Called Back By His Tangled Promise

THIS WAS A STEP BACK IN MEMORY

The man who had, in her own opinion, sneaked up on her, was no less than Johnny Taylor, her boyhood friend and companion. She recognized him instantly and wondered if he recognized her.
"Boy, have you changed, Alice," he said. He was sweating and had been riding a big black horse which was now tied to the iron fence. Had she been so lost in her thoughts she didn't hear him. But actually, the weather was growing bad. There had been flashes of lightning and thunder since she had gotten the hoe out and she had looked at the sky anxiously a time or two. But when she had found her grandmother's grave, she was spell bound with an ache in her heart and the tears fell then.
"Oh great," she thought. "He will see I have been crying like a child."
He acted like he didn't care. She had to look up to see him, because the sun was still hurting her eyes in spite of the growing darkness of the approaching storm.
He was something to see, all right. She found herself staring as she straightened up and turned at the sound of his voice.
Yes, he thought so, she was crying. Well, he would see what this was all about, but he actually felt like crying himself. His pain of seeing her again did not register on his face. He felt a thrill, strongly compelling and emotional deep within his own heart.
He was about six foot plus now, and was all cowboy, his hat, stained and worn, was white.