Disclaimer: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" T.V. series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.
Mary Travis wiped the rain from her face and stared at the effigy in the middle of the street, whose flames had been extinguished by the rain that pelted across the land, bringing salvation in every moist drop. The cross was meant to signify great many things to a great number of people. Yet as she stood before it now, with the night far from over and the fires set in hatred, finally dying under the assault of the rain, she felt her fury bubbling to the surface.
Four Corners was her home!
It was where she intended to raise a family. It was the soil in which Stephen had been willing to invest his faith and for which he had died. This was world she had intended to raise a new family with Chris and finally, it was the place to which she wanted to bring her son. This was her home and what had been transpired here tonight had shaken her to the core because she no longer knew this town or its community.
When the fire that had claimed Will Jefferson's home finally died, Mary had left the smouldering wreck of the man's business and house to return to her own home to rummage through the tool shed in the back yard, until she found what she had sought. As she trudged across the street back to the effigy that had signified the evil that had blighted their town this night, she had no idea what was running through her mind because her anger was such that she was no longer thinking clearly. As she approached the wooden cross, blackened by flames and cindres, people who were still on the street watched her with curiosity.
Mary glared at the effigy, furious by what it represented and the malice that lay behind its planting. She was enraged by all the hurt it had caused to the town of Four Corners, not just to its Negro citizens but also to the solidarity that had existed between friends and neighbours for so long. Thanks to this abomination, neighbours were looking at each other differently. Respected figures who had helped make this town what it was were now being vilified by a web of lies and deceit, aimed at destabilising the community and dividing it irrevocably. Mary had worked too hard and invested too much of herself to allow such a thing to continue any further.
Without saying a word, Mary swung the axe hard, the thick blade embedded itself deep into the wood with a loud whack. The sound cut through the rain, capturing everyone's attention as they turned to the sight of the blond widow, drenched to the bone, swinging away in unconcealed rage at the symbol that had caused so much grief in town on this night. Townsfolk, both black and white paused to see the display as Mary swung again, determine to remove the obscenity from the street.
Mary did not care if this meant nothing to those watching. She cared not if the idea of racial impurity was so deeply ingrained in the mind of those who had listened to Serfonteine's sickness that they would never be free of it. All she cared about was removing this thing from her sight. She kept swinging, ignoring the pain in her hands as she chipped away at it, knowing she did not possess nearly enough strength to fell it with one blow and wishing at that moment with all her heart that she did.
"Let me help you." A voice offered behind her.
Mary turned around and saw Mr Rosken behind her. His face was etched in sorrow and shame and she was tempted to tell him to go away when she realised that he was here to help. Mary said nothing for a moment as Rosken approached swallowing hard.
"I didn't want this to happen." He whispered, the rain running down his face and the way he had treated Nathan was reflected in his sorrowed filled eyes. "I never thought that it could be like this."
"It's always like this!" Mary shouted, not just to him but to everyone who could hear. She turned around and let her eyes scan all the faces, resting long enough on those who were guilty of this abomination to let them know that she was aware of who they were. "How do you think it starts?"
She brushed a strand of wet hair from her face and glared in particular at the bystanders who had watched it all happen, not those who had come to help with the fires. She glared at Rosken who had showed his affiliation by driving Nathan from his home, she stared at the women who had gossiped in the open about Alex Styles, trapped between their own gullibility and their prejudice. "It starts with men like Serfonteine coming to you people and telling you stupid things about how things were? How the hell would they know? Where were they when we were building this town, all of us. Not just the white folk but everyone!"
She saw some of them dropping their gazes to the ground with the same embarrassment that Rosken had displayed earlier, knowing in their hearts that they had been guilty of letting a stranger pollute their minds with such unsavoury ideas. "Mrs Ross!" Mary glared at a rotund woman standing under the awning in front of the hardware store. "Did you forget how Nathan mended your son's broken arm even though you had no money to pay him?"
Mrs Ross did remember because she was whispering to someone who stood beside her as she nodded in agreement with Mary's words. Her plump face seemed a little greyer when she conceded that point.
