"I would give you everything I had, I would treat you right I would make you laugh. Baby, I would smile forever if you were mine."  Cyndi Thomson 'If You Were Mine'

“I guess I never did truly thank you for saving my life yesterday.” Scarlett said to Jonah as he rode beside the cart the next day.

“Oh I think you thanked him alright.” Reb grumbled but a look from Jonah had him mumbling under his breath and moving away instead of saying more.

“You don’t have to thank me, Scarlett. I said I’d take ya to Barbadine and that’s what I intend to do. Wouldn’t have been very good of me to let something happen to you.”

“Is that the only reason you didn’t want anything bad to happen to me?” Scarlett teased as she traced the hemline of her dress with her finger.

“No, ma’am.” Jonah admitted with a tip of his hat. “You know well that it wasn’t.” Scarlett smiled and felt triumph fill her. She had him. They had been left alone all night and it was nearly midday and Scarlett had been able to keep Jonah intrigued with her. Light conversation, breathy laughter and compliments over his bravery the day before and his loving last night had kept him following after her like a dog after a piece of juicy meat. That was just the way Scarlett preferred for the men she was leading on to follow her.

“Did you say last night that we might reach Barbadine today?” she asked.

“Tonight. It’ll be about dark, maybe even an hour after, but we’ll get there just as long as we don’t run in to any more bad luck.”

“Do you really think there’s more men like those out here?” Scarlett asked, feigning innocence and shivering. Jonah nodded but flashed her a comforting smile.

“Don’t worry, Scarlett. Me, Reb and Bart aren’t exactly new to this kind of thing and Joe seems like she’s more than capable of handling herself as well. We’ll get you to Barbadine just fine.”

“I trust you, Jonah.” Scarlett replied, batting her lashes and smiling brightly. She saw his gray eyes brighten at the sight of her smile and nearly rolled her eyes at the simplicity of tricking men. All you had to do was give them some pleasure, flash them a smile, make them feel tough and strong, and they would give you anything you ever asked of them. “I know that you would never let anything happen to me.”

She saw an odd look pass over Jonah’s face. It was as if there was a battle going on inside of him. One that he was trying hard not to lose.

“What are your plans once we reach Barbadine, Scarlett? Where is home?”

“Back east.” Scarlett replied, the lie and cover identity coming from her more easily than the truth every could. She honestly couldn’t remember the woman she had once been. The life she had led before her father had abandoned her and she had found Harmon. “Virginia to be exact. My brother and I live on our parent’s old estate. They left it to him when they passed on and of course left him as guardian of me until the day I can find a husband.”

“I never have been east.” Jonah admitted. “I’ve been told a time or two that I’m too wild to make it back there.”

“I do believe you might be a little too rough around the edges to fit in in high society.” Scarlett agreed with a coy smile. “But then I’ve always rather enjoyed the company of a real rough and tumble man over the soft, cultured men back home.”

“Well, you’re in luck then, Scarlett, because I’ve been told on more than on occasion that I’m the opposite of high society.”

Scarlett laughed lightly while Jonah chuckled and dug around his vest pocket for a cigarette.

“What about you, Jonah? What are you plans after we reach Barbadine?”

Jonah gave her an odd look, making it clear he was thinking hard and then he shrugged as he struck a match to light his newly found cigarette.

“I just don’t know yet, Scarlett. I just don’t know.”

***

Joe snorted and shook her head as another of Scarlett’s giggling light laughs filled the mid afternoon air. She reached in her pants pocket and pulled out a rolled cigarette and a pack of matches, quickly lighting the tobacco and paper and taking a long draw off of it.

The sooner they reached Barbadine and Joe could sell her furs and leave Jonah and his little lady behind the better.

“How you doin’, Joe?” Reb asked as he moved his gray mare up beside her.

“Whatdya mean, how am I doin’?” Joe asked with a frown. “I’m doin’ just fine, Reb.”

“Fair enough, I guess, Joe.” Reb acknowledged with a tilt of his head. “It’s just that you seem kinda sad is all.”

Joe stared off into the horizon as she took another long deep breath of her cigarette.

