A/N - Ah, finally, here's the next chapter of Where the buffalo roam. I can't thank everyone enough for all the reviews and alerts and etc. They inspire me so much! I now have a schedual up on my homepage about updating. If you look at it you will see that every thrusday this story will be updated. :) I'll try my hardest! Please enjoy this chapter and feel free to review and what-not. Also, I was think that for Halloween (which is a while away) I could do a sort of spin off from this based on Undead Nightmare. I was thinking of calling it Where the undead roam. Clever, no? It would involve more Jack and Eva but would be in a sort of aulternative story line. Basically like the game. Would you fans like that? Leave a comment expressing your opinions if you want. :) And, again, enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not, nor will I ever own Red Dead Redemption or anything related to it. This fanfiction is purely fan made and I only own characters and places that are new. I apologise if any of this material offends any one. I assure you I don't mean to offend in any way, shape or form. This story will contain coarse language and graphic violence.

Chapter 7 – Welcome to Ridgewood farm: look but don't touch.

The next morning I woke up much the same as I did most mornings; to the roosters crow. I dressed quickly, grabbing my satchel, extra money, guns and knife and anything else I would need. I all but ran down the stairs, stopping at the bottom to listen for sounds from the kitchen. There was none. I walked outside, into the weak sunshine and looked around for anyone. I saw no one, only a few ranch hands going about their business. I decided to walk to the corral and stables to see if anyone was there. Upon arriving there I spotted Bonnie and Jack standing at the corral fence with mine and Jack's horses fully tacked, ready to go. I walked over and Bonnie spotted me. "Ah, Eva, we were just talking about you," Bonnie said, smiling. I raised an eyebrow and looked at the two suspiciously.

"Oh? You were?" Jack and Bonnie chuckled.

"Jack was just telling me about how you hit a man around the head with a bottle 'cause he thought you were a prostitute," Bonnie said, laughing. I mouthed the word "oh" and grinned. "It was an amazing tale that I might share with my Pa," Bonnie said. I paled slightly.

"I don't think it's that amazing," I said, shifting my feet. Bonnie giggled.

"Right, well, anyway, I think it's about time you two got going," she said, motioning to our horses who were currently grooming each other. I awed at the two horses and fought the urge to hug Dash. I walked over to my horse and clicked my tongue, calling Dash over. He responded by snorting and trotting over to me. I grinned and rubbed his muzzle affectionately. "You ready to go?" I asked Jack as I hugged Dash's neck. Jack nodded and mounted his horse. I quickly mounted Dash.

"Have fun you two and make sure you come back in one piece. When can I expect your return?" Bonnie asked.

Jack answered, "Well, me might end up spending the night away Miss MacFarlane." Bonnie nodded.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped," she sighed. I smiled down at her.

"Sorry Bonnie," I apologized. Bonnie waved dismissively.

"Don't go apologizing," she said. I shrugged and stroked Dash. "Well, best you get goin' then, see ya sometime," Bonnie said, waving us off.

"Good bye Bonnie," I said as I spurred Dash in the sides. Jack followed

"Good bye Miss MacFarlane," he shouted over his shoulder as we rode away, out of the ranch and to Ridgewood farm.

A few minutes later we were galloping along the dusty trail, heading towards Armadillo which could be seen looming on the horizon. My stomach began to grumble with a lack of breakfast. I hoped that the sound was drowned out by the beating of horse hooves. Unfortunately, Jack heard it clearly. "You hungry?" he asked. I blushed slightly and nodded slowly. "Err... a lil'," I answered. Jack chuckled and thumbed in his satchel for something. A few seconds later he pulled out a ruby red apple and held it out towards me. "Here, take it," he said. I reached out slowly, careful not to fall off my horse as we kept galloping and took the apple gratefully from Jack. "Thank you Jack," I said before taking a bite from the juicy fruit. I ate it quickly and threw the core away as we ran along, past Armadillo. I let Jack lead the way. I swallowed the last of the apple before speaking; "How far is Ridgewood?" I asked. Jack stayed silent for a few seconds before answering.

