DISCLAIMER: No profit is made in any way shape or form from this fan fic. All of the Magnificent Seven characters are the property of Mirisch, Trilogy, MGM, CBS, and now TNN. The twins, however, are mine. Captain McNelly was an actual Texas Ranger during this time period. Sam Crockett is just a name.
Ezra approached the livery right in the middle of Buck's impassioned plea to get Vin to come back to Four Corners. He could hear Buck through the opened doors. No one else was around, so Ezra assumed Buck had slipped the man a couple of dollars for him to disappear for a while. Buck had been determined that Vin was going nowhere until he at least listened to Alexandra, Chris, and Ezra. Chris was right. You could always count on Buck to be the one who tried to keep everyone together. He wasn't going to allow a friend to go off thinking his other friends couldn't be trusted to watch his back in more than a gunfight. Buck wasn't one to let Vin just up and leave without trying to stop him. Well, Buck wasn't the only one who considered Vin a friend worth the effort to make him listen to reason, or at least an apology. However, Ezra had expected Vin to be angrier than he appeared to be.
There'd been something in the way Vin had greeted them that for once Ezra couldn't put a finger on what the man was thinking. Vin hadn't acted like he was surprised that they had come after him, nor had he acted like they were the last people he wanted to see. If he wasn't angry with them, then what had made him leave in the first place? Ezra knew that Vin had been relieved to see them simply because he'd spotted Ella Gaines and Mary and Billy needed them. People would have died had they not ridden into town when they had. What had John Terrell said to Vin that had made him at least willing to give his friends a second chance? Whatever it was, Ezra was going to use it to his full advantage. His friends in Four Corners had become very important to the gambler, and he wasn't about to lose any one of them without a fight.
"Now, Vin, you'd best just get over it and come on home. I ain't gonna let you go off on your own any more than I'd let Chris or JD or any of the others go off half-cocked. Hell, you weren't even thinkin' straight enough to get your gear, were ya? And, what if some bounty hunter had come across ya alone an' all? You'd be dead, an' we'd still be wonderin' what happened to ya. That ain't right to worry your friends and family that way. Those little girls would still be waitin' an' askin' for ya."
Instead of an angry retort, all Ezra heard was a softly spoken, "I told ya, Buck, I already decided on goin' back in the mornin'." Then Ezra heard the amusement in Vin's voice. "Who figured out where I'd be goin' anyways? I only decided this mornin' when I woke up."
That's when Ezra decided to make his presence known. "You are speaking to the man, Mr. Tanner. Why I do believe Mr. Wilmington has a talent for detection that he has heretofore kept hidden from us."
"You been holdin' out on us again, Bucklin?" Vin's retort indicated to Ezra and Buck that he was, at the very least, willing to listen to them. Something had happened in the last day that had changed his mind. If Vin was willing to forgive and forget, then Ezra could at least acknowledge it. He really didn't care if Buck witnessed the scene or not.
Ezra walked up to Vin and put out his hand. "I apologize if I have caused you any discomfort by omitting to tell you what I had learned." Buck's grin nearly split his face wide open as Vin took the outstretched hand in his.
"If ya mean that you ain't gonna let me walk blind into a hellhole with a banshee like that waitin' on me again, then you're on." Vin shook the hand at then turned to Buck. "Quit grinnin' like that Buck. You're getting' that smug look again."
Ezra burst out laughing. The relief he felt that Vin had apparently decided that he wasn't holding any grudges for what happened amazed him. Then again Vin Tanner continuously amazed Ezra. Vin had a way of looking at the world that kept a man sane, and for that Ezra was truly grateful. Vin's wry sense of humor had caught the rest of the seven off guard many a time, so much so that his absence for that month had been felt by all of them. But what had made Vin leave in the first place when he was willing to let Chris and Ezra off the hook so easily? He looked up from saddling his horse to find Vin staring steadily at him. He raised an eyebrow in question, but all Vin did was give him that half grin of his indicating that if Ezra put his mind to it, he'd figure it out sooner or later. Ezra smiled in return. It was a challenge Ezra Standish could not refuse.
"Would you look at that. Chris's still got his head on his shoulders." Buck's comment brought Ezra and Vin to stand on either side of him.
"A gold piece says she made him perspire in complete and abject fear."
