42 - Cowboys & Courtship

by Bluebird0032

Rees and Isaac settle into the rhythm of life at the ranch as Isaac continues to pursue his courtship with Elizabeth. A visit from one of Isaac's relatives, however, stirs up trouble.

Cowboys & Courtship

The sound of the rooster's crow roused Mark early the morning of July first. Yawning, he stretched his tall frame as he opened his eyes and saw the light pouring in through the bedroom window. Mark turned to drape his arm over his wife, but realized she wasn't there. Worried that he had somehow overslept, Mark frantically turned over to read the clock on the nightstand, breathing a sigh of relief when he realized it was only a few minutes after five. After lying in bed for a few more minutes, Mark pulled himself out from underneath the covers and got dressed before heading to the kitchen. Cassie wasn't anywhere to be seen, but a pot of coffee was brewing on the stove and an almost empty cup of tea sat on the table. Mark walked out onto the back porch and realized that the door to the barn was ajar. He crossed the yard and entered the building to see his wife sitting on the milking stool, her back towards him, milking the cow.

"What are you doing out here?"

Mark saw his wife jump, then relax as she recognized his voice. But she didn't reply.

"Cass?" Mark walked up beside Cassie and saw a look on her face that he couldn't identify. "What's wrong?"

"...Please don't sneak up on me like that."

"I'm sorry; I wasn't trying to. ...Cassie, what's the matter?"

"I'm fine."

Having completed her task, Cassie stood and started to walk towards the barn door. However, Mark took the milk pail from her and set it aside before putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Talk to me, Cass. What's wrong? Are you feeling alright? You look exhausted."

"I'll be alright… I just…" Cassie let out a deep breath. "I just couldn't sleep last night."

"What's bothering you?"

"...Mark, I love you. I know you just want to help, but I need some space. ...I need some time without you asking me questions… I don't want to talk about it."

Mark stood there for a long moment, struggling with what his wife had said.

"...If you need anything… Cass, please know that I'm here for you."

"...I know."

Husband and wife quietly walked back to the house, Cassie soon returning to the barn for the basket of eggs as Mark went to check on the boys. While Matthew still lay sound asleep, Daniel sat up as soon as the bedroom door opened.

"Well, you're up a little early, aren't you?"

"When you get 'ome?"

"It wasn't until long after you had fallen asleep. I was working on a case and didn't realize how late it was."

"Me 'elp chores?"

"I would let you, but your Ma beat both of us to it."

Mark carried Daniel to the dresser before setting him down on top of it and finding his son clothes for the day.

"Mama better?"

"Better? What do you mean?"

"Mama cried."

"When? Last night?"

Daniel nodded.

"Do you know why she was crying?"

"She sad."

Mark let out a heavy sigh, trying to figure out how to get more information from his son.

"Do you know what made her sad?"

"She say she not sad, but she cried. ...Was me bad?"

"I don't know," Mark replied, raising his eyebrows. "Were you?"

"Me try be good."

"Good."

After Mark got Daniel dressed, he let his son hop on his back and carried him to the kitchen. As they entered the room, Daniel happily greeted his mother.

"Hi Mama!"

"Good morning, sweetheart."

"Me not sweet'art! Me partner!"

"Well you may be your Pa's partner," Cassie replied, cupping Daniel's face in her hands and giving him a kiss, "But you'll always be my sweetheart."

"Guess I've got some competition to watch out for," Mark light-heartedly commented.

"Papa, me 'elp you today?"

"I wish I could take you with me, but I've got a big case to finish working on."

"But me be good! Me 'elp you!"

"I'm going to be all over town today, not just at the office. Sorry, Partner."

"...Do you think you'll be late coming home again?" Cassie hesitantly asked.

"I'm going to do everything I can to be home early, but no promises. Don't wait on me for supper."

As Cassie finished making breakfast, Mark and Daniel set the table. Throughout the course of the meal, Daniel continued to ask Mark question after question. When he finally simmered down, there was a brief silence before Cassie broke it in a quiet voice.

"Mark… our two months are almost up. ...What are we going to do?"

"...I honestly haven't thought about it. Things have been so busy at the office… I haven't really had the time to think about it."

"...There's not that much time left."

"I know, I'll figure something out."

"When? You're consumed with all your work at the office all day and by the time you get home… you hardly have the energy to say hello before you go to bed."

"Cass, don't worry, it'll all work out."

"If you say so…"

Mark watched as Cassie stood and started carrying the dishes to the sink. He got up from his chair and walked up behind her.

"Hey, now what's that supposed to mean?"

Turning around, Cassie replied, "I mean it's not just the two of us anymore, Mark. We have two boys that need food on the table and a roof over their heads. We're going to need a place to live in just a few short weeks and it doesn't seem to bother you at all that we have no idea what we're going to do!"

"I told you, I'll figure something out. You don't need to worry about it."

"Well I am worried about it! I have nothing to do all day besides worry about it!"

"Is this what was bothering you earlier this morning?"

"I already told you I didn't want to talk about that, and don't change the subject! This is serious!"

"I know how serious it is, Cassie! I'm doing the best I can! I'll have something figured out by the time I finish with the Pinkertons!"

"Something? Mark, we need to figure out more than, 'Something!' You need a job, we need a home, I need food to cook! There are a lot of somethings we need to figure out!"

"Cassie, for the last time, I'll handle it! I just have too much going on right now!"

"Too much? Too much? You think your family is too much?"

"That's not what I mean and you know it!"

"I'm not so sure I do!"

Mark turned and started towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To work!"

Slamming the kitchen door behind him, Mark let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head. As he walked to the barn to saddle Sergeant, Mark suddenly realized and regretted that Daniel had heard their whole argument.

Kicking himself, Mark finished getting his horse ready and headed to the office.

"Surprised to see you here so early," Gordon commented as Mark walked through the door.

"Surprised you're here at all," Mark answered, avoiding the insinuated question. "How's the leg?"

"Fine, fine… figured I could start giving you a little more help around here, especially with the Walton case."

"Yeah, I'll take any help I can get on that one… I keep hitting a bunch of dead ends."

"Well what have you got so far?"

The two men spent all day chasing down leads. It was nearing eight o'clock that night when a new thought suddenly stuck Mark.

"Gordon, what do you think the chances are…"

"The chances are…?"

"Mrs. Walton left town the day before the burglary for her father's funeral, right?"

"Right…?"

"What if there was no funeral?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Everyone I've talked to said that Mr. and Mrs. Walton have been… at odds, to say the least."

"What are you saying?"

"When I searched the house, Mrs. Walton's wardrobe was understandably bare… or so I thought. But she shouldn't have needed to take things like a winter coat or any dresses she had for special occasions like a ball… and we know they were well to do enough to have those types of items."

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?"

"It's not like she would have gotten anything if they went through the official divorce process. If she left him, I'm sure she wanted her money's worth."

"Just how do you plan on proving this? You forget that she was at a funeral when it happened."

"That's where she told her husband she was going. But how do we know that? I'm going to make a few calls."

Gordon waited in the front office as Mark went to the back room. Fifteen minutes later, Mark returned with a satisfied grin on his face.

"No funeral?"

"Oh, there was a funeral, she just wasn't there. I rang over to the stage depot and it turns out that Mrs. Walton bought a ticket for Waitsburg the day of the robbery. How do you feel about watching the office tomorrow?"

"Well of course I can handle it, but what's your plan?"

"Do what I was hired to do; find the thief."

"And if she isn't in Waitsburg?"

"I'll figure something…" Mark's voice trailed off as he remembered the argument with his wife that morning.

"Mark?"

"...I'll figure something out. ...It's getting pretty late, there's nothing else we can do tonight… I'm going to head home."

"Something bothering you?"

"No, I'm fine. Have a good night."

Mark left the office and headed home, doing the evening chores before walking inside. As he entered the kitchen, Mark was concerned to find Cassie bracing herself against the sink, tears streaming down her face.

"Cass? Cassie?" Mark took two long strides towards his wife and put his hands on her shoulders. "Cass, what's wrong?"

Shaking Mark off of her, Cassie turned away, trying to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"Cassie?"

Mark tried pulling Cassie into his arms, but she stepped away from him, shaking her head.

"No, Mark, please… just leave me alone," she pleaded.

"No, Cass. What's wrong? What's going on?"

"Please," she cried. "I'm sorry about this morning, I was wrong… but please just leave me alone now! I just need to be alone…"

"Cass…"

"Mark, please!"

Seeing how desperate Cassie was, Mark hesitantly agreed.

"...Alright… Cass… if you need anything… just call."

Mark watched as Cassie nodded and again turned away, tears still falling. Mark slowly made his way to the front room, then Daniel and Matthew's room to check on the sleeping boys. He then headed to his own bedroom and prepared to turn in.

Mark tossed and turned for a long time that night. He wanted to help his wife, to be there for her; but that was the last thing she wanted. He hoped that he would soon hear Cassie calling for him or coming to bed, but neither happened.

The following morning when Mark woke, it was obvious to him that Cassie hadn't slept in their bed. After dressing, Mark made his way to the kitchen where Cassie sat at the table, staring out the window.

"Cassie?"

As Mark sat down across from his wife, Cassie slowly turned towards him.

"Mark… I am sorry about yesterday morning… I shouldn't have said what I did."

"...I should have been more proactive about figuring things out before now. But I promise I will figure it out, Cass."

"...I know."

"...Early yesterday morning… last night…"

"...Mark, I can't talk about this right now…"

Mark was still hurt and confused, but slowly nodded his head.

"...I have to go to Waitsburg today to finish up that case I've been working on. I might not be home until late, but I promise I'll be back tonight."

"...You're sure?"

"If what I'm working on doesn't pan out the way I thought it would, I'll get law enforcement in Waitsburg to handle it or I'll drop it. ...Neither one of us are ready for me to be gone overnight. You staying with Ned and Helen was one thing, but-"

"Mark... I can't come between you and your job…"

"You're not coming between me and my job. You'll always come before it. ...Like I said… neither one of us are ready."

Mark reached out to put his hand on top of Cassie's, but she stood and offered him some coffee.

"Sure… I'll get to the chores while you're making it."

1MC1

Lou waited for her husband to respond to what she had just said, but he never opened his mouth to reply.

"Well, what do ya think?"

"I think it's silly, that's what I think."

"Johnny Gibbs ya are impossible! Now what would make ya say a thing like that?"

"Because it is. It's silly and a waste of money."

"And when the customers come through needin' to talk ta business partners halfway across the country?"

"That's what the telegraph office is for."

"Sendin' a wire takes too long! These men have places ta be an' things ta do!"

"Telegraphing is still a whole lot faster than writing letters. We've survived this long without a telephone, why do we need one now?"

"Because the world is changin' Johnny! Can't ya see that? It'll be good for business!"

"Lou, the amount of overhead we'd have to put up... it'd be months before we saw any return. And that's IF anyone else in town is crazy enough to buy one."

"Well Milly and I were talking about it the other day and she was saying how much she wished they had one."

"I can tell you right now that Lucas is not going to pay for a line to go all the way out to their ranch." Seeing the look on his wife's face, Johnny let out a heavy sigh before going on. "Look, if it means that much to you, I'll think about it."

"Oh, thank ya, Johnny!"

"I haven't promised anything yet. ...But I'll look at the books and think it over. Until then, I have to get to work."

As Johnny got up from the table, Madelyn looked up at him.

"Papa, can I go with you today? Please?"

"Oh... I guess we could find something for you to do. Go get dressed."

"Yay!"

As Maddy jumped down from her seat and ran from the room, Lou turned to Johnny.

"Are ya sure that's such a good idea? What if something happens?"

"Don't worry, I won't let her out of the office. I'll bring her by the hotel after the lunch rush."

"Papa, can I go too?" Madison asked.

"...You can come on your own day, so it's just me and you."

Satisfied, Madison nodded as a grin spread across her face.

"Johnny, don't forget Lucas and Milly are coming over tonight."

"I haven't. ...But what time did they say they'd be here?"

"Seven."

"...You didn't happen to ask Milly to bring dessert, did you?"

"I didn't have to, she volunteered."

"Good."

"What's so wrong with my pie?"

"...Nothing's... wrong... it's just..." Johnny shrugged as he finished, "It's just not Milly's."

"...One of these days I'm going to get out of her what she does to make them so... good."

"Good luck with that one." Johnny gave Lou, Madison, and Peter each a kiss before heading for the kitchen door. "I'll see you all this afternoon."

After seeing Maddy dressed and ready to go, Johnny took his daughter's hand and together they headed across town. Just outside of the office, they ran into Curt, who had just finished the rounds.

"Well, it's about time you got here," Curt teased. "And what's this? We have another deputy joining the ranks?"

"No, I'm just helping Papa today," Maddy replied.

"That's good, your Pa needs help... a LOT of help."

"Who can blame me? I have to deal with you every day."

As the three entered the office, Curt asked, "Have you heard anything from Mark and Cassie?"

"Not yet. Lucas and Milly are supposed to be coming over for supper though... and I'm hoping they'll be able to tell us that they've heard something. ...It worries me that they're out there without any family or friends."

"I'm sure they'll be fine. ...Well, I'm going back to the boarding house to try to catch up on some sleep."

"Rough night?"

"To say the least. I'm glad Ned has next weekend... I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"Have a good day," Johnny laughed.

"See ya."

As Curt left the office, Johnny walked to his desk and sat down.

"Papa?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"...Are Mark and Cassie never coming back?"

"No, they're coming back... we just don't know when. ...Why would you ask that?"

"Lydia said she was afraid they wouldn't. She misses them a lot..."

"Do you miss them?"

Maddy nodded.

"Papa, why do people have to be so mean?"

"...Not everyone is mean, Madelyn... it's just that man... he didn't like Mark and so..."

"...But that man isn't the only mean person."

"...No, he's not, but... you don't have to worry about that."

"...But... Papa..."

Johnny could tell his daughter was struggling with something. He picked her up and set her on his lap.

"What is it?"

"...Is that other mean man going to come back and hurt you?"

"What other..." Johnny quieted, realizing what his daughter was talking about. "...No, he isn't going to hurt anyone ever again. Especially not you."

"Papa... what if someone else comes? What if they take me away from you and Mama?"

Johnny tightly wrapped his arms around his daughter.

"No one else is going to come. I've got you."

"Why did he come?"

"...He didn't like me very much and..."

"But Papa, there are people I don't like... but I don't hurt them..."

Johnny was surprised by what his daughter had said.

"Who don't you like?"

"Tommy... and Phillip... they're mean to me."

"Oh... well, see, that's different..."

"But how?"

Johnny let out a heavy sigh as he realized he couldn't keep things simple any longer.

"Maddy... Papa... Papa wasn't always the nicest person. A long time ago I told the man that hurt me I would do something for him... but what I promised I would do was something wrong. I realized I needed to do the right thing... but that man wasn't very happy about it. He was mad that I didn't do what I said I would... and that's why he took you and wanted to hurt me."

"...Did Mark say he would do something wrong? Is that why that other man hurt Cassie?"

"No... Mark was trying to protect Ms. Laura and help another friend of his. Mark was doing the right thing. But bad people don't like it when good people do the right thing."

"Why, Papa?"

"...Because they think money is more important than people."

"That doesn't make sense."

"No... no, it doesn't. But remember that no matter what happens, your Ma and I love you very, very much. We'll always be here to protect you." Johnny hesitated, wishing he didn't have to be having this conversation with his daughter. "...And Maddy, if you're ever talking to someone, whether it's a stranger or a friend... and you get scared or you get a funny feeling, I want you to come to me or your Ma right away. I don't want you to be scared... but not everyone is nice... and not everyone can be trusted."

Maddy nodded in reply.

"...Maddy, how much do you remember about the man that took you?"

When Madelyn didn't respond, Johnny looked down and saw fear in his daughter's face.

"Would you rather we talk about this some other time?"

Maddy quickly nodded.

"Alright. Would you like to earn some money for candy?"

"Yes, please!"

"Alright... why don't you start with picking up any trash and putting it in the wastebasket?"

"Yes, sir!"

