A/N: I wanted this posted last night, but it took too long to finish so here it is today. This one turned out to be a long episode.

Edited 2-18-21 to add line breaks and fix formatting.

"Pa, everything will be fine. Don't worry. You just enjoy San Francisco."

"I will." Her pa settled back in the buckboard and Candy took up the reins. "Wait!" He sat back up. "What about the line shacks? They have to be readied for spring."

"I'm going out to do that as soon as you manage to leave." Joe leaned against his pinto. "We'll keep the place running fine."

"Alright. Be careful, all of you. And please. Mrs. Guthrie is doing us a huge favor while Hop Sing is away. Don't cause any trouble."

"Now, Pa you know us." Ben Cartwright raised one eyebrow in a familiar gesture.

"Why do you think I left your sister in charge?" Annie laughed from her place in Reno's saddle. Joe shot her a glare. Hoss sighed.

"Little brother. Pa does have a point."

"Come on, we're at home. What could happen?"

"I just pray I don't find out." Ben made a face and gestured to Candy. "Let's go." The ranch hand flicked the reins over the mare's back and the buckboard began to roll. Annie heeled Reno alongside.

"I'll be back in time for supper. Maybe sooner if I get my errands done fast."

"And who is going to keep you out of trouble little sister?" She laughed again.

"Joe, who is the only one of the four of us that hasn't been on the business end of a jail cell?"

"Oh, get lost." Joe took off his hat and swatted his sister's leg as she passed. "Oww!" He jumped away, rubbing his backside. "Did you forget about the spur or was that intentional?"

"What do you think?" she called over her shoulder.

"If you're not back in time for supper, I'll let Hoss have your share!"

"I'll eat in town." Annie gigged Reno into a slow canter, pacing the gelding alongside the buckboard. Her pa gave her the look. "Yes, Pa?"

"You see these gray hairs?"

"Yes, sir."

"One of these days, you're going to have more than that after your kids get through with you." Candy's short bark of laughter surprised her; the man was normally so quiet he could be mistaken for a ghost.

"How you gonna find a man to put up with her, Mr. Cartwright?" He shook his head, a cocky grin splitting his face. "Ridin' across Paiute country with the whole nation on the warpath … threatening sheriffs …" Another shake of his head tossed wavy black hair away from those startling blue eyes of his. "Since I figure most men would be terrified at the prospect, it might take a Paiute to tame this one."

"God help him," her pa muttered.

"Most men, you said? Did you include yourself in there?"

"Oh, no, ma'am. I could do it, but I'd kinda like to stay on your Pa's good side." He grinned again. "Besides, the best horses are the ones that ain't had their spirit broke. You're fine just like you are."

"You calling me a horse now?"

"If I were you, Candy, I'd quit before I found myself on the receiving end of a devious prank."

"Pa, you know I'd wait until after the drive to Sand Dust."

"Dare I ask why, Ms. Cartwright?"

"Wouldn't need you as much then." His grin froze for a split second and he shot a sideways glance at her pa.

"I think that's up to Mr. Cartwright, not you."

"And here I thought I'd get to enjoy a peaceful drive into town."

Annie was halfway through her errands when Candy rode up and tied his chestnut to the hitch rail in front of the sheriff's office. She stuffed her package into her saddlebag and hurried down the sidewalk. By the time she reached his horse, he was back outside, squinting against the late afternoon glare. "Candy, what are you doing here?"

"Joe found a man up at one of the line shacks. He'd been shot."

"Bushwacked?"

"No, Ms. Cartwright. Bank robber. Joe wants you to wait until the sheriff or one of his deputies can ride out with you."

"I can handle a gun."

"Yes, ma'am I know that." He worked his hat in his hands. "But Joe –"

"My brother is protective, Candy. Sometimes to the point of overbearing. It's not easy being the youngest and only daughter in a family of three boys."

"I wouldn't know, Ms. Cartwright. I was an only child."

"Stop it, Candy." He frowned. She parked her hands on her hips.

"Stop what?"

"You call Hoss and Joe by their names, why not me? Ms. Cartwright sounds like a spinster schoolmarm. Call me Anne." His face twisted and he looked

away, eyes dark.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Ms. Cartwright."

"And why not?"

"I just can't. Excuse me." He slipped past her and untied his gelding. "Please wait for the sheriff." He swung into the saddle and lit out at a gallop. Men. She had half a mind to chase him down and hog-tie him until he explained. There wasn't anything wrong with her name. And how was it any different from calling her brothers by name? She stormed back down the sidewalk until she stood at Reno's side. Her grulla huffed out a soft, hay-scented breath.

