DISCLAIMER: The characters of the MAGNIFICENT SEVEN belong to MGM, Trilogy, CBS, and TNN. No profit is made from this fan fic in any way, shape, or form except fun. However, I do not want my original characters borrowed or used without my knowledge or consent. If you are unsure if a character is canon or an original, please click here on original characters for an extensive list of my characters and when they were first introduced in my fan fiction.
"He planned it this way! I just know he went down to the station with John and planned it this way! I bet ya him an' the rest of 'em all are laughing themselves silly!!!! It ain't human to keep a man without whiskey and women this long! Hell, we been stuck in that fortress for a week now, an' this damned train for a day an' a half! I'm tellin' ya, I'm ready to explode!" Buck jumped up and began to pace the confines of the luxurious train car.
Vin Tanner lay stretched out in an overstuffed tapestry chair of brown and green leaves that appeared to be cascading onto the chair from some invisible tree above. With his hat pulled to cover his face and his feet propped up on a matching leafy ottoman, he appeared to be doing an excellent job of ignoring Buck, the train making him sway back and forth in rhthym with the angry man. A man could really relax and enjoy himself when he had connections, and no bounty hunters were chasing his ass all over only God knew where.
'Yep, I could sleep my way to Four Corners if only someone would shut Buck up.' He was blasted out of his silent reverie for the fourth time that morning as Buck kicked the ottoman out from under his chair. He sat forward, and his feet hit the floor with a resounding thud. 'Ouch!' but no sound indicated he had felt the jarring of his feet on the carpet covered floor of the moving car. He wondered how pissed Chris would get if he just shot Buck to put him out of Vin's misery. Sighing, Vin shoved himself further back into the chair as his hat was whipped off of his head, knowing that shooting Buck was only a pleasant dream. He wasn't startled a bit as he felt Buck towering over him. His blue eyes did cross as Buck swooped in close to his face pinning Vin to the huge chair by planting both hands on either side of the overstuffed arms of the chair. Vin knew suddenly what the phrase 'too close for comfort' meant.
It must have been coined by Larabee the first time Buck pulled one of these very out of character tirades. Vin had never led a sheltered life and often his own language reflected his colorful past in several languages including Comanche and Kiowa. However, several of the words Buck had used with which to describe Larabee, the man Buck held responsible for his captivity, had caused Vin to raise an appreciative eyebrow. He didn't think some of the things Buck was threatening the parties responsible for their being trapped on a Temperance Revival train were possible, but then again, Lydia had certainly surprised Vin with her creativity last week. Grinning at the memory, Vin winced as Buck thought he was amused at Buck's plight.
"The least you could do is agree with me! You been couped up and held prisoner as long as me!" Buck had Vin's undivided attention as he watched the younger man lean as far back into the chair as he could get. Buck would have laughed at Vin's territorial attitude about his own personal space if he hadn't been so bent out of shape. "Well?"
"Well, I believe I speak for Mr. Tanner as well as Mr. Dunne and myself when I say that we most definitely agree with you. However, forcing Mr. Tanner to try and crawl out of the back of that chair is no way to win friends and influence people, Mr. Wilmington. I for one have been without a game of chance for as long as you have been without women and that watered down rot gut you so erroneously call whiskey, and I have yet to behave like a heathen."
"Shut up, Ezra!" Buck threw a glare in Ezra's direction that could have frozen water, but the Southerner was made of sterner stuff. He took out his flask of fine brandy and took a substantial mouthful as Buck's mouth dropped open in shock.
"Ezra!?" The name on his outraged lips was enough to send Vin Tanner into a snorting fit totally forgetting that he had been desperately trying to find a way past Buck out of that chair before he succumbed to claustrophobia. The glare Buck turned on him was more reminiscent of a rabid wolf, but Vin still couldn't stop laughing. His aunt and John had given him a wooden box that looked very much like a traveling case, but it was not full of linens and such. No, instead it held a case of very carefully packed liquor in varying types, much like that fine brandy that had nearly caused Ezra to weep without shame upon finding it. It also held several bottles of Scotch whiskey with a smooth taste and an after-kick like a mule that could make a man shun forever the watered down rot gut available in most saloons. The contraband was at present sitting beneath several copies of the St. James version of the BIBLE and amidst the vast array of linens used to clean children who had a knack for discovering dirt in the cleanest of places. Vin and Ezra had opened one bottle of the brandy last night about an hour after they had found out that they were traveling on a train filled with women and preachers who were traveling throughout the country on a Temperance Rally. The guilt, however, for the no whiskey and no gambling rules imposed on the train by the owner, a friend of John's who was on the board of directors for the Central Pacific, could not be placed at Terrell's door.
John, giving in to Alexandra's wicked sense of humor, had only borrowed the car to ensure the comfort and safe return of the remainder of the seven peacekeepers. Larabee had warned them that Tanner would leave the train at the first opportunity if he was forced to sit confined in one of the stuffy rail cars filled with humanity for the duration of the trip. Or, better yet for Terrell's lack of dreamless nights, Ezra would cause a riot as he gambled his way home to Four Corners. Only John's assurances that he would safeguard the general public from the four men convinced Larabee and company to board the train home without them. Alexandra's eyes had twinkled in mirth when she had heard that the train was specially outfitted to carry the proponents of the Temperance movement as they traveled from city to city gaining recruits and financial backing.
It had set out from back East with the monetary backing of a shriveled up old widow who had outlived her hard-drinking, womanizing, and gambling husband. In her bitterness in having been treated so badly by her husband, she had been delighted to fund the movement that would preserve women and children all over this great country from a fate similar to hers. Reverend Thaddeus William Cecil had been so helpful and generous in relieving the widow of thousands of her lonely dollars that she had almost begged to be allowed to finance his Herculean task to spread the word. Alexandra, having met this widow and her greedy reverend, nearly laughed herself silly as she imagined the horrified looks on the faces of Buck and Ezra when they found out that whiskey and gambling had been banned for all passengers on the train. The very thought of it caused her to smile in satisfaction whenever she contemplated their outrage. She knew for certain that Vin and JD would be so amused at their friends' predicament that they would prevent the other two from taking her to task over it too harshly. However, it was she who had mentioned the packing and placement of the contraband whiskey and arranged for a surprise for the four men when she estimated they would all be ready to rebel against the righteous Reverend Cecil. Her husband had realized her intentions, and not only did he approve, he took it upon himself to personally arrange for every detail of the surprise. Now all they had to do was wait until they received confirmation on their schemes. For what good were friends if you couldn't amuse yourselves with them every once in a while?
