Joe guided the horses up the embankment and up to the small clearing. He guided them to a large tree near the shack and gently leaned Eddy forward so she was resting on Cochise’s neck. He climbed down, looked at Eddy and brushed her hair out of her face. Smiling, he took his jacket off and covered her up with it.

Joe then tied up both horses. If there was going to be a thunderstorm, he didn’t want their horses running away. He took the bedrolls and placed them in the shack. He took the saddle off Cashe and made Eddy’s bed.

The shack was missing a wall, being as old and run down as it was. He gathered fire wood as fast as he could and started a fire. Once he knew everything was set up he went to get Eddy. As he started back to the horses, lighting struck near by and spooked them. Cochise started to move fast trying to break the lead hold, in the process knocking Eddy to the ground.

“Eddy!!” Joe called out as he ran towards the horses.

Eddy was caught between the two very spooked horses. As Joe was running toward them he noticed Cashe rise up on his hind legs. As he was coming back down Joe saw that Eddy was in danger of being stomped. He leaped forward, grabbed a hold of her arm and pulled her from danger just as Cashe came back down on all fours.

Eddy looked at Joe who had her by the shoulders and then back to the horses, startled. Her breathing was laboured and she was slightly shaking. “That was close.” She said breathless.

“Are you okay?” Joe asked, pulling her into his arms. Holding her protectively.

“I am thanks to you.” Eddy replied and looked into Joe’s intense green eyes. Suddenly the fact that his strong arms were around her was very apparent and Eddy was starting to feel warm all over. “Joe…”

Joe took this moment to do what he had been wanting to do since the moment he met her. He leaned closer and pressed his soft lips to hers in a gentle kiss.

Eddy was stunned but the moment didn’t last long and she began to respond to the kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer.

Joe wrapped his arms around her more tightly and deepened the kiss. At that moment, lightening flashed across the sky, followed by a loud crack of thunder. Then the rain began to fall.

Joe and Eddy broke apart and looked up at the sky. “We better get inside.” he said taking her hand as they ran towards the shed.

“Well, mother nature sure has great timing.” Eddy replied as they stood inside the shed and watched the rain pelt the ground.

——————————————-

Hop Sing came running out of the house with a rifle in his hands. He was their chief cook, housekeeper and bodyguard. He stopped just outside the front door, but he saw nothing and no one.

He walked out further past the porch and saw Hoss lying on the deck. He ran immediately to the big man’s side and knelt down beside him. “Mister Hoss? Mister Hoss, you okay?” Hop Sing asked and then noticed the blood running down the side of Hoss’ head. Now he was really worried. “Mister Hoss?”

At that moment Hoss groaned out in pain and relief swept through Hop Sing that he was alive. He reached out and touched the side of Hoss’ head, trying to assess the damage. Hoss groaned again but this time managed to open his eyes.

“Hop Sing?” he asked, trying to sit up.

“Be careful, Mister Hoss. You have nasty cut on head.” But he managed to help Hoss into a sitting position.

“Sam!” Hoss exclaimed as he remembered what had happened. Although that wasn’t the wisest idea because a sharp pain shot through his head, causing him to wince.

“Mister Hoss, we need to get you inside.” Hop Sing said in his best English.

Hoss slightly shook his head, he was worried about Sam. “Where’s Sam?” He asked, ignoring the pain.

Hop Sing looked at Hoss worried. “Missy Sam not in house.”

That was a red flag for Hoss. He forced himself to stand up and Hop Sing managed to help the big man steady himself. “Sam?!” Hoss called out, wincing. When there was no answer, he made his way further into the yard.

“Mister Hoss. You need to go in house.” Hop Sing said, raising his voice.

Hoss ignored the Chinese man and looked at the tracks leading out of the yard. “Get me some supplies, Hop Sing.” Hoss said as he marched towards the barn. He was worried about Sam. The tracks explained everything to him. Sam had been taken. Just like she was worried was going to happen. Now he had to save her.

As he made his way into the barn, he looked at his horse. He lost his balance and ended up catching himself at Chubb’s stall. Chubb whinnied at the sound of Hoss’ body hitting the wood. Hoss took a breath and walked up beside his horse, running his hand along his faithful stead’s back. “We got a long ride ahead of us, buddy.” He said and grabbed the horse’s blanket. “We gotta rescue Sam.”

