The chill of the October morning went straight through the shawl on Adrien's shoulders, and the breeze sneaking through her sleeves made the book she was reading very hard to concentrate on. Adam was supposed to have come the night before, but he had not.

He was probably busy, she thought, three weeks is a long time to be gone, and there's a lot to get in order.

"Why do I feel so bothered about this, " she said to herself aloud, "it's not like I'm his girl or anything like that. He has absolutely no obligation to ever see me."

She went back to reading, but the more she tried the more she realized it was not the chill ruining her concentration.

"Adrianna Michaela Cooper, get your head together," she yelled at herself when she thought she heard the sound of hooves near, but no matter how hard she tried not to, she looked up the drive to see if there was anyone coming. Yet, the sun coming straight in her eyes kept her from seeing. Now, without a doubt she heard a horse, but not coming from her driveway. She looked up just in time to see Adam and Sport jump the nearby fence.

Adrien's book dropped to the porch as she got up and ran down the steps to the figure before her, who had luckily dismounted just in time to for her to wrap her arms around him.

"Easy!" he joked, " I don't think Pa'd appreciate it if I got my neck broke not even ten minutes after leaving."

"At least you wouldn't have to go," she answered, her tone, at least to Adam, shockingly wishful.

"And neither would those steers. Then you'd have two very unhappy school board members on your hands."

"I think I could make it up to at least one of them," Adrien coyly stated.

" I know you could," Adam quipped. His eyebrows raised, but Adrien didn't notice.

"Why didn't you come last night?" she asked, loosening her grip on him.

"Hoss and Joe had me a little 'tied up' so to speak," Adam answered, with a blush and a smile.

"Oh, knowing those two I could only guess…Wait, I don't want to know."

" Don't worry. I don't feel like embarrassing myself that much."

They began to walk towards the house.

"I thought you were leaving this morning, what happened?"

"Actually, nothing happened. We already left."

"What?" she exclaimed.

"Everyone's already on their way. After we got out of sight of the house, I left, and told them I'd meet them in a couple hours."

"Adam, are you crazy!"

"No, I trust this foreman. He's been working for Pa for years."

"Then why do you have to go at all?" she asked, realizing how much she'd miss him.

"Because we can't delegate negotiating a sale price to just anyone and there is a timber contract to look at in San Francisco as well."

"Then you shouldn't have left the group. What if you don't catch up?"

"I had to leave them. I left the book I was reading here," he answered, trying to make it sound like a legitimate reason.

"Oh, you mean this one," she said, picking up the book that fell on the porch, and handing it to him.

"You've been reading it, haven't you?"

Adrien smiled.

"Well, it was just sitting there, and I got a little bored. I thought I'd have it done by the next time you came by. I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. I'm almost finished."

Adam took the book from her and put it in his saddlebag.

"I guess you'll just have to wait until I get back won't you?" he said, and turned to mount back up.

"Adam, wait, it's getting cold, why don't you have your coat?"

"I packed it, mother."

"Alright, but if you've got room there's something that I really want…I mean there's something you might…oh hell, just come here." She pulled him up the porch steps and through the front door, and to the linen closet in the hall. She pulled out a little round trinket from between a set of sheets.

"Here, you might need this," she said handing it to Adam.

"Adrien, I might but I…"

"It's a picture frame."

"Then I definitely couldn't."

"There's a picture that you'd actually want in there. I know you don't have one," Adrien persisted.

He opened the cover of the tiny trinket to find two pictures.

"I can really have this. Are you sure?"

"Of course," she answered. He walked back out the front door.

"I really better be going," he said as he closed it and put it in pocket.

"Alright, I'll miss you."

"And I'll miss you." He hugged her tightly, taking a second to catch a whiff of her hair. "Behave yourself, okay."

"Okay." He let go of her, and as they did his lips slightly brushed hers, and they hesitated for a moment in each other's eyes. The brief touch stirred up the flutter of butterflies in her stomach.

"Be careful," she whispered, suddenly unable to catch her breath.

"I will just for you." Adam answered fighting the urge to kiss her goodbye.

He mounted his horse rode off, back over the fence to catch up with the herd.

The weeks passed slowly for Adrien. She tried to keep herself busy with reading and teaching new material, but the nights were getting colder, colder than she'd ever known in Colorado, but not as bad as Boston. Adam had been the way that she gotten through those cold nights.

Reading on the porch there would be impossible by now. Every morning before leaving for the schoolhouse, she could not help but look into the distance and look to see him coming over the hill. She'd eat lunch outside in case he'd ride into the yard. She would also stay late, so she could hold off the disappointment of him not waiting on the porch for her return.

"Adrien, get a hold of yourself. You've never been this dependent on a man before," she'd say to herself every time she found herself in a daze missing him, or counting the days he'd been gone.