"It ain't too far, all we need to do is keep along this path, go left and right a bit and then we're there," he explained. I nodded and patted Dash on his warm neck.

We kept moving fast along the trail, occasionally passing other cowboys and the odd wagon or carriage. They often tipped their hats in greeting to us as they kindly moved over slightly, allowing us more room to pass. I was amazed at their politeness. We also spotted an array of wildlife; from deer's to coyotes; birds to armadillos and wild horses to snakes. We rode all the way along, past places that Jack helpfully pointed out; such as Odd fellows rest. Soon, we came to a more rocky area, where the path curved in-between the rocks. Jack slowed down and we trotted over a small hill, revealing a small ranch, with pens full of cattle and another full of horses. We trotted in and hitched our horses near a small open shed, built for weary travellers to rent out for the night. I dismounted Dash and next thing I knew Jack had pulled out two apples and handed one to me. "Here, for the horses," he said, smiling and feeding one to his horse. I took the apple and thanked him and held it out for Dot Dot Dash. Dash greedily took it and chomped away on it. I smiled and patted my horse on the neck before following Jack. We walked past the grand house and towards a large well constructed barn. Several ranch hands were walking around, some leading horse and some carrying sacks of feed. I smiled and nodded as a few tipped their hats in greeting. I jogged up to Jack's side and together we walked to the barn. Jack walked in while I peeked in, then I followed him quickly. The inside of the barn was cool and a welcoming refuge from the sun. There were several stalls, some occupied by horses, some not. One horse that caught my eye though, was a beautiful pinto. I smiled and glanced at Jack who was also looking at the horse. We walked over to the horse and noticed a man on the other side. He was busy humming to himself while he groomed the pinto. Jack cleared his throat and the man jumped, snapping his head up and peering at us over the horse's brown and white back. "Can I help you?" he asked, watching us carefully. Jack shrugged nonchalantly and gently stroked the horse's back.

"Howdy partner, I was just wondering about this beautiful stallion here. A Tobiano Pinto, if I'm correct," he said. The man nodded slowly, still watching us.

"Yes, Tuskus here is indeed a Tobiano Pinto," the man replied. I moved round to the horses head where I clicked my tongue and gently stroked his head.

"Hello boy, aren't you just the prettiest!" I giggled. The man frowned slightly and cleared his throat. I ignored him and continued to fawn over his horse.

"My name's Jack Marston and she's Eva White," Jack introduced, motioning to me when he said my name.

I nodded towards the man, "Nice to meet ya." The man watched us for a few seconds before a friendlier look spread across his face.

"Well, Jack Marston and Eva White, I'm Johnny Newland, I'm a stable boy here," he introduced.

"Nice to meet ya Johnny," Jack said. Johnny suddenly narrowed his eyes at Jack.

"Say, what you wanna see my horse for?" he asked. Jack slipped his thumbs in the belt loops of his jeans and took on a casual look.

"Well, a friend of mine has expressed interest in this horse," he said. Johnny's face hardened and his eyes narrowed even more to snake like slits.

"What kind of interest?" he asked lowly.

Jack shrugged, "Well, she says that this here horse is for sale." Johnny snorted.

"Sale? Yes my horse is for sale, but he ain't cheap, certainly not in the price range of people like you," he sneered, scanning Jack up and down. I frowned and moved away from the horses head and besides Jack. "What do you mean 'people like us'?" I asked sourly. "In case you didn't guess, we're both ranch hands too, of course we do the odd bounty hunting job here and there, but I'm pretty sure we make more than you!" Johnny's face slackened a little and twisted into a look of doubt. Jack gently laid a large hand on my shoulder. "How much for the horse?" he asked, getting down to business. Johnny looked thoughtful for a minute before replying, "$2000," he said after the pause. I mentally gasped but my eyes visibly widened. $2000 for a horse! I didn't think the horse was this darn special! Jack was apparently thinking along the same lines. "$2000? Now come on friend, I'm sure the horse ain't worth that much," he said, trying to reason. Johnny flicked his nose up.
"What would you know; this horse is worth every damn cent!" I frowned and pouted slightly. Now how are we gonna get the horse?

