TITLE: Ghosts and Dreams
AUTHOR: Kirsten T.
FEEDBACK: robin-t@clear.net.nz
STANDARD DISCLAIMER: The Young Riders don't belong to the author, but to
MGM/UA Television, Ed Spielman and Josh Kane. No copyright infringement
intended.

                             Ghosts And Dreams
                                By Kirsten T.

The green-eyed Indian sat in front of the fire that was burning bright in
the star less night. He remembered how on a night like this so many years
ago, he and Katelynn had sat side by side listening to the legends that one
of the elders would tell them. Now it was he who was telling the legends
around the fire to the group of the children seated before him. Never in a
million years had Curly thought that the legends that he would be telling
would be about Katelynn. He had always thought that she would be right there
beside him.

"Grandpa. Is it true the Ice Princess always shows up at Halloween?" His
grandson's eyes were wide with fear.

"Not to worry, little one. She means no harm to you. She is always out
there, watching over the ones she loves. More people see her at this time of
year perhaps because it is less likely that they would be thought to be
crazy. She is not alone. Those whose lives were taken before it was their
time walk the earth with her." Curly's eyes glazed over as he remembered
their Ice Princess She had always been a vision even when he had first met
her as a child. Curly grinned as he remembered how she had literally dropped
into his lap. He had gone to visit Buck a few years back and seen his
granddaughter. She had given him the shock of his life when he saw her. She
was the splitting image of Katelynn. He turned to children and started to
tell them of one Halloween when Katelynn put in more than her fair share of
appearances.

It was a beautiful day as Stephen O'Connell rode towards Sweetwater. It had
been twelve years since he had been home. He had never regretted that his
mother had sent him away to school. He knew Amanda had wanted to protect him
from his father's reputation. She had told him that no son of James Butler
Hickok was going to spend his life watching his back. Stephen laughed to
himself as he remembered the day Amanda had found Uncle Buck and Uncle Kid
teaching him how to use a gun. When Aunt Louise had explained that it would
be better if Stephen was put in a situation that his father had constantly
found himself in, if Stephen could defend himself. He knew that he had been
lucky enough not to have been called out for a fight. His mother had said
often enough how he was the splitting image of his father. Still it was good
to be back. It was better still that he was back to be Sweetwater's doctor.
Stephen felt that he could now give something back to the town his mother
had moved to after his father's death. So lost in thought was Stephen that
he rode straight into the river just outside of Sweetwater. Stephen's horse
picked that moment to stop for a drink and promptly pitched Stephen in the
water.

"Hey, watch it." An icy voice brought Stephen back to the present. As he
looked over to where the voice had come from, his heart leapt into his
throat. Standing in front of him was a vision, too beautiful to be real.

Standing either side of his vision was a white stallion and a small black
dog. The goddess holding his attention couldn't have been more than
eighteen. Her long red hair flowing down her back in fiery waves. Her icy
blue eyes were starring out of her pale face. "Stephen?"

He couldn't believe that she knew his name. "Yes, my name is Stephen.
Stephen O'Connell. May I ask, whom you are?"

The red head rolled her eyes skyward. "Very funny Stephen. Come on, Aunt
Amanda will be waiting for you." She looked down at his soaked clothes. "I
hope you have some dry clothes. I think you've ruined those fancy ones."
With that she moved closer to the stallion and waited for the beast to kneel
down so that she could climb on. Without another word she turned her horse
towards home and rode off with the little black dog running beside them.

Stephen quickly got to his feet and mounted his horse and followed them. He
realized after they had been riding a short while that they were riding in
the direction of the K & L homestead. As he slowed his horse outside of Kid
and Louise's house, he saw his mother coming to meet him.

"Stephen. We expected you some time ago." Amanda hugged her son before
turning to the red head. "Katelynn, Buck is looking for you."

Stephen's jaw dropped. This woman was Katelynn. Last time he had seen her,
she had been six years old. Boy, had Kathryn's daughter grown and in all the
right places too.

"Did Grandpa say what he wanted, Aunt Amanda?" The stallion and the dog
following her every move.

Amanda shook her head. "No. I think that he was getting worried. You've been
gone quite a while. You know people get a bit strange around you, the closer
it gets to Halloween."

Katelynn nodded. "Alright. I'll go and let him know that I'm fine. Can you
let Ma know that I'll be right in to help with dinner please."

