Consultant: Jean Ann Barrie
Rating: Rating: PG13, language and some violence
Universe: Old West
Disclaimer: I do not own the character of Ezra Standish and do not seek to make money off of this story
Comments: All new characters belong to Jean Ann Barrie, please e-mail me, Jessie Jane, if you wish to use them in any way. This story is set after the second season.
"Hey, stable hand, we need our horses looked after."
Vin, the resident tracker, could feel a kicking at his legs as he pushed up his slouch hat. He lounged in front of his horse's stall on a bale of hay. He looked up into a vision of strangeness.
Three identical men, all wearing expensive black suits and Eastern hats, were standing before him with looks of disgust on their faces. Obviously, the town did not set well with them. Or Vin, for that matter.
"I ain't a stable hand," commented Vin as he noticed that the men did not carry guns. Feeling confident that they would not shoot him, he pulled his hat back down to get a few more lazy winks before his patrol to the north side of town.
"Hey, I'm talking to you! We need our horses stabled." The kick became harder, and without looking, Vin put the kicker in the dirt with an Indian wrestling move with his legs.
The man came up sputtering. "You don't treat Tyler Cullen like that and get away with it!"
Vin was still lazy. "Getting away with it," he replied calmly.
Vin finally got up with a bone popping stretch, like a big cat. If he was going to be hassled, he might as well saddle up and get on that patrol to the north for Chris. He could still hear the man sputtering about the fall into the dirt and manure and straw of the stable floor.
He paid no mind to it. Those three looked like they didn't know their butt from a hole in the ground.
He saddled up his black horse and rode out amid curses from this 'Tyler Cullen.'
Outside, he saw three fine-looking specimens of horseflesh. All three horses were coal black, not a speck of white on them. They all had good lines and fine, wedge-shaped heads and bowed necks.
'Men would kill to own horses like that,' was Vin's last thought on the three black-haired men and their horses as he left town to patrol.
Tyler Cullen was fuming as he put up his own horse in the stable. His brothers, Seth and Kyle were sniggering at him as he still picked straw and manure from his suit.
"That back woods hick needs to be taught a lesson," groused Tyler.
Seth looked up from his job of settling his own horse. "Not right now. You know why Uncle had to send us out here. It was a good thing that Uncle knows Judge Travis and could arrange for us to travel to this ... place. We'll deal with him later."
Tyler grumbled again, but agreed. Things needed to settle down before they went back to their pranks.
It was their pranks that had gotten them into trouble in Virginia. Their Uncle, the identical twin of their dead father, had encouraged them in their various schemes. After all Father and Uncle were the kings of the practical joke.
And in Virginia, no one messed with the Cullen boys. They knew what would be coming their way if they did.
Ezra was also taken aback as the three identical men walked into the saloon looking for a poker game. Ezra bowed out, his gambler's instincts marking them as trouble for the town. He briefly wondered if Chris Larabee knew about the three, but then pushed it away as he began to watch the three play some of the locals.
Ezra's indignation grew with each hand the new comers played.
They were cheating! In his saloon and at his table on the platform.
Something needed to be done about this.
When Rob Stills bowed out of the game after being cleaned out, Ezra took his seat after introductions were given.
Ah, fellow Southerners. It was refreshing to hear the sweet sound of the Southern accent after so long without it.
But not so wonderful as to stay his hand at dealing out punishment for cheating at his table. In less than ten minutes, he had the three cleaned out.
"Hey, you cheated." Kyle rose from his chair with a scowl.
Ezra sighed. It always came down to someone accusing him of cheating when it was just his God given talents. "Sit down, my friend. It does not become a gentleman to be such a bad loser at a game of chance. Such innuendoes about my card playing habits are not welcome."
Seth nudged Kyle on the leg. A small reminder to keep his cool. Things needed to settle before they brought attention to themselves.
Kyle immediately sat back down and doffed his hat. "That is true. Forgive my manners."