"Hell, Ezra, only a fool would take that bet. Look how he's walking. I say she made him beg, on his knees." Buck was still grinning ear to ear. Vin had agreed to hear Chris out, and his actions with Ezra showed the tracker was no longer angry. Maybe things would all work out for the best. Buck could only hope.
"You're both full of it. Mary's got too much class for that nonsense. I say she made him spill is guts, but let him keep his pride." Vin looked at them and grinned. Somehow they knew he was right.
"You boys ready to ride?" Chris was standing there with nothing but determination in his eyes. Ella Gaines was going to face justice, if not the law's justice, his justice. Either way she was going to pay for murdering his wife and son. He looked directly at Vin and spoke to him alone. "Glad to have you at my back on this one."
"Back hell, Mary's a friend of mine, cowboy. I'll be right next to ya. Buck an' Ezra'll watch our backs. Ain't that right, boys?"
"You got that right, pard."
"I wouldn't have it any other way, gentlemen. Shall we go and capture ourselves a whole lot of trouble?
Chris smiled and knew Vin was cutting him some slack right now, but he was grateful his friends were there with him. They'd make certain he caught Ella and didn't do anything stupid in the process. "Then let's ride." He got on his horse and they galloped off to get the woman who had murdered once and tried to murder again today all in the name of love. He'd settle things with Vin as soon as Ella was in custody. He knew Vin would give him that chance.
Ella Gaines was not happy. In fact, she was furious. The men she had hired weeks ago were inept, stupid, incompetent. She wanted Mary Travis dead, but could they kill her? No, they were cowards. They whined that there were too many people on the train, too many people who could recognize them. The fact that they hadn't realized she was the daughter-in-law of Judge Travis until some passenger had mentioned it had also scared them. Then, just as she had taken matters into her own hands and had Vin Tanner to witness her love for Chris Larabee, the damned sheriff showed up. However, he was too far away to ruin her plans. One more step and she would have had Mary at her mercy with Tanner trapped too far away to help when Jed Lassiter showed up out of nowhere. Damn the man!
She had fired him a week ago because he had taken it into his head to fall in love with her. She didn't like his smothering ways; in fact his obsessive love for her made her nervous. When he had vowed to kill Larabee to make her realize Lassiter was the only man for her, she had fired him. She had also threatened to kill him if he ever tried to hurt Chris. Chris was hers and no one else's. Whatever was wrong with Lassiter, he had picked the wrong woman to fall in love with. Ella belonged to no man but Chris Larabee, and she would do anything to prove it. She had doubled the cash she'd given her hired men and watched from across the street hidden, she thought, from all eyes even Lassiter's. The unmitigated joy she felt when she saw the men force a bewildered Mary Travis and her son across the street to their horses was interrupted by the sight of Chris Larabee appearing with several of his men and demanding that they let Mary and her brat go. Where had he come from, and why didn't they just kill the woman? She should have realized that if Tanner was near, Larabee wouldn't be far behind. So intent on her ruined plans, Ella didn't hear the door open, and Lassiter enter until he was behind her.
Ella had nearly had a heart attack and refused to go until Lassiter pointed out that the sheriff and his men were looking all over for her. Tanner had labeled her a murderess, and now the law and Larabee were out for blood. She allowed herself and her bag of money to be escorted to the livery where Lassiter had hired a wagon and horses. He even had her luggage from the train. They had argued about going to Mexico, but Ella didn't want to go somewhere where she would be at the mercy of a man who could speak the language and she couldn't. In order to shut her up, he had given in and was taking her east, where she had a place just for this purpose to lay low until the hunt was off.
It was all going so well, the rocky landscape making tracking difficult. Ella knew that if she waited, her chance to rid herself of Lassiter when he was no longer useful would present itself. So, she waited, thinking of how Chris must know she adored him to go to so much trouble. Her spies had told her of the rift between Larabee and Travis, but Ella wanted to be sure. Killing Mary Travis was the only way to be sure Chris was free of her. Oh, how the man must know by now just how much of a claim he had on her. He would surely come after her to thank her and claim her for his bride. Then Ella saw her chance. They were on a trail that took them close to the edge where a drop of several hundred feet to the river below awaited anyone foolish to get too close.
