One, about seventeen and blonde, pulled up next to a dark haired man about twenty three.
"No lawmen that I can see," the blonde said.
"Impossible," the dark haired one said. "This town looks aching for action. I say we stay, you all agree?"
The other four nodded and slid off their horses, prepared to scope out the scene in Four Corners.
On the bench outside the Saloon, Ezra Standish lectured Samantha Crawford on the techniques of cheating at cards. The poker face, card up the sleeve, every trick he knew he had passed down to the girl. In a strange way, he felt almost paternal.. But not for long...
"I don't know why you're the one doing the teaching," she said, deliberately aiming for snottiness. "Remember, I'm the one who beat you."
Ezra grinned, and Sam saw his gold tooth sparkle.
"True," he said. "You did beat me, but you played honestly. Had you cheated, my dear you would've clobbered me."
Sam laughed. She could always count on Ezra to make her laugh when JD wasn't around. At the moment, her loving greenhorn rode with Nathan, Chris, and Buck out to the village. Sam had been looking forward to spending the day with him, but he'd been so excited about being invited to go along with Chris that Sam had told him to go on. After all, she'd be spending the rest of her life with him. Surely she could survive 24 hours without his company. In all honesty, she was glad he was away....as many times as she'd tried to convince him she was absolutely fine, he still looked over her like a hawk, never letting her be. It had only been because Ezra had promised to stay with Sam that JD had left at all.
"Well, darling, "Ezra began. "It's been delightful showing you the ropes, but I really must play against someone who isn't better than me now. I need to feel like I'm at least moderately gifted. I know I promised JD I would keep an eye on you, but I would think you'd enjoy some freedom after weeks of constant supervision."
He knew her so well, Sam's smile was answer enough.
"Be careful," he said. She rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. You've not doubt heard that command far too many times over the duration of these last few weeks." He got up to go, and tipped his hat at her. Sam stood up and gathered the cards, then headed down the walk.
As she came around the corner, Sam ran right into a group of young men, colliding with one of them in particular. For a split second, her mind raced with all the bad possibilities of this. Strange men were not a positive thing to her anymore. Laughing, the one she'd crashed into took her arm to steady her, and she pulled away quickly. Then, she looked up into the most beautiful pair of baby blue eyes she'd ever seen. They belonged to one of the handsomest men she'd ever seen.
"I'm sorry," she apologized breathlessly, still focused on his eyes, barely noting the other four men around her.
He spoke: "I must say, I recognize a lot of beautful faces, but I don't believe I've ever been graced with yours before," he said. "I'm Bryce. Bryce Winston."
The words reminded her of Ezra, it sounded like something he would've said, or Buck. The voice however, held her captivated. Smooth and soft, it was almost mesmerizing.
"I'm Samantha," she managed.
Bryce smiled.
"It's nice to meet you," he said. "These are my brothers. Higgins, Curtis, David, and Michael."
Sam was surprised. They didn't look like brothers at all. With surprising warmth, they all greeted her. Bryce's eyes never left her face.
"Are you new around here?" Sam asked. "I've never seen any of you before."
Higgins replied, looking down at her with incredible brown eyes. "We're just stopping here for a few days. We're on our way to Tulsa."
"Really?" Sam asked in amazement. "I'm from Tulsa."
"Our family is there, and we're going to visit them," Michael explained.
They all seemed like very friendly young men, and Sam could've talked to them for hours, especially Bryce, whose eyes were still locked on her face.
Vin, emerging from the saloon, saw Sam talking to a group of men he didn't recognize. Immediately, he felt protective. Granted, they could just be newcomers...But Vin's gut instincts told him otherwise. Plus, one of them was standing a little too close to Sam. And she was smiling a little too brightly at him.
"Sam!" Vin called, indicating for her to come to him.
"Oh, I have to go," she said.
"Who's he?" Bryce asked, indicating Vin and moving a step closer to her.
Sam felt his hand brush against her arm. "That's Vin," she explained. "He's a lawman."
Curtis snorted. "Doesn't look like any lawman I've ever seen."
"None of them do really. There's actually seven of them," Sam explained. "My father is one. I guess I have to go, then." The disappointment in her voice was clear.
