Spring came to Paradise after a harsh winter had buried the valley in snow drifts for a couple months. The day the ice cracked, talk turned towards the town's reemergence from its hibernation, from one of the coldest winters on record.

Talk turned away from enormous snowfalls that piled on top of roofs nearly collapsing them and the frozen lake to how beautiful the landscape that surrounded the mining town looked after the snow had melted away.

Taking the memories of winter with it as people started preparing for what would be the first Founders Day celebration in several years. The annual festival ebbed and flowed with the prosperity of the town and the mining industry which supported it. First gold had been mined and had drawn hundreds of prospectors from miles around them to try to get rich, most of them wound up broke and mired in their own greed as they fought over claims.

Then that had dried up and the town had lain fallow until someone discovered a trove of copper which put Paradise back on the map as a boomtown once again.

Ethan didn't think about any of this as he sat in the town's only restaurant adjacent to the town's only hotel awaiting his appointment with Darren Wyatt who owned the bank which he had purchased from the man who had purchased it from Pierce Lawson a couple of years earlier.

Wyatt's daughter Martha had arrived with her father after he bought the bank. She ran the mercantile now that had opened up and had threatened the livelihood of several others but she had brokered a partnership with Mr. Axelrod to expand both their operations. More business people that had moved in Wyatt's circle would be arriving soon to set up their enterprises and Paradise would expand as a result.

Ethan had been marshal for over a year now and he'd paid a high price for taking the job that no one wanted. He nearly got shot at every other week, had to leave home and the children for long stints in the saddle.

And then there had been Amelia who had left him for parts unknown after telling him she couldn't face his death. She'd been adamant even when he'd tried to talk her out of it and he'd had to let her go. Now John Taylor told him she'd be back but that hadn't happened. Probably never would, no doubt she'd built a new life for herself elsewhere. So she was gone for good but that didn't mean he didn't think about her sometimes.

Her house had been sold at some point and Martha lived there now after redecorating it. She fancied living in there once she roped Ethan into marrying her. Mostly because there weren't too many eligible men in town but her father liked him.

"Is he here yet?"

He looked up dressed in his marshal get up and saw Martha standing there dressed as if she were going to church. Her blonde hair pinned up above the nape of her neck and she wore a blue hat that matched her dress.

Ethan shook his head as he got up to seat Martha who picked up a menu.

"This new cuisine will win many customers," she said, "What Paradise needed is some culture. A theater or music house…something else besides unseemly bars and those bar girls."

Ethan sighed. He'd heard this argument more and more lately, not just from Martha but from other friends of hers who were tied to investors in Paradise. But what could you expect in a mining town? Miners worked themselves to the bone, to scrape a few particles of ore dust under the hot sun and all they wanted to do at night was drink ale or whisky and relax in good company. None of them hurt the bar girls, if they did Ethan and Dakota would toss them in the jail to cool off. These women were just doing what they needed to survive in a rough, unforgiving environment.

He'd enjoyed a woman or two himself back in the day before he'd settled down to rearing his sister's four children.

"Maybe some opera or a dance troupe…"

Ethan smiled.

"A circus for the children…"

Martha frowned.

"Sounds a bit wild to me," she said, "I've heard about the lifestyles they lead. Unsavory…"

Ethan suppressed a grin, remembering it didn't take much to get her concerned about what she felt might corrupt the children growing up in a mining town which by design wasn't the best place for children to grow up. Not many kids in town except those passing through, only a group small enough to fill the church for lessons when it wasn't used for services. Families came and left based on whether the town boomed or busted.

Darren folded his hands and looked across the table at Ethan.

"We'll have to be very selective with entertainment," he said, "or else the investors coming in will get nervous."

Ethan just looked at him.

"Maybe they picked the town then. Paradise has always had its way of lifestyle…as long as it doesn't get too far out of hand…"

Darren put up his own hand.

"I've put a lot of money into this town already," he said, "and I've redone some loans. I should have a say."