Lassiter was prattling on about how they would be so happy together. He would never live to touch her. She kept smiling at him and answering yes to everything he said until she had gotten her knife out of her pocket where she had hidden it earlier when Lassiter's appearance had kept her from using it on Mary. Screaming at him she stabbed him once, then twice. The startled horses took off, the reins falling from the injured Lassiter's hands. He fought her, but as the knife stabbed at him again, he took his gun out and managed to club Ella over the right temple with it. She slumped against him and never saw the wagon hit the rock that catapulted the wagon and its occupants over the side of the trail to be bounced on the jagged rocks as they plunged to the river below. Only the frightened horses that had managed to break free and the bag of money remained on the trail. Vin Tanner spotted the horse from his spyglass from further up the trail. Chris found the bag of money. It was Buck who saw the wreckage below near the water, and Ezra who noticed a hat and veil lying on the ground at the spot the wagon went over the side. Tanner picked it up and looked at Chris.
"Ella was wearing this." There was no other sound as the men looked for a way down to check the wreckage. Larabee wouldn't believe until he saw her body. They tethered the horse after taking the saddles from them. Vin quieted the wagon horses and brought them over to join theirs. Then he grabbed one of the saddlebags and secured it over his shoulder. He indicated Buck and Ezra do the same. No one had anything to say really, just a job that needed to be done no matter how unpleasant.
As they made their way down the slope in the waning light using ropes, two bodies floated downstream. One was that of a man bleeding into the icy waters while the body of the woman was slowly being sucked under due to the weight of her clothes. A head wound was still bleeding as her head disappeared under the waters only to bob up again later as the churning water and debris buffeted her around. Then, she was snagged by a root of a tree jutting out into the river, and once more she disappeared from view. Night had fallen by the time the four weary men reached the bottom and saw what was left of the wreckage. No bodies were found, but there was one bag left. Opening it, Chris found a picture of him and Ella. He crumpled it in his hands.
"Tomorrow, we look for her body." He slumped to the ground exhausted physically and emotionally. The others gathered wood for the fire. Buck looked over at Chris and then at Vin and Ezra.
"Good thing you made us bring the supplies down with us." He gave a halfhearted smile in Vin's direction. "I'll get the coffee started. There's hardtack in the saddlebags."
"The horses?" Ezra didn't relish climbing back up after them in the dark.
"They'll be fine up there til we go get 'em." Ezra nodded at Vin and went off with the tracker to find wood. The bitter taste of disappointment was nagged at the men. Somehow, they knew Ella's body would never be found, and Chris Larabee would have to live with the fear that she might still be alive somewhere, ready to kill again to claim him.
Buck and Ezra, giving up trying to get a word out of Chris and wrapped up in their blankets by the fire, finally drifted off. Buck had made Vin give his word that he'd wake him up for his watch whether Chris rested or not. The tracker nodded silently and walked to the edge of the water, gazing out into the moonlit water. He was bone tired but knew that tonight sleep would be a stranger to him. Once more he'd been so close, and yet he had let her slip from his fingers again. Now Mary and Billy would remain in danger forever if they could find no proof Ella was dead. He was a better tracker than this. Hell, he'd tracked men in places most swore not even a bloodhound could follow, but Ella Gaines had slipped away from him twice now. He was getting soft living in a town. He shook his head at his thoughts. They weren't going to help him any, just make him angrier with himself more than he already was. If anything happened to Mary or Billy he'd never forgive himself.
He heard the spurs first. Chris had finally moved from the rock near the fire. He was carrying two cups of coffee. Handing one to Vin, he sat on the rock next to him.
For once, the silence between them was uncomfortable. It wasn't that the trust between them was gone, it was as if Ella Gaines poison was so potent it withered everything it touched.
"I'm glad you were there."
Vin snorted his disgust with himself at Chris's statement. "Yeah, I was a real help, wasn't I? I let that bitch get away again."
"It ain't your fault. I had her in my hands, and I let her go. If anyone's to blame. . . ."
Vin knew what was coming next.
"I'm to blame, for everything."
"Nope, it's all my fault she got away. I missed her the first time and let her get away this time, too."
