Undaunted, Alex squeezed Michelle's leg just above the knee. This time Michelle kicked out her foot and came within inches of Alex's shin. The boy drew back his hand and pursed his lips. Then he put his hands over Michelle's and drew away the book. She blinked and then her lips tightened into a thin line.

"Can I please have my book back?" Michelle's voice was tight and controlled.

Alex kept it only for a moment and when he saw the hard blue glint in the girl's eyes he held the paperback out to her. She snatched it from his fingers and got up from the couch. Alex watched as she stalked up the stairs without a backward glance.

What did I do now?! Alex asked himself. He followed Michelle up the stairs, knowing that she would not have wanted him to. Her door was closed but when he tried the knob, it turned freely. Even still, he knocked politely. When he got no response from within, he opened the door and stepped into the room.

Some sort of classical music was playing softly; it sounded hauntingly familiar and he figured it was a soundtrack to some movie. Once again she had the book in her hand but her eyes were focused on Alex. One eyebrow was lifted in question, her face frozen.

"Do you always just let yourself in?" she asked harshly.

"When no one answers I do."

Michelle twisted her face up in a grimace. "Please leave," she said, though it was more a demand the way she clipped the words.

Alex stood and almost reached for the door. "No. I go on this picnic because you had so nicely arranged it. I come back to see how Fancy did and then I get the Ice Queen treatment. If I ever did this to you, you would demand an explanation. And don't you get all high and mighty with me, Michelle." He paused and Michelle lowered her chin. "You would pester and nag until you got your way. So now, I ask myself, what could I have possibly done to anger you? Considering that I was gone all morning, this question is the most puzzling."

Two blue eyes closed for a moment and Alex though that she was fighting tears, but when they opened he could see that she was still mad. With out a word she got up from the bed and walked to the connecting door. Once in Alex's room Michelle walked straight to the desk. Alex followed her into the room and saw what she had in her hand.

"A letter? You're mad because I wrote a letter?" Alex couldn't see anything wrong with the white envelope.

Michelle looked at him like he was a moron. "Do you have no idea?" she snapped. She turned the envelope over so that Alex could see the sealed flap. He remembered that he had written a post script on it.

Michelle looked at the flap and read from it. " 'Oh, and please tell Katie that I love and still miss her and that I'll see her soon.' Still clueless?" she stormed.

Alex began laughing and Michelle threw the envelope down on the wooden desk. "I'm so glad that you find it funny because I don't. Oh, maybe you'll find this amusing. . ." Michelle took the ring from her left hand and tossed it on the envelope. She laughed mirthlessly and left the room, not bothering to close the shared door.

Alex took the ring and the envelope into Michelle's room. "Michelle, Katie is my dog!"

The girl gave him a withering stare and turned to look out the window. "Michelle! We have a golden retriever and her name is Katie. I'll go call my parents right now so you can ask if you would like," Alex offered bitingly. He played with the ring and twisted it around his finger. "Well, if you decide to trust me I'll leave this on the dresser." He tossed the ring against the radio and stalked out of the room.

When Michelle heard the connecting door close, she turned around and looked at the ring on the dresser. She couldn't believe that she had jumped to such an awful conclusion. I don't deserve to wear it anymore, she thought miserably. The girl steeled herself and walked into Alex's room. He was sitting at his desk, putting stamps on his letters.

Michelle stepped over to him and kneeled down by his leg. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have just assumed such a horrible thought. I don't deserve to wear this," she said as she offered the ring back to him.

Alex almost looked as though he was going to take it but then his hand strayed to Michelle's hair. "It's not about you deserving it, it's about me wanting you wear it. Michelle, how can you trust me so little so as to think that I would say I love you here and still have someone back home, too?"

Michelle looked at Alex through her lashes. "Love makes you crazy?" she suggested.

Alex grinned and leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on Michelle's lips. He pulled back but Michelle followed him up, never breaking the physical contact. A knock on Michelle's door broke the kiss as she rushed into her room.