Buck had paid little heed to the genteel looking man who was dressed in a fine cut but dully colored suit. He had been in ecstasy when he had beheld the Reverend's daughters who were dutifully following their widowed father onto the train. Their neat but somber clothing did more to enhance their particular charms than they realized, but they were all as virtuous and avid temperance supporters as their father was passionate about the evils of alcohol. Buck had been smitten by not one, but all three of the Cecil girls. They were, to use one of Ezra's ten dollar words, exquisite.
Their incredulous looks as he vaulted over their luggage in order to help the eldest daughter with the raven hair and eyes the color of hot coffee had nearly sent all of the adults he had deserted into fits. Suddenly the boardwalk became very interesting as Ezra tried to convince the frowning father that he had no idea who the cretin accosting his daughter was. JD had been jerked around by John to face a quivering-lipped Alexandra as Vin took that opportunity to hug the twins fiercely, promising them that nothing and no one could make him ever forget he was theirs. Jamie was grinning at him by the time Buck had been suitably warned by the Reverend that his daughters did not associate with libertines such as the gregarious westerner.
Buck had returned to his friends unrepentant as the youngest Cecil, a ripe beauty of twenty with chestnut hair and flirtatious hazel eyes, had indicated with a surreptitious nod that she was interested in libertines and their licentious ways. Charity had answered her father's summons and climbed into their own spacious car, courteous of the rich widow left behind in Philadelphia, to join her sisters Faith and Hope. She managed a slight wave to Buck before the curtains were pulled shut.
"Ornery old cuss, ain't he? But that little one with those big eyes," Buck turned to his friends, "I think I'm in love."
"Lust, my friend. I believe you mean you are in lust once again. Heaven help us." Ezra's response drew a giggle from JD and loud questions from the ever-attentive young ladies.
"What's 'lust' mean, Daddy?" Jamie already knew by the look on his face that lust was not a subject with which little girls should be acquainted.
"Our Ezra said it. Ask him, Lisha." Lison had also seen the look that said Daddy was in no way going to explain the term to either of them any time soon. She really wanted to know what it meant now.
"Yeah, Our Ezra, why don't ya tell the twins what 'lust' means." That sarcastic statement to egg the twins on earned Vin a well placed pinch right above his belt on that sensitive flesh of his abdomen unprotected except by the suspenders and shirt he wore neatly tucked into his pants. His narrowed-eye frown at his aunt was met with an equally stern frown. They stood there frowning at one another, neither one willing to cry uncle until one of the twins interjected wisdom far beyond her years with one simple statement.
"It's one of them grownup words, Lisha." Lison sighed loudly. "You know. One of them words that grownups tell you that you can't say."
"Yeah, like 'damnit ta hell' or,. . ." the next word was cut off as Buck interceded to save his darlin's from their red faced parents. Placing his hand over Lisha's mouth, he picked her up and swung her around. As light as a feather, she barely made him remember that flesh wound he had received a week ago.
"Now, what do two purty girls like you got to do with words that ain't pretty? They just make your ma and pa mad an' Ours blush. Right Ours?"
Ours managed to kick Buck in his shin without being detected until the big man yelped. Vin grinned evilly at him as he retrieved Lisha from him in order to swing her to Our Ezra who was tossing Lison to Our JD. Refusing to let either of the twins know how mean their cousin was, Buck decided to pay Tanner back later. Besides, the twins were more likely to kick him twice if he did something to Ours. There was safety in numbers, and those twins were as fierce as their cousin with their loyalties and their vengeance. Buck remembered how they had set out to get rid of pious Miss Jones. Lord, he loved those twins. They were pretty and mean with more love to go around than even they knew they possessed. Buck was going to have to make certain that no man ever hurt one of his gals by teaching them everything he knew once they were old enough to know what the word scoundrel meant. He'd let their parents worry about such things as discipline. Right now, he was Our Buck, and he wouldn't want to be anything else. He caught the knowing look in Ezra's perfect grin. The Southerner was going to miss those little girls, too. John shook their hands while JD was being smother-hugged by both girls. Vin was saying goodbye to Jamie and his aunt. They parted on the best of terms amidst laughter and promises to see everyone again soon.
The train ride began as punctually as possible. It had been an hour later that an older gentleman had appeared and introduced himself as Jacob. Jacob, for he would give no other name, was to attend to their needs. He asked innocently enough if he could fetch refreshments for the gentlemen. Buck had asked for a whiskey and a steak for lunch while Ezra wanted to know where the dining car was and if a game had already started. That was when poor Jacob had to explain to the horrified men that the strongest drink he could provide was a glass of fresh lemonade. Ezra had laughed at Buck's pained expression until Jacob's voice had faltered, and he told the gentleman in the kindest way possible that gambling had also been banned on this train. That was when the two younger men had started laughing in earnest because the fancy gambler had collapsed on the settee, his hand clutching his chest. They, too, had collapsed onto the available furniture as Jacob explained this was the Reverend Cecil's Temperance Train spreading the word on the evils of alcohol and the accompanying vices of gambling and loose women.
Ezra had been far too incapacitated by his shocking collapse and his grief of a world gone wrong to do little but listen to Buck's sputtering ramblings. He rallied every once in a while to provide the irate scoundrel with the necessary vocabulary with which to express his growing displeasure. No sooner had Vin and JD recovered from a bout of laughter than Buck would take a breath and begin anew his tirade against busybody folks who tried to force their beliefs on others. The day was spent checking to see if Ezra had been mortally wounded yet, or to prevent Buck from tracking the reverend down and throwing him off of the train right then and there. Finally, after hearing Buck's tirade against holier than thou preachers who spent their time interfering with a fellow's personal pleasures, JD had told Buck to shut up. His stern tone and glare silenced Buck. He stared, his mouth agape at his young friend.
"It ain't like he locked you in a cage and made you watch while he shot your horse. What's got you so riled, Buck? So the Reverend Cecil and his cronies don't want us to get drunk or gamble on his train. The last time you had a woman, you nearly got us killed."
Ezra had looked with additional respect upon his youngest colleague. "I fear I must share Mr. Dunne's curiosity."
"Yeah, Bucklin. It ain't like you can't go without whiskey and women for any length of time. What's got you so bent outa shape 'bout this here preacher fella? It ain't like these Temperance folk are runnin' guns to outlaws and such. Most folks just listen to them an' then go back to livin' their lives. Hell, they been preachin' at this all my life an' they're still at the same place they were when I was a little feller."
"And, this was the only train going our direction today. John said we would have had to wait another three days before one left that would take us to Carson City for us to catch the train bound for Brecken and home." JD was looking intently at Buck just as Vin and Ezra were.