Amanda smiled at the young woman. "Of course." She turned back to her son,
only to find him still gaping at Katelynn. "Stephen, could you at least
close your mouth while you drool over Kate."

Stephen turned bright red. He hadn't meant to be so obvious. "Sorry Ma. I
hadn't realized she had grown up so much."

Amanda smiled sadly to herself. "Yes, she had certainly grown into a
beautiful woman. She looks exactly like her name sake. I often wonder how it
makes your Uncle Buck feel having a granddaughter who looks so much like his
dead wife." She realized that her son was all wet. Looking up at Stephen,
she raised an eyebrow. "Should I ask how you got all wet?"

Stephen looked down at his ruined clothes "Probably not. I wouldn't want to
feel like a fool twice in one day, now would I."

Amanda tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile. "You had better come inside and
dry off. Doctor or no Doctor, you can go and help Kid and Buck with the
horses. Cody was supposed to be here this morning, but he sent word that he
and Louisa are running about a day behind."

Stephen kissed his mother on the cheek and walked inside the house she
shared with Kid and Louise. Amanda had sold the saloon in Abilene after
Jimmy had died and moved to Sweetwater to be closer to Teaspoon. She had
brought the hotel in town and had run it right up to the day that she had
Stephen. Louise had taken over until Amanda could manage both Stephen and
the hotel. Stephen had been Teaspoon's pride and joy until the day he had
died. Teaspoon had always said that the only thing he had truly regretted
was outliving half of his adopted children. he had died peacefully in his
sleep. Louise had helped out with Stephen as he got older. She missed having
a young child to look after as all of her and Kid's children had grown too
old to be fussed over. James (their oldest) had grown into a serious young
man and had become a priest. A decision that had not totally surprised his
parents. Mary Lou had married the town's school teacher and had two children
of her own. Ike and Noah who had constantly been in and out of trouble as
children were now both Marshals. One in Sweetwater, the other in Willow
Creek. Although Kid had worried about the danger his twin sons would be
putting themselves in, he admired the fact that they wanted to work
protecting others.

Katelynn and Buck's daughter had grown to be sweet-natured like her father
with her mother's talent with people and animals. Although Buck had not be
pleased when Kathryn had gotten involved with John Thomas the saloon owner,
he quickly realized that Kathryn knew her own mind and what was best for
her. John had not cared that Kathryn was part Indian. He had only seen the
strong soul and caring heart that Kathryn pocked and not the color of her
skin. They had married and had Katelynn. Stephen had grown up being almost
an Uncle to their children except Katelynn. Even as a child, she had a will
of her own. Buck had said even then that she was just like her name sake.

Stephen changed quickly to go and help his Uncles. Walking through the
stables. he stopped occasionally to stroke the nose of some of the horses.
The sound of footsteps behind him, made him spin around. Stephen was amassed
to find Kate's horse and dog standing in front of him. The dog barked once
before running out of the stables with the white stallion trotting behind
him. Stephen followed the animals a bit confused. When he got outside, he
saw that the animals were standing by one of the pens watching something. As
Stephen got closer he saw what held their attention. There, breaking in one
of the new horses was Kate. She was wearing one of her Uncle's shirts from
when they were younger which was knotted at her tiny waist. She had a pair
of trousers on which only showed off her figure. It was amassing sight. Two
strong wills. Neither one willing to give in.

"She's an incredible sight isn't she?" Buck walked up beside Stephen.

Stephen's eyes never left Kate. "Yes. That's a beautiful horse."

Buck chuckled. "Yeah right. You're really paying attention to the horse."
Buck had not missed the look on Stephen's face when he had found out who
Kate was. It was similar to look on stranger's faces when they found out
that Louise was her Great Aunt and not her mother. The years had been very
kind to Louise despite the tragedies that she had suffered through. Kate
spent most of her time with the horses. It seemed that the animals
understood her just about as well as Buck did.

Kate reigned the horse in and managed to get the anima to trot obediently
around it's pen. The battle of the wills had been won. Kate rode easily
through the gate before climbing down from the horse. Stephen could not take
his eyes from her. Calmly Kate handed the reigns to her dog. "Khan, take her
to her stall." It was quite a funny sight, seeing the little black dog
leading the huge horse in the stables. "The stables need mucking out if
you're going to help." It almost sounded like a command as she walked passed
Stephen.