Ezra smiled crookedly, showing his gold tooth. He was still gathering up the three's money from the table. "Think nothing of it, my friend. I hope I'll have the pleasure of playing you again." Then his face darkened. "That is, if you can keep your game straight."
Kyle was back on his feet, but Ezra's derringer was out and pointed at his stomach. "Now, now. No need for violence. We are all gentlemen here. It was just a friendly warning. I will not tolerate cheating in my saloon. The next time, you'll be in the jail or run out of town. Do I make myself clear?"
All three nodded, too furious to trust their voices. But they needed to stay calm. Stay cool. The triplets Father and Uncle taught them the ins and outs of cheating by the time they were ten years old. Being caught by Ezra, a first rate gambler, caused them great humiliation.
"Very well, go about your business," dismissed Ezra. He got up from the table with the cash tucked neatly into his vest pocket.
He ducked out of the saloon to find Chris Larabee. Larabee, leader of the Magnificent Seven, needed to know about these trouble makers.
Chris Larabee looked as calm as ever when Ezra explained the situation with the new comers to town.
"And you saw them cheating?"
Ezra looked affronted. "Well, of course. I would not have stepped into the game if it were straight. They were cleaning out the locals at an alarming rate. Not even a God given talent could get that rich that fast at any gaming table."
"Well, just keep an eye on them. We don't have the time or the men to watch them all the time. Don't go out of your way to follow them or you'll never get your job done with patrolling and the like."
"But, Mr. Larabee, they were cheating—"
Chris shook his head. "We have men in this town that would kill a man without a moment's hesitation. They need our attention more than three brats from back East."
Ezra shrugged. He would do as Larabee said.
Larabee was in the saloon later and happened to see the three men that Ezra had complained about. They now had brand new, squeaky leather gunbelts and shiny new guns.
Chris snorted. They probably would blow their own toes off if they tried a quick draw. He dismissed them from his thoughts as Vin came in from his patrol to the north.
"Hey, cowboy. Everything all right?"
Vin nodded and noticed that Chris didn't have a bottle on his table. "All right. I'll just go get me a drink and I'll join you."
Chris nodded and watched Vin move to the bar and Inez.
Chris had felt a strange friendship with Vin since the moment he met him and was glad for any opportunity to spend time with him. Sometimes they would even go fishing at the nearby watering hole, something that Chris hadn't done since his family had been killed all those years ago.
Vin reached the bar and ordered a beer for himself, and a whiskey for Chris from Inez, a lovely Mexican woman. He felt glad to spend a moment with a friend. Especially Chris. Since the moment their eyes met before they saved Nathan, the town's healer, from hanging, they had a connection.
As Vin reached for his beer, he accidentally bumped into a solid looking man that had the look of a freight wagon driver. The man let out a howl and held the arm that Vin had barely touched.
"Mister, if I wasn't in such pain, I think I'd call you out."
Vin was shocked. What had he done? He had barely bumped the man's arm.
The man left the bar cussing and groaning as if in agony as he clutched the injured arm against his chest.
Vin took the drinks and went back to Chris' table.
"Trouble?" asked Chris with a twinkle in his eye.
Vin smirked slightly. "Naw, just bumped some fellow. Nothing to worry about."
The triplets gave thought to the incident with Vin at the stable and they decided to take action three nights later.
As Vin was walking the town at about eleven o'clock at night, a soft whisper of a rope came from a dark alley. It settled over his head and cinched his arms to his body. He struggled as he felt the unmistakable power of a horse behind the rope and knew that he was about to be dragged.
The dragging lasted only a few minutes, but it was over rough ground that gouged his skin and ripped his buckskin jacket. It was at moments like this that he was thankful for the thick jacket's protection.
After the painful dragging, he was left with the rope still tightly bound around his arms. It took a moment to rouse himself enough to push up and work the rope loose. After getting it off, he threw it away and cursed under his breath.
