Buck and Jimmy mounted the front porch and Buck reached for the doorknob but Jimmy grabbed his hand.

"Whoa, you don't want to do that yet."

Buck looked confused as Jimmy pounded on the door and called loud enough to be heard in the house.

"Melody, it's okay honey!"

He then turned to Buck.

"If I know my Mel, she was barricaded in the bedroom with a shotgun. Best to be safe."

The two entered the house to see Melody exiting the bedroom as Jimmy had predicted. Buck approached as if to hug her but stopped as something swiped his leg. He looked down to see Borje growling with his hair raised.

"Jimmy, what is that thing?"

Mel scooped up Borje who was pleasant as could be once he was held by her.

"That's Mel's cat, Borje. He used to be our cat Borje but he's gotten funny the last couple of weeks. He won't hardly let me near her either. He used to be a real nice cat."

"He still is, to me," Melody cooed at the kitty in her arms, "Aren't you, my fuzzy little sweetie-pie?"

She continued over to the front door and put the cat out for the night where he could get his fill of mouse hunting. Turning around she addressed their guest.

"Buck Cross, is it good to see you!" she exclaimed as she embraced him and planted a small peck on his cheek, "What brings you to our humble home?"

"Um…I…" Buck wasn't sure at all how to answer until Jimmy spoke up.

"Buck says I have trouble headed my way. I don't know details yet but he rode out here to warn me."

"Not just to warn, I'm here to help however I can. We're going to be outnumbered but…" he paused because now he wasn't sure if he'd said too much or something wrong. He knew there had still been some secrets that Jimmy kept when they left Rock Creek and he couldn't say he blamed his friend for wanting to keep those things secret but then Jimmy finished his sentence.

"But we've been outnumbered before. It's okay Buck. I don't fear the truth anymore."

Melody looked more uncomfortable than she normally would. Jimmy didn't seem to notice but Buck did and it concerned him some. He really didn't want to be the one to cause a rift between these two. Before he could speak further to Melody, she stood up and then wobbled a bit. Jimmy caught her and held her steady until she could keep herself upright.

"I guess I must have stood up too fast," she quickly said, as an excuse, "I'm feeling quite tired so I think I'll just put some coffee on for the two of you and there's still most of that pie from dinner as well."

Buck jumped up as well.

"I'll help you, Melody."

Once in the kitchen, Buck spoke low so as not to be heard in the sitting room.

"He doesn't know yet, does he?"

"How did you—"

"It's not hard for someone who's paying attention. I respect you and know you need to deal with something like this in your own way but I'm asking as a friend to Jimmy. Please tell him and soon. He needs to know before these men come."

"I will. I promise. What do these men want with Jimmy?"

"Revenge."

From his spot in the next room, Jimmy could see Mel and Buck and in a less secure point, he might have imagined all sorts of horrible things from their hushed tones and furtive glances around but he just couldn't find jealousy anywhere in his being. The two came out of the kitchen with an obvious secret between them. He wouldn't ask what it was though…after all he had concealed and for so long, Mel was owed the right to her secrets. She gave Buck another hug, kissing him on the cheek and whispering something in his ear that Jimmy couldn't hear.

"Goodnight Buck, I'll see you tomorrow, won't I?"

"Of course, Mel. I rode ahead because I could get here faster but I'm not going back to Rock Creek until this is all over."

Satisfied, Melody turned her attention to her husband who had stood to approach her. The kiss she gave to him was no chaste peck on the cheek; it wasn't even a kiss that would normally have been shared in front of another. It was an impassioned kiss of a woman desperate to hold onto her world and believing somehow if she could just love this man enough, show her love enough, that he would somehow be safe. When she pulled away, eyes shining, she reached up and laid her fingers gently on his cheek.

"Good night my darling. I love you so."

"I love you too. Get some sleep, I won't be long."

Melody walked toward the bedroom with a reluctance that screamed that she was afraid somehow if she left the room and let him out of her sight, she'd never see him again. Soon, however, she was in her nightgown and in bed reading by her bedside lamp. Or rather, she was pretending to read though she wasn't sure who the pretense was for as she was alone in bed. It seemed strange, she'd not been alone in bed since the night before they'd wed.

In the sitting room, Buck and Jimmy spoke earnestly about the approaching threat. Buck resisted the urge to spill Melody's secret; it was hers to tell, not his and he certainly didn't want to steal that from her.

"So, who's coming for me?"

"There's a gang of former slave owners heading here, they know the work your father did and your work with Rosemary and Isaiah Burke. Not to mention that your work with the Underground Railroad isn't exactly a secret. I couldn't believe it when I heard. The war is over, slavery was abolished."

"Buck, for some people, the war will never be over. To a lot of those, abolishing slavery is like abolishing owning horses, they don't look at people with different color skin as people, and you should know that."

Buck gave half a sad smile in answer that he did know this.

"You said you rode ahead," Jimmy began, "Others are coming?"

