Caitlin Slocum was the last of four generations to own Infinity Ranch. Jack and Amy Slocum had handed the reins to Charlie and Susan, who in turn had given way to Tom and Kathleen. All too soon, Tom and Kathleen had passed the care and stewardship of all the secrets that were Infinity Ranch over to their adopted daughter, Kitty.

In all, Kitty's home was a tidy place. Behind the garden, the smokehouse contained a fair number of cheeses that she'd made, though there was plenty of room for the hog she'd butcher come autumn. Behind the farmstead, nearly three thousand acres of wilderness stretched out, home to some five hundred head of cattle, along with a small herd of buffalo and the usual wildlife.

Anyone riding up for the first time would think the ranch a mere farm, for fences protected garden and long row-crops from mischievous pets and stray cattle alike. Various farm animals grazed over what open ground the garden and crops didn't take up. Such was unusual on a ranch, the sowing of so many different crops aside from the kitchen garden and the variety of animals housed in the barn, but Kitty's grandmother had been a farm girl at heart and had endeavored to plant as many different crops as she deemed necessary for the proper running of the household.

"The ranch is like life that way," Kitty's grandfather used to say. "It's a giant circle, the farm and the ranch, us and 'the boys', you and I, life and death. One cannot survive without the other."

Danny's wife, Summer, came back the following morning with Danny's own clothing and weapons. Danny spent quite a bit of time exclaiming over his knife, wondering how she'd found it. Summer only shrugged, appearing pleased by the attention, none the less. She had also brought back a horse for her husband to ride home, one that Kitty approved of. Danny professed to be merely grateful that it wasn't Stumpy Legs and rode home with his wife perched behind him. Caleb watched them leave until the trees hid the horse from view.

"We're going up there tomorrow," Kitty pointed out from behind him, making Caleb jump. "Sorry," she apologized when he turned around. "You usually hear me coming."

"Just thinking, I guess," he shrugged. "What do you need me to do today, Boss Lady?"

Kitty shook her head. "Well, there's never a lack of things to do," she pointed out, "but I can't think of anything truly pressing about now."

"Wood needs to be cut before winter," he suggested, "unless you plan to burn buffalo chips."

His suggestion made Kitty laugh. "I don't dare," she told him merrily. "The folks on the ridge need them all."

"Then we'll need to be cutting a load of logs," he decided with a grin.

"Can't do that without a full team; guess I'll need to be headed to town soon in order to replace Jim and Dobbin." Kitty bit her lip, obviously worrying.

"We can wait on the wood," Caleb told her. "No use rushing off to town unless you have to. Those harnesses need some repair and I'm sure I can find something to keep busy with in the barn." Deliberately, Caleb kept quiet about his project, wanting to surprise her.

"And I need to clean the office and recovery," Kitty said quietly. "Would you mind bringing water first? You haul a lot more at a time than I do."

Caleb grinned at her subtle compliment and grabbed her water pails. "Sure, Boss."

When Caleb returned, he poured one pail into the water reservoir on the stove and the other into a kettle she used for heating water on laundry days, sat the kettle on the stove top and stoked the fire before heading out to refill the empty pails. After he'd finished carrying water, Caleb paused for a moment at the wellhead, surveying the yard.

He'd tightened up the fences and the garden was coming nicely. He supposed the potatoes could use a little attention perhaps but other than repairing the harnesses that had been shot up when Dobbin and Big Jim had been killed, only the equipment needed any attention at all beyond the usual barn chores. With a satisfied smile, Caleb went to repair the harnesses before returning to his project at the far end of the barn. With any luck, he'd have the equipment under cover before it was time to drive the cattle to the railhead in town.

Kitty had yet to start dinner when Caleb brought in the milk and eggs from the barn, so he fetched a jar of meat from the pantry and started a simple dinner- can of meat, a couple of potatoes, carrots and an onion for a quick stew. It wasn't like Miss Kitty not to have dinner ready after barn chores were done.

She still hadn't appeared after the carrots and potatoes were cooked through, so Caleb stuck his head through the kitchen door and called. "Boss Lady, is everything all right?"

She appeared from the parlor, a bandanna covering her hair and a dirt-streaked apron over her split skirts and blouse. "Sure; everything's fine, why?"

"It's after chore time and dinner's ready. Anything you need help with?" Caleb studied her carefully. Underneath the grime of her cleaning efforts, he could see the remnant of tears on her face.