Vin had his head cocked to one side regarding Buck with that stare that took in every subtle shift and change in a person's façade. In a look, Vin conveyed the impression that Buck had better come up with a really good reason for his acting as he was, or the big man had better be prepared to stop his annoying tirade.
Buck looked around to make certain no one was about but his friends, finally took a big gulp of lemonade, and nervously fingered the fork on his plate. Sighing, he took a deep breath and started talking.
"My ma was sick, real sick, when them damn Temperance folks killed her. Oh, they didn't raise a hand to her, but they killed her through their intolerance just the same. I was around nineteen workin' as a deputy. She'd been seventeen when she had me, and she was still the most beautiful woman you'd ever seen. She loved me like only the best of ma's could. Everyone loved her, 'cept them old biddies who were afraid Ma was gonna steal their men. Hell, Ma didn't want none of their men. She said they should thank her for makin' their lives a lot easier, but they didn't. The doc in town had gotten himself involved with one of them Temperance women. She was all sweet talk and had that doc wrapped round her little finger." Buck's face had lost all the animation it had held while describing his mother. The room was silent except for the train noises as they waited for him to continue. "Doc stopped comin' by and checkin' on Ma. He had asked that Temperance gal to marry him, and she started pokin' her nose in where it wasn't wanted. The town's leading citizens came an' told Ma that her and her girls had to pack up and leave everything behind. They were runnin' 'em out of town, and Ma was real sick. That's when I got fired. Hell, I had already told that two faced sheriff that I quit right after I gave him a broken nose. We left town in the freezin' rain. Ma didn't make it through the night. So you see, I got cause for my anger."
He looked at his friends in challenge, but all he saw were men who would have helped him stop the injustice done to his ma and her girls. Suddenly, Buck felt better then than he had ever had when he had cause to think upon his mother's tragic death. He grinned at his friends who were nodding in agreement that he did indeed have a right to rant.
Vin held up his cup of coffee in a toast to his friend. "You want me to shoot the old goat in the ass, Bucklin, right before you toss him off the train? It won't bring your ma back, but," JD finished for him.
"It would certainly make me feel better. Hell, I'll help you throw him off the train." JD was ready to see justice done.
"Better yet, I could arrange for him to be caught with a small flask of the very libation he refers to as a sin. I would surmise that his followers would be loathe to continue adoring a man of the cloth who lied to them on such a horrendous scale."
Buck started laughing at his friends offer to punish the Temperance people in honor of his mother. These boys deserved every drop of his loyalty for their indignation over his mother's treatment and subsequent death resulting from their narrow-minded crusade. Vin had been right. He had been without whiskey and women for much longer than this. He could put up with the inconvenience of the Temperance movement cluttering up the train and dredging up painful memories. He spent the rest of the day playing poker with Ezra and the boys. The only tirades heard from then on had been ones jokingly made to accuse Ezra of cheating and to avoid admitting the gambler thoroughly outmatched them in games of chance. It wasn't until his next encounter with the Reverend Cecil the next morning that Buck's anger bubbled over again.
It had started innocently enough. Young Charity Cecil was running late to the morning prayer session, and Buck had been going forward to the dining car. His friends were content to eat whatever breakfast Jacob prepared for them, but Buck wanted to see if Miss Charity was as stuffy as her father. The others had told him to steer clear of the young lady, but Buck had an idea that he could still save this young woman from a life of telling others they were wrong because what they referred to as minor pleasures were viewed by her to be horrible vices. In other words, Buck set out to convert her, not seduce her. He was making headway as the young lady eagerly listened to his most persuasive arguments. He had just begun to nuzzle her ear when her middle sister, Hope, opened the door, took one look at the couple, and promptly screamed.
The reverend had entered and, seizing his daughter by her pretty head of hair, drew back his hand to strike her. It was caught in an iron grip by a livid Buck.
"That ain't no way to treat your own daughter! What the hell kinda a preacher are you?"
The arrival of the smooth talking Southerner and a mare's leg toting Tanner was enough argument to force the reverend to reluctantly release the young woman and to settle for their word that Buck would have no further communication with his daughter.
Buck was unrepentant as he resumed his pacing in their own car. He had thought himself into a fine mood by the time the evening rolled round. He had even found time to place the blame all on the shoulders of a very absent and equally innocent Chris Larabee. His behavior was in short so out of character that the others were beginning to think Buck's removal from the train was the only solution. Buck was ready to either do bodily harm to the Temperance leader or take off cross-country for home. Either way, distance had to be put between Buck and the Reverend Cecil.
She had been desperate when she had told the lie in order to get on the train, but she had to get away before the law caught up to her and hung her for killing her husband. She had been horrified when her husband had begun watching her and accusing her of wanting a younger man instead of him. There had only been one man in her life that way, and that had been her husband. Nell, who had married at fifteen, had been a mother before she was seventeen. She had no desire to stay at home caring for her motherless younger brothers and sisters. Six months shy of her sixteenth birthday, Nell had been flattered when a friend of her father (who was also the owner of the biggest spread in Southern California) had shown up and asked if he could court her. She did not love him, nor did she think she ever would, but Nell knew she had to end up as a wife to someone. Bruce Quigley did indeed treat her much better than her father ever did. He had seemed so sincere, and there had been so few prospects that Nell had to sit down and seriously think about his proposal. Her aunt and father had seemed eager for her to marry this man. She had no idea that he had offered her father five hundred dollars to let him have her. In the end when her aunt returned from Sunday services bursting with the news that Bruce had been seen chatting to Mr. Herbert's fourteen year old Gertrude, Nell had bowed to wiser heads and accepted Bruce's proposal. She had entered the marriage willing to be a good wife to the man who had chosen her.
Bruce Quigley had not wanted a wife as much as he wanted a son, so the fifty year old man had bargained for his friend's daughter for his new bride. The fact that she was a pretty young girl and innocent of men had made him eager to wed her. Innocent young girls were easily molded into fine wives, and they expected so little in the marriage bed. She was from a family of ten children, so chances were she was fertile, unlike his late wife who died trying to give him a child. If this girl could be impregnated as soon as possible, Bruce would have his heir. If the first child was a girl, Nell had plenty of years ahead in which to present him with a son. He waited for the impending nuptials with anticipation. It would be a much more pleasant task getting her pregnant than his delicate first wife who never seemed to enjoy anything he did for her. This young girl seemed so eager to please that he had insisted that Nell begin her wifely duties two weeks before the preacher was to arrive. Her father was persuaded to agree for another two hundred dollars in gold.