"What about you Sheila?" Mary flung around to one of the women who had been so callous about their opinions regarding Alex earlier that day. "I seem to recall your daughter getting into that school in Sweet Water thanks to Alex's written recommendation? You obviously forgot when you were crucifying her in the street this morning and I won't even ask which one of your cowards painted that disgusting message on her door? It's easy to forget when we had to go to Sweet Water or Bitter Creek whenever we were ill or injured. How many of us could have died if it were not for Alexandra Styles and Nathan Jackson?"
Obviously quite a few, if the contrite faces before her were any judge of how ashamed some of them were feeling. Mary offered no apologies for defending Alex or Nathan, they were her friends and damn near her family. She would tolerate this behaviour no more! "This is our home and we have built this place into something we can be proud of, all of us!" Mary stared at the faces around her.
"We've endured lawlessness, wealthy ranchers who ready to drive us away settling at the point of a gun, we've seen this land find a dozen different ways to kill us and not once, did it ever matter what colour the person standing next to us was! We never cared about race! The war is over! It ended years ago and a lot of men and women died so that we can live together like this, not be divided the first time someone with old ideas of past glories comes to town and infect us with his hatred like a disease! We can't make it out here on our own! Haven't we proven that to each other enough!"
There were those who came to help when the fires were raging who were nodding in agreement with no doubt or hesitation with what she had to say. However it took a little longer for those who knew secretly that they were guilty of her accusations. She could see it in their eyes as they wrestled with their conscience, perfectly aware to what depth their responsibility ran or how guilty they were for what had taken place tonight.
Rosken started chopping down cross once more, adding more weight to the blows until very soon, the effigy tumbled to the ground, splattering water and mud in all directions as the structure collapsed upon impact. Pieces of wood scattered about as it landed and Mary stared at it dispassionately until she turned her back upon the symbol of everything the town had denigrated into the past day.
"You know the men who rode tonight." Mary spoke further not quite done with her fiery tirade against injustice. "You know who they are who cry their cause behind white robes and claim they speak the truth but don't even dare to show their faces to do it! They sit next to us in church and they come to our houses for Sunday dinner, they wear the same faces we do. I just hope to god that doesn't make them one of us!"
Mary could not say whether her words touched those who were partially responsible for this climate of hatred and intolerance that Nicholas Serfonteine had ignited. She could tell that she reached some people and perhaps that would be enough to bring Four Corners back to what it was. The truth was, the town had changed even if things went back to normal tomorrow and all sins were forgiven. Serfonteine had touched a nerve in all of them that would not be easily forgotten, by either those who believed or those who were indifferent to his prejudiced view of the world.
All Mary Travis knew for certain that tonight, something had been lost and whether or not this community could ever regain it again was a question only the future could answer.
"Hold him!" Alex told Nathan as they both stood over Ezra as the gambler writhed in pain as Alex was forced to apply the antisepctic that would keep his horrific wounds from festering with infection. Although Alex was still shaky after her experience with Lamont, she knew the best medicine for herself was to get back to work immediately. Alex had not forgotten how Ezra had placed himself in harm's way to save her so she was determined to return the favour. As she looked at the lash marks on her back, there was no doubt in her mind that had he not intervened and allowed her to escape, it would be she who was wearing those wounds now, not Ezra.
"I got him." Nathan declared as he tried to hold Ezra still. Ezra was moaning in pain, sending icicles of anguish to those who could hear him beyond the partition of Alex's infirmary. Alex could only imagine the pain he must be enduring after seeing the blood encrusted welts in his back. However, Nathan understood it all too well, having suffered the same torture a long time ago. Seeing Ezra like this only made Nathan wish that he had made Serfonteine suffer instead of making his death quick.
The pain was so considerable that for any treatment to be administered, he was going to need sedation. As Nathan tried to keep him still, Alex prepared the syringe that would administer the sedative. Ezra had been lapsing in and out of coherence ever since the others had found him because the pain was so intense that the black state of unconsciousness was the only way he could cope with it to any degree. Alex herself was still covered in mud and bruises, which she had yet to tend to but she could not see past Ezra's pain at this moment. Sooner or later she would wind down and the terror she had felt inside that dark well would haunt her with terrifying memories but not right now.
