Bryn had returned. No one had told Molly what had happened or how she’d even found her way back into town. Speculation and gossip ran ramped through out the small town. It was the topic of every conversation that Molly passed by as she walked though the town. Molly had yet to see her and wanted to pay a visit. Molly stopped on the boardwalk and looked to the street to see Billy Travis and several other children involved in a game of “tag” running throughout the town, laughing and squealing as only children can oblivious to the world’s problems around them.

The laughter was contagious and Molly found herself smiling and giggling as she watched the fun, memories of racing through pastures on the Island filling her mind. Billy caught site of her and led the chase towards her. The children laughed and waved as they passed by the girl that their parents had told them might soon be their teacher. They all managed to call out a greeting of “Hi, Miss Molly,” as they raced passed her. Molly waved and called out a warning to be careful. One of the smaller girls was the last to go by and Molly noticed her hair ribbon was in danger of slipping from her braid.

“Mae,” Molly called to her. The little girl ran up to Molly. Molly knelt in front of her and turned her around. “You’re going to lose your ribbon,” Molly said to her retying it in spite of the child’s anxiousness to get back to the game. “There,” Molly said turning her back to face her. “Much better.” Mae rewarded her favorite grownup with a kiss before running back behind the buildings.

“You’re good at that,” a man’s voice said behind Molly causing her to jump. Before she could turn around to identify the person who’d spoken Chris Larabee appeared in front of her. Molly was about to reply when he spoke again. “I’ve never been to Canada, and I’ve never heard of this island you come from but I imagine it’s a different place. People might want to know other’s business but that ain’t so here.”

Molly felt her face burning with humiliation at the realization of what he was talking about. That day she went looking for Lily and ended up standing in the doorway watching her and Mr. Larabee. He thought her no better than an eavesdropper.

“Mr. Larabee, I never meant…” he cut off her attempt at an explanation and moved closer to her. Molly tried taking a step back but backed into a post instead.

“Don’t ever walk in on a person’s private conversation again,” he said in her ear, loud enough for only her to hear. He stepped back, touched the brim of his hat to her and walked down the boardwalk.

It took Molly a moment to recover from the encounter. Continuing down to the store she was to pay off the account her and her father had at Mrs. Potter’s store. Her father had been working at the bank and then when he could, he and Colum would go to land they were building the house on. She’d hardly seen either man in the past few days but her father told her he wanted to take her to see the new house that weekend. Molly walked in the store and saw that Mrs. Potter and several of the town’s women were talking near the counter. Mrs. Potter stepped out to greet Molly and ask what she could do to help her. Molly told her she was there to pay off their account.

“J.D. Dunne was by a while ago,” Mrs. Potter said to Molly sharing a knowing smile with the three women standing there.

“He’d inquired if you’d been by yet,” one of the other women said. All seemed amused when Molly began to blush at the suggestion. As quickly as the topic of her and J.D. came up it was replaced by another, this time something about Bryn and Mr. Standish knowing each other in New Orleans.

Molly tried to let the gossip fade out as she paid Mrs. Potter for the account. The chatter suddenly died down as the door opened and Mr. Sanchez walked in. Molly avoided eye contact with the man, remembering the last time she’d been inside the church. ‘Oh would she ever stop being so afraid of everyone and everything?’, she wondered. As soon has he left with a package the women started talking about him and someone named Cheyenne. One of the women nodded out the window at the woman that Molly had seen both riding with J.D. the other day and who was also in the church that same night.

“Who is she?” Molly asked.

“That’s Cheyenne, Josiah’s. . . ward,” one of the women answered, as if not knowing exactly how to describe her. “It’s better if you just stay clear of that one anyway,” she said to Molly.

“I don’t understand,” Molly said.

“That woman is right next door to a perfect heathen,” Mrs. Potter said. “She’d shoot you as soon as look at you. You certainly can’t have a conversation with her.”

“Have you even tried?” Molly asked.

