Title: Chuck vs. the Wildcat 7/?
Author: dettiot
Rating: T
Summary: It's the 1870s in the American Southwest. Charles "Chuck" Bartowski, after avenging the death of his sister, has fallen in with gunslinger John Casey. There's a range war in El Dorado, and Chuck finds himself on one side of the war. And on that side is a woman named Sarah Walker.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck or El Dorado. No copyright infringement intended.
Author's Note: My apologies for breaking my habit of posting every week. Due to some real-life issues, I had to put writing on the back burner for a little while. Happily, I'm feeling back on track now, and I hope you continue to enjoy this story!
XXX
Chapter Seven: Singing a Song
XXX
As he rode back to town, Chuck felt like he was floating. His whole body seemed to be singing with joy, and everything felt right.
Sarah liked him. She wanted a relationship with him. And she had kissed him.
How did he get so lucky? As he let Newton ramble back to El Dorado, Chuck's mind kept turning over that question. He'd found a new home and new friends, and now a woman he could fall in love with. Through all those years of searching for Ellie's killers, he'd never really planned for what would happen next, never thought about his future beyond his quest. Once he'd finished the job, he'd felt lost and aimless for a while. Yet somehow, he had lucked into this rich new life, and Chuck knew that it would take a herd of wild horses to drag him away from his dreams for his future.
Having a purpose and friends was pretty good. But now, having Sarah . . . it was like getting a present at Christmas you never thought you'd get.
After that first kiss, Sarah had given him a big smile, one that lit up her whole face and made her even more beautiful in Chuck's book. It had taken him a moment to recover from that kiss; he was pretty sure he just stood there, his lips pursed and his eyes dazed.
"Looks like I've made you speechless," she had said, her voice amused and her smile bright, but there was something shy in her eyes. He could only grin back and nod until he found his voice.
"You sure did."
Sarah had laughed and lightly kissed his cheek. "I have to go. I'll see you soon."
"Okay," he had said in agreement, watching her mount her horse. "Be careful."
"I'm just ridin' over there!" Sarah had said, grinning at him as she gestured over her shoulder. "Don't turn into a worrywart on me, Chuck."
He had grinned shyly, not wanting to tell her that something about her brought out a protective side in him. It was silly, since she was more capable of protecting herself than he was. But he still wanted her to be safe.
"C'mon," she had said, smiling at him. "Mount up and follow me out, so I can point you home."
He had followed her directions, and now he was slowly riding back towards the jail, reliving the whole wonderful night. Tonight felt like the start of a new chapter for him, the real beginning to his life as an adult. It was a good feeling.
A chilly breeze picked up, so Chuck gathered his reins and nudged Newton into a trot. Once he arrived back in El Dorado, he made his way to the stable and unsaddled his horse. Giving Newton a carrot along with his oats, he covered him with a clean blanket before leaving the stable. As he walked out, he took a deep breath to enjoy the cool air in his lungs. He knocked three times on the back door of the jail and waited.
The door was yanked open, revealing Casey. "'Bout time, loverboy. Get in here."
Chuck swept his hat off as he walked in, grinning widely at the older man. "Casey, why aren't you ever happy? You've got Miss Gertrude."
Casey grunted. "'Cause I'm a grown-up, and in grown-up world, we got problems that young love ain't gonna solve."
He frowned and followed Casey into the office area, where Morgan was slumped down in a chair, his head hanging. The sheriff was sitting at her desk, her eyes troubled and her face drawn.
Casey dropped down into a chair, and Chuck looked at them curiously. "What's going on? You all look so worried."
Beckman looked at Chuck and spoke quietly. "After you left, Morgan came back with some information. We know who's leadin' the raids on Shaw's place."
"That's good, isn't it?" Chuck asked, running his eyes over their faces, trying to figure out why a cloud was hanging over all of them. "Why aren't we celebrating? Or going after who's responsible?"
Morgan's eyes were red when he lifted his head and looked at Chuck. He looked really upset, and Chuck's worry level ratched up by a factor of ten.
Once again, it was the sheriff who spoke. "It's Sarah."
Chuck felt an icy chill settle over him, one that had nothing to do with the cool air that slipped in through the cracks in the jail's adobe walls. "What?"
"Looks like your gal wasn't content just tryin' to shoot Shaw-she wants to totally destroy him," Casey said, his voice hard.
"No, no," Chuck said, shaking his head. "I don't believe that."