She just did not have time for it.
"I want to see him!" Both Alex and Nathan heard Julia behind the partitioning, followed by Josiah's calm but soothing voice.
"He's still alive Julia," the preacher was telling the woman. "But he won't be if you go in there and disrupt the healing he needs."
"Alright, keep him still." Alex replied, shaking away the voices and pressing the needed to Ezra's struggling arm. With expertise garnered from sheer repetition, she slipped the needle past his skin, finding the artery that would allow the concoction to take its fullest effect.
"What did you give him?" Nathan asked, watching the amber fluid disappear into Ezra's veins.
"Morphine." Alex sighed, stepping back as she removed the needle. "It should make the pain easier to bear."
"God I hope so," Nathan hissed angrily. "Those bastards got off too easy."
"They're dead Nathan," Alex said quietly. "That's good enough for me." She replied, turning away from him.
"Miss Alex," Nathan said as Ezra's struggles started to subside once the morphine took effect. "You need to tend to yourself."
Alex passed by a mirror on the wall and stared at herself. For a moment, she did not recognise that dishevelled figure in the mirror, covered in dirt, tears and discoloured flesh. She did not want to pause because if she did, she would remember and right now, Alex did not want to remember anything. "I'm fine." She said in a small voice.
"I can take care of Ezra now, Miss Alex." Nathan said gently, meeting her gaze so that she understood how concerned he was. "Believe me," he glanced at Ezra who had slipped into a blissful state of unconsciousness now that the exhaustion and morphine had finally broken the back of his struggles. "I know how to tend these wounds very well."
Alex had no doubt of that and she had to concede that her state of mind was such that it was easy to make mistakes. She let out a deep breath and nodded in consent to leave but not before she went to Ezra's bedside and planted a soft kiss on the gambler's cheek. She stared at him for a moment, remembering for a brief instant the love she had once felt for him and how he had risked everything tonight to save her.
"He saved me Nathan," she whispered, meeting the healer's eyes with tears in her own. "He could have escaped without a scratch but he saved me."
"He's a good man," Nathan agreed and place a gentle hand on Alex's shoulder. She was still wearing Vin's buckskin jacket because when she had saw what they had done to Ezra, all thoughts about anything else was driven from her mind. "You need to tell Miss Julia what's happening," he prompted, knowing it would be easier to leave if she had something to do.
"I'll take care of it." She nodded quietly.
Everyone was present excepting Mary Travis and Inez who were still dealing with the aftermath of the fires in town with the when Alex stepped out from behind the partition that separated her waiting room from the surgery where Nathan was presently tending to Ezra's wounds. As soon as she emerged, she was immediately bombarded with questions regarding the gambler's welfare, most notably from Julia Pemberton. She could understand Julia's concern, considering the state Ezra had been in when he was brought back to town. It was enough to frighten anyone.
"Nathan's with him now." Alex quickly announced for the benefit of those assembled. "His wounds are bad but it looks worse than it is. I had to sedate him for the pain but the injuries are mostly musculature and not nerve damage so he should recover without any permanent effects. Unfortunately," Alex met Julia's gaze, "he will be in a lot of pain over the next few days."
A visible sigh of relief escaped Julia and all those present because although the news though grim, it was not fatal as they feared it might be when they had first seen all that blood. "It will be a while before Nathan is finished with him," she added further. "There's no reason for you all to remain. You should go get some rest."
"I'm not going anywhere." Julia said adamantly, green fire ablaze in her eyes at the mere suggestion.
Josiah dropped a hand on her shoulder and remarked gently. "No one expects you too, if you'd like I'll stay with you."
Chris nodded his approval at that suggestion because he had an idea that if Julia were to remain here, she would only be a hindrance to the treatment Nathan was attempting to administer. At least with Josiah present, the gunslinger knew that Julia would be kept underfoot from the healer and it looked as if Alexandra Styles was in no condition to offer comfort to anyone.
