Disclaimer: Mag 7 and the boys belong to other people. I borrow them for short times and then give then back for other people to borrow. I try not to hurt them too badly and always heal them completely before I give them back.
Universe: Old West
Synopsis: Ella gets what's coming to her... Consider this my sequel to the episode: Obsession. Many spoilers for that episode and Nemesis.
Rating: R for extreme violence and torture (alas, not to the boys... at least, not physical torture); bad language; abuse to a female.
****Angst alert***** Much angst, mainly for Chris and Buck
Main Characters: Chris, Buck, Vin, Ella
Kanahe and the rest of the Indian tribe are my own, but anyone is welcome to use them if they'd like.
The Indian's names were made up by the authors and have no meaning as far as we know in the Indian culture or Language. We did not research any Indian language for the names.
Vin still sat there long after Chris had gone to get some sleep. Tonti had taken Little Dove to bed also, after speaking with Vin and accepting his offer to watch the captive. Vin promised to come get them if Ella died.
He moved next to the captive, filling a bowl with water on the way. Lifting it to her lips, he tilted it slightly when she opened her mouth. It took an effort for her to open her eyes.
"Where's Christopher?" she asked weakly.
"Asleep."
"Why won't he rescue me?" she asked, seemingly confused at her former lover's lack of assistance.
"Ya killed his family. Even you can't expect him to help ya escape."
"I only did it because I love him."
"That ain't love. That's hatred. Evil, pure and simple."
She didn't say anything for several minutes as he continued to serve her the water.
"It's all your fault," she finally remarked. "If you hadn't looked into my business, Chris and I would be married by now."
"I don't think so. I think he knew something was wrong. He would have realized eventually that there was a problem, even without my help."
"He would have understood if you would have just let him be."
Vin didn't answer for a minute, placing the bowl back on the ground. He heard a noise in the woods. Looking past Ella, he saw movement.
Buck Wilmington hadn't been as quiet as he thought, especially when he was leading a horse behind him. Vin wondered if he was getting ready to leave, or if he'd planned to come and release Ella and take her back to Four Corners.
Vin looked at Ella. He closed his eyes and prayed to the Spirits that Buck would forgive him eventually for what he was about to do...for the pain he was about to cause him.
Tanner walked back over to Ella. Standing before her, he took in the bruises and cuts on her face, difficult to see now in the flickering flames from the small fire nearby.
"So, how did you meet Fowler?"
"I'm a business woman. I meet lots of people in my business."
"You must have paid him pretty well. He died rather than tell Chris who hired him to kill Sarah and Adam."
"I always pay well. You cut these ropes and I'll pay you well."
Vin ignored the bribery attempt. "Why Chris? Why not some man who didn't have the burden of family?"
"I love Chris. Have since the day I met him. Will until the day I die."
"That day will be soon, Ella. Real soon."
"Not if Buck Wilmington has anything to say about it," she replied smugly.
"He don't."
"We'll see about that, now won't we." She smiled. "I've heard the two of you arguing. I know he won't let me die here in this stinking rat hole. I knew the kind of man he was when he started spending time with Hilda. She was hardly a great beauty, yet he became enamored of her."
"Hilda? She was your cousin right?"
"That's right. You didn't get to know her well, since you were off butting into my business in Red Fork," she snarled, her weakened state causing her anger to lose any power to effect him.
"I wasn't about to let Chris get too deeply involved with you until I'd learned more about everything that was going on."
"We were already deeply involved. We had a past together, remember? We would have married, buy you had to interfere!" she said, angrily. She began struggling again, her fight short as her strength gave out.
"No, I don't think so. Buck was suspicious too, ya know. Something about some suits supposedly left by your late husband."
"Buck was distracted, like his kind always is. He was after one thing, trying to bed one of the ladies in the house. Of course, I never figured it would be Hilda! Of all people for him to fall for, the ugliest of the bunch!"
A softly muttered "bitch" drew Vin's attention to the trees. Buck stood there, hands curled into fists, staring daggers at Ella's back. Vin only knew of Buck's affections for Hilda from JD. Oh, he'd seen the lady chasing Buck, but had also seen the big man running quickly in the opposite direction whenever she was around.
