Two weeks after the blood had stained the snow, and Oakham Mount was all but unrecognizable from the place it had been only a month before. The McAlisters were back in charge, and these McAlisters had lived their lives thus far as servants themselves.

Unsurprisingly, changes had happened within days of the changeover. The house servants no longer slept in the attic; Bridget had insisted that the main house be a home, and therefore everyone chose for themselves a bedroom to share or keep separate, to be their own personal space. The barrack rooms where the hands were kept had been painted and furnished properly - a stop-gap to tide them over until the weather improved and decent accommodations could be built. Everyone was welcome to use the house in their off-hours, and everyone ate in the dining room, at the same table, eating the same food. Mrs. Prudey was in her element, expanding her kitchen and the stores with delight at being able to cook properly for so many at once.

Jem had moved out of the large suite of rooms that Rogier had installed her in, giving them over to Sam and Bridget while she took up in a smaller room with a bathroom attached. Rogier's rooms had been gutted, and plans were being talked over as to what they should make them into. All in all, Oakham Mount had woken up, and the people who worked there were finally learning to call it home, too.

Relations between Oakham Mount and Brambles Orchard had understandably improved, and travel between them had grown commonplace, which proved fruitful for both farm and ranch. The dead were buried and mostly forgotten, while those who'd survived got on with their lives. And somewhere, on the outskirts of Rhy'Din, a man was returning to claim a bounty on the head of a man who he didn't know was already dead, not knowing that his arrival came at a fortuitous time and that his past was unknowingly tied to that of Oakham Mount Ranch.

He was taller than most men, but not as tall as some, middle-aged, a little rough around the edges, but still handsome enough with eyes the color of a summer sky. He was a rough man, but a fair one. His past was his own, and he kept it close to his chest. He'd lived a good life, if a lonely one, and in all of his years, he had only one regret, and her name was Jem.

The road toward the ranches and farms was a long one from the city, but well traveled, as much by horses and carriages as by cars. There were foot travelers too; no shortage of people passing back and forth on their own business. One of these foot passengers was on her way to Oakham Mount herself, walking with decided purpose on strong legs along the side of the road, bundled up against the winter cold with a single pack on her back.

As the rider approached her at the only crossroads for miles, she was paused, consulting a rough map and muttering to herself. She looked up at him, raising a hand to catch his attention as she swiped blonde hair out of her brown eyes. "Excuse me ....excuse me, sir" Do you know this area" I'm lost."

The man eased his horse to a halt at the crossroads, tipping the brim of his hat back to get a better look at the girl. He hadn't been around these parts in some years, but he remembered it like he'd been there just yesterday. Some things were just etched in one's memory, and this place was one of them. "I know it a little. Where are you headed?" he asked, eyeing the girl from the back of his horse. There was something slightly familiar about her, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Trying to get to Oakham Mount," she said, blinking in the chilly breeze that was making her eyes water. "I've never been there before and I'm reading the map wrong, so ....wait a second." She peered up at him, stepping closer, and an inexplicably delighted smile lit up her face. "Oh my gods! Austin! Oh, please tell me you're going to the Mount!"

He blinked down at the girl, clearly confused how she knew him. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?" he asked, realizing almost in the same moment who she must be. "Dani?" he queried, remembering the slip of a girl she'd once been, and now she was all or at least mostly grown up. Had it really been that long already"

"Yeah, it's me, it's Dani!" The young woman on the side of the road who had just happened to flag him down was a ghost from his past, all grown up and apparently delighted just to see him again. "I'm going to see my mom. Are you coming too?"

"Your mom?" the man, whose name was apparently Austin, echoed curiously. Well, of course, she was. What else would she be doing this close to the city' "As it happens, I am," he replied, realizing their destinations were the same, but for different reasons. "Well, might as well hop on. No point in walking when you can ride," he told her, leaning down to offer her a hand.

"See, this is why I always liked you," she declared impishly, tucking her map away to take his hand and clamber up behind him. "Never afraid to just be normal around the weird kid." She laughed happily. "You gonna screw my mom until she says yes this time?"

