The next day, after some much needed rest, Ashley went out into town, determined to meet the rest of the "Magnificent Seven", though she didn't really know what the rest of them looked like or where they would be.

Fortunately, she ran into JD in the process.

JD was shocked by the beauty of the girl standing in front of him. She was gorgeous, to say the least. Not like any girl JD had ever seen before…well…except Casey, of course.

"Hi" he said, after literally bumping into Ashley "You're Ezra's daughter, right?"

"Guilty as charged" she replied, with a breathtaking smile "I'm Ashley Standish. You are…?"

"JD Dunne" he replied "I'm one of Ezra's friends"

"Oh!" Ashley said "You're one of the Seven?"

JD nodded proudly "That I am"

"I was just about to go and introduce myself" Ashley said "Can you help me? I don't know what anyone looks like"

JD shrugged. "Sure" he said "But, why doesn't Ezra help you?"

"I think he's still asleep" Ashley said "I didn't want to wake him"

"Oh" JD replied "Well, then, let's go!"

&&&&&

Judge Travis was more than happy to absolve Ashley of the charges against her. He knew that Ashley was innocent; he had known that all along. River Larson hadn't come up with any condemning evidence, just mere talk. So, the day after Ashley arrived in Four Corners, he had a private meeting with her, to get her side of the story, and then, once his suspicions were confirmed, took the charges off of her.

Ashley's first week in Four Corners seemed to go by quickly. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because she had found a new family.

Ashley was able to make unbreakable bonds with the rest of the Seven and her father's other friends – Mary Travis and her son Billy, Inez Recillos, and Casey Wells – very quickly.

"Ash, tell us what happened the night that River Larson was beaten" Chris said, about a week after he and Vin had brought Ashley into town and after Ashley was absolved of the charges against her

"I was walking home from town" Ashley replied "I noticed something out of the corner of my eye and I stopped. Then, all of a sudden, River rushed at me. He was trying to take my money"

"Were you hurt?" Ezra asked

"No" Ashley replied "But, I did hurt him"

"Is there a reason why River would want to steal from you?" Nathan asked

"No" Ashley said, shaking her head "He's one of the richest people in Rock Falls. He and his brother, Kyle, have a ton of money"

She paused for a moment.

"I think this has something to do with something that happened a few nights before the beating" Ashley said "Something that I ended up finding"

"What was it?" JD asked

Ashley paused for a moment, looking at Ezra. "It was something of my mother's"

Ezra stiffened as his eyes went wide. "Your mother's?"

"Can we tell them?" Ashley asked "About how Mom was…?"

Ezra thought for a moment, nodded, and looked away, not able to look at his friends anymore. Ashley took in a deep breath.

"My mother didn't just die" she said "She was murdered during a robbery"

The rest of the Seven gasped. Ashley noticed that Chris looked particularly angry. She knew why, of course. She knew everything about what happened after the Seven came to be.

"I found my mother's jewelry box" Ashley said "It was hidden in a well behind the Larson Ranch. The jewelry was gone, of course. That's probably why the Larson's are so rich. After finding this evidence, I think that River and Kyle were the ones who killed my mother"

"Why didn't the Larson Brothers get rid of the box?" Vin asked

Ashley shrugged. "They're not the smartest people you'll ever meet"

"So, you think that River was trying to get you in trouble so that you'd be killed?" Chris asked

Ashley nodded. "I think that they know what I saw"

"We have to tell the judge" JD said "We have to get them behind bars!"

"We need more evidence" Buck said "Before we go to the judge, we have to try and get that box out of the well!"

"Why, if they know that Ashley knows about the box, wouldn't they have gotten rid of it by now?" Nathan asked "It makes no sense to keep it now"

"If they did try to get rid of it, they probably buried it somewhere" Ashley said. She turned to Ezra. "It was the one Mom won at the fair. The metal one"

Ezra nodded, looking up at his friends again. "So, burying it would be the only way to destroy it, if they moved it from the well"

Ashley nodded. "Exactly"

Ashley paused for a moment. "I need to tell you all something" she said "Something I've never told anyone before"

"You ok, Ashley?" Josiah asked, noticing the worried look on Ashley's face

Ashley nodded. "You know about the robbery…?"

"Yeah" Chris said, with a nod

"But, you don't know about the witness to the robbery and murder"

"Who is it?" Ezra asked "Do you know who it is?"

Ashley nodded.

"Tell us!" JD said "We need to know"

"Me"

There was a pause.

"What?" Ezra asked, not sure if he heard correctly

"The witness is me" Ashley said, trying not to cry "I witnessed my mother's murder"

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