But he'd also noticed how upset he'd been when they buried the woman and JD had explained that Buck had become more attentive after hearing her sing. And he'd seen himself how she'd come to his rescue with that shotgun.
"Buck won't help you Ella. These people won't let him."
Ella smiled, wincing as the cut on her lip pulled. "He won't let them kill me. I heard him say so."
Vin shook his head.
"These people saved your life, Ella. You were hurt and they helped you get better. And you repay them by killing one of their children."
"They wouldn't let me leave," she snarled, trying to justify the death. "And besides, it was only an Indian, not like a real child."
"That Indian child was more special than you could ever hope to be," Vin growled.
"You have a soft spot for these savages, don't you?"
"I love all human life, unlike you. And what about Adam Larabee? He wasn't an Indian child."
"He was her child! That whore who took my Chris from me!"
"You mean Sarah."
"Whore!"
"Sarah Larabee," he said, emphasizing the last name.
"No! Shut up! She had no right to him. He was mine!" She began to struggle, trying to loosen the bonds around her wrists.
"He loved her."
"He loves me!" She was losing her breath, the damage to her body and her struggles to escape exhausting her.
"He never loved you. You were just someone to have some fun with, someone to fuck." Vin was being particularly vicious, not his usual way with women. But then he didn't consider the creature before him to be a human, much less a woman. And he needed to get some information from her. He needed Buck, still concealed in the trees, to hear that information.
"No!" she screamed, or tried to, her voice raspy from pain.
"Yeah, just like any other whore, except he didn't have to pay you."
She tried to kick him, but in her weakened state she was much too slow to even come close to making contact with him.
"But, then again, he did pay, didn't he. He paid with the lives of his family. Did you enjoy watching them die, Ella?" He moved behind her, still talking. "Did you listen to them scream in pain, cry for mercy? You were there, weren't you? You're insane enough to want to have been there."
She struggled again with the ropes, her anger giving her a modicum of strength.
"That bitch deserved to die!" she spit out. "Her and her spawn, taking my Chris from me! And yes, I was there. I wanted to relish the event." She breathed heavily, her breasts heaving.
"How did you get Sarah's locket?"
"After the flames died down, Cletus brought it to me. I wanted a souvenir. And that locket should rightfully have been mine. I wanted something to remember that night."
"How much did it cost, Ella? What was the price you paid for Sarah and Adam to be killed?"
"Five thousand dollars," she said with a smile. "And I'd have...paid ten times that amount...if I'd had to." The argument taking its toll on her body, her words coming between gulping breaths.
"Did she beg you, Ella? Did she beg you to let her son live?" Tanner moved back around to once again get face to face with her. A quick glance over her shoulder told him that Buck was still there and listening intently.
Ella smiled, her split lip bleeding again. The insanity was evident in her eyes.
"Oh, you should have...heard her," she said. "She said...she'd do anything if only...we would save her son." Ella laughed. "I was tempted to...let Fowler and his men have some...fun with her before she died...But that brat of hers started to...whine and cry. And of course by then...the flames were getting...bigger. It was...too late."
"So, you murdered a boy and his mother. And still you don't have Chris."
"Because of you!"
Vin ignored her remark. "Did Sarah know why? Did you tell her why you were killing her and Adam?"
"Oh, yes. That was...best part!" Ella laughed. "Oh, you should have...seen her face when...I told her. Of course she didn't...believe me. And she begged...me to save...her son, for Chris. Said if I...really loved Chris, I wouldn't...kill his son."
"And yet you did anyway."
"Of course. That little brat...wasn't Chris Larabee's child. She...was a whore. The boy could have been anyone's... even Wilmington's. He spent...enough time with...the family."
Vin again glanced toward Buck and could see the man leaning against a tree, as if he needed it to hold him up. The tracker silently apologized for putting his friend through this pain, but he felt it was necessary. Buck had to realize what kind of animal Ella Gaines really was. And he prayed that Chris didn't return before he was through. The blond didn't need to hear the details of what Ella had done to his wife and son.
"Just answer me one question, Ella. Did you at least make sure they were dead before the fire got to them?"
The smile that slowly formed on Ella's face gave him the answer, but he let her talked anyway, for Buck's sake.