"The hell it is, what were you gonna do, gun her down and take a chance hittin' Mary or someone else?" What Chris said made sense to Vin's practical nature. It also hit him that they sounded like two kids fighting over a toy. Only it wasn't a toy, it was Ella Gaines' evil. They could fight all night over who was to blame, but truth was it was all the responsibility of Ella Gaines. Chris was about to try and convince Vin more, but the tracker had decided this line of thought just wouldn't do.
Vin shut Chris up with one look. It was a look of total understanding. "You think we could argue 'bout somethin' more important than who shoulda killed Ella first? If we're lucky, the river took care of her."
"When 've we ever been that lucky? Hard way's only way I know."
Vin grinned at Chris and shook his head in agreement. "Hard headed's more like it."
"You callin' me stubborn?"
"Boot fits."
"Tanner?"
"Larabee?"
"Sorry 'bout the Terrells."
Vin was silent for a moment. He knew that eventually he and Chris would get to this point, but he didn't know if he was angry still or just tired of wondering. There was no discomfort in the silence any more, and it was time to give Chris a chance to explain. He waited.
"She needed to tell you herself. She asked for that chance, an' I couldn't tell her no."
"How long you know 'bout it?"
"When JD got all crazy at dinner. He told me it hit him all of a sudden why Alexandra always seemed so familiar to him. You have the same eyes, the same color hair, the same smile. I didn't even see it until he said something. Then Ezra walked in when I asked her. She said she wanted to have all the proof to show you. Me and Ezra only gave our word when she said she'd tell you first thing."
Vin hadn't said a word, but he hadn't stalked off angry like when he'd first found out. He was listening, and Chris was feeling less like a traitor every minute. He was also exhausted from all the talking he'd done this day. Friendship was downright exhausting, but it was worth it.
"All right."
"All right? I spill my guts an' all you got to say is all right?"
"What do you know 'bout that Judge Crockett?"
Chris should have known. Vin had made his living reading men. So much for careful when your best friend could read you better than you could read yourself. "What do you want to know?"
"What's a Texas judge as famous as the hanging judge doin' here, an' why is he so interested in me?"
This time he looked Chris right in the eyes demanding the truth, and Chris knew that this was the moment that he could preserve his friendship or ruin it.
"Alexandra wanted the bounty off your head. John sent Pinkertons to investigate, and they took their evidence to the governor of Texas along with letters of character from Judge Travis, folks in Four Corners, and Sheriff Johnson. He appointed the judge to look into it. Even called in the Rangers. I hear McNelly himself went and looked into it. Seems you got friends in some of the strangest places, pard."
"And?" For once Chris couldn't tell what Vin was thinking. Vin had retreated into the darkness hiding under that damn hat brim. If Chris could look at his eyes, he might figure out what Vin was thinking.
"And the governor told Crockett to investigate and give you a pardon if he decided the evidence said you were innocent."
"A pardon? Hell, a pardon just means ya did it but it's okay ya did it! I didn't kill Jess Kincaid, an' I don't want no pardon for it!"
At least now Chris knew what Vin was thinking. He could handle this. "That's what I told them. But John and Alexandra both said at least this way you could prove your innocence without havin' some bounty hunter shoot ya in the back."
"Mr. Larabee has a point."
"Hell! Ezra, how long you been there?"
"Well ya weren't exactly real quiet just then, Vin."
Buck and Ezra were both standing there. "You gonna tell this judge no if he offers you a pardon?" Buck wasn't one to beat around a bush much.
"I don't know. He ain't offered me one, yet. I reckon he's not cause he ain't said nuthin' yet."
"You haven't exactly been in his presence long enough for him to ask you anything of consequence. I believe that this man is fair or John would not have agreed to any of this. Terrell is not a man who would allow his wife any false hope."
Ezra made good sense, so did Chris and Buck. Damn he was tired. This was just too much to think about, but he had been running so long he just wanted to be able to stop. Maybe now was the time, but knowing his luck, this would end with him at the end of a noose. Well, one way or another, he was going to die one day. At least he knew now that he had people who actually cared enough to not only watch his back but move heaven and earth to help him. It was comforting, but it scared the hell out of him, too. He saw the dawn break. They had been talking and thinking all night about this. It was time to put his personal problems aside. Finding whether or not they were all free of Ella Gaines was the main concern now. It was time to find out the truth of what had happened to her, and it was the perfect way not to think about his life at the moment. What would a few more hours harm?
