Chapter 20

Jarrod looked at the telegram, his head shaking. Nick had sent it, telling his family when he could be expected and asked that they all meet him at the train station if possible. Sarah smiled when Jarrod told her about it.

"When's he due in?" Sarah asked, giving her husband a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Late afternoon on Monday."

Sarah grimaced. She hadn't been feeling well at all in this pregnancy and afternoons were the worst time of day for her. Mornings tended to be alright, but by lunch time Sarah could barely function. Usually by supper she was feeling better, though weak. Thankfully, Tori was an easy baby. She napped well in the afternoons which allowed Sarah to get some much needed rest. Jarrod was worried about Sarah and tried to spend as much time at home in the afternoons as possible. He also tried to put off any trips to San Francisco for as long as he could. Sarah insisted she would be fine should he have to go, but she admitted she was relieved to have him home. They had agreed to wait until after Victoria returned from Audra's to officially share the news with the family, though there really was no way of hiding it with Sarah so sick.

"It will be good to have Nick home again," Sarah commented. She had missed both her mother and brother-in-law. Victoria wasn't scheduled to be back until the last of June. The big house had seemed lonely. She wondered if she would feel this lonely once their house was completed and they moved in.

Jarrod agreed that it would be good to have Nick's boisterous personality around the house. He wouldn't admit it to a soul, but he was looking forward to hearing Nick as he entered the house, yelling for whoever was around. Jarrod decided to let Heath know about Nick's request. He rode over and showed him the telegram. Heath and Cassie both agreed to meet at the station on Monday afternoon.

As the train rolled west during the night, most of its occupants were sleeping. Nick was one of those, snoring softly, his head leaning against the seat. Emma watched him, a small smile on her face. They had spent most of the trip talking and part of her was sad to see it come to an end. They learned a lot about each other, and Emma was just beginning to realize just how much she really loved him. Emma turned to look out the window. Since it was night there was really nothing to see except the occasional lamp lit in someone's shack that was built near the tracks. Her mind drifted to the day before she and Nick left on the stage for Denver. She had received another letter from David. She didn't mention anything about it to her family or to Nick. What could they do about it anyway? This letter had been just like the first one, telling her he knew what she was doing and was watching her. Emma honestly believed David was long gone and was just trying to scare her.

The real test as to whether he was watching her would be if she received a letter in Stockton. Nick had told her once not to let David win. If she could be near Nick, she had confidence that he wouldn't. It was when she was alone that the doubts would assail her. Everything he said would come rushing back, making her feel less than what she was.

Emma looked over at Nick again and found him watching her. She smiled at his disheveled appearance, reaching over to brush back some stray hair that insisted on flopping forward. He caught her hand and kissed it, making her feel cherished and safe.

"What a lovely sight to wake up to," he said in his deep voice.

"You're not so bad yourself," she replied.

"But somehow I don't think you've slept at all," concern etched into his features.

"It's hard to find a comfortable position," Emma said and before Nick could reply she went on. "I wonder how Maisy is doing?", she said, thinking of her horse who was traveling in one of the stock cars.

"I'm sure she's fine," Nick said, still feeling concern for her. "What's bothering you?" he asked softly.

Emma sighed. "I'm just wondering what your family will say when they see me."

"I think they'll be surprised, but delighted."

Emma nodded.

"Do you regret coming with me?" he asked softly.

Emma shook her head and leaned over close to Nick, placing a soft kiss on his lips. They both were wishing they weren't in public, but since they were, they would just have to content themselves with "stolen kisses" as Nick called them. Nick convinced Emma to settle back against him and try to get some rest. She finally drifted off and slept for the next several hours.

Jarrod, Tori, Heath, and Cassie were all gathered at the train station waiting for Nick's train to arrive. Sarah was too ill to even attempt the trip into town, so Jarrod had taken Tori with him. She was the spitting image of her father, with dark hair and bright blue eyes. But her hair was as curly as Sarah's. She looked adorable in her pink dress and a small pink bow placed on top of her head. She was also wanting to be put down as she had just learned how to crawl. Jarrod was hard put to keep a hold of her, but she finally settled down and enjoyed being in her father's arms. The train pulled in, only being a half hour late and the three adults patiently waited for Nick to disembark.

Several people exited the train cars before Heath spotted Nick. He called and waved to his family before turning back to help a young lady off the train. She smiled up at Nick and then the couple walked toward the waiting family.

"What's he gone and done?" Heath asked, noticing the way Nick's arm went possessively around the woman's waist. She looked familiar, but Heath couldn't quite place where he had seen her before.

As they got nearer, Cassie gasped. She recognized the woman with Nick and squealed with delight.

"Emma!"

Jarrod's and Heath's mouths dropped open. They were used to seeing Emma in denim pants and not like the beautiful creature that was before them now. Emma and Cassie were hugging, each happy to see one another. Heath and Jarrod gave Nick big bear hugs and then turned to greet Emma.

"Good to see you again," Jarrod said, holding his sleeping daughter. She could sleep through just about anything, which was probably good since Uncle Nick was home now.

"You too, Jarrod," Emma said, but her eyes were on Tori. "She's so beautiful. She looks just like you!"

"Poor thing," Nick said, a fond smile on his face. He looked around, not seeing Sarah anywhere.

"Where's Sarah?" he asked.

"Not feeling well." Was all Jarrod would say. There were knowing smiles, but everyone kept their thoughts to themselves.

"I'll admit you were the last person I expected to see today," Heath said to Emma, smiling. "Come back to work at the ranch?"

