After having lemonade and cookies, Elise suggested going for a walk to pick the children up from school.

“Are you sure?” Rosa asked skeptically. “I wouldn't want you to overdo it.”

“I would say if I didn't think I could do it. Please, let's walk. It's such a lovely day. We can take a break if I feel the least bit tired.”

The two of them walked arm in arm toward the school, a small building less than an hour away.

Before long, they spotted a number of men chopping trees.

“Good afternoon,” Elise called out pleasantly. “What are you up to?”

A few of them halted in their labor, but Rosa only recognized Jacob. She had yet to meet the men from the neighboring ranches. That honor was reserved for the party, she thought wryly.

“Cutting down timber for a fence,” one man replied, standing upright and wiping his brow. All the men appeared to have been working hard for some time, given the profusion of sweat obvious on their bodies. Even though it was only April, each man had shucked his coat and had his shirt sleeves pushed far up his arms. Rosa tried not to notice, but the muscles on Jacob's back strained against the thin fabric of his shirt as he swung his ax against the base of a tree.

Elise nodded and smiled. “Ah, yes, the fence for your property. How long will that take?”

Rosa didn't wish to linger but couldn't think of a polite way move her sister on.

“With the three of us and the other five men that Luke sent our way as well as the two from Crawford Ranch, we hope to be done within two weeks.”

“Wonderful! And how many horses will you bring in?”

“Five to start,” another man replied. “But more as we become sure of what we're doing.”

“Oh! Where are my manners? Rosa, this is Alex and this is Cole, friends from Triple Range who are going to partner with Jacob on his new ranch.”

“Pleased to meet you,” she murmured, meeting their eyes briefly and then turning as though she intended to continue walking.

However, Elise was in no hurry to go. The four of them chatted for a few more minutes, and Rosa made an effort to be friendly, but she could feel Jacob's eyes on her the whole time. She didn't give him the satisfaction of returning his gaze, no matter how much she would have liked to catch another glimpse of him hard at work.

Pretending to be affected by the warmth of the day, she fanned herself with her hand. “I hope the school is not very much farther,” she said softly. “I think I am very hot with this warm sun.”

Her English sounded stiff and broken to her ears, but noon one else seemed to notice. Then, before she realized what was happening, a canteen was thrust in front of her. The hand that offered it was attached to none other than the man she was trying to avoid.

“It's still pretty cold,” he assured her. “Good thing to carry if you're out for a walk on a warm day.”

Even though she was suddenly thirsty, she pretended not to be. “I am fine, thank you. I just like to walk out of the sun for a moment.”

Jacob didn't seem too perturbed by her rejection, and merely lifted the canteen to his own mouth and drank deeply.

“Ahh, nothing like fresh mountain water. Have you ever tasted it?”

Rosa lifted her chin a little. “I have tasted water before, yes, thank you.”

“Yes, but straight from the river after a spring runoff?” He offered the canteen again. When Elise nudged her none too gently, Rosa felt compelled to take the container.

“Thank you.” She sipped a little, well aware that his mouth had just been on it. At first, she was planning to just allow a few drops to trickle into her mouth, but the water was refreshingly cold and crisp. Before she knew what she'd done, the canteen was empty.

“Oh,” she said quietly. “I appear to, um, drink all the water.”

The small group laughed.

“That'll happen with our river's water, miss,” Cole said warmly. “But no need to fret. The river is just a little ways yonder.”

“Then I shall refill,” she declared, striding in the direction he'd indicated before anyone could stop her. She hoped to have a few minutes alone to compose herself, but much to her chagrin, she heard footsteps behind her and knew that they had to belong to Jacob.

“I can find the way,” she informed him without turning around.

“Oh, I'm not worried about that,” he replied, catching up to her easily and then walking abreast. “I just wanted to cool off. Also, it's easy enough to find the river, but I wanted to make sure you could find your way back as well.”

“Oh, well then, I thank you.”

It was only a few minutes before they were beside the river. The water rushed past violently, and Rosa wondered how she was going to refill the canteen without getting swept away.

“There's a calm place down here,” Jacob told her, motioning for her to follow. He took a few steps down some slippery boulders and then held out his hand to assist her. She hesitated, not wanting to encourage him, but she could see that it was either take his hand or fall, in which case, he would be obliged to catch her. She opted for the former, but as soon as it was safe to do so, she released his hand and knelt beside the river.

Trying not to notice, Rosa saw Jacob remove his boots and wade into the river. He didn’t remove anything else, but he might as well have. After splashing water on himself, his shirt clung to his form, revealing every muscle and sinew. The sight of such a man was hard to ignore when he was right in her line of vision, so Rosa turned her back on him and focused on filling up the canteen. She only hoped that he couldn't see her face flushing.

