If you did not read The Frontier then I suggest that you do so before you read this story as it will make no sense.

Alright, here is the seqel to The Frontier. I just felt that there was another story brewing under the surface that had to be told. Like I said this will go as far as you guys let me with your reviews. This is Ethan's story so you still see a little EO there. Oh and this is Ethan's POV.

Today is my sixteenth birthday. I am celebrating with my Ma and Pa, two younger brothers Caleb and Will and little sister Katie. Caleb and Will are five and Katie is three. The boys are always telling me how they want to be just like me and Katie has me wrapped around her little finger. We're setting all together eating cake, chocolate cake, my favorite and the same thing my Ma has been making me since I was nine years old and she came into my life. Before that my Pa and I had been alone since I was four years old and my own mother had been killed by indians.

Alot has changed since I was eight years old and my life changed for the better. I love my little brothers and sister and would do anything to protect them. I also love someone else but she doesn't know it. Actually I've loved her for a long time, from afar. She's here at my birthday shin dig today too, sitting a chair down from me. Katie is on my lap, trying to get all the attention and she's laughing sticking her fingers in the frosting on the cake. "Katie!" I scold. "Don't stick your fingers in your cake."

"Etan!" Katie says.

I turn red and look down at Emily. She turns to me and laughs as Katie decides to smear chocolate frosting down my cheek. I turn even redder as Emily laughs at my misfortune. Boy I think to myself Emily is going to really think that I'm wonderful letting Katie smear frosting down my face.

Ma comes and gets Katie then, scolding her and telling her it's not nice to smear frosting on her big brothers face. "Katie." Ma says. "You can't do that to Ethan."

"Etan!" Katie says again. "I wuv you Etan."

I know Katie will scream if I don't say it back so I say to her, "I love you too Katie."

I look down at Emily and and she just smiles.

Later when the adults were setting having coffee, I get up and go outside. Emily's brother Oliver and I have been friends since childhood but Oliver has taken a job and had to work this Saturday so he was not there and Alexandra was only a little older than the twins and I wasn't even sure where they were and Miss Katie was in taking a nap. I had looked at Emily as I had went out the door, kind of a silent invitation for her to follow me. When we had been younger it hadn't been odd for us to be friends nor had it been uncomfortable now for some reason that had all changed. Emily had beaus that came and courted her at her house. She was pretty though, don't get me wrong there. Emily had beautiful long golden colored hair that she always had curled and put up nice. Her blue eyes were always big and soft looking. Her skin seemed to be made of porcelin.

I was standing on the porch, looking out when I hear someone coming out. I figure it is just one of the boys coming out to follow me around as they often do, so I don't bother turning around to see who it is. I hear whomever come up beside me and when I look I am suprised to see Emily.

"Hello Ethan. Happy birthday."

"Hello Emily. Thank you." I say. Gee can you get any dumber Stabler.

"So now your older than me I guess." I hear Emily saying.

"Not by much." is my witty reply.

"I know two more weeks and I'll be sixteen,a grown up woman." Emily says. "Did you hear that Katherine Walsh is getting married?"

"No. To who?" I ask. Katherine Walsh was a girl in our class, we were set to graduate in a few months but most of us knew that we wouldn't graduate because we would take on apprenticeships, get married or go back to the farm. I planned to stay at the farm and not continue with schooling. Pa and I had already made our decision. I was lost in thought and almost missed what Emily said next.

"I'm leaving Ethan." Emily said. "Ethan?"

"Huh?"

"I said I'm leaving." Emily repeated.

That certinaly got my attention and in a hurry. "What? What do you mean your leaving? You can't leave."

"Well my parent's think that it would be for the best that I go to Philadelphia to work with my aunt there. They want me to be exposed to some culture before I get married."

"Well, what if you decide to get married while your in Philadelphia?" I ask, getting angry and not knowing why.

"That could happen but it's highly unlikely. I'll be working with my aunt in her ladies dress shop for two years and then if I decide that I would like to come back to Rock Springs, then I may." Emily said. She laid her hand on my arm. "I'll write to you." She said softly.

"Writing to me for two years is not going to be the same as talking to you whenever I want." I tell her. "So when do you leave?"

"On the train day after tomorrow."