He limped his way back to town to see Nathan. But first, he needed to wake up Buck, who was next on the schedule to patrol the town at midnight. He might catch Buck, the town's ladies man, doing something he didn't want to know about, but at least the town would be watched.
Vin knocked on Buck's door. Vin could hear soft sound coming from inside and grinned. Yep, Buck was up to no good in there. He banged a little harder on the door.
"Go away, J.D. I told you to go to bed and leave off that nonsense about Casey until tomorrow!"
"Buck, it ain't J.D. It's Vin."
He could hear scrambling around in the room and the door finally opened, but not enough to show the lady in question that was residing in Buck's bed.
Buck's eyes bugged at his first sight of Vin. "Boy, you look like you were tied up in a sack full of cats tied to a clothesline." He sucked his teeth and clicked his tongue as he went over Vin's appearance. "Yep, not looking too purty there, Vin."
Vin shook his head in exasperation. "Look, I need to get over to Nathan's and I need you to cover for me. I'll make it up next week."
Buck finished pulling on his shirt and hat. "Don't worry about it, pard. I'll do it for free. You look like you need to get on over to Nathan's pretty bad. What happened?"
Vin turned to go and Buck followed. "Some idiot dragged me while I was on patrol. The rope just came out of an alley at me. Never saw who it was."
"Anybody in town who wants to get at you?"
Vin shook his head and then paused. "Well, there was that fella that said he'd call me out after I bumped him in the saloon. Just thought he was talking though."
"Well, maybe I'll go over and pick this fella up and see what he has to say about it."
Vin nodded. "You best let Chris know."
Buck dragged the man into jail to a furious Chris Larabee. He had been over to see Vin and it wasn't good. It didn't do Vin any permanent harm, but he looked like hell.
Buck slung the man into the one rickety chair in the corner and glared at the solid man. They stared at each other until the man broke and asked a question. "Why am I here?"
Chris Larabee took the lead on the questioning. Buck backed off, knowing his old friend's connection to Vin. "Where were you about fifteen minutes ago?"
The man looked puzzled. "I was in my room."
"Anybody to back you up? A woman? Someone in the hall?"
The man shook his head. "No. Just sleeping. What's this all about?"
"One of my men was dragged. We think it was you," replied Buck, clicking his tongue again.
The man's look went from confused to alarmed. Everyone knew the reputation of the Seven. No one harmed one of them without payment in flesh. "I swear, I was in my room. Who was dragged?"
"Vin Tanner, the one you threatened in the saloon the other day for bumping into you," answered Chris in a growl.
The man was relieved. "Hey, I don't have a thing against him. In fact, he helped me out when he bumped into me. I didn't mean a word I said against him."
"How do you mean?"
The man pointed to his arm. "Had a boil the size of a small apple on my arm. Pained me something awful and I had to give up driving wagons because of it. When he hit me, it burst. Hurt like hell at the time, but that healer up at the saloon said it was going to heal up nicely. I'll be back to work within the week." He looked from Chris to Buck and back again. "So, you see, I don't have no reason to drag that fellow. He done me a favor."
Chris wanted this to be the man, but he could tell the man was in earnest. "All right. I'll check your story out. You best not be lying to me."
The man gulped as he saw Chris' hand go to his gun on his hip.
"No, sir. The healer will tell you."
Nathan confirmed the man's story. "Yep, he was in here for a boil. Going to be all right if he keeps it clean like I showed him." He went back to swabbing at Vin's cuts and bruises. "Vin here just has some cuts and gouges. Nothing too bad. No broken bones or hurt head. It's a good thing he was wearing his coat, it kept a lot of the rough stuff from his ribcage."
Chris pushed back his hat and scratched his head, then replaced it at its proper angle. "You know of anyone who would want to do this?"
Vin shook his head. "Naw."
"No run ins or bounty hunters in the area?"
"Chris, any bounty hunter would have just killed me right off." Vin thought a moment. "But I did have a run in. Nothing much. Just these three that looked alike. Wanted me to stable their horses and I refused. Put one of them down in the dirt."
