Welcome! This is the second part in my Gunner Valley series, the first of which was Incident of Gunner Valley.

I would like to firstly say that in the last chapter of Incident of Gunner Valley, I made an error. I had somehow forgotten that they were three weeks away from town, not two. I went back and corrected this, but I would like to apologize for this confusion.

As always, your reviews are much appreciated, so please do so!

Warnings: Violence and some suggestive material throughout. Individual chapters have appropriate warnings. There will be a attempted rape scene in a later chapter, but it will not be descriptive and the chapter will be marked so.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.


Some people believe in fate, while others would rather think that everything that happens is by pure chance. Drovers may be rough, but when you look past all the trials of the trail, the lives they lead are simple ones. Whether or not they believe in destiny don't make much difference to the cattle, and to be honest it don't make much difference to me, neither. As for myself, I don't really know. Strange things happen, that's for sure. But things happening by fate? Well, maybe one day I'll make up my mind about that. But for now, I'll stick to takin' care of my cattle and my men.

I'm Gil Favor, trail boss.


Blue eyes looked up from the plate of breakfast from under the broad brim of a well-used hat. The owner of the hat continued eating the rest of his food, hardly hearing the usual sounds that came with breakfast. Men talking, cattle lowing, fire crackling, Wishbone scolding Mushy for something or another, it all converged together into a familiar background noise. The only thing Gil Favor really heard was the clattering of dish pans. And only that was because of the person who was clattering those dishes.

Emily did the dishes off to the side of camp, as she had been doing for the last three days after every meal. No one had asked her to do it, and she in fact had to twist Wishbone's arm into allowing her the work. She never complained about much, except for an occasional fuss at Wishbone, and in her presence the men were at their most content.

And yet he realized that he had been the person in the whole outfit to spend the least amount of time with her. She always welcomed him, and he could see that she did make at the very least a small effort to get to know him like the others. Yet he always came up with a duty that would bring him away from her. It dawned on him now what he had been doing all this time: Avoiding her. He hadn't been doing it intentionally, it just sort of happened.

Of course Rowdy, if he had noticed the boss's increased absence, didn't say anything about it. He was more than happy to take up boss's slack. There didn't seem to be a moment when Rowdy was on break that he wasn't with the girl. Even when he was working, the Gil often caught him gazing over at the wagon.

Gil did notice, however, that some tension had seemed to come between Rowdy and Mushy. The cook's louse seemed to be completely unaware of it, but he just about the only one. Of course Rowdy never made a scene when Emily was around, but whenever she was looking the other way, Rowdy could be caught shooting Mushy a dirty look. Whenever she was out of earshot, Rowdy would ride the boy's back like a taskmaster.

The reason for this, it seemed plain to Gil, was jealousy. Mushy and Wishbone were the two men who had the most time with her, since she rode in the wagon with them all day long. It was only natural that she would be better acquainted with them than with the other men. Only Rowdy couldn't seem to accept that. Wishbone was no threat to Rowdy, of course, but Mushy was young and, though ignorant, a sweet kid that Emily seemed to like.

There was one bone that Rowdy had to pick with Wishbone, though. While Emily spent every camp-time rubbing elbows with the men, nobody was very happy with Wishbone insisting she go to bed early.

"She's old enough to decide when she wants to go to bed for herself," Jim finally protested a night back.

"She's got ta recover from that wound, 'n 'at means lots o' rest!" Wishbone had replied, ushering off the not-exactly pleased girl.

Nevertheless, despite what Rowdy's suspicious mind thought, Emily remained closest to to ramrod. Though they did not have as much time together as she did with her fellow wagon-riders, she was most open with him than with anyone else.

"Hey, boss," Rowdy approached Gil, carrying his cup over to where he sat down beside the older man before continuing in a low voice,"You know, I was talkin' with miss Carter last night, and - "

"Yeah, I know," Gil replied flatly, taking another bite of his biscuit. How could anyone have missed? Rowdy had volunteered to help with the dishes just to be able to talk with her alone.

The young ramrod smiled, somewhat bashfully, before going on. "Well anyway, I was talkin' to her, 'n she, uh, mentioned that she'd like to go ridin' for a little while. Instead of bein' in the wagon all day, I mean." Rowdy studied the boss's face for a moment, building up nerve to continue on.

Of course Gil already knew what he was getting at.

"So, uh... Do ya think someone oughtta show her around, maybe...?"

