Hope's Heart

Chapter Ten

A/N: This is dedicated to all my new followers, though I can't name them all here :) Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Ten

"Hope. Hope, wake up."

The hand on her shoulder, coupled with the quiet voice, roused Hope from a restless sleep. Opening her eyes, she blinked to clear her vision. "Angel?"

The brunette smiled. "Sorry to wake you; Nellie let me in."

Hope straightened, wincing at the crick in her neck. "That's alright. I didn't sleep very well anyway." Memories of the night before and her argument with Calvin invaded her mind and she blinked unexpected tears away. 

"You okay?" Angel frowned at her. "I thought Luc was supposed to be the patient but you look worse than he does."

Hope managed a smile. "I'm fine."

The ex-saloon girl propped a hand on her hip. "I thought we were friends." Her voice softened. "You can tell me the truth, Hope, you know that."

Hope stared at the ground for a second and then it all came rushing out, from her conversation with the sheriff to the fight between her and Calvin. When she was finished, the lump in her throat was back and she swallowed hard before speaking again. "I shouldn't have said what I did--accused him that way."

"Sounds to me like Calvin's got more apologizing to do than you," Angel replied. Her arms folded, her figure positively bristling with indignation. "He's got a nerve! Has he forgotten you lost your husband as well?"

Hope nodded. "I know. But it still doesn't change the fact that I'm the one who accused him on the word of the sheriff, without thinking it through first."

"What's there to think?" Angel demanded, almost forgetting to keep her voice low. "Sure, Calvin is a bounty hunter, but he's also a decent man. Unfortunately, that doesn't change the fact that he can still be an inconsiderate...idiot sometimes."

Hope couldn't help but laugh, although she quickly stifled it. Glancing at Luc to check if he was still asleep, she then turned to her friend. "You're a good friend, Angel."

There was silence for a few moments and then Angel spoke. "I quit my job."

"What?" Hope turned to her, eyes wide.

The curly-haired brunette nodded. "I couldn't stay there anymore. So I left."

Hope squeezed her hand. "I'm glad," she said softly. "But that means...you're out of a job."

"And a bed," the other girl quipped. "But it's still better than being in that place."

"You can come and work with me," Hope said. "And you can get rooms here; I'm sure Miss Nellie won't mind."

Angel stared at her. "Are you loco? Folks won't want to buy dresses from someone who used to work in a saloon, much less board next to her."

Hope brushed her protests aside. "You're not that person anymore, and if anyone has objections, they'll have to go somewhere else to get their dresses made." She smiled at Angel and the other girl smiled back.

As they stood there, a hoarse voice from the bed made them turn.

"Calvin?"

~

Calvin woke with a splitting headache. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up, grimacing at the dull ache that throbbed in his temples. Bleary-eyed, he glanced around, the headstones around him indicating where he had spent the night.

He sat still for a couple of minutes, trying to recall what had happened the day before, and then it all came back, slamming into him like a two-ton freight train. Luc getting shot...the operation...Hope. The image of her wide grey eyes staring at him seared its way into his memory and he groaned. He had really done it this time.