"Cole Barker said she brought in a horse yesterday that was spooked," Morgan said, his voice scratchy. "Flinched whenever he heard gunfire. And Mr. Granger said that Sarah's been buyin' a lotta ammunition."
"That's not enough proof that she's leading the raids!" Chuck insisted, feeling his hands grow clammy.
Beckman sighed. "Chuck, we got a description from one of Shaw's servants. She was in town earlier and overheard Morgan askin' questions in the store. She cornered him outside and told him she saw a blonde woman leadin' the latest attack, night before last." The sheriff looked at him, her eyes sympathetic. "That's enough for me."
Chuck swallowed. "Wh-what are you gonna do?"
"For now, nothing," Beckman said, rising from her seat. "Not about the raids. 'Cause that servant of Shaw tipped us off to somethin' a lot worse."
"Worse?" he repeated, feeling his legs grow shaky. He took a seat and looked up at the sheriff, waiting impatiently as she poured herself a cup of coffee and sipped it.
"We knew that something was goin' on," Beckman said. "We've got confirmation now. Looks like Shaw was encouraged to start this fight with Walker on behalf of his employers."
"His employers?" Chuck asked with a frown. He hated feeling left out like this, like he was the dumb kid in the class. But there wasn't much he could do about that now, since they knew what was going on and he didn't know yet.
"Don't know the full story yet, but Shaw's boss is plannin' a bunch of fights to gain control over Texas," Casey said. "The fight between Shaw and the Walkers was the first one."
"They wanna monopolize the cattle trade," the sheriff said, perching on the corner of her desk. "And all the land that they can grab to boot."
"So if one thing doesn't work out, the other one does," Chuck said, starting to put the pieces together. "You need land for cattle, but you can use land for a lot of things."
"Yep," Beckman said, taking another sip of coffee. "We dunno how much land they've got, not yet. But Morgan's gonna help us with that."
Chuck looked at his friend in surprise. Morgan, his face flushed, explained. "Alejandra-that's the girl-she's gonna sneak us some of Shaw's letters."
"That's pretty dangerous."
"She knows that, but she wants to help," Morgan said.
"Once we get that info from the girl, we'll take the next step," Beckman said.
XXX
Chuck found himself struggling often over the next two days. He worried a lot about the situation with Shaw, waiting impatiently for more news. Yet if he was honest with himself, he was using this as a distraction from the real problem: Sarah.
How could she be the one to lead the attacks on Shaw's ranch? She had to realize that there was only so long that such raids could go on before someone figured out who was responsible for them. And now that the sheriff knew it was Sarah, Beckman was sure to take action at some point. Even with the news about Shaw being part of a monopoly, the sheriff couldn't let such lawlessness go on for very long. It was just a matter of time before Sarah got arrested, and then what would happen to her?
There was also another thing that was eating at Chuck: the fact that Sarah hadn't said a word to him about this. He couldn't help feeling a little hurt, even if logically he could understand why she had kept quiet. They were still getting to know each other. She didn't know how he'd react and was probably hesitant to tell anyone outside her family about her activities. What's more, since he worked for the sheriff, Sarah would probably think that he was duty-bound to turn her in if she confessed to leading the raids against Shaw.
He knew all this in his head. But in his heart, he wondered if this meant their relationship was doomed. Trust was the foundation of any relationship, whether it was friendship or romance. If Sarah didn't trust him, this thing between them was bound to fall apart. And that was the last thing he wanted.
With a sigh, Chuck pulled himself off his bunk. Laying around and moping wasn't helping him come up with a solution to his problems. He couldn't keep hiding from Sarah. He hadn't left the jail over the last two days except to use the privy. It was past time for him to get back to his normal routine. Perhaps some shooting practice would help him concentrate on something else.
Chuck picked up a rifle from the gun rack and carried it outside. He set up a few targets and let himself get lost in the rhythm of aiming and firing. It was funny, but shooting was now soothing. It let himself focus on something else, and he found his mind calming down.
After a half hour of shooting, he had run out of ammunition, destroyed several bottles and cans, and there wasn't enough light to go on. Chuck took a few deep breaths, savoring the fresh air. He finally felt ready to do his job.
Stepping into the jail through the back door, Chuck sat at the table in the anteroom, joining Casey. The older man looked up from the knives he was sharpening as Chuck started cleaning the rifle.
"You ready to work now?"
"I was doing work here, watching the jail and helping with paperwork," Chuck said, looking at Casey. "But . . . yeah, I'm ready."
Casey nodded. "Don't always have the luxury of fallin' apart, you know."