The barn was filled with a tense silence as Jack and I stood trying to bargain with Johnny. I resorted to staring the man down in some vague and delusional hope that he would back down and give the horse to us for free. So far my plan was failing. Johnny was staring right back at me. It was Jack who spoke first. "How about I win the horse off ya?" Jack suggested. Johnny looked hesitant.

"What do you propose?" he asked.

"How about a duel? Or a card game? Somethin' like that."

"Well, I do enjoy a game of five finger fillet every now an' again." Johnny paused and mulled over the proposal. "Fine then, if you can beat me in a game of five finger fillet then you can have the horse for half price." I tightened my hands into fists. Even then it's $1,000! Jack held out his hand.

"Deal?" Jack asked. Johnny shook it.

"Deal," Johnny answered. He smirked and moved towards the stallions head. He began to stroke the horse affectionately. "Come back in half an hour and I'll have a place set up for us," Johnny smirked. Jack nodded, turned and began walking out of the barn. I quickly followed him. I didn't speak until we were out under the golden sunshine. "Five finger fillet, is that where you have a knife and have to stab in-between your fingers?" I asked. Jack nodded.

"I'm afraid so," he said. "I was kinda hoping he'd agree to a duel to be honest." I tightened my bun while humming.

"I'm guessing you don't like five finger fillet?" I asked. Jack shrugged and walked over to a nearby fence.

"I don't hate it, I just prefer not chopping off one of my fingers," he answered as he sat on the fence. I plopped down on the dusty ground. "It ain't exactly my strong point." I sighed and shielded my eyes from the sun.

"But you can still do it okay? Well enough to beat Johnny?"

"I'm not too sure, we know nothin' about this guy, he could be an expert for all we know." We both sat in silence for a while, under the hot blazing sun.

20 minutes later and I had almost fallen asleep. I had fallen backwards onto the ground and laid a hand over my face and dozed off. Had it not been for Jack laughing at me and telling me it was time to go meet Johnny I would have happily laid there all gosh darn day. I sighed and got up, dusting off my jeans. Jack and I walked to the barn and upon walking inside we saw a small crowd of men gathered around an upturned wooden crate. On either side of the crate sat two wooden chairs and in one sat Johnny, a confident smirk creeping across his face. "Ah, Mr Marston, I've been waiting for you!" he cheered. I frowned and all but glared at the men who chuckled. Jack pulled out the empty chair and sat in it. "Let's get this over with, we ain't got all day," he muttered. Johnny chuckled and pulled out some money.
"$100," he said, slamming the money down on the crate. Jack looked through his own satchel before pulling out $100 and placing it on the crate, next to Johnny's. Johnny was the first one to pick up the large knife that was stuck into the wood. He gripped the handle tightly and stated off fairly slowly. He stabbed the knife down in-between each outstretched finger. He did it perfectly, earning a cheer. After he finished he held the knife out for Jack to take. Jack took it and held it ready. He stretched his hand out as wide as it would go and began to jab the knife down between each finger. He successfully completed the round. The men around us cheered and I found myself shooting them annoyed glances. Johnny smirked at Jack and took the knife, but quickly shot me a suspicious look, a look like the one he wore earlier. I stared back and eventually, after what seemed like minutes but was only a few seconds, he tore his eyes back down to the knife clasped in his hand and spread out his hand. He repeated the movement of stabbing but much quicker this time. It was getting harder. The men cheered as he finished. Jack snatched the knife from Johnny and took his own turn, successfully completing it. This continued for a while, each round getting faster and more dangerous.

