She opened her eyes long before dawn the next morning.  She wanted just to roll over and go back to sleep—never to face the cruel world again.  But that was not realistic.  She groaned and climbed out of bed.  She felt miserable.  Who knew an aching heart could make the rest of her feel so bad?

She washed her face and brushed out her hair.  Her hands trembled as she pinned up her hair.   It was difficult to button her shirtwaist, so she left the collar undone.  Besides, she really didn't want the pressure around her already tight throat.

The wonderful aroma of coffee seemed to lift her spirits some.  She sat at the kitchen table alone.  She scanned the room.  Something was different about it.  The curtains.  Birdie had put up new curtains.  I guess I was so preoccupied yesterday that I did not notice them, she thought.

She got up to examine them, for she could not see the calico's pattern in the dim light of morning.  She noticed Red's boots were gone form beside the door.  He was already outside working, and probably had been for hours.

"I wonder if Bobby's here yet," she said out loud.  She moved the coffeepot to the back of the stove and hurried outside.

"Where am I going?" she asked herself.  "Going out there to see him will just make me feel worse."  But she couldn't help herself.  She shuffled to the corral.  No one was there.  "They must be in the barn," she decided.

Red was piling hay into one of his wagons.  "Good mornin'."

"Hello."  She bent down to pet one of the barn cats.  "Is Bobby here yet?"

"No," Red grunted as he threw a bale of hay.  "But he's supposed to be.  Shoulda been here an hour ago.  I'm sure he'll show up any minute."

She breathed in deeply.  "Oh."

"You all right?" he asked.

She shrugged and said, "I guess so."

"You don't look like ya feel good."

"I'm fine.  Is there anything you need from town?  I'm going to run to the store later."

"Don't think so."

"Okay, then.  I'll talk to you later."  She turned to go.

"Should I tell Bobby you were lookin' him?" Red asked.

"No," she said.  "No need to tell him."

As she made her way back to the house, the sun peeked over the treetops.  She hoped its rays would warm her soul as well as they were already warming the earth.  She stopped again at the corral.  Red and Birdie had a fine new colt.  It belonged to a mare named Katie.  The momma seemed proud of her new baby.  She pushed the colt forward as if to show it off to Melinda.

Melinda smiled in spite of her foul mood.  "Yes, Katie, he's very handsome.  You did a good job."  The horse snorted and walked away.  The colt followed.

"How ya fairin' this mornin'?" a soft voice asked from behind her.           

Melinda turned to see Birdie step out from the shadows.  "Like I've been beat with a horse whip," she blurted before she could stop herself.

"That good, huh?"  Birdie was braiding her hair as she walked.

"I'm sorry.  I shouldn't complain.  I've lived through worse."

"I don't blame ya one bit," Birdie told her.  "If I knew I wouldn't be able to share my life with Red, I'm sure I prob'ly wouldn't be even as chipper as you seem to be."  She tied a bow on the end of the braid and leaned against the fence post.  "Ya know, part of me's glad that Bobby said that he could never take ya on the run.  I'd miss ya too bad, and I'd always be afraid somethin' had happened to ya.  But most of me's sad that ya'll can't be together.  I know that ya'll really do love each other."  She laughed.  "I knew before either of ya'll did.  So I just wish we could come up with some kinda solution.  I guess what I'd really like ta see is Bobby turn himself in an' some judge declare him innocent.  That's what I been prayin'."

"Yeah," Melinda said.  Silence fell between them.  A bird chirped somewhere in the distance.

"You know what," Melinda said suddenly.  She looked up at the tall pine trees.

"What?" Birdie responded.

"We never celebrated your birthday."

"Oh, don't worry 'bout that," Birdie said.  "We got other things to worry about.  An' anyway, it's long gone.  Yours is comin' up though.  An' so is Joey's.  I can't believe he's almost four."

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing," Melinda agreed.

"Got anything planned yet?" the younger sister asked.

"No, I haven't thought about it."

"Would you care if we gave him one of our colts?" Birdie asked.

Melinda shrugged.  "No, I don't guess so.  I sold ours a few weeks ago.  I never even thought about keeping him for Joey."

"I was thinkin' 'bout givin' him Katie's.  He's mighty beautiful.  Next spring Red could show him how ta break 'im an' everything.  An' Bobby could help."

"I really don't think we should encourage Joey's attachment to Bobby," Melinda said matter-of-factly.  He'd be awfully disappointed if—when—Bobby decides to leave."

"Yeah, I guess yer right."  Birdie turned back toward the house.  "How 'bout some breakfast?"

Red ate quickly and hurried back outside.  Bobby still had not shown up for work.  That meant that Red had to do the late morning chores by himself.

Birdie would not let Melinda help clean up after the morning meal.  The younger sister insisted that Melinda go get herself ready to go to town.