Nell's initial reluctance to jump the gun so to speak was overcome after a chat with her father that included a belt and by Bruce's promise to Nell that she would have money of her own and a woman to help with the house and the cooking. He could afford it. A man of means such as himself could afford to be generous as long as Nell proved to be a good wife, and she had. Her first child had been a girl, and although disappointed he had not yet been presented with an heir, Bruce found her an engaging creature. Bruce had enthusiastically set about the task of fathering a son. He began right after the doctor he had hired to examine Nell said she was fully recovered from the birth of Sally Ann. The baby girl had to wait several times for her feedings while Bruce attended to his duties. A doctor was called in when Nell did not immediately become pregnant again. He was determined to persevere even when Nell presented him with a stillborn son after two years. He had patted her hand, told her the next one would be a healthy baby boy, and promptly sent for a new doctor to examine her yet again. He came to her regularly in order to father a son. It was the next thing he liked best after making money. When she lost the next two children in early stages of pregnancy, he spent a great deal of money to find new specialists to examine her.
Always they came back with the same answer. She had recovered nicely from the miscarriage, and they saw no reason she could not present her husband with a healthy baby boy. He seemed to appreciate the efforts Nell made to be a good wife as he steadfastly continued to visit her as often as possible in an attempt to impregnate her. In his own way he loved her, and Nell was grateful enough to try and be a good wife. She had tried to give him the son he so desperately wanted despite the fact that he was not that adept at the job despite his numerous attempts. She often lay there silently thinking that the way he kissed was much like being licked by an old grizzly bear as his big hands pawed her. Personally, Nell couldn't see what the big deal was, but Bruce seemed to enjoy himself. He had never raised a hand to her, and his patience had made her fond of him. The marriage was for all purposes a successful one although not passionately happy. Finally, after yet another miscarriage and another doctor from yet another town, Nell had become pregnant again. On her daughter's seventh birthday, she had given birth to a perfectly healthy baby boy.
For the first time in eight years of marriage Quigley actually allowed his wife to leave their bed to feed their son at the oddest hours of the night so happy was he with his son. Despite the fact that she was a beautiful young woman of twenty-two and married to a man thirty-four years her senior, Nell was surprisingly happy and blossomed under her husband's doting happiness. Then, nearly six months later it all changed. Quigley had taken a fall from his horse and had lain in a coma for a week. He was never the same when he awoke. Quigley had begun to change as frequent headaches and even worse backaches made him turn more and more to laudanum and whiskey. He began to question Nell about where she spent her days. She was always at home caring for her children and keeping the house spotless, but he was convinced that she was seeing one of the young men who worked for him. Despite her pleas of innocence, Quigley began locking her in her room whenever he left the ranch. He had fired the woman who had worked in his house side by side with his wife since the first days of their marriage and brought in another woman to care for his son. Eventually, he had fired even her when she had the audacity to tell him that his young wife was not only faithful to him but was being treated badly by her husband. He left the boy he now claimed was not his to the care of seven year old Sally Ann whenever her mother was locked in her room.
Nell didn't dare speak to any of the ranch hands for fear her husband would accuse the poor man of climbing into his bed whenever his wanton wife could find an opportunity. Men would come and go, fired for no more than saying howdy to the lady of the house. It had finally come to a head when the baby and Sally Ann were to celebrate their first and eighth birthdays together. Quigley had allowed Nell to bake two cakes and invite the men who had worked the ranch with him for the last twenty years. Hal Owens, Josh's son and only a few years older than Nell, had caught baby Evan right before he had tumbled from the front porch. Nell had touched his arm as she thanked him for saving her son. Quigley had taken one look and accused a stunned Hal of fathering the child everyone said was Quigley's. When Nell had steadfastly maintained that she had only had relations with her husband, Quigley became enraged. He had taken a whip and threatened to beat the truth out of Nell in front of Hal, Quigley's foreman Josh Owens, and his other men who had witnessed with sorrow the change in the Bruce Quigley they had once known. He had struck her just once before Josh had knocked the whip from Quigley's hands and threatened the man if he ever saw him hit Nell again.
Bruce Quigley had pulled out his gun and shot the man who had been his right hand for twenty years. That was when Nell became truly frightened. Josh Owens was carried badly wounded from the ranch by his son Hal and several of the ranch hands. One other went riding to town to fetch the sheriff and another to fetch the doctor. Nell waited in stunned disbelief clutching her son in her arms in a chair by the desk in the office. Her daughter was sitting at her feet while Quigley, still brandishing a gun and now a whiskey bottle laced with laudanum, was pacing back and forth in front of her railing at the top of his lungs. The sheriff, afraid for the safety of Nell and the children, had decided to wait them out and made no move to enter the house. He knew that Quigley had taken to mixing whiskey and laudanum to alleviate the pain that had plagued him since the fall. Surely, as long as Nell was able to remain still and quiet, her husband would eventually pass out. Already his words were slurring.
The sheriff was still waiting that evening when Hal Owens arrived with the news that his pa had died after making Hal promise to look out for Nell, who was such a sweet girl. Hearing from the ranch hand who had been keeping an eye on things while they waited, Sheriff Barker was still taken aback when the man yelled that Quigley was aiming his gun at Nell and the baby. It was then that the men outside heard a gunshot. They ran into the house as Nell stumbled to the door with her son still clutched to her chest with one arm, and the gun dangling from the other. Sally Ann had followed staring wide-eyed, too young to understand, but old enough to know that her daddy was dead. She wouldn't miss him a lot, since he never seemed to notice his daughter much less spend time with her.
Nell had seen her drunken husband look at her daughter with his eyes narrowed in speculation. Afraid for her own life, Nell had never suspected that the children might also be in danger. She had made up her mind as her husband had finally thumped onto the couch ordering Sally Ann to come to him. Nell had pushed her daughter down and told her to stay where she was. Leaning over, Nell picked up the gun she knew her husband always kept in the top drawer where he kept all of his money. When he called her daughter again, Nell had told him that she was taking the children and leaving him. He had struggled to his feet, but Nell still did not fire the gun that she held in her hand until it became clear that Quigley was going to use it on her and the children. Then she had stumbled outside of the room to where the sheriff stood. It was Hal who had taken her upstairs with the suggestion that she lie down until the sheriff could talk to her. Nell waited for the sheriff to come and ask her what had happened, but no one came.
It was then that it hit her what she had done. The sheriff would certainly see her hang for killing her husband, so while the men removed Quigley's body from the ranch, Nell took what money she could find in the desk. It was five thousand dollars. She had never seen that much money even though she knew her husband was planning to buy stock for the ranch. Taking two bags with clothes for herself and the children, Nell put took the buggy and left. She never knew that the sheriff had no intention of holding her responsible for protecting her children. In fact, he had a witness to testify that she had only fired to save her children and herself from her husband who had murdered his best friend. She had no way of knowing that Hal had taken out after her with the sheriff's blessing to bring Nell home where she belonged. She now was sole owner of the Lazy Q spread, but she thought she was a fugitive from justice with the hangman on her heels.