Alex heard a murmur of voices and then a closing door. Soon Michelle was back, perched on the edge of the bed. Alex lifted his eyebrows and Michelle responded to the unspoken question.

"My mother. She wanted to make sure that everything was okay."

"I take it that everything is okay?" Alex said.

Michelle nodded her head and rested her cheek on Alex's shoulder. "I'm very ashamed of myself, Alex. I proved that I'm not ready for a relationship as deep as the one you want." Her voice was distorted but the shame was clear.

A strong arm slipped around Michelle's slender shoulders and held her close. "Yes you are," was all Alex said. The silence deepened but the couple was comfortable with the easy lack of words.

"Oh! How did Fancy do?" Alex inquired after many minutes had passed.

Michelle sat up and smoothed down her hair. "Great! We did walk, trot, canter, tacked up and bare, mounted and not. She performed flawlessly, like normal." Michelle's voice was full of an almost maternal pride.

Alex simply nodded his head, expecting nothing less from the terrific mare. Then he looked down on Michelle's head and an explosive sigh left his lips. Michelle looked up sharply, worry dark in her eyes.

"What am I going to do with you, Michelle Valentine?" he whispered.

Michelle's lips curled into a warm smile. "I can think of a few things," she teased.

With raised eyebrows, Alex laughed, catching his friend off guard. Instead of kisses she got laughter - she didn't much like it. Alex caught her frustration and broke off his laughter.

"Well, do any of those few things include going out and maybe going to town?" Alex asked. He stood up and inched toward the door, grabbing his hat off the wall.

Michelle's lips twisted into a grimace of defeat but she stood and walked into her room. Alex began to fidget when Michelle finally emerged. Had Alex not seen Michelle enter her room he would never have recognized her as she came out.

When Alex hadn't said anything, Michelle twitched the body of her skirt and looked herself over, trying to find out what she had missed.

"Aren't you going to say anything, Alex? Is something. . . wrong?"

Alex looked at her. She had changed into a loose flowing skirt that would have suited a Gypsy except that the colors swirled from deep blues to the color of her eyes. Her shirt was a smooth, white silk with sleeves that fit snugly down her arms but then flared around her wrists. Beneath the hem of the skirt peeked black ropers that appeared to be Michelle's boots but shone like they had never been worn before. Alex worked his way up to Michelle's hair as it hung down her back; the small tendrils which usually curled around her ears now framed her face. Her face - still without makeup except for her lips, which held the slightest hue of color. She was glowing.

"Alex?" she started.

"You look absolutely gorgeous," he breathed. He closed the space between them with two steps and stood, looking down at her. He ran his hand down her hair, marveling in the softness of it. He took a deep breath and offered his arm to his lady. She smiled with those full lips and as she rested her left hand atop his, Alex saw the ring that fit around her fourth finger.

His silence was noted by Michelle, who had caught the brief look in the boy's eyes as he saw the ring, but she too kept silent about it.

"To town?" she asked, though it was more a statement than a question.

Alex led Michelle by the arm down the stairs. The sound of voices could be heard from the living room but when the couple reached the bottom floor, they found only the t.v. on in an empty room. The kitchen was in the same state of desertion.

"Hmmm, well, go ahead and get the car going and I'll go find my parents and let them know where we're going." Michelle walked away towards the heart of the ranch and Alex walked to the end of the driveway where his car had been parked for the past few days.

Soon, Alex caught sight of the billowing skirts and he got the engine going, getting out of the car to open the passenger door before Michelle could. With an incline of her head in thanks, Michelle ducked into the car and Alex took them away from the ranch.

Michelle couldn't remember the last time she had left her home by way of car. Usually when her family went to town she stayed home, not liking the bustle of the city streets. When she did venture out is was by way of horseback and not car. She watched as the landscape blurred past her window and stopped her fingers from playing with her hair in their idleness.

