Jarrod pulled on Jingo's reins to bring his trusty steed to a halt. He was glad when Nick agreed to have Jingo sent to him via rail car. Jarrod simply told his brother a space finally opened at the local livery stable and he wanted Jingo with him in San Francisco. Nick never questioned his brother about this request since he felt the same way about Coco. Even though Jarrod did indeed miss Jingo he knew he would need him.

Over the past few weeks Jarrod had been taking Abby to the park to ride Jingo so both Abby and Jingo could get used to each other. As small as she was he knew the added weight would not be that much of burden to Jingo but he did want him to get used to her regardless; since Jingo would be the only means of travel Jarrod would be using. Jarrod knew traveling by horseback would take quite a while but it was the only way he could travel without leaving a trail and not worry about being spotted by too many witnesses.

He also knew to be patient with Abby as sitting in a saddle for long hours at a time would be difficult for a five year old that was full of energy. Sister Catherine had told him of several games they could play to keep her busy and also packed a few light books for her to look it. Jarrod decided he would only take two books with him since he had a very limited amount of space in his saddlebags. He also knew he could get more books for Abby at any general store in the town they would be in. In addition Jarrod did not want to weigh Jingo down with any unneeded additional weight.

Jarrod had changed out of his fancy duds as his brother's called them and changed into his ranch clothes, complete with his gun belt. He hated wearing it but he knew he had too. He knew they needed to blend in as much as possible so as not to stand out too much when they rode into a new town. Jarrod had also thought about this carefully and decided when they approached a new town he would wait until nightfall before they rode in to keep their sightings down to a bare minimum. He knew there would be times he would not be able to avoid being seen but because of Abby's shyness he wouldn't have to worry about her saying anything to give them away.

"Is we hewe Mistah Jay?" Abby questioned bringing Jarrod from his thoughts.

He smiled at her and said, "Yes we are." He picked her up and gently put her down while he dismounted from Jingo. Abby immediately grabbed his hand and looked at him with her big brown eyes. Jarrod noticed she was already tearing up. He knew this was going to be hard on both of them but he would never forgive himself if he hadn't brought her to say goodbye.

He bent down and said quietly, "Honey, you don't have to do this unless you want to."

Abby looked past Jarrod into the cemetery and back at him, "It looks scawy."

"Do you want me to take the flowers for you?"

He could see the crocodile tears building but she was trying to be brave. "No. But will you go wit' me?"

Jarrod smiled, "Of course. Would you like me to carry you?"

Abby shook her head yes so Jarrod scooped her up while she clutched the flowers tight to her chest. Jarrod carefully walked around the headstones until they came to hers. He blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill as he put down Abby.

Abby looked at the headstone but since she was still learning to read she didn't know what it said. She looked at the headstone and back to Jarrod as she pointed at the headstone. "What's it say?"

Jarrod sighed as he looked at Abby. He cleared his throat and spoke softly.

"Martha Abigail Wells 1855 – 1880 Loving Mother."

"My momma is thewe?" Abby pointed to the ground.

Jarrod was losing control of his emotions and swallowed slowly to answer Abby's question. "No honey." Jarrod brought Abby close to him and put his finger on her heart and said, "Your mommy is right here and," he tapped her head, "here. You will always love and remember your mommy." He closed his eyes to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill. He sat down and crossed his long legs and put Abby in his lap. He then pointed to the sky and said, "Your mommy is up there right now watching over you. She is your guardian angel."

Abby looked at Jarrod still not completely understanding what he was trying to tell her. All she knew was that her mommy was gone. "Oh," was all she said.

Jarrod knew she did not understand what he had just told her. So he decided to take another approach. "Your mommy is with God right now."

Abby's eyes grew wide as she said, "Weally?"

Jarrod smiled as he knew she understood that, "Yes."

Abby seemed satisfied with that answer as she got out of Jarrod's lap and placed the flowers on her mother's headstone. She whispered, "Love you mommy."

Jarrod had to look away so Abby would not see his tears. He quickly wiped the tears from his eyes as he got up and waited on Abby. She looked at Jarrod and put her small hand in his large one.

"Wait right here okay?" Jarrod looked at Abby who stood frozen as he approached the headstone. He spoke quietly, "I made a promise to you and I am doing just that." He hesitated as he looked back at Abby and turned back to the headstone. "I couldn't keep you safe but I will keep Abby safe." Jarrod turned to Abby who was still standing there watching him.

As he walked to her he extended his hand to her which she gladly took as they looked at the headstone one last time.

After a few minutes of silence Jarrod said, "You ready for the venture to begin little lady?"

Abby giggled as she answered, "Yep."

Jarrod reached down and scooped her up as he made his way back to Jingo. He was glad to hear her giggle. He gently placed her on the saddle as he mounted and sat behind her.

Jarrod wished they could have stayed in San Francisco tonight but he knew they needed a head start. Danny Wells was to pick up Abby at eight am the next morning at Saint Theresa's Church and once he found out she had left with Jarrod he would tear the city down looking for them.

Danny Wells was a powerful and rich man with many contacts on both sides of the law so Jarrod knew he had to be careful to protect not only himself and Abby but also his family. Danny was a notoriously evil man and almost everyone around him was scared of him and with good cause. It was a well known fact he had abused both Abby and her mother and often bragged about it. This sickened Jarrod and knew if he ever ran into Danny and had the opportunity he would most likely kill him.

Abby turned in the saddle and wrapped her tiny arms around Jarrod's waist just the way they had been practicing and snuggled next to him trying to get comfortable. It literally broke his heart that they could not get a room and stay overnight but he knew he had to get as far away from San Francisco as he could. He knew if he rode all night and most of tomorrow they should be in on the other side of the bay heading north by late tomorrow afternoon. He knew Danny would first concentrate on searching in San Francisco and then Stockton before extending his search; which would give him the time needed to reach their final destination.

Jarrod knew where he had to go and getting there was going to be long and difficult on both him and Abby but he had no other choice.