"We didn't know what kind of help you had here."

"I have a sixteen year old deputy who's knee deep in his first love."

Buck grimaced.

"I guess it's a good thing the rest are coming."

"The rest?"

"Teaspoon, Kid, Lou—Kid tried to stop her but she insisted on leaving the kids with Rachel and she's on her way. And word got to Cody, somehow. He sent a telegram that he's on his way too. I don't know where he was or what he was doing but he's coming here. He said he'd be in sometime tomorrow afternoon."

"Helluva time for a family reunion. I have to say I'd much rather get together with you folks around the Christmas table."

"Yeah, me too.

"Another time, I wouldn't have let you come and do this, wouldn't have wanted the rest of you risking your lives for me. I still don't like it but that woman in there doesn't deserve to be a widow either."

"That's why we're coming. You didn't think it was because of you, did you?"

Jimmy laughed and for just a moment he was returned to an easier time. It was the two of them sitting in the bunkhouse playing cards or just shooting the breeze. He treasured how full his life was now but a hard lesson was hitting him between the eyes. The more you have, the more you have to lose. Buck seemed to understand and tried to steer the topics of conversation to memories of the good times the riders had shared. They laughed over much of it.

"Remember when we found out Lou was a girl?" asked Buck.

"I'll never forget it. I was standing there while he—I still thought she was a he—confronted his father and the man said he had two daughters and she said, 'You still do.' You could have knocked me over with a feather right then. It's funny, if you'd asked any of us before we signed up about working with a woman, we'd have argued all over that we wouldn't do it but once we found out, it just didn't seem to matter."

"I know. Well, we did a lot of growing and learning back then, usually the hard way. Let's hope your young deputy doesn't have the same taste in first loves as you did."

"I'll have you know Sarah wasn't my first love but she was a first."

"That," Buck laughed, "Explains a whole lot."

"Doesn't explain how Teaspoon still has a hair left on his head. I just had to have a talk with my deputy, Matt about girls. His daddy's passed on and he looks to me. He's going to drive me to an early grave."

"Well, Teaspoon was smarter than you are."

"There's a whole lot of truth there. So, how are Lou and Kid doing?"

"Well, you heard that she lost a baby a few months ago?"

Jimmy nodded.

"That was real hard on her. She's a great mother, you know that and for her to think of one not being there, well, she was devastated. She's doing better now though. I think they still want another one."

"I would say at least one more if I know those two. Their boys are, what, two and four now?"

"Exactly. So Rachel is going to have her hands full for a few days."

"Is it really going to be that different from taking care of Teaspoon?"

Buck laughed but there was a serious tone to it.

"He's really slowin' down, Jimmy. I'm the deputy but he doesn't do much anymore. I think this is his one last hurrah before he hangs up the belt for good this time."

Jimmy would have liked to have protested and said how Teaspoon had a lot more years in him but he knew it wasn't true. He knew that Teaspoon was moving a bit more deliberately even before he and Melody left Rock Creek. He supposed that Teaspoon was even considering the possibility that he'd die here defending Jimmy. The thought made him sad but as much as he'd like to stop his mentor from being in the fight, he knew they'd need Teaspoon's gun and that if the old man was going to go out, he'd prefer to go out in a blaze of glory.

Jimmy and Buck shared somber looks and then Jimmy stood up.

"I guess I'd better turn in, tomorrow is going to be a busy day."

"I'll see you in the morning, Jimmy."

Jimmy quietly entered his darkened bedroom and tried to undress without waking Melody. What he didn't know was that she was wide awake and had only put out the lamp when she heard him coming to bed. He slid into bed and drew himself up close to her back. He snaked his arms around her and inhaled the sweet smell of her hair.

"Jimmy?"

Her voice startled him a bit.

"Of course. You go back to sleep, everything's fine."

"Jimmy, we need to talk."

So who knows Melody's secret (besides me, Buck and Mel)? It shouldn't be that hard to figure. Okay, sorry for the delay in updating...to quote the bad guy mom from The Goonies: "Kids suck." Yup, sometimes they do and sometimes being a parent sucks even harder. Ha, just watched the Goonies tonight...funny to see Josh Brolin...he was so young. I know he was all of 21 or so when he did TYR but he was like 16 or 17 in Goonies. What a baby face. Once again, I am taking serious liberties with James Hickok...I figured that if we are dealing with the Jimmy from the show, he would have smuggled people on the UR. Especially after Noah died...it would be almost like a tribute to Noah and to Rosemary...cuz even within my story, I think he still cared a great deal for her when she died...I don't...but that's just me. This chapter was harder because I didn't know the threat at first but I do now so the rest is all mapped out...don't know how much more there will be...thinking four, maybe five more chapters...I think...and then we'll see if everyone wants an epilogue...that will be up to you all when I am done...I have that mapped out as well. The characters tell me things...many things...You know I love every single one of my dear, sweet readers...those who review and those who just read...I know you are out there and following along and you make me happy!-J