Johnny did paperwork all morning while he gave his daughter small tasks to do around the office. After stopping by the store, Johnny brought Maddy to the hotel a little after one that afternoon. They found Madison and Peter playing in Lou's office as the hotel owner worked at her desk.

"Did you have fun today, Maddy?" Lou asked.

"Yes! And Papa let me earn money and took me to the store! And I got some candy!"

"Candy?" Madison asked.

"I got some for you and Peter, too."

Johnny and Lou watched as Maddy knelt down on the floor and shared her candy with her siblings. When Lou looked up at Johnny, he was motioning for her to follow him into the hallway. As the two stepped right outside the door, Lou looked at Johnny in concern.

"What is it?"

"Has Maddy ever said anything to you about what happened when Jeff Stacey kidnapped her?"

"No... why?"

"...I always assumed she forgot, but... she brought it up today. She didn't talk about it much... she just wanted to understand why it happened. But it still has her scared. I tried asking her how much she remembered, but she didn't want to talk about it."

"...She's never said a word to me... why didn't she say somethin' sooner?"

"...I don't know. ...I would just keep a close eye on her for the rest of today."

"Alright."

"Love you."

"You too..."

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, Lou was pleased to find that Maddy was her normal, cheerful self.

That evening after supper with the McCains, the children went to play in the girls' room while the adults sat in the front room to talk.

"Rees doing any better?" Johnny asked.

"He's softening... little by little," Lucas replied. "He still won't talk about what happened back home or his parents, but he's participating more and more in conversation around the table and on the range."

"He reminds me if Grid," Lou commented.

"Grid?" Milly asked.

"Oh, that's right... ya never met Grid. He was a young boy... fourteen... maybe fifteen. He came to North Fork to kill Lucas."

Johnny nearly choked on his coffee as he realized what his wife had said.

"To kill you, Lucas?" Milly asked.

"Yeah... tried forcing Mark into a gunfight, too. He just needed some rough edges smoothed out."

"Just?" Johnny asked. "Sounds to me like he shoulda been locked away!"

"That's what Lucas and Micah thought," Lou replied. "But I convinced them to let me take him for a week... and we came to an understanding."

"You never did tell us how you did it," Lucas replied.

"I told ya... sometimes it just takes a little kindness and a little food."

"Yeah, right."

Lou simply smiled.

The foursome talked for a while longer before Lou excused herself to work on the dishes, Milly joining her. As the door shut behind the women, Johnny turned to Lucas, but didn't say anything.

"Something on your mind, Johnny?"

"...I don't mean to bring up difficult memories, but... I remember you telling me about when Mark was taken hostage during that bank robbery back home. He was what... four, five?"

"...Four. What about it?"

"Did he forget about it?"

"I wish he had, but he didn't. Why?"

"...I thought... Lou and I both thought Maddy had forgotten about Stacey. She never talked about it... until today. She asked me why it happened. She's scared... so scared she couldn't answer when I asked how much she did remember. ...I don't understand why she never said anything about it."

"...When Mark was old enough to talk about it... it was hard to get him to open about it. A child that age... their whole world gets shattered and they're confused and scared... they don't know how to make sense of it. They don't really know how to talk about it."

"What did you do?"

"...I tried a lot of different things. Finally, I sat down with him and I told him how I felt about it. I showed him that it was alright to talk about... I showed him how to talk about it. Over the next few nights we would spend just a few minutes talking about it. The first two nights I put him straight to bed afterwards... but then I learned to read him a book first... to get his mind on something else."

"Does he still remember?"

"...I honestly don't know. He brought it up a few times over the next few weeks but... it's been almost twenty years since he's mentioned it."

"Thanks, Lucas."

"...You sure you don't need to talk about it?"

"What?"

"Johnny, I've been there. Even after this long... it can still be hard to come to terms with."

"Maybe I do..."

2MC2

Anna stepped out of the stage coach and looked around, taking in her surroundings.

"Your bag, ma'am."

Anna thanked the driver as she took her trunk from him. She waited a few moments before asking, "Would you happen to know where I could find Mark or Cassie McCain?"

"Sorry, not from around here. Sheriff might know." The driver briefly gestured across the street before slapping the reins and urging his team forward. "Have a good day."

After the dust from the stage had settled, Anna crossed the street and headed towards the jail house. She hesitantly made her way inside and was greeted by a man wearing a sheriff's badge.

"Good afternoon ma'am." Jack stood from his desk and tipped his hat. "What can I do for you?"

"The coach driver suggested I try here for directions. I'm looking for Mark and Cassie McCain...?"

"Oh, sure! Mark works just down the street. I'd be happy to walk you over there."

"Oh, please, I don't want to be any trouble. If you could just point me in the right direction..."

"Nonsense. I need to get out of this stuffy office, anyway."

"...Thank you."

Jack opened the door for Anna before following her outside.

"How do you know the McCains?"

"I'm Cassie's sister."

"You came all the way here from New Mexico by yourself? Quite a distance for a lady to be traveling alone, isn't it?"

"Oh, I'm quite used to it. I've been attending school out east."

"What are you studying?"

"...Medicine."

"You know, my mother was a nurse... before us children, that is. She sure loved it. How much longer do you have?"

"One more year."

"Do you have plans for after you graduate? Is there a hospital near your home that you could work at?"

"...I'm actually going to be working at the clinic in North Fork."

"Must be a pretty big town if they need a nurse in addition to a doctor."

"...Actually, North Fork already has two doctors and one of the doctor's wives works there some of the time as a nurse. I'll be returning and taking Doc Burrage's place at the clinic so he can retire."

"You... you're studying to be a doctor? But..."

As the sheriff and Anna entered the Pinkerton office, Jack was interrupted by Gordon.

"Jack good to see you. Who's this?"

"...Um... Gordon... this is Mark's sister-in-law."

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss." Gordon politely shook Anna's hand. "Surprised Mark didn't say anything about you coming."

"Mark and Cassie didn't know I was coming, I wanted to surprise them."

"Mark around?" Jack asked.

"No... I'm afraid he left for Waitsburg earlier this morning. He had to finish up the Walton case."

"Guess I should've sent word..."

"Oh, it was last minute anyway, nothing could've been done. He'll be back tonight or tomorrow morning, I'm sure."

"Miss..." Jack began, but then he realized he didn't know her name.

"Please, Anna is fine."

"Anna, I can walk you over to the McCains' home if you'd like?"

"Are you sure?"

"It'd be my pleasure. See you later, Gordon."

"Goodbye."

Anna and Jack left the office and began making their way across town.

"...I do apologize for my reaction," Jack began. "...I've just never met a lady doctor before."

"It's alright... I'm used to it."

"Well, I'm sure Mark and Cassie will be glad you decided to visit; they talk very fondly of their family."

"We miss them a lot..."

"They've definitely been a welcome addition to the community."

Conversation continued until they arrived at a small house several streets away from the center of town.

"Well, this is it."

"Thank you very much for your assistance."

"My pleasure. Have a good day."

As the sheriff headed back to his office, an excited smile made its way onto Anna's face. She quickly made her way up the porch steps and knocked on the door. When no one answered, Anna again knocked. Eventually, she could hear someone trying to open the door, but they seemed to have trouble turning the knob. The door finally opened, revealing Daniel and Matthew on the other side.

"Aunt Anna!"

"Hello!" Anna quickly stepped inside and gave her eldest nephew a hug. She then turned to Matthew, but he hesitantly stepped away. "You don't remember me, do you?"

"Matthew, that Aunt Anna," Daniel proudly declared before asking, "Why are you here?"

"Why? I'm here to visit you! I miss seeing my nephews!"

"And Mama and Papa?"

"Yes, I miss them, too. ...Speaking of which, where is your Ma?"

"She sleeping."

"Sleeping? This late in the morning? Have you had breakfast?"

"Mama made breakfast, then she made us sleep. But we already sleep and got up again."

"...Well, seeing as how it's almost lunchtime, why don't we get to the kitchen and you help me start lunch?"

Daniel nodded and grabbed his aunt's hand, leading her and a still hesitant Matthew to the kitchen.

Anna put her trunk aside and got an apron from the wall.

"Where does your Mama keep her pots and pans?"

Daniel quickly ran to one of the cupboards and opened it, pointing inside. As Anna and Daniel started making lunch, Matthew became more comfortable and eventually asked to help.

Half an hour later as lunch was simmering, Anna had sat down at the table with the boys, talking with them when they suddenly heard Cassie's frantic voice.

"DANIEL?! MATTHEW?!"

Daniel quickly replied, "In here, Mama!"

A few moments later, Cassie came running into the kitchen.

"You're supposed to be in your room, what-" Cassie stopped short as she saw her sister sitting there, smiling. "...Anna? What are you doing here?"

Anna stood and pulled her sister into an embrace.

"Well, it's good to see you too," she chuckled.

"What are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"There's this thing called a train..."

"You know what I mean!"

Laughing, the sisters again hugged before they both sat down.

"I've missed you so much... Ned suggested I come out for a visit, so... here I am."

"Did Mark know about this?"

"No, I wanted to surprise both of you."

"Oh, I've missed you so much! How's school?"

"I'll be glad when it's over. ...But at the same time... there are people I'm going to miss..."

"Especially a certain someone?"

"How...?"

"He's all you talk about in your letters. How are classes going?"

"Alright... last semester I really struggled with one of my classes..."

"But you passed, didn't you?"

"I passed, but only with a ninety-two..."

"Only? Land sakes, you're too hard on yourself! What I would've given to get a ninety-two in school!"

"And I was only able to get that because I had some help."

Cassie chuckled, shaking her head.

"It's a good thing you didn't become a teacher… your students would have quite a time passing..."

"You're probably right," Anna agreed, smiling. "...So I stopped at Mark's office... a man there said he was out of town on a case?"

"...He's been working on a robbery... he needed to head over to Waitsburg to finish things up."

"Are you two settling in alright?"

"...As well as can be expected. It was really hard at first... no friends, no family. ...But we've been able to make a few friends along the way."

Anna wanted to ask more, but decided to wait until later.

"Well, lunch should be ready in just a few minutes..."

"Lunch? How long have you been here?"

"Oh... half an hour? The boys said you were sleeping, so I thought I'd go ahead and help out with lunch."

"Well why don't we get you settled and then serve up?"

"Cassie, I don't want to be a burden on you, I can stay at the hotel."

"Not a chance. We're squeezing in all the time together we can!"

After Anna was settled in the guest bedroom, the foursome had lunch together as the sisters continued to catch up. Later that afternoon, Cassie put the boys down for a nap before returning to the front room with Anna. They made some small talk for a few minutes, but Anna finally had to ask.

"...Cassie, what's wrong? You're not yourself."

Cassie let out a deep breath, shaking her head.

"The last few days have been difficult on me... and because of that I've unintentionally made things harder on Mark... and it's... it's just affecting a lot of things."

"What's going on?"

"...For starters, Mark took this job knowing that it would only last for two months... but he's been so busy he's hardly had time to look for work... or a place to live."

"...Do you have money in the bank?"

"Some, but... only enough to get by for a while. Traveling east, building the house at the ranch, moving here... we've put out a lot of cash in the last two years... and I know Mark would never want to go on credit. ...It's causing me a lot of stress... but I know it will all work out... eventually."

"...Then what's really bothering you?"

"...You remember how, in the months following what happened in Missouri, we would go a time without having any trouble, and then it would all come back... much more intensely than before?"

"I do..."

"I hadn't had a nightmare in weeks... but this past week they've come back far worse than they've ever been. It's like living it all over again... but in some ways, it's worse. ...They're getting so bad I can hardly sleep at night."

"Have you tried talking to Mark about it?"

"...That's the trouble," she quietly replied. "I can't..."

Anna furrowed her brow in confusion.

"...But Mark's always been there to listen?"

"I know... I'm just afraid... Anna, I'm afraid I might hurt him with what I have to say."

"Cassie, Mark loves you. I'm sure he wants to be there for you... it's not fair of you to take that opportunity away from him without even giving him a chance to try to understand."

"...It's not that I don't think he won't understand..."

"What, then?"

Cassie wiped away the tear trickling down her cheek and swallowed hard, trying to stay strong.

"The things I'm feeling... the things I'm dealing with... they're not fair to Mark. If he understood what was going through my mind... I don't know what he'd do."

"What do you mean, what he'd do?"

"...I mean I'm afraid... Anna, what if he leaves?"

"Cassie McCain, I can't believe I just heard you say that! Your husband loves you more than life itself! After all you two have been through, Mark isn't going to leave!" Anna shook her head and took her sister's hand. "If the situation was reversed, if Mark was in your shoes and came to you with the troubles you're having, would you leave him?"

"...Of course not."

"Then trust your husband, Cassie. You know Mark loves you, you know he has character, and you know he has integrity. He wouldn't have moved all this way if he hadn't planned on staying with you! I know this is hard. I know healing is going to take time. But you have to draw the line somewhere and decide where you won't let your emotions take you. Thinking about Mark leaving you is not where you need to be, because it's something you don't need to worry about!"

"I just-"

"No, Cassie. There are no 'justs' about this. You need to trust your husband or you are going to wreak all sorts of havoc on your marriage. Mark hasn't done anything to break your trust and you need to honor that. You need to talk to him."

Cassie sat across from Anna, staring at her for a long time.

"...I think I liked it more when you weren't so blunt," Cassie teased with a sad smile. "...Thanks, Anna. ...All morning I've been trying to tell myself the same thing... I just kept scaring myself out of it."

"...Sorry to be so rude, but I..."

Cassie laughed, shaking her head.

"You don't need to apologize, you weren't being rude... you were just telling me the truth. If it was Ned, he probably would've smacked me upside the head by now."

Anna faintly chuckled, looking into her sister's eyes.

"...Are you going to be alright?"

"...In time. ...I'll talk to Mark when he gets home tonight." Taking on a different tone, Cassie continued, "Now, about this certain someone..."

"...I just wish I knew what he was thinking."

"He still hasn't said anything?"

"No... and I'm really beginning to worry. I talked to Aunt Milly earlier this summer and she said sometimes it just takes men a while to come around... but... the more time that passes, the harder it becomes to wait."

"You could always write him a letter."

"No, no... NO. I wouldn't dare say something first; it would be so improper. ...No offense."

"I didn't think you'd go for it," Cassie chuckled.

"...It's just that we've spent the past three years getting to know each other... and... with only one semester left together, I would've thought he'd bring up something by now. ...But then again... I wouldn't blame him if he wasn't interested in that way."

"Well I certainly would! You would make an absolutely wonderful wife."

"I don't know..."

"You would. ...But what do you mean by only having one semester left? Don't you finish next spring?"

"...We do, but he is going to spend the second semester working in a hospital in the District of Columbia. I almost put in a request to go with him..."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because that would have been much too obvious!"

Cassie laughed at her sister's expression.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

"I just pray that whatever it is, happens soon..."

3MC3

"Something on your mind, Isaac?" Lucas asked, looking up from milking the cow. "You've been quiet all morning."

"Well... Mr. McCain... I... I had a question I wanted to ask..."

"Well no one's stopping you."

"...Well, you see... I had intended on taking Elizabeth riding a week from Sunday, after I have lunch with her and her family."

"...Sounds like you'll have a good time."

"The thing is... I don't exactly have folks to bring Elizabeth home to... but... well, your family is the closest thing I've got to family. Mr. McCain, I know that Elizabeth is the one for me. It may be a few years before I can ask her, but I want to marry her some day."

"And so your question is...?"

"Well, I'd... I'd like her to get to know more of my life... to have her... interact with... interact with the people I consider my family. ...So I was wondering... if maybe I could invite Elizabeth over for dinner and dessert next Sunday night. I mean I will of course pay for the extra food, and I understand, this being your ranch and all, but I-"

"Isaac," Lucas laughed. "We'd love to have you bring Elizabeth over. And you don't have to worry about the food... Milly always makes plenty of it. ...We feel like you're part of the family, too, and you're more than welcome to invite Elizabeth or anyone else over, whenever you want."

