Previously

“I’m glad momma and Clara sent you to me Bette. Ivan and I realized so many dreams because of you. Just think if you hadn’t spent your summers in such an unladylike manner, you’d be bored out of your mind drinking tea and playing whist in stuffy drawing rooms. You never would have captured any outlaws or collected any rewards, there would have been no saloon, no badge, no homestead, no Tina, no truth.” “The truth can be a burden Kit.” “Yes it can.” Kit squeezed Bette’s shoulder got up and went back inside the cabin leaving Bette alone again with her thoughts.

Over at the boarding house Alice was making her own inquiries she couldn’t wait to find out how Tina’s day had gone.

“So how did it go? Did the great Sheriff Porter grace the schoolhouse with her presence?”

“Yes, Al she did and she charmed and enthralled every last child from age 5 to 15, they hated to see her go. Lord knows what I’m going to do with them tomorrow it’s hard to top Sheriff Porter.”

“Don’t I know it,” said Alice.

Tina raised her eyebrow in warning no matter how much time had passed she still didn’t like to be reminded that Alice and Bette had slept together.

Immediately, Tina’s mind went back to the first time she and Bette were together. The anticipation had been building for months as Tina realized she had fallen in love with her best friend, she had all these feelings and desires that she had never quite felt before (her courtship with Eric back home was no comparison). She had been young, naive and confused and to top it all off she had no idea how Bette felt in return, it had been terrifying, the thought of losing Bette’s friendship.

Finally the stress of it all had gotten to her and she could no longer keep her torment inside. Tina was acting so nervous around Bette that she made Tina tell her what was the matter. Tina had tearfully and fearfully confessed her innermost feelings to Bette and was given the greatest reward in return. The knowledge that she wasn’t alone that Bette had hoped and dreamed the day would come when Tina would realize and have the courage to act on the fact that there was more than friendship between them.