Disclaimer: The Seven and Inez are the creation of other people. You know who they are.
Parts: Two, broken into six chapters and an epilogue.
Characters: Buck, Ezra, JD and Inez primarily
Description: When four of the
Seven return from Red Fork looking battered and broken, things seem to go wrong
from the start as frayed nerves and exhaustion play with their heads. Then some bad guys come to town looking to
take advantage of an under-protected
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Chapter One
A hush fell over the tavern, causing Inez to look up from where she'd been reading the Clarion at the bar. Tucking a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear, she noted that the handful of townsfolk had moved to stand by the window, filling the room with an air of anticipation. With a sigh, she closed the paper and made her way over to the batwing doors, squinting a little into the brighter light of late afternoon. What she saw made her hiss in surprise, and her deep brown eyes widened.
“
What had happened to them?
About a week ago, the judge had wired for the Seven’s help
to protect a couple of witnesses in the town of
JD rode in front, his face solemn, an unusual mantle of authority hanging on his shoulders as he led the others. Behind him, a little to the right, Buck rode his Gray, the gunslinger staring listlessly at the road, his mind clearly miles away. One arm hung in a sling, and his hat was missing.
Behind them, Ezra was guiding a covered wagon, exhaustion lining his features, the dark circles under his eyes deeper than normal. To the back, Inez could see Chaucer, Quincy and Gideon following slowly, tied to wagon’s side.
Pushing open the doors, the manageress stepped outside, followed quickly by the others. Opposite, she saw Mary stepping forward off the boardwalk. JD pulled up near her in front of the jail, and motioned for the others to keep moving on to the clinic. They needed no prompting, and Buck didn’t even look up as he passed. Ezra’s eyes, however, glanced once towards the saloon as if looking for someone. When he caught her eyes, he smiled lightly in hello. She took another step forward, but he’d already moved past.
She continued to watch the wagon move, seeing Josiah sitting on the back, one leg hung loosely over the side. The preacher wore a bandage around his head and a tourniquet around one thigh, but he seemed unaware of his injuries. Instead, he was watching whomever it was he was caring for inside the wagon. Inez frowned as she recognized the dark brown breeches of Nathan. The healer was lying down, unaware of the world around him.
“Mr. Dunne, I’ll take Hero if you like.” Yosemite appeared as if from nowhere, reaching a hand up to JD. The young sheriff managed a smile, then dismounted slowly, as if aged by ten years.
“Thanks my friend,” he replied softly, handing the man the reins of his horse. The blacksmith nodded and headed back to his livery, the tired horse following without care. When he passed the wagon, he spoke up to Ezra, probably promising to take care of the three horses tied to the wagon. Ezra thanked him with a tip of his hat.
Yosemite seemed to break the spell on the town at seeing the sad procession, and people quickly began to whisper and talk amongst themselves. Several approached JD, who was shaking travel dust out of his hat and running a hand through his shaggy hair. The one who spoke, though, was the town’s unspoken leader….
“JD?” Mary reached a hand out to touch his shoulder. “What happened?” It was the question on everyone’s lips, and the young man sighed as he felt the curious crowd thicken around him. Mary bit her lip, “Where are Chris and Vin? And my father-in-law?”
“They’re fine, Mrs. Travis,” the sheriff answered, his voice
thick with exhaustion. “They’re
escorting Judge Travis over to
Mary nodded, closing her eyes briefly, and looked away in the direction of the clinic. She saw Lester Milton helping Josiah make his way up the clinic stairs, while Buck sat down at the base, rubbing his face with his hand.
“Are they going to be alright?” she asked softly.
“Yeah. Vin took care of the wounds, got ‘em stitched up and all, and Ezra’s been acting nursemaid since we left town. When Nathan was awake, he told Ezra how to make those foul smelling poultices of his, the ones that stave of infection. He did a good job with them. Nathan, Josiah and Buck’re healing fine.” He smiled, his shoe scuffing the ground, “You know, between Vin and Ez, I think we got another Nathan.”
“Will Ezra want some help?” Mary asked, still watching the clinic.
“I know he will. He’s being taking care of the boys this whole time. Took on that responsibility after he…,” he stopped, and imitated one of Chris’s expressions, pursing his lips. “Anyway, he needs a break.”
