THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES

Summary: The further adventures of the residents of Four Corners. Part of the When It Rains series. Warning: May contain disciplinary spanking in later chapters.

As always, any reviews or comments you have will be greatly appreciated.

CHAPTER 1

"Sammy, have you heard?" Kevin raced up the steps to the front porch of the boarding house. "There's a rodeo coming to town." He didn't know just what a rodeo was, but Billy's and Joshua's excitement about the event had rubbed of onto him.

"Big deal," Sammy responded. "Do you even know what a rodeo is?"

Kevin thought for a minute. The poster tacked outside the Clarion had showed a man on a bucking horse, but that really didn't tell him all that much about the event. "Not really."

Sammy stood and walked over to Kevin. "It just a bunch of stupid men riding horses." She brushed past the boy and continued off the porch.

She and Chris had gotten into it that morning, and she was still nursing her temper over the outcome of their fight. All she wanted was to cut her hair shorter, but Chris had adamantly refused. It wasn't as if she wanted to cut it boyishly short again, she mused. Since she had come to town her hair had grown so long that it now reached the bottom of her shoulder blades. And even when she wore it pinned up, it was hot. She wanted to cut it to shoulder length, and couldn't understand why Chris refused to even consider the idea. Lifting the heavy mass of it so some air could get to the back of her neck, she thought it might just be worth the licking she'd get to do it.

Sammy needed to do something to get rid of her temper before she did something she would regret. She knew without even trying that the piano wasn't going to help – she'd just brood even more, and there was only so much of her brooding temper that Chris would be willing to tolerate. She thought briefly about going to see Nancy. Sammy and the school teacher had developed a close friendship since the teenager had begun helping out in the one-room school house. Even though Nancy had completely recovered from her run-in with a snake, things had been working so well, that they decided that Sammy would continue to help out. Nancy was taking advantage of having Sammy there and was teaching her to become a teacher, herself. Unfortunately, Sammy remembered that Nancy wasn't at home. She and Vin were going to spend the day out riding.

Leaning down, Sammy picked up a rock from the dusty street. She tossed it into the air a couple of times as though testing its weight and balance. Finally, she threw the rock as hard as she could down the street. Grunting with satisfaction when it landed with a solid thud and sent up a cloud of dust, Sammy turned toward the livery stable. She decided she would work off her mad by grooming the little mare that Chris had bought for her use. The gunman had made it clear that if he obtained the animal for her, she would be responsible for its care.

As she approached the livery stable, she noticed a man in deep conversation with Yosemite. The man was a stranger in town, or at least was someone Sammy had never seen before. He was dressed in dark trousers and a shirt that had probably been blue, but was so dusty that it was hard to tell. His long, dark hair hung lank around his shoulders, and he wore a dusty black hat. Behind him, a string of horses was tied to coral fence.

The two men glanced Sammy's way as she slipped into the cool interior of the building. She gathered grooming equipment from the tack room and entered Autumn's stall. The little paint mare bumped her head into Sammy's shoulder, asking for attention. She indulged the animal by scratching her between the eyes before beginning to groom her.

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Vin was nervous, but he hoped it didn't show too much. This was the first time he and Nancy had been out riding since they had returned to town. He'd wanted to court her, but hadn't been sure how to go about it. After all, Nancy had grown up back east, and he was sure she had definite ideas on the matter. So, he had swallowed a bit of his pride and asked Mary for advice. She had suggested that they go for a ride and have a picnic out by the river. When Mrs. Patterson had learned of his plans, she had been more than happy to volunteer to prepare their lunch.

So, here they were. Nancy had spread a quilt on the grass by the river bank and they had spread out the food Mrs. Patterson had sent. The tracker and the school teacher ate in near silence. The easy conversation of their previous ride had been replaced by an awkwardness that neither of them had anticipated.

Nancy supposed it was because Vin was courting her now, when before he had been doing a favor for Mary Travis. She wondered if he felt as nervous about it as she did.

"So, tell me how you got to know Kojay and his people," Nancy asked, hoping to not only start a conversation but also to find out more about the man reclining on the other side of the quilt. "You never really told me about that." She had seen how he had been accepted by the people, and by extension, that acceptance had carried over to her. The question had been posed to him before, but he had skirted the issue.

Vin sighed. He really didn't like talking about himself. However, he supposed that getting to know about someone was part of courting. "I've only known Kojay and his people a couple 'a years," he stated, picking at the breading on a piece of fried chicken. "His son, Chanu, got mixed up in a mess with a bunch of missionaries. I helped him out of it. In the process, Josiah and I both became close to his people."

