It had been a gruelling month for Chris Larabee and his men. Three different cases had been dropped in their laps without notice and they all had to be solved ASAP, according to Federal Judge Orrin Travis. And they did it too. Not that the Judge expected otherwise, they were the best ATF team this side of the Mississippi. So because of their outstanding work on the cases, Judge Travis had rewarded them with a week off to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families.
The funny thing was, other than Ezra Standish's mother, Maude, none of the other men had families to celebrate the holidays with, and even Ezra was hesitant to join his mother in Europe for Thanksgiving. As far as the seven men were concerned their only real family was here in Four Corners. Previous Thanksgivings found them working cases, so for the past three years, it wasn't a problem. But this was the first Thanksgiving that the entire team was off, so that's why Thanksgiving morning found Chris frantically running around his large ranch, cleaning like a maniac and mumbling under his breath that he should have never opened his big mouth ...
"So, Chris, got any plans for Thanksgiving?" Vin Tanner sipped his coffee, and looked at his leader, his big brother, Chris Larabee. It was Friday morning and everyone was there to wrap up any last minute work before their week long vacation.
"You know, I haven't celebrated Thanksgiving since Sarah and Adam died. Seemed kinda useless to celebrate without any family to celebrate with." Chris drank his coffee with relish, thanking God that he had made it instead of Vin, who usually made coffee so strong you could pave roads with it.
"Well, what about Miz Mary and Billy?" Vin couldn't help it, he was a certified matchmaker when it came to Chris and Mary.
"They're spending Thanksgiving with the Judge and Evie. And what makes you think that they would even want to spend the weekend with me? I'm not family."
Everyone and their mother knew that Chris and Mary had feelings for each other, they just wouldn't act on it. Their relationship reminded Vin of the X-files' Mulder and Scully, just plain wasting time.
"So whattcha doin' for Thanksgiving?" Chris thought turnabout was fair play.
"Hmm, nothing either." Was the sharpshooter's reply.
"Wanna come to the ranch? I just got some new horses that need to be broken in."
"Yeah, sure, that sounds great!" Vin smiled, Thanksgiving with Chris, it sounded real nice.
So he had Vin coming over, okay, not a bad thing. Vin came over all the time to ride the horses, not a big deal. But then he bumped into the Dynamic Duo ...
"Buck, I am not going to let you cook Thanksgiving dinner! Remember what happened the last time you tried to cook? The fire marshal had to evacuated the building 'cause there was so much smoke!" JD Dunne was adamant about this, there was absolutely no way in hell he was going to let Buck cook again. They had survived this long on takeout, another day wouldn't matter.
"Awww, c'mon kid, it wasn't that bad!" Buck Wilmington looked in disbelief at his roommate and 'little brother'.
"Hell, yeah, it was that bad. I still have the citation the fire marshal gave us!"
The argument would have continued until Christmas if Chris hadn't stepped in.
"Buck. JD." When Chris used that tone of voice, he reminded everyone of a big brother, stopping the little ones from fighting.
"Yes, Chris?" JD and Buck had the 'we're-innocent-we-didn't-do-anything' tone down pat.
"Vin's coming over for Thanksgiving, plannin' on breaking some horses in, care tha join us?"
"Really, Chris?" JD was getting totally psyched about this, Thanksgiving at Chris's ranch! Riding horses, spending time with his 'big brothers' and his idol ... TOO COOL!
"Hey, that's a great idea! Sure, we're in." Buck couldn't remember the last time Chris celebrated a family type holiday since Sarah's and Adam's deaths, maybe, just maybe, the old Chris was coming back.
That invitation was just as easy as the first one. No sweat. The guys were always welcomed at the ranch. And so, having already invited most of the team, Chris went ahead and invited the rest of them. Josiah and Nathan grinned, both happy to come over. In fact, Josiah offered to make his famous chilli for dinner. His offer was meet with overwhelming enthusiasm. Even Ezra said yes to the invitation, stating that he would bring the refreshments, claiming that no one else could be trusted to select a wine appropriate for the occasion.
Okay, so far so good, but then Chris got a phone call from Miss Nettie Wells. She wanted the boys to come her ranch for Thanksgiving. Thanks to JD, via Casey, Miss Nettie found out that they were going to be in town for the holidays.