"Well, I'm sure I'll see you around then, Sam...may I call you Sam?" Bryce asked.
"Of course," she said. Turning, she headed off, her head spinning.
"Bryce, you irrepressable charmer," David said with a laugh, as soon as Sam was out of earshot, swatting his younger brother.
Bryce honestly looked shocked. "Why not? Did you see her? She's beautiful!"
"At least you have good taste," David replied.
"Seven lawmen," Higgins repeated.
"That basically ruins that plan," Michael said.
Higgins ran a hand through his hair. "Not necessarily," he said. "Your new friend Samantha could be useful."
When Sam retreated to her room that night, she still held a picture of Bryce in her mind, regardless of how hard she wanted to push it out. Granted, he was....gorgeous. That meant nothing. A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.
"Who is it?" she called.
"Take a guess," a youthful, energetic, familiar voice responded.
Reminding herself that JD was everything, she put on her best smile, flung open the door and leapt into his arms.
"Whoa girl!" he said. "I take it I was missed."
"More than you'll ever know," she said, and impulsively kissed him.
You love this man, Samantha. Remember that....her mind said to her.
Pulling away, JD grinned. "You never cease to amaze me," he said. "How was your day?"
Sam shrugged. "I played poker with Ezra, nothing major. How was yours?"
As JD rambled on about the ride out to the reservation, and what they'd done there, Sam merely pretended to listen. She really tried, but it was no use.
I recognize a lot of beautiful faces, but I don't believe I've ever been graced with yours before..
"Sam?" JD asked.
Startled out of her trance, Sam asked.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I asked if you wanted to go to the grove with me tomorrow," he said, obviously disturbed by her absent-mindedness. She knew she'd have to play it off quickly. Ever since her attack, JD took any straying from her upbeat energy as a sign that something was terribly wrong.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just so caught up in this wedding of Nathan and Rain's, I can't think of anything else. I keep imagining what ours'll be like.." Sam felt bad for lying, but she knew she could never tell the truth. The lie seemed to set JD at ease. He bought it, and smiled down at her sweet face.
"I'd love to go the grove with you," she answered, determined to not let him see anything wrong with her.
As he hugged her goodbye later, she closed her eyes. The eyes she saw weren't JD's...they were blue....Sams first thought was that at least they didn't belong to Daniel Walker.
Sam rose early the next morning, hoping to find a way to escape going to the grove with JD. She didn't enjoy straying from the town very much these days, she much preferred the streets of Four Corners, where she knew there were Seven men with guns who would be there in a second if anything happened. Maybe Mary had some jobs for her to do, she thought, or she could watch Billy. The eight year old boy seemed like a delightful excuse, besides Sam didn't mind him. He was a cutie.
As she rounded the corner, she saw a familiar figure coming towards her.
"Well, we meet again," Bryce grinned and tipped his hat. "Good morning."
Sam smiled back, blushing a little. "Hello."
"Can I take those for you?" he offered, indicating her stack of books. Before she could reply, he'd gently pried them out of her hands.
"Julius Caesar."he announced, looking at the top of the stack." You read Shakespeare?"
Sam nodded. "I love him."
"What's your favorite?"he asked.
"A Midsummer night's dream,"she answered. "I laughed all the way through it."
Bryce smiled his million watt smile again, and Sam felt her heart race.
"Me too," he said. "Especially during the end. Pyramus and Thisbe. Hysterical! Where are you headed?"
"Oh.." Sam began. "Nowhere really..I was just going to drop these off to Rain."
"Well, after you do that could I convince you to accompany me on a ride?"
Sam froze. He seemed so wonderful, but should she go off with a strange man by herself? Should she? What if JD found out? What if something happened? What would the old Sam have done?
"I'd be delighted," she accepted. From the smile on his face, she knew she'd made the right choice.
An hour later, she was riding out in the direction of the grove with Bryce, thoroughly enjoying his company. He was remarkably quick-witted, and never without a fascinating comment. The air was a bit chilly, but Sam didn't even notice. Truthfully, she felt like the most beautiful girl in the world, riding beside this handsome stranger who kept complimenting her.
