Ben and his boys had reined their horses to a standstill and were standing abreast when they heard the gunshot. Hoss was taking a long-needed drink from his canteen with his head tipped back; Joe was wiping sweat from the inside of his hat. And Ben? Ben just stared straight ahead as though the power of his gaze could move the hills and rivers and valleys apart and show him where his eldest boy was.

The gunshot was nearby. Near enough for the three horses to jolt their heads up in alarm, their ears alert and erect.

"It came from the lake, Pa," said Joe, squeezing his handkerchief back into a pocket as he looked in the direction from which the shot had sounded.

"Sounded like it came from Indigo Bay."

No more words were said. The three riders turned their animals towards the bay and urged them on at all speed. The lake was never out of their view, flashing blue through the tree trunks as they rode through the thickly forested banks of Tahoe.

~8~

Adam and Cordell ran into the camp. It was empty. A trail of settling dust showed the direction Nate had gone. They wasted no time as they followed, their feet slipping on the sandy scree as momentum helped propel them down the slope towards the water.

The trees thinned, revealing a rocky promontory projecting out into the bay. Clara was at the end, her heels kissing the edge of the cliff as tears streamed down her cheeks. Nate was approaching her, his gun held loosely in his hand.

"You come away from the edge now, little missy. There ain't nowhere to go."

Adam and Cordell came to a halt. She was so close to the edge. Adam knew one false step and she'd fall. But the sight of Nate's un-holstered gun caused a surge of anger to flood through him. He took a step forward.

"You get away from her, Nate."

Nate swung around. "I ain't gonna hurt her, Cartwright. That's a whole lotta dollars standing right there."

Clara edged back, her heel slipping a fraction over the cliff edge. Adam and Cordell threw their hands up in a bid to stop her moving.

"I'm not going back to my father. I heard what he said." Clara looked at Cordell. "I followed you; I heard what you said."

Adam could hear the terror in her voice. But he also heard something that sent a shiver of fear through him. He heard determination. "Clara, child, please, come away from the edge."

"I'd rather die than be sent back to my father. My mama's dead," she let out a sob and a fresh flood of tears wet her cheeks. "I've got no one. I'd rather be dead." Her eyes squeezed closed as she cried. A shower of loose rock unsettled by her heel skidded down the cliff face.

Adam grimaced and took a step forward. "Clara, look at me. Look at me, child."

She blinked and her tear-stained eyes met his gaze.

"You don't mean that, I know you don't mean that. Your mama wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

Clara sobbed even harder and with wet eyes looked wearily up at Adam. "I just want my mama." She screwed her eyes shut again.

Adam refused to take his eyes from hers as he stood with his body and arm stretched out towards her, ready to run, ready to grab hold.

"Clara, you're not alone, you know that. Child, you've got me."

Clara slowly looked up and Adam nodded, letting her see the truth in his words. "You've got me," he said softly. "For as long as I breathe, you've got me."

She stared at him, her body shaking as she gulped tearfully for air. But then he noticed the rise and fall in her chest start to gentle. And she nodded. Adam let out a sigh of relief and smiled. He moved another step closer, holding out his hand to her and Clara began to reach out towards him.

There was a shout. "Stop where you are, Cartwright!" Adam turned to see Nate moving towards him before halting a few steps away. The youngster twisted to look at Cordell.

"It's a trick. You remember what happened when Cartwright and the girl jumped in the river last time. They got away from us."

Adam sneered. "Don't be a fool. Look at the water, there's no current to take us anywhere. How would we escape you, huh?"

Cordell's eyebrows rose. "He's right, Nate."

Nate glared at Cordell, anger flashing in his eyes, but Cordell ignored him. He was still holding the gun he'd pulled on Adam earlier. He looked down at the weapon lying in the palm of his hand, studying it closely.

"But I don't think I'm gonna take any chances." He pointed the gun at Adam. "Move away from the girl, Cartwright."

There was a jubilant laugh from Nate who also raised his gun. Adam gave him a look of disgust, which he then bestowed on Cordell, who merely pulled back the hammer on his weapon.

"Don't think you're not expendable, Cartwright. I can just as easily return a corpse to your daddy, and still get paid for it."

Adam looked around him. He took in the cornflower blue sky, the pines and rabbitbrush which cloaked the lake edges. And when he glanced to his side he could see the serene waters of the lake. He was home.

If he was to die today, at least he'd die in the land he loved.

