Melanie's house was deserted when they arrived. It was still early in the morning but she could tell Howard had not been home the night before. Obviously his fear of typhoid had kept him holed up in his gambling house with his mistress. She thought of him bitterly before banishing him from her mind.

Jimmy stood awkwardly in the doorway, occasionally looking over his shoulder at his horse tied to the back of Melanie's buggy. Part of him wanted to jump on the horse and ride out of there away from her, away from temptation. But the other part of him, the part he could not silence, forced him to stand his ground. He looked to Melanie for guidance.

"He won't be back today. Or tomorrow, I expect," Melanie stated calmly as she removed her bonnet and tossed it on a chair. Her hair was down and tangled from her sleepless night, her auburn curls falling down her back. She spoke slowly and carefully and she peeled off her gloves. "What are you going to do now?"

Jimmy cleared his throat before he trusted himself to answer. Melanie's steadfast stare unnerved him as he stood, hat in hand, in her husband's house. "I s'pose I could go back to the ranch. Work still needs to get done."

"Tom will do it. And Cholo will be back today from Denver."

Jimmy took a step towards her and stopped, not breaking her steady gaze. Realizing he was not going to ask, Melanie stepped forward and took his hand in hers. With a hard swallow, she looked up into his face.

"You could stay here with me," she said, without betraying her nerves. Jimmy didn't say anything but his eyes registered surprise. "I want you to stay."

Jimmy eyed her carefully, searching for any hint of doubt in her visage, but he found none.

"You sure?" he whispered.

Melanie nodded and led him into the bedroom.

The hot midday sun streamed through the window causing Melanie to stir. For a split second she was disorientated, but then she felt the strong chest beneath her cheek. She smiled to herself as she listened to him breathing, feeling the regular rise and fall of his chest. Melanie stretched languidly but she feared any further movement in case she woke him and lost his arms wrapped around her.

Eventually though she felt Jimmy stir in the sunny warmth, and she raised her face to meet his. Resting her chin on his chest, she smiled lazily.

"Good morning, Mr. Hickok."

Jimmy opened one eye before shutting it again. "I'd say it's more like afternoon."

Melanie grinned and kissed his chest. "You're not going back to sleep, I hope."

"I thought you were s'posed to be exhausted." He rolled on his side with his eyes still shut, hugging her to him. Melanie sighed happily and returned the embrace.

Lying there in Jimmy's arms, Melanie finally knew what it was like to be loved by a man. When she thought of all the nights she had lain with Howard, she knew she would never share the same emotional connection with him. She could not imagine being with anyone else ever again.

"Jimmy?"

"Hmm?"

"You're going to leave soon, aren't you?"

"Well, eventually Kid and Lou will come looking for me."

"No, I mean you're going to leave Sweetwater soon."

Jimmy opened his eyes and stared at the wall behind Melanie. She still lay clung to his chest, waiting for his answer.

"Yes."

Melanie closed her eyes briefly from disappointment, although she had expected the answer. Sighing heavily, she propped herself up so she could look into Jimmy's eyes.

"I know you have to leave. But I don't understand why."

"I don't know where I belong, Melanie, but I do know it ain't in Sweetwater. I never meant to stay this long."

"Why did you?"

"You know why." Jimmy returned his gaze to the wall, unable to tell her in words how he felt about her.

"Jimmy?"

"What?"

"When you go I want you to take me with you." Melanie said the words with resignation that surprised even her. She had come to the decision in a split second, but she had no doubts.

"What?" Jimmy's voice was incredulous.

"If you go, I want to go too."

"Melanie, do you know what you're sayin'?"

"That I love you. That I don't want to lose you. That's what I'm saying." There were tears in her eyes but they were not from sadness.

"What about your home here? What about the Kid and Lou and the children?"

"My home is just a possession. I can make a home elsewhere. I'll miss Louise and Kid terribly of course, and I'll always love the children. They are the only real family I have now, the only people who cared about me out here. But I'd leave them tomorrow if you were going."

Jimmy was almost embarrassed at the conviction of her statement. Her eyes were pleading now, pleading for him to respond to her life-altering decision. With carefully chosen words he mentioned the one barrier that did separate them.

"And what about Howard?"

Melanie sat up, a sheet tucked under her arms. The name at least invoked some sense of shame on her face. Jimmy sat up too, his bare chest against hers.

"Howard might be my husband, but I don't love him. I've never loved him, and I never will. He's the last reason I'd stay."

Melanie glanced away awkwardly, but she did not lose her courage. "He'd never divorce me, of course. The shame would be intolerable for him. But if I stay here, I think one day he might kill me. He'd kill me now if he knew about you."

Jimmy looked instinctively to his gun belt on a nearby chair at her words, but he did not believe the truth in them. Howard might be a simpering fool but he was not a violent killer. He thought it laughable that the disdainful man he had met in the gambling house might be a threat.

"I wouldn't let him hurt you," Jimmy said without thinking.

Melanie glanced quickly at him to judge the sincerity of the statement, taking it to mean more than Jimmy intended.

"Then you'll take me with you?" she asked, excited.

Jimmy opened his mouth to reply but she kissed him before he had the chance. When she flung her arms around her shoulders and hugged him fiercely, Jimmy found he could not protest. Melanie was so happy he could not help but feel happy himself.

"We should go tomorrow!" she said hurriedly breaking their embrace, her eyes shining.

"What?"

"Howard will stay in town for a few days, so by the time he realizes I'm gone we'll be too far away for him to trace us."

"Melanie…"

"I have to get dressed, I have to make preparations." Melanie scrounged for her clothes lying beside the bed and hastily pulled them on.

"We don't even know where we're goin'…"

"Well, you can think of somewhere. What were you planning on doing next?"

"I wasn't plannin' on runnin' away with no married woman, that's for sure."

Melanie stopped what she was doing when she heard the bitterness in his words. She sat back down on the bed and placed her hand on his cheek, her eyes tender.

"I know it's all happening quickly. But this way we can be together forever. It might take some getting used to, but we can do it." Gently she kissed him and smiled reassuringly. "You won't be alone anymore, Jimmy."

Melanie jumped up. "Now, you had better get dressed or Kid and Lou really will come looking for you!" With a grin, she disappeared into another room.

Jimmy sat back against the headboard and wondered what had happened in the short minutes since he had woken up. He wondered why, if he loved Melanie so much, did he already feel an undeniable sense of foreboding. He had often dreamed of settling down some day, even if reality contradicted the notion. Here he had the chance to do just that, he had finally met the right woman. But something told Jimmy that this could not be a happy ending. Not for Melanie, and definitely not for him.