"You want to wait at the livery, boy?" Black tipped ears flickered and he bobbed his head. "You can eat too before we have to head back. Could be several hours before Roy shows up. Come on." She untied him from the rail and led him over to the livery. The telltale clink of a loosening shoe reached her ears two blocks later. She halted and checked the gelding's feet. "Looks like I'll have to borrow a horse. You get the night off, boy."

After settling Reno and leaving a note on the sheriff's desk, Annie made her way to the hotel's dining room. She could tolerate a saloon while out on the trail, but at home she wouldn't pass the creaky batwing doors.

Even lingering over pie and coffee then collecting her rented mount wasn't enough for the sheriff to beat her back. She wound up sprawled in his chair, still waiting later that evening when one of Roy's newer deputies finally showed up. He read Candy's note with a frown. "Your horse ready?" She nodded. "Well, let's go see what this fella has to say." They rode out side by side in the last few hours of daylight, Annie keeping her gun hand close to the pearl-handled Colt her pa had given her when she turned eighteen.

As the main house came into sight, she scrutinized the yard, but nothing looked out of place. Joe was just overreacting. They stopped at the hitch rail in the yard and the deputy swung his leg over the horse. BANG! The gunshot spooked her rented horse; he wheeled around as the deputy collapsed, lifeless, in the dirt. Her gun was in her hand without conscious thought, flame jetting from the barrel again and again as the gelding completed his spin. The front door flew open and a stranger with a rifle rushed onto the porch. The gun barked and her mount reared up with a shrill scream, crashing down to earth with sickening finality.

Dust swirled around her head; her ears rang. The gelding quivered once and went limp, trapping her left leg. Annie blinked, sucked in a gasping breath, and the stranger was less than a foot away, the rifle – a weapon she recognized as Adam's – pointed at her head. Where was her gun? She caught sight of it a few feet away, too far to do any good.

"Get up."

"You didn't have to kill the horse." In that moment, she'd never been more thankful for a loose shoe in her life.

"You got good reflexes, honey, too good. I ought to put a bullet in him." He gestured with the rifle. "In the house."

"There's one problem."

"And what's that, honey?"

"The horse is on my leg." The blond man advanced a few careful steps, just close enough to confirm she wasn't lying. He gave her a nasty smile and headed over to check the deputy. With the horse blocking her line of sight, Annie couldn't see what he did when he bent down next to the man. He stood and looked up at the window over the porch.

"Stupid fool." He came back and grabbed the horse's reins. "You try anything and it'll be the last mistake you make, honey." With him pulling, and Annie bracing her right leg against the horse's back, she managed to slide free within a matter of minutes. She stood slowly. It didn't feel like anything was broken. He seized her arm. "Inside."

"I'm going."

He shoved her through the door and a ring of horrified faces greeted her. Candy sat forward in the chair near the desk, a brief flash of fear shooting across his face before he masked it. Joe and Hoss, both near the fireplace, exchanged worried glances. The doctor and Mrs. Guthrie stood near the dining room table. Another man with a rifle stood near them. There had to be one upstairs, too, to shoot the deputy. And then the one laying on her ma's sofa in front of the fireplace, the one that started this whole mess. Recognition tugged at her. Hadn't he worked for them a few years back? What was his name – Butler? No, it was –

The grip on her arm tightened. A pistol cocked near her ear; cold steel kissed her temple. "I'm only going to ask this once and if I don't get an answer, she dies here and now. What do you say, sonny boy, you gonna tell me who this girl is?"

"I'm Anne Cartwright." She turned her head enough to look the stranger in the eye. "All you had to do was ask me."

"Annie, you okay?" Joe sat forward. "What happened?"

"Rusher, get down here!" A clatter on the stairs heralded the latest arrival.

"What do you want, Dibbs?"

"I ought to put a bullet right between your eyes for that fool stunt."

"That fella saw me, he was going for his gun."

"He was not! If that idiot hadn't opened fire we wouldn't have known you were here."

"And now, thanks to you, there's a dead horse out there for everyone to see. Anyone heard that gunfire, we've got problems, Rusher. Someone else comes riding up, I will shoot you."

"Dibbs –"

"Shut up. Get out there and get that horse moved."

"By myself?"

"Figure it out."