So here Nell was on a Temperance Revival train heading East. Nell had lied to the Reverend Cecil, telling him that she was taking her children to their new home in Sante Fe. She wanted as much distance as she could between her and the Lazy Q. Accepting Reverend Cecil's help, she had given him a small donation from the five thousand dollars she had discovered in her husband's desk. Nell then proceeded to settle back to wait until she could get to Sante Fe and then disappear with her children somewhere safe where the law would never find her. So far, she had made a few friends and was well on her way to freedom, or so she thought. Sheriff Barker had inadvertently added to the confusion by wiring the neighboring cities that there had been a murder, and that they were looking for a woman traveling with her children. In his haste to find Nell and make certain she was all right, he never thought to state that her husband was the murderer. Nor did he think to add in the telegrams that the poor wife was so shaken by having to shoot her husband to protect her children that she needed to be found for her own protection. As far as the other lawmen were concerned she must be a suspect in the murder.
It was the afternoon of the same day that Buck had brought the wrath of the reverend down on his head that it all caught up to Nell. She had been on the run from Southern California for a week now. She had boarded the train just outside Los Angeles and traveled up the coast to San Francisco. All the towns with train stops had been alerted, so the sheriff in Carson City was checking all the trains from California for a woman traveling with her daughter and baby son. They had stopped in Carson City to take on water and coal and a few more passengers.
Buck and the boys were going to change trains and leave the reverend and his pious lot behind. Nell was taking the children for a walk when little Sally Ann had run smack dab into Buck Wilmington. The ladies' man had picked up the young girl and dusted her off, all the while smiling and laughing with her like they had just had the world's most exciting adventure together. Even young Evan was cooing and giggling in delight as JD danced a cute little stuffed bear he and Vin had gotten for little Belle in front of him. The four men were tired of traveling confined all day in the train car and had happened upon Nell and her children. Not in the best of humor when they discovered that their train had been delayed and they would have to wait until further down the line before they could transfer to the train for Brecken, they were ready for any excuse to bolt. They were more than happy to be distracted by the lovely young woman by diverting her children and hopefully tiring them out, so they would sleep soundly for their mother on the train that evening. The Cecil daughters were smiling benevolently when their father had stalked up to Nell and pointed her out to the conductor.
"I want that woman arrested! She is a murderer and a thief! Look, here is her description on the flier I found in the sheriff's office!"
Ezra and Vin both stepped forward as one. Buck set Sally Ann on the ground and told JD to take the baby and the young girl over to buy them a piece of hard candy from the general store. Then, he elbowed his way through the crowd to stand beside Vin and Ezra to the left of Nell. No matter what, they couldn't believe the loving young mother could be the young woman described on the flier.
The sheriff was apologetic, but he had his duty to perform when Buck Wilmington decided he had to do something. Looking at Sally Ann's stricken face, Buck raised one eyebrow in question. Sally Ann just shook her head in disappointment. Buck frowned. That damned busybody was going to get that sweet little lady hung and those two children left as orphans. No way she could have killed her husband unless the rotten snake was trying to harm her or the little ones. Buck knew women, and this one was no murderer. He caught Sally Ann's big eyes staring at him asking for help. He decided in an instant that, although he couldn't help his ma when she needed him, he could help this young woman. Walking up to Nell, he wrapped his arm around her and spoke.
"Darlin', it's time you stopped punishin' me for that little indiscretion. I been on this train tryin' to convince you to come on home. I let you get away with lyin' to this here man so's you could get to your Uncle Josiah in Four Corners, but you got to tell the truth now. You got to tell them the truth that you an' me are married and that we had a fight."
Nell's mouth dropped open. She was speechless, and so were Vin, Ezra, and JD. They all stood there gaping, but Sally Ann was smart enough to know that this man was here to help them. She wrapped her arms around his knees and threw back her head and hollered for all she was worth.
"Daddy!! Mommy, Daddy's here!!! Don't let the mean men take Mommy!"
Buck smiled upon Sally Ann thinking she was not only a pretty little filly, but she had grit and brains, too.
"Darlin' girl, daddy ain't gonna let any man lay so much as a hand on your mommy." He glared at the sheriff and the indignant Reverend Cecil.
The sheriff shifted his feet and cleared his throat. The young woman matched the description that had been sent, but this man claimed she was his wife. Undoubtedly, she had run away with her children from a philandering husband, or there had been a difference of opinion causing the couple to separate. Either way, the little girl had identified her daddy, and the young woman certainly looked chagrined. Her pretty face was suffused in confusion and embarrassment. The other gentlemen were scowling at Reverend Cecil like he was a worm they would have loved to squish underfoot like a bug. He could not blame them any, since he wanted to shove the busy body, whiskey hating, "holier than thou" stuffed shirt in front of the next oncoming train. However, he was the law in this town, so he decided the quicker the Reverend left Carson City, the better they would all be. He would just make certain all the formalities were covered. That young thing could not possibly have shot any man. She just looked too delicate to do anything so unladylike.
"Is what this man says true, ma'am? He your husband?"
"I just said I was, didn't I?" Buck scowled at the sheriff and managed to kick his snorting friend next to him, silently demanding support without drawing anyone's attention.
"He was not asking you. He was asking that, that murderess." Reverend Cecil wanted no murderess traveling on board his train. It was bad enough those four liqoured-up men had access to the train and his daughters, but he was not about to expose his innocent girls to a wanton woman who would kill the man who was her lord and master. He wanted her off his train and in jail where she belonged.
Nell shrank into the arm Buck had put around her, and he pulled her closer. On tip toes she just reached his chin, and he marveled at how tiny she really was. No way this pretty little gal had murdered anyone. She might have killed in defense of her children for many a woman had faced hellfire itself to protect her babies, but Buck would never believe this pretty little woman killed anyone in cold blood. He felt rather than heard the support that had just moved closer. Buck had his hands full holding Sally Ann and Nell, but Vin had nothing in his hands. Vin moved to stand between the Reverend Cecil and the family Buck was trying to protect. Buck smiled in wicked delight and even winked down at Nell as Ezra and JD moved alongside their friend to form a protective barrier between Cecil and Nell.
Vin rested his hand on his mare's leg and stared straight at Cecil. "You'd think a preacher fella would know to mind his manners an' talk proper to a lady." His words brought a shiver of dread to Cecil but nods of approval from the sheriff and the gathering bystanders. Most of them were firmly on the side of the pretty young woman and the four men who protected her. Why most of the women there would have done anything to have such handsome men offer to rescue them. Sensing that the crowd was watching him closely and with an election coming up soon, the sheriff made up his mind quickly. No doubt in his mind now that this young woman was married to the big fellow with the mustache for why else would his friends take offense at the slanderous accusations of the reverend?
