As Jarrod rode back to town he kept thinking about what had transpired yesterday. He knew his first stop would be at Phil Archer's as his mother was right about one thing; Phil Archer was the catalyst in all of this. But Archer had not put those words in Nick's mouth he knew that for a fact. As usual Nick spoke before thinking and Jarrod wasn't sure if he could forgive his brother for talking about Sam like that.

The thought of Sam brought a smile to the tired attorney's face. After Jarrod was satisfied Nick was not coming back he went back to his office to finish up a few things before going back to the Emporium. Sam's manager was off that night so she did not have a lot of free time to spend with Jarrod but that did not matter to him as long as he was in close proximity to her he was happy. He gotten roped into a few games of pool by some drunken cowboys and won all their money much to their disgust. Sam laughed telling him he could become a full time pool hustler which made Jarrod chuckle.

Jarrod volunteered to help Sam close for the night so she could let her employees leave early. After they had finished Sam talked Jarrod into playing a few more games of pool to help her relax before calling it a night. Before Jarrod had returned back to the Emporium he had gotten a suite at the Cattleman's so he wouldn't be tempted to do anything improper with Sam. And Jarrod was glad he had gotten the room because Sam was doing everything she could do convince Jarrod to spend the night with her and he almost caved in to her but he stood firm.

It wasn't that Jarrod did not want to be with Sam it was that he wanted to take his time and court her properly. Jarrod sighed as he knew he was being unreasonable but the last time he jumped in with both feet he had married Beth and she was killed a week later. Jarrod was not sure if he would ever forgive himself for taking her away from her safe place as a teacher. It was his fault she was dead and that was something he had to live with the rest of his life.

But Jarrod was lonely and knew it was time to move on but his head was telling him one thing and his heart was telling him something else. He had never taken advantage of the arrangement he had with Big Annie's until a few months ago and that's when he discovered he wanted more than a physical relationship. Jarrod knew he was falling hard for Sam but he had to be sure he could protect her.

Jarrod always wanted to be a lawyer for as long as he could remember and loved it but Jarrod would often get mixed up or involved in dangerous situations because of his profession. He had made many enemies in the past and at any time they could come back seeking revenge against him. It had already happened once with devastating circumstances and he knew it could happen again at any moment. Because of that Jarrod was rarely without his gun anymore.

He had walked away from the ranch to concentrate on his law practice but that was before he met Sam. He refused to put another woman he loved in danger because of his profession. He knew he could still practice law but he would no longer do criminal law instead concentrating on business or family law. He knew both of those were in high demand and the chance of Sam being hurt was slim and he could still help people.

He knew Nick would be upset finding out he had taken Sam's family as his client but as usual Nick jumped to conclusions before Jarrod could tell him why he did it. Deep down Jarrod understood Nick's anger but it was still no excuse for Nick to talk to Sam the way she did. Since his mother said she had talked to Nick at length that meant she also knew about Jarrod accepting Sam's family as a new client. He wondered if that is what she wanted to talk about this morning.

He was simply too tired to talk to anyone this morning. After he left Sam he went to his room but could not sleep replaying all the day's events. Finally about four am he decided to go to the ranch and get a few clothes until things had calmed down between him and Nick. He had hoped to sneak in the house and get his clothes without being seen or caught but he hadn't been that lucky.

Jarrod finally arrived back in Stockton and thought about going to see Archer but Jarrod knew Archer would not be in his office this early in the morning so he decided to get some rest before confronting him.

Jarrod had not been paying attention and walked right into Sam and almost knocked her down.

Jarrod grabbed her, "Oh honey I am sorry, I didn't see you."

Sam smiled at him and said, "You look horrible. Didn't you get any sleep last night?"

Jarrod shrugged his shoulders, "No, not much."

Sam pointed to his bed roll, "Going somewhere cowboy?"

Jarrod chuckled, "To my room and get some sleep."

Sam whispered, "Want some company?" She winked rakishly at him.

"You little minx," Jarrod shook his finger at her.

"I take that as a yes?"

Jarrod laughed as he looked at Sam and knew he had to tell her why he had not wanted to be intimate with her. "We need to talk in private Sam."

Sam frowned but answered, "We can go to The Emporium."

Jarrod followed Sam to the Emporium. She unlocked the door and let them both in. "Want some coffee?"

"No thank you honey." Jarrod grabbed her hand and led her to the nearest table. Jarrod looked into her eyes and knew he could get lost in them. "Honey I don't want you to misunderstand why I have been reluctant to be intimate with you." Jarrod sighed as he held Sam's hands. "Please believe me when I say there is nothing else I would rather do than to carry you to your apartment upstairs and make love to you but I can't. Well it's not that I can't it's that I want to do everything properly with you honey."

Jarrod got up and paced while he talked. "I know I haven't told you that much about my late wife Beth but I convinced her to marry me after only knowing me a week then we come back to the Ranch and she was killed a few days later. If I would have taken my time and courted her properly she wouldn't have been killed..."

Sam got up and stopped Jarrod's pacing, "Jarrod it's not your fault Beth was killed."

As Jarrod looked at her she could see the tears building in his blue eyes. "Yes it is. If I hadn't been so insistent on rushing everything she would still be alive."

"You don't know that Jarrod." Sam caressed his cheek.

Jarrod turned away from her so she wouldn't see how upset he really was, "But that's just it, I'll never know." Jarrod took a deep breath as he turned back to Sam, "I have to take my time with you honey to make sure I can protect you and take care of you because the thought of losing you is more than I can stomach right now."

Sam looked at Jarrod and spoke quietly, "Jarrod no one is guaranteed today, tomorrow, next week or next month. I live in the here and now and all I know is right now I want to be with you."

Jarrod brought Sam closer to him as he spoke, "And I want to be with you but..."

Sam quietened Jarrod with a deep kiss which he returned. He pulled her even closer to him and let his emotions take control. He finally broke away out of breath and looked at her. He knew she wanted to be with him and he wanted to be with her.

"Jarrod take me upstairs," Sam said as she kissed his neck and unbuttoned his shirt.

Jarrod looked at Sam as he picked her up and carried her to her small apartment above the Emporium.