Buck was watching all of this with great amusement. He wondered what Jimmy
would have thought of this. Jimmy's son and Louise's great niece. Buck
wasn't sure if Kate was attracted to Stephen, but it was obvious that
Stephen was very attracted to Kate.

"Penny for your thoughts." Louise walked up beside Buck. "You looked like
you were miles away."

Buck smiled at his sister - in - law. "I think that Stephen is having a
problem with how much Kate had grown up."

"Well, it has been twelve years." Louise knew how protective Buck was of his
granddaughter. "Did you see her in the sunset again?"

He nodded "I've seen her a lot lately. I get a feeling something is going to
happen. Not something bad. It's like when Amanda had Stephen. I saw her a
lot then."

Louise looked into the distance. "She's never stopped watching over the
family has she?"

Buck shook his head. "I don't think she ever will. I'd better go and help
Kid." Buck turned and walked into the stable. He had never remarried or even
looked at another woman since his wife had died. Nobody had been prepared
for Katelynn's death. Buck had found the love of his life in Katelynn and
nobody else could ever take her place. When Kathryn had named her daughter
after her late mother, nobody had ever dreamed that the child would grow up
to look so much like Katelynn.

The circus had come to town that week so dinner was very eventful that
night. Stephen had grown up knowing that his Aunt Katelynn had been an
unusual woman with strange friends. He couldn't get over how Kate was the
center of attention and didn't even seem to notice. The same love and
loyalty that most of the performer's grandparents and parents had, had for
Kate's grandmother was almost passed down through the generations. Stephen
couldn't help but be jealous of the admiring glances Kate was getting form
some of the performers. Kate didn't seem to notice though. As they always
did, the circus family camped out near the homestead.

It was a beautiful night. There was a full moon which lit up the night.
Tomorrow Stephen would start as Sweetwater's town doctor. Although he would
never admit it, Stephen was a little nervous and was having trouble falling
asleep. Galloping hooves alerted him to a presence outside. Confused at
anyone being up this late at night, Stephen rose from his bed and walked to
the window. There outside in the light of the moon was Kate riding her white
horse bareback. It was a magnificent sight. Rider and beast moved as one.
Something caught the corner of Stephen's eyes. He turned to see four figures
standing in the dark. Three men and one woman. One of the men looked like an
older version of Stephen. The other two, one a colored man and the other a
white man with piercing blue eyes were about the same age as Stephen. It was
the woman who made him catch his breath. She looked exactly like Kate except
about ten years older. They seemed such an unlikely quartet yet all four
looked so comfortable together as if meant to be a team. Suddenly the woman
looked up, her eyes an icy blue. Stephen dared not move. Then she smiled as
if she knew exactly what he was thinking. To Stephen's amazement the
foursome just faded from sight. "I've gotta get some sleep." Stephen
muttered to himself. He took one more glance at Kate, only to find her
watching him. Embarrassed at being caught watching her, Stephen merely waved
goodnight before returning to his bed.

The weeks flew by. Stephen was kept busy at work what with bar room brawls,
hunting accidents and a dose of chicken pox that was going around. He would
go home and collapse exhausted into bed each night. His dreams always filled
with Kate, only to wake each morning to begin another exhausting day at
work. Riding home one afternoon, after deciding that it was quiet enough to
leave early, Stephen stopped at the river where he had first met Kate. He
hadn't seen much of her since that first day. She was usually with the
horses when he left in the morning and she seemed to disappear somewhere
when he came home at night. He so desperately wanted to know everything
about her.

"You're in love with her." Stephen was jerked back from his thoughts by an
icy voice. There sitting on the bank was the woman he had seen the night he
had been watching Kate. "Kate. You're in love with her and you don't know
why because you hardly know her." The woman took his silence as Stephen not
understanding what she meant. The alarming thing was, she seemed to be
reading his thoughts. "You look exactly the same as your father did at your
age. It's nice to see that you don't have his temper. You do however, seem
to have his taste in women." Her smile told him that she was laughing at
some private joke.

"You knew my father?" Stephen had no idea who this woman was.

"Yes, I know your father. Kate is quite a vision when she rides, isn't she?"
Her blue eyes reading his face.

"Yes she is, but I would like to get to know her before I pledge any undying
love for her. Besides she like a sister or a cousin."

The woman laughed. "Your father used to look at Louise and I the way you
look at Kate. There is nothing brotherly about how you feel."

