It had been almost a week since her father told her that they would be staying. It seemed more like years. It was almost completely dark out and Molly knew that standing in the spot she was at, at the edge of town was probably not the safest thing to be doing. From down the street she could make out the soft tones of Bryn singing in the saloon. No one knew it but for the past few evenings, Molly would stand behind the building that housed the saloon in order to hear her sing sometimes softly singing along with the songs that she knew. She didn't dare venture inside the saloon.

This night, listening to Bryn became too much for Molly and she found herself walking to the outskirts of town. Had she been home, Molly would have gone straight for the inlet just off the boarder of Mr. Roth's property. It had been her place of solitude since she was a girl. The green grass would suddenly give way to fine white sand and the soothing waters of the ocean. The gentle wind carrying the sent of the flowers in Mr. Roth's pasture coupled with the salty sent of the water and the soft lull of the waves would have immediately soothed her. She could close her eyes and see it.

Opening them brought her back to a horrible reality as she looked out over the nothingness that her father now wanted to call home. In spite of the warm evening, Molly shivered, rubbing her hands up and down her arms at the thought that this place would now be called home.

Here the grass, where there was any, was browned by the harsh sun. Flowers were practically non-existent and the wind was harsh and hot, carrying sand and dust that stuck to everything and worst of all her ocean was hundreds of miles away. Never in all her nineteen years had Molly felt this alone. Even when her mother died she had the comfort of friends and the warm familiarity that was Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Here everyone regarded each other with suspicion and save for two people, not a single soul cared about her. She remembered with another shiver the events of the evening before. She was in her room when the gunfire had rang out and even though the quick exchange had lasted only a couple of moments, Molly had felt like an eternity had passed. The thought caused her fingers to reach up to her chest and finger the small gold Clidaugh medallion necklace that she had worn for as long as she could remember. Her material grandfather had given it to her the day she was baptized.

"He told you that for as long as you wore it, you would always be protected," her mother told her when she was a small girl and asked about it. The medallion was as much a part of her as the hair on her head and fingering the small symbol of her heritage always seemed to soothe her.

Now, not even that small reflex brought the girl comfort. Turning around to face the town only made her despair even more. She knew that she should be heading back for the hotel soon. Her father had gone to the ranch that her uncle worked at for the night, reluctantly leaving Molly alone in town. She had over heard an argument between her father and uncle about it.

Things seemed different between them ever since that morning when Molly had left the saloon in tears after being told they would stay here. The two brothers seemed distant and cold to one another, trying to hide it whenever Molly was around. Molly had avoided the saloon and the area around it in the hopes of saving herself embarrassment. Those men and that woman must think I'm perfectly insane, she thought to herself.

Still, she couldn't resist taking up a spot in back of the saloon's building to hear Bryn. Deciding that she should head back to the hotel, Molly began walking down the main street.

"Molly," a voice called out to her. She turned toward it to see Bryn standing outside of the saloon with a woman that Molly didn't know. Molly took in a breath and walked across the street to her. "What are you doing out alone?" she asked almost scolding.

"I wanted some fresh air," was Molly's soft reply. She knew that her father had asked Bryn to watch out for her in his absence.

"I think that you should stay here with me tonight," Bryn said to her.

"Oh I couldn't do that, I'll be fine," she said.

"Nonsense," Bryn exclaimed, her mind already made up. "You're staying here tonight. I did say that I'd watch out for you and besides I could use the company."

"Thank you very much!" came the reply from the woman that was standing next to Bryn.

"Oh, Liisa, you know what I meant," she said playfully swiping at the woman's arm. "Where are my manners, you two don't know each other do ya?"

Molly shook her head looking at the woman who was dressed in pants and a shirt that seemed too large for her small frame. "Molly Gallagher, meet Liisa Kurri." The woman held out a hand to Molly and she took it.

"Glad to know ya," she said to Molly taking note that she seemed timid in a determined sort of way.

"Likewise," Molly replied. The three women spoke for a few more minutes before Molly and Bryn walked up to the hotel so that Molly could gather some things for the night and returned to the saloon. Molly was suprized when they took the back way into the saloon. Bryn seemed to understand her unasked question.

"Lily won't mind that you're here but Mr. Sullivan might," she said the man's name as though she had a bad taste in her mouth. Molly had never met Mr. Sullivan formally but she'd seen him around the town in her week there and had an instant dislike for him, which was unusual for the girl. There always seemed to be a boy with him around her age that she knew he treated badly. They walked up the stairs quietly when Lily suddenly appeared.

Bryn instantly launched into an explanation for why the girl was with her with an overnight bag. Lily let out a laugh and held her hands up in the middle of Bryn's rushed explanation.

"Of course she's more than welcome here," she said smiling warmly at Molly. Molly felt her face flush with embarrassment as memories of the last two times she'd been in this woman's company came to mind. "Your room is much too small for both of you to share. I'll put Molly in my last spare room," she said reaching her arm out to Molly. With a nod from Bryn, Molly walked up the rest of the stairs to Lily and allowed herself to be led to a room at the end of the hall.

"Thank you, Ms. Patterson," Molly said when they reached the doorway.

