The next morning, Stephen took Lenny and the kid back in the carriage.

  No denying, this family had some serious loot stashed in their basement. Now it all belonged to Stephen.

  He meant what he told Lenny – he was actually getting fond of the place.

  Secluded, far from the crowds, and most importantly, the scenery was damn beautiful.

  All in all, settling down here could be a damn good choice.

  Of course, just living here was easy. A little tidying up, and it would be alright.

  Like this family, living steady lives.

  But if he wanted to turn this place into a real business, that would take some serious cash.

  Though the place ain't big, money could be earned gradually.

  Stephen drove the carriage, dreaming of the good life ahead. Meanwhile, Lenny kept talking to the boy.

  The kid seemed dazed by everything that had happened. Any sudden noise would make him flinch.

  "You seem to like kids a lot," Stephen said, smiling at Lenny’s gentle face.

  "Sure, kids are cute," Lenny looked up at Stephen. "Why? Don't you?"

  "Nah, it's not that," Stephen shook his head. "It's just... I don't know how to handle them."

  "They hardly understand what you're saying, always want what they want without restraint, and cry if they don't get it."

  "They're easy to understand; you just haven't found the right way," Lenny said, holding the boy in his arms, making him laugh.

  "We used to help kids, women, and old folks all the time. You pick it up after a while."

  Stephen became more curious about the Van der Linde gang. "What did you guys used to do? Can you tell me?"

  Lenny thought for a moment. "Hmm... a lot. Like the time we robbed a stagecoach. We thought it was full of rich people, so we decided to hit it."

  "But then Javier and Arthur found out it was just women and kids, so they let them go."

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Just like that?" Stephen said, surprised. "That doesn't sound like something robbers would do."

  "Haha, I know, right?" Lenny chuckled, then turned somber. "But two days later, we saw in the papers that those same folks ran into the O'Driscoll gang..."

  "Oh, man..." Stephen knew exactly what must have happened to them.

  "What's the deal with you guys and the O'Driscolls? Personal beef?" Stephen asked.

  "Sort of," Lenny said, unsure.

  "It's an old story, before the gang was this big. I wasn't even in the gang yet, I just heard Arthur and them talk about it."

  "Back then, Dutch and Colm were friends; they even worked together a few times."

  "Then something went wrong, and they fell out. Dutch killed Colm's brother, and Colm killed Dutch's girl."

  "What a mess," Stephen couldn't help but say.

  It was like some corny soap opera plot...

  "Sure is a mess. Anyway, the two gangs have been fighting ever since," Lenny said, shrugging.

  Lenny told Stephen stories from the past. Stephen shared some of his own fun facts with Lenny.

  They chatted all the way to Strawberry, where Sheriff Malloy was waiting for him at the edge of town.

  Stephen saw Malloy's nervous face and handed the reins to Lenny, walking over to the sheriff.

  "Take it easy, man," Stephen said quietly.

  "The boy..." Malloy was shaking, his lips trembling. "

  "Yep. If no one else has been taken recently, that's him. I wanted to ask, but the boy is in no state for it."

  Stephen said slowly, "There's also the body of a girl in the carriage. And, of course, the corpse of the perp."

  Before Stephen could finish, Sheriff Malloy rushed to the carriage.

  He opened the cover and looked at the body, completely falling apart.

  His cousin’s entire family, leaving only this boy.

  Stephen felt his own heart ache when he saw Malloy holding the boy, sobbing.

  Family, truly the weakness of a man.

  Stephen took out his camera and snapped a picture of Malloy holding the boy, crying. He also took one of the bodies in the carriage.

  Hope that Welen Ike wasn't too disturbed by those photos.

  There wasn't much to say, Stephen took Lenny to the hotel.

  Lenny was still a little worried about coming into Strawberry, but with Stephen’s confidence, he felt relieved.

  The two of them spent a peaceful night in the hotel.

  The next morning, Malloy had someone deliver a small box. Stephen opened it and found a thick stack of bills.

  The man said it was a thank-you gift from Malloy.

  Stephen didn’t hesitate to take it.

  He told the man to tell Malloy to keep that piece of land in mind.

  He needed some time to save up.

  After the messenger left, Stephen and Lenny happily counted the money.

  Malloy went all out. There was over $300 in the box.

  "This wouldn't be all of Malloy’s savings, would it..." Stephen said, amused.

  "Of course not. Sheriffs are always loaded," Lenny shook his head. "We once robbed a sheriff and found one or two thousand dollars in his house."

  "All things considered, Malloy's a good guy, right?" Stephen waved the bills.

  "Here, this is your share," Stephen grabbed a wad of cash, not bothering to count, and handed it to Lenny. "You earned it this time."

  "T-This is too much; I didn't do anything!" Lenny said, surprised, looking at the money in his hand.

  "What do you mean? You took out a guy! And most importantly, you calmed the kid down," Stephen said, patting Lenny on the shoulder, laughing. "It's settled. We'll stay one night and head back to Valentine tomorrow."

  "Not back to Camp first?"

  "Of course not. Didn't we say we'd go drinking after the mountain trek? I'm buying this time!"

  Stephen gestured grandly. "And don't forget, I still need to take you to the saloon to find a girl."