"Oh, no. Where's the... satisfaction in that? I wanted to hear her... crying out in pain, begging... pleading for her life. I wanted...to hear her take... her last breath," Ella said, the insanity obvious in her voice. "And she did. Oh, it was... glorious. She tried to escape, you know. But... Fowler had men surrounding... the house. Each time she tried to get out... the door or a window, they shot... at her, forcing her back in. I think... they hit her a... couple of times. They might have even... hit the brat."
Movement behind her caused Vin to look up. He saw Buck sliding down the tree to his knees. He couldn't see his face, but knew what Ella's words must be doing to the man. He closed his eyes briefly, fortifying himself to finish what he'd started. He turned back as Ella continued to talk.
"Oh, my God! It was exhilarating! She kept trying to... get out. Finally, she was... shot again and fell back. I could still hear her... begging. And I heard that... brat crying, telling his... mama to get up and crying... for his papa... both of them coughing from the smoke." Ella laughed. "Oh, how...I wish Chris could have... been there to see the... final proof of my love for him! He would... have been overjoyed!"
Her laughter became so loud, she never heard Buck Wilmington begin to retch. But Vin saw him. The tracker had to take a couple of deep breaths and turn away to keep from joining him. Vin had witnessed a number of horrible events in his life, but he couldn't imagine the insanity of that night. And he hadn't known Sarah and Adam. Buck must be going through Hell right about now. And Vin had placed him there. God, the pain this woman had caused was never-ending.
Once he got himself back under control, he faced Ella again. Time to finish this so he could check on Buck.
"You destroyed Chris Larabee that night. You took away the most important people in his life."
"He certainly didn't... act that way when I saw him... in Four Corners," she replied smugly, her earlier weakness lost in her euphoria.
"He knows better now. He knows what you did. He knows that you were a part of the worst days of his life. He knows the bitch that you are."
"And yet, he couldn't... bring himself to shoot me... when he had the chance. That only proves that... he loves me."
Tanner shook his head. "You're pathetic, Ella. You're a murderer. You kill women and children. No man could ever love a devil like you."
Behind her, Vin saw Buck get to his feet, wipe his mouth on the sleeve of his coat and turn away. Grabbing up the reins of his horse, Buck melted back into the darkness.
Ella began to speak once more, but Vin had had enough. Ripping a piece from her already tattered dress, he shoved it in her mouth tying the ends behind her head. She tried to yell around the cloth, but Vin just walked away, settling once again on the rock he'd shared with Chris earlier.
He rubbed his face, suddenly bone-weary. His mind was with Buck Wilmington. He wondered if the big man would ever forgive him.
An hour later, Vin turned over the watch to one of the young braves and began his search for Buck. But he discovered that Wilmington had ridden out, with no indication if he would return. Tanner decided to turn in for the night, hoping for the chance to talk to Buck in the morning.
But Vin didn't get much sleep that night. His dreams were visited by vague images of a woman and child he'd never met, shadows in the smoke and flames of a burning cabin. He woke up sweating like he'd been in the fire himself.
God, how did Chris handle this? He knew the man must have had nightmares after finding his family burned to death and having to bury them. Vin remembered what it was like when he buried his Indian Œfamily' after an Army attack. He couldn't imagine how much more painful it would be to bury his own flesh and blood, his child.
Sitting up, he ran a hand across his face. He dressed and slipped out the flap of the tipi. He saw the women getting the morning meal ready but only a few of the men were visible. Some were still asleep, he figured, while others were tending to the horses and doing some early morning hunting.
He walked down to the river to splash some cool water on his face. Stripping off his shirt, he cupped some water in his hands and poured it over his head, letting it slide down his chest, washing away the sweat from his nightmare.
A tittering from nearby froze him movements. Slowly he turned to find several of the young Indian women gathering water a few feet away. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen them earlier. He smiled and continued his morning bath, such as it was.
He stood then pulled his shirt back on. Turning back toward the village, he stopped as he spotted Buck sitting on a nearby rock.
"Seems like the ladies got the eye for ya, pard," the big man remarked with a small chuckle, which Vin noticed didn't extend to his eyes, which usually twinkled with merriment when he was teasing the Texan.