"I will not be lectured to by a man who obviously consorts with savages." Reverend Cecil stuck his nose up in the air believing in his superiority. He'd heard the rumors running rampant in San Francisco that this young man was the long lost nephew of the Terrell woman, and that he had been raised by Indians. To Reverend Cecil, who abhorred anyone or anything foreign to his religious dogma, Vin Tanner was little better than the savages who raised him. Truth be told, Cecil was just a little bit afraid of Vin Tanner, but he was determined to bluster his way through this embarrassing scene. He opened his mouth to reply when he was interrupted by one of the other men.
"I believe I must take exception to my friend being called a savage, my dear Reverend Cecil." The honeyed words were spoken in a tone of voice that held more than a hint of warning in it. Cecil looked askance at the well-dressed man standing next to Tanner. Cecil thought to himself that the man in the red coat must be Standish the gambler. That meant that the youngest member of the group was JD Dunne. He had little time to think, and his vanity would not believe the crowd was turning against him when JD added his opinion to the fray.
"Ought to be a law against men goin' around sayin' bad things about other people, 'specially folks they don't know."
"JD, I knew a man like this here reverend fella once. Used to go around spoutin' off at the mouth all the time callin' anyone who disagreed with him a godless heathen. Caused a lot of grief, he did, 'fore someone shut him up." Ezra grinned as he heard Tanner begin his intimidation of Reverend Cecil. The sun glinted off of his gold tooth and caused the reverend to blink.
"What happened to the ole bag a hot air, Vin?" JD's grin took up the entire expanse of his face. He had seen the look pass between Ezra and Vin, and he wanted in on the joke being played out against the reverend, now. The wink from Ezra and the nod of approval from Buck let JD know he had assumed correctly. Now that he had helped Vin set up the reverend, it was time to sit back and watch the others finish him off without ever firing a shot. The baby even started cooing and blowing bubbles as if he knew his mama was safe from harm with these men.
"Yes, Mr. Tanner. Pray tell, whatever did the become of this cantankerous orator of the pious word?"
"Well, one day he called the wrong man a lyin' heathen. Man was a Cheyenne chief. Said the chief's wife was no better than a whore 'cause she wasn't Christian. Anyone else had said that to him an' he woulda cut out the fella's tongue and fed it to a rattler. But the preacher claimed to be a holy man, and the chief didn't want to anger anyone's god. So, he stripped the preacher nekkid and staked him out in the sun on top of some 'far' ants. Told him if he could keep his foolish mouth shut for just as long as it took for the sun to pass behind a cloud, he'd let him go free." JD grinned as Vin's words became more pronounced as he drew the word fire out until his Texas drawl was as thick as Ezra's Southern accent.
"I swear on my sainted mother's grave that being staked over a bed of tiny carnivorous creatures does not appear to be a suitable alternative to having one's tongue severed from one's person," Ezra's smirk had just the right amount of venom in it to unnerve the reverend even more. "However, I have never been enamored of turning the other cheek, either. Do tell us all what happened to the unfortunate man."
"Euuuuwww, did the ants eat the mean man up, Uncle Vin?" Buck smiled approvingly at Sally Ann as she took his whispered suggestion and identified Vin as one of her men.
"Nah, far ants wouldn't touch him. Heard tell the man was shouting curses so loud that his God joined with the Great Spirit in order to spare the poor ants. Little critters plumb picked up and marched off and built 'em a new mound. Man was still yellin' purt near a day later when the Army came and cut him free. Said they had to lock 'm up in some fancy home 'cause he took to runnin' nekkid through the streets screamin' at the top of his lungs every Sunday to watch out for the devil and his ants."
"I guess you could say that preacher got stung into spreadin' the word, eh Vin?" JD laughed at his joke and was thrilled when he heard others laughing, too. The sheriff and little Sally Ann thought JD's joke was really funny. Vin and Ezra rolled their eyes, and Buck just shook his head. Nell, however, grinned. For the first time since the tragedy had unfolded, she actually felt a little ray of hope.
"And why didn't this unfortunate man of the cloth use the befuddlement of the ants and claim God delivered him from them?" Ezra already knew the answer to the question, but he prompted Vin to share it with the good reverend.
"Word was that Cheyenne chief had powerful medicine that caused the preacher to show his congregation his true colors. Guess that preacher was all talk and no belief in the spirit like he claimed." Vin stared straight at the reverend and smiled. The hair on the back of the reverend's neck stood on end at that feral grin directed at him. "Like some people I can name."
Reverend Cecil puffed up like a toad when he saw that everyone listening was looking at him and agreeing with that thoroughly disagreeable man. "Sheriff, I demand you do something, now! Are you going to arrest this woman and her accomplices or not?"
The sheriff, who had been pulled from a warm meal and the prospect of spending a delightful afternoon with Miss Lilly Lavender of the Lavender Emporium, had endured more than enough bluster from the reverend. Turning, the sheriff glared at the man who, finding no weapon he could wield against the men he felt had no business on his train near his daughters, demanded that he arrest the young woman who fit the description. Later the sheriff would admit to no one else but Lily that he had reacted far too hastily, but for now he felt justified in sending the train on its way. Let some other sheriff not facing election arrest the pretty young mother of two. The man named Wilmington had claimed she was his wife, and the innocent little girl had called the man daddy. That was good enough for him.
"I could point out several women standing here on the boardwalk who match the description, and more than half of 'em will have two small children, Reverend. If this man says she is his wife, then I got no reason to hold her. There's been trouble down the line, and I hear they're rerouting your train through Colville. If you're gonna make the change over so's you can meet your next stop on time, you'd best stop holdin' up this train with your foolishness." With that, he turned on his heels and strode off.
Cecil was still blustering as Buck maneuvered Nell and the children toward the last car. Ezra happened to bump into the skittish man and his indignant tirade ceased as he hastily scrambled away from the gambler. He accidentally bumped into JD which in turn caused Cecil to spin around until he landed with a thump at Vin's feet. Vin offered a hand to help the reverend up, but the older man scrambled backwards away from Tanner as if the hand he was holding out was poisoned or something. Shaking his head at such foolishness, Tanner merely followed in the wake of his friends towards their car. Reverend Cecil turned bright red in embarrassment and indignation as he heard the people gathered round laughing at his misfortune. His daughters surrounded him with words of praise and conciliation they really didn't believe as two small train cars were attached to the last car of the Temperance Train.
