Callie and Grayson rode in silence. He had left the road and they were riding together through the forest. Callie recognized the small pond as they approached it. She and Grayson had come here a lot before he'd left five years ago. Grayson had taught her how to fish here and Grayson, Phillip, Lauren, Callie and many others they had been friends with had come here together all the time to swim in the summer and play on the ice in the winter.

Callie raised her head from Grayson's chest as he pulled the buckskin to a stop.

"Is this place okay?" he asked. Callie looked at the long flowing grasses that were waving in the gentle breeze. Orange wildflowers added pops of color to the endless sea of green. The pond was glistening in the bright sunlight and tiny fish kept bringing their mouths up to the surface, to grab the insects floating there, and their disturbances caused ripples to cover the pond. The sunlight danced off of these ripples and waves causing them to sparkle brightly.

Crickets chirped and birds sang and Callie felt her heart begin to race as she realized that she and Grayson were completely alone here in this beautiful place.

"This is perfect." Callie whispered and Grayson turned and looked down at her. Their eyes locked. Green and blue both full of a mixture of confusion, sadness and love gazed into each other. For a moment Callie was sure that Grayson was going to kiss her but then he cleared his throat and slid her from his lap. She smoothed out her skirt once she was down on the ground and walked away from him. She sat down in the grass beside the pond and stared down into the water.

Grayson couldn't help but stare at her as he jumped down from his horse and tied the reins to a nearby branch. She was just as beautiful as he had imagined she would be. That light blond hair full of waves as it hung down her back and her tanned face and light freckles paying tribute to the fact that she enjoyed nature and sunlight. She had her side to him but he could see the profile of her tiny nose and her curved jaw. His eyes began to wander down her long neck but quickly flew back to her chin when he saw it quiver. He realized she was about to cry.

He walked over to her and sat down in the grass beside of her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and was surprised when she leaned into him and buried her face in his chest. He could feel her trembling as she cried and he held her tight and kissed her lavender scented hair.

Callie clung to him, almost desperately, grasping at the folds of his flannel shirt with her hands. She had never been one to cry in front of anyone but this wasn't just anyone. This was Grayson and he was back and he was holding her and for some reason she could not stop her tears from falling.

"Shhh… Callie, sweetheart, why are you crying?" he asked gently.

"Because I never thought I'd see you again." she replied honestly as she kept her face pressed into his shirt and punched his chest with her clenched fist. "You hurt me so bad when you took off but I need to tell you that I didn't mean what I said when you left. I don't hate you." Grayson smiled into her hair.

"I think we both said some things we didn't mean that night." he admitted. Callie knew he was referring to himself saying that he didn't love her. She knew, had known all along, deep down that Grayson loved her.

"Why didn't you tell me that night what was going on, Gray? I had to hear about it from my mother and stepfather." she said pulling away from him and wiping her face dry with her hands as she looked out at the water. Grayson sighed and crossed his arms over his knees.

"Everybody that I cared about, everybody that I thought cared about me, turned their backs on me that night, Callie. Everybody looked at me like I was a murderer… Like I was the lowest form of life. There was hatred and disgust in all of their eyes. I didn't want to see you look at me that way. It would have killed me if your eyes had looked at me that way." Callie shook her head and then laid it on his shoulder as they both stared into the water.

"I never would have looked at you that way, Gray." she said. "Never once did I believe that story Thomas made up about what happened between you and Phillip." Grayson tensed.

"What do you mean the story Thomas made up?" he demanded.

"He is the one that told everyone you killed Phillip in cold blood." she said. "Didn't you know? I assumed that you knew and that was why you acted so angry with him today." Grayson shook his head.

"No I didn't know." he said and he figured it really didn't matter who made up the story. All that mattered was that everybody had believed it. Except Callie, if she was telling him the truth. "I was angry with him today because of the way he has always treated you." Grayson said. Callie smiled.

"You always were too protective of me." she said. He frowned.

"Until I left you." he said sadly.

"Yeah. Until you abandoned me." she agreed. "But I understand now why you had to leave, Gray, and I even understand why you didn't take me with you. But what I don't understand is why you were gone for five years and never even checked on me once." Grayson stared out at the water for a long while in silence. Callie heard squirrels fighting off in the woods and a whippoorwill started singing its long lonesome song.

