I'm not sure why I thought that was a good idea. Well, not necessarily a good idea, but not a bad one. It seems I continue to make both stupid and bad choices despite the fact that I thought I was through being a teenager.

I needed a new horse, and, as always, Pearl wanted to come with me. I could've shown my horse deed at Blackwater's General Store or even Thieves' Landing, but I knew if I did that I'd end up with some half-starved old nag that would end up being more trouble than it's worth. There were only two good places to get horses in the entire county, and that was either Armadillo or MacFarlane's Ranch. Being the idiot I am, I chose the one closer to home.

So I took Pearl into the General Store, and while she was having a look around, I showed the man at the counter my horse deed and paid a small fee to get my new horse. The man pulled out a small book, scribbled something into it, and shouted at a farm hand to fetch the horse for me. Pearl had run over to show me some postcards she'd found when the bell on the door rang and I heard a loud gasp from behind me.

"John Marston? Is that you?"

Pearl turned around before I did, but that's because I recognized the voice. There stood the owner of the ranch, Bonnie MacFarlane. To say she had aged gracefully would be polite, but still a lie. She had the same face, although more aged than when I'd last seen her. A few wiry grey hairs fell unevenly around her hairline, but she was still blonde.

She was smiling when I turned, but her smile dropped when she got a good look at me.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else." She was trying to conceal her disappointment.

"But John Marston is your name, isn't it?" Pearl asked me with a squeeze of my elbow. "Just people call you Jack instead." I glared at her and she shut her mouth.

"Jack?" Bonnie looked down as if she were thinking, and then back up at my face. "I remember you. You're John's boy, you came to the farm once. My, have you grown."

"That tends to happen as years go by."

"How's the ranch going?" She asked. I was extremely uncomfortable, and the silence that followed only heightened that.

"Uh, not well." I replied. "In fact, it's not going at all."

"Well, why not?" She was trying to be playful, but it wasn't helping. "What happened to all those cattle I gave your father? Did they just up and run away?" I didn't say anything, just shuffled uncomfortably in place. "I'll tell you what, I'll give you a few new cattle for free. I'll even help you herd them over, and I can say hi to your mother while we're at it."

"I don't think that's necessary, ma'am." I ground my teeth together, trying so hard to be polite. "I'm not really living at Beecher's Hope anymore."

"What? So your mother is living all by herself?"

"My mother isn't living anywhere, ma'am."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"My mother isn't living, ma'am." I replied. Bonnie gasped and looked away. I grimaced and turned to Pearl. "How about you go outside and see that horse for me?" Pearl nodded and nearly sprinted out of the door, ready to get away from an uncomfortable situation.

"I'm sorry, Jack." Bonnie said. "I didn't know. I mean, I knew about your father but-"

"I think I should go." I went to walk past her but she blocked the door.

"Listen, I'm sorry, I've been really inconsiderate. At least come in for some tea, your friend can come too. It's the least I can do for the son of one of my greatest friends."

"Thank you, ma'am, but I don't think that's a good idea." I awkwardly squeezed out of the door. "I need to get Pearl home before her parents get worried." That was a lie, but I needed any excuse to get out of there. I found Pearl already on the horse, having gotten a farm hand to help her on. I climbed into the saddle in front of her and sped out of there as fast as I could.