"What makes you think you're ..." He broke off, narrowing his eyes at her, even as she climbed onto the back of his horse. "Even if I was to say yes, that is none of your business, young lady," he scolded her, though as he turned his head back around and kicked his horse into a trot, there was a faint smirk on his face.

"Oh, c'mon," Dani giggled cheerfully. "I am a very good ally to have on your side, you know. She can't use me as an excuse anymore, and besides, you're good for her." She did drop it, though ....sort of. "So if you're not going to the Mount to see Mom, why are you going there?"

And he wasn't one not to notice the hint that she'd dropped on him, purposely or not. "You done with school, then?" he asked, not missing a trick, but not answering her question right off the bat either.

"Almost," she told him, slightly adjusting her seat at his back to keep from sliding off the horse. "I'm so far ahead, they arranged for me to take my exams in March, so I'm pretty much on study leave until then. After that, who knows" I don't."

He could tell she was fidgeting behind him and trying to not only get comfortable, but trying not to fall out. "You'd best hang on," he told her, as the horse picked up the pace. "Well, what did you go to school for" What do you wanna do?" he asked, trying to make polite conversation, though he was a little taken aback at having just happened to run into her on his way to see her mother. Then again, he'd never really believed in coincidence.

"You're doing that adult thing of not answering my very reasonable question," she pointed out, hugging her arms about his waist. Despite not having seen him for a decade, she still trusted this man who had once been very close to being her father. "I was majoring in English, but I kinda wanna be a teacher. I'd have to do more school to get there, but if I get good grades in the exams, one more year won't kill me."

"Do that, then," he told her, trying to be supportive, though he wasn't her father by blood and hadn't seen her in years. At least, she was hoping to make a decent life for herself and a useful career. It was more than he could say for some other choices she could have made. And yes, he was avoiding her question and not even replying to her remark regarding avoiding her question.

"Jem," the tall man replied in acknowledgement and greeting, confirming his identity, though he hadn't changed all that much in ten years that she wouldn't recognize him. He was a little bit older, a little bit wiser, and a little more weathered, but his face was basically the same. The same blue eyes looked at her, though there were more crinkles around the eyes than she might have remembered. There was the shadow of stubble on his face from a couple days' growth. He smelled like horse and leather and looked like he could use a hot bath, but otherwise, he wasn't much different than she remembered him. "Ran into Dani on the road and thought I'd give her a lift. Hope you don't mind."

Blue eyes that were more than a match for his own looked back at him from a face that truly had not changed so much over the years. A little older, a lot wiser, weathered by griefs held at arms length for too long, Jemima was still the handsome woman she had been when they had parted ways. Seeing him again brought back all the hurt of that parting, but with it, sheer joy at seeing him safe and whole and here. A soft smile touched her face as she looked at him.

"No, I don't mind," she assured him. "I'm glad. Come in, both of you. It's too cold to stand around out here for long. Come and meet the owner of this place."

He was about to tell her how he wasn't there for a social visit, how he wasn't there to see her, but that was in part a lie, and now that he was here, he found it impossible to deny her. His gaze darted to Dani, as if for permission. After all, he didn't want to intrude on their reunion. At the same time, he didn't much care to meet the owner of this place - the man who'd been kept her here for over ten years, like a bird in a gilded cage, whether by her own choice or not. "I could do with a cup of coffee, if you don't mind," he said, making some excuse or other to remain in her presence for a little while longer.

"Of course, you're very welcome," Jem assured him.

Beside her, Dani gave him a thumbs up and a wink, and just as quickly straightened her expression and dropped her hand as her mother looked at her.

"Oh, I know that look, too," Jem laughed, giving her daughter a gentle push. "Come on then, both of you. Welcome to Oakham Mount."

He didn't think his welcome was going to be very long lived, but just let someone try and push him around, and they'd live to regret it. He gave his horse a shove, leaving him to fend for himself a little while, knowing the horse wouldn't roam too far, before the man turned to follow the women inside the house.

He didn't need to worry about his horse. A friendly-looking fellow took the rein from him with a smile. "We'll see to him, sir," he promised with a nod. "Give him a rub and a feed. You want your bags brought in?"

