Thanks to a Lonely Heart [antikvár]

CUVQyHe glanced around as he tied his horse to the hitching rail. Steven Baraes had looked down this dusty little Street many times in the past few years. There was the feed store with the wagons out front waiting to be loaded with seed and grain. Across the Street stood Hall's General Mercantile and as usual Mr. Hall was standing at the door leaning on his broom visiting with a customer. The bank, the café, every building in town was like a familiar friend to him.The Coffee Cup Café had been painted white many years ago but the sand storms of west Texas had taken their toll. The steps creaked as Steven's boot made contact, and the wooden porch seemed to groan under the weight of a lone man walking across its weathered surface. Steven removed his cowboy hat and slapped it against the leg of his jeans sending sand flying in every direction before he opened the door of the café.The little bell above the door of the Coffee Cup Café tin-kled, and Emily Johnson looked up to see who her next customer would be. Steven Bames was a familiar sight. He had come into the café many times over the past fíve years, but something about him was different this time. Emily could sense something was wrong. He rode his horse into town from the Bar Eight Ranch a couple of times a month, and head always been willing to pass the time of day with her before. She didn't know a lot about him except that he was married and had somé children. For somé reason, he had left them back in east Texas. He never talked about them much and would change the subject quickly if anyone mentioned them.Occasionally, he would sit at one of the tables and read what appeared to be a letter. Emily couldn't help noticing the