Ten minutes had felt like ten hours in the barn. It was relatively cooler than outside in the midday heat but I found myself wanting to be anywhere else than that barn. By now they were stabbing the knife impossibly fast; faster than I cared to try. I found myself slowly progressing outwards, being shoved aside by the other men. I sighed as the game was blocked from my view. I looked around the barn and found no other life; except for the beautiful Tobiano Pinto stallion. I glanced back at the game and decided that they were all too busy to notice if I petted the stallion. I walked over with a growing gin and held my hand out for the stallion to sniff. He nickered softly and gently nuzzled my hand. I softly talked to the horse and I began to stroke the beautiful creature. The stallion snorted causing me to giggle as dust rose into the air. I then understood why Cara was interested in this horse; he was beautiful and I knew that Tobiano Pinto's were very good natured horses as well as having a good stamina. I reasoned with myself mentally; Cara is gonna be one lucky girl once she gets this horse. I patted the horse on the withers and picked a stray piece of straw from his coal black mane. It was then that a gruff and angry voice cut through the dusty barn air. "Oi! Get away from that horse!"

I snapped my head towards the men and found them all staring at me. I stared back wide eyed and innocently at them. "What?" I asked. I heard a clatter of a knife and saw Johnny rise from his seat, his hand bleeding. "Get away from my darn horse!" he snapped, a furious look coming over his features. I backed away from the stallion with my hands up. "What, so now I ain't allowed to touch him?" I asked, my eyebrow raised. Johnny stormed forward.

"You were gonna steal him, weren't ya?" he asked, seething. I frowned.

"No, I was not," I answered. Johnny shook his head and behind him Jack rose from his seat, his own hand bleeding slightly.

"What the hell! Ya stupid wench!" Johnny hissed. He advanced towards me with a wild look in his eye. I frowned and stepped back, preparing myself to fight. Johnny raised his hand in the air; it turned to a fist in the process. I flinched slightly and prepared to block the hit. I knew I wasn't terribly good at blocking but I tried my best. I waited for the blow but Johnny's wrist was grabbed by a hand. I relaxed slightly as I noticed that the hand lead down to a white button shirt and beige jacket sleeve. I mentally cheered. "I wouldn't do that if I was you, friend," Jack said behind Johnny. I moved around Johnny so I could clearly see Jack. He did not look happy. Johnny ripped his wrist from Jack and turned around, his characteristic suspicious and untrusting look spreading across his face. "How do I know ya weren't gonna steal my horse?" he asked, his eyes narrowed like snake eyes.

"Trust me, we weren't," Jack answered forcefully. It was clear he had the upper hand. Johnny stared at us for a few seconds longer, some of the other men shifting uncomfortably. "Look, partner, I suggest we finish our game, before someone gets hurt," Jack said. Johnny stared at him before taking a defiant step back.

"You think I'm gonna let you have my horse now? You must be stupider than I thought." I gritted my teeth and felt my hands tighten to fists. Before I had any chance to comprehend my next movements, I had grabbed Johnny by the scruff of his shirt. "Now, you listen, and you listen carefully. We need this horse and you are going to give us this horse, whether you like it or not," I growled. A look of shock spread across Johnny's face before it was replaced with a slightly shaken glare.

"What if I don't give ya the horse?" he asked, but froze as I pressed the end of my Schofield revolver into his stomach.

"I blow your stomach right open," I said, glaring at him and daring the pale, frightened man in front of me. Johnny gulped slowly, his adam's apple bobbing before he nodded slowly. "O-only if ya pay me... $1,000..." I pressed the gun harder into his gut. "I-I mean, $500..." he trailed off as I smiled.

"That's much better," I said as I released his shirt and stepped away from him. I holstered my revolver and glanced at the other men. All were staring at us and looked edgy. I was secretly glad that none of them had decided to pull their guns on us. I knew Jack and I were both able gunmen (woman in my case) but we were clearly out numbered. I reached into my satchel and produced $500. "Here," I said handing it to Johnny. He took it quickly and backed away, his frightened look being took over by a suspicious one again. I sighed and turned to Jack who was watching the other men carefully. "I hope this hasn't affected our welcome at the ranch," Jack said. The men shook their heads no. "No, no, ya'll still welcomed here, 'specially since we have a lot of horse breaking jobs," a man answered. Jack and I nodded and I walked towards the stallion. I un-hitched him and held his reins, walking him out of the barn. "See you gentlemen later," I called back over my shoulder. The barn remained silent.