At the porch, Dani turned and answered before Austin could. "Yes, he does," the teenager called with a grin. "He's staying the night!"

He practically growled at Dani's reply, but didn't bother to argue, knowing it would only fall on deaf ears. He exchange a look with her that said she was going to pay for it later, but it was mostly an idle threat. What could he do to her, after all" "Much obliged," he muttered in reply to the stablehand, as he left his horse and his bags in his care.

Jem muttered to her daughter, seemingly scolding her for that declaration, but Dani just laughed again, already shucking out of her winter things inside the door. "You could fit my whole Phys Ed room in here," she pointed out as she looked around at the grand foyer.

"What on God's green earth is fizz edd?" another woman's voice asked, and this time it was a redhead who came into view. All long skirts and Victorian smartness, she had her sleeves rolled up and cobwebs in her hair. "Oh, and this would be Daniela, then."

Jem chuckled. "Yes, this is my daughter," she nodded. "Dani, this is Bridget McAlister, the mistress of the house. Bridget ....this gentleman is Austin Barnes, a very old friend of mine. He brought Dani to the house."

"Ah, well, it's a pleasure then," Bridget nodded to the pair, wiping her hands clean before offering to shake with both.

"And you're sure it's okay for me to stay, Mrs. McAlister?" Dani asked her worriedly.

The redhead laughed. "Don't be daft, of course you can," she said firmly. "And you, Mr. Barnes ....it's a long journey back to the city with the night fallin' fast. Fancy a warm bed and a couple o'good meals, at the very least?"

Mistress of the house" Austin arched a brow. He'd thought that was Jem, but it seemed he was wrong. Something had changed since he'd poked his nose around here last, but he wasn't quite sure what it was yet. "I'd much appreciate that, ma'am," he told Bridget with a polite nod of his head. She didn't look old enough to be the mistress here, no more than a few years older than Dani from the look of her, but who was he to question'

Just as he was about to say something more, the door behind them opened, a cold gust blowing inside along with a tall man with a wide grin on his face that Austin didn't recognize.

"You see the horse out there" Lord, he's a beauty. I'd love to add him to my stables," the man said, startled to find himself facing two strangers - one a man nearly as tall as himself and the other a girl who looked remarkably like a younger version of Jem. "Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

"Say hello to the master of the house, who is walking snowy mud over my clean floors again," Bridget said, but the scolding was definitely offered with love. She moved over to kiss Sam hello, squealing a little at the chill clinging to him. "We've got guests, love."

Dani grinned, leaning against her mother. "So if she's Mrs. McAlister, then he must be Mr. McAlister, right?" she asked in amusement, pointing between the pair.

Jemima chuckled. "You're a genius," she teased her daughter. "Sam, meet Daniela, my daughter. And Austin Barnes, an old friend."

Bridget's kiss muffled any response Sam might have made, at least, momentarily. His arm wound about his wife's waist, his grin only widening in warm welcome to their guests. "Dani, you're as pretty as your mama. Welcome to Oakham Mount," he told her, before turning that same welcoming smile on the man. "Any friend of Jem's and all that," he told him, offering the man a hand.

Austin looked between them, a little confused, but took the hand in a firm grip of his own. "You're the owners?" he asked, looking from Sam to Bridget and back.

"That we are!" Sam replied, grinning further. "Long story, best told over supper. I'm starving! What's Mrs. Prudey cooked up for us tonight?" he asked, looking back at his wife and giving her backside a squeeze.

"Roast beef and potatoes," Bridget told her husband, swatting at him with her cloth. "Now change your shoes and wash up. Jem, you need help settlin' Dani and Mr. Barnes?"

But unless he gave even the smallest hint that he was more than bitter and angry with her still, he'd never have the chance to find out. She nodded to him, swallowing against the hard lump in her throat. "See you at dinner, then," she said simply, turning to walk a little further down the corridor to knock on the next but one door on the left.