She also felt awful. She'd been supposed to come with JD to the grove. They stopped upon reaching their destination, and hopped off their horses.
Sam felt a tug of guilt, remembering all the times she and JD had been to the grove together. The time she'd pulled him into the water and the first time he'd told her he loved her. They'd been lying in the grass only a few feet away from where she now stood.
"What a great place!"Bryce noted. "It's so...almost...romantic."
Out the corner of his eye, he saw her face fall.
"It is," Sam said. I shouldn't be here...I should tell him about JD.
Bryce noticed her apparent worriedness. "Sam?" he asked. "Is something wrong? You seem...."
"I'm fine," she insisted. Seemed that was a common phrase for her to use these days.
Moving closer to her, Bryce took her face in his hand and made her look up at him.
"Are you sure?" This was genuine concern. "You can tell me."
"I'm engaged," she blurted.
Bryce's eyed widened and he stepped back.
"Well, not really," Sam rambled on. "But he's supposed to ask me to marry him in a year, and I'm supposed to say yes. I don't want to hurt him but at the same time I don't know if I want to get married anymore...." Her hand flew to her mouth in disbelief of what she'd just said.
"He...?" Bryce asked.
"His name's JD. He's one of the lawmen. In fact, he's the sheriff. Oh, he loves me so much. I shouldn't be here with you," she said. "But you're so..and he's so...I don't know. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," he replied. "Here, sit down."
Gently, he moved her to a large rock and sat her down, then sat beside her. She calmed down a little.
"This is all messed up," she stated flatly.
"I guess so," he agreed. "I'm really sorry about all this, I didn't know."
"It wasn't you," she said. "Well, it was, but it's been building for a long, long time."
"That's too bad," Bryce said. "You're too young to have to worry about things like this. You should be thinking about..I don't know what..but not marriage."
Sam nodded.
"I know,"she said.
But she couldn't tell him what was really on her mind. Down deep, she knew she wasn't good enough for JD. There were a million other women in the world who were not ruined, and he was so wonderful, he deserved one of them. Not someone who'd been wasted, someone who's head was spinning so fast she'd ridden off with a strange man alone just to prove to herself that she was okay, when she-more than anyone-knew she wasn't."
"Sam?" Bryce asked. He'd been watching her face grow darker as they'd sat in silence. He felt bad using this girl to benefit himself.
She didn't want to talk about it. Glancing down, she saw a silver band around his finger. Taking his hand, she took a closer look.
"My father gave me that," Bryce said, understanding that she wasn't about to tell him what was going on. "Before he died."
"Oh.." Sam said. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," he said. "It was years ago. He gave us each something of his.."
"When my mom died, she left everything for me," Sam replied."I left it all back home when I came here to find Buck." Tulsa, she thought, would I have been safer staying there?
"Buck. Your father, right?" Bryce asked, trying to piece it all together.
She nodded. "They weren't married. He didn't even know he had a daughter until I got here."
"That's amazing," Bryce said. Then his voice changed, grew softer. "You're amazing."
Sam laughed a little. If only he knew how decidedly unamazing she really was. "No, I'm really not," she insisted.
"Yes, you really are," he replied. "Honestly," he said. "I'm having trouble keeping myself from kissing you right now."
Sam looked at him. His eyes were fixed on hers. "Why don't you?"she whispered.
Slowly, their faces moved together and their lips met. Though it was timid, Bryce's kiss was exciting, and Sam felt sensations she hadn't felt for a long time, a fresh and exhilirating new type of feelings. She tried to push away the feeling of guilt rising in her.
JD'll never know.. She convinced herself. It's only one kiss. It means absolutely nothing to either of us..
But as they pulled apart she looked in Bryce's eyes, and she knew she'd just lied to herself.
"Have you seen Sam?" JD asked eagerly as he bounded into the saloon to the men's usual table, where Ezra, Vin, Chris, and Buck sat. "I can't find her anywhere. We're supposed to go the grove today."
"Nope," Vin replied. "Not since yesterday."
JD looked puzzled as he dropped into an empty chair.
