"Where on earth have you been, Sonny McAurthur? You've been gone this entire day!" Jeweldean shouted from the porch as Sonny walked up from the barn.

"I'm home in time for supper, woman. You should be happy." Sonny made his way onto the porch. He stood facing Jeweldean. His plan was to come home, sweep up Jeweldean into a kiss and tell her all was forgiven. But, that plan was quickly altered when Jeweldean yelled at him.

Jeweldean scoffed. "Happy? You want me to be happy? Why should I be happy that my husband went into town to rehire somebody that I fired. Someone that I fired for a very good reason, too." Jeweldean spat out the words. Everything that Sonny had felt about forgiving Jeweldean and trying to move on now left his mind.

"Who told you that?" Sonny asked, placing his hands firmly on his hips.

"Cooper told me that you had to go into town to talk to someone. I figured it out on my own. Why would you want to bring back Clint?" Jeweldean asked.

"I'm not fixin' to bring Clint back. I just went to the motel to talk to him. He has apologized and he feels terrible about what he did."

"Okay, then maybe he didn't tell you the whole story." Jeweldean placed her hands on her hips.

"Oh, no. He told me the whole story, and believe me, I ain't happy about it either. I told him that he is not welcome back here on my ranch until we can reconcile." Sonny said.

"Reconcile? You want to reconcile with him? He kissed me. He was drunk on our ranch. And you want to reconcile?" Jeweldean yelled.

"He was always like a brother to me, Jeweldean. I have given you and all the hands many second chances, and he deserves one too. Whenever he feels he is ready to reconcile, which I am sure will not be for at least another year or so, then I will talk to him. And yes, maybe, we might reconcile, and you have absolutely no say in that." Sonny shouted and walked off the porch and towards the barn.

"Don't you dare walk away from me, Sonny McAurthur! You get back here right now!" Jeweldean shouted out into the yard as Sonny walked away from her.

Sonny didn't come into the house for supper. In fact, he didn't come in until Jeweldean was putting the children down for the night. Just as Jeweldean closed the door to Cody and Suzanne's room, she heard the front door open.

Jeweldean looked at Sonny as he unbuttoned and hung up his coat and hat, then she pointed to the table. "Supper's on the table. It's probably cold by now, though, but you know how to heat it up. I'm fixin' to go to bed, but don't bother coming upstairs to sleep with me. You can sleep out in the barn again." Jeweldean said and made her way upstairs before Sonny could so much as think of a response.

Jeweldean woke up the next morning with regret to what she had said to Sonny last night. Even with a heavy quilt and several wool and cotton blankets, Jeweldean still felt cold, but the chill she was feeling was not because of the temperature outside. Instead, the chill was because she missed Sonny's warm body laying next to her.

Jeweldean walked downstairs and out to the barn. Cody and Austin were out practicing roping in the small pen near the barn.

"Howdy, Jeweldean." Austin replied.

"Howdy, you two. I'm goin' out for a ride. I'll be back later." Jeweldean said to Cody and Austin as she walked towards the barn.

Once inside, Jeweldean tacked up her horse, Acorn, led her out of the barn, mounted up, and began to ride into the woods.

Two hours later, Sonny came inside his house to the sound of laughter. He looked around the living room, and saw there was a fire in the fireplace, and then Sonny saw something that made him smile. He saw his three children with Carver in the living room. Sadie was in her crib, Suzanne on Carver's lap and Cody on the floor. Cody was tickling Suzanne which made Suzanne laugh, and Carver was bouncing her on her knee which made the little toddler laugh even harder. Sonny smiled and walked over to Carver.

"Hey, Sonny. I was just about to head back outside since my break time is over. I will send in Cooper and Austin when I go back out." Carver said.

"Howdy pa." Cody said. He stopped tickling Suzanne and stood up to give Sonny a hug. Sonny hugged him back.

Sonny nodded in response to Carver then took Suzanne from Carver and raised her high in the air and then brought her down to rest on his hip, The toddler laughed, and Sonny smiled. He missed these times with his kids, and ever since Jeweldean and him had been fighting, Sonny wasn't able to spend as much time with his kids as he should've.

Suddenly, Sonny heard a little voice that he realized was coming from Suzanne. "Dada. Dada." Suzanne was pointing at Sonny and saying 'dada.'

Sonny began to laugh. "Yeah, baby girl. I'm your 'dada'. Can you say 'mama'? Say 'mama'."

Sonny continued trying to coax Suzanne into saying 'mama', but she would only say 'dada.' After a few minutes of baby-talk, Sonny looked to Carver.

