-1 A week after the incident of Ted attacking Natalie, the Regulators rode to Lincoln for a day in town. Lee sat atop her side-saddle in her red and cream dress, happily recovered from the attack. Lee was also excited about the prospects of possibly seeing a certain Mr. Scott Olson again.

In town, the Regulators fanned out in their separate ways. Natalie felt she could not really go into the saloon again, so she rode with Tunstall to the store. Inside, she looked around at different dresses and materials. She delicately touched the velvets, silks, calicos, muslins, and other cloths. Eventually, John helped her pick out a new dress, three shirtwaists and a long skirt.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Tunstall," Natalie said, holding her packages.

"You're welcome, dear," he replied. "And I expect to see you wearing those quite soon in the future."

"I will," she promised, and stepped outside the store. She looked up and down the boardwalk, and did not see anyone she knew. She placed her purchases in the wagon and turned to her left and walked downtown.

Secretly, the men tipping their hats and women nodding a "Good day" to Natalie thrilled her. People assumed her as one of them, a normal, law-abiding town citizen. Lee eventually stopped at the jeweler's and walked inside.

"Good afternoon, miss," said the clerk. "May I help you with anything?"

"Oh, I'm just looking," Natalie replied, trying to sound refined.

"Well, if you see anything you like, just let me know." Lee smiled in return and surveyed the store's goods. She was admiring a silver tea set when suddenly, she heard a voice call out…
"Natalie!"

She turned around and smiled joyfully. Scott!

"Fancy seeing you here, Natalie," said Scott. "I was just thinking about you today."

"Really?" she asked, trying to keep from jumping up and down in glee. "Well, I was just thinking about seeing you in town today."

"Ah, you're too nice." Scott looked at the tea set. "Pretty, isn't it?"

"It sure is."

"My mother has one similar to it, but she never uses it, the silly. She just keeps it on display, saying she'll use it for company some day. I think she wouldn't use it if the president of the United States himself came to our house."

Natalie laughed and walked with Scott as they looked at the various tea sets, platters, necklaces, bracelets, and other assorted pretty things. Eventually, they arrived at the rings.

"Oh, they're just gorgeous, aren't they?" gasped Lee. She bent down and studied the solitaire diamond rings. The clerk walked over and pulled the tray out from the cabinet and placed it out for Scott and Natalie to see.

"Needing an engagement ring soon, sir?" asked the clerk with a smile.

Scott blushed. "Well, uh, not exactly…that is…"

"Oh, that's alright," said the clerk. He replaced the tray and walked off, whistling. Scott and Natalie looked at each other and laughed, both slightly embarrassed.

"Hey, Lee, where've you been?"

Lee looked up in horror at Billy and Steve walking towards her and Scott.

"Come on, Lee; we're going to miss the town shooting contest!"

"Natalie, are these acquaintances of yours?" asked Scott, eyeing the Regulators skeptically.

"Uh, yes, these are my brothers, Billy and Steve." Natalie gave them a "play along, please!" look, and while Billy understood, Steve did not.

"Lee, what're…well, who are you, mister?" asked Steve, looking fiercely at Scott.

"I'm Scott Olson, a citizen of Lincoln, and a friend of Natalie here," he replied, taking Natalie's arm. "Now, you say you're interested in the town shooting? I'm not really game for that type of thing, but…"
"Oh, let's go!" said Lee, rather eagerly. She checked herself and regained her serene self. "That is, if you don't mind going, Scott."

"Well, if you want to, I guess I can suffer through it," he laughed. Steve and Billy were already out the door, and Lee and Scott followed. They all walked to the southern edge of town, where the shooting arena had been set up. Men signed up at the booth and checked their guns. Lee noticed that Dick and Doc had already signed up, and Charlie was in the process of signing.

"It looks like there's a knife-throwing contest too," observed Scott, and Lee saw Chavez was standing at the ready with his knives.

"I'll be back in a second, Scott," said Lee. She walked down to where the other knife-throwing men stood.

"Chavez!" she called. Chavez strode over to Natalie.

"Hey," he said. "Came to be the only one to cheer me on, eh?"

