Epilogue Chapter 2

As they rocked along the trail which would lead them to the stage road into Cimarron City, he could feel her lean back in to him and was grateful that he could actually feel some of the tension leave her body. He slowly wrapped his left arm around her to steady her as he felt her relax even more into him. He was hoping that she would get a least an hour's nap in before the rain started. After he knew that she was fast asleep he started to hum to himself in order to keep himself awake as the miles began to fall away under their horses hoofs. He couldn't even remember now when he had slept last, and he sure as hell couldn't take a chance on falling asleep and the two of them falling off the black.

Crown was very relieved to see the stage road and he heard his gelding nicker in recognition. Crown had to admit that his horse had definitely had become barn sour at the hands of the new livery owner in town and the sweet feed the old man fed his horse on occasion.

Crown felt the wind rise up on his right as they turned onto the stage road. He knew that once the rain started that he and Dulcey would start to lose ground behind Francis. But Crown also knew that Francis going ahead to town could work to their advantage.

Suddenly a huge gust of wind surged across the dirt road blowing dust and temporarily obscuring his view of Francis who had already started to move ahead of them. The smell of rain was now cloying. Dulcey suddenly leaned away from the wind causing him to grip her more firmly as he shifted her both back into the center of his saddle and closer to him at the same time.

"Francis" he began turning his head towards his deputy. "You go on up ahead into town, drop the bodies off and then ask the Doc and Mrs. Kihlgren to come on over to the Wayfarer's. Dulcey's going to be cold and wet when we get in town and I want her taken care of proper, you hear me?" He rattled off to him. "We shouldn't be more than a half hour behind you."

Francis nodded once and then hesitated slightly, blinking his eyes rapidly against the swirling dust from the road. "I sure am sorry." He suddenly blurted out.

Crown understood the meaning behind the young man's words. "I know. I am too, Francis. Now go on with you." He finished in a softer tone as the deputy slacked up on the reins and let his horse lead the way back home picking up the pace quickly and dragging the other horses with them down the road. A large dust cloud swirled up behind the departing horses and was immediately blown aside by force of the wind.

The increasing sound of the wind quickly drown out Francis' retreating hoof beats and Crown echoed Francis' sentiment into the top of Dulcey's head. "I am too." He whispered into the collar of his coat. "Git up there Rocky." he told his horse as he gently squeezed his upper legs and knees together to better hold on, and the black immediately picked up speed along the smooth dirt road.

Crown stiffened his right arm holding his lariat as the slack on the rope was quickly taken up by his gelding's increase in speed. He couldn't help but flinch as his shoulder took the hit. Yes sir, his arm and shoulder were definitely going to be sore tomorrow. Dulcey's mare had been put off by not only Rosario's horse but the cargo he was carrying as well, and she had been jerking hard on his lariat the entire trip. It seemed that the young horse did not care for the rising stench of death one bit and Crown couldn't say that he blamed her.

He began to formulate a plan of action to take his mind off his sore arm. If the storm got really bad he was not opposed to tying both the trailing horses off to trees alongside the road and sending someone back to fetch them tomorrow. He knew that Dulcey would not be happy about that, but in order to ensure that she got back to town in one piece, he would leave her "Sunshine" in the dark overnight. Just one more reason for her to be put out with him, he thought dejectedly. And lord knows he had already given her plenty of other reasons in the past three days to be mad at him.

"I am sorry, Dulcey" he told her quietly as the wind began to whistle past them and the slowly sinking sun suddenly disappeared behind the growing bank of dark blue-gray clouds. He gently pulled her back into him a bit more and felt her body yield to him easily, signaling that she was most likely asleep again. Suddenly he felt the need to talk, a dry run of sorts for him for when he would 'officially' apologize to her making sure that she safe, awake and alert and not sitting astride a horse in a storm. "I am sorry that I lied to you and used you to try to get at the Tinker gang. I should have never done that and I won't ever betray your trust in me again. You have my word on it." he began, squeezing his eyes against not only the cooling wind but the inner pain that his words were stirring up in him again. "I just hope you can forgive me." He suddenly felt a tear roll down his left cheek and wasn't at all sure if it was the cold wind or something deeper inside which brought that tear to his eye. But one thing for certain: he would not, could not let go of her long enough to wipe it away.

