Johnny was having coffee with Jess when the noon stage came in.  Jess had hopped a ride on the early morning stage and come into town to run some errands.  He was heading back on this one.  However, as they walked across the street, they heard Dan tell Mose to let Slim know Jess wouldn’t be back for a week or so.

    Jess told Mose to hold up, “Marshal, we’ve got a real heavy workload the next few weeks.  Unless this is an emergency, I’m afraid you’ll have to find another deputy.”

    Without speaking, Dan handed a telegram to Jess.  Jess paled as he read it and handed it to Johnny.  Dan told them, “I wired back to Pine Bluffs that I would be sending three deputies to help out.  Johnny, let Jess take my horse.  I wired the Marshal in Cheyenne  to have three good remounts for you at the livery.  Ride hard and leave your horses there.  Change again in Pine Bluff.  Ride through the night and you’ll catch up to the posse outside Pine Bluffs.  You all know how to sleep in the saddle.  RJ probably won’t sleep no matter where she is.  We’ve got three drives heading for Laramie; one of us has to stay here.  You two are a good team and I think she’d want you with her.  Get moving.”

    Johnny looked up from the telegram.  “I need to go tell her,” he said reluctantly.

    “I’ll do it Johnny.  You two get supplies for a week.  For her too.  I’ll bring her back here.  Jess there’s a bedroll on my saddle in the livery.  Go ahead and take it.”

    Dan found RJ getting ready for what she thought was a pleasure trip to intercept the stage bringing her sister to Laramie.  She instantly knew something was wrong but jumped to the wrong conclusion.

    “Johnny, something’s happened to him.”

    Dan handed her the telegram.  When she looked back up at him, he knew the men who had taken her sister and the other woman off that stage were walking dead right now.  And if Gena were dead, they’d hurt bad going down.

    He handed her a badge, the first time he’d made her official.  “Go put your hair up and change your clothes.  I told them to expect three deputies to join their posse.  Johnny and Jess are getting their horses and supplies and will meet you in front of the office.”

    Seventeen hours and two changes of horses later they caught up with the posse.   Johnny and Jess had each gotten a few hours sleep in the saddle. RJ hadn’t gotten more than an hour.  the three dogs, Briar, Bandit and Ranger had gotten tired enough to hitch rides on the horses with fair frequency.

    When the trail split and the posse divided, the three of them went North on no more than a feeling RJ had.  But Johnny had learned to rely on RJ’s hunches. Johnny and Jess had privately decided to let RJ take charge in any event.  It was her sister.

    Two hours later they were watering the horses and the dogs when they heard a wagon approaching.   They got well off the road out of sight.  Another of RJ’s hunches.  She climbed high enough to get a good look with binoculars.  When the wagon was well away, she came down.

    “Wagon was empty.  Maybe they left to get supplies.  Two men.  They match the description of Max Stone and his brother, but I guess a lot of men would.  Let’s back track the wagon.  We can’t get in a gun battle with them, they might be close to wherever the rest are holed up.  Don’t want to give warning.  There couldn’t be that many places they could be going.  We  can find them again if we need to.”

    Johnny knew what she meant was, if she found her sister hurt or worse, they could hunt them down and kill them.

    The wagon tracks led them to a barely rutted side road and from there to a meadow with a cabin at the far end.  They stayed hidden under the treeline while they checked things out with the binoculars.  Three horses in a lean-to.  Probably three men inside if the two horses pulling the wagon belonged to the two in it.  Nothing moving outside the cabin.  They left their own horses back in the woods, away from the road with Bandit on guard.  As they worked their way around the edge of the meadow, keeping to the protection of the trees, a single man exited the cabin with a couple of buckets.  He looked to be unarmed.  He took a path that wound behind the cabin.  RJ  signaled Jess to keep  his eye on the one outside, and to keep him outside.

    RJ and Johnny got to the blind side of the cabin.  There were voices and raucous laughter coming from the back.  They both froze as they heard the sound of a female voice crying and a second one screaming, “Leave her alone.”  Johnny looked at RJ who nodded grimly but with relief as well.  Johnny knew that one was her sister.

    They could see through the door left open by the first man that the cabin was divided into two sections.   No one was in front section.  Revolvers drawn they made their way to either side of the open entrance to the  second section.  Johnny was in the best position to take a quick look and was sickened by what he saw, but relieved that there were only two men and neither was likely to see them until they made themselves known.   He knew RJ had no intention of having either man leave that room alive so he hoped they made some token resistance.

    As they entered neither men noticed them at first.  The first one who did lifted up from the far bed where he had been on top of one of the women.  He had a shotgun at the foot of the bed and lunged for it.  Johnny put a bullet in his chest before he touched it.  From the way blood spurted, RJ got him in the face.

    The second man used the woman he was in bed with as a shield as he grabbed for the revolver he was wearing.  Johnny lunged at him; RJ moved around to get a clear shoot.  Neither maneuver was necessary.   The first woman put a knife in his back, a big knife.

    That was Johnny’s first look at Gena.  He didn’t get a good look until he picked her up off the floor where she had fallen when she lunged with the knife.  Her feet were tied to the foot of the bunk so she was unable to get up without his help.  He lifted her up and set her on the bed, shoving the body off with one arm to make space.   She was mostly naked under hopelessly ripped clothes and splatters of blood.  But all he saw was a pair of intense blue eyes which seemed to be taking his measure.  He realized he was staring, although only at her eyes.  He started to fumble with the knots on the ropes binding her feet.  She calmly reached over and pulled the knife from the back of the man she had killed, giving a little grunt as it gave her some resistance.  She wiped it clean on a leg of the man’s pants and handed it to Johnny.  “Here use this.”

    Once she was freed, Johnny realized it was chilly and even if it had not been, she needed something to put on.  He hastily took off his coat and put it around her.  She made a protest about the blood, but he ignored it.

    Johnny looked over to RJ who had freed the other woman and wrapped her in her coat.  Only then did Gena and RJ look at each other.  Gena got up and shoved the second dead man on the floor with no more ceremony than Johnny had used on the first one.  She crawled over the bed, but not to seek the comfort of her sister’s arms but to give comfort to the frail-looking women who had been prisoner with her.  The only exchange he saw between the two sisters was a brief joining of their hands behind the other woman’s back.

    “Johnny, you’d better check on Jess.  Let him know he can come in.  I didn’t hear any shots so I guess that last man is still alive.”  RJ sounded disappointed.

    Gena’s reaction was to become alarmed.  “Johnny.”  He stopped at the doorway.  "That one’s not dangerous and he didn’t hurt us.  He’s been trying to help us but he just didn’t have the mental resources to do much.  Make sure he doesn’t get hurt.”

    Johnny turned and looked into those blue eyes again.  For that moment he almost believed he would have stepped in front of a bullet to save that third man from harm for whatever kindness he had shown this woman.

    He found Jess holding the man at gunpoint  by the stream that ran in back of the cabin.  He signaled for Jess to bring him up.