Chris shook his head. Didn't Ezra warn him of three men that looked alike about two-three days ago? Yeah, he said they were trouble.
"Maybe we should look into it."
The three men were found in the hotel lobby reading copies of the local paper the next morning. All seemed as innocent as a new born baby.
"Look, sheriff, marshal, whatever you are. We know nothing of this horrible act."
All three looked at Chris and Ezra with innocent expressions.
Ezra pulled Chris to the side for a moment. "Even if you knew it was one of that did the deed, how would you prove it? They're not about to tell you and Vin didn't get a good look."
Chris felt like cussing. Ezra was right. They'd have to let this matter go for now.
Over the next few weeks, things started happing. Nobody was seen, but Nathan had rocks thrown at his door in the middle of the night and Mrs. Potter had one of her windows cracked. The blacksmith was startled when his forge set off blank shells. He hit the floor and almost busted his arms in the process.
Nathan had a steady stream of patients with cuts and bruises from someone's sick sense of humor.
Chris had a mighty good idea of who was doing it. But how to prove it?
Then things changed one night.
Ezra woke up to cries of 'fire.' He went down the stairs and out the saloons doors to see a barrel on fire in front of the stable.
Good Lord, his horse!
He ran down the street in just his boots, pants and Remington on his hip. Ezra paused when he heard the laughter of three voices off in the darkness. To say that Ezra was incensed was putting it mildly. To be woken up in the middle of the night by a worthless prank?
The Cullen triplets were still laughing. He was about to call them out on the matter when the straw in the barrel began to give off sparks and was carried by the wind to the stable. The hay in the loft of the stable caught fire immediately.
Ezra this time raised a real fire alarm. Citizens who were already out in the streets because of the prank quickly began to form a water line.
Ezra passed by the forming line of bucket haulers and entered the stable in search of his prized horse. On his way, he unlocked the stalls of the other horses and tried to encourage them out of the wide-open door.
But horses are stubborn when they smell smoke. They become confused and sometimes rush right into the horror of burning rather than to freedom. Sometimes a cloth over the eyes would calm them, but he had nothing at the moment.
J.D., the horseman of the group, suddenly showed up at the open door along with the repentant looking triplets.
"Get the horses out, J.D. I'm going for mine," shouted Ezra to the younger man.
J.D. calmed the horses as best he could and even resorted to slapping them as hard as he could on the rumps to get them out the door and into the fresh air. The triplets were doing the same with their own horses and a few others that were milling around in confusion and fear.
Ezra finally reached his horse and led him out. He stopped for a moment to make sure all were out when a brand fell from the ceiling and grazed him down his back from his left shoulder to his waist band on his pants. He grunted and pushed his horse from the stable.
Once his horse was out, he fell to the ground and placed a hand to his back. That hurt even more, so he quickly let up on the pressure.
Josiah, the former preacher, saw Ezra down on the ground and called out to Nathan.
Nathan rushed over to help the Southerner. "Now, keep your hands off of that burn, Ezra. I'll get you fixed up soon enough. You won't be wearing that shoulder rig of yours for a while, though."
Chris came over. "How is he?"
Nathan looked up from his work as Ezra panted in pain. "He'll be fine in a couple of week. Like I told him, he won't be wearing that shoulder gun of his for a while."
Chris was fuming. The triplets had disappeared along with their horses.
Another one of his men hurt by those three trouble makers. He'd catch them at it sooner or later. And then he'd have his pound of flesh for Vin and Ezra.
The next morning Seth was troubled to find out that another peacekeeper was hurt in one of their pranks.
"Why are you worried? He's that one that told us to run a straight game in front of the whole saloon," whined Kyle. "Anyway, it wasn't our fault the wind picked up and started the fire in the stable. Wasn't our fault that gambler was hurt."
Seth wasn't so sure. "But no one was to get hurt. We were just starting a fire to prank on that stable owner for raising our boarding price for our horses."