“That, my dear girl, is precisely the point,” the bank owner’s wife said to her. Molly was now annoyed. These women were gossips plain and simple. They didn’t seem to know anything about anyone and made what they didn’t know up as they went along.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” Molly said as she made her way out the door with a renewed sense of purpose. She’d have a conversation with this Cheyenne or perish in the attempt. Suprized at her own sudden boldness Molly determinedly set up the street toward the church where she saw this Cheyenne out in the yard brushing her horse. Molly stopped for a moment and smoothed down her blue dress then with a determination she hadn’t felt in a long time, walked toward the woman.

Chris Larabee sat at his usual post just up the street from the saloon on a chair on the boardwalk. From this vantage point he could see nearly everyone in the town. Up at the end of the street he saw Molly Gallagher enter the Potter’s store followed a few minutes later by Josiah. Vin was up at the end of the street near the livery. Ezra no doubt was with Bryn where most likely Nathan also was. Buck and J.D. were at their posts near the outside of the jail.

All of them were on edge since the return of Bryn. Chris caught site of Molly as she exited the store and his mind went back to earlier when he’d confronted her about watching him and Lily a few days before. The look on her face was one of embarrassment and something else that was just this side of fear. He scared her.

‘Hell’, he thought, ‘the whole damn town scares her.’ For some reason this seemed to bother him. He didn’t know why. She was now a resident of this town and he would protect her like any other resident. He watched with a curiosity as she walked a little way toward the church where Cheyenne was out front with her horse. She stopped for a minute and then continued. She was going to talk to Cheyenne!

Chris couldn’t hide the smile on his face as he realized that neither woman knew what they were about to get into. You couldn’t find two more opposite people if you tried. He settled back into the chair and continued to watch the town.

“Good afternoon Miss Cheyenne,” Molly called out feeling a bit awkward but trying her best to hide it. She walked up to the other woman standing next to one of the largest horses Molly had ever seen. “Your name is Cheyenne, isn’t it?” The woman only nodded and looked Molly up and down as if trying to figure out what she was. “My name is Molly, Molly Gallagher. I’m the niece of Colum Gallagher. I’ve heard about you and I wanted to introduce myself.”

Cheyenne said nothing back to her but turned around and continued to brush her horse. Molly felt as though she’d just be slapped. Determined she tried again. If the woman continued to ignore her she’d leave.

“You’re horse is very beautiful. He’s the sort of horse I’d imagine King Arthur or any of the Knights of the Round Table riding, noble and proud. What do you call him?” Cheyenne said nothing back to her. Those women seemed to be right and that felt worse than being ignored by this woman. Molly sighed and turned to walk away.

“Black Wind,” a woman’s French-accented voice said from behind her. Molly whirled around in suprize.

“I beg your pardon?” she asked, not understanding.

“His name is Black Wind,” Cheyenne said again. Molly smiled and took a few steps forward.

“It suits him. Have you ever seen one?” she asked. It was Cheyenne’s turn to be confused. “A black wind?” Molly asked again. “They come up off the ocean during a storm. Suddenly the sky goes from blue to every shade of gray there is before turning black as night. The winds pick up and the rain comes out of no where. Sometimes the winds are so harsh they pick the water up right off the ocean into the land. I’ve heard sailors tell of black winds when there out at sea, how they never want to come across them, they’re so fierce.” Molly stopped for a moment realizing that she was babbling.

“Have you ever seen the ocean, Cheyenne?” she asked. The woman kept looking at her, her face expressionless. Her only answer was to shake her head. “Oh, Cheyenne, how much you miss,” Molly said.

Cheyenne’s gaze had focused on something just over Molly’s shoulder. With out another word or so much as a glance she left the young woman standing there. Molly turned around to see her stride toward the livery where Mr. Tanner had just walked in with a man close behind that Molly didn’t recognize. Molly stood there watching her go feeling dejected and abandoned.

A tug on her skirt brought Molly’s eyes downward to where little Mae was standing with her hand out offering Molly a piece of hard-candy. Molly smiled and knelt down to the little girl’s level. “Oh you darling,” she said embracing the child.

“Come play,” she said to her. Molly touched her fingertip to the little girls button nose causing her to giggle.

“I would love to,” she said taking the little girl’s and to walk to where the group of children had gathered just beyond the town’s buildings. She couldn’t resist a backward glance to the livery where Cheyenne had walked inside.