Here is chapter two. The update was really quick on this story, but I have had the story started for a while, so more than half of this chapter was written when I posted the first. Not all my updates will be as fast, though I do tend to update quickly... is that confusing? Don't thihnk so...

Anyway, here is chapter two, which is about twice as long as the first. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Now, a special thanks to my reviwers: Mrs. Nikki Slater, shawna-xo, Rieanna, tucker529, and DARKrosePRINCESS. You guys rock!

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Waking up the next morning, I felt a sudden calm wash over my body, as if nothing could ever hurt me. My thoughts were still very much on the man I met yesterday, and I just simply could not place him away from my thoughts. His handsome features were too enticing, and somehow familiar, as if I did know him once before.

I removed my nightgown, folding it neatly back into my drawers and put on my dress for the day. I know Andy will be waiting for me downstairs, to discuss this whole marriage nonsense. I'm hoping he'll have reached some sort of agreement wit the Slater's and I won't have to marry their horrid Paul.

Downstairs, I found my mother already at work on preparing breakfast. "Good morning, mother. Do you need help with breakfast?" I inquired, reaching for an apple from the table.

"No. Not today, Susie, but thank you." She returned her focus back to the eggs she was preparing.

"Mom, is Andy not here? I thought we were to discuss my marriage."

"And you will, Susie, he's gone off to discuss things with the Slater's. We'll se what he comes back with. He shan't be too long now." I nodded. Well, at least he is respecting my wishes for what I am sure would be a treacherous marriage on my behalf.

"All right, ma. Call me when breakfast is ready, I will be outside, with Shadow." Every morning, I go out to groom my horse. She may not be the best, but I certainly love her, and take care of her as needed. Loving my horse is the closest I'll probably ever come to finding real love.

Thoughts of the young man from yesterday return yet again. There'd been a connection, yesterday. I'm sure he felt it too, otherwise why did we mutually confide in one another's troubles? These are not the type of things you share with mere strangers.

"Shadow, what did you think about that boy yesterday? He sure was handsome, wasn't he?" He whinnied in response. I'll take that as a yes, though it could have been for a number of reasons. "Do you think we'll find him there again tonight if we return?" This time Shadow didn't respond, and I left it at that, gently stroking her mane with the brush. Saddling and mounting my horse, I set out for our usual run down to the beach and back, giving Shadow the exercise hell need. We galloped down to the beach, taking probably no more than five minutes. When I got there, I couldn't help but go over by the rocky cove entrance, disappointed that the honey colored horse from yesterday was not there, indicating that the stranger would most likely not be there either. I wish I'd gotten his name, so I wouldn't have to refer to him as 'the stranger from yesterday' he was something much more than that.

I returned home, feeling ridiculous that I let myself get so caught up in my thoughts and emotions, looking for the man from yesterday. He probably didn't remember me, and if he did, he surely was not thinking of me as much as I was of him. On the way home, I caught sight of Andy ahead of me, followed by two other men on horses. I sped up, trying to catch up with them, but they were to far off. They got to the house minutes before me, and when I arrived they were all ready inside, waiting for me, I'm sure. Breakfast should have been prepared by now as well. Mother always finishes just as I ride in.

Leaving my horse in the stable, I went inside the house. "I'm back, mother, Andy." I followed the sound of conversation to the eating room, where my step-father was surrounded by the two men on both sides. Getting a good look at them, I realized they were the Slater's, the one to the left was Paul; I could tell by the way his eyes hungrily took me in. To the right was Mr. Slater, his father and town doctor, who also managed a ranch, how he did it was beyond me.

Paul left the side of Andy's chair and approached me that hungry glint never leaving his eyes. "Good morning, Susannah. I hear you're having second thoughts to our proposed marriage. Now, why would that be?" His hand shot up to stroke my cheek softly, and he swept a strand of hair behind my ear.

I shoved the hand away, letting the piece of hair fall back into place, "It's simple, I don't like you, Paul. I never have, and surely you are aware of that by now."

"Now, Suze, don't be ridiculous, if I recall correctly, we were friends in childhood."

"Yes, before you became an arrogant, disrespectful man, Paul. Back then, I would not have minded this marriage, but now, I can not even stand the sight of you for more than a minute, so I somehow doubt I'll ever be able to be married to you for the rest of my life."

He chuckled at me, stroking my cheek with his hand again. I closed my eyes, letting myself enjoy the gesture for a second before snapping back, "Don't touch me."

"I know you enjoy it Susannah. No one can resist my charming attributes. All the girls in the town are envious that my father chose you as my betrothed, you should feel honored."