Once the canteen was filled, she got to her feet and tried to determine if she could climb up the bank without ending up in the river beside him. There seemed to be a path that wasn't terribly mucky, and Rosa decided to risk it, anything to get away from the scene in front of her.

It wasn't that she had never seen a man in such a state before, but the sight of Jacob, a man who had shown himself to be kind and compassionate, built up her bitterness. In that moment, she prayed for God's help to get her out of this situation.

By some small wonder, she managed to get up and over the slippery rocks and headed back in the direction that she hoped was right. She really didn't need to get lost at this point and have others come in search of her.

“Help me find my way back, Lord,” she mumbled as she pushed through the trees.

“Rosa!” Jacob called out. “Wait up!”

She neither stopped nor slowed. However, avoiding him seemed to be impossible. Crashing through the trees behind her, Jacob finally managed to catch up.

“I guess I was taking too long for your liking,” he joked. From the corner of her eye, she could see him pulling at his shirt. It was still wet and clung to him like a second skin.

“That isn't helping, Lord,” she muttered in Italian.

“Pardon?” He walked beside her, a tad breathless from having had to run.

“It is nothing. God and I were having a disagreement.”

That made him laugh. “God was disagreeing with you, or you were disagreeing with Him?”

She paused for a moment. “Both, I suppose.”

They reached the clearing where the men were still hard at work.

“Oh, I didn't know we were taking a swimming break,” Alex joked. “Hey, guys! Go take a dip in the river if you want. The boss is doing it, so that means we can too!”

No one needed anymore encouragement. Almost every man dropped his tool and raced down to the river, stripping as he went.

The sight of it made Elise chuckle, but when Rosa turned to say something to Jacob about leading by example, she found him scowling slightly.

“Why did you say that?” he asked Alex. “I'm not the boss. We're partners.”

“Are we? Hmm. Well, Cole and I were talking, and we think that you should be the main figurehead of our ranch, like Luke is for Triple Range and Wesley is for Crawford. There should be one man that the others look to for leadership.”

Jacob's face changed from displeasure to surprise in an instant.

“What? You do? But...” Rosa could see he was both pleased and flabbergasted at the same time. His humility touched her heart.

“If you're willing,” Cole added. “You see, most of the guys we're going to hire will likely be about the same age as us, and it'll be hard to earn their respect. But with you...”

Rosa was surprised to hear this. Jacob was older than these other two? By how much?

Now Jacob looked slightly less flattered, but he grinned nonetheless. “Ah, I see how it is now. I become boss by default? Because of my age? Well, that's not exactly the reason I was looking for, but if you have faith in me, then I won't say no.”

Alex and Cole nodded. “Good. We'll still divide profits and jobs equally, but you get the final say in ranch-related matters.”

“Whoa. I'm not sure I want all that power. How about we do it like this? If the two of you disagree with each other about something, I'll settle it, but if the two of you disagree with me about something, we'll talk to someone from outside, possibly from Carl, John or Luke.”

The three agreed.

“I suppose we should be on our way,” Rosa said quietly, feeling like an intruder. “I am sorry to have bothered you while you were working.” She cast her eyes to her sister, who didn't seem to feel anything of the sort.

“I'm very happy to see such wisdom among you,” she encouraged them. “I'll be praying for you three, that God will bless you abundantly and grow His kingdom through you.”

Alex and Cole smiled back, but Jacob suddenly looked uncomfortable, even though he thanked her.

“Now, my sister is right. We should go, but thank you for this entertainment.” Elise made a point of looking over to where the young men were splashing each other in the river. “It's amusing to see men turning back into boys.”

As they continued towards the school, Rosa couldn't stop herself from asking a question.

“The other two said something about Jacob being older. I didn't think that he was. Do you know how old he is?”

Elise suddenly seemed very nonchalant. “Oh, I don't know for certain, but I believe he's close to thirty, perhaps even a year or two past that.”

A tingling sensation suddenly shot through Rosa's legs. “No, not thirty,” she murmured. “He can't be more than twenty-five.”

“Oh, but he is. He was already a man when he first came out here more than ten years ago.”

“But—but he looks so young.”

“Some men age well, I suppose. Take my John for instance. Do you know how old he is?”

Thrown a little, Rosa blinked. “Uh, I don't know. Thirty-five?”

Elise laughed. “I'm glad you think so. No, he just had his forty-eighth birthday last month. Surprising, isn't it? You would think a life lived outdoors working hard would age a man beyond his years, but perhaps doing something you love keeps a person young.”

“Yes,” Rosa murmured in agreement. “I think you may be right.”

Her small world seemed to tilt a little, and the sun suddenly shone a little brighter. Could God be giving her a glimpse into a future that she dreamed of, but never dared to hope for? However, Rosa couldn't feel entirely happy. Something about Jacob pricked at her heart, and she knew before she allowed her heart or mind to travel down any road, she needed to pray.