Carol certainly got what she had asked for from Duke during the next weeks. They rode for miles everyday. He taught her how to play poker and drink whiskey. The first time he had robbed a wagon family she had nearly had second thoughts about coming but he hadn't actually harmed anyone and they had needed the money. She had gotten caught up in the excitement and the thrill. The way her heart raced and her palms became slick with sweat. The sense of victory that would fill her after a job well done.

He taught her to shoot a gun, something that Marcus would have said was far beneath a lady of her breeding and she truly began to learn who she was and what she was capable of during her time with Duke.

Though all of these things paled in comparison to the heat and fire every time they lay together. It was still hot and rough and there was nothing gentle in the way he took her but it lit her blood on fire. She was losing her heart to this rough outlaw and she was loving every single second of it.

That was until the rainy day nearly two months after she began riding with Duke when she realized she was very late for her cycle. Since she had not been intimate with Marcus in the months before his death, she knew the only man who could be the father was Duke. Every day since then had been torture as she had fought to keep her secret.

Duke was frying eggs at their camp one morning when Carol's nose breathed in their scent and her stomach rebelled. She ran away from the smell and lost her last meal on the ground beside the river. As she remained crouched there by the flowing water, her stomach rolling and her body trembling, she wondered what in the world she was going to do. Duke did not seem like the fatherly type. Truthfully Carol had not thought she could get with child any longer. She and Marcus hadn't managed to do so in nearly twelve years but just a few times with Duke and she had a life growing inside of her.

"You okay?" Duke's voice came from behind her. There was the tiniest hint of concern in his words but mostly just curiosity. She nodded but didn't stand and didn't look at him.

"I'll be okay." she said, waving her hand to dismiss him.

Duke frowned and turned and walked away. She wasn't acting like she felt very good the last couple of days. She had seemed tired and she'd been getting sick to her stomach every morning. Duke thought hard about what could be wrong with her as he poked at the fire with a stick.

God knew he hoped it was nothing serious. He was kinda starting to like the woman… Okay that was an understatement, he had fallen pretty hard for the woman. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone…. Truthfully now that he had admitted it to himself he felt a little trapped. He tugged at the collar of his shirt and looked over at her from the corner of his eye.

She was an amazing woman. Strong, beautiful, smart, witty and with the capability of living life just like he did. With no regrets and no reservations. She was willful to a fault and so damn sure all the time that she was right. Stubborn, pig headed and amazing in bed (or any other place he took her at), but now she was sick and though he was hiding his concern from her, it was eating him alive. Curly had been right. Caring about someone was nothing but a pain in the ass.

She joined him minutes later and he sat down on a rock and pulled her into his lap.

"Sure you're okay?" he asked as his lips and tongue traced paths on her neck. She shifted and pulled her throat away from his hungry lips.

"I'm not feeling up to that." she said regretfully and Duke stood quickly and sat her back down on the rock alone. He had wanted to hold her but he couldn't simply hold her without taking her… That would seem too soft. Too tender. Soft was something he would never allow himself to be. Soft men ended up dead. Curly had taught him that lesson very quickly.

"We'll be coming into a town today." he stated.

"A real bath?" Carol asked wistfully and Duke nodded.

"Yep and a real bed." he added with a wink. He had expected her to at least smile but instead she just continued to stare into the small fire and it was clear her mind was miles away. He wanted to ask her what was wrong but that would be too personal so instead he asked if she wanted eggs which, she quickly refused.

He ate quickly, put out the fire and loaded up their belongings. He saddled her brown mare and his appaloosa and lifted her up into her saddle. He was startled by the quiet this morning. Carol was a talker. She liked the meaningless chatter that had always annoyed Duke, but he had found himself enjoying it when it was her voice constantly rambling… .Now the quiet without it was nearly more than the man could stand.

Later that day the rain started falling and of course it started falling as they were coming down a cliff line covered in loose rocks and shale. Duke wanted to have Carol get on his horse but he didn't want her to think that he cared about her well being. He looked over at her face as the rain soaked her hair and caused wisps of the black waves to stick to her skin.

"This weather really turned." Carol said loudly to be heard above the roar of the rain.

"That tends to happen in the summer." Duke replied. "Keep your mare right behind my horse." he ordered and she seemed more than happy to obey.

The wind kicked up another notch and the rain was blinding. Duke wanted to stop but knew they couldn't on this ledge. This ground was weak and could break free at any time and it was a long drop to the bottom. He felt his stallions hooves slip a little and he gentle shushed the animal to calm it. But when the beasts hoof slipped again he stopped suddenly and Carol's mare rammed into him. Duke turned just in time to see the mare sidestep and slip on the edge of the rocky ledge. His eyes locked with Carol's just as the mare went over and Carol jumped. Her hands manage to cling to the rocky edge though her body was slammed against it violently.

