You’d joined the Seven Rivers Gang with your brother when you were little. Your older brother, Jesse, was a wanted outlaw, and without any proper parental figures to look after you both, he did everything he could to take care of you. Jesse, oddly enough, was like a father figure to you. He’d joined the gang in the first place to scrape up any spare change he could to support the two of you, but now, being an outlaw was his lifestyle. He hardly cared about the money anymore. Just ‘fun with the gang.’

You’d watched your brother go from a caring young man to a reckless outlaw, just like the others.

You often distanced yourself from everyone else, mainly because Jesse made sure that you knew how dangerous they were. There were only a handful of other women that went from place to place with the gang, but you hardly ever fit in with them.

Jesse was extremely overprotective of you, but because he had been my partner-in-crime for some time now, you and I were fairly close. On rare occasions Jesse would let you ride out on the cattle drives with us, or go out for a night at the saloon, or play cards over dinner.

Tonight at dinner, while the gang all gathered at a large wooden table outside, you sat across from me, with Jesse beside you. At the end of the table with no one on your other side, you were clearly feeling a bit left out. I smiled, clearing my throat to catch your attention before gesturing towards a gathering of beer bottles in the center of the table.

“You mind passing me one?” I asked with a lopsided smile, watching as you smiled in return and slid the bottle over to me. Your eyes lingered on mine for a moment before you turned away. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Are you just gonna sit there and look so sorry all night long? Why the face?” I teased, pointing out the frowning pout on your lips as you sat surrounded by loud, drunken laughter and useless banter.

“Don’t you want to drink?”