    Gena said it wasn’t necessary, but they tied the man she called Rich anyway.  After all they had just killed his brother.  He might be slow, but he could certainly have family feelings.  Gena made sure he was comfortable and tried to explain what was going on.  He was very slow in fact, but he seemed to see some kind of justice in him being tied up instead of the two women.  They were able to confirm that the men they had seen in the wagon were Max Stone and his brother.  But Rich seemed unclear as to where they were going for supplies and how long they might be gone.  They all knew the nearest town was a day’s wagon ride, but the men might have things cached somewhere else and Rich was not helpful in confirming or rejecting that possibility.  Gena thought from what she’d heard that they had another hideout of some kind about an hour away, but she couldn’t be sure that’s where they had been headed.

    Johnny was concerned about the other woman.  Julia hadn’t spoken since she’d been freed.  Gena had them tie a blanket up near the woodstove to give her some privacy.  Johnny understood why she wouldn’t want to go anywhere near the back room.  While RJ and Jess collected the horses and went to check the road in, Johnny fetched several buckets of water for washing.    Gena seemed alright with being left with a rifle and Ranger for the brief time he was gone.

    As the woodstove warmed the cabin and the water, Johnny looked around for some clothes for Gena.  It would get hot for the heavy coat.   RJ had put on the shirt belonging to the man Gena had killed not seeming to mind the blood on the back.  She left her shirt for Julia to put on after she was cleaned up.  Johnny found a spare shirt and pants in a saddle bag.  They looked cleaner than anything else around.  When he handed them to Gena she thanked him but hesitated.

    “They’re the best I could find” Johnny explained.  He looked closely at her face.   She wanted something.

    Finally she said, “You’re going to think this is a little strange, but the idea of putting on that man’s clothes, clothes that smell like him, it makes me sick.”

    “That’s not strange at all.  I’ll keep looking.”

    She put her hand on his arm.  “Would you mind wearing these and letting me have yours.  I know it’s a lot to ask . . . .”

    Her request took him by surprise.  “I’m afraid I’ve been wearing my clothes real hard for the last 24 hours.  They won’t smell any better than those.”

    “But they’ll smell like you, not him.”  She explained.  “Really that would be better.”

    Johnny went into the back room and changed into the other clothes while Gena bathed herself and Julia as best she could.  He handed her his clothes over the blanket.

    She came out looking better in his clothes than he ever had.  Cleaned up, he could see how much she looked like RJ even with the bruise that spread across half her face.  They were only a year apart in age RJ had told him, with Gena being the older.  Gena was a tall woman, but not quite as tall as RJ, maybe five foot eight.  Her eyes were blue while RJ’s always seemed to change color.  Her hair looked to be the same color as RJ’s, but she hadn’t any means to really wash it so who knew what it would look like clean.

    She looked him over.  The shirt he was wearing was too loose and the pants too short.  “I think I got the better end of this deal,” was all she said.  But she smiled.  The first he had seen.  It was worth the short pants to see that smile.

    RJ and Jess came back with the horses and they tied them out of sight.  When they came in they both looked at Johnny’s change of clothes.  Jess started to say something, but when he recognized Johnny’s clothes on Gena, he closed his mouth.

    The three of them decided that it would be better to contend with Max and his brother out on the road rather than endangering the two women by letting them approach the cabin.  RJ decided she would take one of their horses so if necessary she could look like Gena trying to escape.  Johnny could take another horse and maybe look like one of the gang members chasing her.  Then again, they might just be able to take them from ambush.  Jess would stay behind to keep guard in case someone came in from another direction.

    Gena came over from where she was tending Julia.  “If you don’t mind my interference . . . . “  They all looked at her expectantly,  “You probably didn’t notice before my sister blew his face off, but that man in there looked a bit like Jess.”  She looked at Jess closely.  “Not near as pretty of course and his eyes weren’t nearly so blue,  But you can see from the pants Johnny’s wearing that he was closer to Jess’s height.  And another thing.  That shirt he had on before Johnny blew a bloody hole in it was about the same blue as the one Jess has on.  I noticed when Jess came in that Julia sort of flinched.  She’s felt the similarity so it’s not just me that sees it.  And that’s another reason that Jess should go, if there’s no reason that you need Johnny over Jess.  Julia would be a little easier with Johnny here, at least until she’s thinking clear again.

    RJ shrugged and looked at the two men.  “They’re pretty interchangeable I guess.”  Both men looked at her sharply.  Johnny wondered if she had some hidden meaning behind her words.  But Jess just said, “Ok with me.”  Johnny made no objection.

    RJ and Jess were gone for over three hours.  After burying the two men they’d killed,  Johnny prowled around getting the lay of everything in case he had to defend it.  Then he just prowled because he was restless as he always was waiting for someone he cared about who was facing danger he couldn’t help against.

    Finally Gena put a stop to it.  “You think RJ and Jess are getting into something they can’t handle don’t you?”

    Johnny reassured her.  “They”re only going after two men.  And they’re the ones going to have the advantage of surprise.  They’ll be fine.”

    “You’re pacing around is making me feel different.”

    Gena was sitting on the bed next to Julia trying to keep her together with soft talk.  She had gotten her to take some soup she had warmed up but she still wasn’t very responsive.   Johnny marveled at how Gena was able to give so much to Julia who had surely suffered no more than Gena herself. But maybe that was her way of keeping herself together.

    Johnny drew up a chair.  “Sorry, I guess I’m not so good at waiting.”  Then he addressed the other woman.  “Miss Julia, would you mind if I sat here for a while?”  Julia actually focussed her eyes on Johnny and answered.  “You have your gun close?”

    Johnny nodded, “Don’t you worry Miss, no one’s getting near this place unless I say so.”

    To his surprise, Julia responded.  “It's Mrs.  Mrs. Henry Winthrop.”

    Johnny looked at Gena who seemed pleased with him.  So he tried to continue the conversation.  “Well, Ma’am, Mrs. Winthrop, we’ll be getting you home in no time.  I know your husband will be relieved to see you safe.” However, that subject did not provide the encouragement he’d hoped.  Julia closed her eyes and turned her head away.  Johnny was worried he had said something wrong although he couldn’t imagine what.  Gena must have seen his concern.  She reached over and patted him reassuringly on the arm.

    “My sister thinks an awful lot of you and Jess.   So I know we’ll be alright.”

    Johnny figured she was saying that for Julia’s benefit.

    “RJ wanted to come meet me off the boat in Boston.  I wouldn’t let her. I wanted to feel self-reliant and maybe to have a little adventure.  And I looked forward to meeting her here in her element just as she met me in mine.  And maybe I just didn’t want to drag her away from her life here when the arrival date of the ship was so uncertain.  She has people she really wouldn’t want to be away from that long.”

    Johnny had to smile, “She does at that.”

    Gena smiled too.  “I guess that’s none of my business.  My sister doesn’t seem to handle things in her life like most women do.”

    “That’s putting it mildly.  Just wait until you’ve lived with her a while.”  Johnny  thought of something.  “Where do you plan to live anyway?  Or are you planning to stay on the road with RJ?”

