Amelia woke up from another nightmare. She'd been on the street walking with Warrick, the two of them talking and laughing. She'd really liked him on sight, found him to be a charming man with brimming intelligence and a sharp wit.

Qualities that had attracted her to Pierce back when she'd been barely Claire's age. She'd fallen in love with him so damn quick mostly because he'd wanted her to and she'd never been around a man like him. She'd grown up traveling on her horse through the Outback with men rough around the edges and all of them forbidden by her father to stay away from her. But when she'd come to America and wound up a domestic servant for the family who sponsored her, she still dreamed of exploring the world out there and during her quiet moments in the cramped shed near the barn where she slept, she'd kept a small scrapbook under her mattress to pull out at night and if she was lucky to find discarded newspapers with pictures of faraway places in the house, she'd add them to her scrapbook.

She'd shared it with Pierce one day and when he hadn't laughed…that's when her feeling for him had been born. But she hadn't known him that well and now she regretted ever sharing anything so personal with him. He'd used her as an innocent pawn in some of his scams, jeopardized the reputation of the bank where she worked so hard and then he'd just walked away from her.

Actually rode probably as far as Scout, his horse could take him before someone caught up with him and silenced him for good. It had taken her so long to get over that betrayal even though they'd been estranged at his point of departure. But she'd grown up a lot during his absence and learned to rely on her own skills and more hard work to survive. Not that she didn't stay so far inside herself that when she wasn't working…people hardly knew the woman with the accent that could be English rather than Australian. What had drawn her out of it had been the arrival of the children…and Ethan though it took her too long to admit it even to herself. Only when she thought the amnesiac assassin had killed him out in the valley, had she allowed herself to feel the tremendous loss…damn she'd even asked Scotty for his gun to get revenge.

If Pierce had seen that, he'd never believed it. But at that point, avenging Ethan's death was worth sacrificing everything…and when he'd been alive, he saw the tears that she'd shed while playing a dirge on her piano.

They'd fallen in love, gotten engaged and broken it off and she'd left to run away from all of it. But you can't run away from your feelings and the problems they evoke.

But then Pierce had done the ultimate betrayal….not that she dreamed about that. What had woken her up, her heart pounding and in a cold sweat had been the murder.

Watching Warrick fall on the cobbled street in slow motion…the two men standing there and knowing she'd been the reason why. No, initially her ex-husband had been the reason why.

She got out of bed and went to pour herself some water to drink, as her throat felt parched. It'd be morning soon because it'd gone all quiet and she could see the palest hints of the sun rising out the window.

Another day on the ranch and she couldn't be happier about that. She'd loved working outdoors more than inside the cramped office of the bank.

The other night had been so wonderful dancing with Ethan and walking with him in the warm night…with happiness all around them. The way he'd kissed her triggered all kinds of sensations and with them, memories of what it had been like when he courted her without calling it that and when they'd really decided to commit to each other. He'd been the furthest away from the type of man she thought she could love, and a complete opposite in many ways from Pierce. She knew he'd be the only man that she'd ever love. The trouble was, Ethan needed a complete woman who would put up with his lifestyle and not try to change him.

The latter was what had broken them up because it'd been hard enough when he'd been a gunslinger for hire but when he became marshal, she'd felt such intense misgivings that she surprised herself. The town had cheered as the dreaded star was pinned to his chest but she'd stood in the background feeling such intense foreboding that she couldn't shake…even as they made marriage plans and took a couple aborted trips to the altar.

She had plenty of time to think about it and now she knew that him being town marshal was the best thing that could happen not the worst. Ethan wasn't so much fearless like in his youth, but he was truly concerned about the town and its people even those at the bottom of the economic and social ladder. He'd been so fair too, including to Bella giving her a second chance when she knew that some powerful players in town wanted to run Bella out or even hang her in the town square.

So she was settled on that part of his life but she just didn't know if she was woman enough anymore to get back with him. He certainly seemed interested enough but her own feelings were so mixed up. She knew she loved him but she knew she carried a lot of fear inside of her still even as she tried not to think about it. But when she was with him, as wonderful as she felt, she felt on edge as if something were going to happen.

She'd been changed forever. Would Ethan understand that and still want to be with her?

After sipping from her cup of water, she went outside to the small porch and watched the sun rise, thinking it to be another day.

She'd ride into town to do some business and of course to see him again. She'd meant to go yesterday but had gotten so busy with some of the horses. He hadn't come back later that day, even to pick up Ben and George leaving Claire to do that.

Today she'd head into town and talk with him about what was happening between them and why she struggled with it. He deserved to know that.

Ethan hadn't gotten much sleep even when he returned home not long before sunrise. He'd been up with Doc Carter discussing his exam of the dead man in the cell after spending wasted hours trying to locate both . He'd tossed and turned until he heard the sounds of Ben and George getting up for breakfast and doing their chores. So he got out of a bed he hadn't really slept in to help Claire cook the meal.

"You got in late last night?"

He nodded.

"I had to stay in town," he said, "A man died in my custody the night of the party…"

She frowned while she cracked some eggs in the pan.

"Who…how…?"

He sighed.

"Some of Darrin's men arrested him for vandalism and he was locked up in jail," he said, "Dakota and Charlie saw him alive but had to leave to deal with a disturbance…and when they came back…"

Claire shook her head.

"What about Martha…she could help you right?"

Ethan didn't get far with her. When her father circled the wagons around him on an issue, she joined right in with him. Oh she'd tried to distract him by inviting him to go to eat with her at the saloon and discuss it further and he'd gone just for that. But his mind had been on Amelia missing her and knowing he wouldn't see her today and Martha had changed the topic quickly enough to Founder's Day.

"Oh Ethan, we're going to have music, dancers and a barber quartet."

"A barber what?"

"Oh it's a type of entertainment act very popular in larger cities…it's really going to put Paradise on the map."

Paradise already had a place on many maps, Ethan thought back when it'd been a mining team in the past and then again.

"I need to talk to your father and he won't see me."

She sighed.

"Ethan…you know how busy he's been since he arrived here and it's all for improving Paradise, you know that."

No he didn't and if it meant at a steep price, he'd oppose progress.

"I need to find Burke and Trevor…his men who took that man to the jail."

She sighed.

"He was alive and well when they brought him there."

"He was roughed up and they were hanging around the jail even after they left him there," Ethan said, "Dakota and Charlie saw them there."

Martha just looked irritated.

"Oh Ethan…you think they came back and killed him? Why on earth would they do that?"

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I don't know why…and I'm not saying that happened but I can't discount anything at this point. I have a dead man in my cell who wasn't dead when he was locked up."

"Maybe he died of something else…maybe he was sick."

"Doc Carter said he looked young and in good health," Ethan said, "No signs of sickness."

"Maybe it's something Doc Carter couldn't see…I know my father Ethan and he only hires the best men to do his security. He has to, or else he'd lose money doing it."

That made some sense to Ethan but he still harbored suspicions and now neither of the Wyatts would help him find the two men. Burke hadn't been at Axelrod's this morning and Simon had been there instead. Not one to answer any questions either, just shrugging when Ethan had asked him about working there while mumbling it was the boss' orders.

He just knew he had to get to the bottom of it if a murderer still walked in their midst. But he also knew save Dakota, he was pretty much on his own.