Amelia felt herself unable to move not sure how much time had passed. The first blow to the head had dazed her. The second knocked her out for a while. She'd remembered just enough to know that she'd been spared a lot of terror because she'd been fighting against a man trying to tear off her dress.
His way of exacting payment for what he said Pierce had stolen from him some years ago.
"You give me and my friend what we want and we'll forget all about his debt."
She'd shaken her head unable to say the words she wanted…his eyes she knew mere words wouldn't be enough to stop them. Then the tearing of fabric had jolted her and she'd fought back like a wild animal. But that blow…it stopped her and she just looked up dazed as her face swelled and she felt a hand, she wasn't sure who it belonged to slipping into the torn area of her dress.
"You're so soft…how long since your husband…"
The other man laughed.
"You know women like her…their husbands run off on them and they turn to selling their bodies to get by."
"Nah she's a lady…just look at her.'
She flinched as she tried to form words through split lips and to shy away from the grubbiness of a man's callused fingers as they grabbed one of her breasts.
"I'd say a very lonely lady from the looks of her…needing a man's attention. We're doing her a favor."
She reared up with new vigor and tried to push them off of her. That's when the second blow came.
When she came to…one of them…she didn't even want to think about it was in between her legs…her dress hiked up and she'd just closed her eyes so they wouldn't hit her again…maybe killing her. But time stood still immortalizing that moment changing a part of her forever.
"Amelia…"
She nearly jumped and remembered she was sitting on the swing at the ranch house and she must have dozed off.
Ethan stood in front of her.
"What are you doing here?"
She tried to keep the panic out of her voice.
"I'm here to pick up the pup for the boys."
"Oh right…Clara's looking after them right now," Amelia said, "in the barn."
"I'm in no rush…you come from town?"
She nodded.
"I ran into Ernie…he's rethinking everything he wrote about San Francisco and Warrick's murder," She said, "It's a bit late."
"Did he say who he thinks killed him?"
She just looked down at her hands, knowing it was another way to get her to tell him. But if she did, all hell would break loose. People could die including him. She'd lost so much already and the fear of losing him had made her run away once.
"Amelia I'm not going anywhere and I'm not planning on dying."
She sighed.
"I know that but plans don't always work out."
He didn't say anything just sat down next to her on the swing which creaked under the added weight. He pushed it idly with his feet.
"It's pretty nice out here."
She smiled, trying to get her bearings.
"I know…I miss my old swing but this one's just as nice."
"We used to spend a lot of time back with the old one," he said, "Fair amount of courting done on it."
She tensed as he reminisced on their shared past.
"Ethan…everything's changed."
He leaned ever closer to her.
"Not everything…we still love each other despite everything."
She closed her eyes at those words not arguing against them. She just wanted to sit quietly with him while her nightmare faded.
"Ethan… it's just so hard."
"I know but it doesn't have to be," he said, "I'm not going to push you on anything…I'm a patient man."
A smile quirked over her lips.
"Sometimes you are….other times…"
"Not so much," he said, "But I never gave up on you coming back even all those months. People thought it crazy and some women tried to change my mind…"
She arched a brow.
"Tried…to change my mind but truth is, I'm a one woman man and that's not changing no matter what No matter how long it takes."
She pursed her lips.
"I can't promise anything," she said, "I know what we shared together…It was very special. But it's gone and I don't know if it'll come back. The memories even…"
He didn't seem offended, just leaning back in the chair.
"They're great aren't they?"
She just glanced over at him.
"Ethan…"
"Amelia…they were…and they kept a man company for quite a few months."
She tensed her body and started to pull away again.
"Ethan…I can't…I don't know if I ever can."
He reached over to her and tilted her chin up with a couple of fingers to look at him closely.
"Never say never Amelia," he said, "and don't think about it right now."
She sighed.
"You are…and I know what you want."
"Yeah I guess you do," he said, "But what I want right now is to sit back with my favorite lady and just soak in the last of the sunlight."
She started to relax a little. The man certainly had more than his share of charm. Enough to coax her from the frigid night air to the blankets by the fire without her being aware of it.
"You think you can handle that?"
She thought about it and then nodded.
"Okay then…tell you what. We'll do this for a while and then I'll fetch the pup."
She leaned over then and before he knew it, she kissed him softly on the mouth. Tentatively at first but then more deeply and of course he responded. He'd be crazy not to…she'd always had that kind of effect on him.
"Damn you're something Amelia," he said, "I'm going to have to kiss you right back."
He did as he promised and then some. Gentle like he knew how to be to woo his woman and then reeling her in for some toe curling kissing.
Afterward she looked at him, still tasting him and a bit out of breath.
"Amelia…you and I belong together and we both know it."
She couldn't argue with his simple logic and she didn't want to do anything but sit there with him.
"But you want more."
"Course I do…and you just kissed me," he said, "Kissed you back and I'll be doing it again."
She hoped so. Not even her fear kept her from doing that.
"Now let's sit back and watch this sun set together."
And so they did.