    “She seems anxious to show me some places or maybe it’s the people she wants me to meet.  Laramie’s one.  And Virginia City.  And Laredo.  She seems to have real special people in all those places.”

    “Oh, yeah, that she does.”  Johnny hoped his voice was neutral.

    Gena looked at him with curiosity.  “I guess I went full circle and ended up in that place that’s none of my business again.”

    “If you’re RJ’s sister and you’re going to be living her life with her, I guess it will all be your business.  But it’s for her to say.  I expect she’s told you more than I’d be comfortable with already.”

    Gena sounded nonchalant when she responded.  “Don’t worry Johnny, she thinks much too highly of you to break any confidence or tell me anything that would embarrass you.”  And then she added in a mischievous voice,  “Of course, the way she tells it, you have absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about anyway.”

    That was of course, exactly the thing to say to utterly embarrass him and he knew she knew it.  He hid his face in his hands.  She got up and gave him a little punch on the shoulder as she passed.  “I’m going to make some coffee and maybe I’d better find if there’s enough stuff around here to make some supper.”

    Johnny got up too.   “You might need some more water.”   He grabbed the two buckets, handed her the rifle, and headed down for the creek, and some fresh air.  While outside, he remembered the supplies they still had in their saddle bags with their bedrolls.  When he brought them in he felt a little like a real provider.  Not that they’d taken the time to get anything real interesting.   But it would be better than plain beans.

    “Sorry I forgot about this stuff before” he said as he dropped the supplies on the table near the stove.  “If those two dead men RJ and Jess are after really went for supplies, maybe they’ll be bringing back something more interesting, than this.  But there’s tea in there.  RJ always carries tea so we got some for her.”

    Gena’s smile warmed him better than the coffee she handed him.

    Julia seemed to be sleeping so Johnny and Gena sat at the table and talked.  Johnny wondered why Julia had closed up at the mention of her husband.  Gena had an idea.  “She probably doesn’t think he’ll want her any more.”

    “What kind of man would abandon his wife when she needs him most?  It’s not like it was her fault.”

    “Still Johnny, it’s can be awful hard for a man to know his wife has had something like this happen to her.  Some men never get over it.  Or maybe she’s afraid she’ll never be able to be a wife to him again.”

    Johnny didn’t ask Gena the question that came to his mind about how she felt.   Instead, he got up checked outside the cabin and the lean-to, not really expecting anything, but wanting to be careful.

    When RJ and Jess finally came back, they weren’t alone.  Neither Gena nor Johnny had expected that either of the men they went after would be left alive, and they weren’t.  But they had a young woman with them.  Apparently Stone hadn’t been satisfied with two women for four men, so he'd grabbed a woman who had done nothing more than pass them on the road in a buggy.

    Alice hadn’t been physically hurt beyond a few bruises, just tied up and thrown in the wagon on top of some supplies, but the man with her had been killed.  She’d been visiting her cousins and one of them had been taking her home.  She was still distraught from having seen her cousin killed in front of her.  And she was worried about her husband’s reaction when he found she was missing. She wanted to head for home immediately but they convinced her it would be too dark before they were half way back on a bad road.

    They had a decent supper from the supplies in the wagon combined with the ones they’d brought.  Alice wasn’t hungry, but the others were, even Julia.  And tired.   Johnny insisted on taking first watch while Jess and RJ slept in the back.  There were three beds in front for the three other women. They left Rich tied up in the back after supper but Gena made sure he had a couple of blankets.  RJ relieved him after only two hours and Johnny couldn’t convince her to sleep longer.   And when he finally lay down, he slept like the dead.

    Johnny didn’t wake up until he smelled bacon cooking the next morning.   It was barely light but he still felt like he’d overslept.  Jess was out back saddling up the horses but the others were eating.  Gena handed him a plate of pancakes and bacon and cup of coffee.

    “Sorry I slept so long,”  he apologized.

    Gena and RJ responded almost simultaneously, “You must have needed it.”  They looked at each other and laughed.  Gena explained, “Our mother used to say that to our father.”  RJ added, "he didn’t sleep any more than I did so he’d feel like he’d overslept if he went six hours.”

    Johnny ran his fingers through his hair.  “Wish I could get by on that little."

    Jess kept RJ from rushing out to Johnny.  Or maybe she stopped him.  Gena couldn’t quite tell.  Or maybe the demand they heard next stopped them both.

    “We’ve got this place surrounded.  Send out the women unharmed and the rest of you will live through this.  Otherwise you’re all dead.”  The voice was loud and came from the treeline where they themselves had come in.

    “Damn” Jess muttered, “We’ve been rescued.”

    Shortly after the demand was made, RJ and Gena walked out of the cabin doing their best to make sure it was clear they were woman.  RJ mounted one of the horses and rode up beside the wagon where Johnny had pushed Alice out of the line of fire.  As Gena climbed into the wagon, Johnny assured RJ he was alright, just a scratch.  RJ had Alice climb on behind her and they headed toward where the new posse had taken cover.

    As they left, Gena examined Johnny.  He’d been hit twice and contrary to his assurance to RJ, neither was just a scratch.  But they didn’t look too bad.  One in his outer thigh was in and out.  The other looked like it might have nicked his bottom rib on the way in or at least come close.  It was well over to the side and hadn't hit anything vital, but it hadn’t exited.  She stood up and saw that RJ had reached the shooters.  Alice slid off her horse and embraced a man who had rushed out to her.  Her husband must have been part of the posse.  Maybe even the shooter.

    “Let’s get you inside,” she said to Johnny.  “Jess’ she called out.  “Come on out.  RJ’s got the posse handled.”  She and Jess, mostly Jess, got Johnny inside and onto a bunk near a window.   She had Johnny hold a compress to the wound at his side.

    “This bullet should come out before infection sets in or it moves around. And Jess, get those pants off him.  He’d probably rather have you do it than me.  While you’re doing that, I’ll get everything ready to get that bullet out and both wounds bandaged up.”  She called out from the stove where there was still water heating.  “The underwear too.  Do whatever you need to do if he’s the modest type, but leave that thigh wound free for me to clean it out.”

    Johnny protested.  “Let’s wait for RJ.  She’s got a real good touch with that thing.  She’s taken a few bullets out of me and Jess.”

    Gena ignored him.  When she came back with bandages and a bowl of hot water, she told him, “Johnny, my husband was a doctor.  I worked with him all the time.”

    It was Jess who answered.  “Don’t you worry ma’am.  It’s not your doctorin’ he’s worried about.  He’d just rather RJ be the one to see him without his pants on.”

    Her answer amused Jess and made Johnny blush.  “Why should RJ have all the fun?”

    Then she was all business as she carefully cleaned out the thigh wound.  But there was no way she could bandage it properly and preserve Johnny’s modesty.  She tossed the bandages to Jess.  You think you could handle bandaging up this wound and getting his pants back on?  I need to sterilize these instruments.”

