Irene sat at the desk in the living room with her typewriter and skimmed over her father's notes. She listened to her twin boys as they played on the floor with some Tinker Toys. The girls were in school and Lisa was running errands. Jack was in town. Irene was sure that he would return with his mind set on a newly-posted bounty, which was fine with her at the moment.

Jack was just Jack. Irene was sure that he would never really give up his bounty-hunting career. He enjoyed it.

Irene typed from time to time as she kept referring back to her late father's notes. As she worked, she thought. At one point, she stopped her project and looked at her twins. She could see Landon's eyes in her boys. They had their father and grandfather's nose and smile. The resemblance to their grandfathers was amazing.

Moments later, Irene heard Jack walk into the house. He found her at the desk, leaned over her from behind to hug her, and kissed her head. "How is it going?," he asked, referring to the book.

"Quickly, actually," Irene replied. She looked up at him. "Jack, I was thinking about something I want to do with the children."

"What's that?," Jack asked.

"When school ends for the Summer, I want to take them to Rathskeller Fork to pay respects to my father," Irene said. "They haven't been there yet and I think they need to know about him also. They hear so much about John and so little about Daddy."

"We'll do that," Jack promised. "That's not a problem."

Irene smiled. "We need to tell them more, too," she went on. "I know we wanted to shield them, but they hear things from other people, see the books, and they don't seem to know the real story. They need to know."

"Maybe," Jack replied. "But what do we tell them?"

"The truth," Irene said. "All of it; every drop of truth. The world is not all sunshine and rainbows, Jack. You and I know that better than almost anyone on this big rock."

Jack understood what Irene meant by that. He and his wife had both had difficult lives, it seemed right from birth. They knew just how cruel life could be.

The last three weeks of school seemed to fly by. Two weeks into the Summer vacation, Jack kept his promise to Irene. He and the family traveled to Rathskeller Fork, which was now a bustling city, to visit the grave of Landon Ricketts. Irene had recently had it surrounded with an iron fence to keep out vandals. There were flowers all over the place and even a few cards and letters.

"People really seem fascinated with the lives of people like our fathers," Jack pointed out as he skimmed through the cards and letters that were tied to fence.

"People are intrigued by the legends," Irene said. "Some don't know the truth, but they seem to love the legends."

"Was he a bad man, Mom?," Angela asked as she stared at the headstone.

"No, he was not," Irene replied. "He was misunderstood. He did kill some people. But he later quit that. He went to Mexico and started to protect people in a small town called Chuperosa. They didn't have a good law-enforcement agency there. So, he took it upon himself. That's called a vigilante, an unofficial lawman. He redeemed himself before he came back home here to get me."

"Did you miss him?," Angela asked.

"I sure did," Irene replied. "I was so happy when he came back to Blackwater to take me home. I was never happier than that day."

"Trevor had a problem with it," Jack said.

"Doesn't matter," Irene said. "He wasn't my father. I appreciated all he did for me, but he was not my father. I wanted to go home with Dad. That was all I had wanted for years."

"I know how that feels," Jack said. "I spent several weeks not knowing if my father was coming back alive."

"We both got to spend the last days with our fathers," Irene said. "I thank God for that every day. And that Daddy didn't die alone."

"I can't imagine what it was like to have your father die in your arms, Irene," Jack said. "I am so sorry for you." He hugged her.

"I'd rather him die like that than in the street alone," Irene said. "He died knowing that I was there with him."

"I wish I had been there with Pa," Jack said.

"No, Jack," Irene said. "Edgar Ross would have killed you also. He didn't think you deserved to live at all. He didn't think you even deserved to be alive. He would have killed you, too. I am sure of it. And your father knew that also. That's why he sent you and your mother away from the farm when he faced Ross."

Jack sighed. "Yeah, I know," he said. Yes, Jack did know that all too well. Edgar saw him the bastard child of irresponsible parents. He had threatened to kill Jack in Mexico. Jack had killed Ross, but it didn't make him feel any better. He wondered what his father would say if he could come back to life for just a few minutes and see what he had done. John had given his life to protect Jack and to keep him from living the same life he had lived. Jack knew that also. After killing Ross, he had only killed anyone in self-defense and brought back bounties alive.

"I wish I had known Landon," Jack said. "Pa talked about him a lot."

"He would have loved you," Irene smiled. "I know that."

Now that guns were no longer carried around, Jack had hung up the gun given by Landon in the bedroom. It hung on a rack just above the headboard of the bed.

The family spent the night in a new hotel in the town. Rathskeller Fork was larger and busier than both Jack and Irene had remembered from their time.

Irene didn't sleep very well that night. The town held too many bad memories for her. She still suffered nightmares about her father's death, remembering how he had stared at her as the life drained from him. She remembered how helpless she had felt as she watched the light leave his eyes. She remembered closing his eyes, never to see them again.

Jack and Irene both had nightmares about the deaths of their fathers. Jack, however, had reacted differently. He had gone out and killed the man who had taken John from his life. Irene had pulled herself together and managed to put her life in order. She had later helped Jack do the same thing. He really appreciated that she had shown him it was OK to live and be happy and that doing so would not betray his father's memory. He had actually smiled real smiles again after she had come into his life.

Jack loved his family very much. He loved Irene more than anything. He would give his own life for his children, just as his father had done for him, if it ever came to that.

The family returned home the following day.

When Irene woke up the next morning, she glanced out the window and saw Jack staring at his father's final resting place. She knew that he was trying to figure things out for his future.

Jack stared at the new headstones that had replaced the wooden crosses a few years ago.

"I really don't know what to do, Pa," Jack said, as if John could hear and answer him. "I love my wife and kids. I want to be sure they're cared for and have what they need. Things are just changing so much. You wouldn't recognize this country now at all. It's changing faster than a runaway train. There are all these new law-enforcement agencies that specialize in tracking down fugitives. This bounty-hunting may soon be a thing of the past. I may have to look at other options to be sure that my family are provided for. I just don't know what to do, Pa. The world that I grew up in isn't here anymore, same as the world you knew."

Jack sighed and looked aside. People were still showing up at the farm every once in a while, but most were not coming too close anymore since stories had gotten out that Jack was not happy with trespassers on his land.

Jack squatted next to the headstone and looked at it. "I wish you could tell me what to do, Pa," he said. "Right now, I feel like my brain has stopped functioning."

"No, it has not," Irene said from behind her husband. Jack looked back over his shoulder as she walked towards him. She knelt beside him and hugged him. "You just have a lot of thinking to do and some decisions to make. Whatever you decide, Jack, I am behind you one-hundred percent." She kissed his cheek. "I love you."

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