"Well, then marry another of those girls, I'm sure they'd just love to marry you." I walked away to where Andy and Mr. Slater were situated, trying to leave Paul behind, but he had followed. "Andy, have you come to some new agreement with Mr. Slater? A loophole of sorts that would allow me the right to refuse this marriage?"

Andy sighed, looking at a document in front of him, then up to me. "Well, we've been talking for a while now. And he's agreed that if you have not changed your mind otherwise, then we'll announce that the marriage will not be happening at the engagement gala at the end of the week. You are to spend the rest of your afternoons with Paul until the night of the gala, and if you wish to proceed with the wedding or not will be your decision, and it will not happen. Understood?"

I nodded, feeling instantly relieved. I could spend a couple of evenings with Paul. I know that I will not ever be convinced to be his betrothed, so I'll just go along with it, and then tell Mr. Slater and my step-father that I do not wish to marry Paul. Whispering in to my ear, Paul said, "I'll make you mine Susannah. By then end of the week, you'll be so charmed by me, you'll want nothing else but to marry me." His warm breath tickled my ear.

"Keep wishing, Paul. I'll never love you, not with our past." As a boy, Paul had been a really sweet child. He'd been so caring and so loving. He had been my best child hood friend. We would play every day almost, and couldn't spend much time apart. Both of us would cry whenever our parents made us go home after a long day of playing. We were inseparable. He was also the only other person that knew of my ability of communicating with the deceased. When I first told him, he was relieved, having said that he to could communicate with ghosts. This revelation only drew us closer.

But one summer, his father sent him away to New York City. Paul spent the whole summer there, and when he returned, he had become a pig-headed jerk. Upon his return, he came in search of me. I was glad to see him, so I hugged him tightly. Next thing I knew, his lips met with mine and we were pulled into a deep kiss. I didn't think much of it then, but our relationship had suddenly deepened with that one kiss. Whenever we met, we would spend our whole time kissing. One night, when he'd agreed to meet me by at the beach, I could smell the bittersweet scent of wine in his breath, in heavy doses. It was the middle of the night, since neither of us wanted to let our families know that we were falling in love. That night, when the smell of wine was heavy in his breath, he forced himself upon me. He pinned me into the soft sand beneath us and kissed me wildly, trying rapidly to remove my clothes. I struggled, trying to fight him off, and when I finally did I ran home.

He tried several more times, and he even hit me once, when I refused to comply. Since that night I have not been able to trust him. Following the night after he hit me, I tried to stay far from him, yet always following him at night, to see what he did. He would always be at the local saloon, drinking heavily. I realized right then and there that before he'd left, he had never once drunk anything slightly alcoholic, and upon his return, he always had the scent of alcohol trailing him. Why I had never realized it, I did not know and felt deeply betrayed by the one man that had meant so much to me once. He'd kissed me greedily for so long, and I thought he actually might love me, but I realized it was the effects of the alcohol.

Afterwards, I would see him running around town with different girls, sneaking in kisses when no one was looking. That is why all the girls in town wish that they could be the ones marrying him, because he offered them something they wanted, something he was offering to me, but I refused to accept.

Since his return, he became disrespectful to women, conceited, thought himself to be above others, and many other things. The once sweet boy no longer remained, his innocence tainted by that one summer spent in New York City. That one summer four years ago, when he was seventeen, on the verge of turning eighteen. I had only been fifteen then, always having been two years his junior. Now I'm twenty and he could possibly be the man I end up marrying. The very thought sends shivers coursing through my body.

"You'll come around, Suze. You can't deny what we had once. By the end of the week, you'll be mine. If not, I might just have to tell everyone about your abilities."

"Who would even believe you? You have any idea how ridiculous that would sound? Leave me alone, Paul." I glared at him, wishing he'd just leave already. My mother had brought out breakfast, and we all ate, accompanied by Paul and his father for breakfast. His father already left, and Paul still lingered, not giving me a moment of peace. "The agreement was we are to spend afternoons together, not the entire day. I already know that I will not change my mind despite how much time we spend together. You're parents may not be aware of your ways, but I am. So leave, and don't come back until later in the evening." Of course Paul would not hear any of it, and didn't leave until the early evening.

He tried various times to suck me into one of those amazing kisses of his, but I avoided them. Hating him is made so much harder when he kisses so well, making the desire to avoid them all that harder. His kisses are so sinful, filled with a heavy passion. I know I don't have enough will power to avoid those kisses for long. I will give into the temptation of kissing him, and that will be all it takes to convince him that I do want to marry him after all. I have to be strong because I'm afraid I might just give in.