"Boy why didn't you tell me sooner?" I ask

"Because you were so wrapped up in making plans for working the ranch with your father that I didn't want to ruin that happiness I saw there." Emily said. She smiled at me then but it never reached her eyes.

"Well, I don't know what to say." I respond. I didn't know what to say, I was dumbfounded. I had planned easing my way into a relationship with Emily and then someday marrying her. I wasn't going to tell her that right now though. I would dumbly watch her go to Philadelphia.

Emily smiled at me and squeezed my arm. "I want you to say that you will be in town day after tomorrow to watch me leave and tell me good bye. I want you to miss me and I want you to promise that you will write to me as close to everyday as you can." Emily said.

Her family stepped out on to our front porch then so I didn't get an opportunity to say anything else, because her father said, "Emily, it's time to go."

"Yes Papa." Emily says to her father, Sheriff John Munch.

Her father says to me, "So next time your in town, stop at the bank."

"Why?" I ask.

"Didn't you hear that Oliver got an apprenticeship there?" John asked

"No." I say. " Tell him congratulations, for me."

"Happy birthday Ethan." Casey says as she walks out the door. She kisses me on the cheek and smiles.

"Happy birthday Ethan." Little Alexandra says. "Bye Caleb and Will."

"Bye." The twins call in unison in only the way twins can. I still wonder how they do it or if it is just a natural thing for them.

"We'll see you later Ethan." John says.

My parents step out on the porch just as the Munch family is pulling away in their surrey. My father is holding Katie. She is laying sleepily on his shoulder, her thumb in her mouth. Pa hands her off to Ma, tells the twins to start hauling in wood and motions for me to follow him to the barn.

As we each set down to milk a cow, my father says to me, "So John and Casey told your Ma and I that Emily is going to Philadelphia."

"Yup." Is my only response. The only other noise in the barn is the zing as the milk hits the pail.

"Your not going to try to stop her?" Pa ask.

"Kind of hard to stop her Pa. She has her mind made up and I don't want to be the reason she doesn't do something that she things that she needs to."

"That sounds like a pretty grown up decision." Pa says.

"Well you told me at the age of twelve that you considered me a man."

"That I did."

"So now that your sixteen and finished with school what do you plan to do?"

"Work the ranch with you."

"Are you planning on building a house?"

"Gee Pa, I don't think Ma would want to have to clean up two houses. If I was gettin married then I would build a house." I say. No sense to be unfair to Ma when she still has the twins and Katie to take care of.

Pa and I get done milking and take the milk and strain it and then set it in the ice house to keep it cool. It was the one thing that Pa had always wanted and finally had now.

We eat supper as a family, the twins teasing me, saying they saw me kissing Emily outside until Ma shush them and tells them if they don't eat they'll be sitting on sore bottoms. That hushes them up rather quickly.

After supper Katie wants her "Etan" to read her a story so I oblige her. She loves the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors from the Bible so that is what I read to her. She falls asleep about half way through the story, so I quit reading and kiss her head. Then I go and tell my parents that she is asleep. On my way to my room I tell the twins good night and they don't give much of a reply. They are busy doing something that I'm not sure I want to know what they are up to.

I go to my room, take out a writing tablet and begin a letter to Emily. She said she wanted me to write to her everyday but I know that when I begin to work gathering cattle with Pa I might not have time to write to her so this way I will have a supply ready.

Dear Emily,

Gosh you aren't even gone yet and I already miss you. I am writing this now because once Pa and I start roundup I may not have time to write to you and you said everyday.

I hope that you are having fun working with your aunt. What do you do there anyway? Tell me what you can, I would hate for either of us to be embarrassed.

Everyone here is good. Will and Caleb are still the twin terrors and Katie is still Miss Katie. Ma and Pa are both busy with the ranch well Pa and I are and Ma is busy doin' what ever it is you females do. I just know that she is busy.

I guess that is all for now. Please write to me soon.

Forever thinking of you,

Ethan

Ethan folded up the letter and stuck it in the notebook. He didn't need his brothers finding it and showing it to everyone.

He would go to town the day after tomorrow if he could get away. He would do his best to make sure he could too.

Ok so here is the first chapter of the sequel. Let me know what you think should I continue or should I scrap the whole deal? You decide! Please R&R!