"I reckon." Vin moved to lean against the boulder Buck rested on. For several minutes neither man spoke. Vin watched the women gathered up their containers and head back to the village.
After they were out of hearing range, still looking at the water, he quietly apologized. "Bucklin, I'm sorry about last night. I know that was hard for ya... "
"I wondered, at first, if you knew I was there," Buck interrupted. "But then, I figured you did. Not much gets by you."
"You were coming to get her, weren't ya?"
Several long seconds passed before Buck's quiet, "Yeah."
Vin nodded. "And now?"
"Now? Now, I don't know what to think. I knew in my head that she was responsible for what happened to Adam and Sarah. But hearing her last night, knowing she was there and that she enjoyed... " Buck's voice cracked as his emotions, so close to the surface all night, made themselves evident. "God, Vin, she tortured them," he said with a sob, burying his face in his hands.
Vin reached up and placed his hand on Wilmington's shoulder, waiting quietly for the other man to regain his composure. Several minutes later, Buck lifted his head and wiped a sleeve across his face. He sat up and turned to Tanner.
"Chris don't need to know all that, he's been through enough," Wilmington said, wearily.
Vin nodded. "So have you, Buck. So have you. I just... shit, I shouldn'ta done that to ya and I'm sorry. I just wanted you to see what kind of animal she was. I never figured it would be that bad."
"Don't apologize for what she is. I think... I think I knew all along. I just... I remember watching her and Chris dance that night, before everything went sour and he found out about what she did. He seemed happy, ready to get on with his life, ya know? I was grateful to her for putting that spark back in him, especially so soon after the anniversary of Sarah and Adam's deaths. He was talking about maybe settling down again, getting back into ranching."
Buck shook his head and gave Vin a sad smile. "I wanted that for him. I wanted to see him happy again. Maybe have some more kids. I was ready to be an uncle again."
"You really loved Adam, didn't ya, Buck?"
"Oh, yeah. He was a great kid. Always giggling and smiling. And Sarah, she was like a sister to me. She never once made me feel unwelcome."
"I wish I coulda met Œem."
Buck turned to look at his friend. "They would have loved you, Vin. Sarah would have spent all day cooking your favorite foods. And Adam would have been bugging you to teach him how to track and asking you a hundred questions about Indians. The kid never stopped asking questions."
"Kinda like JD," Vin mused.
Buck smiled. "Yeah, kinda like JD. Maybe that's why JD and I get on so well. Adam... he was special, ya know? He was smart and curious about the world around him. He was already learning to read. Sarah was teaching him at home. He would follow Chris and me around, always asking questions about what we was doing. Always wantin' to help. He woulda followed you around like a puppy, asking question after question."
Buck's voice changed, getting higher, like that of a five-year-old boy. "Vin, what kinda tree is that? Vin, did ya ever kill a bear? Vin, will ya show me an Indian sometime? Vin... "
"... will ya show me how to use a bow and arrow?"
Both men turned at the new voice. Chris was standing a few feet away, smoking a cheroot, a small smile on his face. "Vin, how do ya tell a bear track from a wolf track?"
Buck chuckled. "Vin, why is the sky blue?"
Vin looked back and forth between the two men, seeing the smiles gracing both faces and knowing there was some kind of joke there.
"Adam was always asking why the sky was blue or why some flowers were red and others were yellow," Chris explained. "We never could give him a good enough explanation and he was never satisfied with us telling him that's just the way God made them."
Vin nodded. "I wished I'd have been able to teach him to use that bow and arrow."
"Me too," Chris said softly. "Me too."
Silence settled over the three men. A minute later, Chris stubbed out his cheroot beneath his boot. "Breakfast is ready." The other two men nodded and the trio turned and headed back to the village.
Later that afternoon, Chris was putting the finishing touches on a bow. As he and Kanahe talked during the week they'd been in the village, the older man had been teaching the blond how to make the weapon. They'd already complete half a dozen arrows. His next lesson would be learning to use the bow. He hoped that Vin would show him when they went out the next morning to hunt.