"You okay? Your hands bleeding," I asked as Jack and I walked away from the barn. Jack's hand only had small cuts on it and was bleeding a little, not as much as Johnny's was. Jack chuckled. "My hand's fine," he answered. "But I'm afraid I don't think you should come places with me anymore." I froze and my heart skipped a beat, I also faulted. "W-what? Why?" I asked, gaping at him. Jack burst out laughing at me and I was extremely confused. Was I missing something?

"Yeah, I'm afraid you might take all my action," Jack said in-between laughs. I calmed down and realised that Jack was only joking. I shot him a playful glare.

"Well, what do you expect? Being all yellow bellied like that," I said. Jack stopped laughing.

"Hey! I ain't yellow bellied!" he protested. I grinned at him and jogged off with the stallion, him trotting alongside me.

"Hurry it up, yellow belly!" I shouted back over my shoulder with a smile. Jack chuckled and shook his head, but quickly caught up with me. I walked the stallion over, letting him greet Dash and Jack's horse. The horses nuzzled and I asked Jack for some rope. "Could I have some rope to lasso the horse?" I asked. "Then we can get going to Armadillo, finally." Jack handed me a lasso and I slipped it over the Pinto's neck. I mounted Dash and tied the rope to the horn of my saddle. I clicked my tongue and trotted off, Jack following behind me. "Let's go!" I shouted, moving the horses into a fast canter as we moved out into the wilderness and towards Armadillo.

We arrived at Armadillo and walked the horses to the hitching posts. We hitched them and went into the saloon, looking for Cara. Finally, I thought. Finally we can get some answers. We walked in to an almost empty saloon. There were a few prostitutes milling around and they perked up as soon as their heavily made up eyes locked onto Jack. I shifted uncomfortably and Jack caught this. "Don't worry," he said lowly, leaning down near me. "They don't bite." I rolled my eyes.

"Better not do, I don't want any diseases." Jack and I walked over to the barman who chuckled at seeing us again.

"Welcome back you two," he said, grinning at us. "Here to see Cara again? Or have ya came for the drinks?" Jack nodded politely.

"We're here to see Cara again, I'm afraid." The barman laughed.

"Right this way, right this way," he said, motioning for us to follow him back behind the bar and into the rooms behind. He led us to the same room as before and left us at the door. I glanced at Jack as he walked forward and pushed the door open; revealing a cluster of woman sat giggling. It was almost a replay of yesterday. I immediately spotted Cara, and she spotted us. "Oh, well look who it is!" she cried, rising from her perch on the couch. Her clothing was even more revealing today. "How nice of you two to come back!" she cooed.

"Well, we did promise you a horse miss," Jack said politely. She giggled and leaned forward slightly.

"Yes, you two did. So? Have you got him?" she asked. I nodded.

"He's outside," I said. Immediately Cara squealed and rushed past us, almost skipping out of the room and into the main part of the saloon.

The woman had trotted past everyone, flicking her golden curls around her like a show pony. Who knew she would be this excited? Jack and I followed behind her and soon the three of us had walked out of the saloon and onto the landing. Cara's made up eyes scanned the hitching posts and she squealed with delight. "Oh my!" she cried as she ran over to the stallion's side. "Oh my goodness! I didn't think you would actually get him! My oh my, he's so beautiful!" she cooed. She hugged the horse around his neck and mumbled words into his mane. Jack and I stood side by side watching the delighted woman. After a few more moments she withdrew herself from its neck and turned to us, an unstoppable grin on her face. "Well, this certainly deserves some answers, doesn't it?" she said, strutting towards us again. I nodded and spoke, "So, did someone come in and ask for you specifically?" She laughed and leaned casually against the wooden rail.

"Well, honey lots of people do that." I frowned and folded my arms.

"If you're just gonna play us around-"

"Calm down, no need to get your panties in a twist," she interjected, giggling. "I was jus' havin' a little fun. Now, there was this man, who came in with a piece of paper suspiciously like the one you showed me."

"What did he look like? What was his name? Did he tell you anything? What did he want to see you for?" Again, Cara laughed at my eagerness and fanned her hand.

