Where to go indeed. He was a stranger still to the town and the surrounding area, so he had to ask Billy what a good place would be to take Olivia riding. "Well to the north about a mile out of town there is a hill with a large oak shade tree. Sometimes seen people go out that way in buggies or wagons. If your planning a picknick then that would be the best place." So when Olivia asked him, he told her Ride out have some lunch and talk and come back. Not to long so that the gossip would not be to bad about them spending time alone together. He watched Olivia get up in the saddle and chuckled. Well she knew how to get on a horse but now she had to ride one and not side saddle. Jed had been ridding since he was real young. His father had been an Army officer and he made sure Jed knew how to ride. It was second nature to him. He swung up into the saddle and turned Midnight's head, turning the horse in the direction he wanted to go and nudged him with his heels and spurs. They rode through town, passed the hotel, where Rutherford watched from his window. Jed looked up and saw a woman behind him pulling him back towards the bed. He took it easy not riding fast but rather slow so Olivia could get use to riding like a man.<br/><br/>They rode out of town and the peace and quiet of the countryside surrounded them. After awhile he saw the hill with the lone tree and headed for it. Once there he helped Olivia dismount and undid the blanket on the back of his saddle and spread it out on the ground under the tree. Then he unpacked the food and drink Mable had prepared for them and laid it out on the blanket. He let the horse graze on the lush grass, tieing their reigns lightly to a low branch. "So here we are." he grinned as he helped her sit on the blanket before taking a seat on it himself. "I suppose we should start things off by telling each other about ourselves." he began. "If you don't mind I will go first, for I think you should know more about me."<br/><br/>He poured both of them some wine and then he began. "My father was an Officer in the Army before it became the Union Army against the Confederate Army. He is the one that taught me to ride and to shoot. He retired before the war began and by that time I was already an officer in the Army. I went to West Point and graduated and when the war started well I went and commanded a company of soldiers. If there is one thing I learned from that war, is that war is stupid and a waste of good men's lives. I also learned that the Confederate Army's officers were more gentlemen then those of the north. There were to many like Rutherford that could not pay to get someone to take their place and they were the worst sorts and got men killed because of their arogance and stupidity. I made my fair share of mistakes, and I to got men killed. I was their commander and I took full responsibility for their deaths. When the war ended, I had enough of the military. I resigned my commission and came out west and joined the Texas Rangers. I think bringing those that do wrong to justice is a thing that needs to be done. So far I have found that it is my true calling and it gives me a sense of purpose." He sipped his wine and then began filling their plates with the delicious food Mable had prepared for them. He waited to hear what Olivia had to say about her life.