    Jess laughed, “I could give it a try.  Don’t blame you for being squimish.”

     As Jess was finishing up, RJ  came in alone.  “I’m keeping everyone else out.  What can I do?”

    Gena looked up.  “Actually I think he’d rather you take the bullet out.”

    RJ looked at Johnny then back at Gena.  “You feel comfortable doing it?”  Gena nodded.  “Johnny, I think she’ll do a better job.”  RJ advised.  “I’ll be here in case she botches it up too much.”

    Johnny smiled wanly, “Let’s just get it over with then.”

    Gena went back to the stove and brought back another bowl of water and some instruments from RJ's med kit.

    “Sorry there doesn’t seem to be any whiskey or whatever you frontier folks use in this sort of operation.  RJ, I’ve already washed my hands.  You pull the belt out of my pants and give it to him to bite on.  It’s his belt, probably rather bite his own.  Then you hold his shoulders down.  Jess hold him down right above the knees but watch out for the other bullet hole.  She looked at Johnny with a serious expression.  You think you can stay still?  This would be easier if you were unconscious but I don’t figure whatever we could do right now to put you in that condition would overall be worth it.  Even with them holding you, it’ll depend on you not to move.”  Johnny nodded in response.

    Gena was impressed with her patient once she got started.  She could see the effort it took him to stay still.  His face was convulsed with pain as she probed for the bullet.  The muscles in his legs tightened as though he was trying to hold up a heavy load that was pressing down on him.  RJ helped keep Johnny’s upper torso still but Gena was willing to bet that he might have done it on his own.  She found the bullet quickly, but even so, by the time she was finished, Johnny was drenched in sweat from the effort not to move.

    After she bandaged up the second wound, Gena took a dry cloth and wiped Johnny’s face and torso.

    Gena gestured toward the medical tools.  You’ve got a nice med kit there Sis.  It’s a little harder working on a live one though.  There’s all that flinching to contend with.  Cadavers don’t tend to respond to pain much.”

 Johnny had been lying back with his eyes closed.  They snapped open when he heard that.  “Exactly what kind of doctor was your husband?”  he demanded.

Gena grinned at him wickedly.  “Didn’t RJ tell you.  He was a pathologist.  His main concern was scientific study.  I helped him with autopsies.”

    Johnny lay back and closed his eyes again.  With his eyes still closed, he protested weakly, “I didn’t flinch, hardly.”

    “Not with us holding him down anyway.”  Jess interjected.

    Gena squeezed Johnny’s hand gently, “Thanks Johnny, you made it a lot easier for me.  And by the way, aren’t you glad I swapped clothes with you? That is, unless you like your own clothes decorated with blood and bulletholes.”

    Johnny made no answer, but he squeezed her hand back.

    RJ let in a rather shame-faced man in his fifties wearing a deputy’s badge. The deputy had apparently heard some of their banter with relief at their good humor, but wanted to say something.  Gena introduced herself and asked after Alice.  “Was that her husband I saw?  She was worried about him.”

    “Yes, I’m afraid he’s the one who shot your friend here.”  Then he added, “I told the men to hold their fire but I’m afraid when he saw Alice and got a chance for a shot when they split apart for moment, he took it.  I should have watched him better.  This isn’t my regular job.  I’m really just a shopkeeper.”

    Johnny looked up at him and made a dismissive gesture with his hand.  “If it had been my wife, I probably would have done the same thing.  I’m just glad he was too far away for a good shot."

    They piled the wagon with everything soft they could find.  It was going to be a cold day and Gena was worried almost as much about that as the rough ride.  For Julia too.  She wouldn’t have much resistance to the cold any more than Johnny.   The three warmest coats were the ones Johnny, Jess and RJ had worn.   RJ and Jess insisted that the three in the wagon wear them despite Gena and Johnny’s protest that they had all the blankets.  “We’re moving around, you’re not,” was all either would say.

    The trip out was as bumpy as Gena had feared.   The first four miles was barely a road at all, just two miles of rocks and gullies.  No way for Jess to avoid the worst, no matter he was a good driver.

    Julia didn’t seem to notice.  She was in her own little world.  Gena kept her close for comfort and warmth, but she did not respond.  Julia had been terrified when Johnny was shot and hadn’t spoken since.  But it was Johnny Gena felt bad for.  Every bounce of the wagon shot pain through him though he tried not to show it.

    “Jess stop a minute.  We need to rearrange things here.”

    When they stopped, Gena explained.  “We need to brace Johnny better so he doesn’t roll with the bumps.  Using his arms aggravates that wound below the ribcage.  He can’t do it all with one good leg.”

    When Johnny didn’t protest, they all knew he had to be hurting pretty bad.  It was Gena who figured out the arrangement which kept him as stable as possible.  She sat up braced against some sacks cushioned by a blanket.   Julia lay next to her.  She put a pillow in her lap and had Johnny lay his head there so she could brace his upper body with her legs.  She had her arms free to brace them both against the bumps when that was remotely possible.  Just before they started up again, Jess leaned over from the driver’s seat and said in Gena’s ear.  “If that boy don’t feel better riding like that, he’s no friend of mine.”

    Gena kept him talking to take his mind off the ride.  She got him to sleep some off and on, but even with that, by the time they were a mile out of Pine Bluffs, Gena and Johnny knew almost as much about each other as old friends who’d shared a childhood.   She even caught herself smoothing the hair off his face when he dozed, much too familiar a gesture for someone she had just met. But then again, he’d helped save her life, seen her almost naked and then been subjected to surgery under her hand all in that short period of time.

    The one thing they hadn’t talked about was his relationship with RJ.  She knew what his relationship with her had been a year ago when RJ had come to England.  At least she knew what RJ had told her, but didn’t pretend to really understand it.  How could she so fiercely love this boy and feel the same way about his cousin?  And they weren’t the only ones. And there was something between RJ and Johnny’s friend Jess as well she thought, something subtle, like something just starting.  Yet RJ had told her she would never put the friendship between those two men at risk by acting on any lingering attraction she felt for Jess from when they were both no more than kids.

    Of course, RJ probably hadn’t told her as much as she would have about any of the men here.  She had been sensitive to Gena’s emotional struggles with her husband’s fading health.  Now Gena found herself curious about RJ’s men, especially this one.  She looked at Johnny’s face as he napped a little fitfully.  A strong face, but vulnerable too.  From talking to him, she got the feeling he was a man willing to give everything to a woman he loved but he was also a boy who could be destroyed by the wrong woman.  She couldn’t believe RJ would do anything to hurt him, yet how could he not be hurt by her inability to stick with one man?

    Just outside of town, they were met by what looked like the beginnings of yet another posse.  But at least they weren’t shooting.  Jess pulled up.  Julia’s husband was part of this posse.  When he took her in his arms, she  responded weakly but with more awareness than Gena had seen all day.  He rode into town in the wagon with her.  He seemed relieved that all the men responsible were dead.  Gena had the feeling he wanted to be brave for his wife, but was not really a man comfortable with a gun.

