As good as candy bars could be, Dietrich would always consider a homemade treat to be far better. He said nothing while savoring the cinnamon rolls Shauna gave him as they both waited for Troy to get out of the shower. It certainly helped after everything that occurred that day, and Dietrich hoped that would be the last time he and Troy ever had to deal with something like that. He was finishing his second cinnamon roll when he heard the bathroom door open, and Troy came downstairs with his hair still mostly wet.
"Sam, go dry your head. You'll catch a cold like that," Shauna said.
Troy sighed and rolled his eyes before grabbing the hand towel from the oven handle and drying his hair with it. "There. Happy now?"
Shauna gave him a look. "Sam, you're… something special, and I love you."
"I love you, too, sweetheart." Troy gave his wife a kiss before sitting at the table, the full extent of his exhaustion becoming visible on his face as he slumped in the chair.
"Would you like a cinnamon roll?" Shauna replaced the hand towel with a new one from one of the drawers near the stove.
"I'd like a beer, please," Troy muttered.
"When did you last eat?"
"I had two candy bars at the gas station before Ayers brought us home."
"Put something a bit more substantial in your stomach first, then you can have a beer, Sam."
"Oh, alright." Troy looked reluctant to stand up, but did so anyway. Once he was seated with food, Troy glanced at Shauna. "You ready to hear about what happened?"
"Yes, I am," Shauna replied.
"Well, we had the cave all to ourselves for a little while, then these two guys showed up—Sidney McCaskey, the great-grandson of the guy who originally stole the gold off that train, and his friend, Elias Mereworth. They demanded we leave because McCaskey believed he had a legitimate claim to the gold. We should've just left, but I thought we still had a shot at getting the gold. I told Dietrich that we could lie and say we were looking for diamonds. So, Dietrich goes and tells them. They buy it, and we keep looking. Didn't take long for them to realize that we were lying, and that didn't make them very happy. They caught both of us, held us prisoner, threatened us, then used us to find the gold. Turns out, the chest was hidden under a waterfall. Dietrich found it."
"They had me on a rope so I could be easily pulled out of the water and unable to escape," Dietrich explained. "I subtly passed the rope to Troy. He tied up Mereworth, took off running, and I escaped by punching McCaskey in the face, which was admittedly fun but I know I should not say things like that."
"We escaped, but they made off with the gold," Troy said. "And they slashed my tires."
"That explains why you said Ayers brought you home," Shauna said.
"Yeah. We walked all the way to a gas station on the highway. I'm not sure how late it was when we got there."
"It was around sundown," Dietrich said. "Troy was in handcuffs the whole time, so he was very cranky."
"That explains why your wrists are all red, Sam." Shauna touched Troy's arm. "Those two creeps had you in handcuffs?"
"Yeah. My wrists are still a bit sore, but it'll get better." Troy looked down at the table. "I've dealt with worse. Anyway, the guys running the gas station were nice enough to help us. They got Ayers down there, we explained what happened, and he said he'll do his best to bring McCaskey and Mereworth to justice. I don't think that'll be easy. They left the cave by the time we got back to my truck. Dietrich was able to memorize the license plate number, but who knows what kind of plan they had to get away with this."
"At least this is out of our hands now," Dietrich said. "We tried, we failed, but we got out with our lives, so we can move on."
"I don't know. Something… Something tells me we shouldn't just let this go."
"We told Ayers. We are not going after these people." Dietrich kept his tone calm. "I understand you are worried about the safety of other people, but we have no clue where to start. We should leave for Ayers and his people to deal with. I, for one, would like to enjoy my vacation here. One adventure is enough for me."
Troy sighed. "Fine." He finished what was on his plate, then went to the refrigerator to get a can of beer. "We'll think of something to do in the morning. I'm too tired to think clearly."
"That is fair," Dietrich replied. "I could use some sleep as well."
"Do you want more to eat, Hans?" Shauna asked.
"No, thank you. I think I will be done after this." Dietrich put the last of his cinnamon roll in his mouth.