"Speaking of 'mama', where's Jeweldean? I ain't seen her this whole day." Sonny said and looked around the room.

"She said that she was goin' for a ride and that she would be back later." Carver replied.

"Did she say where she was goin'?" Sonny asked, still holding Suzanne on his hip.

Carver shook his head. "She took Acorn and headed towards the trees, so she wasn't goin' into town; that much I can tell you."

Sonny nodded. "Okay, well, I'm gonna go ride out and see if I can find her. Do you mind watchin' the kids for me?" Sonny looked to Carver.

"I don't mind." Carver replied.

"Much obliged. You can stay in here and I will send Cooper and Austin in. Send them back out in about twenty minutes, please." Sonny said. Carver nodded. Sonny gave Suzanne a kiss, and handed her back to Carver, then Sonny walked over to where Sadie was in her crib, placed a kiss on her cheek, then gave Cody a high five before making his way outside.

Sonny had a hankering that he knew where Jeweldean had rode off to. He reckoned it was the hill that jutted out and looked out over some of their property. If you went at the right time, you could see the sun set and the sun rise. Over time, that look-out had become Sonny and Jeweldean's 'place'. They prayed there, talked there, laughed there, shared kisses there. They had gone out there so many times that the grass trail was worn down to dirt, especially under the bench that Sonny had built under the old oak tree that stood tall on the lookout. Jeweldean and Sonny had talked about building a house out on the hill, and they almost did, until Jeweldean found out she was pregnant with Cody. The house on the hill would have been way too small and it would have required them to cut down the beloved oak tree near where the bench now stood. So the tiny house was never built. The lookout had always been Sonny and Jeweldean's secret. None of the ranch hands knows about it; not even Clint.

Sonny rode up the path to the hill and as he made it to the top, he saw Jeweldean's horse Acorn. Then Sonny saw Jeweldean sitting on the bench looking out at the sunrise. He sat back in his saddle for a second and watched as Jeweldean's shoulders shook slightly, and then she wiped something from her cheek. Because Jeweldean's back was towards Sonny, Sonny couldn't see Jeweldean's face, so he rode up to where Acorn was, about twenty feet from Jeweldean.

Sonny dismounted and put Bronco near Acorn and let him graze on the lush, green grass. Sonny walked over to where Jeweldean was sitting on the bench, and he sat down next to her.

Neither Sonny nor Jeweldean said anything for a while, instead they just sat there looking at the beautiful sunrise.

Sonny heard Jeweldean sniffle and so he looked over at her puffy red eyes and he concluded that she had been crying long before he had come up here.

Jeweldean looked at Sonny and opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but then closed it and began sobbing all over again. She fell against Sonny's chest, and Sonny put his strong arms around her. He silently held her as she cried into his coat. Sonny didn't ask her what was wrong, because he had a hankering that he knew it was because of their fight. It was killing Sonny just as bad as it was hurting Jeweldean, and he didn't want the fight to continue either.

"Sonny, I-" Jeweldean started. She pulled back just enough to see his face. Sonny pulled her closer. Jeweldean couldn't finish because she was crying to hard.

"Shh. Shh. Shh. Let's just sit here. We can talk later." Sonny said, and he put his chin on Jeweldean's head as he held her close. Sonny closed his eyes and sighed as he prayed silently in his head.

Several minutes later, Jeweldean's sobbing turned into sniffles and she pulled back to wipe away her tears.

Jeweldean let out a small chuckle as she looked at Sonny's shirt, under his unbuttoned coat. "I so-soaked your sh-shirt." Jeweldean said. Sonny chuckled and looked at Jeweldean.

"I don't care. It'll dry." Sonny said; he let go of her waist with one hand and, with his thumb on that hand, he brushed away a runaway tear and then he tucked some hair, that had escaped from Jeweldean's braid, behind her ear. Sonny held Jeweldean's face in his hand as he continued to wipe away any tears that were on her cheeks. He looked deeply into her eyes.

Before Sonny could apologize, Jeweldean said, "Sonny, I'm glad that you went into town to talk to Clint. I hope that one day we can both forgive him."

"Okay." Sonny said quietly, still holding Jeweldean's face in one hand. "But what about us? Are you ready to forgive me yet?"

Jeweldean sighed and pulled away from Sonny a little more. She looked into his face, and began crying all over again. She fell against his chest, again, but this time, her arms went around his waist.
"I'm so sorry, Sonny. I'm sorry." Jeweldean cried into Sonny's shirt.

