Three years had passed and Lizzie spent them with John Tunstall and his ever growing band of regulators. Chavez Y Chavez had joined them three months after Lizzie had arrived. Charlie Bawdry came with Stephen about two years after that.

For three years, Lizzie washed, cooked, cleaned and looked after what she began to call "My Boys". The morning of 1875, June fifth started out like any other would. Lizzie got up at 6am and made breakfast, calling the others through. They always came running for her cooking except on her birthday when Dick gave her a break and he would try to cook the meals to which they all came very slowly.

"Doc, pass the butter please" mumbled Steve, his mouth full of bacon.

"Don't choke Steve, I don't want to have to save you again" said Lizzie grinning as she remembered the last time Steve nearly killed himself with his bacon.

Doc smiled at her and her stomach did the usual little flutter. She was full blown in love with that boy, she knew she was. Every time he would come near her, her throat would tighten and her heart would stop. He didn't know of course, he was oblivious to anything but the blatantly obvious…unfortunately.

There had been many signs, he had written a poem for her entitled "El Dorado" a name she had then given to her horse but everyone knew that Dick loved her and John was anxious to see them hitched. Lizzie was reluctant but she didn't say anything. She loved Dick to bits but not in the way he wanted her to. She was too full of spirit, settling down would be so difficult!

"Right c'mon boys, we better get saddled up and what not" Dick ordered and he gave Lizzie a wink, which she returned with a small smile.

There was the scrape of chairs as the boys left the house, each of them giving Lizzie a peck on the cheek and saying "Thanks". Dick waited until they had all gone and when he bent down to give her a kiss, it wasn't going to be on the cheek. Lizzie turned her face away and he caught her on the jaw. She was sure she had seen Doc watching at the door and she was sure as hell going to make sure he knew, she didn't love Dick.

John came back in and closed the door while Lizzie cleaned up the plates and crumbs that now lay scattered along the wooden table.

"When are you going to let that boy capture your heart like he so wants to?" he enquired sitting in his rocking chair.

Lizzie kept her back to him "I don't want him to have my heart, I don't want to marry him, John how many times must we discuss this?" She sighed and laid down the plates she was holding.

"Until you understand that you would be foolish to let him get away".

"I don't love him, I won't marry him".

"That's a pity, because I have already told him that you are definitely considering it".

Lizzie dropped the glasses she was holding and they fell with a crash to the floor but she could do nothing except stare at John wide-eyed.

"You…what…why?" she said finally.

"Because I know that if he got away you would have nobody, we can see our regulators continued in your children and the line would be…"

"IS THAT ALL YOU CARE ABOUT, JOHN, YOUR REGULATORS"!!!! Lizzie screamed at the now startled John.

"I merely want to see you marry well and I can trust him, he is a good man…"

"Stop…" Lizzie was out of breath, "I don't want to know".

Without waiting to hear what John had to say for himself, she ran out of the kitchen and out of the house, running with hot tears streaming down her face. She couldn't believe she had been betrothed to Dick and the decision had just been made for her.

She ran until she came to the small river that ran at the bottom of the first field, or "the north forty" as Dick called it.

She fell to her knees and burst into loud, angry tears, pummeling the ground with her fists.

"What's wrong? came a surprised voice.

She turned to see Doc sitting on the grass a few feet from her, she crawled over to him and buried her face in his jacket mumbling something which sounded a lot like "John…unfair…hate".

Doc held her and stroked her hair, how he loved her. But she could never know, he couldn't do that to Dick.

She sat up and faced him, the tears stains still on her cheeks. She stared into his deep blue eyes and felt herself melt. He leaned in and kissed her slowly at first and then harder and rougher as he asked for more.

She moaned and soon found herself pinned under him, his hands wrapped around her body and hers in his hair. The heat was enough to kill them both but they kept going, kissing so passionately it was as they would die tomorrow and never see each other again.

They were so intertwined now that they only just heard John calling for Doc, so he could go into town.

Doc pulled his mouth away from hers reluctantly and looked at her face, flushed and excited. He got up "I'm sorry, I have to go…we shouldn't have done…" He trailed off and gazed at her.

She got up and straightened her clothes "Go, if you hadn't stopped it would have gone further and caused problems for both of us".

Doc looked at the beautiful women before him and knew he couldn't be with her, the one women he loved and the one he couldn't have.

Thanx to Docs Cowgirl, who has the same name as me!! Also leave a review!!!

Katyx