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out dangerous for a woman."
    "I’ve been pondering on that and I’ve got myself a plan. But if I tell you about it, you’ll only start telling me I’m crazy again, so I won’t. One thing though, as part of the deal I want to take my pick of two of the horses from the stable, okay?
    "Sure, you don’t even have to ask. Take anything you want. But, gosh, Shinonn, I sure wish you’d change your mind. This ain’t such a bad place to live. I just wish you’d think about what I asked you yesterday."
    "Grady, I like you too much to saddle you with someone like me. I’d never make you happy. I can’t be happy here myself, so I’d just end up making both of us miserable. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, probably the best one I’ll ever will have. I don’t want to go and spoil that friendship by turning into a nagging, miserable wife."
    "If you’re sure this is what you want, I guess you’ve got yourself a deal," he told her with a sad smile.
    "When do you want to go?"
    "Right now. I can be packed and out of this house in less than an hour. There’s not much here I plan on taking with me," she answered as she looked around the small room.
    "Okay, then. I’ll go to the bank and get the money. But I still think you’re making a mistake."
    "Maybe I am, but all I know is this is something I have to do. And hey, stop worrying! You know I can handle myself better’n most men."
    Shaking his head sadly, Grady left the house and trudged down the road to the town’s only bank.
    While he was gone Shinonn began the serious business of deciding what she should and shouldn’t take with her. She made a bundle of the cooking utensils she would need on the trail, along with basic food staples. From the small parlor she took only one item, a small faded picture of her parents on their wedding day.
    She stood looking in the mirror for a few minutes, trying to picture life on the trail. Grady was right, a lone woman would be a dangerous target. She pulled the pins from her long, thick, raven colored hair and shook it loose until it hung nearly to her waist. This will have to go, she thought to herself as she reached for a pair of shears.
    Without a second thought, she began clipping away, leaving only inches of springy curls. When she was through she stood amidst a pile of shiny black tresses. She shook her head vigorously. What freedom!
    She felt better already.
    For one brief moment her eyes became riveted to her reflection. How different she looked! Patrick would never recognize her like this if she ever did run across him.
    And Lincoln Bradley! Suddenly his words came tumbling from her memory. His teasing suggestion that he might come back to see the beautiful woman he had predicted she would become brought a tingling sensation throughout her body. Would he still find her beautiful, she wondered? Was it possible that they might yet meet again?
    "What have you done to yourself?" Grady stared incredulously at her as he stepped into the parlor.
    She stood before him, hands on hips, feet spread apart. In his absence she had not only cut her hair, but had found some of her brother’s clothes that Rose had lovingly stored away. Finding the closest fit, she had put on a pair of trousers, a shirt and a gun belt. For years she had been wearing heavy work boots under her calico skirts. Worn with the pants, they looked like any ordinary working man’s boots.
    "Well, what do you think?"
    "I think that if you mean to pass yourself off as a man, you’d better wear a larger size shirt!" he replied with a mixture of anger and exasperation.
    Surveying herself in the mirror, she realized he was right. But other than that, she was certain she could pull off the deception. Going through the old trunk, she found several heavy shirts that would be more concealing than the one she now wore. She stuffed all but one of them into a saddle bag. Rolling up a couple more pairs of trousers and pushing them in with the shirts, she stood up and looked