When Rose finally woke it was late in the afternoon. She sat up and rubbed groggily at her eyes. Looking down she realized the quilt from the end of the bed had been laid over her. She shook her head as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. It was a wonder Peter managed to look out for himself with all the time he spent worrying about her. It was sweet of him to check on her though. She had been so exhausted this morning when she finally made it up to her room she had fallen asleep on top of her bed still in her clothes from the night before.

The smell of Miss Lilly's fried chicken guided her down the stairs, across the empty main room and into the kitchen.

"Afternoon sleepy head," Miss Lilly teased gently as she bustled around the room.

Miss Rose smiled in return. "How's Dan?"

Miss Lilly stirred a pot on the stove and continued to hustle around the kitchen. "He's better. The boys moved him upstairs a few hours ago and he's been sleeping. I wasn't sure what you had planned for serving tonight-" Miss Lilly drug off motioning towards the stove.

Rose snorted and waved her off. She had absolutely no problem with Miss Lilly reclaiming her kitchen. "Where upstairs?" Rose asked. She spied a pile of potatoes it looked like Miss Lilly had started to peel and she began to help.

"Hmm?" Miss Lilly asked, glancing back over her shoulder. "Oh, Forrest gave us his room to stay in." She shook her head and Rose got the impression Miss Lilly had tried to talk him out of it. "Probably be a few days before we can move Dan home." Miss Lilly said sagely. She stepped up to where Rose was peeling potatoes and shooed her off. "We should be ready to open for dinner in half hour. You best take yourself upstairs and get cleaned up, your hair looks like a birds nest."

Rose shook her head and complied willingly. Half an hour later Miss Lilly had unlocked the door and they were serving dinner ten minutes after that. Rose found she had more down time with Miss Lilly back and the stress of the day seemed to have Miss Lilly moving faster than normal. It was as though she were afraid of she stopped she would fall apart. Rose understood that better than anyone and simply stayed out of her way, helping where she was able.

Half way through the dinner crowd Peter and Arthur came through the door and sat down at the counter. Neither one looked like they had slept. Arthur laid his down on his hands and closed his eyes. Miss Lilly bustled out to the clucking over them and putting heaping plates in front of them. She disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a third. She motioned to Miss Rose.

"You eat too," she commanded and rather than upset her further Rose meekly went around the counter and sat next to Peter.

She stared down at the double portion of food in amazement. How was she supposed to eat all this. Peter noticed and chuckled.

"Miss Lilly doesn't handle stress well, when she can't control everything she cooks." He said in a quiet voice. Then glanced around the immaculately clean room. "...and cleans." He added taking a bite of his food.

Rose nodded and started in on her fried chicken. She closed her eyes at the first bite, savoring it. She was only a fair cook, but Miss Lilly was the best cook Rose had ever met and she had been eating her own cooking for far too long.

"Where's Forrest?" Rose asked glancing around. "I'm amazed Miss Lilly isn't force feeding him out here too."

Arthur leaned around Peter. "He and Eddie are out on the porch keeping an eye out for trouble."

The food seemed to lose all its flavor in her mouth and for a moment she wasn't sure she could swallow the mouth full she had. They had all mentioned the possibility of retaliation but she hadn't thought it would come here per say. She hadn't thought of it as something they needed to have someone sitting armed at the front door over. She finally choked the bite down and pushed her plate away. Her appetite was gone.

Peter watched her closely and reached out, covering her hand resting on the counter with his. He gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Nothing to worry about," he promised.

Rose nodded but she found herself no longer wanting to sit with her back to the room. She got up and scanned the room. She recognized everyone of the men here by sight, She scooped up her nearly full plate and brought it back to the kitchen. She replenished what little she had eaten and took it and a second plate out for Forrest and Eddie.

Eddie sat in the worn rocker with the Garrett's shot gun across his knees. Rose handed him the second plate and he smiled at her in thanks.

Forrest sat with on leg hanging off the edge of the porch the other drawn up. She didn't see a gun, but she knew it was there. She moved and sat down next to him, putting the plate on the floor between them. Forrest looked up at her and nodded a thank you.

She gave him a weak smile. He dug into his plate and ate silently while Rose turned her eyes to the trees. The sun was setting but this far up in the hollow the sun had been down for a long time. The only evidence was the deep pink and red streaks that slashed across the western sky.

A cool breeze blew through the trees, tossing the leaves and branches and made Rose shiver. Forrest looked up at her and frowned at her. "You cold?" He asked.

"Hmmm?" She asked turning back to him. "Oh, no I'm fine." She said with a grim smile.

Forrest nodded and scooped another mouthful of food.

After another few minutes Rose turned back to Forrest and asked in a low voice. "Do you really expect trouble?"

Forrest swallowed. "Probably not, but better to be safe than sorry."

Rose nodded, but didn't look away from the trees.

"Hey," Forrest said in a more stern voice.

Rose flinched in surprise and looked back at him. He had startled her but she wasn't afraid.

"We're gonna be fine."

Rose stared hard into Forrest's bottle green eyes and for the first time she wasn't intimidated. She nodded, so he would know she believed him. She scooped up his empty plate and went back inside.

<><><><><>

Miss Lilly, Eddie and Dan stayed with them for another three days before Miss Lilly consented to moving Dan back up the hollow. The first night Miss Lilly and Dan were home Forrest and Peter stayed out all night but there were no problems. The first couple days after the boys were tense and on edge but when no trouble came they slowly settled back into the rhythms of daily life at the store and Miss Rose let herself believe they could put the entire incident behind them.