Louisa stood before the kitchen door, her senses picking up the comforting kitchen aroma and the muted conversation on the other side. For one brief second, she thought of turning back and returning to her room, fearing her arrival would be viewed as an intrusion. Chiding herself, Louisa squared her shoulders and pushed the door open. She was family and no one in the ranch had ever treated her as anything less than that.

Everybody, except for Lou and Amanda who were dishing the aromatic stew into large serving bowls, was already seated at the long table when Louisa walked into the kitchen. Teaspoon was the first to stand up. The gruff old man took Louisa's hands and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Are you feeling better, sweetheart?" he asked, his eyes searching hers. 

Louisa responded with a kiss of her own on Teaspoon's grizzled cheeks. "Yes, thank you."

"I'm glad you could join us," Kid said quietly.

Louisa met his worried gaze with a reassuring smile. Poor Kid, he looked like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, Louisa mused. She knew he blamed himself for what happened to her and to John. Hoping to ease his burden, Louisa reached out and gently squeezed his hand. The gesture brought a shaky smile to his handsome face.

"Well, I couldn't face another meal by myself. I missed you," Louisa said simply as she sent a sweeping glance encompassing everybody in the room. 

Kid sat at his customary position at the head of the table directly across Teaspoon. Louisa knew the empty seat on Kid's right was reserved for Lou. Jamie and Marylou were seated beside their mother. Buck sat on Kid's left. Beside him were two empty chairs. The idea that she might have to spend the entire dinner sitting very close to Buck unnerved her. She could go ahead and choose the seat next to Teaspoon, she thought, but she didn't want Buck to think she was avoiding him. Even though that was exactly what she wanted. Wasn't it?

Hoping to delay the inevitable, Louisa turned to Amanda and Lou and asked, "Can I help you serve?"

Lou shook her head. "You better not overdo anything. Sit down, this will just be a minute," she ordered gently. 

Amanda brought a stack of rolls to the table. When she took the seat next to Buck, Louisa quietly uttered a prayer of quick thanks and ignored the feeling of disappointment that washed over her. Quietly, she took her seat next to Amanda.

As Lou bustled around the kitchen, Louisa found herself the object of attention of Jamie and Marylou. Jamie shot her a gap-toothed grin while Marylou shyly peeked from behind her impossibly curly lashes. She smiled back.

Her response was all they were waiting for. Jamie promptly announced, "Grampa said he'll give me a penny for not crying when I lost my tooth."

Not to be outdone, Marylou bared her own small milk teeth. "I have tooth," she said. "I want penny, 'Pa Spoon."

Teaspoon chuckled heartily at the kids' antics, missing Louisa's covetous glance. Kid and Lou noticed and husband and wife exchanged a pained look. Kid cleared his throat, drawing Louisa's attention.

"I'm not sure if Lou mentioned it, but I sent out a telegram to Cody a couple of days ago. He should be arriving any day now." Kid thought the news would delight Louisa so the furious look that came down on her face confused him.

"Thank you, Kid." Louisa's voice was flat, emotionless. "But I sincerely doubt my husband would abandon his army responsibilities just because I had a little accident."

Shocked by her words and her tone, everybody around the table ó except for the kids who were cheerfully oblivious to the tension in the room, focused only on their carrots and green peas ó gaped at Louisa. Teaspoon unconsciously dropped the bread he had broken in two, while Amanda's forgotten spoonful of stew hovered in mid-air. Buck's expression went from shock to shuttered, Lou noted.

Buck clamped down on the emotions Louisa's words awakened. Part of him cheered her defiant stand, another part wondered what it meant. A kernel of hope began to grow, but Buck promptly squashed it. Dangerous thoughts, he told himself, when a man begins to think about a possible future with a married woman.

Embarrassed by her outburst, Louisa was immediately apologetic, "I'm sorry. My marriage problems are my concerns. My father would be furious to know I'm airing dirty laundry in public."

"We're not public, sweetheart," Teaspoon corrected softly, his weathered face crinkling into a gentle smile. "We're family. And I say you tell Cody exactly what you feel when he arrives." God knows that young man deserves more than a scolding, Teaspoon thought darkly. 

After the initial uneasiness, the meal passed in a light-hearted manner. Louisa knew it was for her peace of mind that Kid shared in detail the precautions he and Buck took after the last murder. Amanda, who continued to oversee her saloon but had moved temporarily into one of the main house's guest rooms, dished the latest town gossip. Jamie and Marylou behaved for the most part of the meal but also demanded their share of the conversation. Buck didn't say much but the only ones who really noticed his silence were Lou and Louisa. 

Lou was about to serve apple pie when a holler from outside rang out. 

"Riders coming!" Paul shouted.

Buck and Kid were the first out of their chairs, followed by Teaspoon. They snatched their gun belts from the pegs on the wall, checking the weapons as they headed towards the main door. Louisa blinked when she saw Lou pull out a rifle from a closet and calmly hand it to Amanda. And her eyes widened a bit when Lou pulled out a rifle, which almost dwarfed her in size, and checked it briskly. Lou also pocketed two revolvers and retrieved three boxes of ammunition.

Lou led Amanda, Louisa and the children upstairs where Lauren and the twins were. Paul's daughter looked scared when she opened the door of the bedroom, but her hand was steady when she accepted a revolver and a box of bullets.

The sound of pounding hooves was getting closer. Lou hurriedly took Peter from his crib and placed him and his bassinet inside the closet. Lauren did the same with Susannah before standing guard outside. Amanda and Lou calmly took positions behind the windows. Lou scanned the clearing below, searching for her husband. She spotted him and Teaspoon near the main corral, behind a wagon full of hay. A movement on top of the barn drew her attention and Lou made out Buck's figure. A dozen ranch hands were scattered around the clearing, hiding behind buildings and boxes, their rifles and guns raised and ready to shoot.

Louisa wrapped her arms around herself to stop them from shaking. She eyed the armed women around her and prayed for half of their courage. Even in a moment of terror, she couldn't help but envy Lou's poise and calm. 

Lou was oblivious to Louisa's thoughts. She found herself clutching her gun more tightly as the noise became louder. It had only been a minute since Paul's shout rang out, but the waiting felt like an eternity. Is this how it will end, Lou though desperately. What if Kid and Buck were mistaken and Raiders' leader had actually amassed a small army? Lou threw a hurried glance at Jamie and Marylou who stood near the closet, ready to hide if the shooting began. Her heart bled for her babies. They are so young, she silently cried. They shouldn't be touched by these horrors. Fighting hysteria, Lou smiled reassuringly at her children and they smiled back with all their trusting innocence.

Lou turned towards the window and, with a deep breath, raised her rifle. The riders broke free of the trees shadows. There were two of them and they rode like bats out of hell. Lou unconsciously lowered her rifle. There was something familiar about the figures on horseback.

Then Buck's voice shattered the silence, "It's Jimmy and Cody!"

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