OCTOBER 14, 1861

Kid gathered all the riders except Buck in the barn. "So we all agree on what to give Buck and Caly for their wedding." He watched all his friends nod. "Okay, we need to let Buck know."

The six riders left the barn and headed over to where Buck was working with a new horse in the corral. "Hey Buck. We have something to talk to you about." Kid called out as Buck stood and dusted off his pants.

"Okay, what is it?" The young Kiowa said as he left the corral.

Kid took a deep breath. "We have decided on what our gift to you and Caly will be. We want to help build your home. We know it isn't much, but we want to do something for you."

Buck just stood there in awe of his friends. "I don't know what to say. I think Caly will love it. Thank you. Her father has already given us the land for it." The other riders smiled.

Ike held up a rolled piece of paper.

Buck nodded as he took the paper. "Okay, I'll show you all what I had in mind." He headed for the porch of the bunkhouse. He waited till everyone was there before unrolling the paper. "This is how I was thinking the house should look." He pointed out each room on the main floor, showing how the stairs, the second and third floors where laid out and how the porch should wrap around the house.

Jimmy just shook his head because he knew it would take a while to build a house like Buck wanted, but Noah spoke, "Damm! Buck that's a lot of work." He could see the look in his friends' eyes, so he immediately continued, “But we can do it. So now where is the barn and corral?" Noah’s gaze returned to the paper as Buck pointed them out.

They spent the rest of the day going over the plans and figuring out what they needed to get started.