He stands up and throws the dregs of his coffee at the fire.
'You're right,' he says, 'we should stand up for ourselves and running away isn't the answer. We'll go back into town and act like nothing happened. Just breeze in and say hello to folks.'
'Exactly.' That wasn't quite what she had in mind, but then she's not quite sure what she did have in mind.
'I'm joking,' he says, 'you really think we can act like nothing happened?'
'Why not? I can't think of anything that'll annoy them more than to see that we're not troubled by them or what they've done.'
He shakes his head.
'You're crazy. You'll get us killed.'
So she has said the stupid thing that he will use against her and they will end up running away to a miserable life of fear and poverty. She is disappointed that she couldn't think of a better idea than going back to Walkers Creek. She's disappointed that she couldn't think of a decent reason to go back, or a way to do it safely. Why couldn't she just think before opening her mouth?
'No,' he says abruptly, 'you're crazy, but I love that you're crazy. Let's do it.'
They discussed using the trail over the hill to come into the town the back way, but in the end decided that if they were going to hold their heads high in Walkers Creek then they should do it by riding up the main street. They ride their horses noisily over the wooden bridge over the creek.
'I think we should see Mannion first,' she says. 'I need to thank him.'
'He's one of the good guys isn't he? Are you sure we won't be bringing him more trouble than he can handle?'
'You could be right, but I want to know what's been said about me, about the ranch and about you. Mannion is the biggest gossip in town. We need to know what we're up against.'
They tie up the horses outside the shop. The street is busy with people but nobody pays them any mind. They are right, there is no need for sneaking about. That only attracts attention and suspicion. They belong here, they just need to look as though they do.
Looking up the street she tries to pick out faces that she recognizes, to spot the glint of a gun barrel in the sunlight. She feels off-balance with fear and excitement. Anything could happen now. She checks the rifle but leaves it in its scabbard on the saddle. She checks the tiny useless derringer that she's tucked in her belt. It's as though she's standing on a rocky outcrop high above the valley and is trying to see how close to the edge she dares to stand.
They go in.
'I'll be with you in a moment,' Mannion calls from the back of the shop as the front door slams shut.
She looks at Logan, unsure of what to do next. Are they in a hurry? Do they need to get him out front straight away? Should one of them be keeping watch at the front of the store to see what's going on in the street?
Logan is examining the stains on his hat. Then she notices that he's spending more time looking at the street in the mirror than at the hat. He's keeping watch, but pretending not to. She heads to the back of the store.
'It's just a social visit,' she calls out.
'Miss Nixon?' Mannion rushes out from his cupboard and gives her a big hug. 'I've been so worried about you.'
'I'm okay. I can't say the same for the ranch. That's your horse out front. I wanted to return it. I don't know how to thank you for what you did for me.'
'I got away with it.'
She sees the bandage around his hand for the first time. She hurts all the people closest to her.
'Why did they...?' She feels sick at the thought of what they have done to him. 'Who did this?'
'This?' He holds up the bandaged hand. 'This is the work of your homeless friend McLaren.'
The word "homeless" cuts deep and she's sure he meant it to. He knows, even though she never told him, that the explosion at McLaren's house is her fault. That all this is her fault. They both can see that everyone who tries to help her gets hurt and that is her fault too.
'He burned the ranch house,' she says.
Mannion nods.
'Have you seen him since?'
He shakes his head.
'He hasn't come back. The sheriff went after him with some deputies when he heard what was going on.'
'That's her!' Logan shouts out suddenly and he heads for the door.
'Who?' She runs to see what has bothered him so much.
'The Mexican girl, the one I told you about, that's her.'
'I thought you were making it up, just an excuse to come and find me, like your tall tales about the farm and the dogs.'
Logan laughs. Neither of them has laughed for a while.
'Señorita!' he calls out as he rushes into the street. The girl either doesn't hear him or chooses to ignore him.
'Maria!' Emily shouts. She recognizes the girl. It is Sanchez's daughter.
The girl halts a little at the sound of her name.
Emily calls again. The girl comes over, looking nervously at Logan who has stopped by the door of Mannion's shop, still trying to understand how Emily knows the girl.
'¿Dónde está tu padre?'
The girl shrugs.
Emily's limited Spanish skills are defeated. She doesn't know how to ask for any more information but she is desperate to see Sanchez again. She needs his help. He will be able to make everything alright again. He will know what to do about Humby.
'I need him.' Emily pleads in quiet English.
The girl shrugs again, never taking her frightened eyes from Logan who still stands behind Emily at the door. The girl turns on her heel and runs away clutching her skirt. Emily makes a grab for her arm to stop her running away and misses, landing inelegantly on the floor.
Logan comes over and offers her his good arm to help her up.
'How do you know her?' he asks.
'Her father works for me. Or rather he works with me, he was a friend of my father's. I really wish I'd listened more when he tried to teach us Spanish when we were little.'
She pulls herself to her feet and dusts herself down.
'So, her father, he's Mexican?'
'Of course,' she laughs.
'And he worked for you?'
'Well with me, rather than for me.' She can't quite see where these questions are going and is suddenly aware that they are standing out in the street where anyone could see them and she feels vulnerable. She starts to head back towards the shop but Logan is standing in the way.
'Why did he try to kill me?'
Her mouth goes dry.
'Sanchez? He wouldn't be trying to kill you. You must be mistaken. Are you sure it was him?'
'So he has killed people before? Have you asked him to kill people?'
She says nothing. She looks up and down the street. Where is Mannion? Why can't Sanchez be here? She isn't standing on the precipice now, the ground is crumbling beneath her feet and she's struggling for balance. She doesn't want to believe where this conversation is going.
'Did you ask Sanchez to pay someone to blow up McLaren's house?'
'You? It was you?'
Logan stands, hands on his hips, staring back at her.
'You?' She still can't believe it. 'You're just a web of lies and deceit aren't you? Just some sort of mercenary.'
She strides past him, brushing his arm out of the way and climbs back up the steps to Mannion's store. She isn't thinking now, there is no space for thoughts, only vague impressions. She is frightened and feeling exposed on the street and the one man that she thought would shield her from the trouble she is in turns out to be the trouble she is in.
'If I'm just some sort of mercenary, what does that make the woman who hired me? You don't think you owe me an explanation of why you tried to have me killed?'
She doesn't want to face up to the answer to that question. Why did she want to have him killed? He was a danger to her. He was going to betray her. She knows she can't trust him, he lied to her about Humby. And there he is, with a deputy badge in his pocket. Has he already betrayed her? Why is he still with her?