Unexpected Return

Ch. 1

The sun was pretty much down behind the mountains as the lone man laid down on the make shift bed. He looked up at the sky and thought back on his life as a ranger. It started because he needed to be doing something when he got home from war. If he wasn't getting the 'poor man' look, or the 'are you okay?' look; he was getting told thank you for your service. He didn't mind the last one; in fact he loved getting the last one. It was just the fact he had hills to climb to be able to move on from what he saw and had to do. He could not do it in his home town. That is why when he had a chance to join the Texas Rangers he took it. Little did he know, from day one, the places he would go and the people he would meet would affect him the way they had.

It was actually on one of those trips he made that he met a family that had changed his cynical view on families. His family growing up wasn't the best enviroment. Between the fights his parents had and fights in school it played a major part behind his reasons for joining the military. It became the only decent family he knew until the rangers, and for the longest time he was content with that. He didn't think it would ever change, until that fateful day.

"You guys in trouble with the law?"

"Something like that." The dark hair stranger said with a big fat grin on his face. Funny thing he wasn't sure why they were running from the law, but he learned trouble was nothing new to them. He never thought it would go the route that it did and he shook his head in remembrance of those days. One thing or another hit that family; though they didn't let that get them down. They joked around, loved with all their hearts, and would defend their friends with every ounce of their body.

After the last job he did he went to his boss and after some discussion got some much needed time off. Now he found himself in an area he hadn't been in over three years. He began worrying he should have stayed away, after all, there was no guarantee they were still there or they would welcome him back.

Over thinking wasn't going to change it, and all it was doing was keeping him up. He'd be in that small town in the next couple of days. He wondered if anyone would recognize him, a couple of scars added to his face, hair was longer, and he now walked with a slight limp. Even if things had changed, he needed this break, to think on whether he would stay a ranger or find a new life outside of it. Closing his eyes he let his mind drift off until he was asleep.

~/~

It was mid-day and Daisy took a few minutes for her lunch break. If you went around town asking about her you would hear that she loved to laugh, loved her family, and mostly you would hear how Enos had the biggest crush on her. Though now he was actually asking her out on a date; no matter how many times she politely turned him down he kept asking her. Taking a deep breath she let her mind turn to the past.

The day had just started out like any other day. She had folded the laundry, put it away, and then left for her job. Uncle Jesse was working around the house fixing what needed to be done, and her cousins were testing out something new on the general, though she had forgotten exactly what it was this time considering how many times they had broken something due to the fact the sheriff and Boss Hog was always going after them for the smallest thing.

"How little did I know those few days would change my life?" Daisy thought to herself as she couldn't help but sigh. Why couldn't she let go? She gave up counting how many good looking guys that passed through, or flirted with her. None of them every matched up to him, including Enos. Oh, sweet Enos. That man is the sweetest man you would ever come across and any lady would be lucky to have him, however she just couldn't give him what he wants. That was taken from her long before she realized it, and by the time she realized it there was nothing she could do about it. Closing her eyes she rubbed her hands up and down her facing like she was trying to block the thoughts from coming up.

Luke came around the Boars Nest to see his cousin looking so broken down. It stopped him in his tracks and made his heart ache. At first he tired to help her out as she tried to move on, though he quickly realized that she might never fully heal. He came into her life and left just as fast as many others before, yet somehow he was different. He took something from Daisy that Luke wished he could give back. Sighing, he walked up and sat down next to her. Saying nothing he put his arm around her and left her to her thoughts. Soon enough Dasiy would get up, plaster on that smile and not let anyone including Bo or Uncle Jesse see the pain she still felt.