Chapter 12

The next day, Jarrod drove to the Hayden ranch to pick up Michael, Laura and Kate. He drove them all to Stockton in the surrey. Michael wanted to confirm with the railroad that Roger had gotten off all right that morning, and was happy to learn that he had. Jarrod was both sorry and happy Roger had gone on. On the one hand, it was nice to spend a little time with his good friend Miguel's son-in-law. On the other, now that Roger was gone, Jarrod no longer felt like a fifth wheel.

Shortly after noon, Jarrod and Kate stood together on the depot platform and watched the train to San Francisco pull away. Kate let a big sigh out as it made the turn and disappeared from view.

Jarrod said, "Don't worry about them. I'm sure they'll be fine."

"Oh, that wasn't worry," Kate said. "That was exhaustion catching up with me. It's been a busy week."

"I'm sure it has, and adding the travel from New York onto it, it probably seemed like it would never end. Why don't we have a long, relaxing lunch together?"

"I'd like that, but not at the Yosemite," Kate said.

"The Stockton House café is where I often go for lunch, especially when I'm tired and want to relax," Jarrod said.

"Then I'm ready," Kate said.

Jarrod took Kate's arm and they walked to the Stockton House, which wasn't that far away. Jarrod said hello to a few acquaintances along the way and introduced Kate as a newcomer to Stockton and Laura Hayden's sister-in-law. Smiles and tips of the hat followed.

"It seems you know everybody in town," Kate said as they went into the Stockton House.

"Not everyone," Jarrod said, "but quite a few. It comes from being a lawyer and in charge of my family's businesses, other than the ranch. Nick handles that."

"I guess you've watched the city grow up."

They were approaching the café as she said that, and Jarrod thought about her wording. "Yes, I used to think of it as a town, but it is a full-fledged city now, I guess."

Jarrod said hello to the waitress who seated them near the window. They read the menu and decided what to order, and then Kate heaved another sigh.

"Things really are catching up to you, aren't they?" Jarrod asked.

"In a way," Kate said. "Yesterday was so exciting, I slept like a log, and then all the activity this morning getting Michael and Laura off – now, relaxing. I needed this."

"I suppose you'll start thinking about making your place in Stockton now," Jarrod said. "I'll be happy to introduce you to people you might want to know."

"Thank you, I'd like that," Kate said. "But I need to take a little time to settle in and think about what I want to be doing."

"My sister Audra might be a help for you on that. She only married this past year, and she's still stayed active with the orphanage especially."

"I would like to get to know your family better," Kate said. "In a way, I do feel like you're my in-laws too."

"In a way," Jarrod agreed.

The waitress brought their soup, and they talked less and ate more after that. What they did talk about was mostly casual conversation. Jarrod didn't want to overload Kate with information just yet, about her new community or about anything else. When they finished and Jarrod escorted Kate outside again, they stopped just in front of the Stockton House.

Jarrod said, "Well, would you like me to take you home now, or would you prefer to look around town some more?"

"Well, frankly," Kate said, "since your mother invited me to dinner – I thought I'd like to have a better look at your ranch this afternoon. Is that all right?"

Jarrod smiled. "I'd like that."

They fetched the surrey and Jarrod drove them out to the Barkley property, explaining along the way that it was much larger than the Hayden ranch. He tried not to get into detail that was too boring, but he gave an overview of the ranch, of the other Barkley holdings and of his own involvement with everything. Kate listened attentively, but Jarrod noted when she started to seem weary of it. Luckily, they weren't far from the ranch.

Ciego was there to take care of the surrey when they pulled into the stable yard. Kate looked around before they went into the house. The yard was fairly quiet, but a few men were working near and in the barn.

"These fellows are night shift men," Jarrod said. "They'll go out and the day shift men will come in in a couple hours. It gets pretty active around here about then."

"It's quite an enterprise, isn't it?" Kate asked.

"Well, as my brother Nick likes to say, this is a working ranch," Jarrod said with a smile.

"Have you ever worked on it like he does?"

"Now and then, when he needs me to," Jarrod said. "If he's short of men and I can fill in, I will. It's a good thing, too, or I might be turning into one of those overweight lawyers you see in town."

Kate smiled. "No. You're not overweight at all."

Jarrod liked the way she put that. "Let's go in."

They went into the house and just happened to be catching Victoria in the foyer. "Oh, hello, Kate," Victoria said, stopping. "Did you get the happy couple off all right?"

"They're on their way to San Francisco," Jarrod said. "Kate said she'd like to learn a little more about the Barkley ranch and since you've invited her to dinner, we thought this would be a good time for me to show her around."

"It's a beautiful day for it," Victoria said. "I'd join you, but Sarah is feeling a bit weary today and I'd rather not leave her."

"Is she all right?"

"Oh, yes, just tired, I think. One thing you men don't get is that you're not just eating for two when you're with child. You're sleeping for two as well, and that can be pretty uncomfortable at times. Have you had lunch?"

"At the Stockton House," Jarrod said. "Kate, would you like to freshen up a bit before we go out?"

"Yes, I would," Kate said.

Having been here before, she knew the way up to the wc and left Victoria and Jarrod in the foyer. Victoria was smiling, watching her disappear upstairs. "She's a lovely young woman," she said.

Jarrod said, "Yes, she is."

XXXXXXX

Victoria found some of Audra's riding clothes still here at the house, and gave them to Kate, who was a perfect fit. Jarrod was a little worried that riding horseback out to see the herd and the men working would tire Kate out even more, but it turned out to be the opposite. "Oh, this is invigorating!" was the first thing she said when they stopped at the top of the ridge and looked down on the herd and the men working below.

Jarrod laughed a little. "This beautiful day is helping."

"Is this the only herd of cattle you have?" Kate asked.

"This is it," Jarrod said. "We have horses in another location."

"Is it close? I'd love to see them."

Jarrod spotted his brothers heading their way on horseback. "I'll have to ask Nick. I'm not sure where he has them."

Nick and Heath rode up with big smiles. "Well, you got the newlyweds off all right, did you?" Nick asked.

"We did indeed," Jarrod said.

"And I talked Jarrod into giving me a tour of the ranch," Kate said.

"The complete tour is gonna take more than one afternoon," Heath said.

"Maybe we'll have time to take more than one afternoon, given that my housemates will be gone for several days," Kate said.

"Where do you have the horses right now?" Jarrod asked.

"East range," Heath said. "I'll be going up that way tomorrow to do a tally."

"Is that very far?" Kate asked. "Would we be able to go up there today?"

"Tomorrow might be better," Jarrod said. "It's a hefty ride, and I don't want to wear you out for the rest of the time Michael and Laura are away."

"All right, tomorrow," Kate said with a smile.

"Back to work," Nick said, and he and Heath tipped hats and turned to ride back. But Nick said to Heath, as soon as they were out of earshot, "I believe our big brother has found a new lady to be interested in."

"And I think she's interested back," Heath said. "Are you all right with that?"

"Why not?" Nick said. "Pappy's earned a break in this life."

"She's pretty young," Heath said.

"If that turns out to be a problem, it'll happen soon enough," Nick said. "In the meantime, I hope they have some good times together. And yeah, I hope it turns into more."