Sonny lifted Jeweldean's face with two fingers, and once she was looking at him, he let go of her face to put his arm back around her waist. "I'm sorry too, honey. I shouldn't have let my anger show. It really wasn't all you; it was mainly me. You see, I've been having the nightmares and flashbacks to the time I was kidnapped and the nightmares are still keepin' me awake at night. They make me angry, and I took it out on you. I'm so sorry, darlin'. I'm sorry that I doubted you and that I didn't believe you when you told me about Clint. I want you to know that Clint is just a friend, but you, you are my wife and nothing will ever change that. Our relationship will always come first over Clint. I know that you didn't do anything to encourage Clint to kiss you. I'm sorry that I ever accused you. I want you to know that I told Clint that if he ever stepped foot on our ranch without my permission, he would be thrown into jail and he would pay for what he did." Sonny said.

"I know, Sonny. Thank you. Can you please forgive me? I didn't mean everything I said." Jeweldean replied. Her voice began to quaver again.

"I forgive you, darlin'. I didn't mean everything that I said either. Do you forgive me; because this is all my fault."

"Oh, Sonny, of course I forgive you." Jeweldean replied; she put her hands on Sonny's chest.

The corners of Sonny's mouth curled up into a grin, then he bent his head down and kissed Jeweldean. She began kissing him back when her arms went around his neck, and Sonny pulled her closer, and kissed her some more. They sat there like that for several minutes before pulling apart ever so slightly.

Sonny looked deep into Jeweldean's eyes as he said, "I love you, darlin'."

"I love you too, Sonny." Then Jeweldean began to kiss Sonny all over again.

Several minutes later, Sonny and Jeweldean made their way back to the house. Just as Jeweldean dismounted, and was walking Acorn into the barn, somebody came riding up in a buckboard.

Sonny rode over to where the people who rode up were.

"Howdy." Sonny said. Jeweldean turned around to see who Sonny was talking to, and when she saw it was Louisa and Blake, who were close friends of Sonny and Jeweldean, she quickly walked over to greet them.

"Howdy, Sonny. I, uh, hope you don't mind us bein' here." Blake said.

"We heard that you were back and we had to see for ourselves." Louisa said and smiled.

"Y'all know you're always welcome." Sonny shook Blake's hand. Jeweldean walked up next to Sonny. Sonny dismounted from Bronco.

"My, my, Jeweldean, you are lookin' great. How old is your new young'un now?" Louisa said to Jeweldean.

Jeweldean blushed. Sonny wrapped his arm around Jeweldean's waist. "She's almost six months old now." Jeweldean said.

"That old already? Kids sure do grow up fast." Louisa said. Blake jumped down from the buckboard, then walked over to help Louisa down. Sonny still had his arm around Jeweldean's waist.

Louisa walked to the back of the buckboard to get some things out of the back. Jeweldean walked over to help her. Louisa handed Jeweldean a pie and a loaf of bread.

"What's this for?" Jeweldean asked as Louisa kept handing her stuff.

"Well, we wanted to come out to welcome Sonny back home, and congratulate y'all on the new young'un. We might not be able to get out here again before Christmas to see y'all, so we wanted to come out and do an early Christmas celebration, well, if that's alright with y'all."

"Oh, of course that's fine, Louisa." Jeweldean said. She tried giving Louisa a hug, but Jeweldean's arms were full of goodies that Louisa had brought over. Louisa's arms were full, too.

Louisa looked over her shoulder at the menfolk who were busy chatting.

"Um...I have some news and I would like to talk to you. Can we go inside?" Louisa whispered to Jeweldean.

"Sure." Jeweldean smiled and walked towards the menfolk. "Hey fellas, Louisa and I are goin' inside to talk. Don't come in until I fetch one of y'all."

"Okay, well, I'll be puttin' Bronco back out in the pasture while y'all are talkin'. Blake, you want me to take your horses?" Sonny said.

"Sure. I'll give you a hand." Blake replied. Turning back to Jeweldean and Louisa, he said, "You women go on inside. Sonny and I have some catching up to do ourselves." Louisa and Jeweldean walked towards the house. Blake turned back to his team and he detached the two horses harnesses.

"I'll be right back." Sonny said to Blake, and he ran after Jeweldean. "Jewel."

When Sonny called her name, Jeweldean turned around, and so did Louisa. When Sonny reached Jeweldean, he looked awkwardly between Jeweldean and Louisa.

"Oh, uh, I'll go on inside and let y'all talk. Here, Jeweldean, I will take that stuff inside for you and make us some tea."