"Hell," Buck said. "She's probably blowing off some steam." His voice showed plainly how concerned he was for his daughter. Not for where she was at that moment, but how she was dealing with everything that had happened.
He couldn't wait to get his hands on Daniel Walker.
The doors to the saloon opened and four of the Winston boys came in. They claimed a table on the opposite side of the saloon, and soon the saloon girls were lingering around their table, serving up drinks and laughing, selling their goods as best they could.
"Hey, arent those the Winston boys?" JD asked.
"Yep," Vin replied."Four of em anyway."
"I don't trust 'em," Chris said. "I'm not sure why."
Buck put down his drink. "I hear they're nothin but trouble," he said, glaring at the dark haired man who had his arm around Melanie Hills.
"Keep an eye on 'em," Chris ordered as he stood up and left the saloon. Buck and Vin nodded. JD was lost in his own world, wondering where Sam had gone off to.
"Follow me," Bryce said, as he ran his horse ahead of Sam's.
"Where?" she cried back.
"I wanna show you something. You'll see," His smile, almost boysish, reminded her of Billy. She laughed and ran her horse faster. Side by side, the two riders gallopped across the field and into the forest, where they ducked branches and avoided fallen trees as they ran.
Had he been anyone else, Sam would've been nervous about their destination, especially when the woods became darker and thicker and their sight became limited. Woods were not a favorable thing for her anymore. However, her mind and heart both sent her the same signals.. Follow him. They came out into a small clearing, where the sun burst thorugh and caused a beautiful scene. A huge log cabin sat in the center of it. To the left was a serene pond surrounded by rocks. Sam practically swooned.
They pulled their horses up by the cabin and dismounted.
"Where are we?" Sam asked, taking in the wonder of the scene.
"This is where we're staying," Bryce said, tying up the horses yet still managing to watch her sweet face.
"How did you find it?" she asked.
"We just rode past it, and no one was here, so we figured why not indulge in this marvelous place," He explained. "Isn't it great?"
"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," she breathed.
"You're the most beautful thing I've ever seen," he replied, drawing her close to him and lightly kissing her. Part of her wanted to push him away, but another, bigger part, warned her that this was probably what she deserved. Self-destruction was not a familiar thing to Sam, so of course she didn't recognize it.
The day wore on, and JD had still no idea where Sam was. No one else was particularly worried, though. Buck's "blowing off steam" theory had tided them all over. If there was reason to worry, Buck would be worrying more than anyone.
Earlier, the Winston boys had ridden out of town, Chris hoped for good. The town already attracted enough strangers without having to worry about criminals.
Bryce showed Sam all around the cabin, which was a lot larger from the inside. There were eight rooms, each currently filled with the stuff the Winston boys were riding with.
They were enjoying the view from the upstairs window when they saw the other four men returning.
"Will they be mad I'm here?" Sam asked nervously.
"Oh, no," Bryce assured her. "Don't worry about it."
Relieved, Sam followed him downstairs.
They reached the bottom of the stairs just as the four men burst though the door, talking about their day. The dialouge stopped when they saw Bryce and Sam. Higgins, trying to appear nonchalant, smiled at her.
"Well well well,"he said. "Sam, what a surprise."
She smiled back at him.
"I brought her," Bryce informed them all, his arm around her shoulders. "I thought she might want to know where we were located."
Higgins laughed bitterly and headed into another room, closing the door behind him.
"I don't think he likes me very much," Sam whispered to Bryce. David, Michael and Curtis all heard her and laughed.
"Aw hell," David said, grinning widely. "That's just how he is."
"Don't let him worry you, darlin'" Curtis assured her. "He ain't mean or anything. Just a bit angry at things. "
"Have you seen the pond yet?" Michael asked, to divert her attention from Higgins.
Sam looked up at Bryce.
"No," she answered, "We never got around to it."
Michael offered her his arm, and she accepted it. The two people went outside.
"You are in love," David teased.
Bryce shrugged. "Maybe I am. Did you guys come up with a plan?"
"Higgins did," Curtis informed. "Did you do your part?"
Bryce grimaced. "No, we never got around to it."
"Dammit Bryce!" Curtis cried. "You could mess up the whole thing."