    When she finished her bath, RJ washed Gena’s hair and combed it out for her.  By the time she’d finished, Jess had the luggage.  RJ was glad Gena could put on some clean clothes.  And in fact, her things were a close enough fit for RJ to put something on, although not something she would have chosen on her own.  She sent Jess out on one more errand.  To get some new clothes for himself and Johnny and a razor.  They might as well all start off clean.

    She left Gena napping and went into the next room where Johnny had been sleeping but was awake now.  “Ready to get cleaned up Johnny?  There’s a bath set up down the hall and Jess is picking up some clothes for you.  Sorry you can’t soak in the tub, but you can get sponged off and I’ll wash your hair for you and give you a shave.”

    Johnny’s reaction was interesting.  The first thing he said was, “Do I know you?”  That was his comment on the very feminine attire she had borrowed from Gena.  But then he got shy about letting her bath him.  They’d shared a tub at home on many occasions but for him this was different.  She wondered if it was because of Jess or Gena or both.  At any rate, when Jess returned she did no more than give Johnny a shave before leaving him for Jess.  Then she went back to her room and crawled into bed beside Gena.  And for the first time since leaving Laramie, she really slept.

    Three hours later, she woke alone.  Gena was in the next room eating dinner with the two men.   She was sitting on the bed next to Johnny while Jess sat at the little table by the window.   He pushed out another chair with his foot and gestured for her to sit down.

    She sat and grabbed a couple of biscuits.  As she reached for the remainder of a pot of stew she said “I can’t believe I slept that long.  The other three looked at each other and said almost simultaneously, “You must have needed it.”

    Everything was still warm so she must not have missed too much.  When everything was gone, she looked at Jess.  “No dessert?”

    “Well I couldn’t carry dinner and dishes for four people and dessert too.”  Jess protested.  “This hotel doesn’t exactly have room service.”

    “Well let’s go get some now.  I could eat a whole pie by myself.  We have to get the dishes back anyway.”

    She and Jess carried the dishes down to the café next to the hotel and ordered four pieces of pie, then changed it to a whole pie, four plates and cups and a pot of coffee.  The café was busy so she and Jess leaned up against the back wall and waited.

    “Jess, I want to thank you for how quick you were to come and help on this.  You’re a good friend.”

    "No more than you would have done.  And from what I’ve seen, probably no more than she would have done.”

    “You like her don’t you?”

    “Sure I do.  And it looks like Johnny does too.  You’d better watch out.  You could lose him to her if she sets her mind to it.”

    “That wouldn't be such a bad thing.” RJ said thoughtfully.

    “You that casual about your feelings for him?”

    “Casual?  Not hardly.  But he’s not mine.  I was just borrowing him for awhile.”

    “Borrowing him from who?”

    “Maybe my sister.  Had to face it some time.  I reckon between you and I, we’ve taught him everything he needs to know about women except how to share his life with a special one.”

    “And you think maybe Gena is the one to teach him that?”

    “No, I don’t think Johnny needs anyone to teach him that.  He was just waiting for the right one.”

    Jess looked at her.  “I think he really believed you were the right one.”

    “No, not really.  He loves me sure.  But I was just keeping his heart safe for the right woman.  I think down deep he knows that.  I’ve told him often enough.  Johnny’s not all that wise in female ways and wiles.  He was liable to marry wrong and he’d be too loyal to ever admit he had regrets.  He just doesn’t have your born suspicion of the women.  If Gena is the right one, he’ll have to love her more than me.  I hope he does. But if she’s not the one, whoever is, same thing.  When he finds the woman he loves more than me, I think it will be the right one.”

    She looked into Jess’s intense blue eyes.  “I guess that sounds pretty arrogant doesn’t it?”

    Jess smiled but didn’t answer right away.  Then he said quietly, “My suspicion of women isn’t a born suspicion.”

    That stopped her short.  She put her hand out and laid it gently against his cheek.  “I’m sorry if I was responsible for starting you on the road to a suspicious nature.”

    Jess looked sorry he’d said anything.  “If you helped me stay careful enough to avoid marriage so far, then I can only thank you.  And I guess a suspicious nature isn’t a bad thing to have if the alternative is to be as gullible as Johnny can be when it comes to women.”

    “I didn’t say he was gullible.  That’s a little harsh.”

“Gullible’s my word and I’ll stick by it.  Did you know that Johnny was all ready to get married once?”

    “He never told me that.”  RJ was taken completely by surprise.

    “Well it wouldn’t be something he’d brag on.  It ended badly.   She was only using him to make the man she was really in love with jealous.  Johnny was the only one who couldn’t see there was something wrong.  Dan and Lily didn’t like her although they tried to cover since he was so set on her.  He didn’t speak to me for a couple of weeks after I tried to warn him.  And after, he never mentioned her at all.”

    RJ shook her head.  She thought she knew most everything about Johnny by now.  Then something that had nagged at her before caught her attention.  “Jess, you just referred to Uncle Dan as  “Dan”.  And I’ve heard you call him that to his face.  But in front of Johnny you always refer to him as Marshal or Mr. Troop like he does.  Why is that?  Did Johnny ask you to?”

    “No, he didn’t ask me to.  I started to tease him about it once -- that he saw fit to keep such a respectful distance with Dan -- but you know how some things shouldn’t be the subject of joking even between friends.  I just knew that was one.  Besides I don’t think he really knows why he does it.  And I’ve come to think it doesn’t keep a distance.  It’s a mark of respect that shows a kind of closeness.  Well, that doesn’t make sense either.  But anyway, Dan really cares about Johnny and I don’t like to act like I’m more his equal than Johnny is.  But sometimes when Johnny’s not around, I forget.”

    RJ looked at Jess with respect.  “Maybe you don’t understand it in your head Jess.  But you have a good instinct there.  I can’t explain it in words either, why Johnny sees fit to show that formality to someone he’s so close to.  But there’s some need it fulfills, whether for Uncle Dan or Johnny or both I can’t exactly say.”

    They collected their own horses in Cheyenne and spent the night at the best hotel in town.  Johnny wasn’t quite ready for sitting up at a restaurant table so they had dinner in one of the rooms.  This hotel did have room service.   After dinner, Jess and RJ went to check the horses and the dogs. They didn’t talk about Johnny and Gena this time but they weren’t in a hurry to get back to the room either.   So they took a walk around town.

    “You want to show me where you and Johnny go when you come to Cheyenne.  What’s it called The Cheyenne Palace?”

    “Johnny told you about that?”  Jess didn’t sound like he believed that of Johnny.

    “Sure.  I was interested to know the level of the education you gave him.”

    “Well, it’s not a part of town I’m taking you to.”

    “Then show me around the parts suitable for a lady.”

    He looked at her.  “I’m not sure you’re suitable for those parts of town.”

    “Look at me all duded up in these silly clothes.  I’ll probably never be more suitable.”  She linked her arm with his.  I could pretend to be a lady for a while.”

    So they walked around town, just looking and giving Gena and Johnny more time alone.  When they finally went back, they were all ready for sleep and an early start.