Kitty flushed crimson. "Oh, I forgot dinner! I'm sorry, Caleb. You shouldn't have to work hard outside and come in to make dinner too."

She sounded so distressed that Caleb started worrying that she might be ready to cry all over again. He grinned, trying to reassure her. "It's all right, really. I didn't have much that was overly-pressing."

Not knowing what else to say, Caleb withdrew back to the kitchen to wait for her, knowing she'd want to clean up some before she sat down. With nothing else to do, Caleb fussed, setting the table and filling a pitcher with cold water.

When Kitty appeared, she glanced around the kitchen and tears sprang into her eyes again. She held them back though. "Thank you, Caleb," was all she said as she sat to eat from the plate he'd filled for her.

Having seated her, Caleb sat to eat his own dinner. "Did you get your surgery clean?" he asked by way of conversation.

She nodded. "And the recovery and parlor; I oughta start on the dining room sometime, I suppose."

Caleb realized she was burying herself in hard work and missing Jethro. "Well, tomorrow, we're headed up to the ridge, so it'll have to wait at least that long," he commented before applying himself to his dinner. It wasn't nearly as good as Miss Kitty's fixings; he decided after his second bite and was downright morose about the meal by his fifth.

The sound of hoof-beats by the corral had Caleb scrambling to finish his last few bites, however. Kitty took his empty plate and hid it under the dishpan. "Go into the parlor," she hissed. "You can hear everything from in there and the drapes'll hide you if need be." Caleb went.

The marshal's voice, sounding anxious, soon wafted through the walls. "Miss Kitty?" he called from outside; "you hereabouts?"

"Hello, Marshal," Kitty greeted him. "What brings you so far from town again, another poster?"

"No, Ma'am," he answered promptly. "There's a burned-out wagon about halfway between here and town that sure resembles your'n."

"I bet it does," Miss Kitty said. Caleb could hear the grin in her voice. "I bet the three dead horses sure look like my team and saddle horse, too; and if you look careful, I bet they're wearing my brand."

"Do you mind if I light a spell?" asked the marshal. "I think we have a few things to discuss." The creak of leather announced the marshal dismounting his horse.

"We can sit out here on the porch," offered Miss Kitty helpfully. "Kitchen's a mite hot today."

"I'd like that," the marshal decided. The squeak of the porch rockers told Caleb he'd made himself comfortable. "Now, about that wagon; anything you want to tell me, in particular?"

Kitty sighed. "Marshal, you know well enough how the thing between me and Mr. Grady started . . ." she began.

The marshal's chuckle interrupted her. "I sure do. That boy's mama wanted me to press charges. I talked her out of it on account of him starting it all."

"And I surely did appreciate that," Kitty reminded him. "But he don't seem much inclined to forgive and forget."

"He might, now that you've managed to kill three of his friends," the marshal told her frankly.

"They attacked me in the dead of night, killed my team, set fire to the grass to smoke me out and shot Jethro. Billy Lewis especially, got what was coming his way."

The marshal named three men, of whom Billy Lewis was first. "They're all dead, Miss Kitty," the marshal told her gently. "Billy was out of his mind when he died, talking about injuns and ghosts. Who else was there besides Jim Grady?"

"I can't rightly prove it, but I'm sure one of the voices belonged to Dan Short and another one to Jimmy Seale. Lord knows I heard enough of their jabber to say for certain, that night!" Anger rose in Kitty's voice as she spoke. Caleb wished he could see her face.

"Did any of them actually attack you?" the marshal asked.

"Dan Short has that Sharps .50 and I heard that often enough to say yes. Other than that, I don't know for sure. There were a couple of .45s . . ." Her voice trailed off as she thought about it. Caleb heard the quaver in her voice and knew her memories weren't pleasant ones.

"All right, Kitty. Can you come back to town on Monday so we can talk more?" asked the marshal gently. "I'm going to need an exact list of everything you lost in that wagon, not to mention the horses." Kitty agreed and the marshal took his leave. Caleb came out of hiding.

"Well, that didn't take long enough," commented Kitty when he arrived.

"I'll go to town and wait for you just inside the trees," Caleb assured her. "In the meantime, we're going visiting tomorrow, so why don't we turn in early tonight?"

"Since I lost my lantern," Miss Kitty groused, "I have to go to bed early anyway." Caleb laughed and headed for the dishpan.

When he'd finished washing and Kitty had put the clean dishes away, Caleb ran a hand through his hair and over his beard. "If we're going to church tomorrow, do you think I should have this mop trimmed?"

