Once Ethan was headed back into town, Jesse kicked out their morning fire and rode the few miles south to where the Rustlers had been camped. Bedrolls were scattered around the small area, knapsacks and saddlebags emptied, their contents strewn across the ground carelessly.
Jesse’s eyes burned with unshed tears as he gathered his friends’ belongings—Kit’s silver beaded necklace that his sister sent him from Philly, a pack of Diego’s marked cards, Joey’s battered Bible. Slips of paper fell from the book as Jesse picked it up, love letters from women all across the plains, snippets of poems and recipes written in Joey’s tight handwriting. Playing cards blew like tumbleweed across the camp, and Kit’s rusty harmonica wailed bitterly with each burst of wind.
Jesse took everything he could f