    They got to the Sherman Ranch after dark and stayed for a late supper.   RJ wanted to stay over for Johnny’s sake but he was still being stubborn.  Or as Jess suggested, he just liked the accommodations in the wagon better than at the relay station.  RJ warned him, “I’m not near as good at driving a team as Jess here.  And at night, I won’t be able to miss the bumps.”

    “From the way it felt back there, Jess didn’t miss many in broad daylight,” was all Johnny said.

    While she took them off for him, he asked what was foremost on his mind.  “How’s she doing?”   RJ just said lightly, “She’s my sister, what do you think?”

    Johnny reached out his hand and pulled her to sit next to him on the bed.  “I think she’s damn lucky.  And I think she’ll make it just fine.”

    RJ gave him a long look he couldn’t read.  Then she smiled,  “Time for sleep Johnny?”   He wasn’t quite sure of her meaning.  She made it clearer.  “Want some company?”

    Johnny didn’t quite know how to answer.  He drew her hand to his face but didn’t kiss it.  He just held her hand next to his cheek and gave her a steady look.

    “You never thought to ask before.  Why’re you asking now?”

    She looked at him back just as steady.  “I don’t like to be predictable Johnny.  You know that.”

    “Maybe you’re just testing me.”

    “Testing you?”

    “I think you know I’m starting to have feelings for your sister.  You always told me that I’d know when it was time for you to leave my bed because I’d be so much in love I wouldn’t miss you.  Maybe you want to test that out.”

    RJ sighed, “There’s nothing that needs to be tested about you Johnny.  I was seeing something between the two of you.  I guess I was just wondering if you were even aware of it.  I guess you are.”

    Johnny asked the obvious question.  “Did you talk about me to her?”

    “I’m going to stay well away from that Johnny.”

    “You don’t want to encourage her to see me that way?”

    “No, I don’t.”

    Johnny tried to keep the hurt out of his face but apparently he didn’t succeed because she quickly interjected, “Johnny, don’t be thinking I’m anything but in favor of the two of you.  And if I was against it would be because I hate to lose you myself not because I didn’t think you were good enough for her.  But she is my sister, maybe as resistant to being told what to do as I am.  I’m thinking if I start to let on how much I’d like to see you two together . . . well I don’t want to try to influence her for or against.”

    “So you’re not against it?”

    “Johnny, I swear there isn’t anything I’d rather see than two of the people I love most in this world loving each other?”

    “Then maybe you could at least slip in a good word for me?”

    “That I don’t need to do.  These past few days speak for themselves.  Anyway, I talked you up good when I was visiting her in England.”

    “You were thinking of us together then?  But her husband was still alive.”

    “No I wasn’t thinking of that then.  Just telling her about my life here.  And to tell the truth, after he died and I knew she was coming here, I was thinking about her and my friend Joe in Virginia City or maybe Slim.  But only because I saw Joe as someone ready to settle down.  And Slim is maybe ready to look at another woman.”

    “And Joe can offer her a lot more than I can.”  Johnny knew Joe’s family were major players in the economy of Nevada.  “And Slim too I guess.”

    “Joe’s a good man.  But he’s got nothing to offer that you don’t have.  Not as to things that count with her anyway.  If you’re thinking about money, she’s go enough from her husband to keep herself comfortable.

    Johnny was not comforted by the thought Gena might be some kind of heiress.  RJ must have caught his look.  “Don’t you be worried about that Johnny.  No one’s going to think you’re after her money.  No reason anyone has to know she has any.  It’s not like she’s interested in lavish living.  And she’s not really rich, just comfortable.  But I will tell you one thing.  If things do work out between you, don’t be getting overly prideful about insisting you live only on your money.  Gena’s probably no more tolerant of too much male pride than I am.”

    “You think it might get that far?”

    She looked at him seriously.  “I guess it’s way too far ahead to be looking at.  Johnny, you know that even when Gena’s healed physically, it could be quite a while before she can respond to you the way she might like to.”

    “Are you trying to warn me not to push myself on her.  You think I can’t wait for her to be ready.”

    “Don’t be ridiculous,”  RJ responded sharply.  “It never crossed my mind.  You’re the gentlest man I know.  I just wanted to warn you it could be a while.  I don’t want you to think you’re doing anything wrong if she doesn’t respond to you right away.”

    “RJ, before you came along, I was maybe going into Cheyenne with Jess once a month.  I’m not an animal.  I can control myself.  Maybe you think the way I acted with you shows I can’t?”

    “No one would blame you for anything you did with me.  Like I gave you a lot of options most times anyway.”  She laughed a little at the idea of anyone thinking Johnny had been too forceful with her.   “But you’re a man who knows how to please a woman.  I don’t want you to lose confidence if she doesn’t react like I do.  She will eventually.”

    She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.  “On a night like tonight I’m going to miss you something fierce.”

    “Like I’d have been able to do you any good shot up like this.  I couldn’t even get my boots off.  You would have killed me.”

    “I guess I forgot about that.  Can’t ride a lame horse over rough ground.”

    Johnny grabbed both her hands.  He was smiling as he said, “You told Gena you considered Jess and I interchangeable.  Why don’t you take yourself out to the Sherman place?”

    “Johnny, I don’t want you thinking I really consider you interchangeable.  But I have to admit, there’s been a few times in the past few months when I’ve seen the two of you together and wondered how sweet it would be with both of you.”

    “At the same time?”  Johnny was shocked.

    “Sure.”

    “Jess and I are never going to be that good of friends,” was all Johnny could say.

    “Too bad.  Well too late now anyway.”  Her tone got serious again.  “I always knew I had you on borrowed time.  I didn’t think that time would be up so quick.  I’m afraid if I jumped on Jess this fast it might affect your friendship.”

    “RJ, you’ve been sharing a bed with my cousin since before you started fooling with me.  How is Jess different?”

    “He’s here under your nose.  Chad’s in Texas.”

    “So that’s your criteria.  Only one man per state?”  Johnny looked up at her.  “Just go.  You’re going to go after him eventually, might as well be now.  And, maybe I’d like Gena to see you with him.  Since I gather she knows all about us.”

    RJ smiled at this last.  “Johnny boy, it’s going to make you crazy going from one sister to another.  You’re always going to wonder what we’re sharing aren’t you?”

    Johnny closed his eyes.  This whole thing was too confusing.  He’d spent almost two years thinking he could never love anyone as much as RJ.  Now he was  pretty much convinced  he could, that RJ had been right all along.  Falling in love with Gena would mean being in love with someone from whom he wouldn’t have many secrets.  And he didn’t even know why he thought it would be good if RJ took after Jess.

    RJ apparently decided to go.  “I guess I’ll take Ember.  Gena won’t be riding him for awhile and he could use the work.”  RJ had a glint in her eye as she added,  “I’m really going to miss that little horse.  Just when I’ve gotten him trained up perfect, I won’t be riding him any more.  He’s the most responsive horse I’ve ever worked with.  Slightest change of position and he’s right with me.  But he’s so attuned to me now that once Gena starts riding him, I need to leave him be so he’ll get attuned to her.”

