I awoke the next morning to discover that Cody and the storm had vanished in the night. Emma knocked on the door and asked if she could enter.

"Sure, come in," I called softly, sitting up in bed.

"Sleep well?" she asked, crossing to sit at the foot of the bed.

"Guess I did after the storm passed," I answered. "Is everything alright around the place?"

"Nothin' broke that can't be fixed," she shrugged. Emma seemed oddly uncomfortable, like something was on her mind but she didn't know quite how to approach the subject.

"Emma, is something on your mind?" I finally asked.

She hesitated for a moment, "Louise, honey, do we need to have a woman to woman talk?"

"A what?" I was confused.

"I saw Cody come out of your room real early this morning. I-I just want to make sure that-"

"Now hold on a minute!" I interrupted. I could feel color creeping up into my neck and cheeks. "You have to understand, Cody was just sitting with me because I don't care too much for storms. Nothing happened between us, Emma." By the time I had finished my little speech I could feel hot tears of embarrassment stinging in my eyes.

Emma smiled sympathetically, "Don't worry, I believe you. There's nothing to be ashamed of Lou. I'm just glad Cody's been so sweet to you."

"Me, too. And thanks-if I ever do need your advice you know I'll come to you right away," I assured her. She excused herself and I got dressed to handle the chores of the day.

Emma was right about the storm damage. Nothing was broken beyond repair, however, almost everything needed repairing! Debris was scattered all over the property and many of the outbuildings needed some fixing up. We all worked diligently until one of us had to ride. It was lucky that Emma had insisted we stay at her house because the wind had torn off a small section of the bunkhouse roof. Ike and I were assigned the task of patching it.

We worked together silently until Ike caught my attention. "Do you love Cody?" he signed.

It was a good thing no one else could see my flushed cheeks, "I dunno. I mean, I care for him a lot. To be honest, I haven't thought about it much."

"He loves you."

"How can you tell?"

Ike laughed silently, "The way he looks at you, how he acts when he's around you. His whole face lights up. You haven't noticed?"

"Sounds like I might have to start paying better attention," I grinned.

A few days later I returned from one of my hardest runs. I wanted a bath, a meal and a nice soft bed to crawl into. Instead I settled for a quick shower, a leftover biscuit that was partly stale and a hard bunk. My surroundings didn't matter though, since I was asleep in about 30 seconds.

Just as I was waking up I got the sense that I was being watched. Before I could even open my eyes I felt the weight of my mattress shift as someone sat down on it.

"Hey," I grinned sleepily, rolling onto my back so I could see Cody. "What are you looking at?"

He winked "Did you know you're beautiful when you're asleep?"

"Did you know you're a big liar?" I countered back. I ran my fingers through my hair, which was sticking out from my head in about every direction possible.

Cody didn't seem to care. He put his arms around me and kissed me with a passion I hadn't experienced before. It was nice, but a little startling, too. Gently he knelt on the bunk and nearly laid down on top of me. As we kissed I could feel his body tremble against mine. I liked the way Cody was making me feel, but I was scared, too. I wasn't sure if I was more afraid of him or myself.

All those feelings created a little explosion inside of me. Without thinking I forced Cody off of me with all my might and fled, running nowhere in particular.

Lou, are you alright?" he called after me, sounding dumbfounded.

I didn't answer him, and to my relief he didn't follow me. I didn't realize how far I'd run until I found myself at the edge of town.

Just as I was going to turn and run the other direction, I heard Emma's voice cry out my name in surprise. She came running down the street,

"Lou? Is something wrong? Did something happen at home?" She seemed to realize then that we couldn't exactly have a private conversation right there and guided me towards the church. Fortunately school was over with for the day and we found it empty. I slumped down in the back pew.

"Do you want to talk about it, Louise?" she asked quietly.

Hot tears of shame burned in my eyes, "Cody was in the bunkhouse when I woke up from my nap. He kissed me like he never had before. He-he was nearly lying down on me. I kind of liked the way it felt, but it scared me, too. It brought back so many memories, but I know Cody isn't that kind of man. Oh Emma, he must think I'm horrid and immature. I don't know how I can look him in the eye again."

"Well, now he might be feeling pretty confused, too," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe even hurt. After all, he was trying to romance you, and you ran away. And Cody's never forced you to do anything you didn't want, right?"

"You're right," I sighed. "Oh Emma, I'm such a fool."

She stretched out a hand to rumple my hair, "Not a fool. Just growin' up and in love, and dealing with a difficult past. There is a difference. Now come on, I'll give you a ride back to the station."