"I thought I was doing what was best for you, Callie." Was all he said in response. Callie sighed. Grayson never had been one to talk a whole lot and when he believed something it was impossible to make him see things any differently.

"You're a foolish, stubborn man, Grayson Fields." she replied and she heard him chuckle.

"I missed you, Callie." he said knowing that no truer words had ever been spoken. There hadn't been a single day in the last five years that he hadn't thought about her smile or the way that she could always make even his bad days seem okay.

"I missed you too, Gray." she replied. "Do you plan on staying a while or are you going to leave again?"

"I'm staying for now." he replied and she felt her heart fall at the words 'for now'. She didn't like the way they sounded. "But I can promise you that if I do leave again, I'm really hoping I don't have to do it alone." Callie bit her lip to try to hide her happy smile. Grayson had hurt her badly once, and while she understood why he had left and she knew that he truly had thought he was doing what was best for her by staying away, she was still afraid of being hurt again.

"So where have you been all this time?" Callie asked him. He sighed and picked a piece of grass and began peeling long strips off of it.

"I just wandered around for the first year. I made it all the way out to Wyoming before heading back this way. I found a man in Kansas that had a big farm. He was looking for somebody to help him out and I got the job. I was there for about four years. Right up until James found me about a week ago."

"Have you been out to see Lauren?" Grayson nodded and she saw sadness come back in his green eyes as he looked out over the water.

"Yeah." he said simply.

"How did it go?" Callie asked though she could tell by the look on his face that it hadn't gone well.

"Not good." he said with a sigh as he threw the shredded piece of long grass into the pond. "It was going just fine until my father decided to come out and join our conversation. Let's just say they both still have their doubts about what happened between Phillip and I."

"I'm sorry, Gray. I know how much your family always meant to you." Callie said. Their eyes locked and Callie's breath caught in her chest.

"There is one person that means more." he admitted. Callie saw his cheeks redden and he quickly looked away from her and stood up. He walked down to the rocky sand closer to the water and started picking up pebbles and throwing them out into the calm pond.

"So you and Peter Hanes, huh?" he asked and Callie could hear jealousy in his voice. She could tell that he was trying to hide It but she knew Grayson too well for him to be able to hide it from her.

"Do you care?" she asked looking down at the toes of her boots. Grayson threw a handful of rocks into the water with so much force that water droplets landed on the grass beside her. She looked over at him and he looked at her and shoved his hand through his hair.

"Dammit, Callie, that's not fair and you know it." he said angrily. "You know I care about you. I have always cared about you! I didn't want to leave you but I had to and I thought that I was doing what was best by leaving you alone so you could move on. I made a mistake and I realize that now so just tell me straight whether or not I'm gonna get a chance to make it up to you."

"You never did have an ounce of patience." Callie replied. She stood up and walked over to him as he stood there still as stone and watched her. She could see hope, fear and love in his green eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening. Five long years she had been waiting for this to moment and here it was.

"Callie…" he said and she knew that waiting for her answer was killing him. She laid a gentle hand on his strong cheek and her heart sped up when he leaned into it just the way he had that night five years ago.

"I still love you, Grayson. Just as much as I did five years ago. You can ask anyone in town and they'll tell you that I've been waiting for you ever since you left because I knew deep down that you did love me and eventually you would come back for me." Callie saw his green eyes light up as a smile came to his face and all the sad lines and shadows that had been there disappeared.

"I ain't leaving you again, Callie." he promised and he pressed his lips gently to hers. Callie was sure her heart was going to explode as it raced in her chest. Grayson's lips were surprisingly soft against her own as he kissed her and wrapped his big arms tight around her waist.

The rest of the world seemed to disappear as Grayson deepened the kiss and explored her mouth hungrily with his tongue. The sounds of the birds disappeared and the breeze stopped blowing. Nothing existed except the two of them. Grayson forgot about his past and his family. In that moment only Callie was real.

Suddenly the silence and the passion was shattered when a gunshot exploded in the air. Callie heard Grayson grunt and then he stiffened. She heard hoof beats galloping away quickly.

"Are you okay, Callie?" Grayson asked and Callie could hear tension in his voice. She pulled away from him and could see that his face was pale and full of pain.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" she asked although she knew he wasn't. He shook his head and turned away from her. She saw the blood soaking through the back of his shirt on his right shoulder blade.