"I can't!"

"You should have thought of that before you opened fire!"

"You're the one who shot the horse!" Dibbs let go of her arm and drove a punch into Rusher's face. The man stumbled backwards and landed on the bottom step, blood trickling down his chin. Air rushed past her cheek; Candy threw himself at Dibb's back and they went down in a tangle. Joe leaped to his feet, only to freeze when the one near the kitchen cocked his rifle. Dibbs got to his feet and kicked Candy in the ribs. He picked up his fallen pistol and pointed it at Candy's face. "Do that again, sonny boy, and you'll be dead." A nasty smile crossed his face and the pistol swung around. "After I shoot her first. Carew, tie her up and sit her right over here next to me. Webster, put sonny boy back in his chair. You," he turned to Joe. "Sit down. I ain't figured out if she's wife or sister, but I will soon enough."

"She's our sister," Hoss said. "You touch one hair on her head, and it'll be the last mistake you ever make. Annie, just go along with him for now." She raised her chin, ignoring the rope biting into her wrists. Carew marched her across the room and pushed her into their pa's favorite chair. Dibbs studied them all.

"If looks could kill," he mused. "I bet you'd like to kill me, too, wouldn't you, honey?" Annie turned her head, looking up at him with a syrupy smile.

"What do you think?" He laughed.

"Oh, fat mouth, this little girl ain't afraid of me, not by a long shot." Dibbs laughed again, then turned to his henchmen. "Rusher, you get out there and drag that deputy's body into the barn. Take sonny boy with you and the both of you hitch up a couple horses and drag that carcass into the barn."

"What if he tries something?" Dibbs smiled.

"He won't, Webster, not unless he wants his sister dead." Annie blinked, glad he couldn't see her face. The others didn't seem to be paying much attention; she hoped they'd missed any reaction she might have made. Hoss shot her a quick sideways glance, as did Joe. Was there any way they could use Dibb's assumption to their advantage? Candy held her gaze, those blue eyes giving nothing away, then his focus shifted back to Dibbs. Slowly, he stood.

"Can't exactly hitch up horses with my hands tied."

"You try anything, you'll be short a place at the breakfast table come morning." Cold steel kissed her ear. "Rusher, cut him loose. That goes for any of you, not just sonny boy. I even think you're planning something, she's history." The door closed behind them, and Annie kept her eyes glued to the clock beside the door, its delicate black hands marching across the face. Thirty minutes later, the door opened again, and Candy staggered wearily back inside, followed by Rusher. It looked like Candy had done most – if not all – of the work, Rusher didn't have a drop of sweat on that shirt. "Tie him back up." Dibbs looked around. "And get back upstairs." He focused on Joe. "Now, I'm right inside your heads. I'm reading every thought you got, and you want to get me for that fella out there, and for putting your sweet little sister in danger. You've got no guns, your hands are tied, but your still figuring, and you're hoping, and you're itching." Hoss gave the rat an amused grin.

"You read us pretty good, Dibbs." The man said nothing, instead turning his attention to Harriet.

"Webster, you get that cook lady in the kitchen. I want that food and I want it right now."

"She only has two hands," Annie put in. "If you let me help –" Dibbs laughed.

"I'd be a fool to eat anything you cooked, honey."

"Annie is a right smart cook."

"Sure she is, fat mouth, too smart. She stays right here where I can keep an eye on her. You only heard it, but I saw it. She was firing before I stepped foot on that porch. This one," Dibbs touched her hair, "ain't leaving my sight." Harriet hurried back into the kitchen, Webster trailing her. Joe gave Dibbs a stony glare.

"We aren't going to have to get you, Dibbs. Your own stupidity will do that. It's getting dark, a lot of people know the doctor's out here, they're gonna be

wondering why he's not back."

"Yeah, cause whoever heard of a doc staying out all night with a sick man, huh?" Dibbs said with a nasty grin.

"What about the sheriff?"

"Well, what about him?"

"Candy might have –"

"He did. And you know it. I'm betting you told little sister here not to come back until the sheriff could ride with her." Dibbs dug into his pocket and dropped something on the table. The tin star clattered against the wood, drawing a stare even from the man on the sofa. What was his name? Dibbs stalked across the room and stood in front of her ma's sofa. "Look here, Donnie boy. You're carrying a bullet in your shoulder. Now if it don't come out, all we're gonna lose is a couple of hours, but you're gonna lose it all, you're gonna lose everything you got." The man turned his head.