As if reading his thoughts, Vin quickly spoke up. "Come on Darlin," the tracker took her by the arm. "You need to get cleaned up and have those bruises looked at."
"I'm alright, really." She said with a barest hint of a smile even though everyone in the room could tell that she was not. Her ordeal at Lamont's hands had left her shaken to the core and feeling more vulnerable than she had ever felt in all her life.
"No you aren't." Chris replied automatically, perceptive as always. "Vin." He gestured to the younger man to get a move on. The doctor looked like she was about to drop where she stood and the state of her appearance at the moment, not simply in a physical sense was enough to give concern to all those present. Although Ezra had saved Alex from violation, she had suffered enough abuses by the looks of her to indicate to them all, that she was just skirting on the edge of her traumatised emotions.
Deciding that she was in no position to argue with either of them, especially when both men wore those same determined expressions, Alex conceded the point. Besides, she wanted to wash and get the stink of that bastard off her skin. She could still smell the liquor from his breath and the scent of it almost made her want to vomit.
"Come on Darlin," Vin took her by hand as he started guiding her towards the stairs that led upstairs to her home. Vin could see even better than Chris just how close she was to breaking down in tears and it was her usual courage and determination that refused to allow them to see her vulnerability's. He loved her so much for that but was aware that even she had her limits at times.
"We better get riding to Sweet Water." Buck said to JD agreeing with Alex's assertion that they could do nothing for the moment. "we'll need to take that trash out there to a doctor."
"Trash?" Alex looked at him, stopping in mid step at whom Buck could mean.
Buck shifted uncomfortably as he exchanged glances with Vin whose expression hardened with cold hatred and the entire room felt silent before Chris finally spoke up, because Buck did not know how to do it. Chris did not believe in standing on ceremony and quickly responded. "Lamont. We need to keep him alive to stand trial for what he did to you and Ezra."
Alex felt like all the air was draining out of the room because she found herself faced with something she could not stomach and no one would rebuke her if she followed her impulses and let the man be damned. Unfortunately, she had made oaths herself and those oaths were to a higher ideal than the disgusting creed of hatred spouted by Nicholas Serfonteine and used by Lamont as an excuse for satisfying his own sadistic tendencies. Those ideals would not let her turn her back on an injured man even though she might want him dead more than anything in the world. Still beneath all that anger and self sacrifice was a desire that was more selfish than courageous.
She was a doctor.
That's all she had ever wanted to be and if Lamont made her turn her back just once, then he was taking a part of her away that was not replaceable. Alex could not accept that state of affairs under any circumstances, nor would he let him damage her that way.
Closing her eyes, she took her deep breath and steeled herself for the protests that would inevitably follow. "Bring him in here, I'll take a look at him." She said heavily.
"Not a chance." Vin declared firmly, his blue eyes hardening to the point of resembling flints of cold ice. "He can go to Sweet Water."
"You don't have to do this." Chris replied, being the only one in the room save Vin that might possibly understand why she would wish to confront the man who almost raped her.
"No I don't have to," she snapped angrily at everyone present. "But if I turn away and do not be a doctor when someone needs it, then he wins doesn't he?"
"Alex, you don't have to prove anything!" Vin persisted, not liking this one damn bit.
"Like hell I do!" She shouted at him, wishing he could understand and being in such a state of mind that she really did not care if he did or not. "I am not going to spend forever wondering if the next person is worth saving because he might turn out to be a homicidal maniac! I took an oath Vin, I took an oath to do no harm and to render aid when it is needed. I can't just disregard it whenever I feel! Now I'll put this son of a bitch together again but only to see him behind bars. I'm doing it because its what I do and because I'm better than him! So bring him in here and let me get on with it!"
With that, she swept out of the room and continued upstairs.
Vin was shaken at her vehemence and although he did not like it, he could almost understand what she was trying to tell him. Looking at the others in the room, he noticed Chris was holding back his own opinion on the matter. The gunslinger who was more than accustomed to dealing with a strong willed lover was in complete sympathy with Vin but Chris tended to agree with Alex's reasoning.