Chuck focused on removing some soot from the barrel of the rifle, giving himself a moment before reacting to Casey's criticism. "I know. But I haven't fallen apart." He looked up at Casey. "I'm gonna do my job."
"And what d'you think that is? You ain't a deputy."
"Neither are you," Chuck retorted. "But I'm still working here, so I'm going to uphold the law."
Casey grunted. "Think you can get the Wildcat to lay off?"
Shrugging, Chuck looked back down at the rifle. "Don't know. But I have to try, at least."
The other man set down his knives and looked at Chuck. "You asked why I wasn't happy, even though I got Gertrude."
Chuck paused and looked at Casey, surprised by him bringing up the subject. "You seem pretty happy with her . . . I don't know."
"We've known each other twenty years," Casey said. "Not much I don't know 'bout her. Includin' how to get on her last nerve. Sometimes, I hafta do that, get her to throw me over."
"But why would you do that?" Chuck asked, completely confused. "Why would you want Miss Gertrude to break up with you?"
"Easier," Casey said with a grunt. "Keeps things from gettin' too serious."
Chuck sat back in his chair as it became clear. Casey was scared of settling down. He didn't want to stay in one place, have a real relationship with Miss Gertrude, and take the risk of having something good that ended before he was ready.
He could understand that, but it sounded pretty sad.
"She knows how to work me over, too," Casey said. "'Cause she's no different from me. Neither of us wanna be tied down."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Course I'm sure," Casey said, sounding grumpy. He picked up his knives and focused on sharpening them, putting an end to their conversation.
Chuck picked up a rag and went back to cleaning the rifle, contemplating what Casey had said.
XXX
Later that night, a light tap came on the back door. Chuck was the closest to it, so he walked over to it and called out, "Who is it?"
"Alejandra," came a soft, Spanish-accented voice. Casey nodded in response to Chuck's silent request for confirmation, so Chuck opened the door.
A slim, short woman with long dark hair gazed up at him, then stepped inside quickly. Chuck shut the door behind her and followed her into the front of the jail. Morgan immediately jumped to his feet and started talking to Alejandra softly in Spanish.
It looked to Chuck like Morgan definitely had a crush. When he saw Alejandra smile shyly at Morgan, he knew that the crush went both ways.
Chuck dropped down in a chair, waiting for Morgan and Alejandra to finish talking. The sheriff, though, wasn't so patient.
"Well?" she asked tartly, perching on a corner of her desk.
Morgan jumped a little, breaking off his conversation with Alejandra. "Oh. Well, Alejandra has some letters that she thought might be important." He nodded to Alejandra, and she reached into her apron pocket, pulling out a small stack of papers. She hesitantly handed them to the sheriff. Beckman picked up her glasses and took the papers, immediately starting to read.
Casey walked over and leaned against the desk beside Beckman. "Whaddya see, Diane?"
The sheriff took a few moments to reply. "'Bout what we thought." She passed the first letter to Casey once she was done reading, then looked at Chuck. "You copy the letters when we're done reading each of 'em. We're gonna make sure we have evidence, even if Shaw burns 'em."
Chuck nodded and walked over to sit down at the sheriff's desk. As Casey passed him each letter, he quickly copied it. As he wrote, he picked up quite a bit of information. The letter writers were careful to not mention names; each letter was signed by just an initial, and it seemed like the writers were trying to keep things as vague as possible. But the sheriff's speculation was correct: they were trying to gain land and water rights, positioned strategically throughout Texas. Most of the areas were in West and North Texas, close to the cattle trails leading to the Kansas stockyards and railroads.
Beckman muttered to herself as she passed the last letter to Casey. "It's genius. Buy up spreads throughout the state, ones close to the Great Western and Chisholm Trails, and no one would be the wiser that all the land and cattle are really owned by a syndicate."
Casey nodded. "Slick as shit through a goose."
The sheriff chuckled dryly. "Yeah." She looked at Alejandra, then at Morgan. "I'm obliged to you, Alejandra, for bringin' these to us."
Morgan quickly translated the sheriff's words, then waited for Alejandra's response. "She says you're welcome, Sheriff. And that she hopes you can arrest Shaw soon, 'cause he's a bad man."
Beckman nodded. She collected the original letters from Chuck and handed them to Alejandra. "Yeah. Grimes, tell her that if she gets scared or thinks something bad's gonna go down, she should come here and we'll keep her safe. Then you get her back to Shaw's ranch."
