Melissa was lying on her star twin bunkbed, the top bunk, thinking about Jake. He was so sweet and kind to her. And he treated her like a lady instead of a kid. She was in love.

She couldn't wait to see him again. In fact why lay here when she could be in town with him right now. She knew she had homework to do, and that Jacy didn't like her spending time with Jake, but lately she just didn't care. She would rather be with Jake. She jumped down off her bunkbed, grabbed her cowgirl hat and headed down the stairs. As she was about to go out the door, she was stopped by Jacy.

"Melissa!" She shouted firmly. "Where are you going?"

"I thought I would go for a ride." Melissa replied as she turned around to face her sister.

"Are you going for a ride, or are you going into town to see that man?" She asked.

"Maybe both." Melissa smiled as she thought about Jake.

"Melissa we've had this discussion before. I don't want you seeing this Jake person. He's too old for you. Stay away from him." She furiously said.

"I will not. I won't stay away from him. He's not too old for me. Age doesn't matter if you love someone." Melissa shouted as she stormed out the door.

"Melissa you get back here right now. Young lady, I'm warning you." She hollered after her as she ran to the door and watched as Melissa ran to the barn to saddle Braids.

"OOOHHHH!" What was she going to do with her? Clenching her fists together she just wanted to shake Melissa, shake some sense into her. She couldn't confront Jake because it might unmask her real identity. How and the world was she going to get Melissa away from Jake?

Meanwhile in town Jake was at the bordello having a drink. The saloon didn't have any occupants at all, and Jake loved to be where there was some action. He would like to start up a poker game, but there was only a couple of guys here. "Hey bartender, come here."

Tally hated being called bartender, and soon he wouldn't even be working here. It's not that he didn't like being a bartender. It was just that he would much rather be telling other people what to do instead of other people bossing him around. Tally walked down to the other end of the bar. "Whattaya want?"

"Who are those two guys over there?" Jake turned his head to stare at two fellas wearing business suits.

"That would be the banker, Mr. Simmons, and his assistant, Mr. Brown." Tally replied wondering why Jake wanted to know.

"Thanks bartender, bring me another whiskey." Jake turned around and studied the two fellas again then he decided it was worth a shot. At least the banker would have lots of money, so he went over and introduced himself.

Tally watched as the despicable man joined Walter and Ted. He didn't like Jake. He wasn't sure exactly why, but one thing was for sure, he didn't like Jake with Melissa. He didn't want Melissa to get hurt, and he just knew that some how some way this fella was going to hurt her unless she stayed away from him. As long as Tally saw Jake with Melissa, he would be keeping a close eye on him.

Melissa came riding into town and stopped at the hotel. She tied Braids to the hitching post and went inside. "Hi Caly, is Mr. Fresno in?"

"Hi Melissa, no he's not in at the moment." Caly had seen Melissa and Jake together several times. She hoped it wasn't anything serious. She sure didn't want her little brother to get hurt, and she knew that Michael really liked Melissa.

"Oh . . . well thanks." Melissa left and started walking around town to see if she could spot Jake. The first place she looked was the saloon. She looked inside, but knew better than to go inside. She knew Jacy would throw another fit if she went into the saloon. But why should she care anyway? She wasn't a kid any more. She was a young lady and could do whatever she wanted. But since Jake wasn't in the saloon, there was no need for her to enter.

A half an hour later she had checked every establishment but the bordello. Surely he wouldn't be in there, but then where else could he be. His horse was at the livery. Well, it wouldn't hurt nothing if she just peeked through the window to see if he was there. Sure enough that's where he was. It hurt Melissa to see him in such a place. Angry and dejected Melissa started crying as she headed for her horse.

Jake always kept himself aware of his surrounding areas, so when Melissa peeked inside the bordello, Jake saw her out of the corner of his eye. He saw the frown on her face, so he knew something was up. He would have to leave and attend to the situation.

He had won most of the hands. The man called Ted didn't have much of a poker face, and Jake could read him quite well. Walter, however, was a little difficult to read, but neither one of them seemed to have any idea that he was stacking the deck. "Gentleman, I hate to win and run, but I have a pressing engagement that I just can't get out of. I hope you don't mind. We�ll have to play again some time." He gathered up his winnings as he stood up.

Ted was shaking his head no. He didn't mind that Jake was leaving. He had lost enough money and didn't really want to loose any more.

Walter stood up to shake Jake's hand. "Yes, we'll have to have a rematch, so I can win back all my money."

Jake strolled out the door and saw Melissa standing in front of her horse. She had her head bowed against her horse's body. Jake's smile disappeared as he walked over to her. "Melissa darling, what's wrong?" He said with concern in his voice as he put his arm around her. She kept crying and didn't answer him but tried to shrug off his arm. "Honey, what's wrong? Whatever it is, I'll fix it. Is it a mean old dragon? If it is, I'll slay him for ya." He waited a few seconds hoping that she would speak or laugh. "Darling won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"I saw you. I saw you in there." This time she threw her arm back and shrugged off his arm.

Jake looked back at the bordello, and then it dawned on him why she was so upset. "Oh darling, you don't need to be sad. I was just in there playing cards with a couple of fellas and having a drink. I wasn't in there for the ladies. Besides no other lady could ever compare to your beauty. There is no other lady for me but you. Please believe me, please."

Well, she had only seen him in there with fellas, and there wasn't any girls around. She turned around, and he took his handkerchief and wiped her tears. "Come on now, where's that pretty little smile that I fell in love with?" Melissa swiped at her tears and then smiled at Jake. "How about we go for a ride and enjoy this sunshine before the sun sets? Then after you're feeling better, we can have supper at the hotel or Silver Spoon, your choice."

She was beginning to feel better already. "Alright. Let's go get your horse." Melissa grabbed her reins and started leading Braids to the livery. Jake walked beside her holding her free hand.