"You're wasting your breath, Dibbs. I ain't worth nothing to you dead." He swallowed painfully. "You want that money."

"I'm gonna get it, too. Maybe we shoot you, find it without you."

"How you gonna to do that?"

"Webster's a scout, he can backtrack your trail."

"Even if he was, there ain't enough time. There's still a posse out looking for you."

"Yeah, I ain't forgot that." He crouched in front of the sofa, resting an arm on the edge. "Now look, Buckler – " That was it, Buckler. "What made you think you could get away with it, huh? I mean, what did you even try for?" Buckler said nothing and turned his face away. Dibbs straightened with a hard jerk and started across the room, thinking hard. "Ten or twelve thousand dollars that wasn't enough for you?" He leaned against the newel post, turning when Harriet came into the dining room with a large tray of sandwiches, Webster bringing up the rear with the coffee pot. "Well, it sure took you long enough." The others dug into the food, but Dibbs stayed at the foot of the stairs. Annie saw his eyes light up and he raised his head. "Hey, Rusher!"

"What do you want?" Annie smothered a snort. The man was dumb enough to ask?

"I want you! Get down here on the double!" The man clattered down the stairs and halted in front of Dibbs. "Remember that fight you had last year with Buckler? It was over a woman, wasn't it?"

"He was carrying a picture of a girl, I laughed and asked him what saloon she worked in, and he hit me." Dibbs slapped the newel post and spun.

"I was right!" He stormed back across the room. "I bet you still carry her picture, don't you Buckler?"

"None of your business," he said on a gasp. Dibbs ignored him and dug around in his pockets until he pulled out a folded letter and a small picture.

"What's it say?" Carew asked between bites of sandwich.

"It says Mr. Donald Buckler, care of the Rivers Hotel, Fort Lyons, Wyoming."

"We ain't been there in over a year," Rusher said from the stairs. "You mean he's still carrying that letter around with him?" Annie shot a glance to Joe. Maybe they'd get a chance while the bunch was distracted with the letter. He shook his head, a short, sharp jerk that derailed her hopes. Of course they wouldn't try anything as long as she was threatened. Overprotective brothers.

"There's a return address here, Kelly Linkram, Ponderosa Ranch, Nevada territory." He looked up with an evil grin. "Linkram."

"Sure," Carew said. "That's the name of the girl Donnie said was waiting for him in Nevada. You know, when he hit it big, he was gonna go back for her."

"Well, he did hit it big, $60,000 of our money and she's right here on the Ponderosa Ranch." All of them exchanged worried glances. Annie knew Kelly, not as well as she used to when they were kids, but they were still friends, of a sort. The thought of Kelly getting mixed up in this was enough to turn her stomach. "Did you hide that money at her house, huh?"

"Hey, Dibbs." Rusher ambled down the stairs, rifle on his shoulder. "Let me at him, I'll make him talk." And he looked like he'd enjoy every minute of it.

"No, the girl will do it." Dibbs looked around. "Now I don't suppose any of you will tell me where the girl lives?" They all looked at each other, but said nothing. Dibbs nodded to himself and turned around. "Now all sonny boy over there cares about is getting loose so he can try and be a hero. But the cook lady there –" Dibbs strolled across the room, stopping in front of Harriet. "She don't want to be a hero, now do you?"

"Let her alone, Dibbs!" Joe exploded.

"You bet. Now you like these Cartwrights, don't you? You wouldn't want anything to happen to them, would you?" Harriet's chin came up.

"You wouldn't dare do anything to them!"

"I won't if you give us a hand. Do you know where this Kelly Linkram lives? Yes, you know where she is. And you're gonna bring her here."

"You aren't gonna let her out alone, are you?"

"Why, she'll go for help!" Dibbs shook his head.

"She won't go anywhere she's not supposed to. She's not back here in half an hour, with the girl, there's gonna be a lot of sudden fatalities around here. And if you've got your feet set against going, you're gonna be number one." Annie bit her lip. Hoss sighed and turned in his chair.

"I think he means it, Mrs. Guthrie, better do what he says." She stared up at Dibbs for a moment, then turned.

"I'll get my bonnet."

"Webster, you go on with her, stay outside, just in case." Dibbs strolled over to the table and plucked a sandwich off the tray, then ambled back across the room. "Alright, back upstairs Rusher."

"It's dark, ain't no one coming." Dibbs took a bite.

