The stagecoach bumped along the road that wound through the hills, eking up the slope around one bend before starting down back into the valley again. Hannah felt as if she'd been inside this cramped box forever, bouncing on the barely cushioned seats until her tailbone felt bruised. She looked and saw Elias there napping as he had been doing the past couple hours.

Back when they'd been traveling by another lake, the coach had stopped to rest the horses and she'd gotten out and walked along the banks with Elias who pointed out some of the native flora growing on the banks, not to mention the names of the trees that grew in throngs breaking up the grassy areas.

They stopped to eat at a small village, a rest stop really with just one store, a boarding house and livery along with a restaurant where slabs of beef were sold along with the freshly caught fish. The two of them had eaten together while the driver had gone to fetch some mail to take with him to Stockton.

But in the past couple hours, Elias had removed his jacket and used it as a pillow resting his head against the back while she had been unable to even get comfortable let alone even think about closing her eyes and wiling away the endless hours of daylight with sleep. The man across from her snored quietly and rarely shifted position while she'd began to feel queasy from the bumps and jolts, the twists and turns as they traveled through the foothills.

The trip would take two days and they were only nearly reaching the end of the first day and it'd be nightfall before they'd stop in a town to spend the night in a small inn. She looked forward to hitting the bedroom and cleaning herself up from the dirt and grime of the trip. Get a decent meal inside of her and then spend the night in a comfortable bed, imagining what it'd be like when she saw him again.

Ethan Cord, the man she'd been spending time with though they hadn't had enough time to get serious. Not with him being gone most of the time on working as a marshal and she just arriving in Paradise not long ago. She'd known that she'd wanted to settle down there for a while when she had been a member of the entertainment troupe that had performed there.

But then the trouble in Silver Crest had started and Amelia of all people had wound up there. The woman was supposed to be some place far away after leaving Paradise and Ethan but their paths had crossed once again anyway. Now he was in Stockton with her somehow tangled up in her murder case. She'd have to find out all the details when she arrived there.

She saw something stir and realized that Elias had woken up. His hair rumpled and his clothes but he smiled at her.

"It's still daylight."

She nodded.

"It won't be dark until later," she said, "then he'll stop to rest the horses overnight."

He stretched his arms.

"I'm ready to get out of here…"

"You've been sleeping most of the time spent from the last stop."

"I'm still tired from that last night spent finishing the report," he said, "Besides I've learned to catch sleep anywhere. Tool of the trade of a traveling doctor…"

"I can imagine," she said, "I used to be able to do that when I was an actress…we spent a lot of time traveling in between shows."

"You sound like you enjoyed it a lot."

She shrugged.

"The acting part…playing someone else for a while," she said, "The traveling part, not so well...but I'm past that, I decided to settle down for a while."

His mouth twitched.

"With Ethan Cord…he must be an amazing man to attract the admiration of a woman like you," Elias said, "Hopefully I'll have a chance to meet him."

She smiled.

"Oh you will…he's going to be close to where you'll be staying," Hannah said, "He's very good at his job."

"He's helping that woman accused of murder," Elias said, "He'll need to be good at his job."

Hannah sighed.

"He's got to move on from what he shared with her…I thought he had after she left," she said, "but he insists on helping Amelia with her troubles."

"The mark of a good man is to help someone he cares about who's in trouble…even if they're no longer together."

Hannah looked out the window.

"It's just an obligation he still has…nothing more than that…I'm the one he wants."

Elias smiled.

"I'm sure he'll be happy to see you," he said, "he'd be foolish if he wasn't…you're a very beautiful woman."

Hannah almost flushed a bit at that. Not that she knew Elias that well but he seemed nice and had treated her with respect…like a gentlemen and she hadn't seen too many of them. They had worked together in Silver Crest putting together the report and he seemed grateful for her help. Not that she did much and it was partly to pass the time until she saw Ethan again. But not entirely…she had started seeing the importance of his work in the lives of others.

The stagecoach continued onward to their rest stop for the night as the two of them continued talking.


Amelia walked with Ethan in the courtyard. He being a marshal had earned him more privileges in terms of spending time with her. The day had started to cool off some of the heat that had been roasting everyone earlier, a breeze coming off the mountains…it almost reminded her of Paradise and once again she'd realized how much she'd missed it.

Not that she'd wanted to miss it or admit it but there was nowhere else on the world she'd rather be right now. All she wanted to do was to head on back here with the man walking beside her, his arm wrapped around her waist as she showed him the garden.

"There are chilies and tomatoes," she said, "They've gotten popular in the local restaurants so they come here to buy them at harvest."

"Do you enjoy it?"

She shrugged.

"It passes the time but I used to garden when I first came to Paradise…but I got so busy with the bank. Pierce wasn't much help…even before he left."

She stood there and looked at the other women who were congregating there.

"You eating well enough?"

She looked over at him.

"Yes, why…it's been hot Ethan and no one here has an appetite but I make up for it at night…why?"

"You look like you lost weight."

She smiled.

"It's wearing simpler clothes Ethan," she said, "I'm fine…when it gets cooler…"

Ethan squeezed her waist and she knew he'd hoped that she wouldn't be here when the seasons changed.

"Stanley says that the prosecutor's been looking for Brandt."

Amelia sighed looking away.

"I don't know if he'll find him."

"He's not going to help his brother," Ethan said, "since he tried to kill you."

"It doesn't sound like he cares Ethan," she said, "I'm a murderer to him and Reade, an innocent victim, a lawman doing his duty and his brother, a reformed outlaw."

"I think we need to get Kristin here…"

She looked at him and shook her head.

"No…she's already been through enough."

"She's a witness…she saw what happened."

Amelia drew a deep breath and let it out.

"The prosecutor will just rip her up," she said, "and she's just a young girl."

Ethan paused, seeing the conflict on her face.

"Who you were trying to protect," he said, "It doesn't have to cost you your freedom…or your life."

She bit her lip.

"You don't know what they'll do…and she might not be able to handle it," she said, "She's fragile in some ways."

"She'll be fine; I'll make sure of it."

Amelia didn't know about that. If Kristin was interrogated by the prosecutor or the judge, the truth that came out might destroy her life. It hadn't been her fault that Reade had shown up in Silver Crest but when he did, Amelia knew she had to stop him from doing to someone else what he'd done to her.

Only…then…but she couldn't think about it right now. She just knew it might prove devastating to Kristin if she came here.

"Ethan I'm trying my best to get through this and have faith…I can handle it whatever happens much better than a young girl."

He drew her close them into an embrace that she fell into so naturally because she loved him that much. She'd had to make a difficult choice that might jeopardize her future but spare that of another. If only she could find a way to live with it.