After a few minutes of just the sound of the wind in his ears, he felt the need to continue with his one sided confessional. "Having left home for good right before I turned twelve, my two sisters had been the only two females that I have ever trusted enough to call my friends. And I hope you understand that spending most of your life with cowboys, cavalry, outlaws, and lawmen doesn't exactly afford a man the chance to meet a lot of women. Especially the kind of women that are interested in real friendship, or any relationship that didn't involve money. So I listened to what most of my bad and a few good friends told me about women in particular and female ways in general. That women were only good for a quick roll in the hay and that the only good woman was a squaw because they never talked back and knew how to take care of their men." He paused as he tried to gather his thoughts. He was so tired but he wanted to make sure that his next words were coming out right. "But when I met you, Dulcey I knew that my thoughts on women needed to change. You were so different from the women I had known in the past that I didn't know how to treat you proper. And as we began to get to know each other better I began to have feelings for you like I never had before."

He glanced to his left and recognized the outcrop of rock just off the road. They were no more than an hour away from Cimarron now at this pace. But judging by the sky, they were only a few minutes away from a downpour which would make them even later getting home.

Crown had noticed Arn Tinker's letter on the floor Whitey's cabin, so there was a chance that Dulcey may have understood what was about to happen to both her and Whitey before the shooting started. He now felt a great need to finish up his words to her before the rain hit them. "The only kind of love I have been around in my adult life is what you would call brotherly love…the kind of relationship two men have that doesn't involve getting naked with each other, I mean." He was rambling now and he knew it, but he couldn't stop himself. He was so tired that his tongue felt heavy in his mouth, slowing down and jumbling up the thoughts inside his head before they left his mouth. But talking was helping him stay awake so he continued. "You know I made a deal with Arn Tinker that if his men brought you back to Cimarron safe and sound, then I would let him go free." Crown closed his eyes so he could focus on the memory. "Tinker told me as he stood there in the middle of his jail cell that you had melted me, Dulcey." He paused as he opened up his eyes once again. "And Tinker was right. You do melt me Dulcey. Right past the badge I wear on my chest and right down to my heart." He heard his gelding give a snort of warning at the approaching rain. "But all this time I've just been too bull-headed to figure this out on my own. And out of all the people in this world, it took that outlaw Arn Tinker to make me realize that I am in love with you, Dulcey." He added quickly "But I wouldn't blame you at all if you didn't love me back after how I've treated you."

At the feel of the first raindrop, Crown reached up with his left hand to tuck the wide collar up around her ears. He then removed his hat and placed it on her head using the collar of his coat to make up the head size difference and snug up the hat on her head. Dulcey began to stir as the cold rain began to pelt them and Crown leaned around her to make sure his coat was pulled down in front as far as it would reach in order to block some of the rain. And as he started to lean back he felt her warm lips brush his right cheek in a soft kiss.

"I do so love you." She whispered softly in his right ear as he froze with his head still next to hers.

A sudden gust of wind caught him by surprise in his distracted condition and he barely caught himself to keep from banging their heads together. Had he really heard her say that? Or was it the wind playing tricks in his bone weary head? His cheek was still warm from her lips all right but that could have been just her shifting in her sleep or even just an instinctive move like a baby bird or pup makes when they sense their mother is near. But lord knows he wasn't having any parenting type feelings toward her at this moment. The touch of her lips had set something off in him. Like striking a match to a fuse. And the thoughts that were banging around in his head right now would definitely keep him wide awake until they reached Cimarron City. That and all those icy cold drops of rain that were falling on them and past them as they rode on into the growing darkness.