After the whole poker game fiasco, all the Regulators remained rather angry with Charlie over the next few days, Natalie in particular. But after a week had passed, life was returning to normal, and the resentment was forgotten for the most part.
One day, when Natalie was helping repair fence with Dick, her mind was still stuck on why she had been troubled at seeing Billy with the other women. She wanted to talk about it to Dick, she trusted him, but tried to do so casually.
"Um, Dick?"
"Yeah, Lee?"
"I was just wondering, do you boys ever go with any of the town ladies?"
"You mean like courting?"
"Yeah."
"Well, not on a regular basis I guess. Tunstall says that when we've become respectable members of society again, he'll look for places for us nearer to town. Then we can start thinking about marriage and stuff like that."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Still, Lee was not satisfied. "It's just, well, do any of the boys in particular have girls right now they're after?"
Dick remained silent for a minute, thinking of how Billy, though he constantly teased Lee, secretly felt affection for her.
"Not anyone in particular for any of the boys," he said. "And I think you can stop worrying about Charlie hounding you; he's realized you're not the gal for him."
"Thank goodness."
They kept on repairing barbed wire that had been torn from the posts, their thoughts kept quiet until Dick finally spoke.
"You know, Lee, I think you better know that Billy is actually quite fond of you, despite what he'd have you think."
Lee tried to remain unmoved as her heart rapidly contracted. She appeared indifferent to the remark. "Well, that's just too bad for him; I'll never care for him."
They didn't speak after that. Soon, the job was done, and they rode their horses back to the barn. After unsaddling them and brushing their hides down, the two strode back to the house. The sky was darkening, and their jobs for the evening were completed.
Inside the house, the other Regulators sat on the scattered chairs and sofas of the informal parlor, waiting for dinner to begin. Lee was about to sit on the large tan sofa by Chavez when a voice coming from the dining room startled her.
"Who's in the dining room with John?" she asked out loud to no one in particular.
"Oh, a new recruit," Chavez answered. "I didn't quite catch his name."
Lee went cold as she sunk to the sofa cushion. She knew whose voice it belonged to: Ted!
As the dinner bell was rung, the Regulators walked into the dining room and sat at their places. Lee, like the men, removed her hat, and the long red-brown braid fell down her back. She tried to not look in the direction of the new recruit as John introduced him.
"I'd like to introduce you all to Mr. Theodore Rawlings. I'm sure that you will make him welcome here, and will treat him fairly. Shall we introduce ourselves to the latest Regulator?" The men went around, saying their names and nodding in acknowledgement to Ted, as he called himself. However, when it came to be Lee's turn, she sat coldly, her mouth shut tightly.
"Young lady, introduce yourself," Tunstall said. Lee hated upsetting John, so she spoke up.
"I'm Lee Greenwater."
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Greenwater," Ted stated. He made no sign that he already knew Lee, and treated her as a stranger. "I never expected there to be a woman working for you, Mr. Tunstall. No offense, Miss Greenwater."
"Sir, we call her 'Lee' around her," said John in her defense. "No need for formalities."
Ted apologized and the introductions went on. After supper, they all retired to the parlor, where they commenced with the evening ritual of reading from the paper. Lee made the effort to sit as far away from Ted as possible. They all read their parts, with John offering help on some of the bigger words, and finally, the time came for sleep. Lee went to her room, and the boys all walked out to the bunkhouse.
After Ted situated his bunk, he casually asked, "So, what's the deal with that girl?"
"What do mean?" asked Chavez guardedly. "She's just the same as the rest of us."
"Yeah, but come on, you guys just accept her?"
"You'll get used to her," said Steve. "She's fine."
The boys went to sleep, and before Ted closed his eyes, he thought about how to get Lee back. She had said she loved him when she came to Lincoln, but then, she bailed on him! Ted would get her to come back to him, willingly or no.
Over the next few days, life went on. No one really suspected that Lee and Ted already knew each other, but the boys did notice Lee seemed rather uncomfortable around him. Again, Dick confronted her.
"Lee, is there something going on between you and Ted? You don't really seem to be taking to him."
Lee kept on collecting eggs as she replied, "Remember when I told you what I did to get here? Remember I said I met a guy named Ted, who was wanted for murder?"
Dick thought back to their conversation, and realization hit him. "Oh…"
"Yeah. Why don't you tell John about him?"
"Do I look like a tattletale? Just, please don't leave me alone with him, okay?" Natalie dropped her voice and grasped Dick's hand. He smiled and squeezed back.
"I won't, I promise you that."