She pinned her hair up in an attractive sweep and secured one of Birdie's Sunday hats with one of their mama's pins.  The hat was much prettier than a bonnet, and today Melinda needed to feel good about herself.

Red already had the team hitched for her, so she kissed Joey goodbye and climbed up in the tall seat.  "Be good," she told her son who was squirming in his aunt's arms.  He wanted to go with her to town.

"Mama will be right back," Birdie told him.  "An' I need you to help me pick strawberries."

His pouting lips formed a smile.  "Okay, I'll help ya."

Melinda clucked to the horses and waved to her family.  As she traveled, she tried to focus her attention on the beautiful landscape.  She needed to get her mind off Bobby.  If ever she was to stop loving him, she first had to stop thinking of him.  She tried to examine the wildflowers from a distance.  Her sight was slightly blurry.  She squinted and mentally reviewed the flowers' names.  Indian paintbrush, she thought, black-eyed Susan, Queen Anne's lace, Indian blanket, blue bonnet, and purple cone flowers.  And then there were some bright yellow blossoms that she did not know.

She passed by a small pond.  She wondered how the small body of water came into being.  Had it always been there?  No, she supposed not.  Perhaps the wind simply blew the soil away and formed a low spot.  Then the rain filled it with water.  But then where did the fish come from? she wondered.  Red said that's a good place to fish.  I bet Bobby would take Joey there to fish some time.  She sighed.  So much for not thinking of Bobby.

Sing, she told herself.  That will clear your mind.  So she sang any and every song that came to mind.

When she reached town, she first stopped in at the parsonage to thank Lyla for taking care of Joey for so long.  She would have offered to pay the generous lady, but she knew that money would not be accepted.  She decided to purchase a pretty piece of calico and make her a new bonnet.  With a long summer ahead, a new bonnet would be a welcomed gift.

She moved her wagon to the general store.   When she stepped inside, she was amazed by all the new merchandise Mr. Hudson had received since she had last visited the mercantile.  She poured over beautiful yards of fabric and the selections of new hats.

She made her decisions and carried them to the counter. "Do you have any hat pins?" she asked the storekeeper.  "I'm afraid I'm going to break this old one of my mother's."

He pointed.  "There in the jar on the top shelf next to the hats," he replied.

She squinted to see the glass container across the room.

"Having problems with your eyes?" Mr. Hudson asked.

"Some," she answered as she walked to the shelves.  "Seems the fever settled in my eyes."

"Maybe you should have the doc examine ya for some glasses.  Your sight isn't something to mess around with."

"Do you think I should?" she asked.  "I figured this would go away soon."

"The missus had Ruebella as a child," he told her.  "Settled in her eyes just as yours seemed to have done.  She had to wear glasses the rest of her life."

"Oh, my," Melinda said.  "Maybe you're right.  I'll go over there to the doc's while you wrap my purchases.  Is that okay?"

He nodded as he scribbled her purchases in his ledger.

She congratulated Dr. Stokely on his engagement to Betty and then stated her reason for calling.

"So your vision is continuously blurry?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," she replied.  "Sometimes are worse than others, but I cannot see as well as I used to.  Objects far away are distorted."

He opened a wooden box.  "Try these," he said as he handed her a pair of round-lensed spectacles.

She pushed them on her face.  "Oo, too strong."  She pulled them off and rubbed at her watering eyes.

He gave her another pair.  "These?"

She looked around the room.  "Much better."

The doctor motioned toward the wall and said, "Read me that chart over there."

"E, X, Y, D, M, K…"

"Skip to the bottom line."

"Z, F, L, O, R, Q."

"Very good.  Would you like to see how you look?"

Melinda nodded.  She had never dreamed that one day she would need to wear eyeglasses.  She hoped she didn't look too strange.  No, she supposed she wouldn't.

He handed her a looking glass.  "You still look quite handsome," he said.

"Thank you.  How much for the spectacles?"

"We won't worry about it now," Dr. Stokely said.  "I've gotta get going.  I have a million things that need to be taken care of before the wedding.  Besides, you haven't seen much of your family lately.  You should get back to them—and Bobby."  He smiled.

"I, uh…"  Melinda blushed slightly.  "How did you know?"

"It was obvious when I was at your house while you were ill.  I think it's wonderful.  He probably saved your life, you know.  As you did his."

She nodded and walked toward the door.  "Tell Betty I said 'hello'."

"I will."

"I'll take care of my account today," she said when she reentered the store.  "I know it's been forever since I've been here."

"Your account has been paid in full," he told her.

She looked up from the blue broadcloth she had spotted out of the corner of her eye.  "What?  How?"

"Bobby Lester," Mr. Hudson said.  "He took care of it a few days ago when he was here with Joey."

She smiled.  "That was nice of him.  Okay then.  I will pay for these purchases today instead of charging them to my account."

"That won't be necessary either."  He closed his book.  "You have a six dollar credit after these purchases."