Buck and Ezra climbed back up the slope to get the horses. They would circle around and come up on the other side of the river while Vin and Chris searched on foot. They were all tired and edgy, but the one thing they all agreed on was that they wanted this over and done with. The sun never actually came out, and it reminded Vin of the day he had returned to Chris's shack. It was turning out to be a miserably wet day, but at least he had his new coat on. He trudged along silently with Chris looking everywhere he did, twice. Buck and Ezra were leading the horses along the other bank while they searched that side. Four miles from the site of the accident, Vin stopped and peered out into the churning water. The rain and wind had picked up making the search all the more difficult. Chris was right next to him as Buck nudged Ezra to look in their direction.
Vin took off his coat, unbuckled his gun belt, handed them to Chris, and waded out into the icy waters. Reaching down with one hand, he pulled a body to the surface. It was a man. He'd been stabbed several times and his body was bloated looking from floating in the icy waters, but he still fit the description of the man seen leaving the livery with Ella. That was one down. Vin pulled his coat on over his wet shirt and strapped on his gun belt. He nodded to the others to continue. When Buck would have protested, Vin yelled across the expanse separating them.
"You and Ezra ride on down and come 'round with the horses. There's a crossing not far down, 'bout three miles at the most. Me and Chris'll keep searchin' long as the light holds an' the rain don't get too bad." He didn't turn to look into the haggard eyes next to him. They buried the body as best they could using rocks mostly to cover it. Then, they went back to searching. The further they went without spotting her body meant only two things. Either Ella's body had been pulled under the current and they would never find proof of her death, or she had actually survived the accident. But if she had survived, where was she? They should have seen signs of her by now. Vin kept walking pausing every now and again stooping to peer into the muddy water of the bank or over at a tree root sticking up. He was about to take a closer look at the ground to his left when Chris grabbed his arm.
Vin turned in his direction and saw what he was looking at. It was material, dark twisted with white caught on a root sticking up from the water. They both sloshed through the mud on the bank of the river and grabbed at the twisted cloth. Chris looked at Vin. Vin nodded at him. It was the same color as the dress Ella had been wearing. They both plunged their arms into the water regardless of the icy cold that quickly numbed their hands. Vin found twisted material and hauled it into the air before he lost feeling in his hands. It looked like the entire skirt and petticoat that Ella had been wearing. There were no prints leading in or out of the river. Trying to rub some warmth back into his hands and arms Vin stamped around the embankment looking for more bits of clothing. He and Chris found nothing but more rain. They were wet, cold, and thoroughly miserable now. Just as Buck and Ezra came riding up, the two friends had come to the same conclusion.
"That cloth was way under that root. And it was all twisted and torn, not cut. You think the river took her?"
"I think that if she was still alive we'd have found her by now. If we ever do find her body, it will be what's left of it. I think maybe she's dead, Chris."
Ezra wrapped a somewhat dry blanket around Chris's shoulders while Buck did the same for Vin. Looking at the torn and twisted clothing on the ground, both men had to agree.
"You two are already feeling the affects of this horrendous weather. I fail to see how even the strongest of us could survive that fall into the river like that and then a night of exposure wet and cold without any fire or dry clothing or blankets."
"Ezra's right. Let's get on back to Brecken for they send a posse for us. If anyone found Ella, they might have taken her to the town doc."
Neither Chris nor Vin could find a reason to fault anyone's thinking, so they bowed to common sense and rode back to town. That didn't keep them from searching in the rain for any signs of anyone who might have passed by the river that night. They didn't find the cart tracks leading way from the river further into the wilderness of the mountains. The rain had washed away any traces the old wheels had left leading to an old cave ten miles from the accident and as far from Four Corners as a lonely mountain man could get.
Carl Swanson was a bear of a man who'd been through four wives, one of whom had willingly married him. All had died in childbirth or from beatings when Carl had gotten too liquored up. One of his wives, a squaw, had been bought for two horses and one rifle. She'd lasted until Carl had decided she was too much trouble for the pleasure he derived from her body, so he had snapped her neck like a twig. Her bones were nearly picked clean when he'd returned from the plains with his new woman, a former saloon singer he'd knocked out and drug up to his shack in the mountains. She was a smart one and lasted until Carl had found her trying to rid her body of his child. He'd always wanted a son, so he'd beat her to death and tracked a wagon train until he'd found himself a sweet young thing off on her own looking for firewood. Her wide hips and large blossoming breasts had promised nights of pleasure and easy birthing. The fact she was only thirteen and the same age as his sweet Lilly only made him want her more. She'd cried a lot, but was turning into a right nice wife when she'd gotten pregnant.