Mary patted him on the shoulder, “I’ll get Sarah Weathers to help me tend the boys, JD. Don’t you worry.”
He looked up at the jail in front of him, noting that Carl Weathers and Tom Mitchell were both standing by the door with rifles. He smiled.
“You guys have any trouble?” the kid asked. The two men smiled back.
“Nope. Been nice and quiet,” Carl chuckled, his rifle resting loosely on his shoulder.
“Sure glad you’re back, though,” Tom added. “We got work needing getting back to at home.”
“Sure,” the young sheriff waved a hand to tell them to go, then he let it fall. “No wait,” he sighed again, and closed his eyes. “I’m real sorry, but you boys think you can last until night? I really need to get some sleep.”
Carl nodded, though Tom looked a little miffed. Still, both could easily see how bad off the younger man was. They told JD to get some rest, the jail would be there when he woke again in a few hours. With a grateful smile, the kid thanked them both and headed slowly off towards the boarding house. Upon his departure, the crowd dispersed, still whispering amongst themselves.
Inez stood in front of the saloon a little while longer, still watching the clinic. She saw Mary stop off at the Potter’s, then come back out with Sarah. Together the two women headed for the clinic, Sarah with a bundle of food under one arm. Inez hoped that meant Ezra could come home and get some sleep.
She’d missed him.
Not that he would ever notice— damn him. Blind as a bat and too much of a ‘gentleman’ to do more than unconsciously flirt with her because of Buck. Couldn’t he see by now that she didn’t want Buck? Stupid, stupid man.
But a sweet one, when he let himself be.
The sound of a wagon broke her reverie, and she looked over to see the supply wagon from Bitter Creek pulling up in front of Potter's. The supplies she’d ordered from Mrs. Potter must have finally arrived, she thought lightly. Calling back inside the saloon to tell Seth she was fetching the supplies, she headed across to the mercantile.
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Buck looked up, his eyes watching Inez as she made her way across the road. A smile lit upon his face when she looked over, smiled, and nodded her head in his direction.
“Hello to you too, senorita,” he whispered. God, it was good to be home.
Feeling slightly more chipper, he got to his feet and made his way over to the saloon. He needed the company of a happier folk for a while, and few folk made him happier than Inez, especially when she was rebuffing his charms. He’d win her someday, he knew. It was just a matter of time. Until then, he knew there would be some other warm bodies in the saloon to remind him of his continuing healthiness, broken arm or no.
Adjusting the sling on his arm, he offered JD a salute as the kid walked past on his way to the boarding house.
“Feeling better?” the kid asked, smiling at the cheeky expression on Buck’s face. The younger man had missed that over the last few days. Buck flexed an eyebrow.
“I forgot how good it was to be alive, kid,” he grinned back, adding a little dance step to the movement. JD ducked his head, shaking it slightly. He knew exactly what Buck meant. It was good to be home.
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Ezra finished explaining what to do for Josiah and Nathan, not noticing that Mary was barely paying attention. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that she knew already—who did he think helped Nathan when they were hurt? But she could see the tight grip he had on the bed frame, preventing him from losing his fight with exhaustion. Off to the side, Sarah was checking on Josiah, who was snoring loudly on his cot.
“Thank you, Mr. Standish. I’ll come and get you if there is any change,” the newspaper editor said, her tone placating. Ezra nodded, catching the tone. She wanted rid of him. He ducked his head, a sheepish grin on his face.
“Thank you Mary, Sarah. I’ll be in my room if you need me.” He bowed slightly, and both woman offered slight smiles in return as he slipped out of the room.
With a slightly dazed air, he navigated the steps out down
from Nathan’s clinic slowly, looking up at the warm spring day with a
smile. A breeze tickled his skin, bringing
with it the smell of fresh hay and smelting ore from
He’d been standing on the boardwalk contemplating the idea of visiting Chaucer for a while before he heard the gentle clearing of someone’s throat. He blinked his eyes open rapidly, startled to realize he’d nearly fallen asleep standing up. When they cleared, he found himself looking into the eyes of Inez. She adjusted the packages in her arms to a more comfortable position.
“Senor?” she asked, tilting her head slightly, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “Do you need me to take you home? You look like you should be lying down.”
“Why Inez,” he replied, his face shining with innocence, “are you offering to take me to bed?” Dropping the façade, he proceeded to grin wolfishly. Inez narrowed her eyes, then stepped close to him.
