AN: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I hope you will continue to enjoy Griff's next adventure.

Happy weekend everyone!

Tanith

Chapter 1

Griff's horse gave a snort as his master positioned the saddle on its back. "Easy, boy," he hushed the animal and continued to stroke its neck soothingly.

"Hey Griff!" shouted a familiar voice.

The tall ranch hand turned to see Candy approaching him. The foreman had been away on a business trip in Carson City and had just returned.

"Mornin', Candy!" Griff greeted. "Welcome back."

The two friends shared a brief one armed hug, clapping each other on the back.

"I tell ya, It's good to be back!" Candy exclaimed, happily.

"You were only gone, what? A week?" Griff scoffed.

Candy shrugged. "It felt like a month. I barely slept most nights. There was a cattle drive and, uh, well let's just say I never appreciated how quiet our guys are compared to the bunch that stayed in Carson City." Then with a mischievous grinned, he added, "So, I heard you'll be working for Mrs. Walters?"

"Hey, how'd ya hear about that, huh? You only just got here...wait a minute...you put me up to this, didn't you?" Griff accused good naturedly, stabbing an accusing finger at his friend's chest.

Candy held his hands up, with his palms outward and backed away, his grin broadening. "Oh come on! Would I do a little thing like that to you?"

Griff glowered, partly annoyed and partly amused at the lengths Candy must've taken to be involved in such a scheme. He took a deliberate step forward but the older man turned around and bolted out of the barn before he could get within an arm's reach of him.

Griff's first day working at Mrs. Walters' store started on a positive note with the middle aged storekeeper patiently demonstrating his responsibilities and tasks. It all seemed simple enough and Griff, with the notes the kindly woman took the time to compile for him, was able to quickly grasp her instructions.

The early part of the morning was quiet, but it soon picked up pace. All the customers that walked in were regulars of Mrs. Walters and if they were aware of Griff's history, they didn't show it. This lifted the young man's confidence and while he was still very nervous, he was able to get through the morning without consequence. Mrs Walters took care to casually introduce her new assistant to all who ventured into the shop, making certain they saw how highly she thought of him. Griff found himself blushing at times, particularly when he was introduced to two pretty, giggling twin girls who looked a little younger than him. When their mother entered the store to meet with them, his cheeks grew hot and he felt extremely self-conscious that he was about to make a fool of himself. He was grateful when Mrs. Walters took over the counter and asked Griff to locate an order that the young ladies' mother had placed a month ago.

What started as a manageable day, however, quickly deteriorated on a downward spiral. While Mrs. Walters ducked out to the post office, Gus, an impatient middle aged but sturdy cowboy entered the store with a bunch of flowers. Under the assumption that Griff had done something terrible to the lady and was robbing the cash drawer, Gus dropped the flowers and drew out his pistol.

"Hold it right there! Hands up where I can see 'em!" Gus barked.

Griff froze and shook his head as he stood behind the front desk. What?! Frustrated, Griff shot back sarcastically, "Come on, you ain't gonna steal from Mrs. Walters now are ya?" He had crossed paths with Gus before and each man had already formed an undesirable opinion of the other during their brief encounter. One thing, however, that they shared was their friendship with Mrs. Walters.

Gus's face screwed up in confusion. Did he hear correctly or were his ears playing tricks on him? No, the boy was being a smart mouth! "Don't get smart with me, boy! We're goin' down to the sheriff's office right now!"

Griff raised his eyebrows and let out a short dry laugh. It finally dawned on him that the man was seriously taking him for a robber. "Now, just hold on a minute! I'm the new clerk. See, she left me these notes here," he tried to explain and pointed at the notebook that lay opened on the counter.

Keeping the pistol trained on the younger man, Gus reached out and snatched up the book with his free hand. He took one glance at the page which had Mrs Walters' beautiful handwriting but unfortunately, he was illiterate and could not make out what she had written.

"Y'see, I work here for Mrs. Walters," Griff repeated, annunciating each word to ensure Gus would catch on but from the looks of things, the man was slower in wit than he had took him for.

Gus studied the cowpoke in front of him, unsure whether he was trying to rile him or make a fool out of him.

Losing his patience and growing more anxious, Griff drew in a deep breath and let it out again in a heavy sigh. Unfazed by the gun still pointed at his chest, he reached out and snatched the book back then held it up and pointed at the contents. "Look, Mister, I just told ya who I was! Can't you read?! It says it right there! Look, there's my name, right there! Griff. G.R.I.F.F."

Gus took a moment to scrutinize the handwriting once more and tried to make sense of what this young cahoot was saying. Still unconvinced he glared at the young man."You're lying, boy! Mrs. Walters ain't no way be hiring a convict!