"Let her." Julia stated finally. The woman had been quiet during most of the discussion, her own worries about Ezra having given away when she remembered how badly Alex had suffered during her own kidnapping, in light of this new development.
"Let her?" Vin exclaimed. "Look what the man did to her!"
"I am not blind Mr Tanner," Julia returned softly, comprehending his fear for Alex but not what was running through her mind. Julia supposed it just had to do being an independent female, a thing none of the men present could really appreciate. "But Alex doesn't want to give this man any more power over her than he already has. Let her do this, she needs to."
"It's your call Vin," Buck remarked, wanting to know so he and JD could bring Lamont.
Vin swore under his breath and decided that it was not up to him really, Alex had taken the choice out of his hands the moment, she had told them to bring Lamont into her clinic. "Do it." Vin frowned unhappily. "But he makes so much as one move towards her, I'll finish what I should have done back there in the woods."
No one could disagree with him on that.
The days following the fire and the death of Nicholas Serfonteine were gloomy ones for Four Corners. Mary Travis had been correct in her belief that something had been lost in light of the taint that the Klan had brought to the community. The bodies that had been brought back from the Jacobson place when unmasked revealed Klan members who no one would have guessed to have such beliefs if they had not seen it for themselves. Among the dead was Paul Jacobson, the host to the nocturnal gathering that had spawned so much violence. Some of the Klansmen had escaped that night and the seven had no clues as to their identity, however, with Serfonteine gone, they lacked direction and Chris doubted the appearance of another exhibition like this for quite some time. Still, the damage was done in Four Corners. No longer could anyone look at each other in quite the same way for there would always be a lingering question as to how many Serfonteine had actually touched with his doctrine of hatred and intolerance.
Fortunately, some positive elements did arise from the calamity of that fiery night. Will Jefferson was immediately offered refinancing by the local bank manager who was more than willing to help the blacksmith on his feet again. Similar efforts of aid were made to the other families who had lost everything in the fire with the community rallying to their assistance. Of course, there were a few who were still poisoned by the Klan and stayed well away from the relief efforts but there were still plenty enough of well intention townsfolk to balance their absence.
Alexandra Styles did treat Lamont with Vin standing close by every minute of the treatment. The man had accepted her help begrudgingly but was not foolish to make any further abusive attempts in her direction, not when she held his fate in her hands and certainly not with the tracker keeping a vigil with a sawn off shotgun at his side. Once he had received proper medical treatment, Lamont was promptly removed to the jailhouse for the rest of his stay in Four Corners. For days after the event, Vin stayed as close to Alex as he could; slipping in and out of her home at night discreetly so as to quell the gossip mongering that had been incited by Serfonteine.
She slept badly those first two or three nights, with Vin having to wrap his arms around her and hold her close as her ordeal relived itself in her mind during her slumber. However, it aided to her mental recovery when her patients started making appointments again and while there were still plenty to keep the tongues of the town's scandalmonger's busy, it did not effect her practice enough to give Alex any further thought to relocation.
Violet Serfonteine returned home with her brother's body shortly after being told by Mary Travis that should she attempt to pursue the matter of his death, Mary would in turn be forced to pursue the matter of his activities during his stay in Four Corners. Unless Violet wanted it known across Georgia society that her brother was responsible for arson, attempted murder and rape, she would go quietly. Like all southern belles, Violet did not have the stamina to compete with Mary Travis when the widow was on a self righteous crusade.
It was the first time in days that Ezra had seen the light of day.
Although he could only view it from the guestroom of Julia's house, since it was scandalous enough that she had demanded that he spend his convalescence at her home, it was good enough for him after the pain he had been forced to endure the past few days. Ezra had spent most of his time lying on his stomach because Nathan would not tolerate anything else. Since the healer had first hand experience in this type of injury, Ezra was not about to argue with him. If there was any consolation to be had in all this, it was the fact that Julia had taken personal responsibility of nursing him back to health and appeared more animated than he had seen her in weeks.