"Yes, Sheriff," Morgan said, turning to Alejandra and speaking quickly as he lead her towards the back door of the jail.
"We got lucky, Grimes makin' friends with that girl," Casey said as the door closed behind Morgan and Alejandra.
She nodded. "Yeah. Now we've got evidence for when Graham comes back."
Chuck leaned back in his chair, flexing his writing hand. "What are we gonna do now?" he asked quietly.
Beckman sighed. "We know locations, but not names. But I'm thinkin', if we could get out there, gather some info from other sheriffs, Casey's contacts . . . we might be able to do more than just take out Shaw."
Casey looked at the sheriff appraisingly. "Take down the whole organization, 'stead of just one man."
"You got it," Beckman said. "You up for it, Casey?"
He nodded. "I know a few guys along the Red River. They'll give me the real deal."
"There's a couple sheriffs that would do the same." Beckman looked at Chuck for a moment, then looked back to Casey. "Take Grimes with you. Too dangerous for just you to go, Casey."
He grunted and stood up, rubbing his lower back. "Yeah, okay. Might have to scare him into shuttin' his yap, just to get some peace and quiet."
The sheriff chuckled. "Just as long as you don't scare him to death."
"What about me, Sheriff?" Chuck asked.
"You'll stay and help keep things quiet. All this is gonna depend on Shaw not gettin' any signs of what we're up to. Casey's always comin' and goin', people expect that. We'll put 'round that Morgan's visitin' his family down south."
"Don't think Shaw will find that mighty coincidental?" Casey asked.
Beckman shrugged. "It's been a few years since he went away. I can sell it, and Grimes . . . well, he knows when to keep his mouth shut."
Casey nodded. "When you want us to leave?"
"Sooner the better. Day after tomorrow at the latest."
"Then I'm gonna get to work," Casey said, rising up from his spot on the desk. He went into the back room of the jail, and the sheriff turned to look at Chuck.
"This ain't a punishment, Bartowski," she said. "I could use you here, but only if you're over this mopin'."
Chuck took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Sheriff. I didn't . . . I just had a hard time accepting the truth."
"I got that," she said, her voice a little sympathetic. "But you're gonna hafta learn to deal with things faster, since I need you as a deputy."
He looked at her in surprise. "You want me as a deputy?"
"You're gettin' better at shooting, accordin' to Casey and Morgan. And you've got a good head on your shoulders. If you're willin', you're hired: ten dollars a month plus room and board. Interested?"
It took Chuck a moment to think this over. When he had first arrived, he'd had no interest in being a deputy, risking his life in a town where he barely knew anyone. But now, between his new friends and his interest in Sarah, even though he didn't know how that relationship would turn out, he knew this was where he wanted to settle.
Chuck nodded. "Yeah, I'm in."
The sheriff stood up and rummaged around in one of her desk drawers. "Then here you go." She handed him a tin badge in the shape of a star. "Raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear to uphold the laws of the town of El Dorado, in the county of Pecos, in the great state of Texas?"
"I do," Chuck said, grinning at the sheriff. He pinned the badge on his shirt and took a moment to admire it.
"Looks good," Beckman said with a grin. "Still a good place for the bad guys to aim when they wanna shoot you."
Chuck did a double-take at the sheriff's words. "Wh-what?"
Beckman didn't say anything, just laughed as she walked into the back room.
XXX
Late the next night, Morgan rode away towards the south. The plan was for Morgan to look like he was heading for Mexico to visit his mother's people, but instead he'd loop around to the east after he was a few miles out of El Dorado.
"Grimes isn't much, but he's loyal as hell," the sheriff said once Morgan had left. "He'll be handy to have around."
"Only if I wanna get my ear talked off," Casey said gruffly. "But I suppose he'll be useful with the lawmen."
"Yep, Morgan knows how to treat a sheriff," Beckman said with a grin. "There's a few other sheriffs I trust, and a few that I don't trust, but I know they ain't crooked. And none of 'em have any love lost with little men tryin' to be big, like this bunch of Shaw's."
Armed with letters from the sheriff, Casey rode out in the morning, heading due east. He was due to meet Morgan there, and then the two of them would start gathering info.
Now that it was just Chuck and the sheriff, the workload got a lot heavier. It gave Chuck a new respect for Morgan, hanging in there and staying on with the sheriff when she went through her rough patch. Because with just two of them, it was hard to keep El Dorado safe.