"How is that possible?" she asked.

"Bobby stopped by early this morning," Mr. Hudson explained.  "I wasn't even opened yet, but he said he needed to get some supplies for some trip.  So I let him in.  When he paid for his items, he put ten more dollars against your account."

She coughed and bit her lip.  "He said he was going on a trip?" she asked.

Mr. Hudson nodded.

"Did he say where he was going or when he would be back?"

"He didn't tell me where he was going," the storekeeper said.  "But he made it sound like he was going to be gone a long time.  I wondered if he was even planning on coming back."

She spun on her heels.  "Wrap the items for me…"  She hurried to the door.  "Please.  I'll be back for them later."

She ran as fast as her weakened body would allow down the wooden sidewalk.  She pulled open the boardinghouse door.  She used more force than needed, and it slammed noisily against the wall.

"Miss Staples," she called.  "Miss Staples."

The older lady scampered through the kitchen door.  "What is it?"  She spotted Melinda.  "Oh, howdy young'un.  What can I do for ya?"

Melinda gasped for air.  "Bobby," she huffed.  "Bobby Lester.  Is he here?"
"No," Miss Staples said.  "Left this mornin'.  Paid his bill an' left.  Don't guess he's comin' back neither.  Ya mean he didn't tell you?"  She could tell by Melinda's anguished look that he had not.

"Do you know where he went?" the young lady asked.

"He didn't say.  An' seein' that it weren't none of my business, I didn't ask."

Melinda was crying by the time she reached her wagon at the store.  All she could do was cry.

Bobby had only been traveling for a few hours, but he was already tired.  He knew it wasn't a physical weariness.  He was emotionally exhausted.  He normally wasn't one to cry.  In fact, he hadn't cried since LeAnna died.  But now he could not seem to avoid tears.  He had cried most of the night.

He had thought long and hard on whether or not to leave Point Blank, leave Melinda.  He told himself that he was a coward, running away from his problems.  If he were a real man, he decided, he would turn himself in, face his fate.

So what if he wasn't a real man, he shrugged.  Better a live coward than a dead hero.  But you're breaking Melinda's heart, his mind told him.  And little Joey's too.

They will get over it, he mentally replied.  They're strong.  I could not bring them with me.  I could never put them in danger.  I'm doin' the right thing.  But he could not convince himself.

Melinda pushed the team hard, but they seemed to go so slowly.  She decided she could probably run faster herself—and so she did.  When she reached the fence that indicated the O'Brien's property line, she bounded from the wagon and darted across the field.  She'd worry about the horses later.

The sprint across the field was the shortest way to the barn.  She only hoped Red would be nearby, for she did not want to take the time to look for him.  She spied a straw cowboy hat and called for him.  He noticed her waving arms and ran toward her.

"Whatever is the matter?" he shouted.

"It's Bobby!  He's gone!"  She stopped and fell to her knees.

"What do ya mean?  He hasn't been here all mornin'."

"I know," she panted.  "Not gone from here, gone from Point Blank, gone on the run again."

"Oh, no," Red said.  "I was hopin' he'd give that up."  He pulled off his hat and squatted next to her.  "Melinda, I'm afraid this is my fault."

She looked at him quizzically.  "What do you mean?"

He sighed.  "A couple a weeks ago, Bobby said somethin' that made me believe that he was interested in courtin' ya.  I told him that I wouldn't allow it as long as he was on the run."  He fiddled with his Stetson.  "But I changed my mind when Birdie told me you were in love with him.  I decided that you deserved to be happy, an' if that meant bein' with Bobby, so be it."

Melinda shook her head.  "It's not your fault," she said.  "He wouldn't have allowed it anyway.  But isn't there something we can do?  Can we get him pardoned or somehow get him proven innocent without him standing trial?"

"I doubt it," Red said, "Unless the girl's pa fesses up an' tells the truth."

She stood to her feet.  "Will you go with me to find Bobby then?  I have to stop him."

Red looked up at her.  "Do you know where he went?"

She dropped her gaze back to the ground and shook her head.

"Melinda," Red said softly, "He probably has a several hours head start.  An' we don't have any clue where he woulda gone."  He stood up.  "I don't think we'd really be able to find him."

"So I have to just sit by and do nothing?  How do I…  What do I tell Joey when he starts asking where Bobby went?  First his daddy went away and now this."  She broke into tears again.

Red touched her arm.  "I'm sorry.  Really I am.  I'd help you find him if I could.  But there's no way.  Why don't you go on to the house an' get some coffee?  Where's your team?  I'll go take care of them."

She pointed to the north.  "On the road past the field."

He stepped in that direction.  "Go on.  Some coffee'll calm ya down a bit."

She slowly walked across the grassy knoll.  She didn't want coffee.  She wanted Bobby.  But Red was right.  There was nothing they could do.