"Thank you, Mr. McCain. That means a whole lot to me."

"...So if you're so bent on marrying her, what's your plan?"

"My plan?"

"How do you figure on supporting yourselves? Where are you going to live?"

"Well I don't have it all figured out... yet. But I've been saving as much as I can. ...And I kinda figured, as long as you need help... I'd be more than happy to stay on. And then I thought maybe I could pick up some side jobs in town or helping the other ranchers out... and then maybe, one day, buy a spread of our own. I kinda like the spread east of you... but who knows how much longer it'll be on the market. ...I know I don't have things figured out enough to even be talkin' to her folks about marriage, but... somehow, someway, I'll make it work."

Lucas couldn't help but smile.

"You remind me a lot of myself at your age. I was so in love with Margaret... nothing could stop me." Lucas let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head. "Well, I best get this inside to Milly. When you're done here, would you mind helping Rees finish up in Mark's barn?"

"Sure thing."

Lucas headed inside where he was greeted by Micah, Milly, and Lydia. He said hello to Micah and gave his daughter a kiss on the head before walking up behind his wife and wrapping his arms around her, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Micah, you coming into town with us today?" Lucas asked.

"No, Papa," Lydia replied. "Papa Micah is taking me fishing!"

His back to Micah, Lucas gave his wife a concerned look, to which she shrugged.

"Fishing, huh?" Lucas asked, turning back around. "Where are you going?"

"Don't worry, Lucas," Micah chuckled. "I'm just taking her to the creek here on the ranch. We'll be fine."

"And we're gonna catch-"

"Going to," Milly corrected.

"Going to catch lots of fish, and Mama's gonna... going to cook them all up for supper!"

"Now that sounds good. We haven't had fish in a long time," Lucas replied.

"Papa, did Mark like fishing when he was my age?"

"He loved fishing... so much that it got him in trouble a few times."

"He got in trouble for fishing?"

"Only when he went without permission and forgot to do his homework or chores."

"Or when he took his catch over to the parsonage," Micah commented.

"Don't remind me..."

"The parsonage?" Milly asked.

"It's a long story," Lucas sighed.

Without missing a beat, Micah added, "Most stories having to do with Mark, are..."

Everyone chuckled as the kitchen door swung open.

"Morning Isaac, morning Rees," Milly greeted.

"Morning, Mrs. McCain."

"Morning, Aunt Milly."

Milly suddenly stopped scooping oatmeal and looked at Rees in shock.

"Something the matter?"

"No, no... I just... never mind. ...Does anyone not want oatmeal this morning?" Before Lucas could say anything, Milly added, "Besides you, Mr. McCain."

After breakfast, Lucas, Milly, Rees, and Isaac all headed into town. While Rees volunteered to help Milly carry the purchases from the general store, Isaac and Lucas made their way to the Feed and Seed to place a few orders. As they stepped back outside, both men suddenly heard a man calling Isaac's name. They turned to see a man dismounting from his horse, two other men riding up behind him.

"Frank? Frank?"

"It's good to see you, brother!"

Lucas watched as the men briefly pulled each other into a hug.

"I can't believe it..." Isaac said in complete shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Me? I'm just passing through. What are you doing here?"

"I live here now."

"No kiddin'? ...Ma and Pa ain't around, are they? I really don't-"

"No... no, they're not."

"Good, I-"

"They're dead, Frank."

"Oh... Isaac, I'm sorry. How long ago?"

"...Four years almost."

"Why didn't you find me? You know I woulda-"

"Didn't know where to look... you never said where you were headed."

"...Didn't really know where I was headed."

Seeing the awkwardness between the two, Lucas stepped forward.

"Isaac?"

"Oh... Mr. McCain, this is... this is my brother, Frank. Frank, this is Mr. McCain, I work at his ranch outside of town."

Frank shook the hand Lucas offered.

"Frank, good to meet you."

"You too. Say, Isaac, why don't you meet me up over at the saloon in a little while? I gotta get settled at the hotel, and then we can catch up some."

"I don't know... we have to get back to work this afternoon..."

"Rees and I can handle it, Isaac," Lucas assured. "You can have the rest of the day off."

"You sure?"

"Course he's sure. Man said so, didn't he? Isaac, I'll meet you over there in fifteen minutes."

"Alright..."

Lucas and Isaac watched as Frank mounted up again and rode down the street with the two other men. After a few moments, Isaac turned to Lucas.

"...Mr. McCain, I'm sorry I didn't say anything about him, I..."

"You don't have to explain, Isaac. A man's entitled to his privacy."

"...Frank ran away from home... a long time ago. He... he never kept in contact."

"...You didn't seem too excited to see him?"

"...Like I said... he ran away. Frank... Frank was troubled. He always got into all sorts of mischief... spent I don't know how many nights in jail. I'm not too sure about what kind of life he lives now, but... I think I'll feel better when he's moved on."

"...It's understandable."

Isaac and Lucas headed to pick up a load of lumber before Isaac went to meet his brother and Lucas headed to the telegraph office, then the hotel.

"Lucas, it's about time ya got 'ere," Lou declared, placing her hands on her hips. "Ya finally got a letter from Mark and Cassie; two, actually!"

"Two?"

Lou nodded as she handed Lucas the letters. One was addressed to 'The McCain Family,' while the other was addressed to 'Lucas and Milly McCain.'

"Well are ya goin' ta open it?"

"Not without Milly here; she would-"

Lucas was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a woman's voice coming from the top of the stairs.

"Charles, would you stop fussing? I can handle a pair of crutches!"

Lou and Lucas both ran to the bottom of the staircase to see Rachael and a man making their way down the stairs.

"Rachael?!" Lucas exclaimed. "What in the world- Lou, why didn't you tell me she was here?"

"I didn't know! Rachael, just when did you get 'ere?"

"We got in on the midnight train... one of your clerks helped us." Having reached the bottom of the stairs, Rachael gave Lucas, then Lou a hug. "Uncle Lucas, Aunt Lou, I'd like you to meet my partner, Charles."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. Rachael talks about you all the time."

"The pleasure is ours," Lucas replied. "Rachael, what happened?"

"It's kind of a long story..."

"Lucas?"

Lucas and Lou turned around, allowing Milly to see who was in front of them.

"Rachael!" Milly hurried to her niece and gave her a long hug. "What are you doing here? What happened?"

"I can explain that later... the doctor said I should take it easy for a few months... and since Charles and I had already planned on visiting, I thought I might as well take it easy here."

"After I told her she wasn't staying in Iowa to recover," Charles replied. "If she did she'd be trying to work every case we got!"

"Oh, Aunt Milly, this is Charles, my partner," Rachael introduced.

"A pleasure to meet you. Oh, Rachael, you haven't met Rees..."

"Actually, I think we have," Rees said as he stepped forward. "When my folks and I came for Thanksgiving?"

"I thought you looked familiar! It's good to see you again!"

"You too."

"Well, why don't we all get caught up over lunch," Lucas suggested. "If you have enough room, Lou."

"Oh, I think I'll manage ta squeeze ya in somewhere!"

As the group made their way to the restaurant, Rachael asked where Lydia was.

"Micah took her fishing this afternoon," Lucas replied.

"Speaking of Micah, how is he?"

"...He's... he's had some setbacks, but he's not letting that stop him."

"...It doesn't sound like that's a good thing?"

"...We'll see," Lucas sighed. "Getting old... it's hard on him."

They all made some small talk before a waitress came to take their order. After she left their table, Lucas again asked Rachael what had happened.

"I got a little clumsy like normal," Rachael chuckled.

"It's just a little more complicated than that," Charles laughed.

"Charles and I were working a case... a woman had been murdered backstage at an opera. ...During the intermission, the electrically wired theater suddenly went dark and we heard a gunshot. Of course, with the performers, the help, and everyone at the theater... it was quite a list of suspects to narrow down. Eventually, we came to think it was the man playing the lead male role who had killed her. He had been engaged to her, but she had apparently, very suddenly broken it off the night before. Someone had heard them arguing about it. We searched his room and found evidence that made it look like he was the one who did it... bloody gloves, a piece of fabric that had been torn from her dress..."

"But?" Rees asked.

"But something didn't sit well with Rachael," Charles replied.

"I felt like it was too easy. I thought and thought until I realized that on the night of the murder, her dress hadn't been torn. Somehow, someone got to the body and ripped a piece of her dress and then planted it in the man's room. I went back to the theater and again scoured the grounds for the murder weapon, which was still missing. I was about ready to give up when Charles returned... drenched." Rachael laughed as she went on. "...He was a sight. He had to jump into a pond to retrieve the gun. We couldn't retrieve any prints from the gun, so..."

"Prints?" Lucas asked.

"Finger prints. Every individual has a unique set that can be left behind on everything you touch."

"...But... they're actually using it as evidence?"

"Yes...?"

"He was right... he was actually right..."

"Who was right, Lucas?" Milly asked.

"Never mind... go ahead, Rachael."

"Like I said, we couldn't get prints... but Charles and I are pretty good at bluffing. We were pretty sure it had to be a performer or someone working at the theater, so we gathered them all and said we knew who did it, that we had found the gun and we were giving the killer one chance to turn themselves in. Of course, the actual murderer didn't step up, so Charles pretended to start arresting someone we knew couldn't have done it. While he was yelling that he was innocent and everyone else was gasping and gossiping, the actual criminal started to take his leave. Charles and I gave chase and while Charles went around to a back staircase, I followed him up to the rafters. ...That's when I fell."

"You didn't just fall," Charles stated with raised eyebrows. "He pulled a small pistol and shot her, then she fell."

"You were shot?!" Milly gasped. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Rachael assured, rolling her eyes. "I told you they would worry."

"Exactly. You won't take it easy once I leave if they don't know."

"Was it serious?" Lucas asked. "Why didn't you wire?"

"It wasn't serious and I'll be fine. I didn't want you to worry."

"It isn't serious," Charles corrected. "You're lucky we were close to a doctor."

"So you keep reminding me. Anyway, like I said, we were planning to visit before this all happened, we just weren't sure when. Then I got hurt and we figured it was as good a time as any."

"So how long are the two of you planning on staying?" Milly asked.

"I have to leave at the end of the week to get back to the office," Charles replied.

"But I'm not allowed to go back to work until I get a clean bill of health... Mr. Pinkerton's orders. I'll probably stick around for two months or so."

"You are planning to stay at the ranch, aren't you?" Lucas asked.

"Things are crowded enough, I couldn't..."

"Nonsense," Milly interrupted. "The boys are staying at Mark and Cassie's, but you can... oh... Rachael... about Mark and Cassie..."

"I know."

"You know?" Lucas asked.

"Mark told me what happened."

"...Well, you know crowded quarters have never stopped us," Milly continued. "I'll hang a curtain in Lydia's room to give you some privacy. And Charles, if you want to stay at the other house with the boys, you're more than welcome to."

"I couldn't-"

"I wouldn't argue with her, Charles," Lucas warned.

"...Thank you both."

"Are you sure?" Rachael asked. "We don't want to impose."

"It's your home, too," Milly reminded. "And I won't take no for an answer."

"...Oh, Charles, you have to try some of Aunt Milly's apple pie before you leave!"

"I can't imagine it being half as good as yours."

Lucas couldn't help but laugh and tried to cover it up with a cough.

"Your wife is the one who taught me how to bake an apple pie, mind you," Rachael replied with raised eyebrows. "I am a decent cook, thank you very much."

"Your cooking we never had a problem with. Your baking... I thought you gave up?"

"...Things can change. Especially when you're stuck out in the middle of nothing but corn fields!"

"Now you know Iowa has a lot more to offer than that," Charles replied.

"Oh yes, I forgot." Rachael turned to the others as she explained, "There's corn, and corn... a little more corn... a lot more corn... some more corn... and then those trees! All six of them!"

4MC4

It was nearing one in the morning as Mark made his way up the porch steps. He tried going inside, but found the door locked. He tried jostling the knob some more before he heard his wife's voice on the other side of the door.

"Mark, is that you?"

"Yeah."

Mark heard the door being unlocked and was soon stepping inside.

"I'm sorry I'm so late. Bridge got washed out between this morning and this afternoon and I had to go around."

"I'm just glad you're back."

"We-" Mark stopped short as he looked over and saw his sister-in-law asleep on the couch. "What? When did Anna get here?"

"She surprised us this morning. I got the guest room set up for her, but she said she would sit up with me until you got home. She was so tired though..." Cassie quietly chuckled. "She didn't last very long."

"...Do you think we should wake her?"

"No... she was on the stage quite early this morning... I think we best leave her." Cassie waited a few moments before continuing. "Mark... can we go to the kitchen and talk?"

"Of course."

Mark set his rifle in the corner by the door before following his wife back to the kitchen. They both stood leaning against the counter as Mark waited for Cassie to say something.

"...Anna and I did a lot of talking today. She... she helped me admit some things I didn't want to... and realize some things I hadn't thought about."

"I'm listening...?"

"...Mark, I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? For what?"

"I've had all of these thoughts and worries... I don't know where they came from... but I let them shove you away."

"If it's about me finding a job, Cassie-"

"No, it's more than that... and again, I am sorry for picking that fight with you. ...I started to worry that you... that you were going to leave me."

"Leave you?" Mark put his hands on his wife's arms and looked deep into her eyes. "Why would I leave you? What did I do that made you ever think that I would leave you?"

"...It's my fault," Cassie replied, tears welling in her eyes. "I didn't want to talk about things, but that just made them worse, and then I was afraid that if I did tell you... you might..." Tears began streaming down Cassie's face as she tried to finish. "...Mark, you deserve so much more than this..."

"Than what? Than you?"

Cassie nodded, biting her lip.

"I... I can't do anything right... you deserve a wife who's strong, who... who doesn't wake up from childish nightmares thinking her husband tried to..."

Mark stared at his wife for a long moment; worry etched on his face.

"...To what, Cassie?"

"...To kill me..."

"No, Cass... no..." Mark pulled his wife into his arms, shaking his head. "Oh Cass... why didn't you tell me?"

"...I was... I was scared that you would be upset... I'm sorry, I..."

"Sweetheart... dreams aren't something you can control. I wish you would have told me, I..." Mark suddenly stopped and looked down at his wife. "...Do I need to let go?"

Cassie shook her head, burying it into his shoulder.

"...I'm sorry... I know you aren't him... but they were so... so real... and the first morning after I had one..."

"...The argument about me finding a job?"

Cassie nodded.

"I just didn't know what to do... I felt scared... but I didn't want to be… I had so many pent up emotions and let myself take it out on you..."

"I completely understand."

"How can you be alright with me being afraid of you when you've done nothing wrong?!"

"Because it's not me you're afraid of. It's him and we both know it. If it was me, I wouldn't be holding you right now." Mark tightened his arms around his wife as he went on. "I told you about Neff Packer having me kidnapped. I spent weeks... months trying to learn to trust everyone again. I had dreams about all kinds of people taking me... trying to kill Pa... and what I went through wasn't anything near as traumatic as what you endured."

"But..."

"No buts, Cassie. I won't let you keep beating yourself up over something you have no control over." Mark cupped his wife's face in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe away her tears. "Cassie, I love you more than I ever thought possible. I know I'm not perfect, but like I promised the day we got engaged, I will never give you a reason not to trust me. I promise I will never raise my hand against you, and that I will always, always be there for you."

Cassie nodded as tears continued to stream down her face. As Mark again protectively wrapped his arms around his wife, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"...You're trembling... what is it?"

"...Mark, I'm sorry..."

"Cass, there's no need for you to apologize."

"Yes, there is. ...The thoughts that I've entertained the last few weeks... they're not fair to you, not fair to the boys..."

"Cassie, what are you talking about?"

"...When… when... he had me... I didn't know if I was going to live to see the next day. I… I didn't know if one day I would wake up in that locked bedroom and he'd be gone... or if I'd do something as simple as break an egg yoke and… and he would beat me to death." Cassie struggled to go on, choking on her tears. "...He's still out there, Mark. And every day... I wonder how much closer he's come to finding me. Inside... I feel like I'm trapped inside of a nightmare! Even if no one is around... I go throughout the day, worried I'm going to be smacked if I trip... or that my head is going to be bashed into a wall if I break something... and… Mark, I… I can't live like this!"