Kitty laughed at him. "Nah, just tie it back. You'll fit right in." But she grabbed a chair anyway. "Let me get my scissors and a razor," she promised.

Caleb sat in the chair, relieved. He'd been shaving with his bowie knife since he was old enough to grow whiskers but he'd never caught on to cutting his own hair with it. Somehow, it always came out looking as if a rat had gnawed it off.

She returned with a small stack of linens with a cake of soap, razor, strop and scissors. "How do you like it?" Kitty asked as she tucked a towel down his shirt collar.

Caleb turned his head to smile up at her while she wetted another with hot water to wrap around his jaw. "Off my shirt and tidy; some of the boys on the Flying P cut their own hair but I don't like using my knife to cut my hair. I can never get it short enough." He'd barely finished speaking when she draped the hot cloth over his face in order to soften up his whiskers.

"All right," she replied cheerfully, stropping her razor. After a moment, she removed the towel, lathered his face and started shaving.

Caleb held still, trying not to notice how much he liked her hands on his face or how gentle she was with her razor. When she'd finished his shave, Miss Kitty used one hand to push on the back of his head. "Chin down, please."

Obediently, Caleb tucked his chin down, hearing the quiet 'snick' of the scissors. Eventually, Kitty removed the towel and shook the hair on it down onto a surprisingly large pile of hair on the floor. "There you go, Cowboy," she told him cheerfully as she grabbed her broom, "neat and tight, as requested."

"Thank you kindly, Ma'am," he told her, standing up. She'd been sweeping just in front of his chair when he stood, leaving the two of them rather close. She looked up at him and touched a scar on his cheek. "Caleb Waite," she murmured. "I had no idea you look so nice under all that hair."

Driven to distraction by the feel of her hands in his hair during his grooming and the very nearness of the woman, Caleb bent and kissed her gently. Her hands slid up around his neck and his around her waist until Caleb came to his senses and drew back. "I'm sorry, Boss," he choked. "I should never have done that."

Kitty didn't remove her hands. "I'm not," she retorted gently. "And I surely wouldn't mind another one." She tugged at his neck and Caleb obliged her with a brief, gentle kiss before releasing her entirely.

"I'd better get out to the bunkhouse," he told her, "before I don't go at all, and that wouldn't be right."

"No, I suppose not," she agreed reluctantly. "Caleb . . ."

Before she could finish, he cut her off. "I got no future, Caitlin," Caleb reminded her; reminded himself. "No matter how much I want different, I can't marry you knowing you'd so soon be a widow and I won't have you if I can't marry you proper- in town."

Her expression turned regretful. "I suppose that's one of the things I love about you- your honor. Good night, Cowboy."

"'Night, Boss Lady." Caleb left in a hurry, needing to spend some time on his knees before he climbed into bed.

The following day saw Kitty and Caleb mounted and headed up to the ridge, to the hidden village there. Neither one spoke much beyond what was necessary, the kiss of the evening before hanging heavily between them. Entering the trees, Caleb stared around in wonder.

Amidst the trees, traditional tents were interspersed with small cabins and a few homes were comprised of the two combined. The people who lived there were a fine mix of black, white and native. Almost all of the residents were dressed in deerskin though a few of the women wore wool dresses.

Men and women alike were armed with knives, some steel and some flint. Most of the men were armed with black longbows, their quivers sporting black arrows. Everyone spoke English, though their fluency seemed to vary.

Kitty jumped from Porgy's back and left him ground tied, so Caleb followed suit. A swarm of children surrounded the horses to remove their tack. Nervously, Caleb watched the two horses, ready to call out a warning if need be, but even ill-mannered Porgy stood still, seeming to enjoy the attention.

Danny Three-Trees walked slowly out from a tent to meet them, followed closely behind by Summer. He'd only walked a few steps when several other men of the village joined him. "Welcome to our village, Caleb Waite," Danny called. "Flame-Haired Woman, it's been too long since you graced these trees."

Kitty laughed. "You always were a silver-tongued son of the Slocums, Danny Three-Trees. It's good to be here!" She closed the distance to hug her cousin gingerly before greeting the others by name.

Caleb was soon lost in a veritable storm of names. Ghost-Who-Rides had come with his family from Texas, having stumbled on the ranch on his way to Canada. Danny had married one of his daughters.

Another daughter, Rain, had married an older trapper who'd dared Infinity's fences in order to set his trapline. Seeing the peaceful existence and a chance for a life he'd always wanted, the trapper, Jack Turner, had sent his donkey off without him and simply disappeared, furthering the legends surrounding the 'Lazy 8'.

