She was writing a letter when Melissa entered the study. She quickly tucked it under a book and with a charming grin she looked at Melissa. Melissa wondered what Jacy was up to, but she didn't ask. "Jacy are we going to have supper in town again tonight, or are you going to fix something?" Melissa shuffled her feet and waited for Jacy to reply.

"I think we'll go to the Silver Spoon for supper. Give me a few minutes to get ready." She replied. She waited hoping that Melissa would take the hint and leave. "You may go now. I'll find you when I'm ready."

Melissa nodded her head and slowly left the study and went down the hall and into the living room. A few minutes later she watched as Jacy left the study and went upstairs. Cautiously while watching the stairs making sure that Jacy didn't descend anytime soon, Melissa went into the study. She looked under the book, but whatever Jacy had stashed there, it wasn't there now. Disappointed Melissa searched the desk inside and out but didn't find anything interesting. She left the study and as she heard Jacy shutting the door to her bedroom, she quickly dashed into the living room. Usually Melissa wouldn't have done such a thing, but Jacy just wasn't herself lately, and Melissa was hoping that she could find out why. Several times she had tried to talk to Jacy about it, but she either ignored her, changed the subject or got angry with her, and then either Jacy or herself would stomp out of the room with nothing accomplished.

She pressed her skirt down with her hands and descended the stairs. Her first stop was the living room to look for Melissa. Good decision she thought to herself as she saw Melissa slumped in the big brown chair. The chair that Melissa had said that they had got so that they could both sit in it together and read books before bedtime. Ridiculous she thought why should she do that. Melissa knew how to read. She could read books herself. She didn't need anybody to read to her.

"So you ready, little Miss Hungry?" She asked.

"Sure." Melissa slid out of the chair and walked over to Jacy. She turned around and Melissa followed her out the door. "I didn't know I was suppose to get dressed up for supper." She looked up at Jacy.

"It's ok if you don't change clothes. I just felt like wearing this." She nonchalantly said as they left the house. She was wearing a long sleeve peach blouse with a low neckline, a solid navy blue skirt and a navy blue belt. As she walked out onto the porch she thought, one never knew whom one might see in town.

She abruptly stopped and then turned around to look at Melissa. She just shook her head and continued on, but before she could reach the buggy, Melissa spoke. "I just figured since I didn't smell any food aromas that we would be eating in town again, so I hitched up the buggy." Melissa felt like she needed to explain her actions. She had done a lot of that ever since Jacy had come back.

"I didn't say anything did I?" Perturbed she climbed into the back seat of the buggy and waited for Melissa to climb into the front seat.

"No," Melissa replied as she shook her head and climbed into the front seat, picked up the reins and started the buggy towards town.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was Tally's evening off, and he was enjoying a beer in the saloon when Caller Bob and Teaspoon entered. He heard them discussing the square dancers as they sat down at a table and ordered some beers.

"I need some escorts to lead the new graduates around to the ceremony tables, but I'm not sure who should do it. They have to say certain things once they get to the table. I have what they need to say wrote here on these papers. They can either memorize them or read from them at the ceremony." Caller Bob explained to Teaspoon and then handed him the papers to look at.

Meanwhile over at the Silver Spoon, Melissa had finished her supper and Jacy had sent her to the PEG to start getting tomorrow's issue ready to print. Charity came over to Jacy's table to get paid. As Charity stood by Jacy's table, she asked, "Who is that over there at the table?" And when Charity turned to look she slipped a note into Charity's apron pocket.

"I don't know. They're just travelers passing through. Why?" Charity looked back at Jacy for an explanation.

"Oh, I thought I knew him, but I don't. Thanks." She said as she tossed the money on the table and walked out without looking back.

Before stepping down off the boardwalk she noticed Jimmy going into the saloon. Instead of zipping across to the PEG she went diagonally and stood next to the saloon door where she peered inside. There was Jimmy sipping a beer standing next to Tally, so she was about to turn around and go to his horse when she heard Teaspoon call her name. Silently she cursed and turned back around to go inside. Teaspoon was motioning for her to join them.

"Miss Jacy, please won't you join us." Caller Bob said as he stood up and held a chair out to her.

As she had entered she had taken in who was occupying the establishment. For now it only inhabited Tally, Jimmy, Teaspoon, Caller Bob, Richard and rightly so because he was the bartender after all, and two other men at a back table who were probably just passing through. "Good evening gentleman. I can't stay too long I have to go and give Melissa a hand with tomorrow's issue of the newspaper." She supplied before they could ask her why. She stole glances at the dark-haired Pony Express rider who was leaning on the bar across from her without trying to be too obvious.

"Jacy we were just discussing the Graduation Ceremony. We need to have some people be escorts, lead the graduates around to the tables, and I thought you might be able to help Caller Bob with that." Teaspoon suggested.

"What do you mean? Help, how?" She inquired.

"Well, maybe you could ask some of the angels to be escorts." Teaspoon answered.

"Well . . . ummm . . ." She didn't know what to say. She wasn't so sure that she wanted to do it.

Tally and Jimmy had been listening to the conversation. It was kind of hard not to since there wasn't much noise in the saloon and they weren't standing too far away from the bar.

Tally turned around and said, "Jacy I think you should do it."

She turned to face Tally. "You would. Everybody around here thinks I can do everything. Well, I can't I�m too busy with the paper. Why can't somebody else do something for a change? Why don't you do it? How come you never volunteer for anything. Why does it always have to be me?"

"Woh! I just thought you would be good at it. Don't bite my head off. I just know in the past you've been great at getting people to do things." Tally tried to reason with her.

"Well, I don't feel like doing it, ok. I think you should do it. You need to work more on your peoples' skills." She responded as she backed her way to the door. She swung her body around and swung her hips and walked sexily out the door hoping that Jimmy was watching.

"Wow, what bee got under her bonnet?" Jimmy inquired with a smirk.

Tally shook his head and said, "Apparently it was a heck of a wasp." His eyebrows arched up as he looked at Jimmy and then they both grinned.

"Well, I guess I could go around and ask some people to do it. I�m just not sure who to ask." Caller Bob said to Teaspoon. His voice told Tally that Caller Bob didn't really want to do it.

"I'll do it, Caller Bob." Tally said as he turned back around to face the mayor and sheriff.

"Really?" Caller Bob inquired.

"Sure, how many escorts do you need?" Tally walked over to the table, and Caller Bob handed him the papers.

"I need six. Four to lead them to the tables, one to lead them inside and up to stand in front of me, and one other to lead them back to me after they have visited their last table." Caller Bob explained.

"You can count me in, Tally. I�ll be an escort." Teaspoon said.

"One down, five to go." Jimmy grinned at his boss.

"I think this one would be good for you." Tally handed Teaspoon one of Caller Bob�s papers.

"Teaspoon glanced at it and said, "Yeah, this one suits me just fine." He pulled on his suspenders and smiled at all three of them.

"I think I can find five more to do it." Tally took the papers and went back to the bar to finish his third beer.

Meanwhile after she had left the saloon and watched the door for a few minutes to make sure that none of them were coming after her and then also making sure that no one was around on the street, she went up to Sundancer. She slipped a Cupid Caper note into Jimmy's saddlebag and then hurried off to the PEG office.