"There are more in the fridge if you want any."
"Maybe in the morning, for breakfast."
"I'm making waffles tomorrow." Shauna turned to Troy. "And you are going to eat your waffles like a normal person and have them on a plate with syrup."
"What if I don't want to?" Troy asked. "I like eating them plain. Same with pancakes. It's quicker."
"For once, Sam, please, eat your waffles normally."
"I'll think about it."
Shauna sighed heavily. "Sam—"
"I love you, too."
"That's… not what I was going to say." Shauna sighed again when Troy kissed her. "Yes. I love you. Finish your beer, Sam."
Dietrich set his dish in the sink to wash it. He was confident that if Troy was acting like himself again, that meant that he was willing to put what happened that day behind him. That is good. I want to enjoy my vacation without further complications, Dietrich thought.
He was tired enough to go to bed earlier than he usually did. He managed to sleep through the night, and awoke the next morning to the smell of breakfast cooking and coffee brewing. There was no rush, no sense of urgency. Not like yesterday morning. Dietrich could take his time with getting out of bed. The tranquility of the ranch was why he enjoyed visiting every summer. It was perfect for slowing down and enjoying the simple things in life, compared to the rapid, loud, and overly busy daily routine in the military.
Dietrich had slept only in his shorts that night. When he went into the bathroom to shave, he was reminded of the previous day's madness by the bruises covering part of his torso. They still hurt to touch, but at least that was all. He was certain that he hadn't broken any ribs, and that McCaskey's boot on his stomach didn't crush any organs. The bruises were put out of his mind after getting his shave and putting a shirt on. He headed downstairs to find Shauna placing a freshly-made waffle onto a plate already piled high with them. "Good morning," Dietrich said.
"Good morning, Hans. Coffee's ready. Pour a cup and take as many waffles as you want."
"Thank you." Dietrich took a mug from the cabinet. "Did Troy already eat?"
Shauna made a frustrated sound. "He did, but all he did was take two damn waffles, fold them, and stuff them in his mouth, just like I told him not to do last night!"
"Did you expect anything less?"
"No, but I had my hopes."
"I think you are more likely to see a unicorn than to see Troy do anything normal."
"You're probably right, Hans." Shauna opened the freezer. "Do you want ice cream on your waffles?"
"Ice cream is not for breakfast."
"It can be. Just for today."
"Oh, alright." Dietrich let Shauna put two very generous scoops of ice cream on his plate. Before he could take his waffles back to put syrup on them, Shauna held out her hand.
"Wait! One more thing." She took a canister of whipped cream from the fridge.
"I highly doubt that is necessary—" Dietrich was silenced by Shauna proceeding to cover his breakfast in whipped cream. "Shauna?"
"What?" Shauna put the whipped cream away and took out a jar of maraschino cherries.
"Um…" Can you really say no to her? She will just tell you that you are skin and bones and need to eat. I am not convinced this Mount Everest of ice cream is the solution. "Uh… just one please?"
"Of course." Shauna placed a single cherry at the top of the whipped cream mountain. She put the jar back in the fridge, then ruffled Dietrich's hair. "Enjoy."
Dietrich tried to find a starting point with the now dairy-drowned waffles. It certainly tasted good, but he doubted he would be able to finish it. The last thing he wanted was for Shauna to catch him, but he also didn't want to let it go to waste. Take it out to the garbage disposal. Dietrich waited until Shauna was out of the house before taking his plate and making a beeline for the horse barn. The summer morning heat meant the ice cream was melting pretty quickly, so Dietrich broke into a jog, all while trying to make sure he didn't drop the plate. Sure enough, he found Troy in the barn, cutting the twine off a small bale of hay.
"Hey, Dietrich," Troy said. He turned with a confused look on his face. "What the hell is that?"
"Your wife's madness," Dietrich replied.
"What'd she do?"
"She put ice cream and half a can of whipped cream on my waffles. I cannot finish it, but I did not want her catching me nor did I want to throw it out."