~8~

Ben pulled up sharply when he rode into a camp, Hoss and Joe close behind. The fire was lit, a steaming coffee pot sat in the ashes to one side; there were upturned saddles, a pile of canteens, blankets and tinware with the remains of a recent meal. But there was no sign of the occupants, bar several horses hobbled a short distance away. They dismounted with weapons in hand. Ben stood in the centre of the camp looking around him as Hoss and Joe picked up and dropped random items to see if they could identify whose camp they were in.

"Pa!" Ben turned to see Joe holding a long strip of yellow material. "Too fancy for a cowpuncher. Must be the girl's."

Just then Ben cocked his head to one side, putting out a hand to silence his boys. The sound of arguing could be heard coming from below them. Leaving their horses they headed down towards the voices.

~8~

Adam took a step. But not towards Cordell. He moved in front of Clara, his hand reaching out behind him to pull her tight to his back.

"I know I won't have done her any good if you decide to shoot me dead right now. But at least I'll die knowing I did everything I could to protect her from you."

Adam could feel Clara's trembling body against his. He stretched his hand out behind him and felt her fingers entwine in his. He squeezed them tight.

Cordell straightened his arm, aiming his weapon directly at Adam's head. Adam held his breath and raised his chin. He refused to look away; Cordell wouldn't be let off so easily. He could feel his heart clattering in his chest as the gun pointed unwavering at his forehead. But then Cordell let his arm swing down, and he laughed.

"I can't kill you, Cartwright. You keep getting under my feet, but, heck, I just can't kill ya."

Nate's head swung around to face Cordell. "Whaddya doing? Kill him!"

"Shut up, Nate!"

"I won't shut up. If you won't do it, then I will."

Before Adam had even taken a breath, Nate straightened out his arm, thumbed back his gun's hammer, and fired.

In the time it took for the bullet to leave the barrel and hit Adam, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind. They weren't coherent, being nothing more than instincts and impulses. They told him he had no time to shout out, to warn Clara; that he couldn't dive out of the way else Clara would be in the firing line; that he had to stay where he was and take the hit. Death had stalked him before and now it was back, ready to claim the one who had escaped him on so many previous occasions.

He must have moved though, else Nate was a bad shot. The bullet tore into his shoulder, pushing him backwards with the force.

As he fell to the ground, burning pain radiating from his shoulder across his back, he heard a scream, and more shooting. He lay there winded, panting to control the pain and clutching his arm, expecting more bullets to tear into his body. But none were forthcoming.

The scream had come from Clara. Gritting his teeth, he rolled onto his side and looked all around him, but there was no sign of her. He could see Nate on the ground, unmoving, his gun a dead weight in his hand. And Cordell was just sitting there, looking down at a red patch expanding in the centre of his chest.

The sound of splashing drew his gaze to the water. One of his feet was dangling over the edge. He pulled it in and looked down. Clara had fallen into the still waters of the lake which were a whirl of white as she slapped frantically at the surface, struggling to keep her head above water.

He had to get down there. He had to save her!

Still clutching his arm, Adam struggled onto his knees. His head suddenly felt as heavy as a cannonball, but his own discomfort was of no mind. He found his feet for a moment before his legs gave out beneath him. But then strong arms were supporting him, helping him back down to the ground. Adam looked up in surprise and grew even more astonished when he looked into the dark eyes of his father.

"Pa, where did…" He couldn't believe who he was looking at. How come his father was here, right now? And Joe was supporting his other arm. Joe. His little brother. With grey hair! He blinked and his hand unconsciously reached up towards Joe's curls.

Joe grinned. "It's good to see you, brother."

Adam's distraction didn't last long. He shook his head. "Pa, Clara, the girl, she's fallen."

"It's alright, son."

"No, no, it's not, she can't swim."

His father looked at him in that familiar reassuring way he used to when Adam was a boy and having a nightmare.

"Everything'll be okay, Adam, Hoss has gone in after her. You remember what a strong swimmer he is."

Adam looked over Joe's shoulder. His middle brother's hat, vest and gun belt were abandoned on the edge of the cliff. With his father and Joe supporting him on either side, he looked down into the waters below. There was no sign of Clara but Hoss was in the lake, twisting on the spot as he scanned the surface for the lost girl. He dived, resurfaced, dived again.

The lake was usually so clear, but two bodies piercing the surface had disrupted the calm waters and all Adam could see were clouds of billowing bubbles.

'Where is she?" Adam didn't realise he was talking out loud. He leaned over further, ignoring the pain searing across his back and down his arm.