Carl's son hadn't lasted a week after his ma had died bleeding her life away after Carl had pulled him from her screaming body. Carl missed that girl, but she was easily replaced. It was the loss of his boy that made him leave his mountains to look for another brood mare for his seed. He was going to chance going into town when he'd gone to water his horse at the river and seen something white floating downstream. He'd almost swallowed the tobacco in his mouth when he'd taken a closer look. Snagging her by one of her limp arms, Carl pulled Ella from the icy water. Her head wound had stopped bleeding, and Carl had nearly thrown her practically nude body back into the river when he heard a moan. Sure enough the woman was still alive. Carl inspected her closely. She was a bit older than he liked, and a bit on the skinny side, but she had lush breasts and hips that looked wider than the last girl he'd planted his seed in. Whoever she belonged to probably thought she was dead. That meant no one chasing him. She'd do if he could keep her alive. Older ones like this tended to appreciate the fact a man wanted them, so Carl had wrapped Ella in filthy blankets and tossed her into the cart. He'd made good time knowing the trails in the dark as well as he did in the daylight. He'd reached the caves just about the time the four men had started their search. As they finally made their way back to Brecken for food and warmth, Ella was finally regaining consciousness.
Ella opened her eyes to find herself lying naked and wrapped in filthy blankets. Her head was pounding and a horrible stench filled her nostrils. She tried to turn over only to cause Carl to wake up. He'd drug her up into the caves and was tired and cranky. She was heavier than she looked, but seeing her dried off, he'd decided she was worth the trouble. His look caused the questions forming on her tongue to dry up like a desert wind.
"What 'r ya doin', woman?"
"I, uh, where?" She tried to sit up despite the pounding in her head. She toppled over only to be caught be Carl. He smelled even worse close up.
"Yer with me, an' ya fell in the river. Had to fetch ya out. Now I'm tired an' wanna sleep. Shut up and lay back down."
Ella looked at him in surprise. "Who are you?"
Carl grinned showing yellow teeth, what was left of them. "I'm yer husband Carl Swanson. Don't ya 'member?" He'd seen some women wake up after a blow to the head not knowing who they were. Those that lived for a while afterward usually believed what they were told. He leaned closer and patted his new bride on the arm. "Yer my wife, Lily. Now lay on back down an' get some sleep. I wanna get home fore nightfall tomorrow. You'll feel better when we get home. I'll take real good care of ya."
Too dizzy to argue much less think, Lily lay back down and let sleep claim her. Her clothes must have been ruined by the river, but Carl would take care of her. He said so. The woman who was once Ella slept deeply, not dreaming of anyone. Who was there to dream about?
Four very wet and exhausted men rode into town a full twenty-four hours after they had departed. The livery owner, thrilled to have the horses he'd sold returned to him as his property once more, was more than happy to take care of the four men's horses. Vin had even made some crack about Ella doing some good as she fertilized the riverbed. It got a short crack of nervous laughter from Buck and Ezra that turned into an emotional release of healing laughter when they watched Chris shoot Vin one of his best glares only to have it ruined by the corner of his lip trying to turn upwards into a grin. A promise made between the men that no matter what, even if Ella had survived by some twist of fate, that Mary would remain safe had lifted their spirits considerably.
"I'm getting' real tired of rain. This here coat could use some fringe."
"Now, Mr. Tanner, I fail to see the need to ruin a perfectly handsome coat with such hideous decorations as fringe." Ezra was tired of being as wet and cold as Vin and the others were, but he wasn't yet ready to lose the close camaraderie that had developed over the past few hours. From having thought to have aided in the end of the seven, Ezra had come to a startling revelation about Vin Tanner, one that he planned to share with the reticent tracker later in private. Ezra now realized what had caused Vin to run when he'd discovered he had a family.