Understanding what had been left unspoken, Mark tightened his arms around Cassie and rested his head on hers. His heart ached as he was again reminded of what his wife had endured.

"...Cass, I can't imagine going through what you did. ...I know... I know you wanted to die... but please, Cassie, understand that you are loved, and you are wanted, and you are needed. Reaper isn't going to touch you again and you are safe. Please, accept that! I… I need you to accept that; I need…" Mark stopped. He had so many things he wanted to say… but he knew it would only make her feel guilty and he couldn't do that to her. "...Cass, just please know that I love you."

Mark continued to hold his wife, gently rubbing her back. Eventually, Cassie looked up at Mark, tears still trickling down her face... but behind the tears were a faint smile.

"Why do you put up with a mess like me?"

"Well if you're what you call a mess, then it sure is beautiful." Mark rested his forehead on Cassie's, looking deep into her eyes. "Sweetheart, I meant it when I vowed for better or for worse. I love you, and I'll always be here for you. We're going to make it through this… just please, don't give up."

5MC5

Rachael and Charles had decided to stay in town one more evening instead of going straight to the ranch. Lucas, Milly, and Reese said goodbye after lunch and headed back home; Isaac planning to spend a few more hours with his brother before leaving town.

At supper that evening, Lucas gave Milly one of the letters from Mark and Cassie to read aloud to the family. Everyone was pleased to hear that Mark, Cassie, and the boys were settling in and things were going well.

Milly turned in much later than her husband that evening, and when she entered the bedroom, she found him in bed reading a letter.

"Who's that from?" She asked, sitting down to brush out her hair.

"Mark and Cassie..."

Milly gently smiled as she replied, "I don't know how many times I re-read that letter tonight... I'm so glad we finally heard from them."

"...This is a different letter."

Milly looked up and could see the concern on her husband's face.

"Lucas, what is it?"

"I thought it was strange that they would write us separately from the rest of the family..."

"Is something wrong?"

Lucas nodded and handed his wife the letter. Milly silently began reading, raising a hand to her mouth part way through the letter. As she finished, she looked up at Lucas, who also had tears in his eyes.

"...She was pregnant? Oh, Lucas..."

The rancher stood and wrapped his arms around his wife, shaking his head.

"He put her through so much... Milly, I don't understand how she could have been so strong around us..."

"I can't imagine... and not having any family up there..."

"...I'm glad Anna decided to visit... Cassie is going to need all the support she can get."

"Lucas, why? Why Cassie?"

"I don't know. I pray she's strong enough... I hope the fact that they told us this time means... means she's handling it better than before."

Milly rested her head on her husband's shoulder.

"Oh, I wish I could talk to them... I wish they could be here with us."

"Soon... one day soon..."

The following morning, Lucas woke to the sound of his daughter's voice.

"Papa? ...Papa?"

Lucas slowly opened his eyes and looked at his daughter.

"Lydia? What are you doing?" Lucas looked at the time piece and shook his head. "It's not even five!"

"I woke up. And it's still early. Have you done the chores yet?"

"The chores?" It was then that Lucas realized that his daughter had already gotten herself dressed for the day... or had tried to. "Of course I haven't."

"So I can help you? You said if I got up early enough I could!"

"I didn't mean this early..." Lucas let out a deep sigh and then chuckled. "You can help me, later. Until then, why don't we both try to get some more sleep?"

"But I made my bed. I don't want to do it again."

"Come on up here..."

Lydia crawled up in bed beside Lucas and laid down beside him.

"Papa, when can we get up?"

"When the rooster does..."

"How long will that be?"

"Hopefully a lot later than normal."

"Why do we have to wait for the rooster to get up?"

"Because I want to sleep."

"Are you tired?"

"Very. Now, why don't you try to catch some more shut eye?"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

Forty-five minutes later, the rooster crowed, waking everyone on the McCain ranch. As he had promised, Lucas let his daughter help him with the chores before breakfast.

"Isaac, how was your time with your brother yesterday?" Milly asked as everyone sat down to eat.

"Fine."

"You should invite him for supper one night before he leaves."

"...Thank you, Mrs. McCain, but Frank... well, he can't really stay in one place very long. Knowing him, he probably rode out of town this morning."

"That's too bad, we would've liked to get to know him."

Trying to avoid the subject, Isaac turned to Lydia.

"So, Little Miss McCain, how was your fishing trip with Papa Micah? I was sorry I missed supper last night."

"It was fun, we caught lots of fish! And we even gotta dig in the mud for worms! But Papa Micah wouldn't let me put the worm on the hook... he said I was too little."

"Oh, you'll get to do it plenty of times when you're older."

Suddenly turning to Milly, Lydia asked, "Mama, when's my birthday?"

"A little less than two months."

"Do you think Mark and Cassie will come?"

Milly looked to Lucas, unsure of what to say.

"...I'm sure they'll be here if they can," Lucas began, "But it might not be possible."

"Rees, when's your birthday?" Lydia asked.

"May third."

"Isaac, do you have a birthday?"

"Yes," Isaac laughed. "I have a birthday. It's March fifteenth."

Lydia turned towards the end of the table where Micah usually sat, but realized he wasn't there.

"Papa, how come Papa Micah sleeps so long now?"

"...That's just what happens when you get old."

"Why though?"

"That's just the way it is," Lucas laughed. "And I thought Mark had a lot of energy at that age..."

"At what age?"

"Your age," Lucas replied, tickling his daughter. "Now, why don't you try to finish your breakfast before it gets cold?"

The men soon set out for the range, giving Milly time to finish preparing for Rachael and Charles's arrival. The two detectives arrived at the ranch mid-afternoon, and after Milly got them settled in their rooms, Rachael, Charles, Milly, and Micah visited in the sitting room as Lydia took her nap.

"So, how many cases a month do you get?" Milly asked.

"I'd say about five or six," Charles replied. "There was one month though... Rachael, how many cases did we get?"

"I think I lost count," she chuckled. "Twelve? Thirteen? ...Half of them did end up being related though... but we didn't realize that until we made the arrest and searched the man's house."

"How long have you two been working together?" Micah inquired.

"Almost as long as I've been with the agency," Rachael replied. "I can't believe it's already been two years."

"We certainly have missed you," Milly said. "Especially with you not being able to come back this past holiday season."

"...I just couldn't take that much time away from the office, considering how long it would simply take to get here."

"We understand. So what's the community like that you're working in?"

"Compared to Chicago, it's quite peaceful," Charles replied. "But there are several thousand people that live there."

"And you're only getting five or six cases a month?" Micah asked.

"There's a lot of military personnel there... they usually take care of their own matters. We get called in when someone wants a private investigation in addition to the police's work."

"Some people also aren't too fond of our presence," Rachael added. "They feel like the agency is getting too big and that we're gaining too much manpower... afraid of us organizing a small army. That'll be the day..."

"So, Charles," Milly began, "How did you become interested in working for the Pinkertons?"

Charles let out a long bout of laughter before turning to Rachael.

"You didn't tell them?"

"...I guess not. I'm surprised Mark didn't say anything about it."

"Mark?" Milly asked.

"Mark knew that Charles is Will Pinkerton's son."

"Oh, I see," Milly chuckled.

"Being my father's only son, it was somewhat expected of me to follow in his footsteps. I eventually came to enjoy the work and now couldn't think of anything else I'd rather be doing."

"So how often do you get to go back home and see your family?"

"Rachael and I have to report back in Chicago every few months, so fairly often. Of course, a lot of it is business, but we enjoy what time we do get." Charles briefly paused before going on, "So, Mrs. McCain, how did you and your husband meet?"

"Oh, I moved here... must've been over ten years ago now..." Milly quieted as Charles gave her a strange look. "...What is it?"

"...But Mark's... he's well over twenty, isn't he?"

"Lucas's first wife died when Mark was six."

"I'm sorry... I just... I... he looks a lot like you."

"It's alright, I don't mind talking about Margaret. Part of me wishes Mark was my biological son, but then... he wouldn't be Mark. ...Anyway, I moved here quite some time ago and then moved away again... eventually coming back to visit my sister and her family. Little did I know that one day Mark would end up marrying my niece."

Everyone suddenly turned as they heard Micah begin snoring.

"Why don't we head into the kitchen," Milly suggested with a laugh. "I need to get started on that apple pie, anyway."

That evening, everyone enjoyed Milly's fried chicken and apple pie; as well as the healthy amount of banter that was present. Lucas was pleased to see how comfortable Charles was around the family, but the way he interacted with Rachael also made Lucas nervous.

After supper that evening, Lucas, Isaac, and Rees excused themselves to take care of the barn chores, Charles volunteering to give them a hand.

Over the next several days, Rachael and Charles enjoyed visiting with the family, Charles helping the men around the ranch on several occasions.

The afternoon before Charles was to leave, he and Lucas had been working alone in the south pasture when they stopped for lunch. Lucas noticed that Charles had been fairly quiet all day, but he wasn't going to encourage the man to speak up by breaking the ice. Lucas wasn't ready for what he was almost certain Charles was going to ask him. However, the tall rancher couldn't escape the inevitable.

"Mr. McCain... I... um... I have a question to ask you..."

Lucas sat there, staring at Charles, waiting for him to go on. The usually confident detective uncomfortably shifted his weight as he nervously crossed his arms.

"I... well, I know how much you mean to Rachael. ...I know she's grateful for everything you've done for her... and how you stepped up to be the father she never had. She holds a great amount of respect for you and wouldn't... wouldn't want to do anything against your wishes."

Without allowing any inflection into his voice, Lucas simply replied, "I'm glad."

"...And this last week I... I've seen how much Rachael means to you all. I... I'm glad she has such a loving, supportive family. ...But... well... sir... Rachael means a lot to me... too. Mr. McCain, I... I love your niece... I couldn't imagine the rest of my life without her. ...I... I would like to ask for your blessing... for your permission to marry Rachael."

While Lucas's expression hadn't changed once as Charles spoke, his head was spinning. A thousand different thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to reply to the man asking for his niece's hand.

"...Charles, you have to understand... you're just a stranger to us..."

"Yes sir, I understand that. But... but Rachael and I... sir, she means more to me than anyone else in the world."

"...And yet you encourage her to work out on the field? Where she can be shot and-"

"Mr. McCain, I support Rachael in what she wants to do. In what she enjoys doing. And if it wasn't for her working for my father... we wouldn't have ever met. ...And with all due respect... sir... I thought Rachael said you gave her your blessing to pursue work with the Agency...?"

"That I did..." Lucas sighed. "...So is this how you plan on supporting your family?"

"Yes it is, sir. I make a substantial salary and have quite a bit of money saved up, for emergencies."

"What if you were to get shot so you couldn't return to the field? What then? How do plan on providing for a family if you can't continue this line of work?"

"...As much as I hate office work, we would most likely move back to Chicago where I could do office work at our headquarters."

"IF you were to get married, where would you live?"

"Until we get reassigned, we would stay in Iowa. I already have my eye on a house a few blocks away from our office and the money to pay for it."

"What's Rachael's favorite color?"

"...Excuse me?"

"What's Rachael's favorite color?"

"...Hazel... like her mother's eyes were."

"What's her favorite dessert?"

"Chocolate cake...?"

"Flower?"

"She doesn't really like flowers, they make her sneeze too much. Her mother liked daisies, though."

"...How well do you think you can read her?"

"Read her?"

"Her body language, her responses. Women don't usually just say what they mean."

"...Well, if she's her normal, energetic self, she's fine. ...If she's quieter but still smiling, that usually means she's tired or not feeling good. ...If she's blatantly moody it's usually best to leave her alone and wait for her to talk. When she says "I'm fine," she isn't and you have to force her to open up. If she says "I will be fine," it's usually better to just go along with things as normal until she's ready to talk or figures things out on her own. And if she's trying to avoid you, it probably means something is physically wrong that a doctor needs to look at and you have to practically drag her kicking and screaming to the doctor's office..." Charles chuckled, at this point talking to himself more than Lucas.

Lucas let out a heavy sigh, picking his hat up and running his hand through his hair before replacing it.

"Charles... I can't give you an answer right now."

"...Sir?"

"I'm not saying no... but like I said... you're just a stranger. Give me a few weeks to think it over, to talk to Mark and Rachael. When you come back to pick her up at the end of August, I'll have an answer."

"Thank you, sir."

"You may not be thanking me when these two months are up."

Charles didn't know what to say and awkwardly sat there until Lucas went on.

"Let's hurry up and finish eating... we have work to do."

That night as Lucas and Milly were getting ready for bed, Milly commented on how quiet Lucas had been all evening.

"...You haven't been yourself at all since you got home," she continued. "Is everything alright?"

"Charles asked for Rachael's hand..."

"He did?! Oh, that's wonderful!"

"Wonderful? Milly, we hardly know the man!"

"You didn't say no, did you?"

"I told him that I'd give him an answer when he got back. I need to talk to Mark, I need to talk to Rachael... I need to think about it before I just let him waltz in here and marry my niece!"

Milly couldn't help but chuckle, rolling her eyes.

"This isn't funny! Her entire future is in my hands..."

"She decides whether to marry him or not..."

"Yes, but we all know how blinding love can be."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Milly teasingly asked.

"Harry."

"Lucas, that's not fair... and that wasn't love."

"...I'm sorry..." Lucas sighed, shaking his head. "I just wasn't expecting to have to deal with this until Lydia got married..."

"...Really?"

"...I didn't know how much Rachael wanted me to be involved in that respect. Since she lives so far away... well, to be honest I never really thought about her getting married... and I definitely didn't realize I was the one who would have to say yes or no to the man who wanted to marry her!"

"Well, I for one think he's quite a gentleman."

"How am I supposed to make a decision like this? For all I know, this man could turn out to be like her father..."

"Lucas!" Milly sat down beside her husband and took his hand. "...You know what I think?"

"...What?"

"I don't think you've let go of your sister's little girl yet. I think you're afraid to."

"She lives a thousand miles away, of course I've let her go."

"Just as much as you've let Mark and Cassie go... just as much as you would let go if it were Lydia. Lucas, she's more than a niece to both of us. Giving your blessing for them to get married... it's a big deal. ...I know you love her like she was your own. Just don't let that keep you from doing the one thing that you know will make her happy. We've both seen this coming. The way they look at each other, the way they talk about each other. It reminds me of Mark and Cassie..."

"Yeah, except this time they're not moving to the ranch..."

"It's not like she would stay even if they didn't want to get married. She loves her life, Lucas."

"...I know... this is just going to take some getting used to..."

"Well, since you left poor Charles hanging, you do have two months to get used to it." Milly gave Lucas a kiss. "Why don't we get to bed?"

"Maybe I'll wake up in the morning and find out it was all a bad dream."

Milly laughed her husband's name and shook her head before getting underneath the covers.

6MC6

Mark walked into the kitchen and found Anna at the table, drinking a cup of tea.

"Well howdy, stranger."

Anna smiled and got up to give her brother-in-law a hug.

"It's so good to see you! Everything work out with that case you were dealing with?"

"Yeah... now I just have to spend all morning writing a report." As Anna sat down again, Mark made his way to the stove to start a pot of coffee. "How was the trip?"

"It was alright... I didn't have to walk, so I can't really complain."

"I..." Mark suddenly stopped, realizing his mistake. "...Anna, I'm so sorry... we had so much going on... I didn't even think about wiring you when we decided to move..."

"It's alright... you had much more important things to worry about. ...It was quite a shock when I came home and Ned told me the full extent of it all..." Anna quieted for a moment. "...Mark, what did he want with her? Why did he take her?"

With anger in his eyes, Mark answered, "...To make a 'wife' of her."

"But... did he even know who she was?"