Bryce's jaw was set firmly. "I won't."he stated, and went out the door.
David and Curtis looked at each other, nervously.
"Rain!" Ezra called as he ran to catch up with her. The lovely girl's dark curly hair was tied into a long braid, and her dress was made of green cotton. She was absolutely lovely, as always. She turned, smiling. Rain always smiled these days, as did Nathan.
"You seen Sam?" he asked. "JDs all nervous and wanted me to ask you if you'd seen her." Rain and Sam, being females of the same age with ties to the Seven, had turned out to be fast friends.
"Earlier, yes," Rain replied. "She brought me some books."
Ezra nodded. That was good, so Sam had been seen. Secretly, and he never would have admitted it, Ezra was worried too. "Did she say anything about where she was going?" he asked.
"No, but Bryce was with her."
Ezra, confused, raised an eyebrow.
"Who?"
Rain smiled. "Don't you know him? Bryce Winston. He and Sam seemed like old friends." Obviously, Rain didn't know of the Winston boys.
"Winston?" Ezra asked, face paling. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."Rain replied. "He's amazingly sweet, and very good-looking."
"Thank you, dear," Ezra said. With that, he left her to find Buck.
"A Winston?!" Buck cried, after Ezra had pulled him secretly into one of the rooms in the back of the saloon. "You mean she's somewhere alone with one of the Winston boys?" This was his every worst fear in the world coming true.
"Ssh," Ezra said. "I don't want JD to know. The poor boy is already worried sick."
"A Winston," Buck repeated. He fell into a chair, thinking hard.
Sam had spent a wonderful day with the Winstons, getting to know Curtis, David and Michael, avoiding Higgins, and just enjoying being around Bryce. Now, they were all settled around the living room scattered on the floor, on chairs, talking and laughing.
They were all such nice people. David endeared himself to Sam instantly. He was a joker, hysterically funny. Michael seemed shy, but once Sam overcame that, he was darling. Curtis was the intellegent one, that was apparent from just talking to him. Higgins still scared Sam. He didn't say much, but always seemed bitter and angry when he did. His voice was cold and almost broken sounding. And then there was Bryce...Every comment he made ignited some feeling in Sam. Frankly, she loved it.
They were very curious about the town, and the seven men who protected it. Sam felt special, being the expert on the men that she was, and told them everything.
"Oh my god!" Sam exclaimed at seeing it was already nightime. "I need to get home. Buck'll kill me."
She stood up, but Bryce grabbed her hand.
"You can't ride back alone," he said. "It's dangerous, it's a long ride."
Sam didn't particularly want to ride alone either. She still hated being alone in the darkness. Daniel Walker had put that fear in her.
"I need to.." she protested. There would be massive consequences if she wasn't back in town soon, she knew that. The five men saw the urgency on her face.
Bryce nodded. He knew about her father and fiancee being lawmen, and could only imagine. "I'll ride with you."
She nodded, and they headed out, galloping their horses all the way. When they got to the outskirts of town, Brynce leaned over and kissed her goodnight, then turned back and went home. Sam rode straight to the stables, unsaddled her horse, and then made her way as quickly and sneakily as possible to her room.
She opened her door to her room and went inside, closing the door behind her.
"Where you been?" She whirled around in fear at first, then realized it was Buck.
She gave him a look. "You scared me. What are you doing here?"
"I want to know where you were," sometimes she really regretted the fact that there was a father in her life. Before Buck, she'd had no one to keep tabs on her but her mother, who had accepted Sam's wandering as part of her character.
Sam feigned innocence. "I just spent the day riding around. I went to the grove, and by the village."
Buck had lied enough in his life to recognize what she was saying as untrue.
"You're lyin'," he accused outright. "You were with those Winston boys, weren't you?"he asked.
Sam, dumbstruck, stood there. Then she remembered introducing Bryce to Rain, and immediately wished everyone in this damn town wasn't one big happy family. Pulling herself up, she asked back; "So what if I was?"
Seriously, Buck stepped toward her. "I don't want you getting mixed up with that gang of hooligans," he said, and she knew he meant it.