"Carol!" Duke yelled above the wind and rain and he jumped from his stallion and grabbed her hands. He hit his knees to brace himself and hoisted her back over, dragging her against the rocks. He knew she would be covered in cuts and bruises but he figured it was better than the alternative which would have been plunging thirty feet onto a bed of jagged rock, just like the poor mare had.

He pulled her to safety and moved away from the edge of the ledge, wrapping her tight in his arms and simply holding her for a long while. She was trembling against him and clinging to his shirt. Suddenly she cried out in pain and gripped her stomach.

"What's wrong?" he demanded and she folded in on herself and sobbed loudly.

"No! No! Not again!" she cried.

"Not again what?" Duke demanded as fear overcame him. She looked and sounded as if she were dying right here in his arms.

"I'm losing it." she cried as she trembled against him.

"Losing it…." Realization dawned on Duke. The sickness. The fatigue. The lack of bleeding that women were supposed to have every month. Carol had been with child and now she was losing that child.

"Why didn't you tell me you were with child when I found you?" he demanded accusingly. This life wasn't a life for a woman with such precious cargo. It was her own damn fault she was now losing that baby.

"Because I wasn't." she hissed as she looked up at him. It took a moment for her words to sink in. A long moment to process what she had just revealed to him. His child…. She had been carrying his child…. It was his child that she was now losing as she again folded in on herself and cried out with pain.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" he exclaimed as he stood quickly and dropped her onto the ground. He didn't want to touch her deceitful, lying body for one more second. "I never would have had you on this cliff, Carol! I never would have had you taking these risks!"

"Because I didn't think you would want the baby." she admitted as she fought to get to her feet.

"So you just took the choice away from me, huh?" he asked with a snort of disgust.

"Duke, please!" she said as she reached for him and he pulled away. She grimaced and folded her arms around herself. "Please, Duke, it hurts so bad." Duke saw the cuts on her body, he knew she would be bruised.. .Not to mention the pain she must be in as she lost their child…. Their child. If ever a man felt trapped and confused he sure felt it now. A baby? A small part of him was thankful she had fallen but another bigger part of him was mourning the loss of something he had never even really had.

He took pity on her in that moment. She looked so fragile, weak, pale and bone deep sad. The small part of him that Curly hadn't managed to turn cold and mean came alive in that moment and all he could think of was comforting the woman. Even though she had misled him and hidden the truth… Clearly she was paying for that now.

He wrapped his arm tight around her and led her to his stallion. He hopped on and pulled her up behind him.

"Hold tight to me now." he ordered and her arms closed around his waist like a vice. They rode in silence, save for Carol's sobs, and reached town within an hour. Duke led her gently into the hotel and up to a room. There was already a warm fire burning and Duke had asked for a warm bath to be brought in which would arrive momentarily.

Without a word spoken he helped her out of her wet, blood covered clothes and wrapped her tight in the blanket from the bed. He laid her down and she looked at him with a sadness and regret that had his heart aching for her.

Suddenly that trapped feeling began clawing at his gut. Like some kind of wild stallion was inside of him fighting to get loose from a rope that was tightening more and more around his neck.

"I'll be back." he muttered before quickly leaving the room. Duke found himself at the saloon a short time later, nursing a whiskey bottle. What the devil was this emotion trying to bubble up inside of him? What was this pull in his heart toward that damn woman?

He took a large swig of the whiskey bottle in his hands as the answer came crashing down on him. He wasn't even willing to give the emotion the justice of naming it. There wasn't any point since he'd never own up to or admit to such a crazy thing!

What he needed to do was cut and run. It had been a fun ride with Carol Brown but that ride was over. Damn he had almost lost himself in the biggest possible trap. That L word he refused to name! And a child? It was definitely time to get the hell out of town.

He threw some money down on the bar to pay for his whiskey. With that liquid courage in his blood numbing his senses and what little grasp he had on right and wrong, he strode from the saloon and toward the livery.

It wasn't until he was standing in front of his horse that he realized his saddlebags were up in that hotel room with Carol. He kicked the wooden wall and then cursed as he jumped around in pain.

For a second he considered taking off without his saddlebags but quickly changed his mind. All his money, his few belongings, everything he had was in those saddlebags, including his spare guns. He couldn't just leave them behind.

Duke squared his shoulders. He could do this. Just go up to the room, get his stuff, tell the woman it had been fun and then ride off over the horizon. He could do this….. Nothing to it.

A/N: As you can see the same lessons that Duke was always teaching to Marston are the lessons that Curly taught to him. I suppose you could say it was a vicious cycle... I hope you all are enjoying this story. Probably 2 chaps left and an epilogue. Then we'll be moving on to Langly's story!