Still another was a black woman from another town who'd been fleeing an abusive family. Having heard tales of people entering the ranch and never leaving, Jenny Applewhite had intended her crossing the fence to be a form of suicide, never dreaming that she might find happiness in a teepee. In all, some two hundred, thirty people made their homes among the trees there.

Danny's father, Reverend Three-Trees, having been raised on a Canadian reserve, had been trained for the Ministry at a boarding school in Canada. He'd crossed into the U.S. with the intent to bring the Gospel to his fellow natives 'south of the border' and met Tom Slocum while Tom was on his way home from the War Between the States. Curious about Tom's lack of racism and wanting to meet Tom's family, John Three-Trees accepted an invitation to preach a sermon to the ranch's residents and never left. Instead, he'd married Tom's sister Annie and built her a cabin on the ridge.

From there, everyone's names became a blur to Caleb as entire families were introduced. Finally, the reverend laughed and reminded his son that it had taken him years to learn everyone's names, and that no one would expect the newcomer to remember them all.

Danny glanced up at the sky sheepishly. "And the day grows long into your sermon time?" he teased his father affectionately. Nevertheless, he turned to Caleb. "Come, you will sit with my family this morning."

Caleb smiled at him. "I'd like that." He followed Danny and Summer, expecting to find a cabin that had been built as a church. To his surprise, Reverend John led his flock to a place where a stone ridge created a natural stage about four feet higher than the rest of the hillside.

A small pit had been hollowed out on the stage and Caleb could see small pits among the trees where other fires were habitually built as well. Near one of these pits, Danny, Summer, and their young son sat down while the reverend climbed up onto the stage. "In winter," explained Summer, "we build small fires for warmth."

"What do you do when it rains?" asked Caleb curiously.

"We get wet," Danny laughed. Summer elbowed him as his father started to speak.

∞

Farther down the hill, Kitty had chosen to sit with Ghost-Who-Rides and his family. Together, they enjoyed the sermon and the songs of praise and worship, both traditional and English. Kitty wondered what Caleb thought of their worship and briefly wished she could see his face before deciding it would probably be too distracting if she could see him instead of the pastor and would make the temptation to speak to him too great.

Eventually, the sermon drew to a close and Reverend Three-Trees prayed for his congregation. Before ending the service, however, he motioned to Caleb with his hand. "You all have seen our guest," he said, then added with a mischievous grin, "and some of you have even met him." Even Caleb had to grin at that, thinking of the black arrows sported by so many quivers in the village.

"This man, Caleb Waite, has risked his life for my son, our Brother Danny Three-Trees. He, like each of us, hides from the outside world for reasons of his own. As with all who come here, we have a choice to make. Will he be one of us? And Caleb, you too, have a choice to make. Will you be one of us, to keep our secrets and stay?"

Caleb didn't answer immediately. He thought of the wanted poster in the marshal's possession, of the kiss he'd shared with Kitty the night before, of the ravaged girl in Texas. "I'll keep your secrets," he assured the reverend solemnly, "and I would give my life to protect Miss Kitty and her family here on the ranch but I'm not sure I can promise never to leave. See, most everyone in town there knows I'm somewhere on this ranch and with the reward promised for my hide, eventually, they're gonna' come looking for me. I can't hide forever, even if I wanted to."

"You don't wish to hide?" asked the reverend in honest confusion. "Why did you cross the fence then, if not to hide?"

"To hide for a time," Caleb allowed quietly. "But . . ." his voice trailed off and he swallowed. "I'm no outlaw and I can't ask you all to put yourselves in danger on my account. If they come for me . . ."

The reverend put one hand up, halting Caleb's words. "You have honor, Caleb Waite. You are welcome within our village and you will be counted a Brother, both now and into Eternity." He nodded his head, just once.

In response to the nod, Danny Three-Trees jumped to his feet and removed his bow and quiver from around his shoulders. "You are my brother, Caleb, and I am yours. We are your people and you are one of ours."

"I will not let you down," Caleb promised the gathering grimly; finally, fully realizing the burden that 'Flame-Haired Woman' daily carried.

Danny drew close in order to put the bow and quiver over Caleb's shoulders. "Only no more linger in the kitchen after dinner," Danny murmured so that no one else could hear.

"I . . ." Caleb sighed and lowered his voice as well as the bow and quiver settled over his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Danny."