"Oh, thank you, Louisa." Jeweldean responded and handed her armful of things to Louisa. Once her arms were empty, Sonny grabbed Jeweldean's elbow and led her out of earshot of the house.

"I, uh, just wanted to see how you are doin'." Sonny put his hands in his pockets.

Jeweldean furrowed her brow at Sonny's comment. "I'm fine, Sonny, why?"

Sonny looked from the house, then back to Jeweldean. "It's just real soon since we made up and I wanted to make sure that we were okay."

Jeweldean smiled at Sonny. She took a step closer to him. "We are fine, Sonny." Jeweldean went up on her tip toes to kiss Sonny's cheek. The stubble from his recently trimmed beard made it a little scratchy.

Sonny looked down at the dirt below his boots and sighed.

"Sonny, whats wrong?" Jeweldean asked, her hand going up to rest on his shoulder.

"When I went into town to talk to Duke about the bills..." Sonny started. He looked at Jeweldean. "It's more than we originally thought, Jewel. Duke was able to let us forget about the interest, but the amount I still owe is more than we can afford."

"Well, can't we just pay it back little by little until we pay it off?" Jeweldean asked.

"Well, that would work except for we only have sixty days to pay it off and on top of that, I also have to pay this month's bills too." Sonny said.

Jeweldean could sense the worry in Sonny's voice. Just when she opened her mouth to respond, Louisa rounded the corner and said, "Jeweldean, our tea is ready."

Jeweldean looked over her shoulder at Louisa. "I will be in in just a moment. Thank you."

Louisa nodded and turned to walk back inside the house.

Jeweldean turned back to Sonny. "We'll make it work somehow, Sonny." Jeweldean said. She stepped closer to Sonny and wrapped her arms around his middle. "We have to." Jeweldean whispered.

Jeweldean walked into her house and smiled when she saw Louisa and Suzanne playing in the living room.

"Suzanne has gotten so big." Louisa said once Jeweldean walked into the living room.

"I know. Two years old already." Jeweldean knelt down next to where Louisa held Suzanne. "Have you met Sadie yet?" Jeweldean asked.

"No. Oh, I can't wait to meet her." Louisa said.

"She's upstairs. I will go get her." Jeweldean turned and went up the stairs and into her room to get Sadie. Surprisingly, she was still sleeping by the time Jeweldean carried her downstairs and handed her to Louisa.

"Oh, Jeweldean, she is just precious." Louisa whispered to Jeweldean. Jeweldean smiled and poured herself a cup of tea, then sat down next to Louisa on the couch.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Jeweldean asked Louisa.

Louisa handed Sadie to Jeweldean, then got right to the point. "Well, I...I'm pregnant." Louisa's face beamed with joy when she told Jeweldean.

"Really? Oh, Louisa, that is fantastic. Congratulations! I am so happy for you." Jeweldean said, trying to keep quiet so she didn't wake Sadie.

"I know. I almost didn't believe it at first. When my...ladies time...was late the first month, I didn't think anything of it, but then the second, then the third month passed, and I started to get excited. Then, in the mornings I would wake up feeling nauseous, and I noticed that certain smells make me have a sour stomach, and so I went to the doctor, told him my symptoms and he said that I was pregnant."

"Oh, good for you, Louisa." Jeweldean was so happy for her. Jeweldean placed a hand on top of Louisa's.

"I know. Blake and I have been trying to have kids ever since we got married four years ago, and we almost gave up, but it was like God told us to try just once more, and...well, now I'm pregnant." Louisa's smiled filled up the whole room and Jeweldean couldn't be happier for her.

Jeweldean stood up and told Louisa that she was going to go put Sadie back upstairs so she and her could talk more. Jeweldean came back downstairs and sat next to Louisa on the couch again.

"So, anyways, tell me more about you. How has everything been goin' here?" Louisa said.

"Well, first off, I want to say congratulations on the baby. I am so happy for y'all. Does Blake know?"

"Thank you. And, yes, the day I got back from the doctor's, I told Blake. Now he is being extra careful about everything I do. He insists on lifting me onto my horse instead of me getting on myself, which, I am very capable of doing on my own. He makes me sit down all the time now. Sometimes, he won't even let me cook or clean. It's sweet, but I miss getting out of the house and doing things, you know?"

"Oh, trust me, Sonny did the exact same thing with me when I was pregnant with Cody. He was a little, but not much, better when I was pregnant with Suzanne, and when I was carrying Sadie, Sonny was more lenient with what I was 'allowed' to do. Granted, it wasn't much, but at least I was able to cook every once in a while. He even let me leave my room and come downstairs a few times." Jeweldean smiled at the memories.

