"He's your problem then," one of the blond men huffed, slinging his rifle back over his shoulder. "We ain't got time for this." They both pushed their way back through the crowd and began loading the ferry once again, barking out orders as they went.

The crowd drifted back to the shoreline. Doris ignored their scowls, unable to take her eyes off the Hunter, her lengthy tresses becoming heavy with rain.

It was like a dream.

He was just as beautiful as she remembered him. His pristine face was expressionless and unreadable, half shadowed under his wide brimmed hat. A silent string pulled at her heart there in the rain, unspoken words rising in her throat, a dozen different emotions swelling in her chest. His quiet stillness seemed to coalesce around them as he watched her with those familiar, sorrowful grey eyes.

Swallowing down the rising multitudes of emotion, she cleared her throat, pulling her lips in to a grin. "It's been a while. What brings you back to these parts?" She quirked an eyebrow. "Not coming for a visit, are you?"

"No," he stated. "There's word of a potential job just outside Eastwick, but I was detoured by the rain." His tone was indifferent but not cold.

Doris took a step closer as the crowd thinned about them. D dismounted, reigns in hand as he started towards the river. She fell in step beside him, sneaking a glance up at his gorgeous visage. Her right arm brushed his side as they made their way down to the ferry, sending a curious flutter through her belly.

"Well, what a coincidence," she said gleefully. "I'm headed South myself."

"Alone?"

"Yep. Delivering some goods to the Helman ranch." She looked to the horizon, frowning at the rapidly darkening sky. "I had intended to be there before dusk but it was slow going in the mud. Got stuck half a dozen times. But I always come prepared." She patted the coiled whip strapped to her hip.

"And Dan?" he asked.

Doris smiled, touched at the unexpected question. "He stayed to watch the farm. We've had a problem with lesser fire dragons lurking around the property." She shrugged, glancing up at the sky again. "I don't like traveling this late in the day if I can help it. For obvious reasons," she said, her fingers brushing her collar. D saw she still wore a scarf around her neck.

They reached the ferry platform. A sour faced old woman collected the fare from the Hunter and they shuffled aboard. As the river frothed beneath them, a thought popped in to her head, and she glanced back at D; his face was as placid as ever. Dismissing it, Doris led them around the other passengers, making their way back to her covered wagon. The rain bounced off the rigid plastic covering noisily. She stepped up on the rear wheel arch and motioned for him to follow.

"Come on in. It'll be good to get out of this rain."

D paused for a moment, studying her open expression before securing his mount to the back of the wagon and climbing up next to her.

The wagon bed was full of sacks and boxes, all containing the various bounties that the Lang farm boasted. Doris shifted aside a large bag of grain, clearing the wooden crates beneath.

"Here," she said as she sat, indicating to the crate across from her. He took a seat, his knees just a few inches from hers. She shook the moisture off her hood and leaned back, exhaling softly as she took him again. He hasn't aged a day, she thought wistfully, tugging at her sodden hair.

His head was tipped down, the brim of his hat damp and dripping. The black depths of his eyes seem to glitter darkly as he studied her.

She had aged beautifully, the tender fullness of youth having been replaced with sleek, well toned maturity. Her sun kissed skin gleamed in the bleak gloom of the afternoon, radiating with the scent of fresh tilled earth and blooming petals: vibrant and alive.

The short report of a whistle cut through the rain and the ferry shifted beneath them. It jerked as they dislodged from the dock, drifting out in to the rapid current of the river.

"It really is good to see you," Doris, smiling. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again," she added softly.

D made no response; though, she hadn't really expected one.

She wanted to reach out to him then, to touch him and make him real. She had imagined what it would be like to see him again many times, especially in the first few months after Count Lee had been slain. The years passed, and she had tucked away the memories of him in heart, chalking them up to be nothing more than girlish infatuation.

But now he was here, in her cart, watching her as she stared at him breathlessly. A rush of renewed emotions threatened to overwhelm her. She opened her mouth to speak, then thought better of it, strumming her fingers on the crate beneath her instead.

Seemingly oblivious to her mood, D asked, "Where is the Helman ranch?"

She exhaled, grateful for the question. "Just on the outskirts of Eastwick." She tilted her head. "Mind if I tag along with you?"

He paused for a moment as an unfamiliar sensation raced up his spine at her words. He clenched his fists, pushing it away.

"No," D said, lowering his head. He felt her eyes on him, imploring, searching. "The road to Eastwick can be treacherous this time of year."

"Hmph," Doris huffed. "True enough. But it's all we can do to keep afloat since that business with the Count." She crossed her arms, plucking at the edge of her cloak idly. "Most folks around town don't want anything to do with us."

With Doctor Ferringo gone there hadn't been anyone to shield then from the backlash after the castle's destruction. Greco's surviving goons had made it a point to fan the flames of suspicion concerning her and her brother, claiming they had been tainted by the Noble and the dhampir Hunter. They had been all but shunned by their neighbors, with only some of the tension having eased over the years.

The ferry jostled roughly then, shifting the bags and crates around them. Their knees brushed together for a moment, sending a hum of electricity through Doris' body as she resituated the disturbed cargo. On the far side of the platform a man hollered, and the ferry straightened out again.

D's eyes sought the far shore. The rain fell in sheets, obscuring the line between river and the bank. Despite this, he was able to spot the outline of a dock about ten yards away.

The ferry jerked again as it slowed, lining up with the dock. The crowd started to disembark, unloading cargo as they went, rocking the platform.

Doris smiled and yanked her hood back up. "You're welcome to join me up front," she said, motioning to the driver's bench of the wagon. "Can't promise it'll be comfortable but it keeps off the worst of the rain."

"I will ride," D said, standing. He stepped down from the wagon and untethered his cyborg horse, mounting it in one fluid motion.

"Suit yourself," she said, shrugging. She hopped down and made her way to the front of the wagon, pulling herself up on to the bench.

D pulled ahead of her on his mount, riding up the dock to wait for her on the shore. She grabbed the leads of the bulls, the wagon creaking noisily as it moved.

"Lead the way," she said, beaming as she pulled alongside him.

The afternoon sky was beginning to darken in to the heavy grey of evening as they climbed the slope of the river bank. Reaching the road, D tugged the reigns of his mount, turning South. His pace was much slower than earlier, seeming to keep in step with Doris' cart as they started on their way to Eastwick.