Barnabas paused, "Oh, town. Yeah, well, we oughtta get you off this knoll and out amongst some folks." He said, "Gotta say that I'm sorry, you need to get away, but I'd rather the weather was a bit better before we have you an' wheeler out in this cold, Don't want him 'er you catching yer death for a trip into town."

But it wasn't like he was trapped here on their ranch, she was. And Wheeler as well, though the boy wouldn't know the difference, just yet. And the cold weather wasn't helping matters any. There was still snow and freezing rain squalls to be dealt with, and the wind, like icy needles penetrating any opening, and most clothes.  He and she could hitch up the buggy and go, what was he to do? What was he to do about Wheeler?

True many a child suffered cold and worst on the way west, and those born all over the country. It wasn't just cold in Montana, no it was just as cold in a whole lot of the east. He looked at her and kissed her on the forehead.

"We'll work it out, Next couple days we'll see if we can't bundle you two up an' take the buggy into town." He promised.

"Oh, I hadn't thought about going to town any time soon," Emeline explained, "as you said, the weather is too harsh yet for Wheeler.  Occasional jaunts to the barn to see the horses and to the bunkhouse to visit the men will be enough for now, and I won't need help around here until I'm recovered from the birth."

She could still see to the house, especially with Pythias helping in the kitchen, especially since the season kept her confined.  But...

"Once Spring comes on fully, though, we'll be ready to be out all day, enjoying life!"

Barnabas laughed at that statement, "All day, every day til the snow flies! I can just see that happening, you two will be hard to hold down, that's for sure. But if the weather's right, I mean it should be warmin' up here right quick. them flowers wanty to break ground an' bask in some sunlight, doncha think?"

"A trip into town would be a bad idea, I guess, since I'm goin' in almost every day, no matter what. An' that's gonna come to an end. I might'a said already that this place needs me here more than ever, so somethin's gotta give. I mean I do feel a need to be in both places, but I just can't do that!"

"You'll know when the time is right," Emeline assured him, adjusting her hold on Wheeler, "and in the mean time, there's no sense in fretting over it.  Right now, what with it still being Winter, there isn't so much going on here, but once Spring comes, and calves are dropped, then branding...you'll have more to keep you busy here."

She gave him a hug, leaning against his chest.  "Nothing is written in stone, this is just our first year, and I suspect we have a lot of lessons ahead of us, but I know we will face them head on and learn!"

"That darlin', is what keeps me awake at night and vigilant during the day. We'll have more to do here than all these men can handle." He responded. "Wolves are for sure out, so the watches will be doubled at least. Men will need to on guard about them and coyotes as well, danger is just about everywhere, and the Indians, Lord knows one can never be sure what they might 'er might not do at any given time." He smiled.

"I figure I married the right woman though, even if I'd never planned on havin' alla this to protect, with you and Wheeler too, but we'll make out, that's a promise." He meant that with every bone in his body. And how he got so lucky? There was no real answer for that, except, it was meant this way.

"You most certainly did marry the right woman," Emeline chided with a smile, "a very beautiful and wise woman!"  Laughing, she kissed him on the chin.  "The wolves and coyotes wouldn't dare bother us, and Ham will chase them off!"

All the concerns that Barnabas had mentioned were well-founded, but they would deal with them as they came, and it really didn't matter whether you were in town or out here, there were dangers and you just had to do your best to be prepared to deal with them.

"I love it out here, it's peaceful...and ours.  I love the sound of the rain, and the falls, and even the cows mooing in the night!"  It was amazing how far the sounds could travel, so that even though the herd was a ways off, you could still hear them on occasion.  "You know, I think that reminds me of the train that passed by our house when I was little...the whistle was so...mournful, but it made me wonder where it was going, where it had been."  She chuckled.  "Now I've been to so many amazing places because of you.  And I have cow train whistles!"

Truth be told love, I have been able to take us to those places, places I would not have gone, except possibly Virginia City,   because I had you to take with me. To show you a wonderful time. And we're far from done. We may have to take the kids and go to Europe one of these days, but that I'm afraid would have to be a way off." He told her.

"The coming of the railroad will have us hearing that whistle again. Of course, the trains in Virginia City were so often, coming and going, I'm surprised we even heard them, given the stamp mills and such like. That place is simply loud around the clock. But I was used to it when I lived there." He smiled, "Nothing like the quiet here, the birds, cattle, horses, rooster crowing and Ham barking. Quiet to a degree, but that would be a pleasant degree."

"Europe?  That would be amazing!"  Smiling wistfully, Emeline sighed.  "Someday...Paris, London, Athens...it would be good for the children to see as many places as they could!"  She chuckled then.  "I never thought I was going to travel beyond my home, save for the journey getting there, so you've already shown me more than I could have imagined."

Seattle, San Francisco, Virginia City...the trip had been beyond anything she might have ever dreamed, but now there was the promise of going even farther afield, and with their children along!

"As for our quiet, I hope that it won't be too long before the house is filled with the chaos of happy little ones running amok!"

"Looking forward to the chaos of those little feet and the promise they will hold for the future of this land." He said, "And, as far as travel, we will, God willing, travel wherever we want. But that will be a way off. There's this ranch to build even better than it is, and we have shares in the mining operation with Speed, as well as those in Nevada. So the plan is, to invest in the land we have, and buy more of it around us. Invest in the town because we can, and there will be things it needs that it cannot afford."

He smiled again and continued, "Always, looking to the future and where we fit into it, how we can make the lives of those around us better if it is at all within our power to do so. Not handouts, but helping hands. Simple. It's who we are and it's what we are able do, that's what's important."

"I think that's one thing I'm really excited for, the chance to help others when we can."  Emeline had always had a soft spot for those in need, she had given out many free meals in her past, and now, they were in a position to really do some good where it was needed.

"We'll have to be careful, though," she added, "discrete, so we're not taken advantage of."  Once word got out that they were willing to help, they would be vulnerable to grifters and conmen, and she didn't want the spirit of giving spoiled.