It was almost a relief to discover that Cody was gone on an overnight run. He must have left quietly, for none of the other riders seemed aware of what had happened. Thankfully, Cody's name wasn't even mentioned during super. Emma kept a watchful eye on me to be sure that I ate. The bites that I took were more to oblige her than from having much of an appetite.

Not surprisingly, I didn't sleep well that night. I missed the sound of Cody's rhythmic breathing and wondered if it would ever sound the same to me. To make matters worse, I had an early morning ride. Needless to say, it was not the best of circumstances. Fortunately it was a short ride and there was no cause to have to make polite conversation with anyone.

Still, I arrived back home more tired and irritable than when I had left.

"I'll tend to your horse, Lou. You best get washed up before supper," offered Noah.

I managed a weak grin, "Much obliged."

As I approached the bunkhouse, I heard Cody and Jimmy's voices. Before reaching the step that squeaked, I decided to eavesdrop for a minute; partly out of curiosity, partly because I was hesitant to enter.

"I just don't know what to tell her, Jimmy."

"All you have to do is say the words. It can't be that hard."

Cody sighed audibly, "It ain't that easy. Lou's been kind of sensitive lately. I want to make sure the timing is right."

"Well, if you really want my advice I'd tell her sooner than later."

I crept away as quietly as I could, my heart sinking into my knees. So Cody doesn't care for me anymore, but he doesn't have the heart to tell me! I wasn't sure that I blamed him after what had happened but still...I thought he understood.

With my eyes smarting I made my way over to Emma's house. She took one look at me and paled herself.

"Louise, what is it? Has something happened to one of the boys?"

"Cody!" I burst out, surprised to hear more anger than sadness in my voice.

Emma gently led me to the sofa, "Did you quarrel?"

"No, but he doesn't care for me anymore since, well, since I ran away from him."

"That doesn't sound much like Cody," she said evenly. "Did he tell you that straight out?"

"Not exactly," I admitted, starting to calm down a little. "I overheard him talking with Jimmy in the bunkhouse. Cody said he had something to tell me but didn't know when he should because I've been sensitive lately. And Jimmy told him he was better off telling me soon."

"Louise, I realize you're tired and a little confused, but does that really sound like a rejection to you?" she asked.

I shifted in my seat, "Well, it did at the time..."

A slow smile spread across Emma's face. I knew she thought I'd been hasty in my conclusion. "What you need, honey, is a bath and a good long nap. I think maybe then you'll see things a little differently. Why don't you help me get the tub full? Then you can have the whole house to yourself for a while. How does that sound?"

The idea was as great as it sounded. I only took a quick bath for fear that I would fall asleep in the tub. Still it felt good to be clean once again, and put on a fresh shirt and trousers. Emma had a fire going in the front room and it looked so inviting that I stretched out on the sofa.

The next thing I was aware of was the feeling that my cheek was being caressed. I knew it was by Cody's hand, but I couldn't tell if his intention was to wake me or not, the strokes being so light and gentle. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to open my eyes, but finally did.

A look of loving concern filled Cody's eyes, "Are you all right, Lou? I've been so worried about you. Emma didn't want me to disturb you. I tried not to wake you up, but-"

"I'm fine," I yawned. "Just tired is all. I didn't get much sleep last night." I couldn't bring myself to look into Cody's face so I stared down at my hands instead.

"Lou, about the other day-" he began. I resisted the childish urge to cover my ears with my hands. "I'm sorry if I upset you or made you feel uncomfortable. I've been feeling terrible over the way I acted."

"The way you acted?" I echoed in surprise. "And here I've been feeling bad about what I did. I shouldn't have run out on you like I did."

"I thought I had lost you forever," he sighed. "I wanted to go after you, but thought you needed some time."

"I was never angry at you-only ashamed of what I had done and then scared you didn't care for me anymore. Don't blame yourself for my actions, Cody." I squeezed his hand.

Cody hugged me to him and I buried my face in his jacket, "There's something I've been wanting to tell you Louise. I've been waiting for the right time-maybe this is it now. I love you, sweetheart."

Cody's grip on me became even tighter, like he was afraid to let me go. I wanted to respond but thought he wouldn't hear me as I was pressed so tightly against him. Finally I wriggled free so I could face him, "I love you, too, Cody. I have since you came frozen on Christmas Eve, so determined that you'd be with your family for Christmas."

"And I've loved you since I found out you were a girl. Heck, maybe even before," he grinned.

For a moment we just stood there looking at each other, not knowing what else to say.

"Well, now what?" I giggled.

"I guess now our adventures really begin," smiled Cody.

And he was right.