Their horses were just as bad at acting up as their owners.
"Quit your worrying. He was just burned a little. He's not dead."
Seth looked at his brothers and shook his head.
There was a knock at their hotel room door. Seth opened it to find Chris Larabee and the stable owner. Chris told the three that he believed that it was a prank gone wrong and that he was giving them a choice. Either go to jail or pay for the stable damages.
Seth was smart and chose to pay for the damages. Chris Larabee was giving him an evil grin.
Seth got up early the next morning to wire his Uncle in Virginia for the funds for the payment.
He was still worried when he met a lovely woman. Her name was Emily Chance and he figured her for a poor nester's daughter. She had on a gingham dress and pretty blond hair that pooled about her shoulders and back. Her blue eyes were sparkling clear.
After speaking with her for a few minutes as she shopped he wanted to see her again. He asked to come visit her and she blushed prettily and said 'yes,' ignoring the rumors she heard around town about him being a trouble maker.
Seth was in heaven.
Tyler was not happy. Seth wasn't acting like himself and Kyle was a little too pleased with himself over the fire. Hell, his prank of dragging that mountain man was better than burning down the stable.
And that girl, Emily, was trouble. She was out to break up their group, he just knew it. Where would they be without Seth to guide them? To steady them?
He's show Seth that she was just out for their money and to break them up. He just had to come up with a way to do it.
Meanwhile, Seth had been out to Emily's ranch, the Circle Last Chance. She was no poor nester's daughter. Her father had a gun tied low on his leg and Seth could see immediately that this was a man you wouldn't want to tangle with. He ran cattle on his spread and the ranch looked well cared for.
This was no tenderfoot in the wilderness and Seth had been warned by the father that no shenanigans would be tolerated around his daughter. So Seth had to walk carefully around the man as he sparked Emily.
He didn't think to tell his brothers about Emily's father. Maybe he should have told them.
Tyler saw his chance when he saw the girl before Seth did. She had come to town to look in the local store and only had one man with her. The ranch hand went to the saloon, leaving the girl alone on the boardwalk.
Tyler put on his best smile and went down the boardwalk. "Hello, Emily."
She smiled. "Why, hello, Seth. I hope you're still coming out this afternoon."
He nodded and then grinned. "Well, how about a little preview of things to come." With that statement, he grabbed her by the arm and jerked her toward him intending on getting a kiss.
But he didn't know what briar patch he had stepped into. Zed Chance's daughter knew how to take care of herself.
She scratched and bit and then struck him when a man would be the most pained. She struck hard and she struck fast, her knee coming up before he could defend himself.
Josiah came upon them as Tyler fell to the boardwalk, his hands cupping his injury, his face was bloody from scratches. The girl was still kicking him for all she was worth.
Josiah grabbed the girl by the arm to pull her away from the poor man. "Now, Miss Emily. Don't go kicking a man when he's down." He turned to Tyler. "Brother, are you all right to walk or should I get the healer for you?" He said this with amusement in his voice having seen the whole incident. He bent to help the man up and then 'accidentally' dropped him. Tyler groaned out loud. "Sorry, Brother, I don't know how that happened. I'm usually a steady hand."
Seth ran up and Emily's eyes widened. She recognized that jacket.
"Emily, what happened? And what happened to Tyler?"
She blushed and Josiah chuckled. "It seems your brother was trying to take some liberties with Miss Emily and she said 'no.'"
Seth, who had been concerned for his brother, now let it turn to anger. "Tyler, what is the meaning of this?"
Tyler was still rolling on the boardwalk. "She's just digging you, Seth. She's just a poor nester girl. You know she just wants your money. It was for your own good," he wheezed past the pain.
Seth suddenly laughed. "Tyler, she is no nester's daughter. Her father runs a cattle ranch and is quite wealthy in his own right. I'm glad I won't be in your shoes when he hears about this."
Seth was right. As soon as Zeb Chance found out about the attack on his daughter, he was loaded for bear.
