Prologue
"Louise," Rachel walked into the sheriff's office.
"Rachel, hey," Lou looked up from the paperwork she was working on. From the serious look on Rachel's face, she knew something was terribly wrong.
"What is it Rachel? Did something happen to one of the boys?" Lou didn't know how she'd react if Rachel had bad news about Kid.
"No, it's nothing like that," Rachel quickly reassured her. "Actually, I just got a letter from Teaspoon, and the new station is just about finished. That's actually what I came here to talk to you about," Rachel took a deep breath. "Louise, the company is moving our station to Rock Creek. Permanently."
"All of you?"
Rachel nodded. "And the town has offered Teaspoon the sheriff's job."
"Why do I get the feeling that there is bad news?" Lou asked suspiciously.
"Well, honey, Teaspoon tried to get them to hire you as his deputy, but they wouldn't listen. The townspeople don't want to pay someone to be the deputy, when there are enough men to form a posse if it is needed." Rachel broke the news as gently as she could.
"What does this mean for me?" Lou sank down into her chair, glad that Barnett wasn't here to give his unwanted input. At this point, that would only serve to aggravate her more.
"Well, you've got two options," Rachel told her. "One, you can come with us and work with me, you know, cookin' and cleanin' and stuff. Or, two, you can stay here," Rachel paused. "You can stay here and be the new Marshal."