They had only a moment to enjoy the afterglow. Voices could be heard down the railroad tracks. They hurriedly tried to get dressed—he pulled up and ...ipped his pants in time, she smoothed down her dress. A pair of women came into view, having left the platform for a walkway several yards away. They saw the disheveled couple in the easement, and giggled as they walked away.Melissa and her lover looked at each other and grinned. He put his finger to his lips once more, then dragged his hand across. So what was it that made me wander?Over the years we'd had a string of sitters, various teenage girls from the neighborhood, and never once did I ever give any of them a sideways look. Not once. Really. Until Emily came along.How do I describe her? What she had? This strange aura that just pulled me into her universe like some damnable black hole? Her profound innocence coupled with a petite little body and a pixie-cut brunette mop just did something to my mind and I once I'd laid eyes on her. "Alright. Later."About five minutes into my laps, I noticed that I was veering out of my lane - a habit I had broken years ago. I realized that I had been kind of lazy about really swimming and started doing it right. Pay attention to form and speed. I made a mental note that I needed to hit the weight room a couple times a week myself.I was a little later than usual getting back to Barb's cabin but I was awake and pumped up for the day. I knocked on her door."What?" she asked when finally. She kept $50 out for working cash and wrapped the rest of her money in a cloth bag tightly enough so that it wouldn't rattle in the box. She left Wilkerson, headed south to Texas, before daylight one morning.The first part of her trip was very pleasant, since the weather was cool enough that she didn't break a sweat as the sun grew higher. She did stop and put up the protective top of her carriage to keep the sun off her. She drove at a steady pace for an hour and stopped to give her horse a.