Dani's voice called to her, and she stepped out of sight. But the door didn't close fast enough to prevent him from hearing her daughter's greeting. "Mom, what?s wrong" Are you cry -"

Austin winced. He didn't have to hear the rest of that question to know what Dani had asked. Maybe this was a bad idea. He hadn't come here to cause her any pain, but clearly seeing him again had done just that. He wondered if he shouldn't just quietly leave, slip out the house into the night and out of her life for good, but some part of him needed to know for sure what was going on here before he could decide what he did next. He resisted the urge to knock on Dani's door and ask Jem's forgiveness. Forgiveness for what? For doing exactly what it was she'd wanted him to do' He closed the door quietly, refusing to give way to tears of his own. He'd shed enough of them over the years, and she seemed to be crying enough for both of them. Instead, he went to the bathroom, pausing a moment to look at his own reflection in the mirror, hating himself for making her cry.

But just as she'd promised, she didn't disturb him again. All was quiet from Dani's room for a long hour, until finally the sound of the teenager's voice filtered through his door once again, no doubt demanding her tour of the house now that the emotional storm had passed. Jem's laughter seemed half-hearted, but she was laughing. Evidently little Daniela had not lost that ineffable ability to make just about anyone's day seem brighter, just by being herself.

He heard the muffled voices outside his door, but he wasn't about to disturb or interrupt the reunion of mother and daughter, which he deemed far more important than anything he had to say. Besides, at that moment, he was neck deep in a bathtub of steaming hot water in hopes of scrubbing away a few weeks of dust and grime and sweat.

It didn't seem too much later that a bell started ringing downstairs, summoning everyone to the dining room to eat their evening meal and finish the day on a high note. There was no risk of getting lost for the guest in the house; the motion of people into the relevant room was evidence enough that this was where the food could be found. And what a spread - roasted beef, roasted potatoes, green beans and parsnips, and gravy enough to drown it all in for every one of the forty or so people who were sitting down to eat. There didn't seem to be any particular places for anyone, with the owners cramming in with everyone else as the dishes began to make the rounds, enough for every plate to be filled.

When he finally emerged from his room, Austin was clean, shaven, and dressed in a clean shirt and pants, albeit a bit worn. He'd done his best to brush his boots free of mud, and foregoing a hat, he'd even managed to comb his hair. It wasn't so much about impressing anyone, as it was about trying to look halfway presentable.

That was the same of everyone at the table. They had all worked a long day; the most that was asked of them was to appear with clean hands and faces. Austin was pulled down into a chair next to Dani as he arrived, his plate already filled by her in his absence. Jem was on her other side; opposite them were sat the master and mistress of the house, and the formidable cook, Mrs. Prudey.

"See you made it all right, then," Bridget chuckled to Austin warmly. "Dig in, tastes better hot."

"Don't mind if I do. It's been a while since I enjoyed a hot meal, such as this. Thank you, ma'am," Austin said in reply to Bridget. He'd let Dani pull him down next to her, even as awkward as it felt to sit so close to Jem with only her daughter separating them.

"Mrs. Prudey is in her glory cooking for the whole household these days," Sam remarked, digging into the meal like the rest of them. He hadn't really noticed the strained awkwardness between Jem and Austin, but then he didn't know much about their history either. "Dani, welcome again to Oakham Mount. How's it feel to be almost finished with school?" he asked, making polite conversation.

"Kinda weird," Dani said, quite happy to indulge in conversation in between two people who were not exactly in a talkative mood. "Oh my gods, these potatoes are gorgeous!"

Mrs Prudey chuckled. "Just you stick around, sweetheart, we'll put some meat on your skinny bones yet," she predicted, making the teenager laugh around her mouthful.

"Oops, sorry," Dani apologised, covering her mouth. "But yeah, it's weird that I only have, like, three exams and then I'm done. What am I gonna do with myself, you know?"

"Depends on what you wanna do with yourself, I reckon," Sam replied with a brief glance at Jem. It wasn't really like her to be so quiet, especially now that she'd been reunited with her daughter. "Whatever you decide, you're welcome to stay as long as you like," he assured her, though it kind of went without saying. "You might as well know, your mama has agreed to a partnership of sorts." He wasn't sure if she'd shared that with her daughter or not yet, but it wasn't really news to most of those who were seated at the table.

