Kid and Lou were back at work on the fence when they heard the buckboard approaching. Buck was earlier than they expected, but they thought nothing of it as they dropped what they were doing and went to see how their friend's picnic had gone.

"Hey Buck!" Kid greeted as he and Lou came around the side of the bunkhouse in time to see their friend storm into the building angrily. The couple exchanged a worried glance and followed Buck into the bunkhouse.

Buck had walked over to his trunk. Kid and Lou watched in shock as the lid flew open violently. Buck carelessly threw a jewelers pouch in and slammed the lid shut.

"Something wrong Buck?" Kid asked softly.

Buck shot Kid a nasty glare and tried pushing his way out of the bunkhouse. Kid grabbed him by the shoulders and stopped him. One look at Buck's face though and Kid doubted he should have done it.

"Just remember how you felt when Lou refused to marry you!" Buck spat as he went through the couple.

Kid and Lou looked at each other in horror and followed their friend outside. There had been very few times they had seen Buck so upset, but they knew he usually felt better after he talked about it. He normally liked to be alone first, but Kid and Lou were too shocked to give him that luxury.

"She said no?" Lou asked in disbelief as she stopped next to where Buck was unhitching the horses.

Buck looked through Lou with his deep eyes. He looked sad and angry, but most of all confused. Lou and Kid were confused also.

Buck and Jenny had been inseparable since the girl had returned to Sweetwater. Just a few months before, Tomkins had moved his store back from Rock Creek, and when he arrived, Jenny was with him. Buck and Jenny's friendship picked up where it had left off, and quickly took a romantic turn. It was the happiest Buck had been since before Ike died, and after more than a year, Kid and Lou were thrilled to see their friend so happy.

"She says she doesn't know." Buck said, finally realizing his friends weren't giving up until they got the whole story.

"Well you know, Lou needed some time too." Kid said, trying to draw his friend away from assuming the worst.

"This is different." Buck shook his head. He almost smirked as he recalled Kid proposing to Lou over and over again. He would have, but he was too upset to find any comfort.

Kid and Lou looked at Buck for further explanation. Buck sighed, knowing he'd tell them eventually, and they wanted it to be now.

"Jen met someone back east." Buck said, a mixture of anger and despair in his voice. "He's coming to visit in a few days.

Once again, Kid and Lou were shocked. Jen had never really talked about her time with her aunt in the east. They just knew Jen had come back west to work things out with her father. She had never mentioned anything about a man.

"Did she tell you about him before?" Lou asked, already knowing Buck wouldn't have gotten so attached if he knew there was someone else.

Buck shook his head sadly. Once again he had given his heart to someone who loved him for the wrong reasons. Jen had confessed to him she wasn't sure about her feelings, and that her attachment to Buck recently was because he was the only one who really understood her. Once again, Buck was the victim of simply filling a hole for a woman. He was someone for Jen to relate to while she adjusted to being back in Sweetwater. And now she wasn't even sure she was staying. She said it all depended on how things went with the man from back east.

Kid and Lou were still dumbfounded by the way Buck's picnic had gone. They both felt a little guilty. From the minute they found out Jen was back in town, they had pushed Buck to spend time with her. And maybe they'd prodded a little too fast when Buck shared with them that he wanted to marry Jen.

The three's thoughts were cut short by Cody riding up. As usual, Cody's mouth was moving before he had sized up the mood among his friends.

"You hear about your visitor?" Cody asked brightly as he led his horse up to the silent group.

"What?" Buck asked, his head snapping in Cody's direction.

"We kinda hadn't had a chance to tell him, Cody." Kid said nervously running a hand across the back of his neck. He hoped Cody would take the hint and shut his mouth. He had been in Buck's position before, and with another woman around, things would just get more complicated.

"Kat Schmidt was here." Cody announced. Kid winced. So much for Cody getting the hint. "She's at the hotel."

A look of shock came across Buck's face. After he and Cody left Omaha, he never thought he'd hear that name again.

"You know, the girl we met in Omaha." Cody said, thinking Buck needed his memory jogged. Cody waited a moment and still got no response from Buck. "The one you kept saving." Cody smirked.

"I know who you're talking about." Buck said softly as he walked toward the barn.

"What?" Cody asked as he noticed the daggers Kid and Lou were shooting at him.

"Did you forget he proposed to Jen?" Lou asked, almost ready to hit Cody for being so dense.

"Well he didn't look like a man who's getting married." Cody argued in his own defense.

The look from Kid and Lou told Cody everything.

"Oh!" Cody smirked wickedly. "She pulled a Lou."

Lou let loose and smacked Cody across the brim of his hat.

Buck stood at the corral, not really watching the horses. His mind was in another place.

He thought back to the last time he had seen the spitfire who kept his time in Omaha less than dull. He hadn't been very willing to open himself to the young woman, especially after he found out she was in trouble. He assumed she was using him because she needed protection. He had stopped her ex-fiancé from beating her to death, then stopped her from killing the man in cold blood. By the time he had left, he had promised to save her. Even though she assured him he had, Buck had felt guilty over leaving her.

He also felt guilty for not opening up to her sooner. He really had cared for her, and he remembered finding her very desirable, not just physically either. He left Omaha promising himself he would never squander his time with someone he was attracted to again.

And he remembered their kiss just before he left. It was the only time in his life he didn't think he could tear himself away from a woman. He had wanted her clear to his soul. And in that one moment he had known she felt the same way about him. He hadn't thought of that kiss in so long.

His mind clicked across an idea then. If Jen wanted to see how things went with the man from back east, then why couldn't he find out how things would go with Kat? He made up his mind then, and went to tell Lou he was bringing company to dinner.