The summer sun beat down on the stage. She shook the dust from her skirt again, and smoothed her hair as soon as she heard the driver announce that they where almost there. A few minutes later, she saw the sign. "Welcome to Virginia City, Jewel of the Comstock,"

Her heart wanted to stop, but the wheels kept turning.

I've got no choice. she thought to herself. I've got an obligation. Hell, I've signed a contract. What was I thinking? Why in the world have I brought myself here.

She knew would probably go to his grave and pay respects. She might find out where his family's ranch was, she might even go and look around. She needed a horse. She might buy it from his family.

I wonder if they knew anything about me at all. She thought again. She knew that there was a great deal that he had never told his family. They had sounded like wonderful people. He grew up in such a warm place. She would have loved to have been a part of it. Hopefully, he had kept enough to himself that they would know who she was if she ran into them.

Then the scarier thoughts started to implode. Could she make it? This was a strange place. She was completely alone. She had no friends here. It was her friends that had gotten her through the past year and half. But now, she was completely alone. Well almost, there was still his memory, she guessed it followed her from Boston. She could not get rid of it no matter what she did or where she went. She wanted to lose it, but there was no way of losing it here.

"What have I done?" she whispered quietly to herself so that the other passengers couldn't hear.

I shouldn't have come here. She thought as she took tried to take a deep breath and held it. I'll probably run into his father, or his brothers. At least, they don't know me. They shouldn't know me. She let the air out in a long sigh. But it'll be almost the same as seeing him. Why can't I get over him? Why did he have to be taken from me so suddenly? This should be my trip to him. I shouldn't have taken this job. I should just turn back. Why did I sign a contract? What was I thinking? I must have been out of my mind…

The screech of the stage brakes brought her out of her thoughts. The sounds of the town suddenly flooded into the windows and brought her back to reality. A cloud of dust filled the air as the stage came to a jolting halt.

As the dust settled, the door opened and light poured into the small wooden box. The other three passengers crawled out. The other travelers had someone to greet them on the sidewalk. From what she could see, no one had come to meet her. She would almost rather have it that way. She rose from her seat, and again shook the dust from her skirts. The sun bounced off the ground and into her eyes as she stepped onto the ladder. She unfolded her parasol to block the beams and took a step onto the platform, but the light was almost blinding and made her dizzy.

"Careful, Miss." A familiar voice whispered beside her, as the one it belonged to caught her elbow. Looking up, she saw it was Charlie, who had been her driver since she left Colorado. She had learned to recognize Charlie's voice. It had become a comfort in a way too, especially when they had to stop in strange towns. She'd learned not to go on night strolls unless he was somewhere near, especially when there where cowboys in town. Too many times a drunk from the saloon had seen her, and well, one could guess what he wanted her company for. Charlie had kept watch over her. He had not seemed happy about having only one female passenger, but his opinion of her eventually changed. After that, he changed from calling her "Woman" to "Miss" and treated her with some respect.

"Oh, thank you, Charlie. I guess I've spent too much time on wheels. It's time to get my land legs back," she smiled. He smiled back, This gave her a little glimmer of courage. She knew it was not the time spent traveling that had made her knees weak. She took a few steps into the shade and waited for her trunk to be unloaded.

A man walked up beside her. He had a handsome face and familiar eyes. He may have been in his 50's possibly. He dressed like a rancher, a very well off rancher. He seemed to be looking for someone, but she could not tell whom. All the other passengers were hugging relatives, or talking to business partners. She did not know if anyone would be there to greet her or not. They had been held up for four days because of the Apache's feud with the Cheyenne in the West part of the Colorado territory.

She knew that any more than a four-day stall, would have given him enough time to catch up with her, if he came after her. She knew her cousin would be there to protect her family. If one thing was for sure, she could always count on Michael when she was gone. But, she must give credit to her brothers. Simon is only two years younger than she and he'd….

"Miss," Charlie called, breaking her thoughts. He motioned for her to come to him. He was now talking to the rancher. She walked over wondering if this was her welcoming party.

"See, Ben," Charlie continued, "she's the Cooper I brought from Colorado Springs."

"I'm sorry, Miss," the rancher, Ben, continued, now addressing her, "there's been some sort of misunderstanding."

"What kind of misunderstanding, sir?" she replied, her knees suddenly feeling very weak.

"Well, miss, you see we hired a Mr. A.M. Cooper to be our school teacher, and he was supposed to arrive from Colorado Springs on this stage and I've come to meet him, but instead of a him, we have…"

"There's no misunderstanding, Mr.…?" she asked.

"Cartwright, Ben Cartwright."

Oh, God! It's his father! She never thought this would happen!

"Well, Mr. Cartwright, I am A.M. Cooper, I've ridden this stage all the way from Colorado Springs, and a train from Boston before that."

"That sounds right, Miss Cooper, but we hired a man."

"No, you hired me."

"But your acceptance letter, that's a man's signature." He said, pulling the letter from his pocket to reveal her own handwriting. "This is a man's signature."

"Actually, It's mine. I sign with my initials most of the time. I'm sorry to have confused you."

"But why write your initials?" Mr. Cartwright was confused.

"You try having a name that takes up half a page." She joked.

"And what would that name be, Miss?"

"Adrianna Michaela Cooper." She answered proudly.

"You're right that's quite a mouthful of a name."

"You can thank my mother," she said sarcastically, "Now, Mr. Cartwright, if you don't mind, please explain why it's so important that you hired a man?"

"There's a lot of explaining to do, why don't we get you settled into your hotel room first, and then we'll meet for a late lunch."

Couldn't I just be shot? She thought. She did not want to go, but she felt obligated to take his suggestion. She was tired, and she didn't want to have to face his family… She was pretty sure that he had no idea who she was, but …how could she…there's absolutely no way she could stay. She just hoped she would not have to work closely with Mr. Cartwright and his two remaining sons.

She found that there was a room waiting for her at the hotel. Apparently, the Cartwright name was quite respected in the area. She bet the community took his loss pretty hard, but Cartwright's eyes didn't seem to be filled with sorrow, they seemed to shine with glee. How could they, surely, he felt the loss so much more than she did, and now an hour went by that she didn't think of her dear darling…

The hotel room was simple, but the bed looked inviting. Two week's worth of traveling had taken a toll on her. She debated if she should unpack or not, so she pulled out a few dresses. She looked in the mirror, and realized how dusty she was, then poured some water into a basin and washed up. She changed into her favorite dress. It was his favorite too. It was a beautiful blue. He used to say it matched her eyes. He would smile so grandly every time she wore it. The memory of his smile made her feel warm. She closed her eyes and tried to hang onto the feeling for a second. She wrapped her arms around herself to keep it longer. Remembering the feeling of his arms made her feel warmer.

Her thoughts started to run away with her. If only…..

A knock at the door brought her back to reality again.

"Miss Cooper, are you ready for lunch yet?" Mr. Cartwright's voice came through loud and clear.

"I'll be down in a minute," she answered as she grabbed the brush to quickly run it through her hair.

"All right, I'll be down in the lobby," he called back. She heard his footsteps go down the hall. She wished she could just stay there forever, but that was impossible. She'd have to face him eventually. She'd have to look into his eyes, and see face of someone who's heart's had been crushed, and it was her fault.

If only I hadn't hesitated. She thought. We made a plan. If only I had been there. If only…..