Gil went on chewing his food thoughtfully for several moments more, until his head slowly started nodding.

"Ya know, I think that's a real good idea..." he finally replied, pushing the last piece of bread into his mouth.

Rowdy let out a breath, his smile widening. "Oh, that's great, boss! I'll - "

"I've been meanin' to get better acquainted with her, anyway,"Gil finished, getting to his feet and brushing some of the dust off of his clothes.

The grin dropped from Rowdy's face. He sat there a moment, running over what the boss had just told him, before scrambling up to his feet to go after the man. "Hey, wait boss! I - "

But Gil had already headed for Emily, ignoring the boy. He tipped his hat at the girl. "Food was good, miss Carter," he gave her a polite smile.

His smile was returned as soon as she looked up and saw him. Rowdy felt a tinge of envy nip at him, but stood back and let his boss be.

"I only handed the plates out," she shook her head. A twinkle came into her eye as she wiped her hands dry on a towel.

Gil shrugged, looking down at the stack of dishes she had just finished. "Well, I just thought I might ask if you wanted to ride point with me for a while. Interested?"

She perked up visibly at that. "I'd love to!" she tossed the dish towel down on the table. She stuck her little fingers into her mouth, letting out a distinct whistle. It was the one she had showed the men a few days ago that she used to call in her horse. "Oh, but wait..." she paused, glancing over in the direction of the creek where Wishbone and Mushy were filling up the water barrel. "Won't I be needed?"

Gil followed her gaze. "Wishbone may be ailin' later that I took ya, but I think they'll get along," he smirked down at her," Come on."

Emily was nothing less than thrilled, but unknown to anyone else it was more than just the riding that got her all excited.

Her horse, which she had insisted be allowed to roam without being tied up, soon came trotting up.

Gil watched her pat the horse on the nose fondly. "I'll get you a - "

"I'll get you a saddle, miss Carter!" Rowdy spoke up quick and cut off Gil, which the boss found slightly annoying. He fought a frown as he watched Rowdy turn to go do as he had said.

He glanced down at the girl. "I guess he'll go get you a saddle."


Though Rowdy would have loved to take his time saddling the horse up, for the sake of buying just a little more time with Emily, he also wanted to impress her. For this reason, he tacked the mount up in double time. Even Gil was somewhat impressed at how fast the boy was capable of working, when motivated.

He snorted. Boys.

Gil would have liked to make some remark, but then decided that maybe it would be best not to embarrass the boy in front of the girl.

"Thank you, Mr. Yates," Emily rewarded him with another smile.

Rowdy glowed, and Gil could just barely keep from rolling his eyes.

Emily walked over to the paint horse, her back to the men, grabbing the horn of the saddle in preparation for mounting.

Both men eyed each other, before scrambling to get to her side. This time Gil beat Rowdy, who turned on his heels while adjusting his hat as if that seriously did not just happen.

The winner offered his hand to Emily, who had turned around when she heard the sound of boots in a hurry, but only saw Rowdy looking around innocently. She then turned her eyes to Gil's hand.

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Favor!" she sounded very pleased at the gesture, much to the ramrod's annoyance and Gil's triumph. She took his hand and mounted her horse. Of course it didn't really make it easier getting up on a horse while having to hold someone's hand, but she wasn't about to complain.

"We're movin' in five minutes!" Gil called to his men. He then headed for the remuda for his own horse. Rowdy followed him.

"Hey, boss..." Rowdy stepped close behind the dark-haired man in lead.

"What now, Rowdy?" Gil breathed, bordering exasperation.

Couldn't the boy just leave him alone?

"Well, the girl. I'd - "

"What about the girl?" Gil didn't look back at the boy as he checked the saddle over, before pulling himself up into it.

He was about to move on before Rowdy could answer, but Rowdy reached up to put a hand on the horn of the saddle. "Look, boss, can you just let me talk?"

Gil stopped his horse, hearing a hint of pleading in the young man's voice now. He let out a sigh, before slowly lowering his eyes to Rowdy's.

"What?"

Rowdy shifted on his feet. "Could ya maybe just say a little somethin' good about me? It don't have to be much..."

Gil held his gaze, before finally giving a small snort. "Alright, boy."

He touched his spurs to the flanks of his horse, and was soon trotting off to join the waiting girl.


Emily rode along beside Gil, their pace moderate.

