Chapter 3

"It's not like I completely disregarded Louis after everything I've done. To be honest, I feel bad that Jack's been trying even harder than me to make amends. I guess... I'm still afraid what would happen if we were to meet each other after what I did. I don't want to be a burden to him anymore" Lyla lamented.

"It would mean a lot to him if you tried. He forgave you a long time ago, and he still cares about you." said Jamie. "Still, it was probably a good move not to invite him to the wedding."

Lyla nodded. "For one who doesn't like talking to people, you seem to get around a lot."

"I just happen to be at the right place when something happens. You tend to overhear more things when you don't talk so much" Jamie answered.

For a while, both villagers withheld their words. The antisocial Jamie continued to eat his cake, while Lyla watched on in eerie silence. After taking a few more bites, Jamie took a near by napkin and whipped his frosting-covered lips.

"I don't know if now would be an appropriate time to ask this, but do you think we could be friends again? I'm not going to force you to get along with Darling or anything, but I missed the days you were good to me" she admitted.

Jamie took a deep breath. "With the Harvest Goddess resurrected now, would I really need to waste my time with a substitute?" he blatantly stated.

Lyla groaned. "I see, so he still hasn't forgiven me" she thought.

"Then again, she told me how happy she was when I was able to find my first human friend in the longest time. She insist I not give you up like that, so... we'll see..." he finished.

Lyla breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you..."

Jamie silently shook his head in response, and took of his cowboy hat. With empty plate in hand, he was just about to make his way to the kitchen sink when Lyla stopped right in front of him.

"That's okay. It was my dish to begin with, so---"

"It's fine. I ate out of it anyway, and besides, I already have a few dishes in the sink, anyway. It wouldn't be right to have a guest do my job." Jamie explained.

Lyla shrugged, and then stepped out of the way to let Jamie continue his chores.

As the rancher finally got the water running, Lyla recalled her original purpose for entering the Jamie Ranch.

"In all honesty, I really think you should tell Jill how you feel. It seems frivolous to keep it to yourself at this point." Lyla suggested.

Without uttering a single word, Jamie wiped a recently-washed cup dry.

"It's just... I know how Jill is the type of girl who's usually full of optimism, but at the same time, I feel that she would also keep personal problems to herself because of that."

Jamie reached for another dirty dish. "She voiced her fears to me one night... I know very well how she feels..."

"Then wouldn't it be better if you said something to her? I know this is a different situation that what I went through, but she deserves to know! She's still a girl! She's charging headlong into something she might not be able to handle!" Lyla pleaded.

The rancher snatched the dishcloth and started wiping the dish in hand. "My deepest feelings don't matter to her at this point. Besides, I have no right to dissuade her."

He then carefully placed the dish in storage. "Even if I owe him some gratitude, Jack took something important to me when he revived the Harvest Goddess. I'm not going to destroy her hopes... even if it seems hopeless."

Lyla stomped her foot on the ground. "Quit placing your sense of pride in this! Jack nearly broke his heart with his noble sacrifice, and I sometimes wish he had said something sooner! If Jill's willing to set herself up for such a fall, you can't be sure how well she'll be able to recover! Despite how much she trusts you now, she might not be able to face you if she gets depressed! Jamie, please don't let her slip away! It might cost her more than you realize!"

At last, the diligent rancher finished wiping the saucer that once held the chestnut cake given to him, and returned it to its proper owner.

"This has nothing to do with anyone's pride. I'm just honoring her decision..." Jamie simply explained.

Lyla exhaled out of grave disappointment, then turned around. She slowly made her way towards the big, violet door that lead to the outside.

"Jamie, I hope you know what you're doing, but I wish that wasn't your choice" she softly uttered.

Jamie shrugged. "I understand what I'm doing, and apparently, so does she." she pointed out.

Hesitantly, Lyla slowly opened the big door, which made a long, eerie creaking noise as it allowed ray of light shine in.

"Lyla" Jamie uttered.

Lyla quickly turned to see Jamie's face.

"Yes?"

The rancher cleared his throat.

"Thank you… for your friendship..." he called out. "And.." Jamie coughed, gagged, and muttered to himself in a disgruntled tone before straining to speak his last few words.

"Tell... Jack... "Thanks"... too..." hechoked deep regret.

Lyla managed a half-smile as she shed a single tear. "... You're welcome..." she uttered gratefully.

After finally taking that one last step in the outside, she gently closed the door, leaving Jamie to finish his day.

"Alone again..." he uttered with a sigh.

The lone rancher then took out a scrap of paper from his poncho and carefully scanned his list of things to do. He then marked off the piece of text that said "Dishes" and placed swiftly returned it in his adorning cloth. For a brief moment, Jamie stared at the door he sought to go through himself. He then made his way to a window and gazed meaningfully at Mt. Moon, in the direction of the Goddess Spring.

"How long are things going to remain this way?" he asked himself.

Author's Note: And so... we reach the end of the focus on Jamie and Lyla. As I've said before, this ended up being fairly different than what I previously planned. I've noticed that the three characteres I've liked writing about in the MM world would be Jamie, Ray, and Dia for some reason. Speaking of Dia, since I've plunged into the world of "angst" yet again, I would like to put attention back on my previous story, "My Other Self". That's probably one of the most angst-filled stories I written, especially when it's about Dia possibly going insane,and I feel it's been shamefully ignored for some reason. Also, I've been enjoying all the recent Jamie stories that have been coming up, and I would like to say thanks to all of you Jamie fans for writing about our favorite androgynous Rancher. Anyway, look forward for the Epilogue, folks!