"Actually, ma'am, the boys were coming to my place for Thanksgiving, Josiah's making chilli and Ezra's ... "
"Chilli?!? Chilli for Thanksgiving?!? Boy, what's wrong with you? Chilli's for a Fourth of July bar-b-que, not Thanksgiving! I guess I'm just goin' tha have tha come over there and make sure you boys have a decent Thanksgiving dinner!" Good Lord, the woman even sounded intimidating over the phone!
"Miss Nettie, ma'am you don't have tha do that ... "
"Quit sassin' me boy, just tell Vin to come get me and Casey at 8 am on Thursday. I'll bring everything we need for dinner, just tell me how many people are coming."
"Yes, ma'am, nine total so far." There were very few people who could cow Chris Larabee, and sure as shootin', one of them was Nettie Wells.
"I'll see you then." With that she hung up.
When Chris told the others, they were quite happy, not only was JD going to get to spend Thanksgiving with Casey, and Vin with his substitute mother, Miss Nettie, but they were all going to get to eat her fine cooking as well.
It was a few hours later that Nathan stuck his head into Chris's office.
"Uhmm, Chris, can I talk tha ya?"
"Sure, c'mon in. Whatcha need Nathan?" Chris settled back into his chair and motioned the healer to the one in front of his desk.
"Well, see Chris, Rain was suppose to go skiing with some friends for Thanksgiving, but the trip fell through and since I haven't seen her for awhile, I thought that maybe ... "
"She could come to the ranch." Chris smiled, he didn't know how Nathan and Rain kept their long distance relationship going for so long and keep their sanity. "Sure, I'll just call and tell Miss Nettie."
"Thanks Chris." Nathan beamed his incredible smile at his boss.
Chris sighed and picked up the phone.
It was later at the saloon that the next invitation was issued. Chris and the guys had convened at their usual table for their after work drink together. They had placed their orders with Inez and the whole time, Buck was flirting with her. But she wasn't responding like she usually did ...
"Aww, c'mon darlin', you can tell ole' Buck." Buck had noticed that Inez was a bit down, usually she would give him some witty retort to his advances, this time she just avoid him.
"Please, Senor Buck, just leave me alone." Inez was not in the mood to put up with the charming scoundrel. She liked him, she really did, one could even say that she liked him a little more than she cared to admit, but right now just wasn't the time.
"Inez." Buck had followed her into the kitchen and stood hovering over her shoulder as she prepared their dinners. "I'm not leavin' you alone 'til you tell me."
"It is personal, Senor Buck, please, I do not wish to discuss it." The Hispanic woman wanted to tell him but, at the same time, did not want to burden him with it.
"Inez, tell me." Buck's voice was soft now, not its usual loud, blustering tone. Buck had turned her around, gently placing his hands on her shoulders and looked into her beautifully dark eyes.
"I ... I was suppose to spend Thanksgiving with mi familia, they were suppose to come here but the Mexican federales won't let them leave and I can't go back there." Buck knew about the trouble with Don Paoblo, it was because she rejected his suit and his nearly relentless obsession with her that stopped Inez from returning to her family.
"Why are the federales stopping them from just visiting the States, they've done it before right?" Buck was confused.
"They won't ell me why, they just won't let mi familia come this year. I've never spent the holidays alone before."
"Aww, there darlin', don't cry, its gonna be okay, there's no way I'm lettin' you spend Thanksgiving alone." Buck held her as she shed silent tears. Inez missed her familia, her padre, madre, and her little brother and sister, Rafael and Adrianna. So she stood there in Buck's big arms and silently cried. When his words finally penetrated her mind, Inez lifted her head.
"What? What do you mean 'not alone'?"
Buck grinned, "Well, Chris is having a little get together at his place for Thanksgiving. Miss Nettie and Casey are gonna be there and Rain too. How about I pick you up and you come as my date?"
"Always trying to find a way to get me to go out with you, huh?" Inez couldn't help but tease the big man. Her day seemed to be getting better, she had met Rain only once before, but they got along really well. And it would be nice to spend some time with the big charmer.
"You know me, Inez, doin' anything to get a pretty lady tha smile at me." That got him the smile he was hoping for.
"I would be honoured to go as your 'date' to Mr. Larabee's party. Are you sure he won't mind that you invited me?"
"Nah, Chris wouldn't mind."
"Just remember, Buck, this does not mean I am going to fall into your arms whenever you want."
"Inez, if you did that, it would take all the fun out of the chase." Buck grinned rakishly at her as he left to tell Chris.