It was the very thing that had caused Ezra to build the shell around his heart forever keeping people at arms' length until he had found his friends in Four Corners. Vin Tanner had been afraid of the very thing Ezra had feared as a child, being bounced from one relative to another until his mother decided she needed him for a con. He feared proof of the fact that no one wanted him. From what he had been told of Annabelle Tanner, she would not have died without telling her only child that she had family who would come for him and who would love him. As days turned to months and then years of waiting for that loving family who never showed up, Ezra finally understood why Vin had run. He had run simply because he had lived his whole life on his own convinced that no one in his family had wanted him. He had learned, like Ezra had, that the only person Vin Tanner could count on was himself. The knowledge that he'd had family who had known about him all these years and never said a word to him must have made the feeling of desertion Vin felt overwhelming.
It only made Ezra appreciate his friend more knowing that he valued his friends as much as he did that he was prepared to return and forgive their prior knowledge. Ezra understood the depth of bravery it required for a man like Vin Tanner to be willing to stop running from the pain and return to face the truth, no matter if it proved what the eight year old Vin Tanner had believed all those years ago. Ezra knew how painful it was to wait for someone you loved to show up for a birthday or a holiday and the disappointment when Maude didn't. He had wondered at times if his mother really loved him or just found him a good opponent on whom to keep her skills finely honed. Yes, Ezra would definitely have to mention to Vin sometime soon how much they actually shared in common despite the disparity in their economic and educational upbringings. He caught a pair of piercing blue eyes looking straight at him and found himself smiling openly at the amused look Vin was giving him. Leave it to Tanner to be one of the very few people he knew of who could actually know what he was thinking. It was almost as spooky a habit as his knack of walking right up on a person before they even knew he was there. Ezra touched two of his fingers to the brim of his hat to acknowledge a friendship he had come to value so highly. The returning smile made this miserable trip almost worth it. Not as valuable as a nice glass of brandy and a leisurely soak in a tub of hot water but close enough.
"Now, Ezra, a refined man such as your gaudy self wouldn't know it but fringe really has a purpose other than decoration." Sometimes Buck surprised them all with the depth of knowledge and sensitivity hidden beneath the fun-loving, woman chasing rascal.
"He right?" Chris looked at a smiling Tanner. He appeared more like his old self, not in the least intimidated by the man waiting on him at the hotel. How the hell he was able to absorb things like this and bounce back, Chris would never know, but maybe that was why Vin was so close a friend. Not only did Chris recognize himself in some instances in the tracker; he also admired the man's resilient nature that refused to allow life to destroy him. Neither man was afraid of death, but neither was willing to give up without a fight either. It was that need to survive despite all odds that Vin had recognized in Larabee, a trait that Chris hadn't realized he even had until the steady nature of his friend allowed him the opportunity to focus on something positive other than his grief. He almost missed Vin's answer.
"Yep. Buck's right. Fringe on a coat is a place for the moisture to gather and drip off the rest of the coat. Indians have used fringe like that for years. Helps keep ya dry in any kind of wet weather."
Vin slapped a grinning Buck on the back and motioned him toward the hotel. "How's bout a gut warmer, pard?"
"Long as someone else is payin', count me in." They walked in the doors dripping water and looking forward to a hot meal, a hot bath, and a good whiskey only John Terrell could afford. Chris stopped long enough to look at Ezra and shake his head. The gambler looked puzzled.
"What?"
"Buck and Vin." Chris shook his head and sighed before he followed the two men into the hotel. "And I was afraid when you two teamed up. Now I got to worry what Vin will talk Buck into. You boys are gonna be the death of me." He paused as he opened the door. "Well? Are you comin' in out of the rain or not?"
Ezra laughed as he walked through the door. "I suppose we should all be thankful that my mother is unaware that our Mr. Tanner is related to an obscene amount of money. Can you imagine the schemes in which my loving parent will try to convince Mr. Tanner to participate?"
Chris looked at the southerner's back as he walked in the door. "Thanks, Ezra. I haven't had nightmares like that since I was a child."
"My pleasure, my friend. Any time I may be of assistance. Could I perchance interest you in a drink?"
"I'll need a whole bottle after this, Ezra."
"I concur. I believe I have managed to frighten even myself with the idea of my mother trying to influence that incredibly devious mind Mr. Tanner possesses."
Continued in Part Seven
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