“Naw, I ain’t a bit sad.” she lied. She hoped the man would take the hint and leave her alone but it seemed no such luck was going to come her way. Had she really been grateful for his presence just last night?

“Ya miss yer pa, don’t ya?”

Joe felt an ache deep in her heart but knew better than to let it show on her face. Weakness got ya killed, her pa had taught her that lesson.

“Everybody’s gotta die sometime, Reb. That’s just one of them there facts of life.”

“For what it’s worth, Joe, I think he’d be real proud of you.” Reb acknowledged and Joe swallowed back the emotion in her throat. Instead of responding and giving away the raspy quality of her voice, Joe simply nodded.

“Did he leave ya with anything?” Reb asked suddenly and Joe raised her brow.

“Ya knew pa, Reb. He ever strike ya as the settin’ some back fer a rainy day or leavin’ something behind type?”

Reb shook his head and chewed at his dirty fingernail.

“Naw, he didn’t.” he spit a piece of nail onto the cold, dirty ground and then sat up a bit straighter in his saddle. “Now, Joe, I don’t want you takin’ offense or nuthin’ like that and I’d make this same offer here to Bart or Jonah that I’m gonna make to you…”

“Spit it out, Reb.” Joe urged. “What is it yer wantin’ to say?”

“If’n ya need anything, money, food, a ear, a friend… You can come to me ya know and I’ll do whatever I can.”

Joe’s first instinct was to get angry and defensive at such an offer. She didn’t want anyone thinking that she needed help to survive.

Then she reminded herself that Reb was a friend and only trying to help. But just because he offered didn’t mean she had to accept.

“’Preciate the offer, Reb, but I can take care of myself.”

“I figured ya’d say that, Joe, but I wanted to offer anyhow.” Reb replied. The two fell silent for a moment and Joe found her eyes kept being drawn back to Jonah.

He was so handsome. So strong looking in that saddle. His gray eyes taking in their surroundings and his posture making it clear he could handle anything those eyes might see.

There was something about that man’s smile that did things to Joe’s heart. Made it beat real fast and feel a little odd. His cheeks crinkled and lines appeared at the corners of his eyes and suddenly Joe wished he would smile at her…..

Scarlett’s light laughter filled the air again and Joe scowled. Of course Jonah wouldn’t smile at her, he was too busy romancing the lady. And Joe would never be a lady. She just couldn’t see any sense in being that way and depending on a man. The moment you depended on someone else you were setting up the stage for them to let you down.

“Ya know if’n ya wanted to talk to Jonah, alls ya gotta do is go over there and say something.” Reb stated with amusement. Joe glared at him and his single blue eye.

“I think yer eye patch is too tight.” she informed the crazy man. “Why on Gods green earth would I wanna talk to him?”

“I don’t reckon I know.” Reb teased. “I just figured maybe ya did seein’ as how I’ve caught ya starin’ hard at him more than once.”

“So he’s nice to look at. That don’t mean I wanna hear a damn word the man has to say.”

“What was he sayin’ last night when he snuck away from the fireside to find ya?”

“What the hell you talkin’ ‘bout?” Joe demanded, shifting awkwardly in her saddle. Reb laughed.

“You know what I’m talkin’ ‘bout.”

“He just called me a foolish woman for puttin’ my life in danger by that mesa and then told me I’d been tough.”

“’Course you were tough!” Reb stated with a grin. “You’re the great Joe Redding.”

“I tried to tell him that but he seems to think I ain’t nothing’ but a regular old damsel in distress.”

“You like him.” Reb stated and Joe scoffed, coughed loudly and shook her head with force.

“You’ve lost your damned mind!” she exclaimed. “What the devil is wrong with ya? I ain’t got no use for an ignorant, skirt chasin’ man with a brain ailment!”

Reb chuckled. “Well you might be right about the brain ailment part and he can be a little ignorant because of that there brain ailment but you’re a million kinds o’wrong about the skirt chasin’ part.”

Joe looked back at Jonah and saw him leaning over and pressing a kiss to Scarlett’s gloved hand which was held in his.