"No one said that you can't. It's just not going to be easy to bring in fancy stuff like opera and the other."

Martha pursed her lips.

"I can handle that," she said, "Annabelle and Tuppance will be talking to some high quality performers from the larger cities. "

Ethan didn't see why they'd want to leave faraway places with fancy living and travel to such a rustic place as Paradise that always had one foot in what was still wild frontier. Life had been slow lately now that the latest bound of outlaws a trio of brothers had been sent to prison but another gang would blow into town like a bad wind soon enough.

"We'll need more security."

Ethan looked over at Darrin.

"We've only got Dakota and me over the whole valley," he said, "Don't have the money to hire anyone."

Darren looked like it was a trivial matter.

"I'll make sure I can find the money," he said, "We're going to need it if we build this town up again."

Martha nodded.

"Yes…we'll talk about it later over dinner Ethan."

He remembered that she had invited him to her house, Amelia's for dinner. John Taylor would be dropping by to look after the children, help Ben on a school project. They'd be fine without him.

"Now let's talk about the new statue dedication…"

Ethan listened as Darrin outlined his plans for the new town square.


Claire helped the teacher with the younger kids. Mr. Appleton had been hired to teach the kids but Claire had studied enough on her own to nearly finish her schooling so when she finished her lessons, he had her help teach the youngest students. She enjoyed teaching, she discovered, she had the innate intelligence, patience and a way of making sense out of lessons that students struggled with until she helped them.

She'd turned 16 and she needed to think about her future. She wanted to work as a teacher, save money and travel around to different places…like Amelia had done when she left a year ago. All the pictures she'd seen in some books she'd read, places far away from Paradise. She wanted to see them all.

But she'd have to earn money and teaching could do that. Helping Mr. Axelrod at the store though she didn't like his attitude much…but he'd softened it when he saw how good she worked numbers and the bookkeeping.

"Claire…"

She looked and saw George approach her.

"What is it?"

"I can't figure these numbers…"

"They're multiplication tables…I'll help you with them later but you need to memorize them."

He furrowed his brow.

"Ben's can't write good."

Claire sighed knowing that he had struggled not to learn his letters but to write them down in the right order. But she had him practicing by the light every night. John Taylor had been helping him too.

"Write well George," she said, "and he's working really hard at it."

George nodded and went back to his work. He'd turned out to be very good with numbers. Ahead of his age group and moving on to multiplication tables. After school let out, she'd go work for Axelrod for a couple hours and then head on home to get dinner ready for her brothers including Joseph who was doing time with Doc Carter who'd just arrived from San Francisco six months ago.

Darrin had hired him out of a posh clinic there to travel to Paradise and be the town doctor and he drove Joseph pretty hard but her brother said he learned a lot working as his assistant. He'd had to patch up Uncle Ethan more than once and tend to him when he'd been injured so medicine seemed a natural transition.

"Claire…"

She saw Ben approach.

"What is it?"

She thought he might be upset about his difficulty with reading but instead he glanced over at a blonde girl. She was about his age and the daughter of a woman who worked at the restaurant. Her father had been a miner who died in an explosion.

Ben just looked down at his feet.

"Is it about Becky?"

Ben didn't look up.

"She seems like a nice girl."

"I guess."

"Did you talk to her?"

Ben just looked up at his sister, his hands at his sides.

"No…

"Why not…?"

He didn't answer. Claire smiled at her younger brother.

"Come on, it's not that hard," she said, "Why don't you just walk over and talk to her?"

She knew that Becky probably would welcome it. She had been looking in his direction most of the time she'd been in school.

Later that night, after Ethan had left to go have dinner with Martha, Claire had welcomed John Taylor in the house for dinner that she'd cooked. Some rabbit that he had brought and some vegetables from the garden out back that she had suggested growing. Joseph had come back home tired after another day working for Doc Carter and settled down to do some studying after he'd made sure Ben and George did their chores.