"They're not hooligans," Sam murmured, turning her head away from his.
"What?" Buck asked, reaching for her.
Sam jerked away, out of his grasp. "I don't understand why you're against them!!" she cried. "You don't even know them!"
"No, I don't know them, but I know their kind," Buck's voice was surprisingly level. "I know what they're after. Personally, I'm amazed you don't see it too..Sam, afer what you've been through, I don't want anything else to happen to you!"
"I'm not a baby!" Sam said, and her voice was colder than Buck had ever heard before. "Im fine, why won't everyone just leave me alone?"
"I'm just trying to watch out for you," Buck replied, feeling his temper rising.
"I don't need you to!" Sam cried. "Stop treating me like I'm Billy's age. I'm seventeen, you can't boss me around."
"Young lady, I am your father!" Buck yelled, reaching for her arm. He was slightly amazed he'd said that.
He held onto her arm, until finally she sat down on the bed, looking at the floor.
"Im sorry," she apologized, and she really was. She hadn't meant to upset anybody.
Buck nodded. "Me too. I didn't mean to yell. I'm just worried about you." He sat on the bed beside her.
"I'm fine," she repeated for what by her count must've been the hundreth time in three weeks. She wasn't fine, she knew that, but everyone else was so worried about her already, how could she worry them more? It wasn't their problem or their fault.
Looking at her out of the corner of his eye, Buck knew she was lying. No ones face looked like that when they were okay. He could also clearly see the burn on her neck. This time, he didn't blame her, just kissed her cheek and put his arms around her. Sam didn't cry, she just enjoyed the feeling of total protection, hoping everything in her head would clear up soon. Buck would always be in her life, that she knew for a fact. No one could change that.
When JD got word that Sam was back, he was at her door in minutes. When he arrived, he saw Buck holding onto Sam for dear life. JD, embarrassed, cleared his throat and knocked lightly on the door. Buck and Sam looked up in surprise, and Buck let go of Sam and vacated the room.
JD approached her and sat on the bed.
"Sam?" he asked. "Are you alright?" He reached up and touched her hair, then tried to hold her, but she resisted and got up, moving to the window. That hurt him deeply, though he didn't really understand what was going on or why she was being like this. So he decided she was telling him to leave her alone for a while.
"Well," he said. "Um..if you want to talk to me, I'll be in my room." He waited for her to reply. Her back was to him, so he couldn't see her hand clasped over her mouth and her eyes squinted shut, trying not to let him see her cry.
Getting no response, he turned and left the room, but not before stopping in the doorway and letting her know: "I love you."
If he hadn't left the room as soon as he'd said that, he would've seen her break down and cry.
It was around three thirty in the morning when five figures emerged on the empty street. Very few people were actually out on the streets at that time of night, so it would've seemed strange, had anyone been there to notice. Sam hadn't been able to sleep after the events of the day and was watching out her window when she saw two of the figures approach the bank guard. And her heart stopped when they knocked him down and broke into the bank.
Her first thought was to alert JD, but she thought he'd be mad at her. So with no hesitation, as people are known to do in dangerous situations, she grabbed the pistol she kept under her mattress and ran downstairs.
She broke out into the street, and ran across to the bank, not realizingor caring how dangerous it was for her to be there. The people breaking into the bank were criminals, and likely carried guns and knives. She knew that, but a desire for redemption caused her to challenge it anyway. Sam slowly entered the bank, trying not to make a sound on the creaky floor. She could make out human figures looting the money out of the destroyed safe.
Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth, and she was surrounded by three people. She screamed, but the hand blocked the sound. Her mind flashed her back to another night when a man had attacked her from behind in the dark.
"Whoa!" a familiar voice said. "Sam?" She stopped struggling and nodded. The hand moved away from her mouth. She stepped closer to the person who'd spoken.
"Curtis!?" she exclaimed, this couldn't be?
"Sam, you're not supposed to be here," he replied. This wasn't in the plan. Curtis didn't like things that weren't in the plan.
"What the hell are you doing?" she cried.
"Robbing the bank," David said. "Sorry about grabbing you like that."
"No problem," she said. It all hit, and she shrieked again. "You're robbers!"