"Oh, Blake can be such a worry wart sometimes. I wanted to come out here when we first found out about the baby, but Blake kept saying that I needed to stay inside or he would say it was too cold out and blah blah blah." Louisa said. She talked with her hands when she recalled the story to Jeweldean.

Jeweldean smiled and took a sip of her tea. "Well, how did you finally convince him it was okay for y'all to come out?"

"Well, I snuck out to the kitchen the other day and began baking like crazy. Then, when he came inside for dinner after being outside since noon day meal, I convinced him that if we waited too much longer, the snow would pack us in until spring, and by then the baby would already be born. Plus, I told him he was being too stubborn and if he didn't go with me, then I would go by myself." Louisa said and took a sip of her tea to try to hide her mischievous smile.

Jeweldean shook her head and smiled. That sounded pretty much like what she did to Sonny when he insisted she stay inside the house, all day, every day during her pregnancies.

"Don't worry, it gets better with the more kids you have. At least our husbands care, though, right?"

Louisa laughed. "Amen to that, sister. Speaking of husbands, tell me more about how Sonny got home, and when did he get home?" Louisa asked. Her and Blake were two of the many people who rode with the search party after Sonny had gone missing. Louisa was the one holding Jeweldean's hand when the minister and some townsfolk suggested that an honorary funeral be held for Sonny, because since he had been missing for so long, then he, "must certainly be dead." Jeweldean turned down the suggestion of a funeral.

Jeweldean took a sip of her tea and dove into the story.

By the time Louisa and Jeweldean were done talking, it was almost time for supper, and their pot of tea was empty. Jeweldean stood up from the couch and said, "Well, I reckon we should get supper on. I will go fetch the men."

"Okay. What would you like me to make?"

"Well, my good, dear friend named Louisa made us enough food to last us a week full of suppers, so I reckon choose whatever you would like." Jeweldean smiled.

"Okay. You go get our worry wart husbands, and I will fix up some supper. Y'all's ranch hands still eatin' with y'all?"

"Yes, ma'am." Jeweldean said and walked outside to the barn.

"Louisa is fixin' supper. Y'all come on in and get washed up." Jeweldean stopped at the entrance to the barn. She stood with her hands on her hips as she talked to the men.

"Yes, ma'am." Sonny and Blake said in unison.

"Where are the hands at? I'll fetch them too." Jeweldean said to Sonny.

"I'll get them. They should be ridin' in soon." Sonny said to Jeweldean. He kissed her on the cheek and headed out the back of the barn to find the hands.

Jeweldean walked back inside the house with Blake, and once inside, Blake stopped dead in his tracks and said to Louisa, "Now, darlin', what did I tell you about cookin'?" Blake removed his hat and hung it on the coat stand by the door.

Louisa continued to man the stove as she answered her husband without hesitation. "Jeweldean gave me permission, and she's had three children so she knows very well what I can and cannot do. If you have a problem with it, then why don't you help fix supper for everyone?" Louisa's sassy side remarked.

Blake didn't say a word, but walked over to the sink to wash his hands, then he started grabbing plates and silverware to set the table. When his back was to Louisa, she turned to look at Jeweldean. She winked at Jeweldean, then teasingly stuck her tongue out at Blake.

Jeweldean had to clear her throat so she wouldn't burst out laughing. When that almost didn't work, Jeweldean walked to the counter to prepare coffee for everyone.

Jeweldean and Sonny waved goodbye to Louisa and Blake a few hours after dinner, then they went back into the house to start getting ready for bed.

Once Jeweldean laid down in bed, she blew out the candle, then she felt Sonny's arms come around her waist and pull her close against him.

"I'm glad that we worked things out and that you are sleepin' with me again." Jeweldean said to Sonny.

"Me too. I'm sorry again darlin'." Sonny fingered the material of Jeweldean's nightgown.

"I forgive you, Sonny. I'm sorry too."

"I forgive you. I love you, honey." Sonny squeezed Jeweldean's waist softly for emphasis.

"I love you too. Goodnight." Jeweldean replied, placing her hand on top on Sonny's.

A little while later, Jeweldean drifted off to sleep with Sonny's warm arms around her. It wasn't until a few hours later that she felt his arms tighten around her, then let go. She felt the bed move as Sonny got up. Jeweldean hoped it wasn't what she thought it was, but she knew that it was what she thought. Jeweldean felt bad for Sonny because she knew that his nightmares were back, only these ones probably also held the fear of losing their ranch.