It was almost worth suffering what he had endured to see his Julia back to her normal self. While she was not as fiery as he remembered, her spirit had returned somewhat and it aided in his recovery to see that familiar sparkle in her emerald coloured eyes. He sensed that would change once she was finally ready to talk about the pregnancy and everything that came with it. While he spent his days recovering in her guest room, Ezra was visited by the rest of the seven who came by to tell him what had been transpiring during his absence. They kept him appraised of the goings on in town or dropped by just to play a hand of poker or keep him company. As the time went by, Ezra saw Julia ease enough to speak of what was buried so deeply within.
"Mr Wilmington has asked me to make a request of you." Ezra asked as he and Julia were having a late supper the evening after Violet Serfonteine had finally left town. She still would not let him out of bed any more than he had to and dinners were usually served to him on a tray while she dined from her wing chair. It gratified Ezra to know that she was lavishing such care on him and the tenderness she displayed was more than surprising, it was so unlike her that he was still becoming accustomed to it.
"Really?" Julia looked up from her plate as she took a bite out of her meal.
"Yes, apparently he is dying to know how you manage to prise the location of the Klan gathering from Serfonteine's sister."
"I'm surprised JD hasn't told him," Julia remarked with a faint smile, still somewhat pleased with herself for that little feat even though the events that followed did Ezra little good at all.
"Mr Dunne had been surprisingly silent on that subject." Ezra met her gaze and confessed some curiosity to know how she had managed it himself.
"Well JD has enough problems on his hands," Julia answered "The poor boy has been attempting to win back Casey's forgiveness after his dalliance with Violet. For some stupid reason he actually believed Casey was going to understand when he explained it to her that he was just seeing Violet for information. Whatever gave him such a foolish idea?"
"I would not know," Ezra said with a completely straight face.
"I suppose you're dying to know?" She looked at him with a tempestuous smile.
"I have so little occupy my time." He smiled back, more pleased than ever that she was showing her former acerbic manner.
"Alright," Julia sighed out loud and began to tell him how she had realised what would be Violet's biggest weakness and how simple it was upon that discovery to exploit it for their own purposes.
Ezra stared at her with surprise. "Miss Pemberton, I had no idea you were so cruel."
"I was having a bad day." Julia said without a hint of repentance and still did not because, late as the seven were to arrive to prevent the terrible injury that Serfonteine had inflicted upon the man she loved, they had at least kept Ezra from being killed. For that alone, she was willing to do anything. She had no idea she could love him as much as she did until the reality came so close that she might lose him. Suddenly, she did not care about her reputation in the community or any wagging tongues that might be unleashed by having him stay here. After what he had been through, Julia wanted him close.
"Ezra," she let out a deep breath. The moment had shifted from jovial to something else and she finally decided that since they were speaking about truths, its time she gave him the most important truth that she had been hiding from him. "I need to tell you the truth about the miscarriage."
Ezra swallowed, closing his eyes as he forced himself to say the words, almost relieved that she had finally spoken of it so that he could finally say them to her. "I know it was not a miscarriage, Julia." He replied quietly.
"Do you see through me so easily?" She swallowed, her eyes moistening as she spoke.
"I love you my dear," Ezra answered. "I know everything about you and I also know that Alexandra Styles may be able to bluff her way through a poker game, but she is a terrible liar when it comes down to hiding something of this nature. I'm afraid our past relationship gives me something of an edge."
"I am sorry," the words tumbled out of her mouth now that the truth was out in the open. "I went there with every intention to have it done." She did not explain where it was because the details were not important, all that mattered was the truth she was attempting to tell. "I went there, all the while thinking about everything you said about how we could have this child together and when I actually got there, it hit me what I was going to do and maybe there was another way after all."
"Then?" Ezra looked at her with confusion, feeling no anger, not really because he had more or less suspected the truth for quite some time now. When Alex had told him it was a miscarriage and Ezra had seen she was lying, he had instinctively guessed this was what had truly taken place.