"Alright, alright, I'll finish it. No worries." Troy took the plate and a spoon from Dietrich, and dug into the sugary remains of the waffles and ice cream.
Dietrich kept anxiously looking around. "What should I do if she finds out?"
Troy shrugged. "I don't think she will. Relax. You're safe here."
"That is… comforting." Dietrich wasn't sure if that came across as sarcastic. "Thank you for doing this, though."
"Thank you for the second breakfast."
"You did not even have a regular breakfast. You had two folded waffles with no syrup. That is like eating two slices of bread and calling it a sandwich."
"I've done that before."
Dietrich didn't bother hiding his thoughts this time. "Why am I not surprised?"
Troy's only response was to grin at him while shoveling a heaping spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.
"You know, I often have moments in which I wonder how and why we are friends. This is one of them."
"I've stopped questioning the how and why and just enjoy that we're friends instead of shooting at each other." Troy scraped as much melted ice cream from the plate as possible before handing it and the spoon back to Dietrich. "Better run before Shauna finds out."
Dietrich chose not to run, but he had nowhere to hide the plate as he headed back to the house. Fortunately, Shauna was still elsewhere when he entered the kitchen, and he quickly washed the plate and spoon before putting them in the drying rack. Now no one would ever know.
He went back outside, unsure of what to do with himself. Like the day before, the weather was nice. He preferred spending a day like this outdoors rather than in a cave, so he returned to the horse barn. Troy had already restocked the horses' hay, and Troy himself was nowhere to be found. Dietrich eventually spotted him riding Alverstone, his gray and white Appaloosa gelding, out in the massive pasture containing the cattle.
Dietrich leaned against the fence, watching Troy work. He seemed focused, his goofiness from earlier pushed off to the side in favor of a more serious expression, but he would still smile when praising his horse. It was something Dietrich had watched countless times. So much so that Dietrich could tell when something wasn't right just by observing Troy for a few minutes. He noted how normal everything seemed. We can put the gold madness behind us, Dietrich thought. He leaned against the fence and rested his arms on it. He was content for once, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his back and the occasional cool breeze messing with his hair. Now, I can truly enjoy my vacation.
It hadn't taken long for Troy to notice Dietrich standing by the fence while he worked. The skinny German's posture suggested that he was very relaxed and happy, and that alone made Troy wonder if what he was planning was worth the trouble it would potentially cause. He hadn't slept much the previous night, as he couldn't stop thinking about whether or not it was his responsibility to go after McCaskey and Mereworth. No matter how many times he tried to tell himself to just let it go and let the sheriff take care of them, Troy couldn't help but feel that he now had an obligation to do something. I did provoke them, after all, when I should've left well enough alone.
He mulled over the fragments of a plan all day, and getting his truck towed back only gave him motivation to go and do what he increasingly felt was the right thing to do. He spent much of the afternoon putting new tires on and checking it over to make sure nothing else had been damaged or stolen. Thankfully, the tires had been the only thing needing to be fixed. He continued pondering his decision, even late into the night as he sat in his office with a map of Converse County unrolled in front of him.
Shauna's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Sam, it's getting late."
"I know," Troy said. "Just looking at something. That's all."
"Looking at what?"
"A map."
"I can see that. Why are you looking at a map?"
Troy didn't answer right away, and kept staring down at the map. Normally, at this time, he would be exhausted, but his desire to see this plan through kept him wide awake.
"You've been acting odder than usual all day. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine."
Shauna leaned against the doorway with her arms folded over her chest. "You're not acting like it."
"Just tired. That's all."
"Then come to bed." Shauna got behind her husband and leaned down to kiss him. She began massaging his shoulders, then stopped when she got a look at what he was doing "Is there a reason you're looking at a map of the county, Sam?"
"Just curious about where Dietrich and I were yesterday. Guess I lost track of time." Troy folded the map and slid it back on the shelf next to his desk. He stood, and turned to face his wife. "Is Dietrich in bed?"
