Angel Eyes napped for a few hours after returning to his hotel room. After awakening, he enjoyed the peace and quiet, and had a leisurely smoke, then cleaned his primary gun before heading to the cafe for lunch.

After an unhurried meal, he went over to the saloon across from the hotel to spend a few hours.

The bartender looked up at him when he came through the batwing doors.

"Hey, Angel Eyes," the man greeted. "Did you just get into town? Should someone here be worried about getting a visit from you?" He snickered at his own weak joke.

"Horace, you know I wouldn't tell you if I was here on business," Angel Eyes said, briefly baring his teeth. "But, as it happens, I'm between jobs. I'm just here to relax for now."

"What'll you have?" the bartender asked, all business once more. "The usual?"

"Yeah," the other man said, as he moved to the end of the bar, where he could face the doorway.

The bartender brought him a whiskey, then went back to stocking the bar. He'd known Angel Eyes long enough to know he wasn't one for small talk

The saloon hadn't been busy when Angel Eyes first arrived, which suited him fine. He was satisfied to slowly sip his drink and get lost in his own thoughts. As the afternoon wore on, he watched more customers trickle in and, as twilight approached, the saloon girls come on duty.

No one bothered him, with the exception of one saloon girl, who asked if he wanted to have a good time. He declined; with Emma around, there was no need to pay a whore. After the girl had moved off to solicit someone else, Angel Eyes signalled the bartender for another drink.

A short time later, he took a break to go across the street to the cafe for supper. He returned to the saloon after his meal, as he wasn't yet ready for bed.

Angel Eyes spent the rest of the evening in observation mode, with his mouth closed and his ears open. In his line of work, random information gathered often later became useful.

After he'd had enough, he got up and sauntered back across the street to the hotel and entered by the back stairs. It has been nice to spend a day to himself doing absolutely nothing.

The day back home after being with Angel Eyes had been almost a blur for Emma. She was very tired after her night away from her family and wanted nothing more than to go upstairs and take a long nap. But she knew doing that would bring unwanted attention and questions from her mother she'd rather not answer, so she toughed her way through the workday, making sure to drink some coffee.

The store wasn't that busy, so Emma had plenty of time for daydreaming. She repeatedly went over the details of her night with Angel Eyes in her mind: she could barely think of anything else.

She realized he wasn't a very nice man, but that he liked her in his own way and still wanted her, which was all that mattered to her. Emma knew she didn't want the boring boys from the church. She sensed that Angel Eyes was very dangerous, but she didn't want to tame him, if that was even possible, because this was what excited her about him. They were physically compatible, at least, which was why they'd gotten together in the first place.

Emma realized she needed to talk to Janie, sooner rather than later, to get her to back up the story she'd told her mother. It would be a disaster if her mother talked to Janie first, as her mother would inevitably ask about the night Emma had supposedly spent with her.

Later in the afternoon, after a lull in business, Emma's mother handed her several pieces of outgoing mail. "We're not busy, so I'd like you to take these to the post office," the older woman told her. "I would have had Mattie to take it, but she's up in your room doing homework."

"Of course, Mother," Emma replied, taking the envelopes. She was glad for the excuse to leave the mercantile for awhile.

"Take your time," her mother told her. "It will do you good to get some fresh air and sunshine." After a moment, she added, "The church social is coming up soon. I think you might want to go to the milliner's and get a new hat for that. You might meet an eligible young man there."

Emma rolled her eyes at this notion, but said nothing. She'd go to the church social just for something to do, but she'd resist her mother's attempts at matchmaking. A sudden vision entered her mind, making her laugh out loud: showing up at the church social on Angel Eyes' arm. She could just imagine the busybody old ladies fainting dead away if they ever laid eyes on him. Too bad it would never happen.

She left shortly thereafter, making sure to get her reticule first. Her parents paid her a small salary and she was pretty sure she had enough to get a new hat.

Luck was with Emma that day. She ran into Janie not more than two minutes after leaving the mercantile.

"Just the person I wanted to see!" Emma said as she caught up to her friend. "I need to talk to you."

"I'm glad to see you, too," Janie said, raising an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Not here where anyone can hear!" Emma said, looking around to see if anyone was listening.

"Let's go to the tea parlor," Janie suggested. "We should be able to talk privately there."

"Good idea," Emma agreed. "I'd like to have a cup of tea, too, and maybe a pastry."

A short time later the two young women were seated at a back corner table at the tea parlor, each with a cup of tea and a plate full of pastries.

"So, what's got you all in a bother," Janie asked.

"Before I say anything, you have to promise not to tell anyone," Emma said, with a finger to her lips. "This has to stay just between you and me."

"I promise! I won't tell anyone," Janie replied, leaning forward, now avidly curious.

"First thing is, you have to tell anyone who asks that I spent Tuesday night at your house," Emma told her.

"Oh, Emma! What have you gone and done now!" Janie exclaimed.

Her eyes twinkling, Emma replied, "I met a man."

"And you spent all night with him?" Janie asked, her curiosity now at a fever pitch. "Who is he? Is he that new clerk at the bank? Tell me everything."

"Yes, we were together all night," Emma admitted with a slight blush. "It's not anyone you know. He's new in town. I met him when he came into the mercantile."

"Did you ah, er, uh…" Janie's voice trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to say the words. "Certainly you didn't spend the night just talking."

"What do you think?" Emma retorted, now blushing furiously.

"How was it?" Janie asked, not at all surprised by what her friend did. Emma was the most daring girl Janie had ever met.

"Much better than I ever imagined it would be," Emma answered, her expression dreamy. "I can't wait to see him again."

Before Janie could ask her any more, the tea parlor proprietor came over to their table. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I'm about to close up for the day," she told them. "I can wrap up the pastries you didn't eat to take with you."

Once they were back on the street a few moments later, Emma said, "We'll have to talk more about this later when we can have some privacy. I have to run some errands now. Why don't you come along and keep me company?"

"All right," Janie agreed. "But don't forget to tell me the rest of the story when you get a chance."

The two friends moved down the wooden sidewalk when Emma stopped dead in her tracks a short while later. Janie followed her gaze to see the back of a tall man wearing a black hat as he entered the saloon.

She looked back at Emma, whose eyes were sparkling and said, "That's him, isn't it?"