The poker game took a serious turn when the pot grew in size as each player anted in including Ethan.

"Two bits…"

"Another…

Ethan spoke up.

"What's two bits to you?"

Scotty kept the glasses filled with whisky. Jake gestured to him.

"Leave the bottle."

Another man spoke up.

"Maybe you better slow down Jake."

"Maybe…"

But he lifted his hand up towards the bottle held by Scotty.

"We're playing cards if you don't mind."

Another man sighed.

"Ethan…I'm on it."

Charlie put in his bet. Then they heard some music playing. Jake turned to look.

"What is that?"

"Cards Jake."

"How many," a burly man asked.

Jake looked disoriented.

"Give me three…"

Ethan knew that the man had been hitting the liquor hard. As fast as Scotty could fill his glass and refill it. If he could just keep his mind on poker…but the man seemed determined to drink with each round and between rounds.

At the barber shop, Baxter had George on the chair giving him a cut. Both Joseph and Ben, their hair slicked back just sat and watched. Neither looked too happy with their new looks. Baxter raved.

"Amazing what a haircut and a little grease can do…aint that right boys?"

Joseph and Ben both looked down.

"Yes Sir...Mr. Baxter."

George looked at the barber nervously.

"George don't you worry. When I'm done you're going to look just as good as them."

George squished his face in anticipation of Baxter putting grease in his hair.

Ethan loved his full house as Jake seemed to be distracted by the music playing.

"Do you hear that?"

Ethan wanted to stick to card playing.

"No. Play or fold."

They all waited until Jake smiled.

"Never bluff a bluffer. I call."

Ethan displayed his hand. Jake's eyes widened. Charlie snickered.

"Looks like your luck there has taken a change for the worse."

Charlie laughed but Jake frowned.

"Luck nothing…what's that noise?"

Jake got up and headed towards the window.

The music turned out to be organ playing and both Robert and Jane Parker singing, "shall we gather by the river" while Claire hummed along sitting in a pew. She loved music and listening to people sing especially inside a church. She'd rarely attended services since leaving St. Louise to come to Paradise.

Jake stumbled through town following the trail of the music, determined to make it stop until he came to the church and wandered inside. He took a gun out and pointed it, causing the music to stop abruptly as the Parkers ducked for cover. Claire screamed when she saw the man. She watched him fire his gun at the organ, splintering the wood.

Ethan ran in and grabbed him.

"I wasn't done yet."

Ethan looked around him.

"Everyone all right?"

Robert sighed.

"Yeah we're all right…I didn't realize my playing was so bad."

Ethan grabbed Jake and led him out of the church with Claire and the Parkers following him. Jake protested.

"I wasn't doing nothing."

Charlie and P.J. the marshal walked over both looking at Ethan.

"He shot up the church…"

"I wasn't done yet."

P.J. sighed.

"Charlie take him home."

Ethan balked.

"Maybe he's better off under lock and key."

P.J. shook his head.

"His wife just left him. He's not taking it too well. Want me to lock him up for that?"

"I'm taking it just fine," insisted Jake.

Ethan remained stubborn that he should go to jail.

"For his own good…"

P.J. vetoed that.

"Charlie take him home."

Claire walked with the Parkers up to Ethan where she introduced them.

"This is Uncle Ethan and I'm Claire…"

They all shook hands.

"This is my wife Jane," Robert said, "We were passing through and looking for a place to escape the heat of the day and I saw the pipe organ and couldn't resist."

Claire smiled at her new friends. Ethan arched his brows.

"You a preacher?"

Robert smiled.

"Oh no…I'm a school teacher."

His wife chimed in.

"We're both school teachers."

Ethan adjusted his hat.

"Well…"

Then he looked up and saw Amelia leaving the mercantile. He walked up to her and pointed out his three nephews sitting by the barber shop.

"What do you see?"

She tried to be diplomatic but failed.

"I see three boys with dreadful haircuts."