"Do you read minds Miss?" Stephen smiled. There was something sort of
familiar about the look she was giving him. "Do I know you?"

She smiled to herself before standing up to leave. "So many questions. The
answers are no and maybe."

As she started to walk downstream, Stephen realized that she was heading for
the stepping stones to cross the river. "Why don't you cross here."

"I hate the water." Her voice rang in the air, but she had disappeared.

"How does she do that." Stephen splashed his face with cold water from the
river before heading home.

Buck met Stephen at the stables. He had seen the young man ride in and he
had looked as white as a ghost. "Stephen, are you alright?" Buck, Kid and
Cody had felt responsible for Stephen ever since he was born. They felt that
they owed it to Jimmy.

Stephen smiled at Buck. "I think that I am just over tired. I keep seeing
this woman who looks like an older version of Kate and she just keeps
disappearing into thin air."

Buck smiled understandingly. "You're not the first person to have seen her.
Did I ever show you the paintings of Louise and my wife?"

Stephen shook his head. He knew that Buck's wife was Louise's twin. He
followed his Uncle to his house. When he walked inside it was if he were
surrounded by those icy blue eyes. Buck watched the amazement on Stephen's
face. "She's beautiful isn't she?" Stephen nodded. He could understand now
why Buck had never remarried. The love he had, had for his wife was obvious
from the way he looked at the figure in the paintings. "Who knew that a
painting could cause the death of someone so beautiful."

Stephen watched Buck cautiously. "You said that I wasn't the first person to
see her. Are you saying that your wife's ghost is wondering around."

Buck looked the young man straight in the eye. "The night you were born, I
was her and your father watching the house. Around Halloween a lot of people
say that they have seen them as well as your Uncles Ike and Noah. Your Ma
told you about them didn't she?" Stephen nodded. "Most nights I watch the
sunset. She loved the colors that the sky turned as the sun sets. I see her
standing there watching over us."

"Why are they still around." This whole situation was confusing as hell.

Buck shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I think that maybe it wasn't their time
to die. Ike was killed saving the woman he loved. Noah was killed rescuing a
friend. Jimmy was shot in the back by a coward and Katelynn was killed
saving you and your Ma. Not one of them died of natural causes. Maybe that's
why."

Stephen chuckled as he remembered her words by the river that afternoon.

"What's so funny?"

Stephen chuckled again. "I asked her why she didn't cross the river where we
were. She disappeared, but I heard her say the she hated the water."

Buck nodded. "She couldn't swim. I tried to teach her a few times. My
granddaughter that you can't take your eyes off of is the same. She hates
the water. She will only get in water to take a bath."

"Is there nothing you won't tell him." Kate stood behind them, her eyes like
blue ice.

"Well, sweetheart, you aren't exactly big on talking. Everytime Stephen gets
home you disappear into the stables. So who else is going to tell him about
all of your wonderful values. He's already noticed your beauty."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Grandpa, you know beauty is in the eye of the
beholder. Besides I have a lot of work to do in the stables. It's not as
though Cousin Noah and Cousin Ike can help out. They're too busy."

Buck walked over and planted a kiss on his granddaughters forehead. "I know
and I'm sure that Kid and Louise appreciate all of your help, but they don't
expect you to give up all of your free time. Come on, let's go and see if
Louise has started dinner."

As the three walked out of the door, Stephen noticed that one of the
paintings had a bullet hole in it. As he followed the others he wondered why
Buck had kept the painting that could only remind him of how his wife had
died. The sound of gunshots pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Joseph, you put that damn gun down." Marshall Noah Morgan (Kid and Louise's
son) stood in the middle of the yard trying to calm the old drunk down. "You
know you probably wouldn't keep seeing her if you actually sobered up once
in a while."

It was quite obvious that Joseph wasn't trying to hit anything. He was just
waving the gun around and it was going off. Unfortunately, one bullet hit
Kate in the arm.

"Isn't it bad enough that you killed me because you couldn't keep off the
whiskey. Now you're clumsy enough to shoot my granddaughter." All eyes
turned to the ghostly foursome that had appeared. The woman that Stephen had
seen earlier was standing in front of the men he had seen that night Kate
was riding. "Put the gun down. It's not as though you even know how to use
it."

Joseph had never gotten over the guilt of killing Katelynn and seeing Jimmy,
Ike and Noah standing with her was more than he could take. He grabbed his
chest as he fell to the ground. Stephen ran to his side to try and help him,
while Buck helped his granddaughter up. When they turned back to the ghostly
foursome, they found that they had disappeared again.