"He said his name was, if I remember it correctly, George Abraham. He was an interesting fellow, awful nervous and edgy. He came to me and said a friend of his had recommended me. I was awfully flattered!" She laid a hand on her chest and grinned cheekily at Jack. I audibly sighed. Cara only giggled. "Anyway, he said he wanted my services for the night, to give him a break. Now, I was curious as to why he was so edgy and I asked him a few questions."

"Like what?" Jack asked. Cara waved her hand nonchalantly.

"Just stuff like why he was so nervous. He said he was a man living life on the edge, said he used to work up at that mine in Gaptooth Breach 'till he left after he got the one of their wives pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Jack muttered. I cocked my head in confusion.

"I suppose that's a reason to leave... But why tell you that?" Cara raised an eyebrow at my statement.

"No, I mean, why tell a prostitute all this stuff about you when you're gonna be gone the next day," I explained. Jack nodded slowly, his brain at work. Cara shrugged and began to inspect her painted nails. "I don't know. He was a tad drunk and I think he jus' wanted a shoulder to cry on. Anyway... The next mornin' he had upped and vanished, 'course I thought nothin' of it. Then, few days later you two strangers turn up asking about him." As she finished her story we all stood in silence for a spell, listening to the sounds of Armadillo. Jack was the first to speak. "Thank you Miss, your information has helped us a lot."

"Oh, shush, you're makin' me blush," Cara cooed, her cheeks the same colour as they were before, no hint of a blush. "I guess I should get back inside now, don't want to keep my customers waitin'." She pushed off from the wooden rail and began to walk towards the saloon doors. As she reached them she glanced back over her shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want a quickie?" she asked 'innocently'. Jack shook his head.

"I'm OK miss," he turned down politely. She laughed and flicked her curls.

"Eva must be doin' a fine job then," she said before she disappeared into the bar. I flinched and snapped towards her.

"What's that supposed to mean!" I demanded but unfortunately she had left. I held my glare a few seconds longer but sighed and relaxed a little. No point in getting riled up. We've got our information so I doubt we'll see her any time soon. I looked up at Jack who was gazing out at the slowly setting sun.

I watched the world pass with him for a few minutes before talking. I was itchin' to voice my thoughts. "So, what do we do now?" I asked. Jack paused before answering. "You know Eva, I'm not too sure."

"Do we go tell Marshal Arrington?"

"I think that's about all we can do," Jack sighed. "We ain't got anything particularly special on our hands. Just some dumb guy who was careless and runnin' from a bunch of angry miners who eventually found him and killed him." I nodded slowly as Jack stood up straight and stretched.

"But... What if we hunted down these miners and brought them to justice," I suggested, my mind once again hatching some form of a plan. Jack chuckled and nudged me as he began walking towards the sheriff's office. "You just wanna go on a bounty hunt," he said, seeing right through me. I gasped and mock pouted.

"Jack Marston, I can't believe you are accusing me of lying," I said, following after him. He chuckled at my childish actions.

"I ain't accusing 'cause it's true."

"Oh... But please. We told Bonnie we'd most likely be spendin' the night away from the ranch so why not go on a hunt for these miners?" I begged. I was dying to explore the wild frontier and so I had resorted to begging the man before me. Jack rolled his eyes and stopped in the middle of the road to look at me. I clasped my hands together and gave him the cutest look I could muster, using the setting sun to give me an angelic glow. "Please Jack, please." I watched as his resolve wavered slightly in his eyes. "I don't know... If anything was to happen to you, Bonnie would..." he trailed off as I forced tears into my eyes. This had to work; I wanted to explore the New Austin wilderness awful bad. Jack stared at me before sighing and taking his hat off his head. He ran a hand through his brown hair and sighed again. "Alright, we can try findin' these miners," he grumbled, caving in to my requests. I grinned and jumped slightly on the spot. "Thank you so much!" I laughed, wanting to hug Jack but I held back. Instead, I grabbed his elbow and dragged him off towards the Marshal. "Let's get cracking then!"