Rapid Romance

Rapid Romance is the fifth chapter of Blazin' Trails.

Plot
Ricochet hands Droop-a-Long a letter from a mysterious source, but it turns out that Droop-a-Long knows who it is: Denise Falconeri, his secret girlfriend who has wrote to him regarding the letter that he sent the last time featuring him and his nephew Tag-a-Long Coyote. When Ricochet asks who it is, Droop-a-Long is very hesitant to answer before finally asking Ricochet if he knew Denise. Ricochet puts two and two together and chases after Droop-a-Long, demanding answers.

Sometime later, Ricochet finally wrangles the truth out of Droop-a-Long regarding his relationship with Denise: the two met each other after the first A.T. Sam Jose case, and even though it started out as a simple delivery job, the two liked each other and decided to start seeing each other, but they kept their relationship secret so that Denise's mother wouldn't find out. Ricochet then reveals that he too had a relationship with Denise, although it ended when he left her at the altar to catch an outlaw and she decided she didn't want to be with someone who put his job over her. Although he is upset that Droop-a-Long kept this secret, Ricochet doesn't force his deputy to break it off with Denise, although he does threaten to hurt him if he does anything to break her heart. After Droop-a-Long agrees, he asks Ricochet to untie him--the scene then reveals that the two of them were at the diner, only that Ricochet had hog-tied Droop-a-Long and dragged him inside so they could talk. Ricochet says that he had no choice but to tie him up since he was running too fast, and Droop-a-Long jokes that he never thought he'd run faster than Ricochet, to which Ricochet grumbles that Droop-a-Long only got away with it because he had a head start.

Trivia

 * This is the first romance chapter in the story as a whole, and the first that focuses on Droop-a-Long and Denise's relationship.
 * The title for this chapter is taken from the Ricochet Rabbit episode Rapid Romance, which had Ricochet connect with an old flame from his school days. The girl he was in love with, Bunny Hug, served as a design basis for Denise, and would also appear later on in future Blazin' Trails stories.
 * The A.T. Sam Jose case comes from the Ricochet Rabbit episode Atchinson, Topeka and Sam Jose. A.T. Sam Jose would later show up in a later chapter, Taking the Bullet.
 * This chapter features the first mention of Denise Falconeri.
 * Droop-a-Long and Denise's full story is found in the short story collection If Likin' You Is Wrong and Other Stories, which follows their romance up to this chapter.