"Well, that's your grandmother for you. She doesn't mince words and then she
goes about her business." Buck led Kate into the house.

Kid wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and kissed the top of her head.
"She's early this year isn't she?"

Louise nodded. "I think it might have something to do with the way Stephen
has been looking at Kate." She laughed at her husband's puzzled face. "It's
the same look you used to give me and still do. It looks as though Kate is
taking my approach and avoiding Stephen and her feelings. I just hope that
it doesn't take Stephen as long to win her over as it took you to ask me to
dance."

Kid smiled to himself. "Well, I had a few restrictions like the fact that
you were supposed to be a boy."

Louise giggled. "I'll give you this much, you certainly were persistent. You
still are."

Kid kissed his wife's neck. "I knew what I wanted, still do. You sure
weren't going to make it easy for me. I guess Kate is going to be as
stubborn as you were."

Louise turned around in her husband's arms. "Well, I guess that's what makes
us so damn attractive to you boys. You always want what you think you can't
have." She reached up and pulled her husband's face down to hers before
kissing her husband passionately.

"Ah Ma, aren't you two a bit old to still be doing that?" Their son Noah
stood grinning at his parents. He was always joking with them. He was
actually pleased that his parents were still so in love. He hadn't seen many
couples their age that could still stand the sight of each other let alone
were still in love.

"Speak for yourself." Louise good-naturedly hit her son on the arm. "How's
that fool Joseph?"

Noah hugged his tiny mother. "Stephen says he'll be fine, but he would be
better if he stayed off the booze. Aunt Katelynn sure does pick her moments
to appear doesn't she."

Louise chuckled "Your Aunt always did turn up in the nick of time. I saw
Buck take Kate in the house. Is she alright."

Noah looked over to the house. "Stephen is in with her at the moment. I
think it's just a graze, but it's gotta hurt like hell. Kate's not saying
much but Uncle Buck's worried enough for both of them."

Louise turned to her husband. "Why don't you see if you can get Buck to come
outside. He's probably not helping Stephen, looking over his shoulder."

Kid nodded and a few minutes later he and Buck came out of the house and
went for a walk.

Noah kissed his mother on the cheek "I had better get Joseph into town and
try and sober him up. I'll see you later."

Inside the house Stephen was more than a little grateful that Kid had come
and removed Buck. Carefully he removed Kate's shirt so that he could look at
her shoulder. It wasn't as bad as he had first thought. The bullet had only
grazed her arm, although it was probably hurting more than she was letting
on. She had a magnificent body and it was making it more difficult to
concentrate on dressing the wound. Stephen looked up to see a pair of
sparkling blue eyes watching him. "It's not as bad as it probably feels, but
I wouldn't get into any fights for a couple of days." Stephen looked back
down at her shoulder. He was trying so hard to fight the urge to kiss her.

"If I'm so alright, why are your hands shaking?" She leaned forward so that
they were face to face. "So, are you going to kiss me or not?"

Stephen couldn't believe she was so bold. He couldn't help himself though.
He leaned foreword and brushed her lips with his. As he started to pull
back, Kate wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back. Stephen's
arms circled her tiny waist, their kiss deepening. There was enough fire in
that kiss to burn the house down.

"Is this a new cure for gunshot wounds that I don't know about?" Noah stood
grinning at his cousin and Stephen "cause I'll warn the guys in town."

Stephen helped Kate put her shirt back on while trying not to turn bright
red, much to Noah's amusement.

"So how bad is it Kate?" Noah cast her a worried look. He had seen how pale
his Uncle had been when his father had taken him for a walk.

Kate smiled as much at Stephen's embarrassment as at Noah's concern. "I'm
fine. The painkillers are wonderful." With that she hopped down from the
table she had been sitting on and walked out the door leaving the two
amassed men behind.

"I didn't give her any painkillers." Stephen turned to Noah who was laughing
at him.

Noah shook his head "Well that's Kate for you. There's always a hidden
meaning to everything she says." Noah turned and left Stephen to his
thoughts.

Louise and Amanda watched Stephen from the porch that night as he paced in
front of the stables. Louise shook her head smiling "Boy has he got it bad."

Amanda laughed. "He sure has. I remember when I first met you all, Jimmy
used to look at you like that. Of course you were supposed to be a boy so I
thought that it was kind of strange."

