Chapter Two

Alice had been riding for a while when she finally spotted Jeremy gathering a group of mares to bring in. She had been out to the east pasture before, but then it didn't appear so vast. She was beginning to think she'd been given the wrong location as to his whereabouts. When Jeremy didn't show up for lunch, she became worried. He hardly ever missed the mid-day break. She asked Clay to go check on him, but he refused, stating that Jeremy probably took a lunch with him when he left out that morning. Alice wasn't convinced of this. So, she checked with Mabeline to find out if he had requested a packed lunch before leaving to do his chores. The woman had informed her that he hadn't. Alice became even more worried when she learned this and that's when she decided to go looking for him herself. She had to admit this wasn't the only reason why she'd rode out there. Jeremy had seemed preoccupied lately, hardly participating in the family outings and barely speaking at dinner. She wanted to make sure there was nothing serious going on with him. She really cared for him, and if he was upset about something, she was hoping she could help.

Alice rode up on Jeremy slowly. He was so engrossed in what he was doing; he didn't notice she was there until she spoke.

"Hello Jeremy," She said nervously. He quickly looked back, surprised to see her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a puzzled tone as he turned his horse to face her.

"I came to bring you lunch, since you didn't come home during break."

"This was a long way to come just to bring me lunch." Alice coyly looked down feeling shy and exposed "…is there something else?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes" Alice admitted cautiously. "I want to make sure you're ok; you've seemed… distant the past few days and when you didn't show up for lunch I got worried."

"There's no need to worry. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You're not thinking of leaving again are you?"

"No, I just have a lot on my mind."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," he answered.

Alice was disappointed. She was eager to help Jeremy if she could and though he was saying everything was fine, she could tell it wasn't. "Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked again, hoping he would change his mind.

"No" he replied, "I'll be ok."

"Well, if you ever need to talk, I'm here."

"Thanks." Jeremy hesitated a moment, then spoke again, "I better get back to work."

"What about lunch?" Alice asked with concern.

"I'm not hungry"

"Jeremy please, take the water and sandwich. It'll help you keep your strength while you're working." Jeremy was reluctant to accept the food and water. He really had no appetite, but he knew Alice wouldn't leave until he accepted what she had brought.

"You're right," he finally said, "I probably need something to eat."

Alice was relieved. Jeremy looked as if he hadn't slept in days. If he was losing sleep, he didn't need to be skipping meals too. She pulled the paper bag from her satchel and handed it to him.

"Thanks" He said

"You're welcome." There was an awkward silence in which neither knew what else to say.

"Well," Alice finally said "I better get back to the house before Pa comes looking for me."

"Yeah"

"See you at supper?"

"With bells on."

Alice gave Jeremy a huge smile then quickly turned her horse and headed back. Though Ned had allowed him to stay, after his unscrupulous behavior, he felt as if Mr. Logan was doing it only because he felt obligated to see this through, Jeremy thought as he watched Alice trot away. Ned Logan was the type of man who didn't back down from a challenge. And the issues and lies Jeremy had brought to the family was definitely a challenge for Ned Logan to overcome. Alice on the other hand seemed genuinely concerned for him. She and Lexy were the only members of the Logan family who accepted him, no questions asked, and seemed to really want him there. Everyone else was aloof, only being polite when it was absolutely necessary. But that was ok, Jeremy thought, there was no use in him wasting time getting attached to the Logans, because he would be leaving soon. Once he got what he came for, he'd be leaving Lexington and the Logans forever.

"Well, you're in a good mood," Pete said as he observed the broad smile on Sean's face. "It must have something to do with Henry Langston."

"How did you know?" Sean asked.

"I saw him leaving as I came in. So what's going?"

"I finally found the land we can build the hospital on." Sean said with excitement. "It's a perfect location for our constitutes, and Claison is going to give us a pretty fair price for it."

"So where exactly is it located?" Pete asked as he sat down.

"Out by the old mines, near Frank Brewler's place."

"This is great news Sean; I know how hard you've been working on trying to find the right location for this project."

"Well, if it weren't for you helping keep things in order, this deal might not have happened."

"Thanks for the compliment, but I'm pretty sure you would be doing just a well if I weren't here."

"Yeah, well I don't ever want to have to test your theory. Speaking of which, Mr. Langston and I are going to meet out a the prospective property on Monday, so I need you to remain here because Lloyd Spalding will be dropping off some paperwork with regards to repairs on city hall."

"Ok…" Pete said as he stood and put on his jacket and hat.

"Where are you going?" Sean asked, puzzled that he was leaving so soon after arriving

"I just remembered I've got to go see Mr. Morrow." He said exhaustedly "He and Mr. Sedgwick are still quarrelling over that small piece of land which they both claim to be theirs."