He thought again about the conversation he'd joined that morning. It had been a while since he'd been able to talk about Adam that way. All week long, as he'd been putting the arrows together, his thoughts would wander to his son. He knew that Adam would have enjoyed spending a week with the tribe, playing with the children and helping him make his bow and arrow. Buck was right. Adam would have loved Vin. It saddened him to know that the two would never meet.
Periodically, his gentle thoughts would be interrupted by screams from the clearing where Ella was tied up. He'd not been able to go near her again, watching only from a distance, knowing that his anger and hatred of the woman would probable cause him to lose control again. It was enough to know that Vin checked on the situation several times a day. He knew the tracker would tell him if things were getting close to being over.
Curiously, Buck had been quiet most of the day. He stopped his work and looked around, spotting his old friend playing with the children. He smiled, remembering how he used to chase Adam around the yard at the small ranch outside Eagle Bend. God, Adam had loved the big man.
Chris closed his eyes, his mind drifting back to that last day. He remembered Adam pleading with Buck to give him a ride on his horse. Buck, as always, obliged the youngster, while Chris packed up his own horse and said a private goodbye to his wife.
He'd missed them before he'd even gone a mile down the road.
He opened his eyes, again searching for his friend. He knew this was hard on Buck, this whole thing with Ella. And he understood the other man's misgivings about letting the tribe handle her fate. Hell, he'd probably feel the same way... if the victims were anyone but Sarah and Adam.
And he knew it was tearing Buck apart, wanting to get justice for Chris' family, but not wanting to let a woman be tormented. That was another reason why Chris was avoiding Ella. He, too, hated to see a woman tortured that way and knew that if he saw her again, he might just help Buck take her out of here, even after he'd contributed to that torture himself.
His guilt was still strong, knowing he'd slept with the woman who had ordered the deaths of his wife and son. He was tugged in two directions, wanting to see her pay for her crime and yet not wanting to see her marred like she was. He silently begged Sarah to forgive him. Asked God to forgive him.
"Chris?"
He looked up to find Vin standing next to him. The look on the younger man's face was enough to tell Chris that things were coming to a head. He was relieved, yet anxious. He glanced over at Buck, who was still playing with the children, allowing himself to be blindfolded and led around by the hand.
"Now?" Chris asked.
Vin nodded. "Little Dove says she is ready to let her justice be served. She and Tonti are cutting her down. They have a fire pit already set up a little further out, downwind of the village."
Chris bit his lip and took a deep breath. He noticed the tribe members starting to gather in the village center. Apparently the word was being spread among them as well.
"Chris, if you and Buck want to leave... "
Larabee shook his head. "Tell Buck he can leave if he wants, but I'm staying. I... I'm not sure I can watch it, Vin, but... I want to be here. I need to know when... "
"I understand. Chris, for what it's worth, she'll probably pass out from the smoke before the fire actually kills. I know that ain't much.... aw, hell." He waved his hand to dismiss his statement. "I'll come and get you after it'd done."
Chris nodded and watched Vin walk over to Wilmington. The two men conversed for a minute. Buck nodded, then watched Vin turn and head back to the clearing. Chris was surprised when the big man let him go, but Chris could see the indecision on Buck's face. Larabee stood and moved to join his friend.
"Buck, you alright?"
Wilmington took a deep breath before turning to look at his friend. He shook his head. "I just... God, Chris, I don't know if I can do this. I want to go over there with guns blazing and drag her out of here. But then, I think about what she did to your family, and I know she's getting what she deserves. I want her to pay for those crimes, Chris, I'm just not sure if this is the way."
He glanced around again, watching the members of the tribe still gathering together. "Does that make me wrong, Chris?" he asked softly. "Does that mean I didn't love them enough?"
Chris frowned. He grabbed Buck's arm and turned him so that they were face to face. "Don't ever think that! I know how you felt about them, Buck. And even better, I know how they felt about you! They loved you, Buck. And if Sarah was here, she'd been the first one to tell you that what you're feeling isn't wrong. It's just the way you are. Hell, I'm having some trouble with it too. I'm not sure if I'm giving in because of what she did or because of my own guilt."
"You got nothing to feel guilty about, Chris. You couldn't have known what would happen while we were in Mexico. And you certainly couldn't have known that Ella was a part of it. You just wanted to get on with your life. Sarah would understand. Hell, she'd probably kicked your ass for mourning for so long."