"Yeah, you and the rest of the town. It sure gave the town a whole lot to
gossip about. I think Kate's outgoing personality has Stephen a bit
startled."

"She certainly takes after you and Katelynn. One minute Kate's trying to
avoid Stephen, the next she's kissing him. I don't think this town can take
a repeat of you and Kid's courting rituals."

Louise laughed at the memory. "We sure kept Sweetwater and Rock Creek
guessing."

Stephen was so deep in thought that he could only just hear Louise and his
mother laughing in the background. Kate was all he could think about. The
teasing look in her blue eyes when she kissed him. Her skin so pale like
snowy ice kissed by the setting sun. He had never felt like this about
anyone before. The sound of a horse galloping around the yard jerked him
from his thoughts. Buck and Kid were up late training some of the horses.
Stephen waved goodnight to them and made his way to his room.

The next morning Stephen walked towards the river, he could always think
better there. He had been sitting on a rock on the riverbank for sometime
when he felt as though he was being watched. Turning slowly he came face to
face with ghostly quartet.

The bald man started to sign something to his friends. They all burst out
laughing at what Stephen could only guess was a private joke.

"I don't think that Katelynn was ever this confusing Ike, but I sure know
that Kid found Louise that way." The man who Stephen correctly guessed was
his father, Jimmy Hickok looked back over to him. "Women. You can never
figure them out can you son?"

Stephen felt so strange talking to him like this. "Not this one I can't"

The woman smiled at him. "The McCloud women have never been know for their
patience. It looks as though that marvelous trait has been passed down to
our grandchildren."

The colored man laughed at her "I don't think that Kid found that trait so
marvelous when he was courting Lou. There were times when he said that he
felt as though he was banging his head against a wall."

"It probably didn't help him Noah, that we were placing bets on when
anything was going to happen between those two." Jimmy had always remembered
Kid asking him for advice.

Katelynn winked at Stephen who was trying to hide his amusement at the
ghostly banter happening before his eyes. "You know, I heard that Louise won
that bet."

Ike nodded, his grin taking up most of his face.

"So, what is troubling you so much son?" Jimmy was watching his son,
concerned. "Let me guess. You've never felt like this about a woman before.
You feel, it's wrong because she should be like a sister to you. How far off
am I?"

Stephen's jaw dropped "Do you all read minds or something?"

Katelynn shook her head, her red hair like flames of fire. "No. The
expression on your face tells a great story. Ever thought of talking to
Kate? I think that she is probably as confused as you are. The thing is that
you aren't brother and sister, so you aren't doing anything wrong."

Stephen smiled at her "Why doesn't that make me feel any better?"

Noah raised an eyebrow. "Could it be because you're talking to four ghosts?
If you want someone living to talk to, why don't you go and talk to Father
James. That boy obviously didn't get Louise's sense of humor. He's far too
serious for his own good, but I guess that's what makes him such a good
priest."

Katelynn elbowed him in the ribs "You leave my nephew alone. James has done
alright for himself. Kid and Louise and very proud of him."

Stephen shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you're right. I could always talk
to James when I was younger." He got up and started to walk back to the
homestead. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks "Thanks for the advice." He
turned to see that they had disappeared again.

"You're welcome." Their voices drifted along with the breeze.

Stephen looked skyward. "I hate it when they do that."

Katelynn's laughter rang through the leaves of the trees like the tinkering
of thousands of tiny bells.

Stephen made his way to Sweetwater's tiny church. He remembered how he had
always found James here when something was bothering him. James always found
such comfort in the church which really was hardly surprising given a lot of
the trouble that seemed to follow his family. Where James' brothers had
become Marshals to up hold the peace, James had found a less violent way to
do the same thing. Stephen found James sitting on the steps of the church
reading. "Beautiful day, isn't it James?"

The priest who looked so much like Kid looked up from what he was reading an
smiled at Stephen. "What's wrong? Girl trouble?"

Stephen couldn't believe it. Did everyone in Sweetwater have the ability to
read his mind? "How did you know?"

James shrugged. "I think it's a family gift. Ma and Aunt Katelynn used to do
it all the time. After Aunt Katelynn died, I think it just became a mother's
instinct with Ma."

Stephen grinned "Yeah, well mother's always seem to have a habit of knowing
what we don't want them to."

