Grizzlies West, Ambarino, 1899.

Goddamn O'Driscolls. I may be one wretched son-of-a-bitch, but Colm and his lot can show you just how evil the hearts of men can be. Lord only knows for how long they tormented this woman.

Mrs. Sadie Adler. I ain't quite sure how to understand her. I ain't ever been married or had a woman I loved. I shot most women and never looked back. Ain't I a damn hypocrite.

I guess everyone has a lapse in who they thought they were. But, right now, I've got to give this poor bastard a proper burial. Least that can be done.

It had been over an hour and the damn snow wasn't letting up. I carried Jake's sorry corpse over the field to bury him on his land. I caught a glimpse of Sadie peering through the window as I stuffed ol' Jake Adler's body into a pit and stuck a wooden cross next to it, with his name and final message etched on there, as requested by Mrs. Adler.

I bended my knee and bowed my head down at the grave. I took a deep sigh.

I said a small prayer and put my hat back on, returning to the homestead afterwards.

Sadie had changed into something more appropriate for outer wear. The woman was still crying while looking at the wedding photo of her and her deceased husband. When she saw me approach, she quickly wiped away her face and set the frame down.

"Don't stop yer grievin' on my account," I told her.

"I'm not, I'm just, I'm trying to come to grips with all this."

I sat down across from her and unholstered one of my revolvers and began cleaning the carbon off it with an oily rag that I kept in my pocket.

"You seem like a well-traveled man," she suddenly noted.

"Yeah? What gave it away?"

She returned to her silent gaze while I finished cleaning the gun and switched to my other one.

"What were you doing all the way out here?"

"Hmph," I grunted, "That's my business to worry about, Mrs. Adler."

"Sorry. It just seems like a godsend that you'd be out here when those men showed up."

"Maybe. Maybe it was all just dumb luck."

"Maybe so."

Without anything else to say to her, I departed her company to give her some time to grieve while I checked on Arty.

The horse whinnied from the cold, so I slowly stroked her mane and patted on her as she let out a soft nicker in response.

"You alright, girl, here ya go,"

I handed her a soft carrot, to which she munched on happily. A smile creaked on my face as I felt her a bit happier than she was before when we was approaching this property.

My smile quickly faded as I saw something out the corner of my eye.

The lights and sounds of horses and chatter came up closely. I rushed back into the house, scaring Sadie as she gasped from my sudden appearance. She nervously stood up.

"What the hell's going on?"

I quickly placed my hand over her mouth to keep her from speaking more. I gestured with a finger over my lips to remain silent and pointed outside as the unmistakable noise of approaching riders encroached upon the property.

She looked as though she had seen a ghost as I moved her back into the cellar until I ensured everything was safe.

From a different perspective…

Micah Bell's tip of a homestead down a ways from their camp at Colter had Dutch and Arthur following blindly in the forsaken blizzard. They had been on the run from Blackwater down south for a while now, some of their gang that wasn't freezing half-to-death were either already dead or captured. Davey Callander was the most recent victim of the unforgiving cold as they reached an old mining camp.

"Goddamn this snow right down to the bone!" Dutch frustratingly shouted, with his gruff and guttural voice.

He shivered while keeping hold of the reins of his trusted White Arabian steed, The Count, while Arthur Morgan, his most trusted right-hand man for almost twenty years now, rolled his eyes at the pair.

"You sure this 'bout this, Bell? What if it's a trap?"

Micah snorted with a raspy laugh at Arthur's hesitance.

"Look, cowpoke. I'm pretty sure they won't mind if we… ask them to bunk with them for the night. Besides, what could possibly go wrong?" he joked terribly.

The three made their way to the homestead just like Micah had pointed out. But, something wasn't quite right. Micah had reported that it was buzzing with noise and light, but now it was all quiet with dim lights inside. But, a new problem had arisen upon the three outlaws.

A leopard-spotted horse was tethered up near the home, which only meant one thing…

…it was time to make a house call.

Beta Read and Revised by: Aferus