    Johnny didn’t miss the analogy or the compliment.  “Ember might not measure up to the fancy hunters she’s used to.”

    “Don’t think that’s a problem.  Those horses were big, handsome and flashy but she’ll like Ember better.  He’s a handsome boy and the most honest horse I’ve ever been on.  And he’s got more endurance than those fancy thoroughbreds.”  She kissed him on the lips in good by, but just briefly,

    She found out soon enough.  She released Ember into a paddock and leaned up against the fence watching him and thinking on what to do next.  A moment later she heard footsteps and then Jess was leaning on the fence beside her.

    “I was wondering if you were going to show up here.”

    “You expected me?”

    “No just wondering.”  He added,  “It’s warmer inside.”

    So they went inside where the little pot bellied store filled the room with a cheery warmth.  But now they were inside, she still wasn’t quite sure how to proceed.”

    Jess flopped onto a bunk and watched her with his head propped up on his arm.

    “You here because Johnny’s all shot up or because he’s getting to realize he’s got feelings for your sister?”

    “Does it matter?”

    “Sure does.  If you’re here because Johnny’s too stove up to accommodate you, you can just get on your horse and get back to town.”

    “But if he’s kicked me out of his bed in favor of Gena ?”

    “Then I’d be happy to take up the slack.”

    “That’s nice of you.”

    “Johnny’s one of my best friends.”

    Then she told him the same thing she’d told Johnny, just to see how he’d take it.  “There’s been a few times in the past few months when I’ve seen the two of you together and wondered how exciting it would be with both of you.”

    “At the same time?”  That was exactly what Johnny had asked, but Jess sounded amused rather than shocked.

    “Sure.”

    “Johnny and I are never going to be that close.”

    "Funny, Johnny feels that way too."

    RJ could tell Jess was going to make her come to him.  So she did.  She sat down on the narrow bunk next to him, leaning her left elbow on his hip.  She brushed his dark hair from his face, a gesture they both recognized from almost a decade earlier.

    “It’s been a long time Jess” she said softly as she ran her hands through his hair.  He didn’t answer, but just pulled her down beside him and put his mouth to hers with nine years of longing behind it.  And for a few minutes all they did was gently reacquaint themselves with just having their bodies next to each other.  They both could feel the differences.  At 5’10”, Jess was a couple of inches taller than he'd been at seventeen.  She was almost as tall, which was five inches from where she’d been at thirteen.

    When Jess finally slipped one hand between them and felt her breast through her shirt,  he whispered “how could I have not known you were a child before?”

    “Maybe because you weren’t more than a boy yourself and you had no experience for comparison.  Besides, women’s breasts come in all sizes.  I could have been full grown then.”

    Jess put his hand under her shirt and cupped her bare breast.  “But you weren’t.”

    His gentle fingers on her bare breast broke some kind of barrier in her.  She was ready to take a physical pleasure with this man who’d never been able to give it to her before through no fault of his own.

    She quickly undid the buttons of his shirt and slid her hands up his chest and shoulders.  He’d been a wiry boy nine years ago.  He was still lean and wiry but had the arms and shoulders of a mature man now.  He rolled on his back and pulled her on top of him.  With one hand on the back of her head, he kept her mouth on his.  With the other hand, he unbuttoned her shirt and pushed it off her shoulders.  He pushed her up just enough that his mouth could reach her breasts.  He explored them eagerly with his lips, tongue and lightly with his teeth, not concentrating on the nipples but trying to taste every part of them.  Nine years ago he had been able to fit her entire breast in his mouth.  Now he didn’t even try.

    Finally, he rolled her to the side and swung his legs over the bunk and stood up.  He pulled her into a sitting position and took off her boots. Then he stood her up.  He unbuttoned her pants and pulled them down over her hips and clear to her ankles.  He gently pushed her down on the bunk again and pulled her pants free of her feet.  With no self-consciousness at all, he took his own pants off and threw them on top of hers.  He was about to lay down beside her when she grabbed him by the hips and held him standing in front of her as she sat on the side of the bunk.  She put her lips on his flat stomach and worked her way down to where he was already hard and erect.  She slowly ran her tongue from the bottom of the shaft to the tip.  As she ran her tongue gently around the tip, he tangled his fingers in her hair and tensed his whole body.  She continued to tease him with her tongue but resisted his attempt to push himself deeper into her mouth.  She was so wet and ready for him, she wasn’t about to waste his first erection.

    She pulled his hands away from her hair and pulled him on top of her as she lay back on the bunk.  She spread her legs as he lowered his body onto hers, letting him know what she wanted.   “In kind of a hurry aren’t you?” he said as he kissed her neck.  He didn’t put himself inside her although he had to know she wanted him to do.

    “It’s been nine years Jess.  How much longer you want to wait?”  She used her hand to guide him inside, to force him inside if necessary.   In response, he didn’t so much resist as refuse to cooperate.  As the head of his penis penetrated her, she used her other hand on the small of his back to push him down hard.  And once he was full inside her, he was lost.  “Damn” was all he said as he relented and thrust himself in time with her hands pushing on his back.  And she didn’t let up until she they both had their pleasure in a rush that left them spent and breathing hard.

    He rolled to the side and cradled her tight in his arms.  He put one leg over her hip, keeping her close.   He just held her that way for a long time.   Finally he spoke softly ,  “If I’d only known what was happening in that place . . . .”  His voice trailed off.

    “What Jess?”  RJ thought she’d explained things to him well enough almost two years ago.   He hadn’t brought it up again since.  Maybe the intimacy of the moment had brought his mind back to it.  Or maybe he hadn’t felt right talking about it until now.

    “Maybe we’d have been together all this time.”

    “I’m certain of it.”

    That surprised him, until she added vehemently, “because we’d have been buried six feet under and our bodies rotted together until no one could tell us apart.”

    “I might have gotten you out of there.  We might have gotten lucky.”  Jess almost sounded determined to take blame.

    “No, you would have been killed and that would have forced me to do something vengeful which would have gotten me killed.  He had a private army.  And even if we’d gotten out, his trackers would have found us and cut you down.  You’re good with a gun now.  Maybe you were even pretty good at seventeen.  But Sullivan didn’t care if he lost men.  He would have sent as many as necessary.  No one got out of there alive.  And what would have happened to me then wouldn’t have left anything for the Rangers to rescue.  So be glad you believed that letter I wrote.  And don’t ever regret that little time we had.  It kept me sane enough to make it through the next few months.”

    He kept silent and kissed her shoulder.  She was starting to get stirred up again.  “You’ve got a more comfortable bed in that back room don’t you?”

    “It’s not quite as warm though.”

    “You think warmth is going to be a problem?”  She jumped out of the narrow bunk and pulled him to his feet.  As they passed the wood stove, he tossed in a couple more pieces of firewood.  The back room was a little nippy, but cuddled under the blanket and quilt with him, she hardly noticed. She was fully energized again.  She wanted to touch him everywhere, with her hands, her mouth, with her whole body.  He stopped her as she started to move her mouth around his neck.