“Looks like he’s chasin’ skirts to me.” she countered, even as she wondered what that ache was in her belly.

“Naw, not Jonah. Now Bart and I are what ya’d call skirt chasers. Different women every time we turn ‘round. Jonah fancies himself as a one woman man. It’s always the same when he starts out. He claims it don’t mean nuthin’, that he’s just havin’ fun and letting off some steam, then he starts to thinking that he’s in love.”

“Love?” Joe asked with a shiver. Her pa had taught her how bad love was. Love hurt you. When you were in love it made you do things that were foolish and stupid, if loved left you then it made you feel sad, depressed and made you do things that were stupid and foolish and if you never found love and wanted to then it made you desperate and you did things that were foolish and stupid. He had taught Joe well that love was an all around bad thing.

“Yep. You’da though he’d of learned the last time when Penny strung him along for two damn years and then left him for that rich banker but it’s clear from the way he’s hangin’ all over that black widow over there that he didn’t learn a damn thing.”

“Penny?” Joe asked with curiosity.

“Yeah. Jonah took one look at her and that was that. Bart and I tried to talk sense into him but he didn’t listen to a damned thing we had to say. Two years of that mans life he gave to that woman. He changed everythin’ there was to change about himself. He gave up smoking, drinkin’ and even gambling just to fit the image she wanted in a man. He held down a steady job at a ranch and even set back money tryin’ to build up enough to start a life with Penny.

“And boy if she didn’t use him for all he was worth. Buyin’ her food, presents, dresses. Anythin’ that woman wanted Jonah did for her. Then that rich banker rode in and Penny rode out with him, not even sparin’ Jonah one last goodbye glance. That was ‘bout a year ago and it seems to me that Jonah’s ready to do it again.”

“Why does he like women like that?” Joe asked with a frown. “He don’t strike me as a fancy house and brunch on Sunday kinda fella.”

Reb laughed, his blue eye sparkling with amusement. “Naw, he ain’t really. Jonah’s a wild one deep down. He just don’t realize how much he needs the wide open spaces. Jonah’s life’s been a rough one and he’s got these dreams…”

“Dreams?” Joe asked and Reb shook his head.

“I really shouldn’t say much else about ‘em, Joe. Jonah’d probably make me wish I’da kept my mouth shut if’n I told ya all about his dream.”

“That’s dirty, Reb, real dirty. Ya get into the good, juicy part of a story and then say ya can’t tell me no more.”

Reb threw his head back and laughed and Joe found herself laughing along, even as she wondered just what Jonah’s dream was.

***

Jonah glared over at Joe and Reb. Something about the sight of them laughing together really irked him though he wasn’t sure exactly why that was.

Joe had a pretty laugh, he decided, though she didn’t do it very often because she mostly just scowled, cursed and told him what she thought of him. Which wasn’t very damn much.

“This is pretty country.” Scarlett said and Jonah turned his attention back to the beautiful woman riding beside him.

“Yes it is.” he agreed, looking out over the hills and mesa’s. The long waving grasses, more brown than green this time of year.

“It’s no wonder you love it out here.” Jonah looked over at Scarlett’s face and sighed. It was no use, he was falling for her. She was pretty, educated, witty and she had a passion and lust inside of her that Jonah found himself wanting to sample more of.

“Scarlett, I’ve been thinking,” he began and she laughed lightly. He realized that she laughed a lot and he liked that about her.

“I have found that it can be dangerous when a man says those words.” she teased. Jonah grinned.

“Well actually, I’ve been thinking that maybe I could accompany you back east.” she raised her dark arched brow and Jonah was quick to continue. “What I mean is, it just wouldn’t be ride to allow a lady to.. It could be dangerous you know for a woman to go alone that far.”

“Why, Mr. Winchester, I think that is a positively marvelous idea!” she replied happily. “And you know it will keep that long train ride from becoming so tedious.”

“Yes ma’am.” Jonah agreed. Scarlett winked at him and Jonah felt his pulse kick up a notch and his pants get tight. They couldn’t get to Barbadine fast enough. Jonah knew tonight was going to be one hell of a night to remember.