That night I returned to the cove. Originally, I wanted to go in hopes of seeing the man from yesterday. But now, my thoughts were troubled, thinking about Paul. When I arrived, I saw the familiar honey colored horse from the night before, and my heart leapt with joy. He was here! That motivated me to climb al the fasted up into the cove overlooking the sea. His eyes were fixed out on the ocean ahead of him again, and joined him at the boulder he was perched on. "We meet again."

He looked up and his lips curved into a gorgeous smile. "I was hoping we would," his tans cheeks flushed immediately after he realized what exactly he said, and turned away. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to say that like that."

I chuckled at his embarrassment, "It's quite alright, I was hoping we would too."

"Well then, at least the feeling is mutual," he chuckled. His cheeks were still flushed.

"Yes, it is," I wanted so badly to ask his name, but I couldn't bring myself to ask him yet. I don't know why. "I have also come, because my mind is in another state of distress. Much like yesterday evening."

"Would you care to share? As I have no problems of my own tonight."

I went on to explain the deal that was set between my father and the Slater's, still not telling him the name of who it is I am betrothed too, I couldn't share that name, feeling ridiculously unworthy of being deemed a future Slater. I told him everything that happened today with Paul, and he nodded and commented in the appropriate places.

"Well, you must remember, follow your heart. If you really don't wish to be with this man, just tell them all on the agreed night."

"I wish it were that easy, but my betrothed and I have quite a past. It won't be that easy, he's to tempting. I have to constantly remind myself I don't like him when he is around." My eyes, fixed on the ocean during my whole explanation, finally trailed to meet his. Again, he had that look in his eyes from yesterday, when he told me about the beautiful view while clearly looking at me. "What about you? Has anything been solved between your marriage to Maria?"

He nodded, "No, I don't think anything can change our wedding arrangements, unfortunately. I'm still trying to think of things, but so far I've been unsuccessful."

We got to talking about our families; he apparently is the oldest of six, being the only boy. He gets along very well with his mother and grandmother, and never quite meets eye to eye with his father. I explained about my family situation, how my father died when I was young, and then my mother remarried, not being able to support the both of us on her own.

I still wanted to know his name, but I couldn't ask him. The feeling was so odd. Instead, I said, "I can't help but feel that I know you somehow. You look so familiar, like someone I met long ago and have not seen since."

"Me too," he nodded in agreement. "If you don't mind my asking, we've been talking for two evenings now, and I have yet to know your name. What is it?"

I smiled; finally, finally we're getting our names out in the open. "Susannah. Susannah Simon."

"Well, Miss Simon, this solves our problems, I did indeed know you long ago. Jesse de Silva, or Hector, I don't know which name I gave you."

Jesse de Silva, the name rolled through my memory, then when he said Hector, it clicked. I did know a Hector de Silva. Hector de Silva and Paul had been best friends back when we were still young. Hector would regularly join us when ever we went to play. Though, since he was older, he stopped playing us when he was about sixteen, when he had to help his father with the ranch regularly, taking up his time. They were the second wealthiest family in all of Carmel, and the ranch is a huge asset to their wealth. I couldn't believe it, after 8 long years of not seeing him, we meet again.

"Hector, yes I remember you now. Whatever happened to you? You stopped playing with Paul-" his name sent shivers down my spine, "-and I." Should I tell him Paul is my betrothed?

"Yes, my father needed me at the ranch nearly everyday once I turned sixteen. He got very sick that year and he needed me, so I stopped seeing the two of you. And-" he stopped, taking a deep breath, looking away, thinking his next words carefully, "And, well I had feelings developing for you. I liked you, but you were much younger than I, so I decided it would be best if I just never saw you. You were still a child then, no older than twelve, and I was almost an adult. It wasn't right, so I got absorbed into the work at the ranch." His gaze returned to meet mine, and he smiled. "I still talked with Paul after that, but we're not nearly as close now as we were then. He changed a lot."

I nodded, knowing all to well what he meant. "Jesse," I'd never called him Jesse before, but that name sounded more natural than Hector, "Paul is my betrothed." I left the statement hanging, not knowing how he would react.

"I had thought it was you he was marrying. Well, I didn't know until now that you are the Susannah he's thrilled to be marrying, but when he said Susannah, I figured it was the Susannah from our childhood. Now the very same Susannah is in front of me, telling me she can not stand the thought of marrying Paul Slater, while he tells me that he wants nothing more than to marry Susannah Simon," He chuckled, finding this amusing. I know Paul wants to marry me, and yet I can't stand the thought. I laughed too; it was after all kind of funny.

"Long ago, I wouldn't have minded so much, but then he… changed," I said, not thinking of another better word.

