"Hey, Jeweldean, are you awake?" Sonny whispered into Jeweldean's hair. His strong arm around her waist had kept her warm all night up until now when he pulled away from her.

"Mmm." Jeweldean groaned in response, implying that she wasn't awake.

"Never mind, then." Sonny whispered. Jeweldean felt him scoot away from her slightly and roll over onto his back.

She rolled over in bed to face him. "What? I'm awake now." Jeweldean said, her voice groggy.

Sonny looked at Jeweldean and sighed. He folded his hands underneath his head and stared at the ceiling. "I was just thinkin' about our talk earlier today, and...I reckon I just wanted to thank you."

"Welcome." Jeweldean said in response. She shut her eyes, but still tried to stay awake to listen to Sonny.

Sonny placed his folded hands on his chest. "I was really glad that you rode out to meet me. To be honest, I wasn't sure how I was gonna break the news to you."

"Mhm." Jeweldean mumbled.

Sonny sighed. He rolled over to face Jeweldean. "Jewel?"

"Hmm?" Jeweldean said, still with her eyes closed. She lifted her eyebrows so he knew she was still awake...kinda.

Sonny placed his hand on Jeweldean's waist and fingered the material of her nightgown.

"I want to ask you something." Sonny said.

"Hmm?" Jeweldean mumbled, her eyes still closed.

When Sonny didn't ask his question after a short while, Jeweldean opened her eyes. Sonny was looking at her. Even in the dark room, Jeweldean could tell that Sonny had a worried expression on his face.

"Jewel, did we- are you sure that we..." Sonny sighed looking down at the bed sheets, away from Jeweldean.

Jeweldean reached up and placed her hand on Sonny's cheek. "What's wrong, honey?" She said, waking herself up so that she could have a conversation with Sonny.

Sonny met Jeweldean's gaze. "Are you sure you are willing to make this work? My wife once said I am a handful." One side of Sonny's mouth curled up into the half grin that Jeweldean loved. Jeweldean couldn't help but smile.

Turning serious, Jeweldean replied, "Yes, Sonny, I promise. We will make this work. You are goin' to get better and heal, and I am goin' to be beside you every step of the way."

"Okay...Thank you, darlin'. I love you." Sonny leaned over and kissed Jeweldean's forehead.

"I love you too...I'm goin' back to bed now. Goodnight."

"Night. Sorry for wakin' you up." Sonny said.

Jeweldean rolled over and she felt Sonny move closer and wrap his arms around her. She smiled and shortly after, she fell asleep.

Jeweldean hadn't slept this good in several days. Even Sonny didn't wake up in the middle of the night with his nightmares like he had every single other night. Rolling over to check on Sadie, she smiled when her baby looked up at her and yawned. She picked up Sadie and held her close.

"Hi sweet baby. Did you sleep well too? Hmm?" Jeweldean talked to Sadie. Sadie looked around the room, then back at Jeweldean, and started to cry.

Jeweldean shushed Sadie and stood up with her. She walked over to the rocking chair in the corner of the room. Sonny had made this chair by hand for Jeweldean when she was pregnant with Cody. She loved the chair and it was her favorite seat in the house, judged by the worn down wood on the armrest and the squeaks it made when anyone sat down in it. Jeweldean rocked Sadie in the rocking chair and once she stopped crying, Jeweldean placed her back in the crib so that she could change into her skirt and shirt she would wear for the day.

Once she was changed, Jeweldean picked Sadie back up and walked downstairs. "You hungry, baby? You want your bottle?" Jeweldean placed Sadie in the high chair and prepared a milk bottle for Sadie.

Just when Jeweldean handed the bottle to Sadie, Sonny walked in from outside.

"There are two of my pretty girls. How are y'all doin'?" Sonny smiled and crossed the room. He wrapped an arm around Jeweldean's waist and lifted her into a kiss.