"You go back upstairs." Rusher growled and stormed out of sight. Harriet came back with her bonnet and cloak; Dibbs pointed at her. "Now hold it. Half an hour."

"They can't make it in half an hour," Hoss said.

"Well, how long?"

"Forty-five minutes in daylight, at least an hour now."

"Alright, one hour." Dibbs said between bites. "now it's five minutes of eight, that's five minutes of nine. But if you're not back in time, there's gonna be an awful lot of empty chairs around the breakfast table. You just keep that in mind." He ushered them out the door and finished his sandwich in the way back to the sofa. He laid a hand on Buckler's head. "You know, Donnie boy, I'm real anxious to see your girlfriend. I bet we get along just fine." The look on Buckler's face was almost enough o make Annie lose whatever might be left of her supper.

They all watched the clock like it might explode. Dibbs glanced around with a smirk. "Twenty-five minutes to go." Buckler cried out and the doctor hurried over.

"That man is in pain."

"The wages of sin, Doc," Dibbs drawled. "That man there, he robbed a Wells Fargo office, that's against the law."

"And you didn't?" He shot her a dark look.

"Don't try my patience, honey."

"I should have a look at that wound."

"Well, go right ahead, Doc, no one's stopping you." The doc bent down and got to work. Carew snatched the last sandwich off the tray, complaining as he took the first bite.

"A whole plate of sandwiches and I only got one. I'm starving!"

"You'll wait until the cook gets back."

"If she gets back," Joe said softly.

"What do you mean, if?" Joe smirked.

"Mrs. Guthrie knows this country better than you know the inside of your hat. She could give Webster the slip with no trouble at all."

"Be a bad piece of luck for you if she does." Dibbs turned and looked at the clock. "That'd mean you – and your sister – have only got twenty-three minutes to live." They exchanged glances; Hoss cleared his throat.

"He's getting worse, ain't he, Doc?"

"Yes, and he'll continue to until the bullet's removed." He threw a dark look at Dibbs. "Not that you care."

"I do care, Doc, I can't have him dying until I find out where he hid the money." Annie shook her head. With friends like that, who needed enemies?

"He is gonna die, Doc, if that bullet don't come out of there," Hoss pressed. Why keep on? They all knew the outcome of untreated bullet wounds. Unless … Did big brother have the makings of a plan up his sleeve?

"Yeah."

"You can tell about how much time he's got left?"

"Of course I can tell." No one said anything else until Dibbs looked back to the clock.

"Twenty minutes."

"Someone coming, Dibbs!" Rusher called from upstairs.

"It's them!" Carew raced for the door; Dibbs called him back.

"No, it can't be, not this soon." The Cartwrights and Candy exchanged worried looks. Who was outside?

"Maybe its another deputy," Candy offered. "Or the Sheriff himself." Silence fell.

"There's a back way out, Dibbs, you better take it while you can," Joe said.

"One rider," Rusher called. Why couldn't he fall out of that window and do them all a favor? Dibbs looked around, seeming to dismiss her immediately.

Why did he have to be that smart?

"You, on your feet." Joe stood slowly and made his way to the front door.

"Find out who it is," Dibbs hissed. Joe's eyes blazed, but he kept his mouth shut. At least he wasn't trying anything stupid. This time.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Posen."

"It's just one of our hands," he said under his breath.

"I'll open the door and you talk to him. It's up to you whether he rides away or gets carried away. Just you." The door creaked open and Joe peered out.

"Evening, Joe. Sorry to bother you, but we're gonna need fence posts first thing in the morning.

"Well, start at the mill. You come all the way out here to bother me with that?" Her brother's voice sharpened. Annie bit her lip. He was laying it on too thick.

"Well, I have to know so the hands can –"

"Well, fine, now you know. Don't come around here asking me stupid questions!" Dibbs kicked the door shut and aimed his rifle at Joe's chest.

"I ought to shoot you right here and now. Don't you think I know what you were doing, yelling at that cowboy? You better hope he's too dumb to figure out something's wrong. Now get over there." He shoved Joe back to the fireplace.

They settled in to wait.

The minute hand touched the eleven and Dibbs called up the stairs, "Any sign of them, Rusher?"

"No." Dibbs turned and worked the lever on his rifle, bringing the barrel around to take aim at Annie. She swallowed the catch in her throat and raised her chin.

"Now, wait a minute," the doc protested. "Anything could have happened, maybe no one is home at the girls' house, maybe –"

"Maybe they went on a moonlight hayride, what about that, Doc?"

