." Sarah smiled her thanks and sat in one of the chairs off to the side. About twenty minutes later, Jarrod's office door opened and out stepped one of the most gorgeous women Sarah had ever seen in her life. She was wearing a beautiful gown of burgundy that was trimmed in black lace. The neckline was cut low, showing quite a bit of the woman's abundant cleavage. She smiled demurely at Jarrod and held out her hand to him. He smiled politely and shook it, though it was clear that the woman wanted him to kiss it. Jarrod looked over and spotted Sarah. His smile grew and he motioned for his wife to join them.

Sarah almost wished he had not seen her. She was wearing a simple day dress that was attractive in many ways but was also showing her growing mid-section. The other woman's figure was perfect, making Sarah somewhat self-conscious.

Sarah came to stand beside her husband and listened as he made the introductions. She had to hide a smile as she listened to him.

"Mrs. Ann Wilder, I would like to introduce you to my lovely wife, Sarah Barkley."

Mrs. Wilder's eyes traveled up and down Sarah, and though she tried to disguise it, Sarah was sure she didn't measure up. But with Jarrod's arm around her possessively, she frankly didn't care.

"How nice to meet you," the other woman said in a deep voice.

"It's my pleasure. I trust my husband was able to see to your needs?"

The woman looked over at Jarrod and smiled. Sarah was sure it was meant to be one of her most endearing smiles.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be able to." Mrs. Wider glanced at Sarah once more and then turned to walk out of the office. Jarrod looked at Sarah and rolled his eyes. He led her into the office and held her close.

"This is a wonderful surprise," he said. "And it couldn't have come at a better time."

"New client?" Sarah asked.

Jarrod continued to hold onto Sarah and drink in the smell of her. She always smelled so wonderful.

"Yes, and I have a feeling she's going to be more trouble than she's worth."

Sarah didn't comment, but she had the same feeling. Jarrod pulled away for a moment to look into his wife's beautiful brown eyes. He cupped her face in his hands and brought his lips to her own. Sarah found herself lost in his embrace, almost forgetting why she was there.

"Oh!" she pulled away. "I almost forgot. Emma is probably already downstairs. She and I are going to lunch. I should go."

Jarrod looked disappointed and kissed his wife again.

"Well then, I'll see you tonight."

Sarah smiled sweetly as she said, "I'll look forward to it."

Jarrod walked his wife outside and said hello to Emma. He returned to his office, mounds of paperwork on his desk, but found that it was difficult to get back to work. He couldn't wait to get home.

The ladies enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the hotel, discussing many topics. Emma was surprised to learn that Sarah had grown up in an orphanage. Sarah in turn learned a few things about Emma.

"So your letter that you mailed was to your mother?" Sarah asked.

"I try to write every now and again just to let her know I'm alright. I usually tell her not to write back unless I know I'm going to be around a while, which I'm usually not."

"Why have you moved around so much?"

Emma took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Sarah was beginning to regret asking the question when Emma started to speak.

"When I was 13 my father died. He was my best friend. My mother remarried a year later. My stepfather was always kind to my mother and me. He did turn me over his knee once, but I deserved it. He never tried to take my father's place, but it just wasn't the same. My mother and father hadn't been able to have any other children besides me, but my mother and Carl had three babies together. Only one made it past infancy. His name is Sam. He's almost 12 now. Last I heard from my mom, he was doing well in school and talking about taking over the ranch one day.

"Anyway, when I was 17, I decided I wanted to be out on my own, so I left home and worked my way from ranch to ranch. I would have to convince someone to hire me and when I did, I would do my best. Then inevitably some ranch hand would decide to take a liking to me. Mostly I just ignored them, but a few times I would be cornered and have to fight my way out. No one ever really did anything to me, and it got so I wouldn't stay around to let them try."

Emma paused to take a drink of her water. Sarah felt sorry for her friend and hoped that nothing would happen here that would cause her to leave Stockton.

"Have the men treated you well here?"

Emma smiled ruefully. "They do now. One decided to get a little fresh with me, but I think I put him in his place. He hasn't bothered me since. It was rather mild compared to what others have tried. But I was firm enough that I think they all got the picture."

Sarah was relieved that the other ranch hands were behaving themselves. But she wouldn't have expected any less from the ranch hands working at the Barkley Ranch. Sarah looked up to see Cassie enter the hotel dining room and look around. Sarah waved and Cassie came over to their table.

"Hi Sarah."

"Cassie, are you meeting your father?"

"I was supposed to. He said if he wasn't here by lunch time that meant he couldn't get away."

"Why don't you join us? You don't mind, do you Emma?"

Emma smiled at the other woman. Of course, she didn't mind.

"Cassie, have you met Emma Moore? She works at the ranch."

Cassie took the chair offered by Sarah and held out her hand.

"Heath's mentioned you. He said you're a really hard worker and wished he had more like you."

Emma smiled at the compliment. The three fell into easy conversation. Emma listened as Cassie talked about the wedding plans. Everything seemed to be falling into place.

"My older sister from Boston is supposed to make it for the wedding. I'm so excited. We haven't seen each other for several years."

"Will she be in the wedding?" Emma asked.

"Yes. We really didn't mean for the wedding to get so out of hand. But I wanted to have my sister as well as Audra and Sarah in the wedding. And of course there's Nick, and Jarrod."

Cassie smiled. "Heath and I have talked about scaling it down some. I just don't want to offend anyone."

"Well, if you need someone to voluntarily back out, I will. It's getting hard enough to fit into my clothes now, poor Mrs. Peterson will have to alter my dress fifty times between now and then anyway."

"Thank you Sarah."

Emma took this moment to ask, "Do any of you know that woman over there? She keeps staring at us."

Cassie and Sarah both glanced around. Sarah noticed that Ann Wilder was also dining at the hotel. She was pretending to be interested in the menu but wasn't doing a very good job.

"She's a new client of Jarrod's. Very openly flirtatious."

"Does that make you uncomfortable?" Cassie asked.

"It did at first. But Jarrod was quite charming as he introduced me. I think he let her know in no uncertain terms he was off the market."

The ladies laughed at this and finished their coffee. It was soon time to return to the ranch. Cassie bid them farewell and asked to get together with them both again soon. Emma would look forward to it. She was really enjoying her stay at the Barkley Ranch.