"Where's Uncle Ethan," he'd said.

Claire had been laying out the food on the table.

"Oh he's in town having dinner with Martha."

Joseph grinned.

"I knew it," he said, "I knew he liked her."

Claire shrugged.

"She seems nice but not really his type."

Joseph arched a brow.

"Type…she's a woman Claire."

"I know that Joseph but she's more into life in a bigger city than here."

"Like Amelia…and she took off…"

Claire took some plate from John Taylor who like he often did just listened in the background before offering his sage wisdom.

"She couldn't marry Uncle Ethan because if something bad happened to him…"

Claire didn't remember most of it and she didn't really understand it. Because when ever Uncle Ethan was in danger or had gotten injured even that one really bad time, she felt more determined than ever to remain close to him, to take care of him. Like she couldn't take care of her mother who had died after sending them out to Paradise to live with an uncle they never met.

"It's time for him to move on."

Claire figured her uncle would know best when he was ready to do that and maybe with Martha, well she didn't know if she was ready to have another almost stepmother in the house but if it made him happy…

"They just don't seem…like that."

"Like what Claire?"

Joseph looked at her as if he really didn't understand. But she didn't feel like explaining it. She barely understood what it meant to want to be with someone enough to get married. Like her parents had done. Like Ethan had almost done with Amelia before they broke it off and she left. But then she knew what it felt like to want someone to like her who viewed her as a little girl.

Dakota, Ethan's number one deputy marshal. A man who took her breath away with his handsomeness but had charmed her with his gentleness towards her even though he did things she didn't approve of like spend time in the saloon with the women who worked there. Amelia had tried to explain to them once what those girls did but Claire knew it wasn't proper. Dakota clearly came from a different world and didn't want to leave it.

But Ethan and Martha, though much different, might decide to get married. But she just didn't see it.

"Like…"

John Taylor spoke up then much to her relief.

"Like they belong together," he said, "through the good times and the bad. I knew what that was like once…twice…but then I became a hermit."

Suddenly Ben and George raced in the house and Claire had to tell them to stop running and go and wash up for dinner.

"I don't see that either Claire but then I'm not an expert."


Ethan sat and looked across at Martha eating her food delicately. She had a woman working for her that helped her prepare it. It hadn't been the first time he'd been in the house that Amelia had owned since she'd left. The furnishing had changed, but the memories remained.

But she'd been gone for nearly a year and though he'd missed her, life moved forward. Darren and Martha seemed determined to move Paradise ahead, with all these plans for more businesses and the founder's day picnic.

"This is really good."

He thought it tasted okay, a bit chewy with the meat but he ate it. It'd been a long day since lunch, with him and Dakota riding through the valley.

"Did you try the potatoes?"

He had and they tasted good but his mind was elsewhere. Dakota had told him before he headed onto meet Martha that there'd been a group of what looked like a gang of women driving some horses, maybe stolen two valleys over. The telegraph had provided terse updates on the gang and the marshals being one step behind them.

Rumors abounded that the notorious Bella Rogers was riding with them and she'd had more than a couple bounties on her head in the past decade. Things had gotten quieter surrounding her in the past couple of years, she settled down to ranching. But sounded like she'd gone back to her old ways.

"Ethan did you hear a word I said?"

He looked at her blinking his eyes. She just gave him one of her indulgent looks.

"My father's bringing a cartel of partners into town," she said, "Several of them are at the hotel and a couple more arrive on the stage tomorrow."

"Okay…"

"You will be there won't you?"

Ethan knew that as marshal he'd be expected to e at the major meetings held in Paradise unless an emergency situation cropped up. He felt better in the saddle than inside at some meeting of rich people just wanting to get richer.

"Yes after Dakota and I check up on this gang."

Martha's eyes widened.

"Gang…?"

The wrong words to say over the dinner table and she just looked at him now. '

"Ethan what's going on here?"