"Well, you're in a mighty good mood this morning." Jeweldean smiled and said in response.

Sonny walked over to where Sadie was sipping on her milk. He bent over and kissed her cheek. Sadie laughed with joy at her father, then, she dropped her bottle and started to cry. Without missing a beat, Sonny picked up the bottle with one hand, and with the other, he lifted Sadie out of the high chair, giving her her bottle back. Sadie immediately stopped crying once she had her bottle back.

"I am in a good mood this morning, I reckon. The snow has stopped for the most part. It is still insanely cold out though, so I still have the men working on shifts. And, I slept better last night than I have in months. Plus, now, I'm in here with y'all." Sonny smiled and set Sadie back in her chair.

"Well, good. I'm glad you are happy." Jeweldean smiled. "I just woke up, so I haven't had time to make food or coffee yet. But, it's all your fault because you let me sleep in." Jeweldean winked.

Sonny shrugged. "You were just so peaceful when you were sleepin'. Besides, you needed your sleep."

"Well thank you. I feel quite rested up."

"Good." Sonny crossed the room to where Jeweldean stood preparing coffee. He wrapped his arms around her waist. "What are you makin' for breakfast?"

Jeweldean tilted her head from side to side. "I was thinkin'...eggs, bacon, and...biscuits. It's different than the stew that we have been havin' almost every day since you got back."

"Sounds good to me." Sonny kissed Jeweldean's neck then said, "Do you want help?" He kissed her neck again.

Jeweldean spun away from Sonny before he could kiss her again and grabbed a few eggs from the basket that they keep them in and handed them to Sonny. "You can make the eggs."

"Alright." Sonny grabbed a bowl and cracked the eggs into them. He expertly stirred them with a fork, then placed them on the cast iron griddle that Jeweldean had hot on the stove.

Jeweldean stirred up the mix for the biscuits, then dropped them one by one onto the griddle next to the eggs. Next came the bacon.

Several minutes later, there was lots of hot food sitting on the table for whenever the ranch hands came in. Jeweldean set out two plates, two forks, a knife, two coffee cups, some butter, and some honey, then sat down across from Sonny at the table.

Sonny reached out his hands, palms up, to Jeweldean. She accepted them and Sonny said, "Let's pray." Jeweldean nodded, then bowed her head. Sonny did the same.

"Dear God," Sonny started, "Thank you for-"

A knock interrupted Sonny's prayer. Jeweldean looked up at Sonny and said, "I'll get it." She let go of his hands and walked to the door. Opening the door brought a cold chill to Jeweldean. She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep cool.

When Jeweldean opened the door she saw Austin standing on the front porch, his Stetson in his hands. "I'm real sorry to bother you, ma'am, but uh, there's some men here from the bank, and they say they need to talk to you somethin' fierce."

Jeweldean looked behind her and saw Sonny dishing out food onto their breakfast plates. He hadn't heard what Austin said, which she was glad about since she hadn't been able to tell Sonny about the letter she received from the bank a couple weeks ago. She walked outside onto the porch, and shut the door behind her so Sonny couldn't hear their conversation. "Can you tell them to come back tomorrow?" Jeweldean whispered.

"I've tried, ma'am. They said it's real important and that it can't wait." Austin replied.

Jeweldean sighed. "Okay, just give me a minute, please. I'll handle this."

Austin nodded, put his hat back on his head, and walked off the porch.

Jeweldean took a deep breath and walked back inside the house. Sonny lifted his head and smiled when he saw her.

"I need to run into town to take care of something. Do you mind just stayin' here until I get back? I shouldn't be gone long." Jeweldean asked Sonny.

"Sure. Just be careful." Sonny replied.

"I will." Jeweldean walked over to the table to Sonny. She wrapped her arms around his chest and kissed him. "Love you."

"I love you too." Sonny drawled back. He turned around and gave Jeweldean another kiss before she ran upstairs to grab the bank letter, then headed out the front door.