Some rough and ready men were already hanging out of the windows leering at the Cecil girls, causing them much consternation as their father finally climbed to his unsteady feet and allowed them to lead him to his car where he could lie down and rest. As soon as he could, he wanted to know who those men were in the rail cars that were being fastened to the rear. First the delay, then the re-routing of the train, that horrible confrontation, and now he had to put up with more unwanted and especially uncouth men invading his crusade. The very next thing he would do upon his return to Boston, after complaining about the misfits foisted upon him by the railroad company, was to marry off his daughters. He would miss them, but they needed a husband and babies to curb this tendency they had to expound upon the rights of women.
Somehow between the time the train left Carson City, and they were well on their way to Coleville to avoid the area where a freight train had derailed, Reverend Cecil had attributed all of his discomforts to the four men, one woman, and two children in the following train car. Cecil had decided in his building outrage that those who had offended him would soon learn that Reverend Cecil was not a man to ridicule. In the last car was a man who had reason to hate the Buck Wilmington and his friends just as much as Cecil did. Once they met and had voiced their mutual hatred there was no telling what sort of plan they would hatch. It was safe to conjecture, however, that it would be a plan that promised nothing good for the four men or Nell and her family.
It was late in evening, and Nell and the two children were asleep in the only bed in the rail car. The heavy drapes had been pulled to give the young woman and her two children privacy from the four men who had taken her into their custody. JD had informed Buck that he was going to wire the sheriff as soon as he could asking for details in the death of Nell's husband. That had nearly started a shouting match between the two friends that would have woken Nell and the children if Ezra and Vin had not intervened. However, just as quickly as JD and Buck had calmed down, Vin turned and started what Buck later referred to Chris as Vin and Ezra taking turns 'chewing on my ass', knowing full well Buck would not raise his voice again while Nell and the children slept.
Grabbing Buck's hat from his head, Vin literally slapped Buck upside the head with it. "What the hell were you thinkin', Bucklin?" The voice was the barest whisper on the wind, but Buck could hear the anger the usually unruffled tracker rarely showed or even felt. This time Buck knew that Tanner was livid. That same vein in Vin's forehead that Vin had always laughed at Chris about when the older man lost his mercurial temper, was throbbing just much as Larabee's did in similar situations. Buck was going to point out that amusing tidbit of information to Ezra, a friend who would appreciate the irony of the situation. Ezra was not smiling, however. He looked very similar to Vin, in fact, right down to the same vein throbbing in his forehead. Two icy stares, one green and one blue, told Buck that this time neither man was amused by Buck's penchant to throw caution and good sense to the wind to save a damsel in distress. "Don't give me that look, Bucklin. What about the trouble with Wickes when you had to help Nora?"
"And do not forget his illustrious battle with swords no less for the honor of the fair Inez." Ezra's smirk was not pleasant when he was making a point. That put Buck on the defensive, and Buck had always known a good offense was the best defense.
"Why is it that when you two help some woman out, you're Robin Hood," Buck put his finger in Vin's face, "and you're a savior," his finger shook in Ezra's face next, "but when I try to help some pretty little gal and her two youngun's I catch hell?" His voice was just as fraught with anger as Vin's had been.
"At least Mr. Tanner's chivalrous intentions did not find us aiding and abetting a possible murderess." Ezra won yet another round in this verbal sparring match.
"They could hang all of us, Buck, if Nell did kill her husband." Vin was deadly serious. In front of the sheriff in Carson City he had backed Buck up and still fully intended to because Buck had earned Vin's loyalty. Ezra and JD felt the same way, but none of them wanted to hang for a murder they did not commit. Buck finally understood Vin's anger for the former bounty hunter had lived once already for three years with a bounty on his head for a murder he had not committed. Vin had only agreed to accept a pardon to protect his friends and his family. He knew it was no way to live, and the families he had found in Four Corners and in San Francisco meant the world to him. He did not want to be the cause of someone getting hurt if the twins or one of his friends got in the way of a bounty hunter's bullet that was meant for him. The family they had found in Four Corners meant just as much to Ezra and JD. Buck had to acknowledge that his six friends in Four Corners were as close to brothers as he was ever likely to have, and he had just jeopardized it by claiming to be Nell's husband. If his instincts were wrong and she had murdered her husband, Buck had given the sheriff cause to suspect that all four of them were suspects as well.
Buck's anger fled just as quickly as it had flared up. This was another good idea of his that could have disastrous results. He shook his head and looked to see that Vin and Ezra had calmed down considerably as they realized that they might be arguing over nothing.
"You boys are good at readin' people. You think she murdered him?"
Vin looked at Ezra and then back at Buck. JD's eyes were darting back and forth between all three men.
"She look like a murderer to you, Vin?"
Vin thought for a moment and finally shook his head. "I think somethin' happened that has her spooked real bad. She's runnin' from somethin' or someone, that's for sure. You can see it in her eyes, but she ain't got that cold look that the murderers have that I've run across."
"Ezra, you think she's lyin' to us?" Buck looked at the Southerner for his opinion.
"Actually, she hasn't lied to anyone yet; however, that is in itself what bothers me. She has yet to answer the sheriff's question. Is she the woman described in the flier? Is she the woman this sheriff wants to question?"
"I am. I did it. I sh. . . ," Nell's voice broke before she could say the word that would condemn her.
All four men whirled around to see Nell standing there. She must have heard them talking, at least JD for he was never one who could whisper as well as Vin. Buck, well his voice was as loud as his personality. Trying to get him to whisper was like trying to get a stick of dynamite to just go pop.
"Aw hell!" Vin's voice was just as quiet as Nell's, but strangely there was no anger in it. "You'd best come tell us all 'bout it. Don't leave nuthin' out." He pointed to the chair that he had been sitting in before Nell and the children had retired for the night.
"You aren't going to throw us off the train and have me arrested?" Nell looked stunned.
"My dear young woman, we have no intention of throwing you to the mercy of men like the Reverend Cecil before you have expounded upon your version of this unhappy event that placed you in this awkward position, especially now that we are implicated in this disaster with you."
JD smiled at Nell. "He said we ain't gonna do nuthin' till we hear your side of the story."
Nell shook her head. She didn't know whether to succumb to the hysteria that had been her constant companion for the past six months or embrace that small ray of hope that started the moment these men had appeared out of nowhere to offer help when she needed it. Sitting in the chair, the men gathered round her. Haltingly at first, then with more confidence, she finally told them what had happened. It seemed like hours, but she answered every question they put forth. It was his behavior leading up to the shooting that interested Ezra the most.
"You contend that from the moment he awoke after his unfortunate accident that he began acting strangely?"