Griff swallowed hard, trying his mightiest to hold his temper in check. Candy was wrong. The world was never going to accept him for who he was. His past continued to cast its dark shadow over him.

The tinkling of the bell as the door of the shop opened drew the attention of both highly wired men.

"Griff, would you be a dear and give me a hand with these boxes please? Oh, good morning, Gus!" Mrs Walters greeted as she entered the store, juggling three boxes in her arms. The parcels obscured her view of the flowers that Gus had dropped on the floor earlier. "Oh!" the elegant woman cried out in surprise as she felt herself trip over something lying at her feet and if it weren't for two pairs of hands rushing to her aid, she would have fallen and the boxes would have surely flew from where they had been balancing in her arms.

Gus had stowed away his pistol when Mrs Walters had first entered and greeted them, mostly out of reflex when he saw her struggle with the packages. Having saved the parcels from tumbling out of the woman's arms, he saw something very peculiar and that was the ex-con gently steadying Mrs. Walters and guiding her to step around the obstacle.

"Oh thank you, gentlemen...oh look here, oh my, they are beautiful!" Mrs Walters gushed as she bent down and picked up the slightly ruffled bouquet of wild flowers from where it lay on the wooden floorboards.

Gus hastily deposited the parcels onto the counter then removed his hat and stood with his eyes shifting from Mrs. Walters then suspiciously back to Griff.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave you for so long, Griff, but the Wells Fargo was busier than I expected!" the kindly woman apologized breathlessly. Noting the awkward silence for the first time since her return, she added, "Oh, how rude of me. Griff, this is Gus." Turning her face to Gus, she said, "Gus, Griff has been an absolute dear in helping me out with Miss Pennyweather being away and all."

Gus cleared his throat then addressed the young con in front of him with barely contained disgust. "You better be doing you're told, boy!"

"Gus! There's no need for that. What's the matter with you?" Mrs. Walters questioned in confusion over her friend's behaviour.

"He's a con! Or hasn't he told you?" Gus said, stabbing his finger in Griff's direction.

Mrs. Walters took a step closer to Gus and looked directly in his eyes."I know where the boy came from before he started working for the Cartwrights. Ben can vouch for him. If his word is good enough for me then I expect mine would be good enough for you!"

Gus opened his mouth to say something but could not find the right words and settled for clearing his throat of the metaphorical frog that had managed to climb its way up his oesophagus.

"That settles it then!" Mrs. Walters concluded. "Let me put these beautiful flowers in a vase." With a warm smile she walked through the door leading into the back room.

An awkward silence fell over the two men until Mrs. Walters returned a short while later.

"Can I make either of you a cup of tea?" Mrs. Walters asked.

A chorus of answers followed all at once and went somewhere along the lines of no thank you with the rest lost in a series of mumbled words she didn't catch.

Gus danced on the spot thinking of something appropriate to say when the woman he held dear set him at ease.

"Gus, would you care to join me for dinner tonight?" Mrs. Walters asked casually.

"I would like that, Edith," Gus croaked then his shifted his gaze to Griff as if he was going to have to compete for Mrs. Walters' affection.

"Griff won't be joining us, I'm afraid, if that's what you are thinking." Mrs. Walters grinned. "Mr. Cartwright will need him to tend to the horses and I'm sure Hop Sing will be expecting him to dine at the ranch."

Griff tried to hide the amusement from his eyes as he watched Gus battling an internal struggle and causing more humiliation to himself.

"Yes, of course, of course!" Gus waved off the comment in an attempt to restore his dignity. "I must be off. I will return this eveningļ¼seven o'clock?"

"That will be just fine," Mrs. Walters replied with a kind smile.

Gus returned his hat to his head and tipped the brim as he turned to leave, ignoring Griff's presence.

Mrs. Walters bade Gus good day then turned her attention to her new clerk and smiled kindly. "I hope Gus wasn't giving you a hard time?"

Griff shook his head and lied, "No, not at all." While he didn't care for Gus's attitude, it was clear that Mrs. Walters and Gus were familiar with one another and he didn't want to cause a fuss for the woman he counted as one of the few friends he had.

"Good. Are you hungry?" Mrs. Walters asked, changing the subject.

Griff nodded with a smile.

"Let's take a break and close the store. I'll fix us some hot soup and fresh bread," Mrs. Walters offered.

The remainder of the day passed uneventfully and while Griff felt some of the tension leave his body, he couldn't push away the nagging doubt that working for Mrs. Walters was going to be another mistake in his life.