"I do feel hungry," you answer.

Chris smiles and turns toward the bar.  "Inez, bring us one of your specialties."

"Si, senor," the woman behind the counter says.

Chris turns back to you.  "How long do you plan on staying here before you continue on to Wilderville?"

"That depends," you answer as Inez sets a plate of food in front of you.

"On what?" Chris asks.

You smile.  "On if I find something here worth staying for."

Chris smiles, then looks abruptly at the men standing around the table.  You look at them and realize you had forgotten they were there.  They all have a twinkle of amusement in their eyes, which seems to irritate Chris.

"Don't you all have some scouting to do or something?" he says.

The men excuse themselves, still looking amused.  You look back to Chris and smile.  "I guess they've never seen you order a woman dinner before."

"Aw, they just need to get a hobby."

You laugh.  "It must be difficult to protect a town.  You must get tired of it?"

Chris shrugs.  "I never thought I'd be protecting a town, but it's a good way to make a livin' for now.  Where do you come from, Anna?"

Uh-oh, you think.  You know you can't tell him where you really came from or else he'll put two and two together.  Quickly, you blurt out the first town that comes to mind.

"Santa Fe."

"Really?  I hear that's a pretty...dusty town," Chris says with a grin.

"It is," you say, taking a bite of food.  "Wow, this is really good."

"Inez is the best cook we've got.  She'd be glad to know you like her food."

You're silent for a while, just eating and planning what you'll do next.  Chris sits silent as well, drinking his whiskey and studying you intently.

"Would you like to take a walk?" Chris asks suddenly.

You look up at him, surprised.  "Where to?"

He smiles.  "Nowhere in particular."

You figure it couldn't hurt, so you nod.  "All right."  Chris stands up and pulls your chair out.  You stand and walk out with him into the warm sunlight.  You walk down the boardwalk beside Chris in silence.

Before you know it, you've walked out of town and you're walking alongside a stream.

"This is my element," you say.

"What do you mean?" Chris asks.

You take in the scenery around you; the stream, the trees, and the wide blue sky.  "I mean all this.  Nature.  It makes me feel like..."  You can't finish the sentence without revealing your real identity.  You want to say ...like not robbing banks anymore.  But you keep it to yourself.

"Like what?" Chris asks, interrupting your thoughts.

You turn and look in Chris' green eyes.  "Like giving up my line of work and staying right here."

Something in his eyes and the way he's looking at you right now makes you want to come clean, to tell him the truth about you.  But most of all, you want to tell him that you don't want to rob banks anymore, you want to do what's right.

"I've got something to tell you, Chris," you say.

"What is it?" Chris asks.

"I'm not really passing through here on my way to Wilderville."

"You're not?" Chris asks, confused.

"No.  I'm staying here.  Wilderville and any other town can wait.  I found something worth staying for."

Chris smiles.  "What's that?"

You smile back.  My conscience.  And you."

Chris takes a step toward you and leans down to place a gentle kiss on your lips.  He pulls away and looks into your eyes.  "I'm glad."

You nod.  "So am I."

Chris holds out his hand, which you take.  As you walk back to town hand-in-hand with him, you begin to look forward to your new life.  A life of trust and no more running.


                                                                                      THE END
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