"I thought you had resolved that." Sean questioned, a little perplexed as to why this issue kept resurfacing.

"I thought so too, but on Sunday, I ran into Mr. Morrow and he complained – again. So, I'm going to pay them a visit. See if I can resolve this once and for all."

"Hm, well, good luck." Sean said with a knowing smile.

"Thanks" Pete smiled back. He turned to go then stopped "When I finish up with them you want to meet me for a drink? Celebrate this milestone?"

"Thanks, but I'm going to head home tonight, share the good news with my family."

"Ok, have a good one."

"You too."

Pete didn't feel much like having a good evening, considering what he had to do. He'd been lying when he told Sean that he was going to see Mr. Morrow. He was still having problems with his neighbor, but Pete visited with him Sunday afternoon and resolved the matter once and for all. It was silly, but both men agreed to split the slab of land in two. Pete marked the division and from there Mr. Morrow and Mr. Sedgwick planned to work together on installing a fence that would serve as a barrier between both properties. It was trivial, but at least the disagreement was over. Now, today, he was going to see Asa Winters. Asa made it clear that he wanted to know every move Sean made and Sean making plans to purchase land for the hospital most definitely constituted a move. Pete hated doing this to him. It was clear that he was a good man, but he had no choice. If he didn't continue spying on Sean, Asa would destroy him.

After several moments of her father not noticing she'd entered the room, Alice cleared her throat.

"Hey honey. Do you need something?" Ned asked when he finally noticed Alice standing there.

"Yes" she answered "do you have a minute?"

"Not really," he said impatiently "I'm working on some reports that are extremely complex and Marita is unavailable because she's giving tutoring lessons."

"I'm sorry" Alice said in a disheartened tone. "I'll come back later." Detecting the hurt in her voice, Ned stopped her.

"I'm sorry honey. Why don't you have a seat and tell me what's going on."

Alice slowly sat down. Though she was happy to have her father's attention, she was a nervous about discussing Jeremy with him. She hesitated a moment, then began, "I'm worried about Jeremy. He's been really distant lately, and then today he didn't even come in for lunch."

"Maybe he was busy with his chores." Ned said

"I suspected that, but I was still worried, so I rode out to take him some lunch, see if he was okay. I tried to get him to open up, but he told me he was fine. Pa I know that he's not okay." Alice rambled. "He looked like he hadn't slept in days and I thought I was going to have to force him to take the food I brought. I'm really worried about him."

"Ok honey, calm down," Ned said "If it'll make you feel better, I'll speak with Jeremy tonight after dinner, make sure he's okay."

"Thanks Pa, but I don't think it'll help."

"So what do want me to do?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could do something to cheer him up, take his mind off of whatever it is that has him sad, make him feel apart of the family. He's had a rough start here and I think we should do something to make him feel more welcome."

"So what are you suggesting?"

"We could throw him a party." Alice said cautiously, but seeing the objectionable look on her father's face, she continued her thought before he could respond verbally. "…I know that Jeremy hasn't been with us for long, but maybe we could give him a party to let him know how much we appreciate him staying and being apart of our family."

"A party would be too much…" Ned finally interjected

"How about a special dinner? We could give him some kind of 'welcome to the family gift,' something to show how much we care about him."

"I don't know Alice."

"Please Pa; I'm afraid that if we don't do something, Jeremy may try to leave again."

Ned there sat a moment, quietly contemplating what Alice had said. Jeremy had seemed distant lately and Ned had wondered himself if he was considering leaving again. But everything had been so busy that he hadn't got the opportunity to speak with him one on one. His sudden isolation might be due to the fact that everyone had been so caught up in their own lives that they had little time to fully embrace him as a member of the family. Alice's idea for a special dinner would be a great way to remind Jeremy that he was wanted.

"Ok Alice" Ned finally said

"Oh Thank you Pa" Alice squealed excitedly before he could finish his thought

"Honey I'm not saying yes, I want to discuss it with the rest of the family first, then we can take it from there."

"Ok" Alice said with a huge smile.

Despite her father's attempt at being cautious about her idea, she knew that if he planned to discuss it with the family, he liked the idea and would no doubt agree to have the dinner.

"Remember to continue the exercises I gave you." Marita said as she walked her last student to the door. "And let me know if you have anymore problems."

"I will, thanks Ms. Peters." The student said eagerly.

Walking back to her desk, Marita massaged her neck and shoulders. Today had been particularly stressful. She had assisted Ned with the 3rd quarter budget and her students were having difficulty grasping their new lessons in Mathematics. She wasn't complaining though; she loved the challenges. They were a welcomed distraction from her thoughts of Sean. It had been nearly a week since their encounter on his front porch and the feelings she had then were still fresh in her heart. What she felt for him never left her, but it seemed as if their meeting that day awakened something deeper within. She couldn't shake the desire to be near him, to touch him, kiss him. She needed to focus on something else, she thought, but she couldn't, Sean was everywhere.

