A young man stopped in front of a ramshackle shack in the outskirts of town, looking around before entering it. He knew he made a mistake when he heard the eerie click of a gun being cocked as soon as his foot stepped on the threshold. Slowly, he turned his head and stared nervously at the hard blue-gray eyes of the man holding the gun. After what seemed like an eternity, the gun was lowered.

"I told you to knock once before coming in. I can't afford to blow the brains of my men every time they make a mistake," the man said as he turned around and limped back to the three-legged stool he was sitting on earlier.

The young man eyed the two dead men on one corner of the room -- one was a grim reminder of what the man just warned him about, the other was the unlucky bastard who owned the rickety house. He swallowed convulsively, his Adam's apple bobbing furiously. "I'm sorry. Won't happen again, I swear."

The man nodded dismissively, "What do you have?"

The younger man took a deep breath before answering, "Mister Buck knows. He rode to see the marshall 'soon as he 'eard."

"He knew of the message?"

The young man nodded. 

The older man considered this. "Good. We're ready for the next step. "Be careful no one sees. All I want is to frighten the Kid."

She was aware of the turmoil Kid was experiencing. He thought he had laid the ghost of his past to rest once when he faced his outlaw father in battle. Though he didn't have a direct hand in the man's death, Kid felt guilty. And that guilt was compounded by the knowledge that the father who had deserted him, his mother and his older brother was nothing but a thief and a murderer.

"What do you plan to do?" Lou asked quietly. She already expected him to say he was going after the killers so she was surprised with his response.

"Stay here and protect you." At Lou's questioning look, Kid explained. "He'll want me to suffer."

"So, he'll go after the ones you love," Buck interjected. He jerked his thumb towards the door. "Sorry, the door was open." He looked at Lou for a long moment. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine ... and so is he," she said, capturing one of her husband's hands.

Kid smiled gratefully at both of them. "Thanks. I won't let you down this time." Last year, when he refused to fight the Black Raiders, Jimmy Hickok accused him of cowardice.

"Never thought you did the first time," Buck said matter-of-factly. "What do you need me to do? And don't tell me to stay out of it."

"No, I won't do that. God knows I need all the help I can get." Kid stood up and started to pace the length of the room. "Go to Rock Creek and take a look at that place. See if anything was missed. Talk to Mike, he might have heard or seen something since the attack."

"I'll leave at dawn."

Kid nodded. "I'll take some of the men in town and ride to that ravine where my ... where the leader fell. I want to see--"

A blood-curdling scream interrupted Kid's words. Both men drew their guns and Buck ran down the stairs. Kid stayed with Lou, anticipating an attack.

Buck heard the wail of suffering even before he found a pale Louisa on the front porch. She was staring in mute horror at something on the ground. She stiffened when she heard his footsteps.

"It's all right. It's just me," Buck said softly. Moving pass her, he stepped outside and found the object of Louisa's horror. It was a horse, one of their own, with its legs broken savagely. The poor animal thrashed wildly, its eyes begging anyone to take it out of its misery.

"Buck?" It was Paul and he, too, was holding a gun in his hand. His face was ashen as he watched the writhing animal in front of him.

Buck nodded imperceptibly. "Let me get Louisa out of here first." With that, he took Louisa's hand and led her inside. He realized she was still shaking and without a second thought, he pulled her into his arms, offering her his strength. She responded by wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, like a drowning woman holding on for dear life. A shot rang out and Louisa jerked. The horse's horrible screams died, but Buck continued to hold Louisa, murmuring wordlessly to her, stroking her hair until the memory of the dying horse began to dim.

Buck wasn't sure when things changed. One moment he was comforting a hysterical woman, the next he felt his body responding to her softness. Buck quickly set Louisa away from him She affected him like no woman he'd ever met, both physically and emotionally. Emotionally, her unusual combination of shyness and stubbornness tugged at something in him. Physically, he was all too aware of a desire stronger than anything he had ever felt before. His skin burned from contact with hers and he felt himself begin to harden. He wanted to carry her out, take her to his cabin, close the door to the world and... damn! Buck swore.

She resembles Laura. That is all there is to it, Buck told himself firmly. That was the reason why he felt a tug in his heart every time he looked at her.

Buck looked down to find Louisa staring at him with tear-filled eyes and he knew he was lying to himself. He wanted Louisa and it had nothing to do with Laura. The ache in his heart was for this woman and this woman alone. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. What was he going to say? I want you even though I know you're married to a friend of mine?

Buck was saved from saying anything with Kid and Lou's arrival downstairs. Kid carried Lou in his arms and deposited her gently on the rocking chair in the parlor before going outside to see what happened. Buck followed him. They found Paul kneeling beside the dead animal.

"Was it an accident?" Kid quietly asked.

The foreman shook his head. "All four legs were broken and the angles are wrong. This was deliberate."

Kid looked around, scanning the faces of his employees. There was fear, anger, curiosity, even confusion. But Kid was looking for guilt, even possibly enjoyment. He found none. "Anyone saw this?" his voice low and dangerous.

Richie, who stood beside his father Paul, spoke up, his voice barely above a whisper, "I left this horse inside the her stall just a few minutes ago."

Kid approached the young man and gently ordered him to continue.

"I don't know what happened Mr. Kid. Me and Jim put the horses in their stall and locked the stable for the night. Just like we do every night."

Kid trusted Paul and his family implicitly so he knew somebody else was responsible. The question was who. "Was there anyone else with you? Did you see anybody go in after you left."

Richie shook his head.

Kid sighed. "Okay. I appreciate you telling me, Richie. Don't worry about it anymore," he said softly, ruffling the young man's hair affectionately.

Aloud, he asked the men to come closer. "I'm sure many of you have heard of the attack in Rock Creek. For those who haven't, an entire family was killed and the homestead burned. I have reason to believe it's the Black Raiders."

Kid paused as the men began to murmur among themselves. "I thought they were wiped out last year," one of the men asked.

Kid glanced at Buck before gesturing towards the dead horse, "Don't look like it." 

"I don't want to involve you in this. So anybody who wants to leave is free to do so. I'll give you enough money to tide you over until you find a new job," Kid continued. 

The murmur grew louder, then Garrett, a big, burly ranch hand spoke up. "I'll stay. This here's been the best job I've got. 'Reckon we'll just have to get rid of them pesky killers." 

Another man raised his hand, "Got nowhere else I want to go and I'm pretty handy with a gun." 

"Me, too," a female voice piped up. Morgan, one of the horse trainers, was casually loading her shotgun. "I'll stay unless you boys have a problem fighting beside a lady." 

"No ma'am," the ranch hand beside her said. "Miss Lou will have our hides if she hears us grumble," he added in a mutter. 

The accuracy of the observation made the crowd laugh. One by one the ranch hands signified their intentions to stay and fight with the Kid. There were close to forty men and women. 

Buck turned to the Kid, "Looks like you got yourself a small army."

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