They spent most of their time patrolling on foot and on horses. But even with their presence out on the streets, a rash of petty crimes broke out: horses taken from their stables and put in different ones, rail fences taken apart and the logs stacked in neat piles, and water troughs emptied and flipped over all over town.
It took them a day or so to track down the youngsters responsible, making Beckman snappish. Once all the kids had been rounded up, and fines extracted from their parents, things settled down. But the longer it was since Casey and Morgan had left, the more frustrated she became.
Chuck did his best to stay out of her way and not ask fool questions, as the sheriff put it. That meant a lot of reading and quite a few hands of solitaire. It also gave him plenty of time to think about Sarah.
He couldn't fault her for doing her best to protect her family, to do her part to help them. But leading attacks against Daniel Shaw wasn't the way to do it. It was too risky, and what was the point of the attacks? To annoy Shaw? Chuck didn't think anything annoyed Daniel Shaw. He was too much of an automaton for things like normal human emotions.
Putting aside the issue of Shaw, Chuck felt that he had to broach the issue of the raids with Sarah. He couldn't let her keep taking such big chances. Not just because he was interested in her, but because it was a dumb thing to be doing in the middle of this stalemate.
Maybe she had changed her mind. It had been five days since the last attack, the longest period without activity since the raids had started. But she deserved to know that he knew the truth. He didn't want to keep secrets from her.
He just needed to find an opportunity to talk to her. There hadn't been any sign of her in town over the last few days. He just hoped that when he got the opportunity, he wouldn't make a mess of it.
XXX
Out of the corner of his eye, Chuck saw a flash of blonde hair. He turned and realized it was Sarah, walking out of the stagecoach depot. Leaving the sheriff talking to Doc Wood, Chuck hurried down the street and caught up with Sarah as she was about to mount her horse.
"Sarah," he said, trying to catch his breath from his unexpected hurry.
She turned her head and looked at him, smiling a little. "Hi, Chuck."
He felt his face flush and not just from his run as he looked at her. The memory of their kiss seemed to hang between them, suddenly front and center in Chuck's mind. He cleared his throat, trying to push the memory away so he could focus on the important thing: talking to Sarah.
"Do you have a minute to talk?" he asked her, looking down at her.
It might have been his imagination, but her eyes lost a little bit of their sparkle at his words.
Sarah wrapped the reins of her horse back around the hitching rail, and Chuck walked over to the rail fence surrounding the corral, the site of the talk that was interrupted by her father. He lifted himself up onto the top rail, taking a seat. Sarah joined him, gracefully hoisting herself up to sit next to him.
Chuck gave himself a moment to collect his thoughts, to find a place to begin this conversation. It'd be easier to just say it straight out, but he felt like he had to do this carefully.
"So . . . I'm a deputy now," he said slowly.
She nodded. "I saw the star," she said, gesturing to his badge. "How does it feel?"
"Pretty good. It's hard work, but . . . but I like it," he said, looking at her.
"Yeah?" she asked, squinting as she looked at him, the sun full in her face.
He nodded, momentarily at a loss for words. He wished he could kiss her. Just lean over and press his lips against her, forget all about Shaw and her father and everything.
Chuck took a deep breath. "Sarah . . . there's something I need to talk to you about."
She narrowed her eyes. "Chuck, just spit it out. Stop dancin' around whatever you wanna tell me."
That was just so Sarah, he thought, ducking his head a little. She wasn't one to beat around the bush, and he should do the same.
He squared his shoulders and faced her. "The sheriff knows who's leading the raids against Shaw's ranch. She has an eyewitness who says it's a blonde woman."
Sarah's face was impassive. "Is that so?"
Chuck nodded. "Yeah." He looked at her for a moment, then leaned in towards her a little and lowered his voice as he spoke. "Sarah, I don't think you should do any more attacks."
"That's what you think, huh?" she asked, her voice low and angry. "And why's that? 'Cause you think it's unseemly for a woman to be leadin' the attacks? Or 'cause it doesn't fit with your mental picture of the kinda girl you wanna be with?"
"No, no," Chuck said, stumbling over his words. "It's not about that-Sarah, these raids, they're dangerous! And what are you getting in return?"
"We're keepin' the pressure on Shaw," Sarah said, her body tensing. "He's gotta know that we're not gonna let up."
"He knows that," Chuck insisted. "The fact that Beckman arrested him, that tells him that he can't get away with anything illegal."
Sarah laughed bitterly. "Oh, yeah, he's real scared of Beckman," she said.
"She's a good woman and a good sheriff," Chuck said quietly, not willing to let even Sarah insult Beckman.
