Devon and Jimmy walked over to where Buck, Lily, Kid and Lou were standing and laughing. At the sight of Jimmy and Devon, the four of them quieted down and smiled.

"Hello Devon, how are you feeling?" Lou asked politely.

Devon smiled sweetly at Lou. "Much better, thank you." She turned and looked up at Jimmy. "I don’t know what I would have done if it hadn’t been for Jimmy."

Jimmy coughed and smiled uncomfortably. "Nah, I didn’t do anything but make sure that you were comfortable and healed right."

Devon reached up and caressed his cheek, grinning slyly. "And you sure did make me comfortable."

Buck cleared his throat and Lily laughed quietly.

"What is this?" Kid teased. "Are you blushin’ Jimmy?"

Devon looped her arm through his and smiled at the group. "Now, what on earth could possibly make James Butler Hickok blush?"

Lou’s eyes widened, but Kid squeezed her hand to keep her quiet, all the while grinning himself.

"So, uh, what are the two of you up to?" Buck asked, trying not to grin himself.

"Nothing," Jimmy said at the same time that Devon said "Lunch."

Jimmy glanced at Devon and she nodded at him before turning back to the four riders. "We were just about to go and have some lunch at the restaurant. Would you care to join us?"

Lou was about to protest when Kid spoke up. "Sure, that sounds like fun."

"Kid!" Lou whispered harshly, elbowing him in the ribs.

Devon pretended like she hadn’t heard Lou and smiled. "Great! Why don’t we go inside?"

The four of them were about to turn and walk into the saloon when a little boy came running over to them. He was about ten years old, with fiery red hair and a generous sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of his nose and his round cheeks.

"D-E-V-O-N!" The boy spelled out the letters of Devon’s name instead of saying it.

Devon turned and smiled at the boy. "Dennis! What a surprise!"

Dennis smiled shyly and looked down.

"What are you doing here? Is your mother with you?" Devon asked.

"N-O. S-H-E-I-S-B-A-C-K-A-T-T-H-E-H-O-U-S-E." Dennis spelled again.

Jimmy looked at the kid like he had two heads. "Huh?"

Devon smiled and placed her hand protectively on Dennis’ back. "Jimmy, Lou, Kid, Buck, Lily, I’d like to introduce you to Dennis Collins. Dennis, these are more of my friends from the Pony Express."

Dennis’ eyes widened with intrigue. "T-H-E-P-O-N-Y-E-X-P-R-E-S-S?"

Kid furrowed his brow as he tried to understand Dennis. "What’s he sayin’?"

"Hey kid," Jimmy turned towards Dennis with a confused look on his face. "Is there a reason you’re spellin’ everything out?"

Dennis looked at Devon before turning back to Jimmy and smiling mischievously. "N-O-I-J-U-S-T-L-I-K-E-D-O-I-N-G-I-T-C-A-N-T-Y-O-U-S-P-E-L-L?" He spelled out quickly.

Jimmy’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "What the hell-"

"Jimmy." Devon warned as Dennis giggled innocently and the other riders laughed. The only ones who couldn’t understand Dennis were Jimmy and Kid, but Jimmy was getting annoyed, while Kid found it amusing.

"Devon, make him stop!" Jimmy ordered.

Devon smiled and shook her head. "I can’t. He doesn’t talk, he just spells everything out."

Lou laughed. "Dennis, you must be new around here, I don’t ever remember seeing you before today."

"Hell, you couldn’t have forgotten him that’s for sure." Jimmy muttered, earning a warning glance from Devon.

"I-J-U-S-T-G-O-T-H-E-R-E." Dennis answered.

"Devon!" Jimmy whined.

Devon smiled and took a deep breath. "Dennis just got here a couple of days ago. He and his mother moved into the old Jefferson ranch, right down the road from my place."

"W-E-L-L-I-H-A-V-E-T-O-G-O-N-O-W." Dennis turned to Devon. "I-L-L-S-E-E-Y-O-U-L-A-T-E-R." He turned towards the rest of the riders. "N-I-C-E-M-E-E-T-I-N-G-Y-O-U-A-L-L."

Lily grinned. "It was nice meeting you too Dennis."

Jimmy grumbled and waved goodbye as Dennis trotted off into the General Store. Once he was out of earshot, Jimmy turned towards Devon. "That is one weird kid."

"He’s a good kid. A bit mischievous, but I’m sure you were the same way when you were his age." Devon grinned as she winked at him and looped her arm through his again. "Now, if I remember correctly, weren’t we all on our way to have lunch before Dennis showed up?"

Jimmy leaned down and whispered in her ear. "You’re not going to give up on this, are you?"

Devon looked up and giggled. "Not on your life!" She turned towards the other riders and smiled, making sure to avoid looking at Buck. Even though the two of them had talked after the shooting, hearing Buck tell her that he had chosen Lily over her had practically ripped her heart out of her chest. He had asked her if it would be all right if they remained friends, and Devon had agreed. But she had never imagined that it would be this painful to see the two of them together. Before Buck had made his decision, she hadn’t seen the two of them as a couple, but now they went everywhere together - and they weren’t very subtle about their feelings for each other. And it was driving her crazy.