He sighed sipping his ale.

"Nothing to worry about," he said, "Just some gang of woman outlaws riding from town to town maybe with stolen horses."

"Goodness Ethan," she said, "Why would women want to do that? It's not…proper."

Ethan bit back a smile. None of the female outlaws he'd ever encountered in his life had cared much for proprieties especially not Bella Rogers and he'd run up against her once.

"Dakota and I will handle it," he said, "Nothing to worry about. You've got all that Founder's Day planning to do."

She brightened reaching for her wine.

"Yes I do…we do…Oh it's going to be glorious…the best ever."

Ethan didn't know about that. He knew the children were excited about the festivities planned. They'd been talking about it especially Ben and George. He didn't get the fuss, but all the business owners were excited about attracting visitors to their town.

Suddenly Dakota came into the dining room, looking excited.

"Hey Ethan, we've got trouble heading into town."

Ethan got up and pushed the chair in the table while Martha watched.

"What now?"

"That gang of women we'd been hearing about," Dakota said, "They're almost here. Just about to show up over the ridge…about a dozen of them and a lot of horses."

Ethan left to go out onto the porch. Martha and Dakota followed him. The roar of hoof beats and right in front of them, they saw a herd of horses, of all shades and sizes rushing by them in a wave. Ethan saw women on horseback weaving their way around them to keep them in line.

He went out on the street as the horses rushed by and saw Axelrod and Tiny narrowly miss getting trampled. Tiny walked up to them.

"Ever see anything like it?"

Ethan focused on the women on horseback, three of them and he saw them approach him. Bella Rogers, it looked like on the lead. She rode up and pulled her horse to a stop, staring at Ethan and the others.

"Ethan Cord is that you?"

He walked up to her.

"Yes, and you're Bella Rogers."

The woman smiled, her eyes crinkling. She looked to be in her late 30s or early 40s. No one really knew her age or her real name for that matter. She'd been born in Texas and that's where Ethan had crossed paths with her. But both of them had left that state behind them.

"Yes I am," she said, "But I'm not interested in looting your town or causing any mayhem. I imagine the telegraphing has been frantic."

He smiled.

"Yes it has been. You've got quite the reputation."

She chuckled.

"Most of it unearned," she said, "Listen I got a parcel of land and I'm going to put up a working ranch with some friends here."

She handed him a rolled up deed and he read it, before giving it back to her. Martha just looked at both of them.

"She's going to move here," she said, "The Bella Rogers."

Bella narrowed her eyes at Martha.

"Who are you?"

Ethan introduced them as he saw the two other women approach on horseback. They both wore men's clothes and hats over their faces.

"These are your friends?"

Bella nodded.

"Now that we have this settled, we'll get out of your way," she said, "You can get back to your night with your lady friend."

Ethan just looked at her.

"I'll be checking up on you," he said, "Make sure you keep out of trouble. Paradise doesn't need more of that."

Bella smiled.

"I look forward to that Ethan," she said, "It's been a long time."

"The horses…"

"They're ours Ethan," she said, "Not stolen no matter what you've heard. I'll bring in the paperwork tomorrow."

"I'll be waiting…"

It'd been so different the last time he'd seen her.

About 10 years if he remembered right, but it hadn't been the friendliest of encounters. But Bella looked friendly enough now as she clucked to her horse to get moving. Ethan's eyes turned over to the other women. He noticed another woman on a horse dressed like the others some distance away who just stared at him. He tried to make out her features but she turned away to join the others as they all rode off with their stock.

He tipped his hat to them and just turned to look at Dakota.

"We'll ride out tomorrow and check it out," he said, "I know Bella and she's unpredictable."

Dakota grinned.

"Name means pretty, Ethan."

"It also means trouble…"

And with that, he and Martha went back into the house. Ethan wondering if trouble in the form of an old outlaw had returned, to Paradise…but as it turned out, he hadn't seen anything yet.