Okay, so the total was up to eleven now. No problem, his place was huge, plenty of space. Then came Ezra's little bombshell ...
"Chris, I am very sorry to be calling so early on a Sunday morning."
"Nah, that's okay, Ez, whatcha need."
"I just called to send you my regrets at not being able to attend your Thanksgiving dinner."
"What? Why? You know the guys were looking forward to having the whole team here."
"Chris, I wish that I could come, but the circumstances have changed so that it is not possible."
"What happened, Ez?"
"It seems that my mother and her current husband are parting under some rather distressing conditions. She is here now and as her son, it is my duty to see her through her oh so difficult time." Ezra didn't sound like he particularly wanted to help Maude through her problems. Actually, he sounded right down angry about having to miss the dinner to be with his mother.
"Ez, you okay?" Chris's voice was concerned.
"Yes, I just find myself missing an occasion that I was sincerely looking forward to, just to listen to my mother bitch and whine about losing yet another obscenely rich husband that she doesn't give a rat's ass for." Yup, Ezra wasn't a happy camper.
"Hey, Ez, why don't you bring her to the party. I'm sure that Josiah would be more than happy to listen to her troubles and then he might be able to charm her into a nicer mood."
"Chris, that just might work!" Ezra grinned for the first time since his mother had arrived. If anyone could get Maude to behave it was Josiah.
"See ya Thursday, Ez."
Okay, an even dozen. No problem, Chris's ranch hadn't seen that many people in its entire lifetime at one time, but it could deal, and so could he. It wasn't until Tuesday morning that Chris started to panic. Just like the other unexpected invitations, it started out with a phone call. This time it was from Billy Travis.
"Hi Chris!"
"Hey Billy! What's up?"
"Ma and I wanted to know if you wanna come to our house for Thanksgiving?"
"Billy, I thought that you were having Thanksgiving at the Judge's?"
"Yeah, we were suppose tha, but Grandpa had to go somewhere and Grandma went with him, so its just me and Ma. So can you come Chris?" The boy sounded so eager, Chris didn't want to hurt him, but at the same time was relieved at not having to spend an entire evening in Mary's presence. That would be pure torture.
"Oh, Billy, I loved to but I have a bunch of people coming to my house for the holidays."
"Oh. Okay Chris, I guess I'll see ya later." Lord, the boy sounded so dejected, his voice tugged at Chris's heart strings.
"Hey, Billy, how about you and your Ma come to my place for Thanksgiving? Everyone's gonna be here and we're gonna ride the horses before dinner." Okay, so having them over wasn't such a bad idea, he wasn't going to be alone with her, nope there were gonna be several other people there, no problem.
Yeah, right.
"Really Chris? MA, GUESS WHAT? CHRIS WANTS US TO GO TO HIS HOUSE FOR THANKSGIVING!" Mary must have been in another room, 'cause Chris had to move the phone away from his ear, Billy was screaming so loud.
"Chris?" Chris tensed as Mary's silky voice came over the phone lines.
"Hello Mary."
"I really don't want to impose."
"No, no, you wouldn't be imposing. Miss Nettie and Casey are gonna be here, so's Rain and Inez. Ezra's even bringing his mother. Please come, you and Billy will have a great time." Chris knew that the other women being there would make it easier for Mary to say yes, and Lord did he want her to say yes.
"Alright then, I'll see you on Thursday. Thank you Chris, this means a lot to Billy ... and me." Mary's voice was soft and happy, a reflection of the woman herself.
Mary liked Chris, a lot. Any excuse to spend time with him was welcomed and Billy's idea to invite him to dinner was a great one, but going to Chris's ranch was even better. It would give her a chance to see his home and he wouldn't be that uncomfortable with so many other people around. Of course, with so many there, it would be difficult for them to spend time alone, but at this stage, Mary didn't think that was a bad thing.
"Thursday, then." With that Chris hung up.
And that's why Chris Larabee was up at the ungodly hour of 5 am, cleaning his house from top to bottom like a madman. There was no way in hell he was gonna let Mary see his place like this! [Actually, his place was pretty well kept, but in the mind of a man in - ahem, well, you know - it just wasn't good enough! : )]
At precisely 9 am, Vin pulled up in his battered jeep and Buck and JD were right behind him. Vin turned to help Miss Nettie out of his jeep, while Buck, Inez, JD, and Casey got out of Buck's beat up Chevy truck. The boys helped carry in all of the supplies and Miss Nettie basically took over Chris's kitchen, shooing all the men outside and issuing them orders not to come back in until she said so.