"Wow, really?" Dani blinked, grinning as she looked at her mother. "But you can't ride worth a damn," she pointed out in amusement. "Seriously," she added for the entertainment of everyone in earshot. "She can only ride side saddle, and even then, she falls off more than she stays on."

Jem blushed, rolling her eyes. "Yes, thank you, darling," she said pointedly. "This is more of a business deal. I know how to run the Mount as a business, so that's what I'll do."

"That's something she has in common with my wife," Sam remarked with a smirk and a wink at Bridget, who was just as much a lady as Jem, though she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty when she needed to. A lot had changed at the ranch since Sam and Bridget had taken over ownership, and there was a lighter, friendlier feeling in the air that was hard to miss. "Mr. Barnes," Sam said, addressing Austin. "Same goes for you. Any friend of Jem's is a friend of ours."

Austin glanced briefly up from his plate, where he'd been trying to keep his attention focused while the others talked. "Thank you for your hospitality, but I won't be staying long. I'm only here on business, and as soon as that's concluded, I'll likely be on my way."

"And what is your business, if I can ask?" Bridget asked Austin curiously. "We weren't expectin' anyone new to pop up from the city, but for little Miss Stanley there."

"Hey, you're not that much older than me," Dani objected laughingly.

"Thanks for reminding me!" Sam remarked, chuckling at Dani's interjection. He was obviously older than Bridget, but not so old that he thought he was robbing the cradle.

"Um ..." Austin murmured, clearing his throat, almost hoping the lady of the house's question would be forgotten amidst the laughter.

"I think I can guess Mr. Barnes' business here, or at least part of it," Jem offered, not even glancing at the man as she spoke.

Bridget's brow rose as she looked between them, catching Dani's eye roll and fighting not to smirk. It would appear that words either had or had not been spoken, and it was a source of irritation to the teenager.

Sam ushered Austin into the drawing room, where the two men chatted privately and shared some of Rogier's best brandy. As much as Sam hated making use of Rogier's things, some of them were just too good to get rid of and the man's store of wines and liquors were one of them. It was well past time when most of the hands had already bedded down for the night when the doors to the drawing room opened again and Austin found his way back upstairs to his room, while Sam made his way to the suite of rooms he shared with his wife. The ranch owner had given the man a lot to think about, but he'd also given him a day or two to consider his words before he made any decisions.

Jem was on her rounds, having left Dani to relax and fall asleep on her own time. As self-appointed housekeeper, she took the responsibility for making sure all the lights were off and the important doors and windows locked personally, having established her rounds within days of Sam's takeover of the ranch. Thus, when Austin came back into the communal areas, it was to find most of them dark and warm, and the lights dimmed on the upper floor, to guide latecomers to bed.

He was half drunk on brandy, his mind swimming as he stumbled up the stairs. It had been a long time since he'd let any booze get to his head and even longer that he'd let a woman do the same. When he had, it had always been that same woman, unable to exorcise her from his mind no matter how hard he'd tried.

There was barely any sound from the rooms around them - the occasional rumble of voices from the married couples, the odd giggle from the rooms shared by girls. But the house was already asleep, for the most part, a hard-earned slumber that blanketed the night in a heavy sort of quiet. Ahead of Austin, a door opened, and Jem stepped out, smiling to herself as she drew it closed once again, satisfied that her daughter was sleeping peacefully. She turned toward her own room, and stopped, surprised to see Austin in the corridor.

"Do you need reminding where your room is?" she asked him softly. "The house takes a little getting used to."

"No, I'm getting there," he replied, not exactly denying her help, but not encouraging it either, allowing her to choose if she wanted to stay or go. "Might have had a little too much to drink. Your ....partner is a hard man to say no to," he pointed out, guiding himself along the hallway with the help of a hand.

"Oh good grief, how much did you two drink?" she asked, half-amused at the state of him. She took his arm to help him on his way. "I hope he didn't pressure you into anything you're uncomfortable with. He's a good man, but he does like to batter his point home with a stick sometimes."

"No, no battering," Austin assured her, grateful for her help, even if he was too proud to ask for it or thank her for it. "Just a bottle of the former master's best brandy and a business proposal," he told her, his half-drunken tongue letting slip more than he would have had he been sober.