"Why?" Danny asked with a grin. He winked and reverted playfully into pidgin English. "She give you doe-eyes. What brave stand up to that? Flame-Haired Woman, she stubborn."

"You were there?"

"Looking in the windows; tonight, Charlie Three-Trees will take a turn." Danny replied in a normal voice, motioning toward his brother.

"Tell him to join us. No point in hanging around outside when he can come in and enjoy the company." Caleb's wry suggestion made Danny laugh out loud and pound Caleb on the back. For a wounded man, Caleb thought that Danny was rapidly gaining his strength back!

"Come," Summer said, rising from her place on the ground. "We will eat soon." Danny grinned his agreement and followed his wife's lead, beckoning Caleb to follow.

∞

Farther down the hill, Kitty watched the simple ceremony with mixed emotions. He had refused to promise he'd stay. She wondered if he was planning to leave already.

Unaware of her thoughts Ghost-Who-Rides leaned over to speak quietly to his friend. "He speak to us when he leave bunkhouse at night. You know that? We shoot at him sometimes." Ghost-Who-Rides chuckled at Kitty's horrified expression. "Never hit, Flame Haired Woman, only warn him."

"I knew about the first time, but when was the second?" Kitty couldn't help but ask.

"He wanted leave red clothes on back porch." Since she'd known about the second time and not the first, Kitty silently wondered what the first time had been but she only nodded.

"He hides from the army, same as you," Kitty reminded him. "The only difference is that he is known to them when you are not."

"You keep?" questioned the man carefully. Kitty made note that there was no hint of disapproval or warning in his voice.

"We get on together," she agreed. "And it seems good to have a blacksmith again." After a pause, Kitty added, "and a hand with the branding." They both shared a grin.

"You tell our secrets?"

Kitty thought of her new employee's determination. "He found them out on his own. The real question should be, 'what should I do about town?' We lost the wagon and a good team." There was a quaver in Kitty's voice when she added, "and Jethro."

"It bad thing, you lose medicine dog with Stranger in bunkhouse," Ghost-Who-Rides commented. "We guard more since."

Knowing that her friends didn't view dogs in the same light as she did, Kitty refrained from further comment about the loss of her beloved pet. Ghost-Who-Rides had come from Texas several years before and viewed Jethro as 'medicine' or good luck. The others from the ridge merely viewed her pet as a useful animal with no more importance than one of the sheep.

"I will miss Dobbin and Big Jim." Ghost-Who-Rides' quiet comment broke the silence and Kitty realized that he was trying to commiserate with her. They might not understand the dog, but her friends from the ridge understood horses and knew the names of nearly a hundred of them, every horse on her ranch.

"At least we still have Dan and Molly," Kitty reminded him, knowing how much her companion liked the heavy horses, "Molly will have a foal in the spring and when I buy more, you will train them. The wagon will need to be replaced." She sighed heavily. "And the canning jars."

"Those, can be replaced, Flame Haired Woman, but you? No; I and others follow you to town from now on."

"If you wish. I would not turn aside the company." Kitty slanted a teasing look at him. "Not that I could keep you away anyway."

"We promise Ember Woman, that we protect you."

"As I promised Ma that I would protect you and the others at the same time. Infinity is my home and you all are my family, Ghost-Who-Rides."

"Stranger worries about you. He no leave when others afraid to stay, he leave to find you when others hide. He is good, I think."

"I told him not to leave the ranch."

"He takes orders from a squaw?"

"Just Flame Haired Woman," Kitty grinned. "If the army catches him, they'll kill him even before leaving Infinity."

"We not let that happen." He slanted a glance at her. "He like me and all others that come to us." With that, Ghost-Who-Rides rose from his place in order to leave the congregation spot and Kitty followed suit, meaning to lunch with Danny and Summer.

Ghost-Who-Rides turned back to Kitty before they reached the village. "You be at corral tomorrow night for steers. Stranger put out wood for fires yesterday. He say market good now."

"Tomorrow, I must tell the marshal what has happened today. Will you bring in the steers while we are gone?" Kitty asked him. Privately, she marveled at Caleb's willingness to work, even when she hadn't asked him to do anything.

"You ask?" he grinned before heading for home. "I see it done- always." Kitty grinned at his back without answering. She could always count on Ghost-Who-Rides to make sure such things were done. He seemed to have a gift for organizing others. Kitty felt that the ranch was blessed to have him, even if he didn't always quite believe what Reverend John taught.