When dinner was finished, Buzz made a mumbled apology about having to see to the horses for the night, threw on his coat scarf and hat and left the farmhouse, the icy winds slamming the door behind him. Woody watched him walk along the path and up to the main field, hands shoved deep into his pockets.

Sighing, he gathered up the tray of food that Bo had just finished preparing, and headed upstairs to see Jessie.

Woody found Jessie in the smallest room upstairs. She loved that room, Woody knew, because although it was a small room, the big window in there overlooked the fields for miles in the opposite direction.

He nudged the door open with his foot. "Jess?"

She didn't turn from her position where she was sat on the windowsill. "Yeah?"

"Got some dinner here. Bo made you up a tray."

Jessie gestured out to the side, still without moving her head. "Put 'er there." She was indicating the little table in the corner, and Woody eased his tall slender frame into the room. He set the tray down and took a seat in a nearby chair.

"So what is it?" He asked.

"What's what?" Jessie still hadn't moved, and Woody thought for a moment she might just be watching the clouds pass by overhead.

"This thing between you and Buzz."

Jessie only now turned her head a little to regard him. "No."

"No?"

"No, you don't get to ask me that."

Woody didn't know how to respond other than to come out with what he saw as the obvious. "It's just – you come in from the field looking and sounding a bit offish with Buzz, and then you get up from dinner when we barely even started, and then Buzz leaves to go to the stables…"

"You think my problem is to do with Buzz?" Jessie stared at Woody.

"Well, it looks that way to me…"

Jessie snorted. "Buzz's problem might be with me, because I said and did some things he didn't much like."

"Which were?"

"He's got some kind of thing – infatuation – with me." Jessie began after an extended pause.

"You don't say…" Woody grinned at her subtlety. He'd noticed, since that day long ago when Jessie had brought Buzz to the farm and begged Woody to hire him. The young man in his employ seemed to be head over heels for his stable-hand. He seemed to follow her everywhere, and then of course, Woody recollected, there was last year in the stables after Bo and he had returned from their honeymoon…..

"I thought you liked him, Jess." The memory made him wonder whether what she was saying was true.

Jessie scowled. "Not like that!"

"But…."

"But what?"

"I remember catching you and him in the stables last year…" In a rush Woody recounted what he'd seen to the surprised redhead.

"You thought we were….?" Jessie's scowl melted away as she started to laugh. "No!"

Woody was now thoroughly confused. He thought he was seeing clearly. Obviously not. "But I saw you…" he said stubbornly. He couldn't be wrong.

"What you saw was me warning him off after he got a bit amorous." Jessie said coolly, going back to her food.

"He made a move?" Woody would never have thought it of his shy farmhand having the guts to express such a thing. He was normally so reserved.

"He tried to." Jessie thought for a moment. "Sure, I let him kiss me, and it was nice, and I like him, but then he tried to take it further too soon. I pinned him to the wall and told him not to pull any funny tricks with me." She sighed. "Not that it stopped him. He still goes on paying me compliments, from the colour of my hair, the way my eyes look in the light, right down to the way I dish out vegetables at the dinner table."

Woody remembered the previous whispering at the dinner table between Buzz and Jessie while he had been speaking to Bo.

"He makes me so mad," Jessie went on, not knowing what Woody was thinking of.

Woody smiled wryly at the young girl. His own infatuation with Bo long ago came to mind. Back then he must have looked so foolish; when he thought she might like him back in the same way, when he found out she had another man in her life, and then he'd moped for ages when she'd disappeared from his life for a while. He glanced back to Jessie, but chose no to repeat anything more back to her, and got up.

"Enjoy your dinner, Jess. I'm going out to see to the barn before dark."

Twenty minutes later Woody was in the warm safety of the stables. The barn was closed down for the night, but the stables wouldn't be until Buzz left, and Woody had a pretty good feeling the young farmhand hadn't left for the night just yet.

He hadn't wanted Jessie to know he intended to talk with Buzz too, but as their employer he felt it best to make sure there weren't any awkward situations arising that could potentially get out of hand at a later date.

He noticed the stable door belonging to Buttercup, Buzz's favourite horse was ajar. She was a beautiful white horse, the oldest of the fillies. Buzz was inside, brushing Buttercup's mane, murmuring as he worked.

"Buzz?" Woody peeked around the door; he didn't want to startle anyone, least of the horse.

"Yeah Woody?" Buzz didn't look up.

"Everything good out here? We really should be locking up for the night."

"I won't be long," Buzz smoothed down Buttercups side with the brush.

"Can I help?" Woody offered.

"No." There was an uncomfortable silence. "Yes. Speak to Jessie. Tell her I don't mean her any harm."

"Don't you think you should do that?"

"I can't. Every time I try to say anything she closes me down."

"Oh Buzz." Woody couldn't help feeling a little bit of sympathy for him. "You talk as if she's made of stone."

"She might as well be, for all she cares." Buzz shrugged. "I guess she told you I kissed her last year?"

Woody nodded. "She did, yes."

Buzz sighed. "I thought after I told her that I wanted to take it further, escort her out sometime, she might say yes. But she didn't – she took offence instead. I felt bad, so I decided t try and up her confidence by paying her compliments and seeing if she would come around. I thought it might make her see what a good person I am – of course it's been months now and I think I'm just coming off as annoying."

Woody sighed. "I don't think confidence is Jessie's problem, to be fair." He paused. "I really think that we should head back. You two can talk it out. I'll even referee."

"You mean you'll talk her round?" Buzz couldn't help himself.

"I don't think I can help like that, but I can try. But you-" Woody pointed at Buzz, "-you have to calm down, and for pity's sake stop with the compliments. If Jessie doesn't want to do something, there's no way you're going to convince her otherwise."

"Okay," Buzz looked a little crestfallen. "I'll try."

Woody slapped him lightly on the back as Buzz locked the stable door and they started out of the outhouse. "After all, Buzz, your situation cant be as bad as all that."

Buzz said nothing as he pocketed the keys to the stable and they turned to leave. They strolled in silence through the icy blast of elements outside; any words were useless as the wind would have caught and tossed them away.

But no words were needed when Woody stopped to read the sign on the mailbox just inside the gate. Buzz knew it was bad news.