James nodded "You're not wrong there."

Stephen shifted nervously from one foot to the other. "I'm in love with
Kate. What's worst is that I am getting advice from ghosts who seem to know
what I'm thinking and feeling before I do."

James gazed into the distance. "Aunt Katelynn's early this year. Was your Pa
with her?" Stephen nodded. "You know, as I remember, Aunt Katelynn was
usually pretty good with advice. I don't understand why you think it's so
wrong to be in love with Kate. She isn't your sister. How does she feel?"

Stephen sat down beside his friend. "I don't know. She seemed to feel the
same when she was kissing me."

James turned to look at Stephen. "I think you ought to try and get to know
Kate. I will tell you this for nothing, the last guy that tried to kiss Kate
ended up with a black eye for pushing his luck. Kate doesn't kiss just
anyone you know."

Stephen had been watching his friend's face while he talked. James had
always been very protective of Kate and her mother. If James was encouraging
Stephen with Kate it was because James knew that he could trust Stephen not
to hurt Kate. "Thanks for the advice James. I had better be heading home. Ma
will be wondering where I've got to. I promised to help Uncle Kid shoe some
horses."

James nodded good-bye before heading back into his church.

When Stephen got back to the homestead he noticed how quiet it was. Too
quiet. At this time of day Kate was usually training the horses. There was
no sight of Uncle Kid or Uncle Buck either. A sound of what sounded like
someone knocking on a door was coming form the stables. Carefully he reached
above the door frame for the rifle that he knew Uncle Kid kept there for
emergencies. Cautiously he made his way to the stall where the knocking was
coming from. Slowly, with butt of the rifle he opened the door of the stall.
There inside with Kate's horse and dog were Buck and Kid tied and gagged.
Quickly Stephen untied his Uncle's so that he could find out what had
happened.

"Dam horse thieves took all of the horses except Kate's. The only reason
they didn't take him was because they couldn't get a harness on him and he
wouldn't go freely by himself." Kid couldn't believe the thieves had taken
the homestead hostage so easily. They must have been watching for some time.

Stephen looked around him. "Where are the women?"

Buck shrugged. "I think Amanda and Louise are tied up in the house, but I
think they still have Kate. Kid and I got a couple of shots off before we
got over powered."

Kid bent down and picked up a handful of blood stained hay. "Well we must
have got one of them, look."

The threesome ran to the house to find Louise and Amanda. Sure enough, just
as Buck had said, Louise and Amanda were tied up inside. There was no sign
of Kate. Arming themselves with rifles or pistols, all five started there
search for Kate. Before they got two steps out of the door they heard the
sound of hooves. Spinning around guns raised, they came face to face with
Kid and Lou's twin sons.

Stephen put down his gun. "What are you tow doing here?"

Ike pointed into the distance "They said you all needed help and some extra
horses."

As they turned, they saw the ghostly foursome sitting astride horses waiting
for them Stephen turned back to the small group behind him. "Well, I guess
we follow them. My bet is they know where those horse thieves took Kate and
the horses."

Noah nodded. "Aunt Katelynn hasn't put us wrong yet."

As they followed their ghostly guides, Stephen couldn't help but wonder what
the horse thieves were doing to Kate. He had brought his medical bag just in
case but the mere thought made his blood run cold. Suddenly the ghostly
quartet disappeared.

Buck looked around him. "We must be close. I think it would be best if we
continued on foot."