"As far as I can tell, he knew she was my wife... and that was enough. I couldn't understand it all for the longest time... and some of it will never make sense... the man's a lunatic who should be locked up for life. ...But as I got to thinking about how we met... some of it started to make some sort of distorted sense. Laura, after all... she was his fiancé. How much he really loved her, I don't know, but... Laura willingly left him and I destroyed his entire business empire. ...I think he wanted the same for me... and he wanted Cassie... he wanted to turn her against me. Though I don't understand how he thought he was going to beat her into doing that..."

"...How are you handling it?"

"Cassie has come a long ways... there are still some things that will take time to work through, but-"

"Not Cassie, Mark. We talked all day yesterday. How are you handling it?"

Mark let out a heavy sigh and sat down across from his sister-in-law.

"...I don't know. It's hard. Some days are alright... but then other days I realize he's still out there and... I've never felt so vulnerable in my entire life."

"Vulnerable?"

"I think vulnerable is an understatement. ...A man came into our lives, completely turned it upside down... took my wife, could've taken my sons... could've killed my entire family and I know I don't really have any way of stopping that from happening again. I've taken every precaution I can... and I still don't feel like my family is safe. And I can't even go to my Pa for advice anymore when I'm at a loss for how to help Cassie... or when we're in an argument..." Mark shook his head. "...And then there's the matter of me being out of a job in two weeks... I know this move needed to happen, but... I'm overwhelmed. Things with Cassie have had their ups and downs... and I'm not upset... it's just hard because we can be so close one day... and then the next day all she needs is space. I understand... it can be hard dealing with flashbacks... especially when you're the victim and the other person in the room with you has the same stature as your assailant. But it's in those moments when all I want to do is hold her, to be close with her. ...It was especially hard after she told me about the baby."

"...The baby? Cassie's pregnant?"

"No... she didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"...The day Reaper showed up, Cassie was going to head to town and ask Doc for an opinion on her symptoms... but she never got the chance. ...She lost the baby the next day."

"Oh, Mark... I'm so sorry..."

"...That's just added to everything else. I'm glad that Cassie isn't blaming herself this time... but... it's still hard."

"I... I can't imagine..."

"...It's been a long couple of months."

"...Is there any word about where Reaper is?"

"No... I just pray they find him soon."

"...Mark, is there anything I can do to help while I'm here?"

Mark faintly smiled and shook his head.

"Thank you, but no. We really do appreciate you coming up... not having any family around has been hard and it's enough just that you're here."

"If you think of anything, let me know."

"Thanks. I-"

Mark was suddenly interrupted as the kitchen door opened and his sons ran into the room, calling for him.

"Well, how are my partners doing this morning?"

"Hi Papa!"

Daniel gave Mark a hug before running to his aunt and climbing in the seat beside her. Mark picked up Matthew and set him on his lap.

"Wait a minute... how did you get out of bed?"

Matthew pointed to Daniel, who was quick to defend himself.

"He- he already come out! He was falling, so I push-ed the box."

Anna chuckled at the panicked look on her nephew's face.

"Sounds like the two of you are going to be quite the troublesome duo."

"Let's just hope that can wait a few more years..." Mark sighed. "Daniel, if that happens again, you can try to help, but call for me or your Mama. I wouldn't want either one of you getting hurt."

"Why Matthew sleep in the crib?"

"Because he would fall out of a big bed."

"But he comes out of the crib?"

"We'll see about him getting a big bed in a year or so."

"How long is that?"

"A long time..."

Everyone looked up as the door to the kitchen again opened and Cassie entered the room.

"Good morning," she pleasantly called. "Anna, did you sleep alright? I didn't want to wake you."

"After sleeping on a train and trying to sleep on the stage coach, I slept perfectly fine, thank you."

"Mark, is your coffee done brewing?"

"Yeah, I'll get it."

"That's alright." Cassie got a cup from the cabinet and got Mark his coffee. "What time do you have to go into the office?"

"I should probably head over as soon as we finish breakfast... I have a nice big report to write on that Walton case."

"Any idea when you'll be home?"

"I'm not sure... this case has taken up so much of my time I haven't been able to get to other things so I might be late. But I was thinking I could meet you all over at the café for lunch."

"I'm all for not having to make lunch. What time?"

"One?"

"Sounds good."

"Cassie, can I help you with breakfast?"

"Oh, you need milk and eggs," Mark suddenly said. "Daniel, you want to help me with the chores?"

"Yes!"

After breakfast that morning, Mark headed to work as Cassie and Anna started cleaning up the kitchen.

"...So I take it your talk with Mark went well last night?"

"Well... I don't really think the talk went too well... but we needed to have it. ...I know things are still going to be hard, but I was able to sleep through the night for the first time in... I don't know how long."

"I'm glad."

"...So how is Helen adjusting to having two?"

"She's managing," Anna chuckled. "Ned helps out where he can... but he's so busy with deputing and the Marshals Service... sometimes it's hardly like he's there."

"Did he ever get that second promotion?"

"I haven't heard anything about it... I don't know for sure. Not that he needs more responsibility right now, anyway."

"I can imagine. ...When do you head back east for school?"

"I'll leave August thirteenth... I need to get settled at the boarding house and then take care of a few other things before the semester begins. ...It's strange to think that the summer is already almost halfway over."

"...I haven't really even thought about it. With no cattle being prepared for market, no garden to harvest... the days just all seem to blur together. It's so different from being back home."

"...If the circumstances were different... if family was close by, would you prefer living on the ranch, or in town with Mark having the same kind of job he does now?"

"The ranch, no question about it… Mark having a job like this… it makes me nervous. And then I get so stir crazy sometimes... I don't know what to do with myself. I've been doing a lot of sewing. Speaking of which, would you mind taking some things back to Helen for me? I was going to send her a few blankets and things."

"I'd be happy to. No sense in her waiting three months for it to get there!"

"If it even does," Cassie chuckled. "I wish there was a faster way to send things... and I wish items didn't get 'lost' so easily in the mail."

"You and me both."

Shortly before one, Anna and Cassie walked the boys over to the café where they took a seat and waited for a Mark. When he finally did arrive, he was laughing.

"What?" Cassie asked.

Mark sat down, shaking his head.

"Pa... I just got a wire from him and..." Mark continued to laugh as he spoke, "I wish I could've been there to see this..."

"To see what?" Anna inquired.

"Charles... Charles is Rachael's partner. They showed up to visit Ma and Pa and Charles asked for Rachael's hand," he explained, still chuckling to himself. "I can tell you right now that Pa wasn't ready for that!"

"Why did he wire you?" Cassie asked.

"Oh, I met Charles back in Chicago. He wanted to know my opinion of the man. I don't think Pa is going to be too happy with what I had to say about him..."

"Why? What's wrong with him?" Anna questioned.

"Nothing. That's the thing. I think Charles and Rachael would make a great couple... I just don't think Pa is ready for Rachael to be getting married yet..."

"You sound like you were expecting this to happen," Cassie commented.

"...Rachael and I have talked about it before. I'm glad she told Charles to go through Pa, first, though... I'm sure it means a lot to him... whether he's ready to let go of her or not." Mark suddenly saw Anna's expression change and quieted. "...Anna, are you alright?"

"...Sorry," she answered, shaking her head. "It's just... I really never thought about... with both my parents being gone... I guess it doesn't make much of a difference."

"...What?" Cassie asked.

"...Just that there's no one to give permission... to give me away."

"...Well," Cassie slowly began. "At least you'll know for sure that Ned will be there. I certainly wasn't looking forward to walking down the aisle by myself, and I was sure glad when he showed up!"

"Ma could have skinned him alive for not sending word," Anna chuckled. "You should have heard the tongue-lashing he got that night!"

7MC7

Coming out of the church, Lucas shook his head and laughed.

"What is it?" Milly asked.

"Isaac," he replied, gesturing to where the man stood with the Young family. "He's so nervous."

"Weren't you?"

"I suppose I was. Speaking of which, how is your father?"

"Molly said he's still recovering from the fall, but doing well, considering."

"Mama, you have a Papa?" Lydia asked.

"Yes," she chuckled. "Don't you remember me telling you about your Grandpa Josiah?"

"I didn't know he was your Papa. Papa, do you have a Papa?"

"I did, but he died a long time ago."

"What was his name?"

"John."

"Mama, when can I meet your Papa?"

"...I don't know. He lives a long ways away."

"Longer than Mark and Cassie?"

"Well, no... but it's still quite a distance. Hopefully one day you'll be able to."

Before Lydia could say anything else, Lucas turned to his nephew.

"I don't see why we wouldn't be back before you turn in, but just in case, remember that we have an early morning tomorrow with those cows in the east pasture."

"Actually..." Rees began, but then he hesitated.

"Actually...?"

"...Do you think Uncle Johnny and Aunt Lou would mind... if I... never mind..."

"Rees," Lucas stopped his nephew from walking away as he put a hand on his shoulder. "You know you're always welcome. You've always had an open invitation. You just have to decide if you want to participate in the family or not."

"Was never too keen on my own cookin', anyway."

Lucas smiled as he slapped Rees's shoulder.

"Let's get on over there then."

"Lucas, where's Micah?" Milly asked.

"I think Lou and Johnny's kids already started dragging him over there."

"Papa, can I run ahead?"

"I don't see why..." Lucas stopped as he saw the look Milly gave him. "What?"

"Not in her Sunday shoes and dress, and especially not after last week! I spent an hour getting the mud out of her dress and I don't want to have to do it again!"

"We'll get there soon enough," Lucas told his daughter. "You never did explain how you and Maddy got so dirty."

"...Didn't Mark ever get dirty when he was playing?"

"That he did..."

When the McCains and Rees arrived at the Gibbses', Johnny greeted them, surprised that Rees had finally decided to join the family for Sunday dinner. As the children played and the women finished getting the meal ready, the men talked cattle and business in the sitting room. Johnny and Lucas both noticed how uneasy Rees seemed, but appreciated that he was making an effort to socialize.

During dessert, Johnny excused himself to deal with Peter, who was supposed to be taking a nap. Rees waited a few minutes before leaving the dining room and walking out to the hall where he waited for his uncle to return.

"Need something, Rees?" Johnny asked as he rounded the corner.

"Actually... Uncle Johnny... I was wondering if we might talk... privately."

"...Sure." Johnny led Rees out to the front porch where both men leaned against the railing. "...What's on your mind?"

"Well... I kind of wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" Johnny echoed in surprise.

"I've had a chip on my shoulder since I got here. I was... honestly still am angry about things back home and just kinda assumed everyone was against me. I didn't really want to give anyone a chance and was downright rude to you and Uncle Lucas. I thought being bitter and showing that I wasn't the one who needed to change was the answer. But it wasn't... and... well, I'm sorry."

"...I accept your apology. ...Rees, I know Lucas isn't going to push you for answers. It's not that he doesn't care about what happened..."

"But we have to live and work together until the end of the summer... and I was pretty rude about everything when I got here."

"Bitterness and anger can do a lot to a man. Got me into a heap of trouble. Whether you want to admit it or not, you need to talk about it. There's a reason you did what you did... I can see something festering inside of you. ...And if I'm right, I think somehow this has to do with your father."

"Part of it does... how did you know?"

"I see in you what was inside of me for a long time. Resentment for someone who you're supposed to love, but can't help but hate."

"Well I wouldn't go that far... I mean, maybe at the beginning of the summer... but I mean... I don't hate him. And Ma... I just... I don't know."

"You want to tell me what happened?"

"...I admit I had fallen into some bad company. But I never stuck around when they broke any laws." Rees could see Johnny trying to suppress his laughter. "I know, I know, not the brightest decision. But we all thought alike... we wanted to get out there, to see the world. We even started pooling our money together and buying newspaper subscriptions from all over... San Francisco, New York, anywhere and everywhere that something exciting was happening. Growing up in Nebraska... we just felt so... imprisoned, you know?"

Johnny chuckled and nodded his head.

"I was the same way."

"My parents never liked the idea of me going out there. Thought I'd get myself into trouble. I felt like anything I got excited about, they shot down. I tried explaining my plans... what I wanted to do with my life, but they said that was no way to live. I guess that's part of what started the tension between us. I just felt like they were laughing at me, so I didn't bother really talking to them about much of anything anymore. I did things I shouldn't have... purposely missing curfew, getting disrespectful... if I'm being completely honest, I got lazy about my chores around the farm. I know that wasn't right, but I didn't get into any serious trouble. Like I said, I didn't stick around when the guys started doing things they shouldn't have. Vandalizing shops, stealing from the doctor's medicine cabinet, that sort of thing."

"So what changed?"

"...My Pa was away on business and I came home early from the fields one day. There was a buggy outside and when I walked in..."

Johnny could see the anger on his nephew's face and waited for him to go on.

"There ain't no pretty way to put it. My Ma was kissing the butcher."

Johnny stared at Rees in shock, unable to speak.

"You would think she would've tried to explain or apologize. Instead, she just started yelling at me. She said if I ever told, I would regret it and my Pa wouldn't believe me."

"...So how does that get you here?"

"Well, I didn't really know what to do, so I just kept my mouth shut. But then one night... the boys said the butcher was their next target. I just snapped."

"So you admit to it, then?"

"I've never denied it... I just have told people they don't have the whole story. And yeah, I was wrong... and I'm really lucky the butcher just let us off with a hefty fine... I think he was happy that I had just lost any credibility I did have. But I just couldn't stand the thought of what they had done. How my Ma had betrayed my Pa. ...Pa kept demanding to know why I did it, so I finally exploded and told him. Of course, Ma denied everything and said I was just trying to get out of trouble. Pa believed her... and part of me doesn't blame him... but the other part..." Rees let out a heavy sigh. "I wonder if deep down he knows it's true and wanted to send me away, get me out of the picture, afraid I would say something to someone. Ma and Pa's relationship has been rocky the last few years and... I mean, they've even spent months at a time sleeping in different rooms. I know what happened doesn't justify what I did, but I'm frankly not sorry I did it. It's not like my relationship with my parents was going well, anyway. Why not get back at the butcher while I had the chance?"

"Because that wasn't your place," Johnny bluntly replied. "Rees, I know you're hurt by what happened but pulling a stunt like that..."

"It was immature, I know. I'm not saying I'd do it again, but I'm not sorry I did."

"So what's your plan? Are you just going to leave things like this with your parents?"

"I don't really know yet. I mean, Ma is furious with me and Pa will hardly speak to me, so I guess there's not really much I can do."

Johnny and Rees looked behind them as they heard Lucas say, "There's always something."

"How long have you been standing there?" Rees asked.

"A while. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I had to check on Lydia and-"

"It's alright... I was going to tell you later, anyway. ...But what do you mean? How am I supposed to fix this?"

"He's not saying you can fix it," Johnny answered.

"But what I am saying is that you can be the bigger person and do what you need to do to make things right on your end. I know it won't be easy. I know your parents made mistakes... big mistakes. But you won't be hurting anyone but yourself by letting the resentment build up."

"What are you suggesting I do? I'm paying my Pa back, but I definitely can't go back and live there. I've never wanted to and I definitely don't want to now."

"How about all those other things you told me about at the beginning?" Johnny asked.

"You're saying to apologize?!"

"You said yourself that you were wrong."

"Well yeah, but..."

"But what?" Lucas asked.

"You just don't understand that-"

Rees was suddenly interrupted by John Hamilton, who came running down the street yelling for Johnny.

"John? What's wrong?" The marshal asked.

"The bank! I just went over to get something from my desk and the safe had been broken into!"

"I'll get Ned and Curt and meet you at the bank in a few minutes. Don't touch anything!"

As Johnny turned to go inside, Lucas turned to his nephew.

"We'll finish talking about this later. I want you to see to it that the rest of the family gets home. You and Isaac start on the east pasture first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir."

Rees followed Lucas inside where Ned and Johnny were telling their families goodbye.

"Lucas, you coming or staying?" Curt asked.

"Somebody has to make sure the three of you get back in one piece."

"Lucas, I need someone to watch the town," Johnny said.

"Ask Nils. If this happened last night, there's no telling how far they've gotten and you'll need as good a tracker as you can get."

"...Alright."

As the other wives finished saying goodbye to their husbands, Milly walked to Lucas.

"Be careful..."