"To shoot innocent people!"

"Save your breath, Doc," Candy spoke for the first time in almost an hour. "Dibbs is the kind of man who shoots people in the back. Or times them up, then shoots them." Dibbs gave him a nasty smile and ambled over to Candy.

"Just for that, you're gonna be first, sonny." Annie held her breath. Why didn't he just keep his mouth shut?

"Dibbs! Horses, it's them!" Footsteps clattered on the porch.

"It's me, Dibbs." They opened the door and Harriet led Kelly into the room.

"We did get back in time," Kelly breathed with a glance at the clock.

"Buckler, this here's your girlfriend. She's not bad, she's not bad at all."

"Donnie!" Kelly gasped, and rushed to the sofa. "What's happened to you?" Buckler said nothing; she turned to them. "Hoss, Joe, Annie, what's going on? Who are these men?" She licked her lips and looked around. "I came with Harriet because she said I should, but – but what's going on? What's Donnie Buckler doing here?" Annie's eyebrows rose.

"You don't know?" Kelly shook her head.

"Weren't you waiting for him to come for you?"

"Well, no I sure wasn't. Why, I haven't even gotten a letter from him in over a year, I didn't even know where he was. Honey, how'd you get hurt?"

"Kelly," Buckler groaned. Dibbs grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"You're wasting your breath. You know he was coming back here, that's why we sent for you. Old Donnie boy here is real close-mouthed about where he hid that money, but I bet he'll tell us when you ask him to."

"I don't know anything about any money."

"She's telling the truth, Dibbs," Buckler pleaded.

"Sure she, is, everybody here is. Webster, tie her up. Carew, get one of those kitchen knives, the sharpest one they got. Rusher, move little sister out of that chair and park her right over here in the floor where she can't cause us any problems." Annie fought the urge to kick the rat when he dumped her in the floor, but that wouldn't help any one right now. Joe leaned forward when Dibbs advanced on Kelly; Webster cocked his gun and pointed it at Joe. "Funny thing about pain," Dibbs mused, "Some people can take a lot, and others," Kelly gasped when he pushed the knife into her face, "they just fold right in. Now you take me, I can't stand pain." And that was good to know. Joe was right about his stupidity. "It's gonna be very interesting to see how she holds up. Women tend to be a lot braver than men when you come right down to it." He studied the blade. "How well you think she can cover knife scars all over her face?" he turned and showed the blade to Kelly.

"Don't touch me." She shrank back in the chair.

"The rest of it's all up to you, Donnie boy. You just say the word? Is she worth sixty thousand dollars to you? You may not have the money, but you'll still have a nice happy marriage." Kelly's eyes widened.

"Donnie, tell him he's got it all wrong! We never said anything about marriage. We were friends, but that was a long time ago."

"Are you lying to me?"

"No, Donnie will tell you! I'm sorry you're hurt, but Donnie please tell him. I never said I'd wait for you, and I never promised to marry you. Donnie, tell him, please!"

"You tell me!"

"We were friends once, but my pa didn't want him coming around, said he was too wild. Please, Donnie, tell him! I am gonna be married, but not to him!" Buckler's eyes widened, and his face twisted. Everyone in the room looked between Kelly and Buckler. "To Harmon Thomas!" Kelly dissolved into tears and Dibbs stormed away, putting himself dangerously close to Candy.

"We did all this for nothing?"

"You heard her, there's nothing between them, let her go," Candy said. Dibbs spun, the knife pointed at Candy.

"You shut up!" He made his way back to the sofa. Buckler looked up at him.

"She's right Dibbs. I didn't know about Thomas. Everything else is true."

"Me and Harmon, it's been almost a year now." Dibbs straightened.

"This isn't over. He may not be gonna marry her, but he don't want to see her cut up neither. I ever tell you about Cynthia? Kissed her goodbye when I was nineteen and rode off to war. I was gonna marry her the very first day I came back." He smiled to himself. "Eleven years since I saw her. Probably has six kids and a passel of gray hair by now. But I like to remember her just like she was. And that's how you want to remember this little lady, isn't that right, Buckler?" Buckler smirked.

"It's over, Dibbs. I made a mistake. Cut her, or let her go, its all one to me. Give me the letter and the picture." Stunned, Dibbs handed them over and Buckler tore the letter in half with his teeth, then crumpled the picture.