"I understand, since then, we've never been really close. I'm not at all like that and could never stand to do the things he does."

When I was young, Jesse had been very handsome, with his dark features and chiseled muscle work. But now, eight years later, he was no longer a boy; he was a full grown man, handsome in every way possible. That shy awkwardness he once held was no longer remnant, but now he is even more handsome than what he had once been.

As I sit here, talking with Jesse if it was fate that drew us back, or just an unexplained force. He admitted to having feelings about me, and I had always been drawn to him and his easy going ways, not to mention his handsomeness.

"Jesse," I said his name, having to want to ask his him if he really did have feelings for me a long time ago. But then decided against it, knowing it was ridiculous to dwell on something that long ago.

"Yes, querida?" The very word drew goose bumps to my skin, his sweet voice lacing nicely around the word.

"Never mind," I said shaking my head. Up ahead, the sun was slowly creeping downwards in the sky, casting a radiating glow around it, much like that of a ghost. I sighed, knowing that I would soon have to leave, but I didn't want to leave Jesse, I was enjoying his company so much. "Where do you think the sun goes?" I found myself asking. "Once it sets, I mean," A silly question, I know, but curiosity exceeded the embarrassment that will surely follow. I wanted to hear his answer, his take on it.

He looked at me curiously, then taking in a deep breath; he opened his mouth to speak. I waited tentatively, waiting his response, "Well, I think that, like people, the sun must set to rise again in all its splendor the following day. It needs to rest, or else it will exhaust itself one day." I don't know why I asked the question, but I smiled, liking his answer, to myself then openly at him.

I stood up at last, brushing the bottom of my skirt. With one more longing glance at the sun, I turned my attention back to Jesse, knowing that when I turned back, the sun would be gone. "I should better get going. It is after all, twilight. My mother will surely worry if I get home any later while out on my own," And like I predicted, when I turned around, the sun was no longer visible, hidden underneath the ocean, resting.

"Must you?" His cheeks flushed, noting his forwardness, most likely, and then he resumed, "I mean, if you must then, that is okay. But if you stay, I will make it my duty to see you home, and explain to your mother that you were with me the whole time."

I thought his offer over, liking his suggestion, but I really did have to get home, "Maybe some other time?" I sat back down again next to him, "While I do appreciate your offer, I really do need to get going." My hand hovered above his knee and I couldn't decide whether or not to press against it in some reassuring manner. In the end however, my hand withdrew and settled on my own knee.

Taking in his features one last time, I stood up, starting to make my way down to my horse. Jesse, I noticed trailed right behind me. "Well, can I at least make sure you get home safely?" he asked, his lips curling coyly in his seductive smile-if such a thing is possible.

I nodded, "I'd love it if you did, Jesse."

So for the ten minute ride home, he galloped along side my own horse, our voices a whisper in the night air. This by far, has got to be in every way the most enjoyable ride home I have ever taken. Jesse's got such a calming way of doing things, which shows through in his conversations, as he says things slowly and precisely, making sure he will not have to repeat himself. I, however, tend to ramble at times, not understandable at all.

I was completely shocked when we reached the entrance to my home. Dismounting my horse, I led him through the opening, Jesse following suit. At the stables, I lit the lantern at the entrance and tied Shadow to his regular pot, brushing his mane quickly before returning to Jesse who waited at the barn door.

"Jesse, I enjoyed your company on my way home, thank you, so very much." I smiled.

"I, too, enjoyed your company, Susannah. It was very nice seeing you tonight." His hands were behind his back, and he looked into the distance, turning to gaze at moments later, "Do you want to meet again tomorrow?"

The yes hung at the tip of my tongue, when I remembered the agreement with Mr. Slater and Andy, my face fell, disappointed. "I wish I could, but I've agreed to spending nights with Paul in the afternoon, as to sway my decision over the marriage. I already know the answer is no, but for the sake of my step-father, I agreed."

His head bobbed in a half-nod, his disappointment clearly evident. "Well, maybe some other time." We had already reached the edge of the porch steps.

I headed up the stairs of our porch, heading for the front door. "Good night, Jesse."

Reaching for the door, my hand hung in the air when he called back, "Good night, querida," He said, turning away.

"What does that mean? Keh-ree-da?" My hand took a hold of the door knob.

Jesse chuckled, mounting his horse, "Good night," He said in a sing-songy voice, his leg going over the horse's back, and he rode off into the night.

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Read and review, please, as always. Haven't thought of anything for chapter three, but I'll try to have something up by Saturday or Sunday. Please, if you haven't already, R&R my other story: Ghost of You, I'd appreciate it lots. If you don't like it, then at least you tried it, right? Thanks, Kim!