He wasn't very fond of this sudden change in Lucy. As she plodded down the walk in front of the carriage, she kicked angrily at every pebble in her path, no matter how miniscule or non-existent. Now and then, she turned to glance in his direction with a glimmer of hot indignation flaring up in her face. After the last look of hurt was passed, Jake began to feel as though he had scolded her out of turn. Although he hadn't thought that banishment to her room was very harsh, considering the alternative his own mother would have given him. Jake shuddered at the thought, knowing he'd sooner take a razor strap to himself before he'd raise a hand to his children.

He watched her carefully now as she stepped down into the busy street where the walk ended. She wove her way through the strolling towns folk keeping her head down, with her hands flying up to her face every now and again. It was then that he realized she'd been attempting to wipe away tears. This was more that Jake's heart could bare as they reached the wide dirt road separating the town from the train tracks. With his hand maintaining control of the carriage, he came around grabbing hold of Lucy's arm. She jerked startle until she realized it was him and collapsed against his hip crying uncontrollably. Jake came down on his haunches taking her into his paternal embrace. Waiting patiently, until he began to feel the growing coolness of her wet tears saturate through the linen of his blue and white striped shirt, he took hold of her tiny shoulders. Very gingerly he held her back just enough to wipe at her face with his sleeves.

"Yah gotta tell me what on earth has been goin on with you, Lucy," his fingers curled around her thick curls, gathering them behind her shoulders and out of her flushed face. "You're not actin like yourself… Is it cause yah Ma's gone?"

Lucy shook her head trembling through her racking sobs of frustration. Eyebrows wrinkled over her large luminescent eyes, she looked up into his face completely disarming him. Jake could no longer stand the sight of his little girl in so much anguish, "Well, tell me. Honey, please what is it?"

"If- if Mama doesn't come back are you…gonna find someone else?" this revelation only seemed to break the dam, allowing a flood of tears to cascade down her face.

Taken aback, Jake couldn't comprehend fully what his child had just demanded of him. He considered a moment realizing how despondent he'd been since Teresa had been away. She had brought so much light into his life that once that beautiful flame had gone, he felt himself plunged into darkness, once more. Now holding his crying child in his arms, he chastised himself inwardly, for being so dense. "Lucy…Honey…I love your Ma. I've loved her from the first time I ever set eyes on her, and I'm gonna love her till my dyin days. Why nothin is more important to me than you, your sister and yah Ma. Yah got that?"

She only nodded pressing herself into him, seeking that comfort that had been robbed of her since that Marrow woman had entered their lives. Now she was certain when her mother returned everything would right itself. Her mere presence would repel that interloper from their company, and bring the light back into her father's now dimmed eyes. Jake gently stood taking her hand in his as he pushed the carriage across the dusty wide rode.

As they passed along the smooth dirt mound of the tracks, Lucy released Jake's hand running up to the telegraph office window. She stood up on her toes straining until Horace leaned out grinning sloppily down at her. "Hello Miss Lucy! I was about tah make a trip down to visit with yah! Got telegrams for yah."

"Horace," Jake called pulling the carriage up the last of the steps being careful not to jolt Izzy from her drowsy state. "Any telegrams?"

Horace pouted his lips out like a ducks bill, rolling his eyes comically, "I just said yah got some telegrams comin!"

Jake perched himself on his elbow in the window counter forcing Horace to stand up at his full height. Turning to rummage through the overflowing mass of papers and envelopes protruding from the wooden wall of cubbyholes, Horace sighed impatiently, "These two come in last night…like I said, I was just about to bring them over to yah."

"You mean you just let me sit down there all morning goin crazy!" Jake fumed realizing he could have had word from his wife hours ago.

"Wouldn't have mattered anyways," Horace held the cards absently to his stomach.

Jake snatched them from his loose grasp, "why's that?"

"Train ain't gotten passed Santa Fe yet. I've been wirin the closest station since those came through."

Jake's face went blank as he peered down at Horace's thick pencil scribbling.

"She's comin home early," he exhaled curving his lips up into a smile. Lucy gasped excitedly, taking the black string of licorice Horace offered her from the glass jar, he kept around for Samantha's visits home. Jake flipped to the next card, slumping his shoulders in defeat. "This says the trains been delayed for debris on the tracks," Jake looked worriedly down at Lucy's dying reverie.

"Don't you worry," Horace smiled nearly passed his ears at Lucy. "She'll still make it through if she boards a night train at the next station."

Jake shook his head at Horace, "I warned her not to do that 'fore she left… too dangerous for a woman travelin alone."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx

Placing her hand shyly on his broad round shoulder, Teresa blushed at the feel of another man's hands on her waist, as he helped her from the iron grate of train's steps. The train was stopped 20 miles from the Santa Fe station out in the middle of sprawling acres of fallen dried straw grass, large cobble shaped stones, and pale yellow scorched dirt crumbling in gathered patches around any raised dehydrated vegetation. The sky was erupting in the hazy violet splendor of the gathering evening sky. Together, she and Randall waited as the rail hands located his horse from the stock car.

"I can not tell you enough how I appreciate your going out of your way to get me home," Teresa smiled brushing the loose ebony strands of hair from her face. However, the wind blew directionless bringing down even more loose tendrils, framing her face.

"Don't make a fuss. If I had two little sweet hearts like those girls," he insinuated the framed picture she had showed him of Jake and the girls. "I'd move heaven and earth to get to them. Sides' this Colorado Springs sound nice enough…for a visit at least."

Even under the dying purple hues which ushered in the darkening twilight, his hauntingly bright blue eyes sparkled under their heavy brow. His arms hung like bulky braided rope tapering down to his wrists, at his sides as he towered over her in the dimming light. Surely, there was nothing to fear from such a man as this.