"I'll never stop mourning for them, Buck. I'm not sure I'll ever love anyone as much as Sarah." He sighed. "And after Ella, I'm not sure I even want to try."
"Aw, Chris. Don't let that bitch... .don't let her keep you from finding happiness. You know Sarah wouldn't want that. And you'd only be playing into Ella's hand. She doesn't want you with anyone but her. Don't let her win."
The conversation was interrupted by yells coming from the direction of the clearing. The two men ran toward the disturbance, only to stop when they saw Ella, bedraggled and bleeding, coming toward them. Her left arm was wrapped around Little Dove's throat. In her right hand she carried a knife, which was up against the Indian woman's chest.
"Ella!" Chris yelled.
The desperate woman looked his way. "Chris! Help me! They want to burn me to death!" She looked horrible with bruises and blood covering her skin and clothing. He wasn't sure how she was still standing. Her panic appeared to be fueling her ability to move, despite her injuries.
"It's only what you deserve," snarled Vin Tanner, who was coming up from her other side. She turned to face him, pulling Little Dove around in front of her, placing the woman between herself and the weapon in Vin's hands.
"You stay away from me, or I'll kill her!" Ella screeched. "Chris, saddle some horses, we have to get out of here."
"No, Ella."
"Chris? You have to help me. They want to kill me."
"No, Ella. Look what you've done. You killed my family. You killed Little Dove's son. You have to pay for those crimes."
Buck was torn. Standing beside his friend, watching Ella try to escape. He was tempted to get on a horse and ride away with her... straight to the jail in Stacey. He was also tempted to shoot her down where she stood. The decision was taken from him when he heard a cry behind him and saw a child race past him toward the pair in the center of the stand-off.
Yelling for his mother, Little Dove's oldest son slammed into both women, causing Ella to lose her grip on the Indian woman. All three tumbled to the ground. The boy was the first to recover and rose to his knee, his eyes on his mother.
In her bid for freedom, however, Ella was fierce. Still gripping the knife. She lunged at the boy and was able to grab his hair and yank him back toward her. He fell onto his back, with Ella on her knees above him.
She raised the knife. Screaming, her eyes wide and wild, her arm started down, the knife aimed at his heart.
But it never struck its target. She was staggered by the first shot from Tanner's weapon, but didn't go down. Once again she tried to raise the knife, but died on her knees as two more bullets, this time from Chris and Buck, entered her body. A split second later several arrows slammed into her as well.
Still on her knees, she swayed. She looked down and blinked as she saw two arrows protruding from her chest. Four others jutted from other parts of her body. She turned her head toward her former lover.
"Chris... " she began, choking on the blood spewing from her mouth. She tried to speak further, but too much blood was filling her throat, bubbling up from her damaged lungs.
Chris moved closer to her, his gun still in his hand, which lay against his leg. He didn't know how she'd been able to move with all the injuries she'd had before, much less how she was still upright with three bullets and half a dozen arrows piercing her body.
"Help me," she mouthed, her voice so soft he could hear her.
He shook his head and slid his pistol back into its holster. He squatted down so that he could look her in the eye.
"I'll see you in hell, Ella." He stood and turned his back on her, walking away toward the river.
"Chris... " she tried to call again, her hand raised up toward him, beseeching him to return to her. She didn't understand why he was rejecting her. Hadn't she proved her love?
Her view of him was blocked when Buck moved to block her view. "It's over, Ella. You have killed your last innocent victim. I hope you rot in hell for what you've done... to him and to this tribe."
"But, I love... " she began, blood spattering her chin again.
Buck just shook his head. She reached toward him and began to fall forward. He moved, but not quite fast enough, allowing her to fall. As her body hit the ground, the arrows in her chest and abdomen were pushed deeper into her body.
She gasped and then lay still. He stared down at her body, waiting for her to move again. He was oblivious to everything around him until Vin came to stand beside him. The tracker kneeled down and turned Ella onto her side. He placed his hand along her neck.
A long moment later he stood. "She dead, Buck," he said quietly. "Why don't you go find Chris. I'll handle this."