Lee looked past him to the other men; they all glared at Chavez and muttered to each other. Lee's ears caught the words "Injun-greaser", and she looked up at her friend.

"Oh, it's not so bad; you'll win!"

"I don't know if they'll be too happy about that, Lee."

"Hey, boy!" Chavez turned around to see a middle-aged man wielding a throwing knife coming towards him. "You leave that missy alone!"

"It's alright sir, he's a friend of mine," said Natalie. She turned to Chavez. "Good luck," she said, and, making sure all the other contestants could see, pulled Chavez close and gave him a long kiss.

She then turned, relishing the other men's jealous faces, and walked haughtily off. She walked over to where Scott stood; the shooting was about to begin.

"Lee!" Billy ran up to the lady. "I just realized there's no rule about only men shooting!"

"So?" she asked, trying to pretend she didn't realize the significance.

"Lee, you should sign up!" Lee turned to Scott, making sure he wasn't shocked.

"It's just a hobby, really," she said.

"Lee, if you can shoot well enough to be in the contest, then go ahead. That's quite remarkable!" Lee smiled at Scott's tolerance. She then followed Billy to the sign-up table. Several appalled faces met Lee as she signed her name, but no objections came forth.

The contest proceeded. The country boys did much better than the townspeople, and the farm families in their patched clothing cheered more than the Lincoln citizens. Dick performed a bit better than Doc, and Lee noticed that not many people cheered for the Regulators. When it was finally Billy's turn, he hit every mark: the bull's eye of the mounted target, the wood thrown into the air, and the center of the ace of spades. It was then Natalie's turn.

"Lee Greenwater," read the announcer. The crowd politely applauded, but the applause subsided as Natalie walked up to the line, the pistol she borrowed from Billy at the ready.

"Now, this is too much," said a contest official, walking up to Lee.

"Sir, there is no rule against women participating," called out Scott.

The official grumbled a bit, then said, "Alright, Mr. Olson, I guess we can let her try."

Natalie realized they all expected her to fail; she decided to let them all down.

She hit the bull's eye, she hit the block thrown into the air, twice, and she hit the ace of spades, followed by hitting each of the four smaller spades on the card. She smiled as the majority of the crowds applauded and cheered, and the Regulators shook her hand, and Scott hugged her.

The crowds then migrated down to the knife-throwing. Several of the throws fell short, or high, or hit way off target. Chavez, of course, hit all the targets dead-on. He undoubtedly won, but before he received his prize, one of the officials stood up.

"Now, this is not going to do," he proclaimed. "I will not allow the citizens to witness the award going to a person of such nationality, and I say the award goes to the second-place man, Mr. Robert Forty." Several of the crowd members booed, while a few, mostly older, people clapped politely. The Regulators hurried up to Chavez, and Dick turned to John.

"Mr. Tunstall, come on, do something!"

"Excuse me," said John to the official, "I employ this man, and I must say, I see no reason for…"

"Aha, he's a Tunstall Regulator, one of those flotsam and jetsam of the frontier," called out the official.

"Now, I must say, that's quite irrelevant in this--," Tunstall tried to object.

"'No criminal may compete' is in the rules of the contest. Therefore, no Tunstall Regulators may compete!" The crowd supported him through applause. Natalie watched in horror as her friends faced terrible humiliation. She forced her way through the crowds and stopped at the official. She tore off her medal and threw it to his feet.

"Then I must be disqualified too, as I am also a Tunstall Regulator," she yelled. The crowd quieted down and stared at the pretty woman in the dress. She was a Regulator?

"Well, this is quite unexpected," said the official quietly. He looked past her to John. "Mr. Tunstall, you also employ this, er, woman?"

"That I do. And I must add, she is no criminal, but only a woman that needed shelter and support, things that no one else felt fit to give her." The remark was followed by an awkward silence.

"I think it's time to go, Mr. Tunstall," said Dick. Tunstall nodded, and the Regulators followed him out of the crowd. Natalie ran up to Scott.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," Lee apologized.

Scott looked down at Lee. "I wish you would have told me; I would have understood." He turned and walked off, leaving Natalie by herself. She choked by herself as she followed Billy and the rest back to the pickets. She mounted her horse and rode with the rest of them back to the ranch.