Letty watched Doc go over to the jail and she flew up the stairs and opened the office door. "Festus?" The first room was empty and she went to the bedroom door and opened it.
Festus was there, his face ashen as he struggled for every breath he took. Letty reached up under her hair and untied a thin ribbon around her neck. Sitting on the bed, she took the deputy's hand and wrapped it around a tiny gold cross. "Festus?" she whispered. "Do you remember the day I went away? You said this cross belonged to your mother and you tied it around my neck." Her voice was shaking. "Do you remember what you told me when...when I didn't want to go? You said you wanted the best for me because you loved me..." Her breath caught on a sob. "...and I said..I said if you loved me you wouldn't send me away." Letty clutched Festus' hand in both of hers as tears poured down her face. "Festus, if you really love me, you won't go away. Please don't die..."