The gang had only been back on the trail for approximately fifteen minutes before the clouds opened up and dumped torrential rain down on them. The dusters they were wearing provided only limited protection against the stinging rain.

The lightning streaking across the darkened sky and the deafening claps of thunder were not helping sooth the horses' nerves.

"Where the hell is Nate and Austin!?" Tim shouts over the noise of the storm. "You'd think they would have found something by now!"

"You're forgetting, Tim, that we are out in no man's land!" Chance answers loudly. "Probably ain't a farmhouse within miles of us!"

"A cave or an abandoned mine would be just fine at the moment!" Adam yells as he tries to shield his face from the stinging rain.

"How are you doing back there, Rob?!" Tim yells over his shoulder.

"Oh, the horses are doing better than me. I can't see sh*t!" The bearded man chuckles as he tries to see through his rain covered glasses.

"Riders coming!!" Adam yells.

Tim looks back around to see two riders riding toward them. Even though the skies were extremely dark and provided very little light, Nate's horse, Ghost, was very easily recognizable.

"IT'S THEM!!" Tim shouts with excitement.

"Did you think we got lost?" Austin laughs.

"It crossed my mind. Find anything?" Tim asks.

"As a matter of fact, we did. There's an old farmhouse up the road away." Nate answers. "There seems to be someone living there but there is a barn. Maybe they'll let us ride out the storm there."

"It's worth a shot. Let's go!" Tim says.

~ 45 minutes later~

"Where the hell is this place? Bumf*cked, Egypt?" Tim asks. His ass was beginning to hurt again and was just needing to get out of the saddle.

"Just up the road a bit." Austin answers. "Off the main path."

"That's what you said thirty minutes ago." Tim argues.

"How on earth did you find this place?" Adam asks as Nate leads them off the main road across a field.

"Oh, Ye of little faith, my friend." Nate chuckles. "I'm a tracker remember."

"There it is!" Austin yells as he points to the farmhouse and the old barn.

"It's not much but at least it's shelter." Tim says as they ride toward the house. "Y'all stay put just in case these people aren't very neighborly and we have to make a run of it." Tim adds as he dismounts Ringo.

Tim walks upon the porch and notices a dim light coming from the window. He knocks on the door and then takes a couple steps back just in case he had to make a quick getaway.

The door slowly opens and Tim finds himself looking down the barrel of a double-barrel shotgun. An older man with a thick mustache glares at him with a raised brow.

"Easy there, old timer, we're not here to start any trouble." Tim says as he holds his hands up. "We were just wanting to asks to use your barn for shelter until this storm passes."

"Wait a minute..." The old man says as he lowers his shotgun. "I know you."

"You do?" Tim asks as he gives Adam a nervous glance over his shoulder. Adam slides his hand inside his duster and rests it on his revolver. His movement goes unnoticed by the old cowboy who was busy eyeing Tim.

"Yes, I do. Tim Foust, right?" The old man smiles. "You and your boys have quite the following around these here parts."

"We do?" Tim asks, causing the old cowboy to chuckle.

Seeing that they were not in any danger, the others begin to dismount.

"Yes, you do. You're quite the heroes around here." The cowboy smiles under his large mustache as he reaches out to shake Tim's hand. "My name is Sam. I don't mind at all for you boys to bed down in my barn."

"You're very kind, sir." Adam smiles.

"My wife is fixin supper and you boys look like you could use some decent food in your bellies." Sam says. "We'd be honored if you'd join us."

"It's not beans is it?" Tim asks before being elbowed in the ribs by his lover.

"Hell no. I've eaten enough beans in my lifetime." Sam laughs.

"We don't want to intrude." Adam says.

"Non-sense, you won't be intruding at all." An older but very pretty lady says as she walks up beside her husband. "I'm Lilly. We have plenty. Won't you join us?"

"Well, I have to admit, it does smell pretty good." Tim smiles.

"Come in out of the rain." Sam says as he steps out of the doorway, propping his shotgun up by the door.

"You can hang you wet dusters over by the fire to dry." Lilly says as she heads back to the kitchen. "Supper will be done shortly."

The guys made themselves comfortable in the cozy living room, enjoying the warmth of the fire.

"I heard what you boys did in Rock Ridge." Sam says as he offers them cigars to which they all declined politely. "Wiping out the town's so-called sheriff and his lynch mob was the best thing that ever happened to that town. He enjoyed ruling the town with an iron fist."

"We did what we had to do." Tim says with a shrug.

"You remind me a lot of myself in my younger days." Sam smiles. "Ever heard of the Dalton gang?"

"Of course, who hasn't heard of the Dalton gang?" Tim smiles.

"You rode with the Daltons?" Chance asks with amusement.

"Yep, for several years up in Oklahoma." Sam nods. "You might say I'm retired now."

"Is he boring you boys with his stories." Lilly giggles from the doorway wiping her hands on her apron.

"No, mam. Not at all. We had no idea we were in the presence of a legend." Tim smiles.

"Yeah..." Lilly says with a soft sigh. "But it definitely wasn't easy falling in love with an outlaw."

"Tell me about it." Adam mumbles with a nod.

"I heard rumors about you two being sweet on each other." Sam says with a smirk. "I don't quite understand it but whatever makes you happy."

"If you guys are ready to eat, supper is done." Lilly smiles as she heads back to the kitchen.

They walk into the kitchen and Tim's jaw drops at all the mouth-watering food on the table.

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, boiled corn, black-eyed peas, turnip greens and home-made biscuits.

"You boys have a seat." Sam chuckles at their shocked faces.

"Mam, this is delicious." Austin says as he takes another bite of a chicken leg.

Sam watches the gang eat as if it had been days since they had had a decent meal. He remembers those days too well. Living off beans and coffee.

"Thank you." Lilly smiles. "Eat all you want, there's plenty to go around."

"God, this is so good." Tim says as he sops up some gravy with a biscuit.

Adam nods as he shovels a fork full of black-eyed peas into his mouth.

"I can't even remember the last time I've had boiled corn." Chance chuckles as he finishes his third ear of corn.

"I can't remember having food this good, period." Rob adds.

"Excuse me for asking..." Sam says as he turns his attention to the unknown bearded man with glasses. "But who are you?"

*********

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