An hour later, Mary and Billy pulled up the drive. Billy immediately ran to Chris, who swung him up into his arms and returned Billy's hug. Chris held onto Billy with one arm while the other he used to return Mary's hug.
"Thank you for inviting us, Chris." Mary whispered into his ear, sending shivers down his spine.
"Thank you for coming." Chris steered them into the house where he nearly had his head taken off by Miss Nettie.
"Boy, I thought I told you to stay outside!" Miss Nettie stood at the entrance of his kitchen, brandishing a wooden spoon at him.
"Its alright, Miss Nettie, Chris was just showing me the way in." Mary decided to save Chris from the small, but menacing woman.
"Oh, Mary, good tha see ya, girl. C'mon in, is your youngin with you?" Miss Nettie smiled at the beautiful blonde woman before her, accepting the kiss Mary placed on her cheek. So, the boy's finally gotten around tha asking her out here, very good.
"Hi Miss Nettie!" Billy enthusiastically hugged the older woman.
"Well, hello there young man. Hungry?" Miss Nettie couldn't help the smile on her face, the boy just looked so right in Chris Larabee's arms, like he had been there since birth.
"Yes ma'am!"
"Well, here's a biscuit and some ham. The rest is gonna have tha wait until dinner, alright?"
Billy thanked the old woman and then both he and Chris were once again thrown out.
"Hello Mary." Mary turned to see Casey in an apron, cutting up some vegetables.
"Hi Casey, how's school?"
"I'm having lots of fun, but I'm really busy. I haven't gotten to see JD for awhile." Casey smiled at her, "But thanks to Mr. Larabee's invitation, I get to spend Thanksgiving with him."
"Its good to spend the holidays with familia, loved ones." Inez joined the conversation with a slightly sad smile. Mary walked over to the dark haired woman and gave her a hug. When Chris told her that Inez would be joining them for the holidays, Mary immediately called her friend to find out why.
"I'm so sorry Inez."
Inez smiled back, a happier smile this time, "Its alright Mary, at least I can spend it with very good friends."
"And don't forget about Buck!" Casey couldn't help teasing the older woman. Miss Nettie and Mary both smirked at Inez, who was sputtering.
"Senor Buck is the most obnoxious, crude, gringo I have ever had the misfortune to meet!"
"He's also the funniest, kindest, and chivalrous man you've ever met too." Mary knew that all that talk was just that, Inez really did like the rogue.
"Hurph!" was Inez's response.
The next arrival was Josiah, who, even though was told that chilli was not proper Thanksgiving fare, nevertheless brought some anyway. He deposited it in the kitchen before being kicked out by the four women. Josiah headed over to the corral with the other men.
"Hey Josiah!" Josiah grinned at Billy's greeting, which was repeated by the other men.
"Nate and Ez not here yet, huh?"
"Nope, Nate's gotta wait for Rain's flight from Denver and Ezra's, well, he's got his mother here, so she's gonna want tha make an entrance." Chris didn't take his eyes from the sight of Vin quietly calming the frisky colt in the corral.
"Maude, she sure does make an impression on a man." Josiah grinned.
"Glad, ya feel that way Josiah, 'cause she's breaking up with her husband and is gonna need a shoulder to cry on tonight, and Ezra's not up to the job." Chris couldn't help it, he smirked in the large man's direction. Maude would never go for Josiah, not enough money apparently, but for some unknown reason, she still liked and respected him enough to behave.
"Not a problem, Brother Chris, not a problem." Josiah turned to watch as Vin and Buck finished putting the saddle and tack onto the roan colt.
It was a while later that the men heard the cultured tones call out, "Josiah! Youhoo! Josiah, darling!"
Josiah turned with a great big smile at the sound of Maude's voice, "Maude! Its good to see you again." Josiah leaned down and hug the much smaller woman, who surprisingly returned the hug without so much as a grimace.
Maude liked Josiah, she really did, he was big and strong, and his deep voice soothed her, but it was his acceptance of the way she was that held the woman's respect. Josiah knew her faults, but still cared for her. In other men, she would have milked it for all it was worth, but Josiah had something else that made him different from other men. He had Ezra's respect and friendship. None of the men of her acquaintance could even get Ezra to have a conversation with them, but Josiah could reach him as no one else could, not even her.