They all dismounted and let their horses tied to low hanging branches before
moving onward. The sounds of voices told them they were moving in the right
direction. As they got closer they could see Kate sitting by the fire. When
one of the thieves stared to play with her hair, she roughly pushed his hand
away. Clearly annoyed at her rejection, the man grabbed her by the back of
her neck and kissed her. Kate quickly brought her knee up into his groin,
sending him reeling backwards in pain. When another raced forward to take
his place, Kate grabbed the pot full of boiling water and threw it in his
face before bringing the pot backwards to hit the man coming up behind her
in the nose. The remainder of the men all rushed for her, one of them
striking her across the face and knocking her backwards. As he went in for
another blow, Buck fired his gun, hitting his target straight between the
eyes. The thieves all went for their guns but most of them were firing at
what they couldn't see. Stephen noticed that Kate hadn't moved from the
ground. He quietly made his way through to where Kate lay. Carefully, he
rolled her over to find blood coming from the side of her face. slowly she
opened her blue eyes to look at him. The pain of a bullet piercing his
shoulder told Stephen he had been spotted. Aiming his gun with his good arm,
he fired at his attacker. Struggling to his feet, Stephen helped Kate up and
backed away into the bushes. Noah and Ike rounded up the now out numbered
thieves to take them back to the Sweetwater jail. Stephen helped Kate onto
his horse before riding into the darkness. Suddenly Stephen spotted
Katelynn's shimmering figure in the distance. Riding towards her. He looked
down at Kate who was quietly sitting in front of him. He had no idea where
Katelynn was leading them, but his shoulder was killing him. It was then
that he spotted the cabin deep in the woods. After making sure no one was
there, he helped Kate down from the horse. He was worried. She had been so
quiet. With only one good arm to use, it took Stephen quite a while to build
the fire. Once he had got Kate settled by the fire, he went and got his
medical bag from his horse. Kate had a black eye that was starting to swell
up. Her hands were brunt from the boiling pot she had grabbed to defend
herself. The side of her face had stopped bleeding but she would have a
nasty bruise on her face. Considering what she had been through, she wasn't
too badly hurt. Stephen carefully cleaned and bandaged her hands and cleaned
the blood from her face.

Kate had noticed that Stephen's hands had started to shake. He had turned
rather pale as well. Looking into his eyes, she saw his pain there. "Where
are you hurt?"

Stephen jumped at the sound of her voice. She had been so quiet till now. "I
took a shot in the shoulder. It's nothing. Really."

She could tell that he was lying. "Then why are your hands shaking?"

Stephen tried to concentrate on bathing her wounds. "Probably because I'm in
the presence of the most beautiful woman on the face of this earth and I
happen to be in love with you."

Kate watched him carefully. "Take off your coat and shirt." When Stephen
just looked at her, shocked, Kate shot him an icy look which told him that
she wasn't joking. Slowly he removed his coat and shirt to reveal the
muscles that he kept well hidden beneath his clothes. Moving behind him so
that she could see the wound better, it didn't take Kate a minute to realize
that she would have to get the bullet out. But with both of her hands
bandaged, she would end up hurting Stephen more than helping.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Buck raced in, closely followed by Louise,
Amanda and Kid. "About time you all turned up. Grandpa, we have to get the
bullet out of Stephen's shoulder."

Buck sat down beside his granddaughter so that he could see the damage
himself. "Are you alright?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah, just a couple of burns and bruises, nothing that won't
heal."

Buck gently touched his granddaughter's face, "You have your grandmother's
strength. Now go and distract Stephen so that I can get this bullet out."

Kate grinned at her grandfather. "Yes Sir, if you insist." Just as Buck
moved his knife towards Stephen's shoulder to dig the bullet out, Kate
leaned forward and passionately kissed Stephen.

Instantly he forgot that there was anyone else in the room. His good arm
wrapped around her tiny waist. If he had lost her tonight, he wouldn't have
been able to go on. He knew that now. The sound of Buck clearing his throat
reminded them both of where they were. "Well, the bullet's out, but you will
need to rest that arm." Stephen couldn't believe the bullet was out. He
looked back at Kate who was giggling at the surprised look on his face.

Kid reached down to help Kate up as Buck helped Stephen up. "Come on, let's
get you two home."

Amanda helped her son back into his shirt and coat before leading him
outside to the horses.

As they had before, their ghostly guides showed them the way before fading
into the night.

Buck watched Stephen and Kate sitting on the porch steps from the stables.
Stephen's good arm around Kate's shoulders. Her head resting on his
shoulder.

"They make a lovely couple, don't they?" The voice sailed along the night
breeze.

Buck turned to see his Ice Princess standing behind him. "Yes they do." Buck
had always marveled at how beautiful his wife was and tonight was no
different. "I miss you so much."

Her blue eyes sparkled like a million stars. "I miss you too, but I'm never
far away. You know that."

Buck smiled to himself. "I know, but it's not the same. I never stopped
loving you."

Katelynn moved closer. "I know. One day we will be together again. Until
then just know I am always close by." She faded out of sight as he watched,
tears coming to his eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too Katelynn. Ride safe." Slowly he tuned and walked back to the
house.

The children starred at Curly, "But what ever happened to Kate and Stephen?"
The children couldn't believe that was the end of the story.

Curly grinned his green eyes sparkling. "That my little ones is a story for
another night."

The End