"Don't scream," Michael, the third person ordered. She saw his gun. "Yes, we're robbers."
Higgins and Bryce, alerted by her scream, came into the bank lobby.
"Sam!" Bryce exclaimed.
"You mean you're all....." she began, but couldn't finish. Was she ever to trust any man ever again?
They all looked down, ashamed. Except Higgins, who stepped forward.
"This is what we do, Sam," he explained calmly.
"You'd better get out of here," she said. "It won't be long before they show up."
Bryce's heart broke as Sam refused to meet his eyes. There were no tears, but she was not a happy girl, and that much was obvious.
"Go," she ordered. No one moved.
"GO!"
The Winstons flew out the door, loaded down with bags of money. Outside, they gracefully leapt on their horses, took off, and didn't look back. Sam stood, holding her pistol, at the door to the bank, trying to sort out emotions and still figure out what to do. She shot. Once, then lowered her gun.
The town took a moment, then emptied into the street. Buck ran up to Sam, as did JD.
"Robbers," she said. "They were here, and I tried to stop them, and..."
Chris approached her. "Were they the Winston boys?"he asked.
Sam didn't answer.
"They were," Buck knew. Sam nodded.
"Meet here in five minutes, everyone with horses. Let's get a posse." Chris said. All the men scattered, even JD, after casting a long look at Sam. When they were gone, she ran to the nearest horse and headed off after the boys.
It was a long ride to the cabin, and Sam knew she had to move fast or the posse would do horrible things. She reached the cabin, and saw all of them heading inside, excited at their victory.
"Bryce!"she screamed. They all came back outside.
Sam leapt from her horse, tearing her dress and not even caring. All the five men ran to her. "You need to leave! They're coming for you! They're right behind me," Sam rushed, breathlessly.
"Who?" Curtis asked, trying to piece it all together.
"A posse. They'll be here really soon."
David turned to Higgins accusingly. "You said they'd never be able to follow us."
Sam broke in. "That doesn't matter now. Vin's the best tracker I know, probably the best on earth, and you need to leave before they get here."
"Let's go," Higgins ordered.
The five men ran for their horses and supplies, Bryce dragging Sam with him. He stopped and faced her. "Come with me," he said. The world seemed to stop for a moment, then Sam shook her head.
"I can't," she said. "You'll never get away if I do. Buck and JD would never give up if I went. If I stay here I can distract them. "
"Why would you do that for us?" David asked, doubtfully, as he loaded up his saddle bags.
"Because I love you," Her words were spoken as she looked up at Bryce.
"Okay, good enough," David replied, tying his saddlebag to his horse and hopping on.
Bryce looked around, unsure..
"Go," Sam said. "Please."
With pain visible in his eyes, he took her in his arms and kissed her. "I'll see you again," he assured her, his face uried in her fragrant hair. "I swear on my life." He wanted to hold her for eternity.
But time wasn't on his side, and quickly he pulled away from her. From his finger, he removed the heavy silver band. With shaking hands, he slipped it on her finger. It was a little large, but she held tight to it.
"Bryce, come on!" Michael hollered.
Bryce broke away from Sam and leapt onto his horse.
"Sam..." Higgins said. She looked at him. "Thank you." Heartbroken, she nodded and tried to smile.
Bryce took one last look at her, then forced himself to follow the others away. Sam watched them go.
Within fifteen minutes, the posse came over the hill, lead by Buck and Chris, with the other men right behind.
"Sam?" Chris asked absolutely baffled at how she'd gotten there so fast. Her words eliminated that question from his mind.
"They were long gone before I got here," she said. "I don't know where they went. I thought If I got here soon enough, I could stop them, but..."
"You tried," Chris said, admiring her gumption. "They'll never set foot near Four Corners ever again."
Ezra looked at Sam's expression. He was an excellent judge of character, and he knew her well enough to know this wasn't right. But he decided that for once he would keep his mouth shut.
Sam hopped on her horse and fell in between JD and Ezra on the way home.
JD couldn't help but wonder what she was clutching so tightly in her hand, or why she looked cold as marble..But something deep inside him told him he didn't want to know.