"A business proposal?" This was news to Jem, but then again, she and Sam had yet to work out the finer details of being in partnership. She paused, giving Austin a gentle push to hold him upright against the wall as she opened his door. "In we go."

Once the door to his room was open, he stumbled inside, too inebriated to get undressed or even bother removing his boots. Instead, he collapsed on the bed, exhausted from the day's journey, his mind muddled from the brandy. "More like a job offer, I suppose," he clarified before he fell back on the bed, content to spend the rest of the night there without getting undressed. He smelled faintly of brandy and cigar smoke and something underneath that was all him, a masculine scent that marked him as himself.

"Oh, Austin ..." Jem sighed, seeing him flop down. She knew he would be in a foul temper the next morning if he fell asleep like that, and despite her best intentions to simply let him go his own way, she wouldn't do that to him. Setting the bedside lamp to dim, she sighed, crouching down to pull his boots off him. "What sort of job did he offer?" she asked, trying to keep him awake until she was done.

"Foreman," he replied, without hesitation. "He seems to think I'd make a good wrangler, knowing horses the way I do. Told him he should promote one of the hands, but he said none of them were experienced enough. He wants someone older, more responsible for the job." He laughed then at the thought of that. "You know how long it's been since I earned an honest living?" he asked her, putting up a hand to stop her before she could reply. "Don't answer that."

"It's a good offer," she said, when she was allowed to speak, setting his boots to one side and pulling his socks off him while she was down there. Rising, she knelt on the bed, working on removing his belt. "And I think you'd be good at it. A stable home, a good income, friends ....family, if you want it. There are worse things than being respectable, Austin."

Had he been sober, he might have stopped her or at the very least caught her hand, but it seemed he was either content with her tending him or too drunk to protest. "Family?" he echoed, somewhat dubiously. He hadn't had a family in as long as he could remember. He wasn't even sure what it felt like to be part of one anymore. "Would you be my family, Jem' You and Dani?" he asked, the brandy loosening his tongue again.

Her breath caught in her throat. It was just as well she knew him - she knew that he was a talkative, truthful drunk, and that truth just spilled out to shatter the very thin veil of restraint she had been clinging to since his failure to answer her in kind earlier that day. She sat heavily on the bed beside him, suddenly in tears. "Oh, Austin," she said again, her fingers winding through his. "If I thought, even for a moment, that you wanted us ....that you wanted me ....I'd propose to you on the spot."

He turned his head to regard her in the dim light, not so drunk that he didn't register her tears or her words, though he chose to ignore the part about proposing and focused on something else she'd said instead. "I've never stopped wanting you, Jemima," his drunken fool of an honest tongue told her. "Not then and not now."

"And you won't remember this conversation in the morning," she said regretfully. But despite that, she leaned down to kiss him, lips softly touching his in a tender promise. "No one but you, Aus. Ever."

Drunk or not, his fingers found her face and tangled in her hair. "I remember everything," he assured her, just as her lips found his. His kiss tasted mostly of brandy, but his lips were warm and soft and inviting, even if his body was too heavy and lazy and inebriated to do much more than kiss her. If it hadn't been for the brandy, he might have said more; then again, if it hadn't been for the brandy, she probably wouldn't be here at all. Kiss or no kiss, the brandy won the battle, and when their lips parted, his eyes were closed and he was softly snoring.

She knew the second he fell asleep - the hand that was tangled in her hair went limp, dragging her head to one side as it fell to his chest. Jemima snorted with laughter, pulling her head free. "Honey, I love you dearly, but if you remember any of this in the morning, it will be a miracle," she informed the sleeping man, easing back to finish what she had started. Off came his pants and his shirt, and after a certain amount of heaving him about, he was eventually placed with his head on the pillow and his body underneath the covers.

She kissed his forehead, smoothing his hair affectionately before leaving the room. But she wasn't gone for long ....just long enough to change into her own nightclothes and steal back across the corridor to slide into the bed beside him. He might not remember the details when he woke up, but she would be damned if she was going to let him forget she was there. It promised to be an interesting awakening.