"Besides that…"

"Claire and two school teachers."

He narrowed his eyes.

"How did you know they were school teachers?"

She bit back a chuckle.

"Well look at them…"

"Yeah…"

She started to walk away and he followed her.

"Wait a minute…can we talk some business?"

"You like the land…"

"Do you think it's a good idea?"

"Excellent…if you want to refinance your loan."

"I'm going to start making payments on all my loans soon."

"When?"

"Soon"

"And the back rent?"

"Real soon…"

"You can hardly find work now."

He stopped walking.

"I'll be able to find more work with the teachers minding the children."

"That remains to be seen…"

She reached the door of the bank.

"Are you going to give me the loan or not?"

She just looked at him.

"After you Mr. Cord…"

They walked into the bank to discuss business.

The children, dreadful haircuts and all and Ethan ate a meal in the restaurant with the Parkers.

"We came West five years ago to educate the Indians," Robert said, "It's hard work. Frustrating too. We didn't expect the red man to embrace us but we didn't expect to meet as much resistance as we did either."

Ethan sipped his coffee listening.

"In another year we probably would have given up anyway…but then we lost our children and that pushed our decision to return home to Boston even sooner."

George spoke up.

"You lost your children?"

Claire looked at him.

"George hush."

"Yes we had two children George. Cholera last spring. Swept through the reservations like wildfire."

George seemed perplexed.

"You mean you couldn't find them?"

Jane smiled, sadness in her eyes.

"No George, our children died. That's what we meant when we said lost."

"Tad was eight, Abigail almost five," Robert said.

Ben looked up from his plate.

"I…I'm sorry."

Claire looked wistful.

"Yes we all are."

George looked at the couple.

"My mom died too."

Ethan broke in the somber conversation.

"Mr. Parker, you mind if I have a word with you?"

George wiped his mouth and said, certainly and left the table with Ethan. Joseph watched them go.

"What's he going to do?"

Claire took another bite of food.

"Exactly what you think."

George looked confused.

"What's that?"

"It'd be nice…"

"What would?"

Joseph glared.

"We could live without it."

George felt even more lost.

"Without what?"

The two men walked through the hotel together. Ethan telling the story of how he wound up raising his sister's four children in Paradise.

"To tell you the truth, it hasn't been half bad. They're fine children. In fact…they've been teaching me how to read."

"That's nice Mr. Cord."

"But that's not the way it's supposed to be. They need a proper education so…here…"

He handed George a slip of paper and the man opened it.

"What's this?"

"I like to put you on for as long as that's good for."

"Mr. Cord, your niece and nephews seem bright eager well mannered."

"That was their mama's doing."

"It'd be a privilege to be their teachers but it's just not possible. It's too soon after our own tragedy."

George handed the paper back to him.

"We really do need to be getting back home."

Ethan nodded, hearing the weary sadness in the man's voice.

"Yeah…"

Amelia left the bank to go out into the street watching several men on bicycles. Ethan, the Parkers and the children left the restaurant and George saw the same sight.

"Look at that," he said pointing.

He ran towards the men on the bicycles while the Parkers thanked Ethan for the lunch.

"It's my pleasure."

Then Jake showed up again with a shotgun this time and started firing shots randomly. Everyone on the street reacted and went for cover. Ethan grabbed his gun and hid behind a wooden frame as windows shattered, people screamed and horses dumped riders into the street.

Chaos reigned where there'd been peace moments earlier.

Ethan followed Jake who still fired his gun at whatever moved as people hid and watched. He shot up a produce stand while Ethan advanced on him with his gun out. Suddenly a wagon went by and George ran from his hiding place out into the street.

Amelia saw him first.

"George no…."

Then she sprinted after him. Just as Ethan and Jake fired their guns at each other. When the smoke cleared, Jake lay in the street. Ethan's gun had hit him.

But just behind him, Ethan saw Amelia lying in the street motionless.