Chris met him at the jail and tried to calm him down. Zeb was a gunfighter in his day and Chris knew he was quite able to shoot Tyler if given the chance.
"Now, Zeb—"
"Don't even try it, Chris. If it was your daughter, you'd have already done the deed," fumed Zeb.
Chris nodded. Yes, he would have. But he was a peacekeeper now. He couldn't allow Zeb to shoot Tyler.
They were about to continue when they heard a commotion from outside.
They stepped to the door to see a sight.
The triplets were on the boardwalk and a small older woman was hitting them about the head and shoulders. Every once in a while she would shout, "Found you, didn't I? Told you I would, you worthless brats. I'll teach you to pull your pranks!"
Chris was about to go out when Buck and Vin broke up the abuse and herded the people inside of the jail. Vin grinned at Chris. "She hits right good, don't she?"
The black-haired woman with the fiery temper just glared at the triplets.
"I'm Chris Larabee and this is Zeb Chance." Tyler's eyes grew wide. "Ma'am, do you know these three?" asked Chris in a long-suffering voice.
"Yes I do. I'm their sister, Clementine. Uncle wired me yesterday to say that these three trouble makers needed money and what town they were in. I rented a horse and rode over from Christian's Cross overnight." She reached out to smack Kyle, but he danced back out of reach. "These hooligans have been the bane of my life. Never a day of honest work out of the bunch."
Tyler looked relieved. "Sis, since you got the money, give Mr. Chance here some of it. I'm sure that will take care of the problem with his daughter," he said in a condescending voice. To him, money took care of everything.
Zeb moved forward with his hand on his gun, ready to shoot the little bastard.
Seth stepped forward into the line of fire. "Sir, I can't let you shoot my brother since you're to be my future father-in-law."
That just incensed Zeb. "Ain't no good-for-nothing, trouble maker marrying my daughter."
Vin thought on it. He looked from the bedraggled triplets to the sister to the outraged father of Emily. "Now, how about they earn their way? Maybe Seth here proves himself a fit husband?"
Zeb narrowed his eyes. "How?"
"You need a few ranch hands, don't cha? Well, here they are."
Zeb snorted. "More likely to run the ranch into the ground. How'm I supposed to keep an eye of them, especially around my daughter after today? I ain't going to do it."
Clementine spoke up. "I'll watch them for you, Mr. Chance, if you'll have me out at your ranch. I'll keep them in line." She raised her hand and all three brothers stepped back. "As you can see, I have them well in hand." She smirked.
Zeb looked at the small woman with the fiery temper and looked at the cowering triplets. A small slowly spread across his face. Oh, he'd be sure they earned their way on the Circle LC. And the sister was mighty fine looking woman as well.
Vin also smirked. Payback was a bitch. He'd be sure to tell Ezra about this development since Ezra was still down with his burned back.
So, it was decided that the triplets would work the ranch for six months and learn the business of cattle. They weren't happy about it, but one cutting look from Clementine changed their minds.
Three months later, Vin and Ezra rode out to the ranch to see how things were going with the boys and their new 'trade.'
What they found were no longer the well-groomed men that had hoorahed the town with pranks. The triplets were worn and tired with calluses on their formerly pretty soft hands.
They were sure a sorry looking bunch.
Ezra and Vin chortled over the sight.
Clementine came to the door of the ranch and saw the two peacekeepers. "Come on in, gentleman, and have some coffee. Fresh made." She turned to her panting brothers who were just standing around. "Get back to work," she squalled.
They got.
After the six-month period, they were pronounced cattlemen by Zeb Chance. And he said he reckoned that Seth was good enough for his daughter now.
The three's days of pranks were over and a new light had entered their souls. Maybe this working business wasn't so bad, and besides the jig was up.
Zeb had his eye on Clementine for marriage and she seemed very willing. He watched as she squalled at her brothers again. Man, what a woman!
The End
February 10, 2003
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