Nell nodded her head. She gratefully sipped the tea that Jacob held out to her. He passed out cups of steaming coffee to the men, who nodded their thanks. The older man had been thankful he had been assigned to the car with the four men and not the Cecil car where his friend Burt was being run ragged. Having heard from Burt the accusations against the young woman, Cecil found himself siding with the four lawmen from Four Corners in her defense. The reverend was a pompous old windbag as far as Jacob was concerned. His own pa had been a man of the cloth, and never once in his life had Jacob ever heard his father pass judgment on another human being. Jacob raised his brows in surprise when Buck pushed a footstool out for him to sit with them. Getting his own cup, he sat down to listen and see if he could help.
Ezra waited until Nell sipped some of the tea and then he resumed questioning her. "Did anyone else notice these personality changes that your husband was experiencing?"
"Everyone did," Nell answered. "He never used to yell at anyone, but he fired all the house help and then any man who happened to tip his hat to me." She looked up defensively, "The hands were only being polite."
"S'ok, ma'am. We understand." Vin smiled at her as Jacob patted her hand.
"Quite right, as any gentlemen should acknowledge the lady of the manor."
Buck grinned at Ezra's vocabulary, but he noticed JD's frown about the same time Vin did.
"What?" Buck tapped JD on the knee and the kid turned to look at him.
Then, he looked over at Nell who was beginning to sag in the chair. She was exhausted, and his heart went out to all she had been through. He was just surprised that the sheriff had not arrested her immediately if there had been so many witnesses.
"JD?" Buck's voice was insistent.
"What is it, kid?" Vin had something nagging at him that he wanted to ask about, but the kid's frown made him think JD might just be thinking the same thing he was.
"Well, I was wondering. You said the sheriff was there when you, well you know, when IT happened?" Nell was too tired to do anything but nod. "What exactly did he do while you were locked in the room with your husband?" Nell frowned, puzzled by the question. Vin exchanged looks with Ezra and Buck. Jacob leaned a little closer. They all saw where JD was heading with his questioning.
"What do you mean?"
"He wants to know if the sheriff tried to talk to your husband, ma'am?"
Nell sat back trying to remember everything. She was so scared after her husband had dragged her into the room and locked it that she wasn't sure if she hadn't really dreamed it all. But, sitting here and talking about it had brought bits and pieces back to her until she stopped being so scared and began to concentrate to remember all of it. These men had promised to help her, but they needed to know everything. She tried to picture it in her mind like she used to picture the stories her ma used to tell her when she was little.
"Yes, yes he did." Suddenly, Nell got excited. She could see it all so clearly like it was a picture unfolding before her, but this book had sounds to it. "He asked Mr. Quigley to open the door and let me and the children out. My husband told them he would shoot us before he would let me go to my lover." Nell sat forward. "He called the sheriff one of my, my," Nell blushed, "customers. The sheriff told him he was wrong about me."
"Your husband threatened to shoot you an' the kids?" Buck was outraged.
"The sheriff heard your husband threaten the children?" Ezra was leaning forward, willing Nell to go on. Despite his own outrage, things were looking very good for Nell.
"Yes, yes he did! He told my husband not to be a fool! Then, Bruce looked at Sally Ann, and he frowned at her. His eyes, they went real cold all of a sudden, and I knew, I just knew he was going to hurt my baby!" Nell looked at them suddenly, no longer frightened. She realized what they were trying to make her see. "I saw him raise the gun and point it at her. Someone, someone at the window yelled that he was going to shoot, and they started breaking down the door and the window, I heard glass breaking. I picked up his gun from the drawer, and I called his name. He looked at me and laughed. He turned back to Sally, and I shot him." Nell opened her eyes and saw five grinning faces. She felt like she could breathe again as their whole demeanor had gone from concern and rapt attentiveness to a sort of relaxed exultation.
JD looked at Buck and grinned. "It was self-defense!"
"That's why the sheriff didn't arrest her right then and there!" Even Jacob could see that it was self-defense. He couldn't wait to tell Burt now that he knew the young woman had been forced to defend her own children.
"That still leaves the question as to why the sheriff sent the flier out on our Mrs. Quigley." Ezra merely turned a poker face to Buck who had elbowed him upon his possessiveness all of a sudden.
"When'd you leave the ranch, ma'am?" Vin had an idea.
"They took his body. The sheriff said they would take him into town to the undertaker. He told me to rest and that he would send his wife out to me. I was scared, and all I wanted to do was leave there. I didn't want to hang and leave my babies alone."
"You left while they were gone?"
"Yes." Nell looked at Vin.
"Ma'am, I think the sheriff is worried about you. You said he had been friends with your husband for years?" When Nell shook her head yes, he continued. "He just might think you ain't in any condition to be running 'round with two kids in tow. I bet he sent out those wires to make sure you were safe an' all."
"I think Mr. Tanner is correct. I believe the good sheriff was so concerned for your safety that he neglected to be precise in his inquiries."
"Then, what we do is wire him first town we get to. That's Coleville, ain't it, Jacob?" When the old man nodded his head, Buck turned back to Nell. "I bet you got folks real worried about you back home." Buck had gotten up and was kneeling next to Nell's chair. "Once we get him to confirm that he don't want you for murder, just wants to know if you're okay, we decide what you want to do. How's that?"
Nell just looked at Buck, the big tears welling in her eyes to drop with splashes on the big hand holding hers. She was so relieved she couldn't speak. He pulled her into a comforting hug and let her cry all the while patting her on the back telling her it was all going to be fine. The others found different things to talk about on the far side of the room as she finally stopped crying. Buck quietly led her back to the curtained area and sent her back to bed. Sally Ann sat up rubbing her eyes at the light from the other side. She saw her mommy had been crying, but since she was smiling at Uncle Buck the little girl put her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes. She heard her mommy whisper that everything was going to be all right, and she believed her. For the first time since her daddy had pointed the gun at her, Sally Ann dreamed of dolls and toys and heroes with mustaches who save fairy princesses.
It was a very smug man who joined his friends in a celebratory drink that Jacob even joined in. "See, boys. If I hadn't gotten such a good idea, that purty little gal would have been sleeping in the jail at Carson City for no reason at all. Now, aren't you glad I got that good idea?"
"Shut up, Buck." Vin's smile took the sting out of the command.
"Yeah, what Vin said." JD was rolling his eyes unwilling to let Buck off the hook just yet.
"I have to agree with my compatriots, Mr. Wilmington, and demand that you stop thinking at once." Ezra was pouring Buck another shot of that sublime malt liquor with which the Terrells had supplied them. "At least until you have run it by one of us first." His smirk led to a clinking of shot glasses and general good will all around. "Ahhh, morning has come already. I predict that it is going to be a glorious day."
Continued in Part Three
Feedback to Author