"He's been in bed for about an hour already."
"Okay." Troy followed Shauna upstairs to their bedroom. He hung up his bathrobe before climbing into bed, and felt Shauna snuggle up to him. "Good night, sweetheart," he said.
"Good night," Shauna said. She hugged him tightly, with one hand on his chest to feel his heartbeat.
Troy found himself hoping that Shauna would eventually let go and move over to her side of the bed. Well, that's a horrible thing to think. It was one thing to not want cuddles because he wasn't feeling well, which happened from time to time. It was another to not want cuddles because he needed to be able to get out of bed and go do something he knew Shauna would argue with him over. He closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.
His patience paid off. It took about a half-hour, but Shauna finally released him to get comfortable on her side of the bed. Troy whispered a very soft "Thank you," before waiting for her to fully fall asleep. He then got out of bed, and grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt as softly as he could. Trying to get dressed in the bedroom would probably result in Shauna being woken up, so Troy decided to take his clothes down to the basement.
After getting dressed, Troy grabbed the keys to one of his gun safes. He pulled out several preloaded magazines for his M1911. The gun itself was already loaded with a round chambered. He set that to the side, and wondered if he needed to bring a bit more firepower. You can never go wrong with more firepower, he thought. He looked through the safe, occasionally picking something up and putting it back, until settling on his Remington 11-48 shotgun. After making sure the shotgun was loaded and had plenty of extra ammunition, Troy decided he was good to go.
He froze just before heading up the stairs. He couldn't hear anything, but something was telling him to be quiet as he began climbing the stairs. As softly as he could, Troy opened the door. He heard Dietrich muttering to himself in German in the kitchen, and smelled toast being made. Oh, of course you have to get a midnight snack now! Troy cursed under his breath. Wait, is it a midnight snack if it's not midnight? What time even is it? He looked at his watch. Ten-thirty. I really need to go.
Troy waited in the doorway, wondering if he could sneak out of the house without Dietrich noticing. He crept around to his office and into the dining room. Ah-ha! We still have them! Troy picked up an ornate glass dish of Hershey kisses. The dining room was dark, and he could easily duck back into his office. Now, will this work? He waited until Dietrich stopped talking to himself, then shook the dish. The gentle rustling of the foil wrappings could be easily heard in the quiet house. Troy set the dish on the table, where it would easily be seen, then hid in his office. He heard Dietrich leave the kitchen.
"Troy? Shauna? Are either of you down here?" Dietrich asked. "I hope I have not disturbed your—ooh, chocolate."
As soon as Dietrich was fully distracted with the chocolate, Troy grabbed his slouch hat from its hook by the coat tree, then headed for the front door, doing his best to open and close it as quietly as possible. Once he was outside, he sprinted for the truck, shrouded by the darkness of night. He set his shotgun in the passenger seat as he got in, and stuck the keys in the ignition. He was still fumbling with his seatbelt while backing out of the driveway, continuing to hope and pray that Dietrich hadn't seen or heard anything. He's going to be so mad if he ever finds out I tricked him with the chocolates.
After getting on the road, Troy began wondering just how he had gotten by Dietrich so easily. That never would've worked during the war. He would've sensed me a mile away. Either Hitch and Tully created a monster when they finally got him to eat, or Dietrich's been tricking me the whole time. Why, though? I never said anything about doing this. Maybe I didn't have to say anything. He's a lot smarter than I am, I'll admit that. Troy looked over his shoulder. Oh, well. I'm on the road, and I'm going to find McCaskey and Mereworth before they hurt anyone else. Now… where to start? Troy thought hard for a moment. That kid at the gas station said he knew Mereworth's younger sister. Maybe he can point me in the right direction. He realized he was making a pretty big gamble, as it was late at night and he had no idea if that kid was working at that time. Only one way to find out. Troy stepped on the gas, hoping this plan would get him somewhere.
There were two vehicles in the gas station when Troy arrived. He recognized Nate, the young man who said he knew Mereworth's sister, but didn't recognize the redheaded man talking with him. Troy parked, and stepped out of his truck to jog over to Nate.
