The three men who had escorted Miss Josephine to jail earlier sat outside the bunk house nursing their wounds. Cody held a cold piece of meat against his swollen eye, and rested against the steady wall. Their recent battle had them all in unpleasant moods, so at Cody's suggestion, they took the rest of the day off. After all, they deserved it.

   Cody, in attempt to explain the difficulty in controlling Joe, shared his hypothesis with his friends. "Ya know how Lou's a woman pretending to be a man?"

   "I think we've known that for a while now," Buck teased.

   "Well," Cody went on, choosing to ignore Buck's sarcasm. "Maybe Joe's a man pretending to be a woman?"

   Jimmy shook his head. Where Cody's thoughts came from puzzled him. He was about to share his opinion with Cody when he noticed Isabelle's buggy rolling toward the station. Beside the young woman was a man Jimmy didn't recognize. Isabelle halted the horse along the bunk house.

   "Kid's not here," Jimmy informed her as he approached her. "But I tell him you stopped by."

   "Actually, I'm here to see Louise," Isabelle corrected. Noticing the curious glances the riders were throwing her companion, Isabelle quickly introduced him. "This is my cousin, Drake Pleasance. Drake, meet Jimmy, Buck, and Cody," she said as she pointed to each one of them.

   Jimmy looked at her, bothered by her desire to see Lou. "She's not here either," he informed her.

   "When will she be back?" The man asked urgently. Seeing the suspicious looks the riders shared, Drake quickly added, "My cousin raves of what a remarkable young lady she is. I was so set on meeting her."

   "Is that so?" Jimmy interrogated with his protective nature. Something about the man bothered Jimmy. Although his black hair was nicely combed and he was dressed like a gentleman, Jimmy sensed he was nothing of the sort.

   "I mean no harm," Drake reassured the riders. After noticing the matched pair that rested in Jimmy's holsters, Drake was in no position to challenge the man. Although, he was quite skilled with a weapon himself. Still, the less chaos he caused, the less attention others would bid him. Less attention increased his odds of remaining a free man.

   "Please tell Louise I'll stop by another time," Isabelle called before encouraging her horse to move on.

   "What do you suppose that was about?" Cody asked as they watched the buggy disappear from the station.

   "With Isabelle? Who knows." Jimmy had a bad feeling about their visitors arrival.

Less Than a Mile From the Station

   "I'm a man with limited patience," Drake reminded Isabelle as the buggy sped over the grassy path. "Now, I'm willing to allow today's failure to pass by without consequences, but.."

   "You'll get your precious box," Isabelle snapped rebelliously.

   Grabbing the reins roughly from Isabelle , Drake halted the horse abruptly. "I hope so. For your sake as well as your friend's," he hissed.

   "Always the gentleman," Isabelle muttered sarcastically. Although she feared her former lover, Isabelle was determined to hide it. Displaying it would only give Drake more power over her.

   "For now, I shall remain one," he replied in a calmer manner. After encouraging the animal on, he added, "But, I'm a man with two sides. Much like a coin."

   "A trick coin," Isabelle thought furiously.

   "Now, how do you plan on getting my box back?" Drake demanded.

   "Asking for someone to return a gift is a very sensitive issue," Isabelle pointed out. Besides, she had to find a way to smuggle the box to Louise first. "I think I'll invite Louise on a picnic tomorrow."

   "Wonderful idea if her protectors let her venture off with us," Drake said.

   "Maybe I should go alone?" Isabelle suggested. She prayed he would agree. Instead, he halted the horse once more and stared at her suspiciously.

At The School House

   "You hit her with the pan?" Rachel cried in shock. After hearing the trouble the station's visitor stirred up, she couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing. She could picture the battle vividly in her head.

   "Yep," Lou said with a faint smile. "Then we dragged her off to jail."

   "When did this happen?" Rachel inquired. She all most wished she had dismissed school early. The woman Lou called Joe had captured her curiosity.

   "Not very long ago," Lou answered as she seated herself in one of the students chair.

   "Poor Jimmy," Rachel noted. "From the way it sounds, he's gonna have his hands full with this one."

   "He's not the only one," Lou pointed out. "I have a feeling she's still looking forward to seeing me again."

   "I suppose so," Rachel said sympathetically as she gathered her lesson plans. "At least you two will have a day or two of peace and quiet." After that, Joe was bound to pay them another visit. "How about lending me a hand with supper?" Rachel suggested as they made their way out of the school.

   "Might as well," Lou said reluctantly. "Although, the boys aren't gonna like it." Both giggled in remembrance of last night's failure. Still, in order to succeed one must try and try again.

At Larkin's Creek

   Kid pitched another stone at the winding water bed, and watched water ripples form in circles due to the impact of the tiny weapon. So far he had disrupted the once peaceful water with thirty stones. Each rock represented an idea to solve his love problems. Things had grown so chaotic. He hardly saw Lou anymore, and it was making him a desperate man. "Maybe I'll just kidnap her," Kid reasoned with himself. That's what other men did when they couldn't get Lou off their minds. "At least she'd be safe with me."

At the Jail House

   "Marshal," Tom Curry called urgently from the door way. "You'd better come quick!"

   "What's the trouble?" Teaspoon questioned as he removed his feet from the old desk.

   "Old Pete, well he's taken a fancy to Ben's girl and... you just gotta come stop 'em!" Tom wailed.

   "They drawin' on each other?" Jesse asked excitedly.

   "Jesse," Teaspoon scolded as he made he headed towards the door. "Stay put." Quickly Teaspoon followed Tom to where the 'fire' was.

   "Sounds like somethin' worth seein'," Joe stated through the bars.

   "Tell me about," Jesse exclaimed, depressed by Teaspoon's order.

   "Why don't you go have a look see?" She suggested. "Won't tell nobody."

   "Teaspoon'll kill me," he pointed out. "Course, only if he catches me there.." Without a second thought, Jesse ran for the door. Trouble was something he loved watching!

   "That's a boy," Joe encouraged as she removed her most prized possession from her pocket. "Shouldn't take too long to get out of this one," she mused. After all, she was a professional lock picker. All she need was a strong hair pin and a little time.

   Once free, Joe grabbed her gun which rested on the desk and carefully exited the Marshal's Office. She had unfinished business that needed tended too. "Time to pay little missy a visit," Joe reasoned. It was visit she looked forward to.

On to Part 4!