————————————————-

The rain was pouring down but Rooster and Billy weren’t slowing down. They needed to distance themselves as far as they could from the Ponderosa. They both knew once the big man was found there would be a posse out tracking them.

As they made their way around a turn, Billy’s horse slipped and dumped him from his saddle. He bounded to the ground and right into a mud puddle. “Damn!” he yelled.

Rooster stopped his horse, turned it around and made his way back to where Billy was sitting in the puddle. “What? All this rain ain’t enough for you, you decided you needed a bath too.” he laughed.

“Shut up, Rooster!” Billy snapped. He glared at Rooster as he extracted himself from the puddle. He looked around and saw his horse standing under a nearby tree. He walked over, took the reins and then made his way back to Rooster.

Sam, who was still seated in front of Rooster, started to struggle again and tried to throw herself from the horse. But Rooster wasn’t having none of it. He simply wrapped his arms even tighter around her. “Now, you stay put!”

At that, Sam quit struggling, she knew it was pointless. She looked over at Billy, who walked up beside them. “You’re gonna hang for what you did to Hoss.” she said to Billy. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered him lying there, not moving. She couldn’t believe that Hoss was actually dead. “I promise you, I’ll see that you do. And if I don’t, his father and brothers will!”

“I doubt that very much.” Billy replied, smugly. “Mr. Dawson will take care of me.”

“No, not even Dawson can help you get out of this one! You’re gonna hang for sure.”

Billy walked over and slapped Sam across the face. “You better mind your mouth!”

Rooster looked down at Billy. “Mount up, we gotta get moving.”

Billy hopped on his horse and looked over at Sam. She now had a bloody lip but she was glaring something fierce at Billy.

“Maybe that bloody lip will make you think before you talk next time.” He smirked as they started off again.

————————————————

Hoss walked a saddled Chubb out of the barn as Hop Sing came running up to them with his arms full. He had the big man’s bedroll and supplies. “Hop Sing still think you should come inside.” The cook said, still worried about the crease on Hoss’ head.

Hoss took the bedroll and supplies and placed them in their respective spots. “I cain’t Hop Sing.” Hoss said as he took a bandana from his pocket, wrapped it around his head and then placed his hat back on.

Hop Sing nodded, he understood. “You be careful, Mister Hoss.”

Hoss climbed up on Chubb and looked down at Hop Sing. “I will.” He said. Then he was off, tracking the men that took Sam.

As the big man was leaving the yard he started to think about Sam. She was an amazing woman and Hoss knew he was falling in love with her. Falling hard.

He was boiling mad by the time the ranch house was totally out of sight. These men were going to pay. How dare they take Hoss’ woman. Granted that wasn’t fully established that she was his woman, but he knew now that he loved her with all his heart and that was what counted.

—————————————————

Joe and Eddy sat inside the shed, still watching the rain pouring down. The thunder was getting louder and the lightning was flashing more frequently.

Joe moved closer to Eddy. He wrapped a blanket around them both and pulled her closer. Eddy smiled and snuggled into Joe.

They sat and watched the thunderstorm raging outside. The shed may have been missing a wall but at least it gave them some protection.

“Joe, I want to thank you for coming along with me.” Eddy said and looked over at him.

“There was no way I was letting you go on your own. Besides, I have a feeling that Pa and Adam are gonna need our help.”

“Yeah, I’m sure they will. Considering it’s Dawson they’ll be dealing with.”

“What can you tell me about him?”

“He practically owns everything in Trinity. He’s been pestering Pa to sell him the Thunderbolt. He wants the land to expand the town. You know, more hotels and saloons. Anything that’ll put a dollar in his pocket.” She assumed.

“So he’s a greedy rich man.” Joe said. More a statement than a question.

“Yeah, exactly and he’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants. Including murder. That’s why I’m almost certain he was the one behind the fire. Of course Uncle Whit made sure he couldn’t touch the land, even with Ma and Pa gone.”

“Uncle Whit?” Joe asked.

Eddy smiled, thinking about old Uncle Whit. “He’s Pa’s older brother. He’s also one of the best attorney’s in the country.” Eddy replied, proudly. “When he heard what had happened to Ma and Pa and the Thunderbolt, he took care of everything from where he lives in Clinton, Illinois.”

“And he made sure that Dawson wouldn’t be able to take the land.” Joe finished.

“Exactly.”

“Well, at least your land is still safe from him.” Joe said and pulled Eddy even closer to him.

She rested her head on his shoulder and they returned their attention to the storm outside.