"Buckler," Dibbs sighed. "You're no good to nobody, not even yourself. What good does it do you to see her get hurt or maybe even killed? You don't have her, and you never will. But if you do the right thing, she'll always remember you for it." Buckler ignored him. Dibbs went back to Kelly and waved the knife in her face.

"You leave her alone!" Harriet shot forward.

"Keep her out of this, Carew!"

"Donnie! Donnie, please!" Kelly sobbed over and over. Annie bit her lip and shifted her weight. If she could just …

"Stop it!" Buckler sat up, clutching his shoulder. "You win, Dibbs. Leave her alone."

"Where's the money?"

"I go with you and we split?"

"Fine with me, Carew saddle the horses."

"No, I can't find it in the dark. Have to rest, get stronger, before I can sit a horse. You don't want me keeling over before I show you where the money's hid, do you?"

"Alright, first light."

"Dibbs," Annie called. "You might want to think about that."

"Why?"

"He ain't getting any stronger," Hoss added. "If that bullet don't come out, he may not make it to first light."

"Keep out of this."

"Ask the doc."

"What about it, Doc?"

"He's telling you the truth."

"You take that bullet out, can he ride come daylight?"

"It wouldn't be wise –"

"I didn't ask if it was wise, I asked can he do it?"

"I suppose he could."

"Then you're going to operate here and now."

"No table, poor light, few instruments. How can I?"

"Doc. A man's life is at stake."

"As a doctor, I'm obligated to save his life if I can, just for you to take him out and kill him. Alright. I'll need some lamps and water."

"Webster, take the cook lady out to the kitchen and get some water!"

"Mrs. Guthrie," Annie called. "Get hot water. Boiling hot." She thought she had a good idea what Hoss had in mind.

"Annie, I've helped with more operations than you have." Annie raised her eyebrows; Harriet paused, then glanced at Hoss and Joe. They raised their eyebrows a fraction of an inch and she nodded, then headed for the kitchen. Annie exchanged glances with Candy. The doctor moved Dibbs out of his way, putting the man's back to her. Annie drove her boot into the back of his knee and he folded like a paper doll, stumbling over top of her. Candy threw himself into the floor, tangling them all.

Dibbs regained his feet, the rifle aimed at Hoss. "Back in your chair, fat mouth. Right now."

"You need help?" Rusher shot down the stairs.

"I told you to get them lamps! Webster, where's that water?" Rusher disappeared and Dibbs backed towards the kitchen. Annie shot a quick glance at Joe and he shifted his hands just enough she could see that their distraction had worked. About that moment, Harriet left the kitchen, their biggest bowl filled to the brim with steaming water. She slipped up behind Dibbs and tipped the bowl, soaking his back with the boiling water. He collapsed with a moaning scream and Joe leaped for Carew. Candy kicked the man into Joe's path and he went down, felled by a stinging punch. Annie pulled her legs up tight against her chest and slipped her bound hands over her boots, then scrambled for Carew's dropped gun.

Webster shot out of the kitchen and Hoss intercepted him, knocking him for a loop. She got her hands on the gun just as Candy yelled, "Annie, the stairs!" She rolled over and fired, blowing Rusher off the staircase and into his grave.

Joe and Hoss hauled Dibbs to his feet. Harriet raised her chin. "Slap me, will you." The man winced in pain. She sighed. "I've got some oil in the kitchen. It'll help some. And then if no one minds, I plan to just sit down for a while." She turned to go. Joe grinned and they all exchanged glances.

"I'd let him suffer." Annie got to her feet. Dibbs said nothing. Hoss plucked a knife off the table and cut her wrists free, then moved to help Candy.

"I believe you told Pa we're at home, what could happen? I wouldn't say that again, big brother. God only knows what' ll come about if you do."

"Annie –"

"And you." She turned on Candy. "What is so bad about my name that it takes a hostage situation for you to use it?"

"Why, nothing."

"Then why don't you?"

"It – it wouldn't be right."

"Oh, leave him alone, Annie." Suddenly, Joe's face twisted. "That wasn't – wasn't Reno, was it?"

"If it had been, boiling water would be the least of his worries." The doctor threw his hands in the air.

"If someone will get me some more water and some help, I'll get on with the operation." Kelly smiled at Buckler and went to his side. Annie scrubbed her hands over her face.

"If you all can stay out of trouble until morning, I'm going to bed." She started up the stairs. Pa would never believe this, not in a million years.