"I heard about ... "
"Pish, today is a day of celebration, Josiah, no need to bring up unpleasant conversation. Now, what are my son and his friends doing? Good Heavens! Ezra's not going to try to ride that, is he?" Maude couldn't tear her eyes from the sight of her baby boy trying to ride a wild mustang.
"Its alright, Maude, Chris and the boys know what they're doin'. Chris wouldn't let Ezra do somethin' stupid, like break his neck."
Maude still wasn't sure, and she nearly screamed when Buck and Vin let go of the ropes holding down the wild horse. Maude watched as the horse reared and bucked wildly, and she feared for her son's life, but then she noticed that Josiah, Mr. Larabee and the others were cheering him on, and that Ezra was exuberantly and successfully riding the mustang. When the horse finally decided that it was too tired to fight anymore, it tamely trotted as Ezra directed. Maude noticed that even though Ezra was sweaty and dirty, his face was lit by a grin of satisfaction at his achievement.
Shaking her head at Ezra's idea of fun, Maude decided that she would go and 'supervise' the making of the Thanksgiving dinner, little did she know that Miss Nettie wasn't one to let anyone sit idle.
"Hell, Ez, you did it!" Buck slapped Ezra on the back, hard enough to leave bruises, but Ezra was too happy to care.
"Fine job, Ez." Chris smiled at him and Ezra smiled back, it felt good to have Chris praise him. Ezra stood next to Chris as JD and Buck brought out the next mare.
Ezra had grown a lot since joining the team, he had come to learn what it was like to be part of something important, to have people care about him, to care about others. The man next to him was one of those people. Chris Larabee had given him not only a second but a third and a fourth chance as well. In the begin, Ezra had been intensely jealous of the close relationships that had formed between certain team members, Josiah and Nathan, Buck and JD. But it was Chris and Vin's close relationship that he envied the most. But once he started to let down his guard and let Vin become his friend, he became part of Chris and Vin's circle. He had often heard them referred to as the Triumvirate. Ezra thought that even though fitting, it precluded the others, and it was the integration of the others that made them a whole, cohesive unit.
Nathan and Rain were the last to arrive that morning, Rain went directly into the house, while Nathan joined his friends at the corral.
The scene that Rain found in the kitchen was one of female bonding. Everyone, including Maude, were up to their elbows in food. Of course, Maude had complained at first, but when she noticed how much fun the others were having and at the mention of how Josiah just loved homecooking, she decided to join in. Rain was quickly given a job and set about it happily.
"How was your trip here, Rain?" Inez smiled as Rain handed her the cutting board.
"Hmm, the usual. Lord, this is a really great kitchen! You'd never think that a bachelor would have such a great cooking space!" Rain marvelled at how well stocked the kitchen was and the easy, simple Southwestern design of the room.
"I think that Chris built it for his late wife, Sarah. He told me she loved to cook." Mary informed the other five women in the room.
"My dear, a man might build a kitchen for a woman, but once she is gone, he would never step foot in it again. It seems that Mr. Larabee's kitchen is too well stocked and maintained for a bachelor." Maude observed from her position in front of the cranberry sauce pot.
"Well, maybe he's keeping it nice for a certain someone to use in the hopefully very near future?" Casey had to duck to avoid the projectile that Mary sent her way. "Girls." Miss Nettie was not about to have a food fight on her hands. But secretly, she agreed with her niece. Chris Larabee was definitely keeping the entire house in order, waiting for it again to be filled with the love of a good woman and the laughter of their children.
Meanwhile, outside the seven friends and little Billy Travis were having a grand ole time with the horses. Within a few short hours, Chris, Vin, JD, Buck, and Ezra had managed to break in six new horses to add to Chris's existing herd of seven. Josiah and Nathan had elected to watch by the sidelines and to keep a hold of Billy.
"Hey, Nathan, when are ya gonna ask Rain to marry you? Its been an awfully long time!" Buck couldn't help himself, he just loved causing trouble.
"Not that its any of your business, Buck, but I'm just waiting for the right time."
"And when would that be?" JD took up where Buck left off, 'a chip off the ole buck' as Buck liked to say.
"Brother Nathan will know when that will be when it happens." Josiah said philosophically.
All this talk about marriage had Billy's ears perking up and yelling out, "Hey Chris, when are you gonna ask Ma to marry you?"
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