The next morning Christy awoke with a start. She was embarrassed to find that during the night she had apparently gotten over her shyness of sleeping next to Jimmy. She was snuggled up very close to him and her head was lying on his chest. She quickly moved away from him causing him to stir.

"Whazzamada?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Nothing." Christy lied. She surely didn't want him to know how close they had been sleeping. "I thought I saw a bug."

Jimmy slowly raised up and rubbed both his eyes. He yawned and Christy thought she caught a glimpse of what James Hickok must have looked like as a child. His expression was vulnerable and his dark brown hair was a mess, which made him look years younger.

Jimmy cocked his head, listening. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Christy asked after a minute.

Jimmy jumped up and ran to the barn door. "Nothing! The wind has stopped, the blizzard is over!"

He threw open the barn doors and a pile of snow rushed in to greet him. Although the sky was cloudy, the sun was peeping out and the driving snow had finally stopped. The bright sun reflected off the white snow making a glare that was impossible to look at too long, however Christy was glad to see it.

"We got lucky." Jimmy stated. "If it had lasted three or four days, we could have froze to death."

Christy glanced at the small pile of wood remaining and shivered. "Will we be able to leave?"

Jimmy tried to judge the depth of the snow. "I think so, we'll just have to go slow."

Within an hour, Jimmy and Christy were once again loaded in the buggy bundled under the quilts. The trip was slow going. The small pony had to be encouraged to brave the deep snow, but once she started, she pulled the buggy easily across the packed snow. Jimmy had to keep her at a walk to avoid falling into deep drifts where the pony would sink up to her flanks. Despite his precautions, twice the small mare foundered. Jimmy would then have to climb down from the buggy and pack the snow down until she could climb out. It was well after dark when the familiar buildings of Rock Creek rose up against the horizon and Christy breathed a sigh of relief.

Jimmy smiled at her sigh. "You weren't worried, were you?"

"A little." She admitted. "I just hope Kid is alright."

As soon as they pulled into the barnyard, Buck ran outside to greet them. "Here, I'll take care of the horse. Go on inside and get warm." He grabbed the reins from Jimmy and drove the buggy into the barn.

Inside the bunkhouse, Rachel, Lou, Teaspoon and the others were waiting. Rachel looked very pale as she set about heating up coffee to warm Christy and Jimmy. Kid sat at the table with his head in his hands. He looked up as they came in, then jumped to his feet and engulfed Christy in his embrace.

"Are you alright?" He held her face between his large hands and looked at her worriedly.

She nodded tiredly. "I'm fine."

"We've been so worried!" Rachel looked as if she might cry. "Cody and Kid were fixing to leave to start looking for you."

"We stayed in an old barn." Jimmy said simply.

Kid flashed him a murderous look. "How come it is, every time Christy is with you, something happens to her?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jimmy's voice had a tone of warning in it. He was tired, cold, and in no mood to listen to Kid's lecturing.

"I'm saying, why don't you stay away from her!" Kid said hotly.

"Kid-" Christy began, but Jimmy cut her off.

"I think Christy is old enough to decide for herself whether she wants to spend time with me. Why don't you stay out of it."

"Because she ain't known you long enough to make that decision." Kid stated stubbornly. "Trouble seems to follow you around, Jimmy, and I don't want her involved in it."

"You tryin' to say I ain't good enough for her?" Jimmy felt his temper spinning out of control.

"Well, you ain't exactly got a good history, do you? First, you try to take Lou away from me, and now you're trying to get my cousin killed."

"Kid, I'm warnin' you." Jimmy shook from his anger as he pointed his finger at the Kid. "This ain't none of your concern, so stay out of it."

"And I'm warning you, Jimmy. Stay away from Christy." Kid said flatly.

Jimmy shook his head, then suddenly he made a lunge for Kid. The two of them fell to the floor, fists flailing. Jimmy sat astride Kid, but Kid managed to land a punch that caused Jimmy's lip to start bleeding. Chairs fell over as the two men struggled with each other.

"Now hold on a minute!" Teaspoon struggled to be heard above the noise.

"Boys! Jimmy, Kid!" Rachel hollered helplessly.

"Cody, grab Kid!" Teaspoon yelled as he yanked a very angry Jimmy to his feet.

Cody pulled Kid up by his arms and strained to hold him. Jimmy also struggled to break free of Teaspoon's grasp. The two men glared at each other menacingly.

"Let me go, Teaspoon!" Jimmy growled.

Rachel stepped in between them and placed a hand on each of their chests. "Stop it, both of you!"

Teaspoon pushed Jimmy down onto one of the bunk beds. "I don't know what in tarnation is going on here, but both of you had better cool down!"

"He started it!" Jimmy protested as he rubbed his sleeve across his bleeding mouth.

Kid's chest heaved as he pushed Cody away and sat down on another bed on the opposite side of the room. "You could of got her killed!"

"Enough!" Rachel yelled at the top of her lungs. "Will somebody please tell me what's going on here?"

Both Jimmy and Kid began to speak at the same time, their voices rising as each tried to out talk the other.

"Hush!" Rachel bellowed. "Kid, why are you so upset with Jimmy? You know he would never do anything to hurt Christy! Jimmy, hush, let Kid speak!"

Kid hung his head. "I just don't think Christy needs to get involved with him is all."

"You don't know what she needs! You still treat her like a child!" Jimmy snapped.

"Excuse me!" Christy interrupted loudly. "Do either of you think maybe I can speak for myself?"

