Buck pushed through the batwing doors and let his eyes adjust to the dimmer light inside the saloon. It was midmorning and a handful of patrons were scattered among the tables. Ezra nodded to him from the table in the corner. Buck took the seat across from him and motioned for a cup of coffee. The two men sat silently while he sipped the hot liquid. He sat up a little straighter when he saw the figure come down the stairs. Lily nodded to both men as she moved into the kitchen.

"How's she been?" He'd seen her pale skin and the dark circles under her eyes. He had hoped that Chris's return to town would speed her recovery but she didn't seem to be making any progress.

"Well, Mr. Larabee is doing nothing to facilitate her recooperation."

"What the hell did he do this time?"

"No doubt you have heard the scurrilous statements being made about Lily and the death of her husband?" Buck nodded. He'd heard several versions of the rumor, but they all ended the same, with Lily killing her husband. "It seems that Mr. Larabee choose to question her as to the veracity of the statements."

Buck wanted to ask more but Lily had reappeared from the kitchen carrying a cup of tea. She managed a weak smile at them as she returned up the stairs. He swore under his breath and nearly knocked over a chair leaving the saloon.

"Good Morning Mr. Wilmington." Mrs. Potter gave Buck a wide smile as he stepped into the store.

"And how are you this fine morning?" He leaned against the counter flashing her his trademark flirtatious grin.

"Very well, thank you." She debated for a moment whether or not to ask about the trouble that had occurred yesterday, but quickly decided against it. "What can I do for you today?"

"Well I got sort of a strange question." He paused for a second. "I'm wondering if you know what kind of candy Lily likes." Mrs. Potter raised an eyebrow at him. "It's just that she hasn't been well and I just thought that I'd take her some candy as get well gesture."

"That's awfully kind of you. She seems like such a nice woman." Mrs. Potter hadn't had the occasion to socialize with Lily much. But she was always cordigal when she came in the store and she knew that on more than one occasion Lily had purchased candy and given it to the school children. "I believe that she favors these."

She pointed to the second glass jar. It was full of small striped candies in different colors. She scooped several into a small paper bag and handed them to Buck. "I do hope that she's getting over whatever was ailing her."

Buck wondered which rumor Mrs. Potter had heard. He knew that there were several different stories floating about town over what had happened with Lily. Some people said that she had influenza, while others swore that they'd seen her fall down the stairs of the saloon drunk, and there were even whispers of people who suspected the true nature of what had happened.

"Oh she's getting' better everyday." He flashed her other smile before tipping his hat to her as he left. He saw Chris stepping into the jail. Buck paused for a moment. He wanted to have a talk with his friend. He debated a moment before continuing on to the saloon. He'd talk with him after seeing Lily.

"Come in." Lily's voice sounded tired and far away in response to Buck's knock on her door. She sat in the chair by the window. A book lay unopened in her lap as she stared out the window. It took a moment for her to turn towards him. "Buck, what a pleasant surprise."

"Mornin' Lily. I wanted to come up and see how you were doing."

"I'm fine." Her voice held none of the usual lift and humor that he was used to hearing.

"If it ain't rude of me to say. You don't seem fine."

"Really, I'm just tired is all." She tried to smile in reassurance. For the first time Buck noticed her hair. It wasn't pulled up like normal, but instead fell in thick waves over her shoulders and nearly to her waist. The sun filtering in through the lace curtains picked up the golden highlights making them almost shimmer. An image filled his mind of her naked, her head thrown back in the throes of passion, her hair cascading down her bare back.

Something deep in his body twisted as he stared at her longer. The dress she wore was a simple calico dress in blue with small pink flowers. It was nothing like the dresses she wore in the evenings. It had long sleeves with buttons all the way to her neck. But it was the color of it that made him stare even more. It was the exact shade of her eyes and made them stand out even more against her now pale skin.

Buck was suddenly aware that he'd been standing there staring for what seemed like an eternity. He shifted his weight and stepped closer to her. Lily laid the book on the dresser and stood up. She seemed to falter for a moment and grabbed the edge of the dresser. Buck reached out a hand to catch her if needed.

"Just dizzy for a second. Don't worry." She laid her hand gently on his arm. He'd only been alone and this close to her once before. But then he hadn't noticed how she smelled. It was a combination of alcohol and smoke, mixed with sweat, but underneath it a sweet flowery smell. A smell that he suspected came from the array of colored glass bottles that sat on the dresser.

"I... I brought you something." He held out the small paper bag to her. She looked at the contents and for the first time he saw a genuine smile.

"Buck, you didn't need to do this." She took the bag and popped one of the candies into her mouth.

"I know. But I wanted to."

"That was very kind of you. I dare say that it's been ages since anyone, especially a handsome man, has brought me candy." She stood on her tiptoes and laid a brief kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."

Buck nodded and turned to leave. At the door he paused for a moment, hesitating in the doorway. His voice was low and later Lily would swear she imagined what he said. "Chris is a damn fool."

Chris was just where Buck had seen him last, in the jail. He sat behind the desk, leaned back in the chair, staring at some invisible spot across the room. He barely seemed to notice that Buck had entered.

"You seen my pocket watch?" Buck walked to the cell he'd slept in and lifted the mattress. "The chain's broken and I think it mighta fell off last night." Actually the watch was safely tucked away in the room he kept at the boarding house, but for now it would make a good excuse.