Buck nodded, still staring at the body at his feet. He continued to stare at her until Vin forcibly turned him to face the river and gave him a small push. Wilmington went along with the nudge and followed his old friend's footsteps away from the scene in the village.
Three days later, the trio from Four Corners stopped at a crossroads. To the right was Four Corners. To the left, Eagle Bend and the direction of the old Larabee homestead.
It had been a long, relatively quiet ride back. Buck had isolated himself from the other two, still trying to come to terms with the events in the Indian village. He knew that Chris and Vin had spent a lot of time talking quietly between themselves and wondered about that, since the two men usually didn't speak a lot, even to each other.
Buck saw Chris look longingly toward the road to Eagle Bend. The turnoff to his old ranch was only a mile or so down the road. He dropped his head, figuring that Chris was going to ask Tanner to accompany him. He was glad that Chris wasn't trying to hide from them, but wished...
"Vin, could you tell the others that Buck and I will be along in a few days."
Vin nodded.
"That is if Buck doesn't mind coming along," Chris said, turning to his oldest friend.
Wilmington looked up at Larabee, his eyes wide, the question obvious to anyone who could read it. And Chris could.
"Who else to join me but the man who was there with me, the man who knew them. The man who was part of that family?" Chris asked.
Buck smiled and relaxed. He nodded, letting Chris see his gratitude.
Vin, who had been riding between the two men, reached his arm out to Chris. "See ya in a few days. Take your time, we'll handle things in town."
Chris grabbed his forearm in the gesture the two men always shared. Vin then turned to face Wilmington.
"Bucklin, I'll see ya later."
He again reached out his hand. Buck looked at the hand, then up into Vin's eyes.
"Vin, I'm sorry..." he began.
"Nothin' ta be sorry for, pard. You were just being Buck. And that ain't a bad man to be. That man is my friend."
Buck smiled. When he reached out and tried to grab Vin's hand, the tracker slid his further up Buck's arm and grabbed his forearm, in the same grip he used with Chris.
"Keep an eye on him, Bucklin," Vin said, gesturing with his head to Larabee. "And let us know if you'll be more than a couple days, just so we know when to expect ya."
Buck grabbed tightened his grip and nodded. "We will, Vin. And don't you worry about Chris. I'll take good care of him."
"I know ya will, Buck. I know you will."
"I can take care of myself, boys," Chris groused, causing the other two the break their grip and look his way. "I'm a big boy now."
Vin and Buck just exchanged looks of amusement. Then Vin touched the brim of his hat.
"See ya in a few days, boys," he said before he turned his horse and rode off toward Four Corners. They could hear his laughter floating back to them on the wind.
"Wonder what he finds so funny," Chris remarked.
"No way of telling, pard, no way of telling."
"I seem to recall Sarah doing that too. Remember that time we talked about her going to St. Louis for a month with her friend Henrietta? I swear, I thought she was gonna die from laughing so hard." He gently nudged his horse down the trail toward Eagle Bend.
"Well, now stud, you gotta admit, it would have been pretty funny. I mean, you told her she could leave Adam with us. He wasn't even a year old yet, still in diapers," Buck said, moving along beside him.
"I think we could have handled it, Buck. I mean, we'd watched him before."
"Uhuh. I remember. You tried to keep him from crawling away by lassoing him and tying the lasso to the railing. Whooee! I can still hear that woman screaming when she rode up and found him trussed up like that."
Chris smiled. "Yeah, that did get her Irish dander up didn't it? But it kept him from crawling away from us. I still don't see what the problem was."
Buck chuckled. "And remember that time we all went into town, and you told her you'd watch Adam while she went for her fittin' at the dressmakers."
"Oh, yeah. I don't think I've ever been so embarrassed. She just marched right into the saloon and snatched Adam right out of my arms and stalked back out the door."
"Boy oh boy was she mad."
"Well, hell, it wasn't like I was letting the boy drink... well, aside from that touch of whiskey, but the doctor said it would help with the teething pain."
"And the lad sure did sleep well that night!" Buck exclaimed. Both men broke out in laughter.
Their reminiscing continued as the pair rode further down the road, voices growing softer the further they moved from the crossroads.
Just two old friends, talking over old times. Remembering the good times. Healing.
THE END
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