"You know I will be," Lucas replied, giving her a hug. "Tell Lydia I said I love her."

"I will..."

Lucas could tell is wife was struggling. He put a hand to her cheek and gave her a long kiss.

"I'll be fine. The boys will be at the ranch if you need anything."

"I know. I love you."

"Love you too."

In just a few minutes, the men had saddled up and headed out. Milly, Lou, and Helen stood on the porch watching their husbands ride off until all that was left behind was a cloud of dust. Milly was the first to return inside, where she approached Rees and Micah.

"I think we better be heading home... I need to check on Rachael, anyway."

"Milly, I think I'm going to stay the night at the hotel," Micah replied. "That way I can give Nils a hand if he needs it."

Milly had her reservations, but she knew Nils wouldn't let anything happen to him.

"Alright. Rees, I'm going to get Lydia, would you mind hitching the team?"

"Sure."

After Lydia's questions about where Lucas had gone died down, it was a quiet ride back to the ranch. When they finally arrived back home, Milly and Lydia walked inside as Rees took care of the horses. Milly headed to Lydia and Rachael's bedroom door and knocked, but didn't get an answer.

"Rachael, are you feeling any better? Do you need anything?"

After a few moments, Milly heard Rachael's reply, but it came from the kitchen.

"...I... I'm back here..."

Milly walked back to the kitchen, unprepared for the scene that greeted her. Rachael was sitting in a chair with her hands tied behind her back, one of the two men in the kitchen holding a gun on her.

"Aunt Milly, I'm sorry, I-"

"...It's alright, Rachael."

As Lydia came into the kitchen, Milly stopped her daughter from walking farther into the room and directed Lydia to stand behind her.

"...What do you want?" Milly asked the men.

"Not much," one man replied. "We just need a place to lay low while the posse is out chasing their tails. You don't mind us sticking around, do you?"

"You need to leave."

The man laughed, shaking his head.

"You hear what she said, Davey? She says we need to leave!"

The back door suddenly opened as Rees was pushed into the kitchen, a third man walking in behind him, gun drawn.

"Hey Frank, look what I found!"

"Please," Milly began, "More people are due here soon! They'll know something's wrong, they-"

"What's wrong with a man paying his little brother a visit? Naw, Isaac won't cause us any trouble."

"You're..."

"Davey, Cole, tie them up while I deal with the brat."

As Davey grabbed Milly's arm and pulled her aside, Frank approached Lydia.

"Mama!"

"Don't you touch her!"

Frank picked up a fighting Lydia as Milly yelled at him to stop, struggling against the man that held her. Rees attempted to bolt forward, but was pistol whipped by Cole, sending him to his knees. Frank drew his weapon and pointed it at Milly as Davey forced her into a chair.

"Look, I don't want to hurt anybody. You all behave, we'll be on our way and you can move on like none of this ever happened. You don't cooperate... well, somebody's gonna get hurt. Now, I really don't wanna see that happen, but some of you..." the man looked to Rachael and Milly realized her niece had a bruise developing on her cheek. "Some of you don't seem to understand that. Now, I'm just gonna take the girl somewheres I don't have to keep an eye on her. She'll be alright... so long as the rest of you behave. Am I clear?"

Milly, Rees, and Rachael slowly nodded.

"Wait a minute… lady, where's that sodbustin' husband of yours?"

Milly hesitated in answering.

"Where?!"

"On the posse… he went with the posse."

"Good. You two get them tied up."

8MC8

After a well enjoyed meal, Elizabeth and her mother began to clear the dishes from the table. On her way out of the dining room, Elizabeth whispered in her father's ear, "Please be nice," and gave him a kiss. As the door closed behind the women, Mr. Young turned to Isaac.

"So, how are you liking the cattle business?"

"I enjoy it very much, sir. Admittedly, two years ago I couldn't see myself working cattle, but now I wouldn't want to do anything else. When I have enough money saved up, I'd like to buy a spread of my own."

"Cattle can be quite a risky business."

"No more than farmin' or loggin'... and somebody's gotta do it." Isaac suddenly internally kicked himself for his poor grammar. "...And Mr. McCain has been teaching me quite a bit about the ins and outs of cattle ranching... I'm quite lucky to be working for him."

"Yes, Lucas is a good businessman... a good man in general. You still living out at their place?"

"Yes sir. With the younger McCains having moved, Rees and I stay in their home. Mr. McCain said he would hate for it to just sit there, empty."

"I'm sure having Mark and Cassie move was quite a blow to them. You know where they headed?"

"I'm not..." Isaac stopped himself from saying, 'rightly,' before going on, "Exactly sure."

"What kind of work is Mark in?"

"For now he's working with the Pinkerton Detective Agency."

"I suppose those months he spent out in Chicago weren't wasted, after all. ...So, Isaac, you have any family?"

"My folks died a few years ago. I've got... I have a brother, but... I don't really see much of him. He left home a long time ago."

"Aunts? Uncles?"

"A few back east, but they weren't too happy about it when my folks decided to move farther west."

"What did bring your family out here?"

"...My father's health had been declining and the doctors thought he might do better in a drier climate."

"And your family still wanted you to stay?"

"...My parents, especially my father, were proud people. He didn't tell anybody the real reason behind us leaving... they all thought it was over a business dispute."

"I see."

"So what brought you and the Mrs. here to North Fork?"

"We got burned out of our old town. Samantha had friends here so it made sense to start where we had connections. The first few years were hard, but things eventually smoothed out. Still can't believe how much the population has fluctuated over the years. It wasn't much when we moved here... had a few good years with lots of new families... then smallpox hit and several families had to start over somewhere else. Things were good for several years after that, but then the mill closed. I think we're finally starting to make traction again, though."

"...Mr. Young, I've been meaning to ask you, when is Elizabeth's birthday?"

The man chuckled before answering.

"As my wife says, Elizabeth was our Christmas miracle. We didn't think we'd be able to have children and were so excited when we found out that Samantha was expecting. ...But then she went into labor prematurely on the morning of Christmas Eve. We were both somewhat of a frantic mess, but later that night we were thanking the Lord for a healthy baby girl. ...And she's still very much our little girl."

"...Yes sir."

"I'm aware that she's grown into a beautiful young woman, but she'll always be my little girl. So I'm not afraid to repeat what I told you when you asked to start courting her. You dishonor or hurt her in anyway, you will be answering to me."

"Yes- yes sir. I wouldn't dream of hurting your daughter... she's very special to me."

"Elizabeth said you were going riding this afternoon and then over to the McCains' place. What time do you intend on having her home?"

"Is nine o'clock alright?"

"...Nine o'clock, on the dot."

"Yes sir."

Isaac attempted to continue making conversation with Mr. Young until Elizabeth was ready to go. They spent several hours riding, ending up at an unowned ranch past the McCains'.

"It sure is beautiful out here," Elizabeth commented.

"I know it probably won't happen... but one day I'd like to be able to own this place and run a bunch of cattle."

"What makes you think it won't happen?"

"I'm several years away from being able to make a downpayment on a place... I'm sure somebody will have bought it by then."

"You can always hope."

"...What about you? What are your dreams?"

"My dreams?" Elizabeth laughed. "I don't have any."

"Come on, you've got to have one."

"...Not really. All my life I've known what was expected of me... what would happen. I don't mind it... it just doesn't leave much room for dreaming."

"If you could go anywhere, where would it be?"

"...I suppose it would be interesting to go see the President's Palace... I've read a lot about it and it all sounds so... breathtaking."

"I never would have thought you'd like the city."

"I've lived in North Fork almost my entire life... I can't remember living anywhere else. I've never been able to go anywhere else and... I don't know... it just sounds so exciting. ...I guess I'm also being a bit juvenile and silly."

"Not at all. If you want to go, one day I think we should find a way to make that happen."

"We?" Elizabeth asked, slightly blushing.

"...Well there is a reason we're courting, isn't there?"

Elizabeth smiled, nervously playing with her hair.

"Come on," Isaac began as he grabbed her horse's reins, "I have a few more spots to show you before we head to the McCains' place."

Isaac and Elizabeth continued to ride for about an hour before finally arriving in the McCains' yard. Isaac unsaddled the horses and let them out into the corral before taking Elizabeth's hand and leading her inside. The smile on Isaac's face, however, suddenly disappeared as he walked into the front room and saw his brother sitting in a chair, smoking a cigar.

"...Frank what are you doing here? Where are the McCains?"

"They're fine, in the kitchen. Most of them, anyway."

"Most of them?"

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your girl? I will say, you weren't lying when-"

"What do you mean, most of them?!"

"The youngin's in the bedroom. As for Mr. McCain, I'm assuming he's alright. Out on the trail... seems someone robbed the bank."

"Robbed the... Frank! You can't just rob a bank and expect to get away with it!"

"Done five so far... don't see why this one's any different."

"Five?! Frank! What are you-"

"Simmer down, Isaac. It's not like I'm gonna hurt anybody."

"Frank, there's a lot of things I'll let you do... but robbing a bank and holding a family hostage isn't one of them!"

"Who said anything about me holding anyone hostage? We're just waiting until dark... it'll be harder for the posse to track us that way."

"Be reasonable, Frank! Someone's gonna catch up with you sooner or later. And if Mr. McCain is on that posse... he'll have you tracked down in no time!"

"I've been here for hours... you see any posse? I know how to throw a trail. Don't worry, we'll be out of your hair in no time."

"No, Frank."

"What do you mean, no?"

"I'm not going to let you leave."

Frank laughed and shook his head.

"Just how do you plan on doing that?"

As Isaac pulled his pistol from his holster and took several steps forward, his brother stopped laughing.

"...Come on, Isaac. You couldn't hurt a fly. Are you going to shoot me, your own flesh and blood?"

"I really hope I don't have to... but I'm not just going to stand by and let you get away with this."

"I thought the word, brother, meant something to you?"

"It does... it means I can't let you keep on destroying your life."

Hearing Elizabeth scream, Isaac suddenly turned around and saw a man grabbing her from behind. Before he could do anything, Isaac felt something hit his head and fell to the ground, unconscious.

9MC9

Cassie stepped forward and gave her sister one last hug.

"Thank you so much for coming... and for everything else."

"Thanks for letting me barge in on you."

"Not like you gave us a choice," Mark teased.

Anna rolled her eyes and turned to give her brother-in-law a hug.

"Take care of her," Anna whispered.

Mark nodded before stepping back and helping Anna into the stage.

"Wire us when you get home," Mark said.

"I will."

"Aunt Anna, you come back?" Daniel asked as Mark picked him up.

"I will if I can. You be good and we'll get treats next time I come."

"Promise?"

"I promise," Anna chuckled as she closed the stage door. "Love you all."

As the driver slapped the reins, urging the team forward, the family finished bidding each other farewell. Cassie and Mark stood there, each holding a son in their arms as the stage disappeared from sight. Mark looked over and saw a tear escape his wife's eye before he wrapped an arm around her.

"I'm glad she decided to come."

"...Mark, how long do you think it will be?"

"Until...?"

"...Until we can go back home."

Mark let out a heavy sigh as he looked back down the street.

"...I don't know. I... I had hoped we could be packing up to move back home after my two months were up... but they don't have any leads."

"I miss her already..."

"...I know."

As Mark and Cassie turned to go back home, gunshots suddenly sounded down the street.

"Get inside!"

Mark shielded his family with his body as they ran inside the depot office.

"Cassie, take the boys behind the desk!"

While Cassie and the boys joined the office manager behind the desk, Mark ran to the window to see what was happening. Two men stood outside of the bank, firing across the street at the sheriff and his deputy. Suddenly, the deputy fell to the ground.

"Stay here!"

"Mark?!"

"Don't move until I come and get you!"

Mark ran outside and down the boardwalk until he was close enough to get a clean shot. As Mark positioned himself behind a barrel, he heard Jack cry out in pain.

The detective didn't hesitate; he shouldered his rifle and fired, hitting one of the outlaws in the shoulder. Having now drawn the fire of the outlaws to himself, Mark was forced to duck behind the barrel as bullets went flying past him.

Finally able to look out from behind the barrel, Mark saw the men rounding the corner, leaving his line of vision. He chased after them, only to be led to a crowded street. The outlaws had mounted their horses and were riding away, but Mark couldn't justify taking a shot; too many people were present.

Mark ran back to Jack and Chad where a small crowd had begun to form.

"Someone help me get them over to Doc Martin!"

Several men stepped forward from the crowd and helped Mark carry the sheriff and deputy to the doctor's office.

"What happened?" Martin asked as he showed the men to the back room.

Mark let someone else do the explaining, and as soon as Jack was settled on an examination table, he ran back to the stage depot. As he rushed inside the office, Mark could hear his sons crying and quickly pulled his family into his arms.

"It's gonna be alright," he assured his boys.

"Mark, what happened?"

"Bank was robbed, Jack and Chad were shot, they're down at Doc Martin's."

"Will they be alright?!"

"I don't know. I'm going to take you back home and I want you to stay home and lock the doors."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going after them."

"By yourself?!"

"Jack and Chad were shot! Those criminals are going to pay and I can't lose the trail!"

"Mark-"

Mark cupped his wife's face in his hands and gave her a long kiss.

"I love you, but right now, I'm the best chance we have at catching them! I can't just sit around!"

Reluctantly, Cassie nodded.

As Mark picked up the boys and the family started to leave the office, the manager called out to Mark.

"McCain, you're crazy!"

"Runs in the family!"

As quickly as he could, Mark saw his family home before saddling Sergeant and racing out of town. At first, the trail was easy to follow. After a few miles, however, the outlaws started thinking instead of just running and tried to cover their tracks, making it more difficult for Mark to follow them.

Several hours later, Mark came upon a river that the outlaws had crossed. Once on the other side, Mark began searching the bank for evidence of their trail starting up again. Picking up a trail after a river crossing was always difficult, and Mark knew that the longer it took him to find the trail, the slimmer his chances of finding the criminals became.

As Mark continued his search, memories from his childhood, of tracking with his Pa, flooded his mind. ...But they were memories he wished would leave him alone. Any time Mark thought about his Pa he became distracted and distant... and he knew he needed to focus on the task at hand.

Finally, Mark was able to pick up the trail again. He found evidence that one of the outlaws was still bleeding, which meant that they would eventually have to stop to tend to the wound. Mark hoped that would be soon.

It was nearing one o'clock when Mark finally heard voices in the distance. He dismounted from Sergeant and ground tied the horse before taking his rifle from the scabbard and proceeding.

As Mark got closer to the voices, something didn't quite seem right to him. Crouching behind a bolder, Mark was finally able to get a good look at the outlaws he had been trailing. To his surprise, Mark discovered that he hadn't been following two men. A woman was lying on the ground, holding a hand to her shoulder as a man knelt down beside her, holding a canteen.

"I told you I didn't like the looks of that town," she complained.

"Eliza, I'm sorry! What else do you want me to say?!"

"Oh, I don't know... maybe that you'll listen to me next time!"

"Hold still, you're going to make the bleeding worse."

"Don't you start changing the subject!"

The man let out a heavy sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry. You were right and I should've listened to you. But we can't go back to this morning and change the fact that you were shot! You know I'd give anything if I could! Now sit still and let me look at it before you bleed out!"

Reluctantly, the woman moved her hand and let him look at it.

"It's still in there..."

"I know- I can feel it!"

"Liza, we've gotta get you to a doctor..."

"No! No way! We haven't come this far just to get caught! The people in Dayton know I'm injured, they've probably wired every doctor for a hundred miles around!"

"Well it just can't stay in there!"

"You take it out then."

"Me?! Eliza May, you're insane!"

"You always liked taking frogs apart, how different can it be? Think of it like the frog's heart."

"How dif... I was ten and it was a frog, not my sister! Liza, I don't know anything about doctorin'! I could kill you!"

"It's just a bullet wound, what could go so wrong?"

Rifle shouldered and trained on the brother, Mark came out from his hiding spot.

"Well for starters, he could infect the wound, if it isn't infected already. He could also nick a vein and you'd bleed out in a matter of minutes. Or he could just shove the bullet deeper inside of you and then you'd really be up a creek." Seeing the man going for his gun, Mark cocked his rifle. "Not so fast. Both guns, toss 'em away."