The blond man handed a set of keys to the redhead before turning to walk over to his vehicle. He stopped when he saw Troy. "Hey, I know you."
"Glad you remember," Troy said. "Look, I need your help."
"Is it quick? I gotta go home, sir."
"I'll make it quick. You said you know Elias Mereworth's sister, right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Because I'm going to find him and McCaskey. Do you think she might know where they are?"
"Maybe. I dunno. We just take the same classes together. I don't know her all that well. I do know she and a few others like to hang out at the drugstore near the southern edge of Douglas, right by the big feed store. If you hurry, you might be able to find her."
"Thanks." Troy turned to head back to his truck.
"Wait," Nate said. "Why are you bothering to go after them? I thought you told the sheriff everything."
"Because I don't want anyone else getting hurt."
"You sure chasing them through Wyoming is a good idea?"
"It's the only idea I have."
Nate looked like he was struggling to come up with a good argument—or any argument, period. He shook his head, shrugged, and stepped over to his vehicle. "Alright. Good luck, sir. Be careful out there."
"Thanks. Have a good night." Troy got back in his truck. He knew exactly which drugstore Nate had been referring to, as he frequented the feed store next to it. He pulled out of the gas station, and headed back into Douglas.
Dietrich was slowly starting to wake up as he shifted onto his left side from his back. He stretched out, hoping to get a little more sleep despite the deep red-orange of sunrise beginning to spill through the spaces between the window blinds. As he was about to fall back asleep, he heard someone run down the hall, and throw open the door.
"Hans! Hans, wake up!" Shauna's tone was panicked as she began roughly shaking him. "Wake up, Hans!"
Dietrich groaned. "What is it? It is too early for this."
"Damn it, I'm being serious! Sam's gone!"
Dietrich turned to face her. "What do you mean, 'Sam's gone?'"
"I mean it! He's gone! G-O-N-E, gone! He's disappeared!"
"You mean, he is not in the house, and he is nowhere on the ranch?"
"Yes! The truck is gone, too."
Dietrich sighed. "Oh, for heaven's sake." He lay on his back and rubbed his face. "You know, I was just thinking yesterday that it was nice to actually start my vacation, but, no, Troy has to go and ruin it."
"I know. I'm so sorry, Hans."
"You have no need to apologize, Shauna." Dietrich sat up. "Can we at least have coffee before we try to figure out where Troy could have went?"
"It's already brewing." Shauna left the room to give Dietrich privacy so he could get dressed.
Wonderful. Just… wonderful. What the hell could you possibly be doing, Troy? Do not tell me you are actually trying to go after those two lunatics. Dietrich paused. That is exactly what he is doing. Damn it, Troy. He left the room after getting dressed, and headed downstairs for a cup of coffee. Shauna was already pouring the coffee into two mugs, looking more frazzled than Dietrich had ever seen her. "I have a feeling I know what Troy is doing," he said.
"What?" Shauna set a mug in front of him, along with a carton of cream and a jar of sugar.
"Do you remember when we returned from the cave, how he said he was not sure about just letting the two men who attacked us go?"
Shauna bit her tongue. "Oh, if those two don't kill him, I will! I can't believe he didn't say a word about this!"
"I am a bit surprised, too. He was acting about as normal as he can get yesterday."
"Maybe around you, but he was being weirder than he usually is last night."
"How so?"
"He was looking at a map of the county instead of going to bed when we typically do, and he wouldn't really explain why."
Dietrich took a sip of his coffee. "I have no clue how Troy would be able to pull this off. McCaskey and Mereworth have well over a day's worth of traveling ahead of him. They could be anywhere on this side of the country by now."
"That's not going to stop him." Shauna sat at the table. "I don't even know where to start with finding him."
"I think we should start by telling Sheriff Ayers," Dietrich said. "Unlike Troy, we at least know to leave stuff like this in the hands of professionals."
"That's not going to stop me from worrying about him."