Nancy smiled and took a sip of the tea Vin had poured for her. Mrs. Patterson had thought of everything, including a canteen of the sweetened beverage. That was more of an answer than she had ever received before, but it still didn't tell her everything. It was obvious that the man across from her was reluctant to share his past. She knew that it was his nature to be reserved, but she was determined to break through those walls. "But that's not the first time you've dealt with an Indian tribe, though, was it?"

She was thrilled at the slightly astonished look on Vin's face. It was obvious he hadn't been expecting that question. Vin's expression quickly turned from astonishment to thoughtfulness. "Nope. You asked your question, now it's my turn. Why'd you decided to come out here to be a teacher?"

"I wanted adventure," she said simply. "I told you I grew up on a horse farm in Kentucky, didn't I?" When Vin responded that she had, Nancy continued. "Well, it wasn't just any old horse farm. It was more like a southern plantation. We were among the cream of society, even after the war." She paused to tear a bite off the buttered biscuit she held in her hand and popped it into her mouth. "You wouldn't believe what a scandal it was when I announced I wanted to attend the normal school and learn to become a teacher. Proper women do not seek to learn a profession or work outside their homes. Their jobs are to be proper wives and mothers," she stated in a mockingly snooty voice.

"Yeah," Vin stated, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the glaring difference in their backgrounds. "I can imaging that went over real well with your folks."

"Actually, my dad was all for the idea. He'd fought in the war and knew our society had to change. Plus, as he was fond of saying, he couldn't abide useless females. Daddy paid my tuition to the normal school, and when I got the opportunity to take the job out here, he paid my transportation expenses." Nancy took another bite of her biscuit. She sensed the change in Vin's demeanor. Rather than the relaxed position he had been in earlier, he now sat a bit stiffly. She hoped she hadn't said the wrong thing. Surely he wouldn't hold her society background against her, she thought.

Nancy's suspicions were confirmed only a few minutes later when Vin began gathering up the remains of their picnic and started stuffing them back into the saddle bags Mrs. Patterson had provided. When he was finished, he stood and dusted off the seat of his britches. "I think it's time we headed back to town." He headed toward where the horses had been picketed in the shade and strapped the saddle bags behind his saddle.

Reluctantly, Nancy rose and folded the quilt that had been spread on the grass. She, too, moved to the horses and secured the bundle behind her saddle.

The ride back into town was made in tense silence.

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Several of the peacekeepers and the two children were gathered around the dining room in the boarding house for dinner that evening. The initial conversation centered around Kevin's continued excitement over the rodeo that was coming to town. Although Sammy's mood had improved somewhat, she was still angry with Chris's decision and decided to give the gunman the silent treatment. As a result, she ignored the chatter going on around her until J.D. mentioned that Yosemite had purchased a couple of new horses that day from a stranger in town.

Chris wanted more information, so Buck and J.D. filled him in.

"A ran into him over at the saloon after he'd finished his business with Yosemite," Buck stated. "Said his name was Luther Gibbs. Makes his living going from town to town selling or trading horses. According to him, he learned the trade from his pa and hopes to teach it to his younguns."

"I took a look at the ones he sold Yosemite. They're pretty good looking animals," J.D. interrupted. "Yosemite hadn't decided whether he's going to try and sell 'em or use 'em to rent out. Guess he's gonna wait to see how they take to a saddle and rider first. Said the man told 'em they'd been broken to the saddle, but he wants to find out for himself."

"Can I ride one of them," Kevin asked around a mouthful of food, earning a glare from Chris for his lack of table manners. He'd been taking riding lessons from whichever one of the seven men had been willing or had the time to do it. That generally meant that he'd practiced riding just about every day and had gotten rather good at it. He was able to control the old nag Yosemite kept around for inexperienced riders with relative ease. The boy was anxious to try his hand with an animal that required a little more control.

"We'll see," Vin responded. "It'll depend on what Yosemite decides to do with 'em and how easy they are ta' ride."

"Please," Kevin begged in his most desperate voice.

"Ya' heard what I said," Vin stated, his voice firm. He had quickly learned to cut Kevin's wheedling in the bud, but that didn't stop the boy from trying. Kevin started to say something in response, but Vin merely held up his hand. "Keep it up, and you won't be ridin' anything for at least a week."

Sammy hid her grin in her napkin as Kevin slumped back in his chair with a disgruntled, "yes, sir." She knew it was probably petty of her, but a small part of her took pleasure in seeing Kevin getting in trouble. She also knew she would be the one getting in trouble if Chris ever found out about it. So far, it had been her little secret.

Sensing the rising tension in the room, Buck decided it was time to change the subject. "So, Vin, how'd your ride with the very pretty Miss Bishop go?"

TBC

Author's note: Any NCIS fans out there?