Sarah snorted. "Of course you think that, Deputy Bartowski." Her words were cutting and Chuck swallowed, fighting against his self-doubt.
"I think this plan is full of risks and almost no reward," Chuck said, trying to hide his feelings and be logical. "You've already gotten some injured horses, and you're drawing attention to yourself. If Shaw comes to the sheriff and says he knows that it's you leading the raids, you'll get arrested."
"Shaw's not gonna come cryin' to the sheriff about gettin' nuisanced every once in a while," Sarah said, her jaw set in a stubborn line.
"You don't know that," Chuck said, trying to get through to her. "And what if you got hurt, or somebody else?"
"I can take care of myself, and I can take care of my people," Sarah retorted quickly.
"What if you hurt someone else? Some innocent bystander, like a servant of Shaw's?" Chuck thought of Alejandra, of her big brown eyes and the way she looked at Morgan. He'd hate for Sarah to have on her conscience injury to an innocent.
"If they're workin' for Shaw, they've picked their sides."
"That's not fair," Chuck argued. "People that need work, they just care about their jobs, not about choosing sides."
"They still gotta choice, and they've made it," Sarah repeated.
"You are so stubborn!" Chuck said, feeling his frustration at a breaking point. "Can't you listen to what I'm saying? I'm worried about you."
Sarah pushed herself off the fence, walking backward as she moved away from him. "You got no reason to worry. I've been takin' care of myself since I was six, and I'm not about to stop. Not for anything."
Chuck jumped down and followed her. "I don't doubt that, Sarah. But if you know how to take care of yourself, why the hell are you doing something so hare-brained as attacking Shaw? This is all gonna end badly. Really, really badly, and I don't want you to get hurt."
Her eyes snapped, full of fury. "Your concern is touchin'," she said. "But you can stop worrying."
"No, I won't," Chuck said, eating up the distance between them and grabbing her wrist. "I can't stop worrying-Sarah, c'mon." He leaned down towards her, searching her eyes for any sign that she was listening to his pleas.
"You're too important to me," he said softly.
She yanked her arm away from him. "You've got no idea what's at risk here, really. If Shaw wins, he'd take my family's ranch, kick all of us out. Leave us with nothing. If there's anything I can do to stop that from happening, I'm gonna do it."
"I know, Sarah," he said, trying to not let her leave. Not like this, full of anger and ready to throw away what they might have. "I get that. Why do you think I spent five years going after my sister's killers? Because she was the only family I had, and I wasn't gonna let her death go unpunished."
Finally, finally, he saw his words start to penetrate her hard shell. Sarah took a deep breath, apparently struggling to find some calm. She took her hat off, running her hand through her hair. "Yeah. You know how important family is," she said, the anger gone from her voice. "So you know why I wanna do my part."
He spoke softly and gently, trying to keep this moment from slipping away. "All I'm asking is that you think about what these raids are for and figure out if they're worth the danger. I don't think they are. I think there's better ways to take Shaw down, legal ways. And do you and your family really wanna sink to his level? I don't think you do. So . . . just, please, reconsider the attacks."
She looked at him for a long moment. Then she nodded quickly. "I'll think about it."
He couldn't help a big grin at her words. "That's all I'm asking for. Thank you."
"Nothin' to thank me for," Sarah said, pulling her hair up and tucking it under her hat. "I should go-I was expected at home a while ago."
He nodded. "Right. I . . . I'll be seeing you." He looked at her for a long moment, wishing this conversation had gone a bit differently. Less anger, more actual discussion. Maybe that way, he'd feel brave enough to take her hand and squeeze it gently, or even kiss her cheek. Show her that she had his support. But it wasn't the right time for any of those overtures, so he stepped back and gave her a small smile.
"Right," she said, looking a bit uncomfortable. "See you later, Chuck." She turned and walked back to the hitching rail, quickly untying her horse and swinging up into the saddle. Without another word, she galloped off.
Chuck watched her ride away, marveling yet again at how capable she was. How she gave as good as she got. She got angry easily, she was stubborn, and she reacted instinctively without thinking. She was the opposite of him; he thought about everything, deliberated and pondered what action he should take.
His feelings for Sarah hadn't changed. It had seemed so easy when they were out in the moonlight, talking and laughing and kissing during their date. But now they were in the cold light of day, and everything that seemed simple wasn't so simple anymore. A relationship with Sarah had suddenly become very, very difficult.
End, Chapter 7