Gil knew they could be at the next town in twelve or thirteen days if they pushed the beeves hard. But the grazing here was good, the land agreeable to beast and man. If it had not been for the fact that the girl probably wanted to get to some relatives, he probably would have dragged the time out longer. But if he sent her on ahead of the herd with on of the men, she could make town in less than a week.

"You got any relatives around here, miss Carter?" he asked, glancing over at her.

She turned to look at him, but returned her gaze to the trail ahead of them after a brief moment. Her head shook, just slightly. "No."

Silence.

"Well, now that you're well enough to ride I can have one of the boys take you to town," he told her, studying her face,"You can be on the stage by the time next week comes 'round."

"That's not necessary," she quickly glanced back to him, seeming to have been caught by surprise by his suggestion.

Gil was a little surprised himself, seeing how eager to get to town she didnt seem to be.

There was once again a silence as they both sunk deep into thought, facing ahead. Gil tried to piece this all together. One would think that a girl would want to be close to her nearest kin after having her parents so savagely killed.

"Where's your family?" he finally asked, his voice softer.

He waited for an answer until he was nearly convinced that she wasn't going to give him one. But the answer he finally did get didn't make him feel any better. "Your men buried them, Mr. Favor."

He looked over at her. She didn't return the gesture, continuing to gaze ahead. Her face was unreadable, but Gil could guess what she was feeling. Now he could sort of understand why she didn't seem eager to get to town.

There were other questions that he would have loved to ask her, but only one of them seemed appropriate at this point.

"Where will you go?"

Emily looked toward the herd of cattle that walked in a long stretch beside them. It was a familiar sight, comforting. She went on watching them as she tried to think of an answer to his question. She didn't rightly know the answer herself.

"Well..." she sighed," I guess I'll take a stage to Abilene when we get to town," She cast a sideways glance at the trail boss. "Unless..."

Gil shook his head, trying his best to be gentle. "Sorry, miss Carter."

She nodded. "Yeah, I figured that."

A warm breeze swept over them, causing the girl's hair to flutter and wave behind her.

"How long do you think it'll be till we reach Bainton?" Emily asked quietly.

The question itself was innocent enough. But Gil knew what she was really getting at.

"You aught to know just as well as me..." he said slowly.

Emily didn't answer.

"... but about sixteen days, normal pace." He stretched his back, before relaxing back into the saddle. He looked over at her once again, then back to the drive ahead. "But we're moving a little slower than usual."

Gil sneaked a glance at the girl, and was pleased to see a hint of a smile growing on the girl's lips.


The sun was high in the sky, but the cattle moved on.

Gil and Emily had done a lot of talking since they first started out that morning, talking about places they had been and people they had met. She was easy to talk to, and he was easy-going.

"Mr. Favor," she finally said,"Are you married?"

Part of him had not expected her to ask, and part of him had just been waiting for it.

He smiled slightly, looking away. "I was. She died several years back."

"I'm sorry..." she sounded like she had regretted asking.

But he shook his head. "It's fine... I miss her, but you heal some after time."

A moment passed.

"I have two daughters, though. Gillian and Maggie."

"Gillian..." she laughed lightly," Cute. I suppose that was your wife's idea?"

"I thought it was a bit odd when she told me, too," he admitted with an affectionate chuckle,"but she insisted on naming the first after me."

Emily could hear the love in his voice as he spoke of his girls. It aroused something inside her, a longing for love that had been quenched by death.

"I suppose you don't see 'em very often," she said, her voice now slightly less at ease.

Gil heard the difference, but couldn't quiet decide what had caused the change.

"No, only about once or twice a year."

A pause.

"Who takes care of 'em?" her tone had recovered a bit now.

"My sister-in-law, Eleanor. She's got a house up in Philadelphia." Emily whistled. "Boy, that's along way... You got plans for a ranch of your own?"

Gil let out a breath, raising his eyes up to the sky. "Well, now. Yeah, I got plenty o' plans... But money to make 'em happen is somethin' I'm a bit short on."

Emily nodded.

"But who knows, at the end of the drive I might just have enough money to start up a place of my own."

They both turned at the same time, their eyes meeting.

"You'd be a good rancher, Mr. Favor,"Emily said, her voice low and sure, her eyes warm with some knowledge that he couldn't figure out.

Gil tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. "How ya figure that?" he asked, curiosity once again rising within him. Something in her eyes seemed to call to him, I know something you don't.

But his only reply was a puff of laughter from the girl riding beside him. He couldn't help but smile right along with her.

And in all the good-natured fellowship, Gil had forgotten all about Rowdy.