Josie had gone over the details with Jhonny of her plan.

Go time was tomorrow when supper began.

Johnny had smiled at her in amusement, which had pinked her cheeks.

"What, Mr. Denver, do you have a better plan?" she did demand.

The night had turned chilly, though the stars were still bright. Jake used to tell her that things would be alright, so long as the stars still shone at night. That stars were wishes that people had sent up to the sky, they helped lead the way. It had comforted her back in the day.

But now it only made her sad to think, that if stars were wishes, and the sky full, all those wishes hadn't come true.

At first, Jhonny didn't say when he saw her blush, he was more concerned by the sadness that was carried with her words, he had empathy with her but now was not the time to share, she quite clearly needed his support, maybe more than she realized.

With a smile he moved closer to her on the balcony and offered her his jacket quite gentlemanly, which was unusual for him, he rarely showed compassion.

She thanked him and slipped her arms in. It smelled like him. Of the road. Of the trees. Of horses too. Not entirely unpleasant, it would do.

He could see her breathing softly through her nose, so she did show she was examining its odor, she didn't flinch, it was a simple thing, but it reassured him and he felt good.

"I think it's a fine plan, Josie. And we'll pull it off, just you and me. But might I ask what it is you want to retrieve so badly?"

"The less you know the better Jhonny. Just know we are righting a wrong I promise you. I just need you to get me into the room. Then be a lookout. And I'll do the rest."

Jhonny wasn't happy being kept in the dark and thought it would feel better if she showed a bit more trust in him, after all, he was putting his neck on the line, but he nodded.

"Okay, until tomorrow then, it's getting late, and I best be on my way.

Normally he would not have asked, but on this occasion he did.

"May I see you to your room safely?"

Josie sensed the change in character and giggled, "I live two floors up. Besides something tells me, it's best if we aren't seen together Jhonny, especially this close to the deed. We don't want folks gossiping."

Jhonny thought a chance would be a fine thing and smiled with a no-good grin, "We could always give those busybodies something to talk about Josephine."

She laughed and spoke.

"Goodnight Mr. Denver," with words said like a proper lady.

"Goodnight Miss Craven."

He wanted more, exactly what that was, he was not sure, but bowed like a gentleman and kissed her hand, to reflect her lady-like posture.

Though the thought of kissing his lips again had certainly crossed her mind indeed. She could imagine those loose lips around BG, Denver's boy, and the town drunk's sister locking lips. It hurt her to know most of the town thought of Jake that way, they would never know the real him, underneath he was a good man.

He noticed that that sad look had returned to her eyes, and knew it was time to disappear.

Josie took a final look up at the sky, then went to give Jhonny back his coat, but found herself alone. He had slipped away, merging with the shadows, indeed this was a valuable skill they would surely need if they were going to pull off their plan tomorrow.

Josie could hardly sleep a wink that night. Jake had stumbled in, brushed her off, and went straight to bed. He blamed an accident at the forge for the stitches in his head. Josie could smell the liquor on him.

It made her sad, that he thought her too young to confide, but the truth about his drinking problem he could no longer hide.

She wished Brandy were here, then maybe she could talk some sense into their brother. But Brandy wasn't much of a mother figure really. Josie loved her sister, but she was starting to believe, that Brandy also had lots of problems of her own indeed. She wondered if Brandy had recovered and if she'd ever see her sister again.

Jake was still snoring the next morning when Josie awoke for school.

She gave her brother a shake, trying to get him awake.

He'd be late for the forge again otherwise.

She had to splash him with water before he'd open his eyes.

He sputtered and cursed, while Josie crossed her arms with a frown.

"You trying to give me a heart attack Josephine?" he demanded.

His face looked mean.

"Take a bath, you stink Jake. And get your butt to work on time for pity's sake."

Josie left the room then, not bothering to say goodbye or wait for her brother's reply. Her mind was on other things.

The day moved too slowly and then much too quick. So nervous about tonight, she chewed a nail down to the quick. She was distracted in class, didn't know an answer when the teacher asked. And usually, Josie knew them all.

She tried to work on her homework to pass the time. Luckily, Sallie was nowhere to be found. Usually, she would hound Josie and say mean things. Josie thanked her lucky stars, that she was away. And hopefully, wherever that witch was, she would stay.

The clock struck the hour that dinner usually began. Josie knocked on Sallie's door, just to make sure, she still hadn't returned.

Then she walked as normally as she could, popped her head out the window, and peered down, Jhonny was out on the balcony below, she gave him the signal everything was good to go.

Jhonny was having concerns of his own, he knew what he had to do was for him just child's play, which made him remember how awful his life had been only a relatively short time ago, yet now he was a trusted member of a powerful family.

Even though this was simple, it did not stop him from feeling uneasy, if there was one thing life below decks had taught him, never take anything for granted, there was always another monster around the corner.

No matter his trepidation, he was here for one reason only, that was to keep a promise to someone, who was quickly becoming more than just a friend and he would not let her down and was ready to protect her too if needs be.

Once at the door it was only a matter of seconds before the lock was picked, he could see that even Josie was surprised at his locksmith skills, her amazed look gave him a feeling of pride.

Remember if I knock three times on the door it's time to scarper, troubles on its way, he was about to tell her to be careful when she put her finger to his lips.

"Shush no more words, I must focus on what I must do."

She removed and kissed her finger and placed it back on his lips, before slipping silently into the room and closing the door behind her.

Jhonny could not help it, his heart began to race as he made his way back to the balcony from where he could watch the hotel entrance and any movement to and from the landing.

He turned to keep watch, it felt like an eternity, but she had been in the room for only a matter of moments, he now knew for sure, that just standing, and waiting was going to be tough.

It was surprisingly quiet for a hotel, in fact, the whole town was quiet, where was everybody, the only thing he'd seen was a black cat, which was odd as he had heard for some strange reason, they are not allowed in town?

If it stayed like this for long, he thought it likely that he might fall asleep and would snoozing on the balcony.

Not a single person had come or gone from the hotel for thirty minutes, what on earth was taking her so long?

He heard a door open and whispering voices on the floor above, it was obviously a man and a woman, the man's voice was unfamiliar, but the woman's, he knew that squeaky cackle, it belonged to Sallie.

And knew if she went back to her room, he was going to have to cause a distraction, that would be easy, but he could not be caught doing it.

As planned, he trotted back to the room, knocked three times on the door, and thought darn it as there was no response.

What to do next?

He could charge in the room, but there was little doubt that would not help, in fact, there was a greater chance it would make things worse.

Footsteps could be heard on the stairs, only one option left, he picked up and rang the fire bell, he knew the chaos this would cause, then kicked the cat which went screeching off across the landing toward the stairs, scared by the hissing cat the footsteps ran back up the stairs.

Placing the bell on the floor so it looked like it had been knocked off the table by the cat, he lept out of the window onto the balcony, where he bumped into Josie, who was clutching a wooden box.

They were off the balcony and down the alleyway before anyone else had left their rooms, thank God it was quiet in town today.

They were at the barn and out of sight before they dared stop, puffing and out of breath Jhonny looked at Josie with a smile and spoke.

"I hope that was worth it."

"Yes, it was worth it."

And that unbearable look of sadness had left her eyes.