"You are welcome, cher," she said. "And you can call me Lily."

"Good night, Lily," Molly said.

"Good night," Lily answered her pulling the door softly shut behind her. After a few minutes there was a soft knock on the door. Molly opened it to Bryn.

"I just wanted to make sure you're settled," she said. Molly opened the door wider.

"Did you want to come in for a minute?" she asked. Bryn accepted the invitation and for nearly an hour the two talked. Bryn did most of the talking telling Molly about her life and family in Ireland, the time she spent in New Orleans and her husband Seamus. They promised to meet for breakfast the next day, Bryn telling Molly she wanted to hear all about her 'Island.' Molly woke up with a start. She'd been dreaming but couldn't remember anything. She sat up and pulled her knees up to her chest and placed her chin on them. Then she heard muffled voices in the hall and what seemed to coming from the room across the hall from where she was. Curious Molly got up and stood with her head near the door. The voices became a little clearer.

"I wasn't about to let the girl stay in the hotel by herself," Lily's voice said.

"She is no better than that woman you've got singing," a man's voice said.

"Those people are the same no matter where they're from."

"It is only one night. And if you hadn't shot Casey then you wouldn't have anything to worry about now would you?" This was followed by footsteps angrily retreating down the hall and a door slamming. Molly slowly opened the door and peered out. The door to the room across from hers was half-open and Molly could see Lily sitting in a chair next to a bed that contained someone Molly thought she recognized. It looked like the boy that was always with Mr. Sullivan. Lily looked nearly exhausted as she placed a cloth on his forehead. Molly stepped out of the hall way and into the room. Lily looked up at her with a tired smile.

"What are you doing up, cher?" she asked.

"I couldn't sleep but it looks like you need to," Molly answered.

"I shouldn't leave him," Lily said.

"I'll stay with him if you'd like," Molly offered, wanting to ask what had happened to him but thinking better of it. "You should go get to sleep." Lily handed Molly the bowl with water and stood wearily up out of the chair.

"His name is Casey and if he seems to get worse I want you to get me right away." Molly nodded her understanding.

"Shouldn't a doctor see to him?" she asked. Lily sighed.

"The town doesn't have a doctor per se, only Nathan Jackson and he won't let him near him."

"Why ever not?" Molly asked confused. Lily didn't answer.

"Just come for me if he gets worse." With that Lily left. Molly sat in the chair. After a few minutes the boy in the bed began muttering. It seemed like feverish nonsense to Molly. He muttered names, Bradley, Lucky, Doc. Suddenly his eyes flew open and he struggled to sit up.

"Hush," Molly said placing her hands on the boy's shoulders. "Everything's alright."

"No, I need to check him. Make sure he's be'n looked after," he tried to get out of the bed. As the blanket covering him got knocked off in his struggle to get up, Molly saw that the makeshift bandage that had been applied to his side was red with blood. She also saw that 'he' appeared to be a 'she'. Molly was slightly taken aback but didn't let on what she'd seen, concentrating instead on trying to keep him, or rather her, from getting out of the bed.

"Who, who do you need to look after?" Molly asked. She knew that she should get Lily but didn't want to leave KC alone.

"Lucky, my horse," she said trying to shove Molly off of her.

"I'll go," Molly said. "I'll get Lily and I'll go right now and check on him if you promise to lie still." KC looked at the girl for the first time. He knew her name as being Molly, heard some of the men talk about her. He'd also seen her in town and sometimes behind the building when Bryn was singing. She didn't know KC from Adam, why would she do this for him? "Casey," her voice brought him out of her thoughts. "Casey, will you be still so I can get Lily?" KC nodded if only to see if the girl meant what she said. Molly let go of his shoulders and stood up. "I'll be right back, I promise."

After getting Lily out of bed and apologizing profusely for it, Molly went to her room and changed back into her dress.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lily asked her when she emerged from her room.

"I promised him I'd check his horse," Molly answered, not letting on the apparent secret she'd just uncovered.

"You are absolutely not going alone," Lily said.

"It's bad enough that I had to wake you and I know that Bryn's been ill I'm not going to wake her. I'll be fine, I promise," Molly said.

"And you're one to always keep your promises?" Lily asked, half amused.

"Always," Molly said with a smile. She quietly walked down the back staircase and out side. The town was perfectly quiet. Molly quickly made her way down to the livery. She didn't want to wake the caretaker an older man that she knew was a friend with her uncle named Mr. Sacks. Molly wasn't particularly good with horses. She had never really ridden and knew that unless the horse in question had suddenly sprung another head she wouldn't be able to tell if it was all right. She opened up one of the doors and it gave off a soft groan in protest. Quietly stepping inside the almost pitch-dark barn she could hear the soft sounds of the horses that were boarded there. She tried to remember which one she'd seen KC with earlier that day because she'd forgotten to ask what he looked like before she left. Then she found him at the end of the row of stalls.

"You must be the famous Lucky," she said to the horse in a whisper. "You've got a mistress who's very worried about you," she said cautiously reaching out a hand to stroke the horses nose. She never connected. The noise of the shotgun shell that exploded near her head caused her to place both hands over her ears. Screaming she lost her balance and fell to the ground certain she was dead.