"I know, but we do not have many other options."
Shauna was quiet for a moment. "I know he wants to protect people, but sometimes I think Sam hasn't fully grasped the notion that he's not a soldier anymore."
"Apart from ranch work, it is all he knows. That, and I think this has more to do with the fact that Troy feels guilty over provoking McCaskey by not leaving right away, and for pursuing the gold in the first place."
"He shouldn't feel guilty about that."
"I tried to explain that to him while we were in the cave, but I guess he had continued to let this get to him. I cannot say I blame him, but the risk to his own life is far too high, along with the fact that he has no way of finding McCaskey, not easily."
Shauna put her head in her hands. "He's all alone out there, Hans. He's going to get himself hurt, or worse."
"Knowing Troy, I doubt it. He is extremely stubborn."
"That has its good points and bad points. I think this is one of its bad points."
"I agree, but I think Troy will be alright. He has gotten himself out of worse situations." Dietrich reached over to gently squeeze Shauna's shoulder. "We will figure it out. Finish our coffee and breakfast first, and then we will go talk to Ayers about this."
"Look, he likes and trusts Sam. He's asked for Sam's help locating lost hikers and campers on horseback, but I don't think he's going to be happy about this."
Dietrich paused to think. "Troy may be crazy, but I doubt even he would undertake this if he did not have some sort of lead."
"And he'll take whatever lead he can get. That's typically how he finds people when asked. Any clue he finds, he follows it to the next."
Dietrich continued drinking his coffee, trying to figure out what clue they could have possibly had in terms of finding McCaskey and Mereworth. He set his mug down. "I think I found it. When we were at the gas station, the attendant said he knew Mereworth's younger sister. I would comfortably bet that Troy went back to that gas station to talk to the attendant."
"That's not something that holds a lot of promise."
"I doubt Troy cares. It is a lead of some kind, and that is all that matters."
"He must have left at some point in the night. He went to bed with me. What possessed him to think going to a gas station late at night was a good idea?"
"I have been asking myself similar questions for the last sixteen years. Simply replace 'going to a gas station late at night' with just about anything and that has been the majority of my thoughts since meeting Troy."
Shauna let out another sigh. "Sam's heart is in the right place. I just wish he would think a little more with his head than his heart sometimes."
"Wish as we may, but I doubt it will happen." Dietrich took another sip of his coffee, feeling a little more coherent than when he was roughly awakened by Shauna.
"And yet, we both can't imagine where we would be without him."
"Indeed. I owe him my life. I think we can both say that he gave us some sense of purpose."
Shauna nodded. "He did. I was already planning on staying in Wyoming when the war ended. Sam gave me a good, stable job. Falling in love with him made things significantly better."
"If there is one thing I have learned, it is that Troy refuses to quit, and he refuses to let other people quit as well."
"You're certainly right about that."
"I may tease him a little, but I will always be grateful for everything he has done for me. Always."
"It's still not wrong to wish he would settle down just a little, is it?"
"No, but we do still have to bear in mind that Troy as he is was what ultimately saved both us. Is that an excuse for him to do stupid things? No, but we have to accept that no matter what, we cannot change him."
"That's right." Shauna finished her coffee and set her mug in the sink. As she turned to head back to the table, she paused, looking into the dining room. "I didn't leave that there," she said quietly.
"What?" Dietrich asked.
Shauna went into the dining room, and came back holding a glass dish full of Hershey kisses. "Gee, I wonder who found the chocolates and didn't put the dish back where it belonged."
Dietrich's face reddened with embarrassment. "The dish was on the table when I found it. I know how to put things back where they belong."
"I never keep it on the table. I keep it on the hutch."
"I swear, that dish was on the table when I found it. I was having some toast with honey last night, heard a noise, when to investigate, and found that dish on the table."
"Well, either we have ghosts or elves or something, you're lying, or perhaps Sam left it to keep you distracted to make his escape."
Now Dietrich's face was red with anger. "Damn it, Troy!"