"Oh my God!" she said. "You were shot!" Grayson didn't say anything as he untied his horse and lifted himself painfully into the saddle.

"Come on, Callie, I think I need to get to the doc." he said. He could already feel his head starting to swim as the blood poured freely from his shoulder. Callie looked around and wondered if another shot was going to sound.

"Whoever it was is gone, Callie." Grayson assured her. "Come on let's go." He held his hand out and she took it and climbed up into the saddle in front of him.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked as they started quickly back for town.

"I'll be fine." he replied though he knew he might be lying. He was bleeding awfully bad. He could feel her trembling as she cried in his lap and he kissed her hair.

They were nearly to town when Callie felt Grayson slump against her. She looked over her shoulder at him and saw that his face was ghost white and his eyes were closed.

"Grayson Fields! Damn you, you had better wake up!" She exclaimed grabbing the reins from his limp hands. She heard him moan and saw a small weak smile pull at the corners of his mouth.

"I love you, Callie Logan." he said his voice so quiet that Callie could barely hear him.

"Don't you dare say goodbye to me, Gray." she replied through her tears. "You are going to be fine." Grayson didn't respond and she felt even more of his weight fall against her back. She knew he was unconscious and she had never felt more afraid in her life. She could barely see through her tear filled eyes as she urged the horse toward town.

She prayed that Grayson would be okay. She begged God not to take this man away from her when she had just gotten him back.

She pulled the buckskin to a stop in front of Doctor Mason's office on main street.

"Help! Somebody help!" she yelled. She was stuck on the horse. Grayson's full weight was against her back and she was pinned to the saddle.

"Callie?" Peter said and he came running over from the mercantile just as Doctor Mason walked out of his office.

"Gray got shot. We were down at the pond and somebody shot him in the back." she said.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked. Callie nodded.

"Please help him." she begged looking over at the doctor. Peter looked over toward the bank and saw James walking out.

"James! Get over here and help!" he yelled. It took all three men to lift Grayson's huge frame from the saddle and carry him inside to a bed. Doctor Mason made Peter take Callie out to the porch while James stayed inside to help.

"Peter, he can't die." Callie whispered. Peter looked over at Callie who was sitting on the bench with her arms crossed over her stomach. She was staring off into space and rocking back and forth. Her eyes were red and swollen but the tears had finally stopped falling however he figured that was simply because her eyes had run dry.

"What happened, Callie?" he asked scooting closer to her and putting his arm around her shoulders. She gave no indication that she noticed his effort to comfort her as she continued to stare off into nothing and rock.

"We were talking and then we were standing by the water and he kissed me and then someone shot him in the back and rode away."

"Who shot him?" Peter asked deciding that now was not the time to scold her for moving too quickly with Grayson.

"If I knew that I would have told the sheriff when he asked." she replied with annoyance and Peter nodded.

"Sorry." he said. "Everything is going to be okay, Callie. That damn man is bigger than a horse. It would take one hell of a bullet to take him out." Peter had meant to make her feel better but he could tell by the green color that came to her face that his words had not had his desired effect.

It felt like hours before the door opened and James walked out. Callie jumped to her feet.

"Is he okay?" she asked. James nodded.

"He's alive. He's still unconscious but Doc says that could be from the laudanum. It took us a long time to find the bullet because the big guy has a hell of a lot of shoulder."

"I'm going in." Callie said.

"I'm going to go out to the house and tell Lauren and Jack what happened." James replied and he walked away to the bank where his horse was still hitched.

"If you need me, Callie, I'll be at the shop." Peter said placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. Callie nodded and then walked into the docs office. The doc smiled at her and pointed to the closed door leading to the back room Grayson was in. She walked into the room and curled her nose at the horrible scent of laudanum and the coppery smell of blood that filled the air.

She walked through the dusty haze the sun cast coming through the window and over to his bedside. She looked down at him laying there and felt new tears beginning to fall. He was lying so still and pale that she would have thought he was dead if not for the steady rise and fall of his chest.

She sat down in the chair beside the bed and laid her head on his chest.

"You gotta wake up, Gray." she whispered in the silence. The only other sound was the steady ticking of the clock on the wall. "You can't leave me now. You promised you'd never leave me alone again."

Callie sat there in the silence with her head on his chest and her hand resting against his cheek. After several long silent minutes the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear lulled her to sleep.