"Long day?" a voice asked behind her

Marita instantly turned around, knowing that she would find Sean standing there.

"Sean," she said feigning a smile "What are you doing here?"

"I want to finish the conversation we never started." He answered earnestly

Marita knew that Sean wouldn't forget their run in the other day. She knew that he would eventually seek her out; she was just hoping she would be ready when he did, but she wasn't. She guessed she never would be; nevertheless, Marita knew she couldn't allow him to open his heart to her before she told him of her plans. It would only cause him more heartache and she didn't want that.

"Ok" she finally answered 'but first, there's something I have to tell you."

"What is It?" Sean asked as he closed in on her

Marita hesitated, unable to find the right words to say. Seeing her struggle, Sean gently took her hands in his.

"It's ok" he said lovingly.

Sean managed to calm her uncertainly, only for a moment, but the sick feeling in her stomach soon returned. Inhaling again, she looked into his eyes and said "I'm leaving Lexington."

"What do you mean?" He asked, not fully grasping what he had heard

"I've been offered a teaching position in Michigan, and I'm going to accept it."

Sean's mind went blank, his mouth became dry and he found no means to render a sound. He was paralyzed with shock. Marita's heart broke at the sight of pain in his eyes. Overwhelmed by emotions, she too was left speechless. They stood their, quiet, for it seemed like hours, lost in the moment, until he broke the silence.

"Why" he whispered with such deep anguish that Marita found it difficult to breath. Her gaze fell away from his eyes and her hands suddenly felt trapped by the clasp he held them in. She wanted to run from him, run from the hurt she was causing. She couldn't be this close to him, it was too much. Marita gently pulled her hands away from his and folded her arms across her waist. It took her a few moments, but she finally regained her courage and answered.

"It's a job of a lifetime. What I've always dreamed of, to teach students at one of the most prestigious schools in this region."

"No, I mean why are you running away?" Sean asked "You could teach at any of the local schools, but you're choosing to go hundreds of miles away from your pa, from me. Why? Because I don't believe it's just cause you'll be working the job of your dreams."

"Sean, I'm not running." Marita countered, turning her back to him as she walked away

"Well then what is it?" He asked again with hurt and frustration in his voice. She turned to face him once safely behind the barrier of her desk

"I'll admit that when I first inquired about the position, I was thinking of you and your impending marriage to Vivian." She said "I couldn't bear to stay here and watch you build a life with someone else. If I got this job it would fulfill one of my life dreams and save me more heartache."

"But Vivian I and are over" Sean interjected as he joined Marita behind the desk

"I know." Marita said "But that still doesn't mean we have a real chance at a future together. We live in an intolerable world and no matter how much we care for each other people will never stand for us being together."

"I won't accept that." Sean said with tears in his eyes

"You have to." Marita whispered shakily "You're a politician now, a great one, with a bright future a head of you, and that position in Michigan will be a great opportunity for me to build a life for myself. We have to focus on our lives apart."

"I don't want to focus on our lives apart. I don't want a future without you." Sean said passionately as he cupped her face "That's why I couldn't marry Vivian and that's why I came to see you today, to tell you that I want you. I don't care how intolerable the world is, you're the only woman for me, the only one I want to share my life with."

Marita's face was flushed were Sean's hands gently lay and her legs were weak. Her heart was filled with so much joy and anguish she thought it would burst. Sean was beautiful, she thought, if a man could be considered beautiful and his words…his words…took her breath away. But, she couldn't do this do, she couldn't get caught up…

"I have to go" Marita cried with tears in her eyes, she removed Sean's hands from her face. "It's late and I have to make dinner."

"Please don't go" He pleaded softly, as he gently grabbed her arm "There's so much that needs to be said."

Ignoring his plea, Marita pulled away from his grasp "There's nothing else to say Sean." She said as she gathered her remaining papers, in attempt to avoid his eyes "More words would only cause additional hurt."

"I can't lose you" Sean croaked sadly

Marita finally turned to face him, unable to turn away from his utterance. Tears were now flowing down her cheeks.

"You'll never lose me Sean" she affirmed as she wiped the tears away "We'll always be friends."

"Friends" Sean repeated as he fought to suppress the cries of heartache her words had caused

"I have to go" Marita said again as she turned away from him and then, nearly ran from the building. She didn't even look back; she couldn't bear to and had she done so she would've been devastated by the deep agony on Sean's face as he silently watched her go.