"He did it after I said no." Julia swallowed, trying not to feel angry at the man who had done this to her because it was not his fault, it was hers for going there in the first place. "He knew I'd lost my nerve but the money was too good and so he shoved this rag in my face and the next thing I knew, I'd woken up in my own blood." She was not aware that tears had been rolling down her cheeks as she spoke to Ezra because the guilt and the self recrimination was almost all consuming.
Ezra's jaw tightened in anger as he thought of some back alley quack drugging his Julia into submission and performing the surgery that would murder his child, all for the want of a few dollars. It infuriated him and also explained why Alex had lied to him. If he did not know Julia as well as he did, her story would sound completely implausible but he did know her and there were no secrets between them. Deception was a game they both played with expertise but not to each other. Alex had lied to spare Julia because Alex had believed in her innocence in this matter.
"You should have told me Julia." He said after a long pause.
Julia released a held breath, thinking for one dark moment that he would not understand and he would leave as she had believed he would. "I had planned to but when Alex concocted the story of the miscarriage, the lie seemed the better solution."
"Not between us." Ezra repeated firmly. "Never between us."
He extended his hand towards her and it was with relief that Julia reached for it and felt his fingers enclose around hers. Looking into his blue eyes, she saw that he did not hate her for what she had done and that to a certain degree, he understood the torment she had felt during all the time she had kept her silence. "Never again," she whispered, wiping the tears from her face.
Allowing him to pull her towards him, Julia slipped into the sheets next to Ezra and nestled in his embrace as they watched the sun set beyond the window, knowing that everything in its own way, would heal.
Alex stared at her reflection in the water and winced at the sight of the bruises on her face that had yet to fade away. She knew that when they finally healed they would leave no permanent scars or anything that might serve to remind her of the unpleasantness that she had been endured at Francis Lamont's hands. Still, it was easy to forget that terrible night when she was sitting under a canvas of stars, her bare feet dipped in water tot he ankles as she sat at the edge of the creek not far from the main house on Nettie Well's property.
Vin was sitting behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist as he savoured the scent of her hair in his lungs. The business with Nicholas Serfonteine and the Klan seemed so far away now. Even though things had returned to some semblance of normalcy, Vin had wanted to get Alex away from Four Corners for just awhile so they could spent some time together without the town scrutinising their relationship. He realised of course, that part of her reputation being sullied the way it had was partially his fault.
Alex had never asked anything of him when it came to their relationship. She had accepted his love without requiring any formal declaration or understanding. He felt somewhat ashamed that he was sharing such intimacy with her and had never at one point brought up the question of marriage or even his intention in that direction even though they shared each other's bed as lovers.
"You think we ought to tell people we're courting?" Vin asked as he delighted in how soft she felt in his arms, enjoying every curve his hands were allowed to feel.
"Is it important to you that we do?" Alex leaned into him, enjoying how his body felt against her and feeling a surge of desire as his finger tips danced along her thigh.
"We ought to do something," Vin pointed out. "I mean people know we're together." His lips brushed against the skin of her neck, tasting the flesh and sending tingles through her skin.
"And then some." She teased, brushing her hair back so that she could have better access to his mouth.
"And then some," he paused what he was doing long enough to grin. "Maybe we ought to get engaged at least." His fingers slipped to the shirt she was wearing and began tracing lines on the smooth skin behind it.
"Maybe," she sighed breathlessly, reaching into his hand, allowing him access deeper into her shirt.
"Maybe you better, if you're going to behave like a bunch of love sick teenagers." Nettie Wells' stern voice exclaimed. The widow stood before them both, hands on her hips, with disapproval clearly on her face as she regarded them like two badly behaved children.
Vin and Alex immediately straightened up and returned to more respectable positions side by side, scrambling like children who had been caught with their hands well and truly in the cookie jar. Alex brushed furiously while Vin simply went silent with embarrassment under Nettie's reproachful glare.
The older woman folded her arms and remarked with the barest hint of a smile. "I was just coming to tell you that supper is ready and none too soon the way you two were going at it.
"Thanks Nettie." Vin replied, unable to meet the woman's gaze.
