"Reckon it's better ta not'a had young'ns than ta have 'em in bad circumstances," Addy observed. "It'd be nice, havin' 'em, but fer them ta grow up with their father bein' in bars an' whatnot."

It wasn't his father, but Weedy's mother who was neglectful, there, but not, and Addy had seen the hurt that that had done to the boy.

Alice simply nodded in agreement with the statement from the teamster. Though she would have relished a child, the way things turned out, it was better having none. Traipsing across the country with her father, seeing all manner of men, both good and bad in varying degrees, reinforced what she knew she didn’t want.

"Ain't no way ta know, is there? What sort a body is, until ya been around 'em a spell." She was certain of Jay's character, but then, there was that small misgiving...there truly was no telling, you just had to take the chance.

“Some you can tell right off what type they are. I suppose that’s true of people in general, some the shine wears off rather quickly, and others, well, they display who they are for all to see. That goes for the good ones as well as the bad. So, I suppose that a leap of faith is required in most cases. And I doubt that any man is perfect, but plenty are perfect enough.” She attested to.

"What become'a th' man?" Addy had to wonder if Alice hadn't maybe buried him under the floorboards back home! "Yer young yet...there's plenty'a good stock in Kalispell...heck, even Marshal Guyer...a good, steady man, fair, don't overly drink..."

“Arthur? Died of lead poisoning, shot four times when he was caught palming an ace back in ‘70.” She admitted. “One of those things that was expected as time went on. It didn’t take hold right away, but when it got hold of him, there was no letting go til he was killed. But he is in the distant past now, where he belongs.” She took pause, “Marshal Guyer you say? It would be good to see him again. Pa said he looked the same, which I find hard to believe, but it’s what he said."

Grinning, she winked. "Come ta town ta visit, an' I can lure him 'round, make it seem unplanned."

Alice laughed suddenly at the thought. “Addy, you make me feel like a school girl, plotting against Speed like that.” It was the first time she had used his name.

Alice smiled, “One would think, but then again, whatever they’re about, it’s men talk, not asking after a married daughter. But the time I saw him in his uniform, he cut a dashing figure, and Pa calling him an ugly cuss, well, that would just be Pa.” She chuckled.

“He has a special fondness for Speed, you know, come to think of it, I doubt he would even remember me.” Had she not been a married woman, his not remembering would sting more than it did, but it did sting. She was well aware that she was not plain, the young men in those days had proved that with their attentions to her.

“You know, I can’t say why but it bothers me that Speed hasn’t even asked after me. Foolishness I know, but just the same, the reality is that I’m bothered by that.” She stated, “Wouldn’t you be?”

Alice chuckled a bit, "I'm not sure i want to go in for the kill. I mean a dead man is of no use. But yes, I see what you mean, and I just may do that. I mean, going into town is innocent enough, what might happen after my arrival Well, I have no control over who I might run into, whether by accident, or on purpose."

It was a good plan of action. Simply ride into town, maybe even pick up a few thing while she was there, and then, quite innocently, put herself in Speed Guyers path. Whatever would develop after that moment would tell he everything she needed to know.

Yes. Speed had stirred something in her, something Arthur never could. But in the beginning Arthur had been stable, a good provider, and then it began to unravel. The drinking, gambling, and the loses that piled up. Somehow, the recollection of Speed had stayed with her over the years, and now, he was just a few miles away in Kalispell.

"It's a good plan, Addy, a really good plan. And in the end, I'll know all I need to know about him, and what the chances are." She said confidently.

Alice thought about that for a long moment. Perhaps that was how the man was, but she wasn't having any of that. "Well then, I guess it would be up to me to change that for him. I mean, there's simply no reason for a grown man to be running around loose now, is there?"

"But I do see what you mean about being set in one's ways, because all of us tend to be that way at one time or another, and left unattended, well, this could be a far larger task than I was prepared for, and, I need to know that I too have my own ways about all manner of things, which just might have to change as well." It was clear that it may be at the very least, a complicated transformation ahead.

"If you've a mind, when ya come ta town, I can find room fer ya for th' night. House ain't much, but its better than th' room at th' back'a th' barn I was usin'." Weedy had changed her needs, and she was now glad for the comfort of a real house.

"Well ow, that's mighty kind of you Addy. I believe I'll take you up on that. By gum, perhaps it is time I rode in to town and paid Marshal Guyer an impromptu visit. " She said suddenly.

To ride in, and to see him, perhaps even spend the night. That would solve several questions that she had about Mister Speed Guyer and their chances. And why she would think he might have feelings for her, played no part in her decision making.