The man slowly nodded and followed Mark's directions.

"...Who are you?"

"The person that makes sure you're gonna pay for shooting up our sheriff and deputy."

"...You know something about doctorin'?"

"...Maybe."

"Please... you help my sister, we'll go with you, peaceable like..."

"Steven, I don't need any help! We're not getting taken in, especially by the likes of this two-bit-"

"Liza, right now we don't really have much of a choice! You need a doctor and he's got the gun!"

The woman didn't say anything, but simply glared at Mark. Keeping his rifle trained on the crooks, Mark got his handcuffs and threw them to the brother and motioned to a tree about five yards out.

"Handcuff yourself to that tree over there and I'll see what I can do."

Mark waited for the man to follow his orders before lowering his rifle and approaching the woman. He examined the wound, satisfied that he had hit where he had intended to. The bullet wasn't deep, and Mark felt that it would be safer to remove the bullet where they were instead of making the woman ride all the way back to town with it lodged in her shoulder.

"You have any alcohol?" Mark asked the man.

"In the mare's saddlebags."

Mark turned to the woman and ordered her to stay put. He retrieved the flask and a small pouch from his own saddlebag before returning to the woman and knelt down beside her.

"This is gonna sting."

"I've been shot before, I ain't no sissy."

Mark cleaned the wound, as well as the knife and pair of tweezers he had pulled from the pouch. As much as Mark knew the woman tried to fight it, she did yell out some as he tried to remove the bullet. Eventually he was able to pull it out and bandage the wound.

"That should do it until a real doctor can get you stitched up."

As Mark turned to put a few things away, the woman suddenly picked up a branch and swung it towards him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mark saw it coming and turned, trying to deflect the blow with his arms. He still couldn't stop the log from hitting his temple, the force of the blow causing him to stumble. As Mark struggled to keep his balance, the woman prepared to swing again. Only this time, Mark was able to grab the branch and yanked it forward, causing the woman to fall to the ground. He threw the branch aside before grabbing her good arm and twisting it behind her back.

"Look, I helped you because I want to see you and that two-bit brother of yours stand trial. Other arrangements can be made if you'd rather not." It was an empty threat, but Mark knew she didn't know that. "Are we going to have any more problems?"

"No..."

"Good."

10MC10

"Frank, it's getting dark, we should be going."

"Yeah... it's about time we head out. Grab the blonde and let's get out of here."

Milly, Rachael, and Elizabeth all looked at each other with panic on their faces. Again, Isaac struggled to get out of his restraints.

"Frank, you touch one hair on her head and so help me I'll-"

"Isaac, don't worry, I won't hurt her. We just need a little... insurance, in case the posse decides to show up."

Cole untied Elizabeth and pulled her to her feet before pushing her towards the door.

"Isaac?!"

"Frank, leave her alone!"

"Please," Rachael begged, "Take me instead!"

"I'm afraid you've caused too much trouble for me to take you up on that, missy." Frank approached a frightened Elizabeth and took hold of her arm. "Don't worry, you cooperate and you'll be back home in two days' time."

"Leave her be," Milly yelled. "I'll go, I won't cause any trouble!"

"Naw... I think she'll do just fine... won't you, sweetheart?"

Elizabeth slowly nodded as she tried to fight the tears welling in her eyes.

"Good."

"Frank, you'll regret this!" Isaac yelled. "I'll track you down! I won't rest until I see you behind bars!"

"You all enjoy your evening."

Isaac yelling after them, the outlaws left the house, pulling a tearful Elizabeth behind them.

"FRANK! FRANK!"

"Isaac, give it a rest!" Rees shook his head and continued to try to get out of the ropes that bound him to the chair. "They're not coming back. Our best chance is to get out of here and go after them ourselves."

"And just how do you plan to do that?! These ropes are so tight I'm losing all feeling in my hands!"

"Just keep working at it," Rachael replied. "If we're lucky, someone will dislocate something and be able to pull out of the ropes."

"I should've never brought her here..."

"Isaac, you can't blame yourself," Milly stated. "You didn't rob the bank, you didn't force your way in here, you didn't take Elizabeth hostage."

"I told Frank about the ranch, about you all..."

"You had no way of knowing what he was planning," Rachael insisted.

"I should have! Frank's never been anything but trouble!"

"We'll get her back," Rees said. "Just focus on getting out of those ropes!"

The minutes ticked by as they all tried to get out of their restraints. Milly was becoming more and more worried about Lydia, still having no idea where Frank had left her daughter.

Rachael was becoming frustrated with herself. She had spent hours working on how to get out of ropes, and she was still struggling to make the slightest bit of difference. She let out a heavy sigh as she looked out the window, only to see a reflection of herself. She shook her head as she mumbled, "I'm so stupid..."

Suddenly, everyone heard a thud and saw that Rachael's chair had fallen over.

"Rachael, are you alright?" Milly asked.

"I'm fine." As Rachael replied, she began using her body weight to pull herself and the chair she was tied to across the floor.

"You're leg, Rachael!"

"It'll be fine. Rees, I'm going to position myself behind you. I need you to feel around and pull my hair comb out."

"Your hair comb?"

"There's a blade built into the backside of it."

"Any reason you didn't say anything about this fifteen minutes ago?"

"I forgot it was there! Just pull it out."

Rees felt around until he finally found the hair piece and pulled it out of Rachael's hair. Rachael then took the comb back from Rees and in a few short moments had cut herself free. She then untied Rees, who went to untie Milly as Rachael helped Isaac.

As soon as she was free, Milly ran from the kitchen and yelled for her daughter. Lydia's voice suddenly came from her bedroom and Milly followed her daughter's cries to the closet.

"Mama! Mama I'm in here!"

"Just a minute, darling..."

Milly struggled to get the door unlocked until the key finally turned.

"Mama!"

Milly dropped to her knees and pulled her crying daughter into her arms.

"Shh... it's alright... you're alright..."

Lydia buried her head into her mother's shoulder, sobbing.

"Mama's here... it's alright..."

Still trying to comfort her daughter, Milly carried Lydia out to the front room. Looking out the window, Milly saw Rees and Isaac saddling two horses in the corral. She ran outside, calling to them.

"You can't go out there by yourselves!"

"They have Elizabeth!" Isaac replied.

"I know! There's three of them and two of you! If you go chasing after them, if you make them feel threatened... who knows what they'll do to her!"

"I'm not staying here!"

"Rees, talk some sense into him! Wait for the posse!"

"There's no time to waste and Isaac isn't going to listen to reason. The least I can do is give him some back up."

"You could get yourselves killed!"

"And they could kill Elizabeth," Isaac replied before he and Rees ran back to the house. They returned a few moments later, strapping on their gun belts.

"...Please, be careful."

"We will be," Rees promised.

"We'll do whatever it takes to get Elizabeth back," Isaac began, "At least I will."

Milly and Rachael watched as both young men mounted up and took off. They kept staring until all that was left was a cloud of dust. Milly finally sighed and turned back to her niece.

"How's your leg?"

"It's a little sore... but I'll be fine." Using her crutches, Rachael stepped closer to Milly and put a hand on Lydia's back. "She alright?"

"...I think so... just scared."

They slowly headed inside and sat down in the front room, taking in all that had happened. There was a very long silence before Milly turned to Rachael.

"How are you feeling?"

"...I'm still getting over the shock of what just happened, but I'm fine. Whatever was making me feel unwell this morning passed about an hour before they showed up."

"What exactly did happen?"

"I was fixing some tea in the kitchen and they just forced their way inside. I tried stopping them... I tried getting my revolver... if I had been able to stop them, you wouldn't have had to come home to-"

"Rachael, this isn't your fault! There were three of them and one of you... I'm just glad they didn't hurt you anymore than they did." Milly paused and shook her head. "...I don't understand why the posse isn't here yet. They should have been here hours ago."

"...Depending on how much planning went into this, they could have created several false trails before... or even after robbing the bank. I've seen it done before... and it's a pain in the neck to try to find the right trail."

"I hope someone gets here soon... Rees and Isaac are too young to be out there, tracking down criminals..."

"They're both survivors... I'm sure they'll be alright."

11MC11

As Mark ordered his prisoners to dismount, Gordon emerged from the sheriff's office.

"Mark, what were you thinking?!"

"I got 'em, didn't I?"

As Gordon took hold of Steven, Mark took Eliza's arm and they headed inside.

"That's not the point! What were you thinking, going out there without backup?"

"...Kinda a bad habit of mine. Besides, you're still not supposed to be riding for another week. But sorry I forgot to leave a note at the office explaining why I wouldn't be coming in today."

"I kinda gathered what happened by what everyone else said. I've been taking statements all day."

After locking the prisoners up in separate cells, Mark and Gordon returned to the front office.

"Wait a minute... what are you even doing here? I figured you'd be over at the office."

"Jack and I have a standing agreement that if he and his deputy are ever put out of commission and they can't give orders, I'm supposed to fill in as acting sheriff. I am deputized, after all."

"Any word on how they're doing?"

"I haven't been able to check... I've had too many people to deal with. Last I heard though, Chad was in pretty critical condition."

"I'm gonna head over and see if there's any news."

"Now wait a minute, aren't you going to tell me what happened?"

"I'll tell you later, but I need to get Doc over here to finish patching up Eliza, too."

"Patching her up?"

"I had to take a bullet out of her shoulder. Bandaged it up the best I could, but she needs some stitches."

"You remove a bullet from her shoulder but leave the stitches to the doctor?"

"Didn't have a needle and thread."

Gordon sighed, shook his head, and chuckled.

"I'll see you when you get back."

Mark headed down the street to the doctor's office. As he entered the building, Martin looked up from his desk.

"Where did you disappear to? I turned around and you were gone. Could've used some help keeping order around here."

"Sorry, I didn't want to lose the outlaws' trail."

"...I suppose that's a valid excuse."

"How are they?"

The doctor let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.

"...Chad didn't make it."

Mark removed his hat and sat down across from the doctor.

"I'm sorry, Martin."

"...Wasn't anything to be done... just had to watch him die..."

"...Jack?"

"He's still unconscious, but his pulse is getting stronger. I think there's a high probability that he'll live."

"...Is he stable enough so you can come down to the jail for a few minutes? I have a prisoner who needs a bullet wound stitched up."

"Let me grab my bag."

Mark waited for the doctor to collect his things before the two men walked to the jail. Before going in to tend to Eliza's shoulder, Martin told Gordon the news about Chad.

As the office door shut behind the doctor a few minutes later, Gordon looked up at Mark.

"Do you think you can handle things at the office tomorrow? I have to finish reports on this thing and talk to the courthouse."

"I've been handling things for two months, I think I can make do tomorrow. ...But are you sure your leg can handle all that walking around?"

"The exercise will do me some good. And my leg isn't as bad as you and Martin make it out to be."

"Alright."

"And since you're technically deputized, too..."

"I have to write a report," Mark sighed. "I know. I'll try to get it done tomorrow."

"Thanks."

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Mark headed back outside and rode home. After taking care of Sergeant and the barn chores, he retrieved the spare key from its hiding place and let himself inside the house through the back door.

Walking into the front room, Mark found his wife and sons curled up on the couch, asleep. He gently picked up Matthew and carried him to bed before returning for Daniel and doing the same. Realizing how late it was, Mark decided against waking his wife and simply draped a blanket over her before planting a kiss on top of her head. Exhausted, Mark quietly made his way to the bedroom before collapsing onto the bed and getting a few hours of sleep.

The following morning, Mark was woken by the rooster and reluctantly drug himself out of bed. After changing, Mark walked into the front room where he saw Cassie beginning to rouse.

Seeing that Mark had made it home, Cassie stood and walked to her husband, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a long kiss.

"When did you get- Mark, what happened?"

"Shh, you'll wake the boys."

Taking her husband's chin in her hand, Cassie turned Mark's head to get a better look at his temple.

"Are you alright?"

"It looks worse than it is. It's just a little tender."

"What happened?"

"Turned my back to one of the criminals... she tried to take me out with a branch."

"She?" Cassie asked in surprise.

"Brother and sister tried to rob the bank. They're at the jail now. Sorry I got home so late, but it took me a while to find them, and then she had lost a decent amount of blood so I figured it would be best to wait a while until her blood supply had built back up. The boys alright?"

"Scared... Daniel especially. He understood that you were going after the same people that shot Jack and Chad, and was afraid that you were going to get hurt."

"I'll make sure to talk to him before I go to work. ...You doing alright?"

Cassie nodded as she rested her head on Mark's shoulder.

"Now that you're home, safe, I am."

"Cass, if there had been anyone else..."

Cassie looked up at her husband, eyebrows raised.

"You would have been out there even if they had a twenty-man posse organized. You care too much about justice, about people. That's the man I fell in love with, and as much as I worry about you, I wouldn't change you for the world."

Mark bent down and gave his wife a long, passionate kiss. Their moment was suddenly broken when Daniel called out behind them.

"Papa!"

Mark turned around and knelt down, Daniel running into his arms.

"Hey, Partner."

"You catch the bad guys?"

"I sure did," Mark answered, picking his son up.

"You- can you stay 'ome today?"

"I wish I could, but Mr. Gordon is helping out at the sheriff's office and I have to work at our office."

"How are Chad and Jack doing?" Cassie asked. "Any news?"

"...Chad didn't make it. Martin thinks Jack will pull through, though."

"He was so young... do you know if he had any family?"

"I think I've seen him and who I think were his parents sitting together in church, but I'm not sure."

"Could you find out for me? I was going to make something for Jack's family and take it over, and if Chad has any family, I'm sure they'd appreciate something, too."

"Sure." Mark looked at Daniel as he continued, "I have to go do the chores. You want to help?"

"Yes sir!"

After the family had breakfast that morning, Mark spent a few minutes talking through what had happened with his sons. Even though they were young, Mark knew from his own experience how much they could put together at that age. He especially was concerned about Daniel understanding that everything was going to be alright. Mark was starting to see how observant his son was, and while he was happy for that, he knew it could also cause trouble if he didn't explain everything well enough.

After telling his family goodbye, Mark headed over to the doctor's office where Martin told him that Jack had come around early that morning.

"...He's resting now, but I'll tell him you stopped by."

"Thanks. ...Martin, did Chad have any family?"

"The Scotts were the closest thing he had to family. Took him in as a teenager and kind of set him on the straight and narrow again. Why?"

"My wife was wanting to take something over to them. Where do they live?"

"Two streets over, small cottage with the rose bushes out front."

"Thanks. I'll see you later."

"Have a good day."

Mark then rode over to the office where he began writing a report on the bank robbery. About an hour later, Mark was finished and started working around the office, filing reports and going through the new packets from the office in Seattle.

That evening, Mark was getting his things together so he could head home when the door to the office suddenly opened.

"Jack? What are you doing here? You should be at Doc's!"

"Martin said that as long as I take it easy I should be fine. The only reason I was out so long was because I lost so much blood and hardly got any sleep this last week."

Mark motioned for the sheriff to take a seat as he sat back down at the desk.

"How do you feel?"

"Sore. But I hear I have you to thank that I don't hurt any more. ...If you hadn't shown up when you did..."

"I'm just sorry I couldn't get there faster."

"I also hear you caught the scum that killed Chad."

"...They weren't getting away on my watch."

"Mark, thank you."

"Jack, you don't-"

"No, thank you. Chad was like a little brother to me... I want to see the people who killed him pay. If you hadn't gone after them... no one would have. They would've gotten away."

"I'm sure someone would have."

"Mark, you don't understand. No one volunteered to go with you. No one tried to organize a posse. No one tried trailing after you."

"...Who told you that?"