She had only once admitted that she needed a man, and that man was Adam. She was only able to make the admission when she thought that he was dead. The feelings she had haunted her in her sleep, but the pain that they had brought before haunted her more.

"I will get through this…alone. I don't need him. I don't need anyone…"

Adam's nights out on the range were much different. He missed her, the memory of her before she had left Boston warmed his lonely nights on watch, but the sight of her the way she was now, pained him. She seemed caged in her pain. She had built a wall around her heart too. He had to find the key… no… he must find the key. Her internal battle could be seen on the outside. She kept denying what she really felt.

One night, Adam was sitting by himself, away from the rest of the hands, unconsciously he began to hum the song he wrote for her a few years before, just as he had every night. He remembered her singing it. He had loved her so much then. He cared for her so much now.

Do I just care for her? No, I cared for Abbie. This is stronger. This is love. I love her. I love her more than I ever did before. Despite being apart, that feeling has grown. This is real, even more now than it was then. This is true love. I truly love her. But how will I ever get through to her.

Three weeks after leaving, Adam rode up to the hitching post alone. After tying his horses to it, he dragged himself in the house. Besides being tremendously tired, he was dusty and sweaty. Stumbling into the house, his father met him at the door.

"Adam, I didn't expect you back tonight," he said surprised.

"I've got something to take care of, so I rode ahead."

"Oh, really, I trust everything went well then."

"Yeah, picture perfect," he answered as he set full saddle bags on his father's desk, "Here's everything from the cattle and the lumber contract is in there too."

"What do you have to do?" Ben asked.

"I just need to see someone." Adam answered.

"In town?" His father questioned.

"No."

"Who is it?"

"Someone." Adam was keeping his answers short.

"Is it Miss Cooper?"

"Maybe."

"It is." Ben concluded. "Why have you taken to her so much?"

"We've known each other a long time."

"I know you were acquaintances before when you were in school, but you've really only spent 4 months around her. That's not that much son."

"Then maybe four years would be."

"Four years! I didn't realize that you met her that soon after you started college." Ben could not believe that Adam had not mentioned it.

"I can't believe that you didn't put it together before, especially after the reaction I had when she got here."

"I guess I never thought that it would have been that long. Four years and you never mentioned her in a letter."

"Guess not." Adam disappeared up the stairs but reappeared in his dark blue robe and a towel over his shoulder.

"That isn't exactly proper attire for visiting a lady is it?" His father kidded.

"It isn't very proper to visit someone with three weeks of dust, mud and sweat on you is it?"

"Just remember," he said smiling, "before you go calling her that she has a three-year contract, and she must live up to it."

"I know, but we also gave her an option to leave at the end of every year in it."

"Yes, we did. But Adam, she did sign it," his father reminded him.

"I know, I know, don't worry, as of now there won't be any proposals."

"That's good to know, Son."

Not long afterward, he was tying Sport to the rail of Adrien's porch. Instead of his usual black attire, he had changed into his gray sport coat and white shirt. In his hurry to get there, he had left the string tie at home. He snuck up to the house and instead of knocking; he walked right inside. Adrien was in the kitchen washing dishes. Adam stood in the door a moment and gazed at her, she was so beautiful, even more so than in Boston, now she seemed to have a glow around her.

"Honey, I'm home." Adam whispered in her ear from behind her,

"Adam, your back!" she screamed, quickly turning and hugging him, wet hands, wet apron, and all.

"Did you miss me?" he asked, smiling.

"Of course, I did. I had absolutely no one to talk to," she answered pulling away from him. "I wish I'd have known you were going to be back tonight. I would have made sure I was cleaned up….or at least not looking like this," she said motioning at the wet apron and wiping her hands on it.

"I'm sorry, but you're beautiful just the way you are right now."

"So how did everything go?" she asked, settling down, and going back to the few remaining dishes.

"Fine."

"When did you get back?"

"About an hour ago."

"And you didn't head straight to bed?"

"Nope."

"Tired?"

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"Then I should kick you out and make you go to bed," she concluded.

"Oh Master, please have mercy," he kidded.

"You're so full of it. Here," she laughed and handed him a towel, "make yourself useful."

He took off his hat and jacket and grabbed a plate to dry.

"What are you so dressed up for?" Adrien asked.

"I've spent 3 weeks covered in dust and sweat. I wanted to feel cleaned up for a bit."

"Well, I'm sorry that there isn't more excitement for you tonight."

"This is fine."

They stood in the kitchen and silently finished the dishes. Adrien seemed to be even more closed off to Adam than before he left. He'd hoped that the time apart would give her time to remember how things used to be, but it seemed like she just had made sure that those feelings stayed buried. He could tell that sometimes the glint in her eyes would return, so he knew that her feelings weren't dead. But she was the only one who could dig those up.

Adrien, my sweet beautiful Adrianna, how do I ever get through to you? How can I get you to see that I love you more than I ever have before? How do I break through the wall? How do I make you realize that you can love me again?