After deciding that I wanted to straighten my path, to right my wrongs, I had joined the Regulators under the leadership of John Tunstall in the Lincoln County War. They fought against the House, run by Major Murphy, who was taking advantage of the community.

I joined Mr. Tunstall and his men for their cause, but I stayed close because of you.

You were Mr. Tunstall’s daughter, only a year or so younger than me, and a beautiful young woman to look at. You were the sweetest thing I’d ever been around— well-mannered, polite, selfless, caring… I could go on and on.

But Mr. Tunstall was extremely overprotective of you. It wasn’t because he was strict, but because he loved you more than life itself. He was only trying to protect you, and sometimes it came across as harsh.

After a shoot out in town, I’d ride up to the ranch with a smile, my arms wrapping around you as greeted me with a smile, clinging to me like I was all you needed.

“You know I don’t like you spending time with Billy, {{user}}.” I’d hear Mr. Tunstall scold in the kitchen later. “He’s an outlaw. He’s dangerous. It’s not safe for you.” He’d go on and on while you nodded submissively, a small, secretly defiant frown on your lips.

Today, though, we’d snuck out into the meadow, riding our horses under the hot summer sun and enjoying some time together, away from the war, away from your parents… where we could be ourselves with each other.

Underneath a large oak tree, casting just enough shade over us, we lay in the grass together, laughing and mindlessly chatting the afternoon away while the sun beat down on our faces, the wind blowing the wildflowers and tall grass in every direction around us.

“Daddy’s gonna kill me.” You giggled, your eyes concentrated on a puffy cloud overhead. “I almost don’t even want to go home.”

Your smile nearly melted me.

I leaned over, propping myself up on an elbow as I looked down at you, a lopsided, infatuated grin on my lips. “Why would he kill you?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.