At Jeremy's suggestion (following an incident with some drunken soldiers), Rafe is made sheriff of Seattle. He seems to perform his duties well but has also been paying marked attention to Candy. When he tells her of his feelings for her, which began the first time he saw her at his bedside, she politely but firmly reminds him of her relationship with Jeremy and says that "nothing will change that". Rafe informs her that he means to try anyway.
Jeremy later confronts Rafe about his behavior ("Stay away from Candy, will you please?") and, even though Jeremy tries to avoid it, the two men fight. Jeremy wins easily because of Rafe's injured shoulder. He suggests that they forget the whole thing but Rafe refuses his offer of a handshake.
The neighboring towns have become plagued with robberies. When Ben's store is also hit and Aaron's best horse disappears, Holiday investigates and tells everyone that there are several men involved. The Bolts help to organize a posse, insisting that Rafe cannot go after the "gang" alone.
With all the men out of town, Rafe returns alone to confront Lottie, Biddie and Candy in Lottie's saloon. He kidnaps Candy at gunpoint, threatening to hurt the other women if she doesn't comply, and brings her up into the hills to hide. Along the way, he picks up the horse he has stolen from Aaron and stops to set a trap for anyone who follows.
The goods which have recently been stolen are stockpiled in the cave where Rafe takes Candy; he tells her that the two of them will be able to live there comfortably for as long as necessary. Candy is horrified as Rafe describes how they will eventually be married and even shows her a prayerbook he has "with the appropriate passage all marked out for when the time comes". Although he promises to wait until Candy wants him as much as he wants her, he gets drunk that night and tries to force himself on her. Candy fights him off but, in the process, is thrown against the wall of the cave.
In the meantime, the Seattle men are now searching for the pair but lose the trail. Aaron believes that Holiday is headed for the river but Jeremy is convinced that he has taken Candy into the hills where she would be completely dependent on him. He starts to ride on alone but Jason expresses concern and Joshua decides to join his younger brother. The other searchers then split up and head off in different directions. Jeremy does eventually pick up Rafe's trail again but, at that moment, Joshua triggers the trap that Holiday had set and takes a knife to the shoulder.
With the badly-wounded Joshua in the care of Jason and Stempel, Jeremy insists on continuing the search by himself. Jason tells him that he doesn't want him to go alone but Jeremy is determined; the next morning he rides out.
Outside the cave, Candy has managed to build a small fire to signal for help. Rafe discovers her and quickly douses the flames, but it's too late; Jeremy has seen the smoke and heads in that direction. When Rafe spots Jeremy approaching, leading his horse, he fires on him. The horse, frightened, takes off-and with him goes Jeremy's rifle. Undeterred, Jeremy tries to rush the cave and gets halfway up before he takes a bullet in the leg. Rafe tells Candy "He ain't gonna quit---I gotta kill him" and takes deadly aim with his rifle, but Candy is already running down the hill, placing herself in the line of fire. When she reaches Jeremy, they embrace for a moment before Jeremy pushes Candy behind him to shield her body with his own. Seeing all this, Rafe mounts his horse and rides down to where the two of them are huddled together. "No point in shootin' somethin' that can't get killed" he says, and then rides away.
The next morning, Candy and Jeremy return to the campsite where Jason and Aaron are caring for Joshua; they are relieved to find that Josh is conscious and doing much better. When Jason asks about Rafe, Jeremy says he must have returned to drifting. Candy disagrees. "Drifting is aimless, and I think that Richard might be trying to find something now. I hope so, at least, for his sake."
And the story continues...