To Thine Own Self

The next morning when she woke he was already gone. She dressed in a pink cotton T-shirt, jeans and western boots - because that was what she wanted to wear. When Sam arrived, Felipa invited her to ride with the guests. Sam looked to Carmen for guidance.

"Go ahead," Carmen said. "It will give you a chance to work with the horses and get to know them as well as the land. I'm taking the children shopping this morning."

After they all left for their ride, Carmen put all the children in the car and went to town for the day. She dropped Jonathan off and told him to meet her at a specific time and place. She watched him go in and then left with a certain amount of concern. Jonathan was big enough and responsible enough to take care of himself, but he lacked the experience to recognize a potential threat. Sometime she would have to let go. She'd best begin now so it wasn't such a shock later. She took Destiny and the Twins to another store to shop. Destiny selected a few light dresses and Carmen bought some clothes for the twins. She bought a couple sundresses and some feminine T-shirts for herself.

When she returned to pick up Jonathan, she barely recognized him. He was dressed western from the tip of his boots to the top of his hat. The indigo jeans hugged his lean build, making him look taller.

"Jonathan," Destiny gasped. "You look beautiful!"

Carmen laughed. "He does look handsome, doesn't he?"

Jonathan beamed. "I like this hat, don't you?"

They all agreed that the new look was cool and then decided on pizza for lunch. It was nice simply being with the children and having no other commitments. She should thank Alex for insisting she hire help.

There was one other thing she wanted to do before they started back home. She went to a farm supply store and purchased enough supplies to fence in a large area in the south part of their land. She would put her goats in there and let them clear out the brush. Several days ago she had ordered a goat stanchion to put in the barn. She missed the goat milk and making cheese as much as she did the scheduled milking. It was time to stop burdening Alex with every decision and make a few of her own.

The materials were scheduled to be delivered the day after tomorrow. Stopping by the employment office, she contracted for temporary help to put up the fence. The money was what she had set aside for the business and the fenced area would become another route for tours. She would bring Princess up to the pasture where Ed used to be. That way she could ride down to the stables.