On his way to Carson City…
Dakota spurred his horse on faster down the trail. He had left Paradise to join in the posse. He knew that one of the top gunfighters in Texas would be joining them, maybe even leading it to go look for Johnny Ryan and the rest of that posse.
He wanted in on the action. Paradise had been too damn quiet even before Ethan took off for Reno. There was only so much time a man itching for an adventure could spend riding around the valley looking for signs of rustlers or rescuing cats from trees before he went stir crazy. Even the nights spent carousing at the saloon playing poker and spending time with friendly saloon girls, it got old after a while.
Ethan might need him if Johnny Ryan came looking for him in Colorado and if he didn't know about it, he might get ambushed.
The trail had been quiet, the weather decent, no monsoon storms so he was making good time though he hadn't gone through the pass yet to get to Carson City.
He hoped he'd make it in time before the posse took off on its quest to bring Johnny Ryan down.
Colorado Springs
Michaela sat with her daughter Katie and Sully eating at Grace's restaurant. The heat of the day had cooled down and a breeze blew through the center of town. She'd run into Matthew who told her that he'd sent out wires to find out more information this time on an Amelia Lawson. Hopefully someone who knew her or about her would read them.
Though with both Hank and Ethan Cord in town offering to do that, it'd keep Amelia pretty busy. But now she was here with her husband and their daughter relaxing with some delicious food.
"So how is the work coming on the memorial?"
Sully paused.
"I know Loren and Jake aren't too happy about it and Hank…well he's Hank," he said, "But I think it's something that can bridge some of the divide between the town and the Cheyenne."
"I hope so. I don't understand the bigotry against them but often it's something that changes with time. Though with some townspeople it might take much more than that."
"Speaking of…"
Hank strode towards them, his shoulders squared and a scowl on his face. Nothing unusual there and Michaela suspected it had something to do with Amelia.
She smiled at him.
"Good afternoon Hank."
He just nodded at her, looked sullen at Sully.
"I need to talk to you doctor."
She nodded.
"Sit down then. I'm here for midday meal with my family but I've got time to discuss something with you…is it a medical condition?"
He shook his head.
"It's about Amelia…spending time with that marshal," he said, "for all we know, he might be lying about being engaged to her."
Michaela furrowed her brow.
"Why would you say that Hank?"
He sighed.
"He's a gunfighter. He goes out and hunts down outlaws for money…like I did back in the day when I was younger. Back when I saw Amelia for the first time…she was real pretty but very feisty…argued with me about what I did…yet it didn't keep her away from me."
"So why would you think she wouldn't get together with Ethan Cord?"
Hank struggled to say what came next and she knew the words came difficultly to him.
"Because she…she picked her brother over me. Pierce is much more different…got more culture…more schooling. I couldn't even read…but he went to college… and so she married him."
Michaela frowned.
"Did you propose to her Hank?"
He shook his head, clearly not enjoying the conversation.
"I didn't have the chance…I wasn't thinking marriage. I just wanted to…"
Sully smiled.
"Have a good time with a pretty girl. Sow some oats…"
"Something like that. But she wanted differently…I know Pierce and he's a smooth talker, all polished but I wouldn't trust him."
Michaela sighed.
"Amelia's got to make her own choices just like you do," she said, "if you want to help her you have to be honest about your past together."
"If it hadn't been for Pierce coming back home that summer…"
"Maybe, maybe not…but she's a woman trying to remember her past and who she is. We need to help her do that and that means putting other interests aside."
Hank considered that and Michaela could see it as a struggle for him. She felt a bit perplexed that he cared anything for a woman years later. He'd not had many serious relationships with women that she knew about except he seemed to care a lot about Myra who'd gone on to marry Horace. Then there was Zack's mother…but he'd never mentioned Amelia at all.
She suspected with Ethan in the picture a man who also had history with her that there might be more confrontations between the two of them. But the marshal seemed more laid back about it. Still it might mean there was trouble ahead.
Claire and Ethan went to breakfast while Millie had gone to visit Matthew in his office. They'd run into Amelia and invited her to go with them. To Ethan's surprise, she accepted and they sat at a table together.
"How you feeling?"
She looked at him with a smile.
"I feel just fine thank you. Look I meant what I said to both you and Hank."
He nodded.
"I know that and I'm sorry. It was a shock seeing you and you didn't remember anything."
"Try living like that. I'm trying to remember who I am Ethan and it's been frustrating."
Claire interjected.
"We can help you with that."
Amelia smiled at her.
"That's very nice of you to offer. The doctor says that my memories might start coming back soon…or not at all. She's not sure which yet."
"I think they'll come back soon," Claire said, "with everyone helping you try to remember."
"I hope so…but I have to admit, hearing about being married to another man, being divorced and then wanting to marry you…it doesn't make much sense."
"We were engaged. It just didn't happen for us and you left town to travel and to do some thinking," he said, "You weren't sure you were coming back."
She frowned.
"I must have been conflicted for some reason."
"You were afraid I wouldn't come back home to you or the children one day cause someone killed me."
Her eyes widened.
"I can imagine that. Being concerned about it but why would I leave someone I loved them because I was afraid? I mean if you're a trained gunfighter and marshal, then you must know how to take care of yourself."
"I do…but anything can happen. Gunfighters get shot by someone who draws quicker and die all the time. I've come close a time or two…including just before the children came. John Taylor…"
"John Taylor?"
"He's an old friend. A very wise old friend. He was tending to me at the hotel and you were there when the children first arrived. You tended to them and then helped us find a place to live."
She furrowed her brows trying to remember that little piece of her past.
"Is this because I ran a bank?"
He nodded.
"I can't see myself doing that."
He smiled.
"You were very good with it. A lot of people trusted you with their money. Even when you didn't run the bank."
Claire nodded.
"Even when that greedy man took it over."
Amelia tried to think harder.
"I was standing outside of it and there was an older man trying to take people's homes away who couldn't pay money. I paid off their loans."
Ethan nodded.
"You did…it was back when the town got a bad case of gold fever…didn't amount to much."
She looked down at her hands.
"I don't know if I was ever going to come back."
"John Taylor said you would," Ethan said, "He told me that more than once while you were gone and he's never wrong about anything. Maybe that's why you wired me in Reno."
Amelia just wasn't sure about anything.
"Maybe…but it could have been something else. Maybe I was trying to warn you…"
Ethan looked at her suddenly in surprise.