Reluctantly Chris moved from the chair and helped him search the small cell. Chris sighed heavily and sat down on the bed. Buck had known him long enough to know that something was bothering him and he knew that it could only be one thing. Lily.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Nothin' to talk about." Chris's voice was flat and emotionless.

"I saw Lily this morning. She looks like hell. Looks like she's been crying over something." Buck waited hoping that Chris might open up a little. It was a long shot, but if Chris were going to talk to anyone, it would be him. His friend sat next to him silent. "Oh hell Chris!" Buck took his hat and slapped Chris upside his head knocking his own hat off.

"What the hell was that for?" Chris stood up anger rising in his eyes.

"I know what you said to her."

"She told you?" His words were both a question and an accusation. Chris couldn't believe that Lily would have told Buck what had been said between them.

"Let's just say that I know." Buck stood and pushed past Chris. "I ought to shut that cell door and leave you in there till you wise up."

"Wise up?" Chris stalked across the room keeping his distance from his friend.

"No matter how many times I tell you, you just don't seem to get it. You have got a beautiful woman who is head over heals for you and you treat her like that. I don't care what you heard, you didn't have any right to be going and talking like that to her. Especially after. . ." Buck's voice trailed off. Chris knew what the rest of the sentence was. Especially after Lily losing the baby.

Buck paced the floor his mind racing with thoughts and images. He saw Lily again, naked in bed, but this time he saw Chris with her. He knew it was wrong for him to have these thoughts about her. Even if Chris wouldn't admit it to himself or anyone else, Buck knew that he cared for her. He couldn't betray his best friend this way. He pushed the image from his head and turned back to Chris.

"If you want to walk away from her, then do it. There are easily a half dozen men that would give their eye teeth to be in your shoes."

"Including you?" Chris's eyes had gone icy cold during Buck's tirade.

"I'm just saying that Lily, she doesn't deserve to be treated like this, by anyone, but especially not by you."

Cheyenne sat in the old wooden chair in front of the jail. She was waiting for Josiah to finish his business in the mercantile. She'd chosen not to go in with him when she'd seen the cluster of women standing just inside the door. She had no desire to hear their petty gossiping or insulting remarks. Another pair of women passed her whispering quietly and shooting glances her way. They stopped to the left of her and their discussion turned to Lily. Cheyenne stared straight ahead not allowing the women to know that her ears were picking up every word they said.

"Do you believe it?"

"Well it wouldn't surprise me. You've seen her. You know how those women are."

"But, kill her husband?"

"She had to come into her money somehow didn't she?"

Cheyenne stood as Josiah approached. They walked silently toward the church. She weighed the conversation that she'd heard in her head. She knew what it was like to kill, knew what a person had to possess inside to be able to do it. From what she'd seen in Lily she didn't believe she could kill someone, especially not her husband.

"What are you thinking about Ani?"

"Those women, they said things about the saloon woman." Josiah nodded, not surprised that she'd heard the rumors. "You have heard too. Do they speak the truth?"

Josiah considered for several moments how to answer her. He wouldn't lie to her, but he had also made a promise to Lily. He sighed heavily and slowly began to speak. He told her what Lily had told him the night of the tornado. When he finished Cheyenne merely nodded.

"Better to put an old dog out of his misery than to let him suffer."

Chris helped the stage driver carry another box to Mrs. Potter's store. Three large boxes had come in with the stage for her. She smiled at the pair and asked them to put it near the rear of the room. She had already opened the first box and was unpacking numerous small items. Chris turned at her excited gasp.

"This is one of the loveliest things I've ever seen." She held up an shawl. It was dark blue intricately embroidered in silver, gold, and red. "Mrs. Patterson certainly has good taste."

Chris fingered the edge of the shawl. He would have known without her saying it that it was for Lily. She was the only one in town that would have something like this. It brought the hint of a smile to his mouth imagining the fabric draped around her.

"It's a shame that these things didn't come in earlier. I could have sent the shawl over with Mr. Wilmington. It was so sweet of him to buy her some candy." Chris wanted to ask her what she meant by saying that Buck had bought Lily some candy. "I don't suppose I could impose on you to take this to Mrs. Patterson, could I?"

Chris nodded and took the shawl from her. He walked toward the saloon hoping that the shawl could serve as a peace offering to her. Buck's earlier words still rang in his head. He knew without asking Ezra that Lily would be in her room. She'd rarely come down the last few days. He was surprised to see her door open and her laughter floating down the hall.

"Buck, get up."

"Oh come on, Lily, this is the nicest bed I've laid in in the longest time, can't I just stay a minute longer?" Buck's words made Chris's stomach tighten.

"Up. Now." He heard them both laugh again. A jealousy he hadn't known before burned through his body. The shawl slipped from his hands and pooled on the floor just short of Lily's door. His legs refused to move forward any further. A thousand images of Buck and Lily together raced through his mind. He forced his feet to carry his back down the stairs and out of the building.

"Buck, stop horsin' around." JD slapped his friend on the shoulder and helped Lily pull him off the bed. "We're not gonna get this bed moved with you in it."

The two men had graciously volunteered to help Lily when she had mentioned earlier that she wished her bed was closer to the window. Buck had considered finding Chris and making him help. But in the end he'd decided that maybe his friend needed the time to think over what he'd said earlier. He only hoped that it would sink in this time.