Teaspoon raised an eyebrow at her. "She's right. Christy, why don't you tell us your opinion on the matter?"

"I think," She began slowly. "Both of you are acting like children! Kid, you know perfectly well that I am capable of making up my own mind about Jimmy. Jimmy, likewise, I don't want you to think that one kiss gives you the right to take charge of my life." Christy turned on her heel and stalked out of the bunkhouse.

Cody stared at Jimmy with his mouth agape. "You kissed her? Dammit, Hickok, I can't have nothin' around you!" Then he too, turned and left the bunkhouse, slamming the door behind him.

Kid said nothing. He reached down and picked up his hat from the floor and walked out the door. The small room seemed to reverberate with the blast of the door closing. Lou followed closely behind him. After a minute, Jimmy stood shook his head, and left, too.

Teaspoon looked around at Rachel, Ike, Buck, and Noah. "Well, now, that's better, isn't it?"

The next morning dawned gray and cold. Christy hurried to the hen house to gather eggs in a foul mood. All night she had tossed and turned, thinking of the evening before. She didn't know who she was angrier with, Jimmy or Kid. She began chunking the eggs into her basket, her face set into a grim scowl.

She turned when she felt a tap on her shoulder. "You're going to break those eggs." Ike signed to her.

"What? Slow down, you're going too fast." Christy watched as he repeated his movements. "Break the eggs? Yeah, well, I'd like to break something else right now; like Jimmy's and Kid's heads."

"I think they both care for you." Ike insisted.

Christy observed him carefully. "That kind of caring I can do without. Besides, I think it has more to do with some stupid grudge between them than it does me."

Ike smiled. "Those two are very different people, but they are like brothers. If you mess with one, you mess with both of them."

"Ike, can I ask you something?" When he nodded, Christy continued. "What do you think of Jimmy?"

"What do you mean?" He signed.

"I'm not sure." She absently plucked another egg from the nest. "I like him, a lot. Maybe Kid's right, though. Maybe I should stay away from him."

"Why would you do that?" Ike asked.

Christy sighed. "Because I don't want to mess things up with Kid. He's the most important person in my life, and he's all the family I've got left."

"Kid will come around." Ike comforted and he patted her shoulder. "Don't give up. If being with Jimmy is something you really want, then don't let anyone change your mind."

"You know something, Ike? For someone who doesn't say much, you sure are smart." Ike grinned and grabbed the basket of eggs from her. Together they walked back to the house.

After a very quiet and tense breakfast, Kid and Christy set out to Thompkin's store to pick up some supplies. They trudged through the snow without saying anything, their breath's mingling in the frosty air. The warmth emitting from the buildings they passed beckoned them.

"Hello, Kid, Miss Tunstall." Thompkins called to them as they entered the store. "Glad to see you two survived the blizzard. What can I get for you?"

"Just some supplies; flour, sugar, coffee, salt. And Christy wants to check on her dresses." Kid handed over the list Rachel had written out for him.

"Let's see, coffee I got, sugar I got, all out of salt, though. Folks been buying it like crazy to put down on some of this ice we've been having. Should come in on the next train, though. Check with me day after tomorrow. Miss Christy, your dresses should be done next week. My seamstress has been working on them night and day, but this blizzard slowed her down some." Thompkin's moved busily around the store gathering items as he talked.

Within minutes they were hurrying back towards the waystation, packages in hand. Kid's stride was so long; Christy had to take two steps to his one to keep up. She glanced at him warily. His mouth was set in a firm line, and his blue eyes looked dark and cloudy.

"Slow down a little, would you?" She panted. "Kid? Come on, Kid, talk to me, please."

"Ain't nothin' to say." Kid muttered, shifting the flour to his other arm.

Christy grabbed his free arm, forcing him to stop. "So you're not going to talk to me from now on? Just because I went for a buggy ride with Jimmy?"

"That ain't all you did with him, is it?" Kid spat.

Her fair face flushed. "One kiss, Kid, one kiss. Is that a crime?"

"You're missing the point." His eyes flashed.

"Explain it to me, then. What is the point?" Christy led Kid away from the bunkhouse and into the barn, where they could have some privacy.

"The point is Jimmy's reputation. Folks believe he's a gunfighter and as long as they think that, he's gonna be trouble. I don't want you in that kind of situation." Kid removed his hat and ran a hand distractedly through his curly brown hair.

"I'm not thinking of marrying him, Kid." Christy sighed. "Besides I haven't had any problems because of Jimmy's so-called reputation."

"Not yet." Kid said ominously. "But believe me, you hang around 'Wild Bill' long enough and you will."

"Know what I think? I think you're no better than those people who believe he's something he's not. You're saying just because he has gotten falsely labeled that he doesn't have a right to happiness. That's not fair, Kid."

"Why do you have to be so hard headed about this?" Kid demanded. "Just listen to me, for once."

"I am listening to you! What you're saying is absurd. I am a grown woman. I have a right to make my own choice, and if that choice includes James Hickok, then it's none of your business!" She snapped.

"Then I wish you never would have come here!" Kid yelled. "Cause messing with him will get you killed!"

"Kid!" He turned to find Lou standing in the barn door, her hands covering her face and her eyes wide in shock. Christy took one last look at her cousin, then ran, sobbing, out of the barn and down the street into town.

"Christy! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that!" Kid ran outside after her, but she had already disappeared.

Chapter Eight