"Careful, son." He heard his father say and the grip on his good arm tightened.

Adam's eyes raked over the water but there was no sign of her. "Please God, let her be okay."

Hoss dived under. He was larger than Adam remembered, rounder in the face, but he'd always been the strongest swimmer of the three, and his bigger size appeared to be no barrier to his skill in the water. Hoss's head broke the surface and he flicked the water from his eyes.

Adam leaned over again, feeling firm grips on both sides holding him in place. "Where is she, Hoss?" he shouted.

Hoss called up. "I'll find her, Adam, don't you worry none." And he dived again.

Adam waited. He could sense his father and Joe were watching with him, all three staring down into the aqua waters, all three holding their breaths, all three waiting.

Hoss'd find her. Adam put all his trust and belief into his middle brother. Hoss would find her, and she'd be none the worse for her dip in the lake, and they'd go back to the Ponderosa, and…

Hoss had been down a long time. Too long. No one could breathe underwater for that amount of time.

But Hoss was strong. He had always been the strongest…

Anytime now. Anytime now they'd break the surface.

But nobody erupted upwards, creating a cascade of fresh waves and stirred-up water. It was the opposite. The churned-up waters calmed. The bubbles burst and the cloudy haze faded to transparency.

Adam couldn't take his eyes from the lake, searching constantly for a trace of the twelve-year old girl and his brother. But there was nothing but stillness. Nothing but the sound of silence.

He sat back heavily and with a shaky head turned to look at his father. Ben's gaze was fixed on the lake, his mouth open. His face was haggard, pale, and Adam wondered with a stab to his heart whether his father had regained a son at the expense of another.

~8~

"Oh my boy! Adam!"

Ben Cartwright's first sighting of his eldest son in six years was of him falling to the ground having been shot at close quarters. Aghast at what he was seeing, Ben had come to a sudden stop at the edge of the promontory, watching a horrifying scene play out before him. For within seconds of Adam falling to the ground, a young girl who had been hiding behind him toppled off the edge of the cliff, letting out a petrified cry as she fell. And as she disappeared from view, the remaining two participants turned on each other and shot each other down.

Ben's feet refused to move. But the sight of his injured son attempting to stand—and so close to the edge of the cliff—prompted him into a run. He ignored the two downed men, leaving them to Joe to check and kick their weapons out of reach. He and Hoss sprinted towards Adam, and as they ran Ben pointed to the lake. "See to the girl," he shouted. Hoss veered away to the cliff edge with one eye on the water and the other on his fallen brother. "Go!" urged Ben.

Ben reached Adam in time to save him from crumpling to the ground, allowing Adam's legs to fold beneath him as he supported him down. And then Adam looked up at him and his expression changed from bewilderment to disbelief, his eyes widening as he realised just who had come to his aid.

Ben closed his eyes, rejoicing at the feel of the strong body within his arms. He looked to the sky above and sent a prayer of thanks upwards. He'd got his boy back. Yes, he was injured, but he was here, now. It wasn't the reunion he had envisioned, but Ben didn't care. The family were together again for the first time in six years.

But then Adam grew distracted, his attention turning to the girl who floundered in the water below. As Adam edged too close to the cliff—concern for the girl making him ignore his own safety—Ben held onto him tightly and took the opportunity to check the wound in Adam's shoulder. There wasn't a hole in the back of his vest, so Ben prized the leather away to see. There was no blood, no exit wound; the bullet was still in his shoulder. Ben sighed. A painful medical procedure awaited his boy.

Ben looked down at the lake. He could see no sign of the girl, or Hoss. The water was in turmoil so Hoss must have dived below the surface. Ben held his breath, and when his chest began to feel tight he released it with a gasp. But Hoss still hadn't come up for air. He shifted forward, his grip firm on Adam's arm. No one could hold their breath that long, surely. Not even Hoss. Where was he? Where was his big gentle bear of a son? His mouth fell open as his head twitched from side to side, his eyes never leaving the stirred-up waters.

The lake settled.

Ben sat back on his heels. He felt faint. Limp.

Hoss was gone.

His dear boy. His sweet, loving boy.

Gone.

What had just happened?

Hoss could handle himself in the water. Joe would joke that Hoss was like the sea lions they saw in San Francisco Bay: a little lumbering on land, but get him in the water and he was as graceful as a swan. It simply wasn't possible that Hoss could be gone. Not like this. He'd been there, beside him, only minutes before.

Ben's heart broke.