"No one... they didn't have to. This town... she has some of the friendliest, kindest people... but you point a gun at them..." Jack's voice faltered and he waited a minute before going on. "Gordon had an obligation to me to stay here and keep the peace... not that he should be riding, anyway. But while Dayton is full of men who may know the law... lawyers, judges... she doesn't have men who are willing to act on behalf of the law. Not really. I don't blame them... before my time, they had a bad run with an outlaw gang taking over the town... killed the sheriff before me. People learned to be quiet, to keep their heads down, to stick to their own business. It's like pulling teeth to even get a search party together in the rare case that I need one. But you... you've hardly been here two months. You're still settling into the community. You have a wife and two sons and home... and yet you stuck your neck out for Chad and me. After dealing with a town like this for five years... I can't tell you how much that means."

"You and Chad deserved justice. And technically, as a deputy of the state, it was my responsibility."

"...I know your appointment with the Pinkertons was only temporary; until Gordon got back on his feet. I understand if you already found something else or aren't interested... but I'd like to offer you a job, as my deputy. I can't take care of Dayton on my own... and after what you did for Chad... I can't think of anyone else I'd rather pin a badge on."

Mark sat there without saying anything for a long time, thinking over the offer.

"Jack... I'm humbled and... and honored by your offer... but I can't give you an answer right away... I need to talk to my wife."

"I understand... just let me know when you reach a decision."

"I will."

"Well, speaking of wives, Julie is probably going to chew me out for not coming home first. I better get going."

"See you later," Mark chuckled.

After Jack left the office, Mark finished getting his things together and rode home. He took care of Sergeant and headed inside, where he was greeted by his wife and sons. After giving them each a hug and kiss, Mark sat down at the kitchen table with his boys as they told him about the day. Over supper, Mark told Cassie about the Scotts and that Jack had been sent home from the clinic.

Later that night as Cassie cleaned the kitchen, Mark read to the boys before putting them to bed. He then joined his wife in the kitchen and helped her finish up the last few dishes.

"...Cass, you know how I haven't really had much of a chance to look for work?"

"Yes...?"

"...Well I think that was a good thing."

"You think? What do you mean?"

"...I got a job offer today... I just don't know exactly how you're going to feel about it..."

Cassie turned to Mark and looked at him for a long moment.

"...Jack offered you a job?"

"...How did you know?"

"What other job offer would you be worried about me not liking?"

"...Well Travis could've offered me a job at the saloon..."

"You would've told him no before he finished speaking."

"...So what do you think?"

Cassie let out a heavy sigh as she thought about it.

"...I don't really like it any more than I like you working for the Pinkertons..."

"Wait a minute, since when don't you approve of me working for the Pinkertons?"

"Mark, it's not a matter of approval. It's a matter of me being your wife and being worried about you having a job that's just asking for trouble. ...But it's what's available and... I know you would enjoy deputing much more than you would enjoy working at a factory or being stuck behind a counter somewhere. ...Whatever you think is best for our family."

"I want your opinion, Cass."

"...The thought of either job... working for the Pinkertons or being Jack's deputy makes me nervous... but so does the thought of you going on a cattle drive. I don't think it would be good on the boys... or our marriage to move to another town again. If this is what we need to do... if this is what you want to do, I think you should take the job."

"You're sure?"

"It seems that no matter what you do, you end up getting yourself into trouble, so I guess wearing a badge isn't going to make that much of a difference." Cassie dried her hands on her apron and wrapped her arms around Mark's neck. "Just try to come home without bruises or broken bones every once in a while."

"I'll do my best..."

Mark bent down and gave Cassie a kiss before wrapping his arms around her waist.

"...Cassie, especially with the nature of this job... I think it's only fair that I tell Jack why we're here."

Cassie slowly nodded in agreement.

"...What about a place to live?"

"I'll call Will in the morning... this house was vacant anyway, so I don't see why he wouldn't let us rent it."

Mark picked up the dirty bucket of water from the sink and took Cassie's hand with his free hand.

"...If I'm not mistaken, we have a date on the porch to get to, Mrs. McCain."

"I believe we do..."

12MC12

"Lucas... this looks like it's leading to-"

"I know," Lucas interrupted his brother-in-law. "I'm just praying it doesn't."

"To where?" Curt asked.

"My ranch."

Half an hour later, the four lawmen sat on the hill above the McCain homestead, looking for any sign of activity.

"Your call, Lucas," Johnny stated. "It's your wife and daughter down there. What do you want to do?"

"...Leave the horses here. We'll sneak down and search the barns, then get a look inside through the windows if we don't find anything."

Lucas and Ned searched the older barn as Johnny and Curtis searched the other. When no one found anything, Lucas told the other men to stay put.

"...If they're in there, they won't think anything of me coming home. If I'm not back in two minutes, you'll know something is wrong."

Lucas quietly ran up to the house, keeping as close to the walls as possible as he peered through the window. He was relieved to see Milly, Rachael, and Lydia alone in the sitting room. Lucas made his way inside and couldn't get a word out before the women started talking.

"Lucas, thank God you're home!"

"Isaac and Rees took off, they have Elizabeth!"

"You have to go after them!"

"Papa, bad men came and took me away from Mama!"

Lucas picked up his tearful daughter as he tried to reply.

"Hold on, what happened? Wh..." Lucas stopped short as he saw the bruise on his niece's cheek. "Rachael, are you alright?!"

"I'm fine. The men that robbed the bank, it was Isaac's brother and two other men. They forced their way in here to take cover until dark and then took off with Elizabeth!"

"I tried to stop him," Milly began, "But Isaac insisted on trailing them and Rees went with him!"

"How long ago?"

"The men left about an hour ago. Rees and Isaac left about twenty minutes after that."

"Get lanterns together, I'll let the others know."

Lucas started to put Lydia down, but she clung tighter to him. Still holding his daughter, Lucas ran back to the barn.

"They were here an hour ago. Rees and Isaac went after them."

"By themselves?" Johnny asked. "What were they thinking?!"

"They have Elizabeth. I told Milly to get some lanterns together so we can track them easier. Johnny, would you mind getting my horse?"

Seeing how distraught Lydia was, Johnny nodded and the three men ran back for the horses. Lucas sat down on a hay bale and set Lydia on his knee.

"Sweetheart, I know you're scared, but it's all going to be alright. Those men aren't going to come back. You're safe."

"Papa, why did they come?" Lydia asked, tears still trickling down her face. "Did they not like us like that man didn't like Mark?"

"No... it's different. But you don't have to worry about that, because they're not coming back. ...But they do have Miss Elizabeth, and I need to help find her and bring her back to her parents."

"Papa, are they going to hurt you?"

"... I'm going to do everything I can to be back home tonight. But if I don't go, they might hurt Miss Elizabeth. I'm going to leave you here with your Ma and Rachael, where it's safe." Remembering when Lydia wandered off to find Mark, Lucas continued, "I need you to be a big girl for me and stay here with your Ma... can you do that for me?"

Lydia nodded her head and wrapped her arms around Lucas's neck.

"I love you, Papa..."

"I love you too, sweetie..."

Lucas carried his daughter back to the house and handed her to Milly before picking up the lanterns.

"We'll be home as soon as we can. ...Bolt the doors."

Milly nodded and gave her husband a kiss.

"Rachael, have you put anything on that bruise?" Lucas asked.

"It'll be fine."

Lucas looked at his wife, surprised she hadn't done anything about it.

"I got distracted with Lydia... there's some arnica in the cabinet I can put on it."

"Love you all."

The family finished saying goodbye before Lucas stepped outside, just as the other men came riding up. He handed each of them a lantern before he mounted his horse. Within a few minutes, the men had found the outlaws' trail and began riding.

On account of there being so many horses, it wasn't a difficult trail to follow. A little over two hours later, however, Lucas saw the trail split.

"What do you figure they did?" Curt asked.

Lucas studied the tracks for a few minutes before letting out a heavy sigh.

"Isaac and Rees missed where they turned off. Ned, you think you can track them and bring them back this way?"

"Yeah, no problem."

As Ned went to find Isaac and Rees, Lucas, Johnny, and Curt continued to follow the outlaws' trail. Another hour passed before they heard voices in the distance. The men dismounted and hitched their horses before slowly creeping closer to, who they hoped, were the outlaws.

"Cole, I thought you said you could get us out of here!"

"I can, I just... wasn't expecting there to be so many clouds."

"Well we were here an hour ago!"

"...Frank, I hate to say this, but I think we might have to make camp for the night."

"Fine. Davey, tie the girl up. Cole, get some firewood."

The men from the posse quickly and quietly made their way back to the horses.

"Well, Johnny, what's the plan?" Curt asked.

"We'll wait for the others to get here. That'll give us the advantage in numbers, and hopefully by then they'll all be asleep. Whatever happens, Elizabeth's safety comes first."

It was another half hour before Ned came riding up with Rees and Isaac. Johnny explained the situation before the men quietly snuck back towards the outlaws' camp where they waited for the bank robbers to turn in.

Lucas was the closest to Isaac, and could tell how hard it was for him to do nothing but wait. Finally, Johnny motioned for the men to come closer together.

"Curt, Lucas, Ned, I want you to go around and get as close as you can to the men's bedrolls without making any noise. I'm going to go down there and try to get Elizabeth out before we rouse them. Rees, Isaac, as soon as I get Elizabeth untied, I'm going to send her up to you and I want you to get her back to the horses. Wait for us there."

As the other men took their positions, Johnny quietly made his way down to the camp and approached Elizabeth. He covered her mouth with his hand, causing her to startle awake.

"It's Marshal Gibbs," Johnny whispered. "Stay quiet."

Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief and nodded as Johnny worked to remove her restraints. When he was done, Johnny turned her around and pointed.

"Isaac and Rees are up there," he whispered. "They'll take you to safety. Be quiet."

Elizabeth nodded before getting up and running up to Isaac and Rees as quietly as she could. As soon as Elizabeth was safe, Johnny nodded, signaling the other men to come out of the shadows.

"All right, everybody up!" Johnny yelled. "You're surrounded! Hands where I can see them!"

All three outlaws startled awake. Cole and Davey immediately followed the orders Johnny continued to yell, but Lucas saw Frank going for his pistol. Using the stock of his rifle, Lucas hit the man's hand, causing him to drop the weapon and cry out in pain.

"You heard the marshal," Lucas stated. "Hands where he can see them."

Begrudgingly, the man complied and raised his hands. As Curt and Ned took care of the other two, Johnny went over to handcuff Frank.

After gathering the prisoners' horses, the men made their way back to where Rees, Isaac, and Elizabeth were waiting. Isaac had his arms wrapped around Elizabeth, who was crying into his shoulder.

"Johnny, I'm assuming you want to try to make it back tonight?" Lucas asked.

"No point in sitting around here. Lead the way."

It was just before two in the morning when the group entered North Fork. As Johnny, Ned, and Curt took the outlaws to jail, Rees and Lucas followed behind Isaac as he took Elizabeth home.

As they rode up to the house, Mr. and Mrs. Young came running out of their home.

"Where have you been?!" Mr. Young boomed. "You were..." The man stopped short as his tearful daughter dismounted and ran into his arms.

"Oh Pa..."

As Mr. and Mrs. Young embraced their daughter, Tim looked up at Isaac, oblivious to the presence of the other men.

"What did you do to her?! Lizzie, what'd he do?!"

"It wasn't his fault," Elizabeth cried.

"What happened?!" Mr. Young yelled, closing the gap between himself and Isaac.

"Tim, the men that robbed the bank showed up at my place," Lucas began to explain. "...They took Elizabeth."

"You were supposed to protect her!"

Seeing that Tim was about to punch Isaac, Lucas pulled the young man out of the way.

"Tim, he did everything he could."

Still talking to Isaac, the angry father continued.

"Don't you ever come around here again, you hear?! Never!"

"Pa, please!"

"Mr. Young, I-"

"Get out of here! You're trespassing!"

"I-"

"GET!"

Without giving anyone else a chance to say anything, the man turned around and ushered his wife and daughter inside. Isaac stood there, helplessly staring after them.

After a few moments, Lucas put a hand on the young man's shoulder.

"Give him time. Elizabeth will explain."

"...He's right... I was supposed to protect her..."

"And you did everything you could to do that."

"No... it's my fault... it was my brother..."

"Yes, it was your brother. But it wasn't your fault. Your brother made his own choices and that's why he's the one sitting in jail."

Isaac shook his head and mounted up.

"Well aren't you going to go after him?" Rees asked as Isaac rode away.

"No... Rees, there are times in a man's life when he just needs to be alone. And for Isaac, this is one of them." Lucas and Rees mounted up and turned their horses around. "Besides, you and I have a few things to talk about."

As the men started the ride home, Rees replied to his uncle.

"Look, I know the two of us are young and it wasn't really smart to go out there, especially when neither of us could track really well. But I could tell Isaac wasn't going to be talked out of it and... I couldn't just let him go after them alone."

"I know. I just wanted to say that I am proud of you for doing that for Isaac."

"...You are?"

"When the person you love is taken from you like that... your whole world is shattered. You can't think straight and you're willing to do anything to try and get them back. Isaac needed someone there to help him focus, and to keep him from getting himself killed. If he was alone and had succeeded in finding the outlaws... who knows what would have happened to him. You were under no obligation to go with Isaac, but you did. You were there for him when he needed a friend. You didn't let the fact that you could've gotten yourself killed, too, stop you. That takes a lot of character and a lot of courage."

"...Like you said, he needed a friend... they both did. Besides... it wasn't any different from what you did. Uncle Johnny didn't even mention you joining the posse, and you went." Rees hesitated before continuing. "...Uncle Lucas, I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?"

"The way I've acted the entire time I've been here. I don't know why you put up with me."

"Because you're my nephew, and I love and care about you."

"...What happened today kinda gave me a new perspective on things... I realize now what you and Uncle Johnny were trying to say. The way I was acting before was wrong... and what I did after I found out about my Ma... well, two wrongs don't make a right. It's not going to be easy... but I do know I need to make that right with the parties involved. ...I also know you've been wiring money over to my Pa, but... well, I was wondering if you'd let me take that last payment back home myself... so I can do what I need to do."

"Of course. You going to try to stay on the farm, then?"

"No. I know what I did was wrong, and I need to be a man and face up to it... no matter how much of my pride gets bruised along the way. But I still don't think I'll ever be able to forgive my Ma... and I still don't know what Pa believes."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know... look around for work... somewhere besides Nebraska."

"I know someone who might be willing to give you a job."

"Really?"

"Yeah... a rancher who lives not too far from here... runs about a hundred and twenty-five head of cattle... losing his second hand in about two months. Pay is good and I hear his wife makes some pretty amazing apple pie."

Rees looked over at his uncle with a questioning look in his eye.

"If you want to stay on, Rees, we'd be happy to have you. You're a good worker and a very welcome part of the family. Besides, I think Isaac would get lonely in that big house all by himself."

"Really? You're sure?"

"Wouldn't have offered you the job if I wasn't. You just promise me that you will follow through and make things right with your parents."

"...Yes sir." Again, Rees paused before continuing. "...Uncle Lucas, what if my Pa never believes me?"

"Rees, there's more to becoming a man than simply turning a certain age. A man has character, morals... a man doesn't change who he is or what he does based on what other people think of him. I think this last month has opened your eyes to that, and I think you're starting to become a man. Regardless of whether anyone ever believes you or not, you have to decide how you're going to live your life; how you are going to treat other people. I don't think your relationship with your parents can be what it should be until they accept what they've done wrong. But if your father never does believe you, as you learn to become a man, you will also learn to love and respect him, anyways. If your Pa never believes you... that's something you're just going to have to accept. But that doesn't change who you are. What he does or doesn't think about you doesn't determine your character. That's something you and you alone control. And that's why it's important for you to take the step to make things right with them. You can't change what you've done... but you change what those mistakes turn you into. You can let them turn you into someone who is bitter and angry, or you can let them mold you into a man with character and a clear conscience. The choice is yours."

Rees looked at Lucas for a long time without saying anything.

"What?"

"...You and Mark are a lot alike... you know that?"

"What makes you say that?"

"When we came to visit for Thanksgiving a few years back... I had some crooked ideas about some things and he set me straight. ...You both have a way of settin' things out plainly, so a person can see what they're looking at. ...Thanks, Uncle Lucas... for everything."

"Anytime."