"You might say so," she said, looking at Nick. A silent message passed between them and Nick said, "We were married five days ago. It's a long story, one that we'll share with you all. For right now, I want to get my bride home and see Sarah."

They stopped to get Maisy and tied her reins to the back of the buggy. On the way home, Nick gave some details about his trip, but left most of the story about he and Emma until later. He told them he had wired their mother in St. Louis and had written her a letter detailing everything.

Sarah was not up and about yet when they all arrived home. After handing Tori over to her new Aunt Emma, Jarrod went to check on Sarah and found her awake. She looked pale and Jarrod could tell she'd had a rough afternoon.

"Bad time?" he asked softly, kissing her brow.

"Yes. But knowing that Nick would be home today helped. I'll be down in a minute. I just need to freshen up."

Jarrod squeezed his wife's hand. Before he left the room, he turned and said, "Nick brought a surprise home. I think you'll like it."

Sarah wondered what it could be. She shrugged and knew she'd find out soon enough. Sarah heard Nick's voice before she even made it to the bottom of the stairs. She smiled to herself, thinking how wonderful it was to have him home again. When she walked into the living room, she stopped. She blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Emma handed Tori to her father and ran to give Sarah a hug. Both women were close to tears but were happy to see one another again.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked. She had liked Emma from the start and had been upset when she'd had to leave. She had thought about her friend often.

"Well, Nick and I met up in Boulder and he convinced me to come back with him."

Sarah turned to Nick, having momentarily forgotten about her brother-in-law. They hugged one another and Nick felt some concern. He hadn't remembered her being so thin when he left, and then smiled. She had lost weight with Tori too he remembered. When Sarah heard that Nick and Emma had wed, she let the tears flow. She kept saying, "I knew you two belonged to together. I knew you did!"

Dinner was an exciting affair. Sarah didn't eat much, but she enjoyed the company. It had been far too long since so many had been gathered around to share a meal. Heath, Nick, and Jarrod were all discussing the ranch that Nick had bought. When he explained it was Emma's family's ranch and why he had bought it, they understood perfectly. They all felt concern for Emma and what she had been through but seeing the way she and Nick looked at one another, they knew she was well on the way to recovery. They hadn't planned on getting married when they did. Nick explained that he wanted to give Emma all the time she needed so that she could be sure. They had shared the entire story, even Nick going to buy back Emma's horse.

"When he bought Maisy back for me, I realized I didn't need to wait anymore," Emma said. "I realized Nick truly loved me. We talked about it and he assured me you wouldn't be upset if we married before we returned. Neither one of us wanted a big wedding anyway."

About an hour later, Heath stood and said that he and Cassie should be going. He asked if he would see Nick in the morning to which the dark-haired man replied, "Of course. This is a working ranch after all."

Sarah excused herself as well to put a very tired Tori to bed. Emma went with her and the two women could be heard laughing as they made their way up the stairs. Jarrod looked over at Nick, who was smiling at the door where his wife had just gone through.

"Well, brother Nick. You do have a way of surprising us." Jarrod said as he poured a drink for them both. Nick looked over at his older brother.

"Like to keep you on your toes, Pappy."

Jarrod smiled at this and handed Nick his drink. They settled in chairs next to one another, each lost momentarily in their own thoughts.

Finally, Jarrod said, "Emma looks happy."

Nick nodded. "I almost left her there, Jarrod. I almost didn't go back for her. But her kid brother came to see me and begged me to talk to her again. When I found out what that guy David had done..."

Nick's thoughts turned to what he wanted to do to that man. And he used the term "man" loosely. The physical abuse had been bad enough, but to take someone as special as Emma and belittle her, making her feel worthless, was terrible.

"I'm glad you found each other Nick. Sarah and I both are."

"Thank you, Jarrod." The two men finished their drinks then both decided to turn in. Nick was looking forward to spending time with his new wife and Jarrod was going to make sure his wife was taking it easy. He didn't remember her feeling so ill with Tori and he hoped she would be feeling better soon.

As the men talked downstairs, Emma was helping Sarah put Tori to bed. She had noticed that Sarah barely ate anything at dinner, and she looked rather pale now. Plus, Sarah had that faraway look in her eyes that Emma had seen when she was pregnant with Tori. Since no announcement had been made yet, Emma kept her suspicions to herself. She and Sarah said goodnight and went to their own rooms. Nick was sure to be up soon, and Emma smiled to herself. She couldn't help but think back to their first night together.

They had been man and wife for just over three hours when they returned to Nick's hotel room. Emma tried not to look nervous, but she was. Nick seemed sensitive to it and allowed her a little time.

As Emma glanced around, she took in the chair in the corner, the small dresser and finally the bed. She walked over to it, placing her hand on the bedpost, and looked up to find her husband watching her. She could never tear her eyes away from him when he was looking at her that way. He walked over to her slowly and took her hand.

"You don't have anything to be afraid of Emma. We'll go nice and slow."

Emma nodded, loving the feel of his hand. "I trust you, Nick."

Nick smiled and drew her close to him. She was a perfect fit. Emma looked into his eyes and put her hand behind his neck, just as she had done in the barn after Nick had given her Maisy. She brought his head down and their lips met. What followed was a time of discovery and pleasure, a sweet memory that both would forever cherish.

Emma had been looking out the window, lost in her thoughts. Nick came up behind and put his arms around her.

"What are you doing?" he asked, nuzzling his face in her neck.

"Thinking about our wedding night. How special it was."

Nick smiled. He too had fond memories of that night. Emma turned to face him, her hand stroking his cheek. She couldn't believe how wonderful her husband was. She allowed him to take her in his arms, where the two remained the rest of the night.