Alternate Universe. Written in 20ih minutes (give or take a bit considering I got a tornado warning about 4 minutes in and had to pause, LOL.) No time for editing!

California, mid-1870s

Elizabeth Lewis smiled tightly as she gripped the hand of her four-year-old son and tried to move around the obstacle standing between her and the general store.

“I wish you’d reconsider, Bethie—”

That wasn’t her name, and it was incredibly rude to address her so informally, but Elizabeth had learned long ago that if you just let Richard Lansing talk, he’d eventually run out of things to say.

Trouble was that the relentless banker not only didn’t know when he wasn’t welcome, he couldn’t take no for an answer. This was the fifth time she had rejected his proposal of marriage since the death of her husband the previous winter.

“There is nothing to consider, Mr. Lansing. If you will just allow me to pass—”

“Now, Bethie—” Richard smiled at her, his brown eyes oozing warmth with that charming smile a woman who didn’t know better might melt beneath. “Just hear me out—”

“I have heard you out. On multiple occasions—”

“Mama?”

“A moment, Cameron,” she murmured to her son, glancing down at his beloved face. Elizabeth turned her attention back to the smarmy banker. “I said no when I was seventeen, Mr. Lansing, and I have continued to say no for the last eight years.”

“I won’t be asking forever—” Richard threatened as she finally managed to push past him and move towards Jones’ Emporium. “You aren’t the only woman out there.”

Elizabeth ignored them as they ducked inside the store. The fact of the matter was that women were still not thick on the ground in this part of California. They were a lifetime away from the glitz and glitter of San Francisco and Sacrementa, located near the Sierra Nevada. The only fancy thing about Diamond Springs was its name.

“Good afternoon, Elizabeth,” Barbara Jones said with a cheerful smile. “And young Master Cameron! How would you like a peppermint stick?”

“Oh—” Elizabeth pursed her lips as the redheaded prioprieter lifted the lid of a glass jar. “Just this once, Cameron. Tell Mrs. Jones thank you.”

“Thank you,” Cameron managed even as he licked the candy.

“I have your order ready. Just give me a moment.” Barbara turned to one of the shop assistants. “Kyle, go and get Mrs. Lewis’s packages.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“He’ll be out in just a jiffy.” Barbara’s smile faltered slightly. “We haven’t seen you in town for a few weeks. Everything all right out on the ranch?”

Ranch. What silly name for the patch of land Elizabeth struggled to maintain three miles outside city limits. She had a small herd of cattle, three horses, and a cottage whose roof might last another winter if they were lucky.

It was all she had left of her father and the only inheritance she had for Cameron, so Elizabeth was determined to hold on to it long enough for him to make something out of it. “We’re managing. Have I missed anything interesting? Anything new in town?” She knew priming Barbara to share gossip would deflect attention from her.

“Oh…” Barbara’s smile turned sly. “We have an new sheriff arriving on the train from Sacremento at the end of the week.”

“Oh, that’s a relief,” Elizabeth murmured. “Cameron, don’t eat all of that right now—”

“He’s a hometown boy coming home to do good by his grandmother. You should stop by before you leave town. I’m sure Lila will tell you all about it.”

Lila.

Elizabeth exhaled slowly before turning back to Barbara, forcing a smile on her face. “Lila? Lila Quartermaine? It’s her grandson? I—” She cleared her throat. “I thought that he was working on the trains.”

Or that had been the reason he’d told her before leaving Diamond Springs eight years earlier. She could still see his easy, shy smile and friendly blue eyes as he promised to write her.

As he promised to come back for her.

“We all did, but I guess he took up with the Marshalls at some point.” Barbara shrugged. “Whatever the case, it looks like Jason Morgan is coming home.”

Elizabeth managed a smile even as her stomach rolled.

She doubted he was coming back for her after all this time, and after eight years of no word—

Would he even remember?

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