Missing Scene
The New Law
In celebration of the second season coming out on dvd, my muse woke up and spit this out<G>. Hope you enjoy it.
Spoilers for ‘The New Law.’
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Ezra rode out of town without looking back. He couldn’t… or wouldn’t, look back. If he did, he’d have to acknowledge the fact that he was leaving behind one of the best things to ever happen in his life.
The gambler gave himself a little shake. Time to look to the
future. If that
Ezra grinned and nodded to himself. That’s it. I’ll just spend some time in a few of the outlying
communities for the next seven days. I’ve heard that silver mine north of town
has struck a rich vein. Perhaps I can use this to my advantage, maybe even win
enough to make a hefty down payment on the saloon.
His grin grew thoughtful. Yes. That’s what I’ll do. Then, next week, I’ll saunter back into town
and offer my services. By then, the dear Marshall Brice should be up to his gun
belt in outlaws.
Ezra turned his horse north, toward the small mining camp, mentally tallying the money he had saved and how much he’d need to make for the down payment. Through it all, he managed to ignore the voice in the back of his head that kept asking why he wanted to return to that small, dusty backwater of a town in the first place. And even worse, what if the other six men didn’t do the same?
*****
Stupid, stupid,
stupid, Ezra! He berated himself as he vaulted onto his horse and urged it
to run. You know better than that! Mother
would be laughing her head off if she could see you now.
Something warm and sticky hit him in the side of his face. Ezra grimaced and leaned into his horse’s neck to encourage more speed. He hadn’t gotten very far when four horses blocked his way. How did they get ahead of me? He panicked for a moment then exhaled a breath of relief when he recognized the riders.
“Ezra!” Chris called as they circled their horses to avoid running into each other. “Where you headed?”
Ezra wiped at the tar on his face. “Why… to look for you, of course.”
“Is that tar on your face?” Nathan asked.
“Look,” Ezra replied, avoiding the question. “We really need to leave this municipality. Now.” He glanced over his shoulder at the near dozen men running toward them.
“Make some new friends back there, Ezra?” Vin asked with at teasing grin.
Ezra sighed mentally, these men knew him too well. “Uh… I neglected to abide by a fundamental tenant in my line of work. Never gamble with an entire clan.” He turned his horse and urged him into a gallop, knowing the others would be right behind him.
Ezra grinned as Chris’ black pulled up beside him.
*****
Ezra played with the drawstring hanging from the shade over the broken window. “Perhaps if some sort of a bonus were offered,” he suggested. No sense in letting these men think he was staying just because he wanted to.
Judge Travis smiled knowingly. “No. A dollar a day plus board and room, just the same as before.
Ezra pursed his lips as he watched the others smile and shake their heads. Yes. His mercenary tendencies had been reinforced, though he couldn’t quite ignore the fond smiles he’d seen in all of his friends’ eyes before they turned their heads.
“Well, boys,” Chris drawled. “What say we head on over to the saloon and ponder the judge’s proposal?”
“Wonderful idea,” Ezra said. Anything to get away from the clean up effort for a while.
“Reckon I could do some ponderin’,” Vin said.
“Judge,” JD said with a touch to his hat.
They all started to move away from the judge and Mary, heading down the street toward the saloon.
Chris glanced over his shoulder. “So, Buck, you learn your lesson about how to act proper in public?” he teased.
“That’d take more than a few nights in jail,” Vin drawled.
Buck shook his head and smiled. “You boys just don’t understand. When a lady insists, you don’t argue, no matter where you are.”
Everyone chuckled. Chris shook his head. “Don’t ever change, Buck.”
“Don’t intend to, pard,” Buck smiled back.
Ezra grinned as he slapped the dust from his sleeves. Friendly banter shot back and forth between the men as they continued down the street. Ezra’s grin turned into a full-fledged smile. Damn, it felt good to be back.
Finis.
Notes: Much of the dialogue was taken from the episode, I just filled in Ezra’s thoughts.
Feedback is greatly appreciated. JudyL
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