"We'll be there in a moment." Alex responded, feeling very much like a little girl again. Suddenly, she had some idea of what having a mother would be like by the look Nettie was giving them both of them. It was easy to forget that they were both full grown adults when Nettie was talking to them like this.
"I think you can come with me now Vin Tanner," Nettie retorted. She strode over to the tracker and leaned over before pulling Vin to his feet by his buckskin jacket. "No telling what you'd both get up to alone."
"But ma'am... " Vin started to protest only to have Nettie silence him with a look that would have sent Chris Larabee running for cover. Alex started to giggle as she saw the woman drag her lover unwillingly back towards the house, starting to see the absurdity of it all once her embarrassment had worn off.
Somehow as Alex stood up to put her shoes back on, she had this strangest feeling that if Nettie Wells had anything to do with it, she and Vin were going to be engaged by the time they got to dessert.
Nathan Jackson scrapped off the remaining pieces of paper from the eviction notice he had torn up days ago, from the surface of his front door. He had forgotten all about it until he had returned from the saloon a short time ago and noticed the scraps still clinging to the wood with dried glue. The day after the fires, Rosken had sought Nathan out in the saloon and apologised profusely for turning him out. The man apparently had no idea the true nature of Nicholas Serfonteine and appeared somewhat frightened to the core that he had almost allowed himself to become embroiled in the same kind of hatred.
Rosken confessed that he did not know whether his feelings regarding the coloureds would ever change but he was willing to try and overcome that prejudice if Nathan would accept his offer to remain in the infirmary that the healer had established. The man's attempt at reconciliation seemed genuine and Nathan had decided that he was not too proud to be so self righteous, particularly since he had killed Nicholas Serfonteine on that fateful night. As far as the town was concerned, satisfaction had been demanded and granted in the old custom between the two men and such things had a tradition of acceptance that not even the law could penetrate.
"You need hot water." Nathan heard a voice from the foot of the steps that led to his front door.
Nathan looked down and saw Rain smiling at him.
"Rain!" Nathan exclaimed, all thoughts about the door forgotten as he hurried down the steps to greet the young woman, who waiting below. "What are you doing here?" He said as they engaged in a warm embrace.
"Josiah and Buck rode into town yesterday and said you might need some cheering up." The young woman replied as she looked in the direction of the saloon. Nathan followed her gaze and saw the preacher and the gunslinger tipping their hat in his direction. The healer smiled and waved at them as he and Buck disappeared into the establishment. Nathan was not surprised that the duo would undertake such a journey, since he had been feeling somewhat melancholic lately. A part of him was still wrestling with his conscience for killing Serfonteine, even though it was something he had wanted to do for a long time.
Strange how a lifetime of wanting the man dead could be so hollow in the final realisation of that desire.
"I'm cheered up plenty just seeing you," Nathan smiled as he held her close for a few seconds. After everything that had transpired during the past two days, she was a tonic he needed badly and once again thanked Josiah in silence for bringing her to him. "It's been hard few days."
"I know," Rain nodded in understanding when Nathan finally parted from him. "Josiah told me."
"I killed him Rain." He swallowed, referring to what he had done to Serfonteine. Try as he might, Nathan knew he would never be comfortable with what he had done it hat clearing, even though at the time, there was no other alternative left to him in light of what Serfonteine was doing to his friends and his home. Nathan had understood that it had fallen to him to end the madness that was threatening to tear Four Corners apart. Nicholas Serfonteine had brought hatred to Four Corners and marked it with a stain that was forever.
"You did what you had to Nathan." Rain stated firmly, with her faith in him present in her warm brown eyes. "You always do what you had to because you are a good man. I believe that in my heart and after awhile, perhaps you will too."
Nathan hoped she was right because there would be a part of him that would always wonder if what he had done that night was not out of vengeance. When he had seen what Serfonteine had been willing to do to destroy his home and everyone he cared about, Nathan knew that the man could not be allowed to continue. The people in his life meant more to him than anything in the world, even his conscience. Nathan did not know if the trade would be worth the sleepless nights and the endless soul searching but for the moment, he was living the life that Rebecca wanted him to live and that was enough.
He had survived.