It was a beautiful afternoon, the sun shining strongly from an unmarred sky of blue. Sparrows flitting from tree to tree and the larger birds of prey high above made perfect the Montana summer. Everything was green from the winter's snows and only near the end of summer would brown start to show through.

"Not used to riding in a car are you?" Alex asked.

Michelle turned to look at him. "No, I guess I'm not at that. I feel so useless with nothing to do." She laughed, then, the peals lightening her heart. "I don't even know how to drive yet. Haven't had to." Alex looked scandalized that a seventeen year old girl should not know how to drive, much less have no desire to.

"Well, that's going to change this summer," he stated resolutely. Michelle looked at him with a dubious glance. "Don't give me that look. If you can ride a fractious horse, I have no doubts that you could drive a car." He shook his head. "I can't believe that your parents haven't made you!"

With an abashed expression on her face, she said, "I took the classes in school and I did a couple behind the wheel lessons, just enough to pass but I haven't driven a car since then."

"Do you have your permit, at least?" Alex demanded.

Michelle squirmed in her seat and looked down at her hands.

"You don't."

Michelle shook her head and glanced at her chaperone through her lashes. "I never did. I'm sure I could though," she piped, trying to appease her friend.

Alex gave one more disgusted snort before letting her off the hook. "Has the town changed any since last year? When I drove through it was dark and everything was closed. I couldn't believe that you don't even have a 24-hour pharmacy or something!" He was almost at a loss for words.

"There's a new theater and a few new stores," she offered.

"What's playing?"

"Hmm, Alex, remember, I don't to town but once or twice a year. The trail I take to school skirts the town, which is what I prefer. All my friends live within a few miles of me out here." She shrugged and Alex threw her another exasperated look.

The town - for it was too small to be called a city - came into sight with the old fashioned showy fronts on buildings and hitching rails in front of the doors. The only distinguishing mark that made this town different from the old westerns was the cars that coasted down the wide streets.

The tall front on the new theater directed Alex to the parking lot. He helped Michelle out of the car and they walked through the flashy double doors. Alex purchased the tickets and sat Michelle before leaving to buy the drinks and snacks.

While her date was gone, Michelle glanced around the vaulted showing room. She noticed two or three of the more popular girls from her classes with their boyfriends. With disdain she thought of how they weren't here for the movie. Just trying to be like what they think the big city kids are. Someone to her right called her name and she turned to see who it could be. She was surprised when she realized that it was Lara Smitley, the president of her school's ASB and this year's Home Coming queen.

Michelle said hi and tentatively waved. Lara was there with her current boyfriend of six months - a long relationship for Lara - Mitch Zionet, the stereotypical captain of the football team and baseball's MVP. Michelle turned back around and waited for Alex to return.

The buttery smell of popcorn attracted her attention and Alex came walking down the aisle. His hands were overflowing with two large drinks, a large popcorn, and two boxes of candy. Michelle was in the process of getting up to help when Lara hopped up from her seat. Michelle didn't like the way that Lara's eyes roved up and down Alex's frame.

"Hi! I'm Lara. Are you new around here? I don't think I've seen you before." Lara was practically drooling and Michelle had to suppress her propensity towards sarcasm as the two drew nearer.

As Alex handed Michelle her drink, the look on Lara's face one of disbelief. "Michelle, is this your brother?"

Alex turned and snatched the popcorn from the girl's hands. "No, I'm Alex and I'm her boyfriend. And yes, I'm new here," he added.

Michelle could tell that Lara was thrown but like all of her kind she bounced back. "Do you mind if we join you, Alex?"

Alex placed a restraining hand on Michelle's arm as she bristled at the subtle trespass. Without answering Lara, Alex arranged the snacks and sat himself beside Michelle. Michelle glanced over her shoulder and saw the Home Coming queen shifting herself next to Alex. Mitch didn't appear happy and Michelle had a feeling that Lara was going to have to find a new boyfriend.