    “This time we do it my way.”  He pushed her back on the bed and held her down just long enough for her to know he wanted her to stay there.  Then he moved over her, kissing her hair, her face, her neck while his strong rough hands gently caressed her breasts.  Then his mouth was on them, lips soft against her flesh.  He moved slowly down her ribcage and then her stomach.  She was hot with anticipation as he continued his journey down her body.

    When his lips were on her thigh, he moved her legs apart and gently found with his finger the spot she had shown him so many years ago.  He stroked her gently, stopping every few strokes until she writhed a little under the touch and urged him not to stop.   Apparently he was waiting to see if he had exactly the right spot.  Satisfied he did, he moved his mouth there and began to manipulate her with his tongue.   She opened her legs as wide as she could to give him total access.  She closed her eyes and let nothing into her mind except the ecstasy of his tongue in that most delicious spot.  She tried to delay her final reaction but it came on her relentlessly until she had to push him away.

    Jess laid his head against her belly, resting there until her hard breathing subsided.   She gently stroked his hair.  Just as she thought perhaps she could stay like this all night, he reminded her without words that it was his turn.  And she was more than willing to oblige.  He raised himself until he was above her, braced on his outstretched arms with his hands on either side of her head.  She thought he might enter her right there.  She could feel his erect penis brushing against her belly.  But as he sank down on her, he gathered her up and pulled her on top of him as he rolled onto his back.

    He pushed her shoulders up until she was sitting astride him.  She could feel him hard beneath her, but for a moment he made no move to put himself inside her.  He cupped a breast in each hand and ran his thumbs across the nipples.  He had a lazy grin on his face as though he was in no hurry at all.  Then he slowly moved his hands along her body until one rested on each hip.  He brought her forward and up just enough to put himself inside her.  Then he lowered her slowly until he was fully inside.  She started to move on him, but he grasped her hips firmly and stopped her.  “Don’t be in such a hurry,” he said in a lazy voice.

    He pulled her head down and kissed her, intently but unhurriedly.   A few moments later he began moving her hips with his hands.  But when she tried to speed up her movement, his grip tightened as he kept her at his pace.  He moved her against him slowly, too slowly.  But every time she made the slightest effort to speed up, he slowed her.   Ever so gradually he allowed her to go faster but never as fast as she wanted.  She felt like a horse wanting to gallop but held to a controlled trot with a tight rein in a firm hand.

    Then as she thought the look on his face told her he was going to lose control, he stopped her completely and, although she tried to resist, to contract her muscles against it, he pulled out, still very erect.  He pushed her onto her back and brought her legs up and bent them until her knees were only inches from her shoulders.  He thrust himself back inside her, hard and deep.  Had she not been so completely frustrated with need, it might even have been painful he pushed into her so deeply.  For five strokes he maintained his control, moving with a deliberate slowness.  Then in five frenzied motions deep into her, he came without warning.  She cried out in frustration.  She had been so close herself.

    He acknowledged her lack of fulfillment with a smile and soft words.  “It was my turn.”  But even as he spoke his thumb was touching her just above where he had entered her, where he remained half hard after his ejaculation.  He moved his thumb against her, pushing upward over and over until she exploded under his touch.  That was something she had never taught him.

    He pulled out of her, this time without her resistance.  He lay down with his head on the pillow beside hers.  “Sorry I lost control there at the end.  All of a sudden, it was just so incredible I couldn’t slow down.”

    “If you pull that little trick out of the bag every time you lose control, no one is ever going to complain.”

    And then they did something they had longed for nine years earlier.  They fell asleep in each other’s arms.

    He managed to slip on a clean shirt.  He picked up his boots from the chair where RJ had tossed them the night before.  He didn’t mind asking her to help him put them back on.

    When he worked his way to the kitchen, he saw RJ at the stove making tea and frying bacon.  He came up behind her and put his arm around her shoulder.  “Was Jess surprised to see you?”

    He was taken aback when it was a pair of intense blue eyes that looked up at him.  It was Gena who responded, “So she did go out there.  She said she probably would.  I’d kind of hoped she wouldn’t move so fast.”

    Gena was wearing RJ’s clothes and from any angle that didn’t take in those incredible eyes or the bruise on the side of her face, looked so much like her it was hard to tell them apart.  She saw his surprise.   “Johnny, she’s almost two inches taller than me.  How could you get us mixed up even from behind?”

    “You’re wearing her boots.  She walks around barefoot a lot.  And besides, I don’t think I’m standing up quite as straight as normal.”  Then he took in what she had just said,   “why did you hope she wouldn’t go out there?  She’ll be back any time now.  You seemed to like Jess pretty well.”

    “Nothing against Jess.  Just didn’t like her rushing out there like that.  It’s not fair to you.  Or me.”  She looked up at him, “Johnny, I know what your relationship was with her.  And I know she’s jumping on him mostly because she thinks maybe we like each other.”

    “I guess maybe she got that idea from me.  I suppose I thought maybe . . . .”   He left the thought hanging in the air.

    She turned to face him square on.  “Johnny, we’ve known each other only a few days.  I have to admit you’re a pretty easy man for a woman to be taken with.  I’m won’t deny I feel something.  But I truly loved my husband and Ian died less than a year ago.  And after what happened in the past week, well, I don’t see myself making any decisions about another man for a long time.”

    “But maybe you wouldn’t mind me asking you to dinner sometimes?  Or when you’re feeling better, maybe to a dance?”

    Gena smiled, “That wouldn’t require any major decision making.”

    “Are you worried I’d be pushing you in some way?  I swear that would never happen.”

    “I’m not worried about you doing the pushing.  But that gets back to why I wished RJ hadn’t rushed to jump into something with Jess.   I know what your relationship was with her.  You shouldn’t give that up on some kind of vague possibility involving a woman you’ve only known for a few days.  I hate to think of you giving up so much.”

    “So you think I should share my bed with her at night while I’m trying to court you the rest of the time?  Just hedge my bets.”

    Gena caught the absurdity of that picture, at least as it involved this guileless boy who probably wouldn’t have a clue as to how to play one woman against another.   She couldn’t help but laugh.  She looked up into his hazel eyes.  He was smiling but his eyes were earnest.  Impulsively she reached out and hugged him.  It was only when she could feel him trying not to flinch that she remembered his injuries.

    “Damn it Johnny.  What are you even doing out of bed?  You’re going back right now.”

    “Can’t.  I have to go into the office and report to the Marshal.”

    “Don’t be absurd.  I’m sending a note to the Marshal by way of Angela’s boy as soon as he comes by to take care of the horses.  The Marshal can just come here.  I’ll make him breakfast for his trouble.”

    Johnny looked skeptical.  Gena caught the look.  “I’m a better cook than RJ if that’s what you’re worried about.”  Then she followed Johnny’s eyes as he glanced toward the stove.  The bacon was burning.