“In the state you’re in, Ezra,” she whispered, “you’d never keep up.” She mimicked his grin.
He laughed, unable to resist her smile. “My dear, you shame me.” He looked at the heavy boxes in her arms, wondering how she managed to keep them balanced without completely tipping over. “Can I give you a hand?”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” she replied. “You’d fall over if I gave you one of these. Some of these boxes contain replacement glasses for the saloon.” She smiled, “And I don’t relish having them broken in just yet.”
Ezra winced. “A terrible pun, Inez. But I assure you,” he lifted off the top two boxes with a grunt, “I am more than capable.” He was impressed, they were heavy.
“You alright?” she asked, noting his grunt. He just glared at her, then indicated with a nod that she lead the way.
With a shrug, she readjusted her remaining package and turned away toward the saloon, the gambler on her heels.
They both nodded to Seth as they walked in through the batwing doors, who returned the greeting absently. In the corner, Buck looked up from where he sat with Cherise, who was massaging his shoulders. Ezra nodded at him, but Buck could only respond with a dark glower. Though the ladies man knew that what had happened was not Ezra’s fault, he couldn’t stop being angry just yet. His irrational side was still in control. Then his mood became even blacker as he noticed the protective looks Inez was shooting at the gambler when he wasn’t looking. His jaw tensed involuntarily. When had that happened?
Inez waited as Ezra muscled the heavy storeroom door open with a shoulder, the thick wood scraping the floor with a painful squeal. Once open, it would remain stuck ajar until someone manhandled it closed again. The only bonus of it was that no one could break in without Inez or Seth hearing.
Once inside the dank room, Ezra dumped his box on the central table and moved to light the candles. Inez put hers down opposite his and pulled a knife to cut away at the twine. Neither spoke as they ripped the boxes open and started to put bottles, cans and glasses away. Ezra stopped only once to admire the quality of the new mugs he’d been carrying, impressed by their weight and quality.
“I got a deal,” Inez said from where she was reaching up to place some cans on the top shelf. “A dozen for a dollar. Not bad, eh? You were getting half a dozen for the same, and those are better. Less likely to break.”
Ezra shook his head, once more impressed at how easily she could read his mind. With a sigh, he held the mug close to his body and leaned against the table. His mind drifting off to the time when he owned this saloon, albeit for only a short time, and then past to other matters. Soon, he was completely lost in his thoughts, their meanderings bringing him to the misery of the last week.
Inez put the last can away and turned around. For a moment, she just stood and watched him, never having seen such an open look of pain on his face. Slowly, she made her way across, and reached her hand out slowly to lift the mug from his hands. He jumped slightly at her touch, then slumped his shoulders, his hands moving back to grip the edge of the table behind him. Gently, she placed the glass on the table, then allowed her fingers to drift over to rest on top of his right hand.
“What happened?” she whispered, hoping he’d lift his gaze from the floor to look at her. He didn’t comply.
“Nothing. I was only daydreaming.”
“No,” she pressed a little harder on his hand. “I mean, what happened in Red Fork.”
He shook his head. “Inez, you don’t want…”
“Yes, I do. You need to talk about it.” She touched a finger to his chin, lifting it. “Please. Let me help.”
Ezra’s face crumpled, and he pulled away from her touch. “You can’t help.”
“Not if you won’t tell me.”
He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes. “Fine. You want to know? Nathan…Nathan almost died, Inez,” he swallowed. ‘Nathan almost died and it was my fault.”
Instead of immediately dismissing that idea as foolish, which she knew would only cause him to turn away from her, she nodded. “How?”
This time he did look at her, green eyes dark in the half-light of the storeroom. “It happened so quickly, I barely even recall how, only why….” He stopped, licking his lips and looked down at the floor again.
“Nathan and I were assigned to protect the witnesses and the Judge. We were on the way to the grain exchange, where the trial was to be held, when the gunfire broke loose. I couldn’t see the others who were supposed to be keeping an eye on us; I didn’t know what had happened to them. It wasn’t until later that I learned there had been a fire in the livery and the breakout at the jail. All I knew was that we had to get the two children and Judge Travis to some sort or cover. Then a lucky shot winged the Judge’s shooting arm, knocking his rifle from his hand. Nathan yelled that he would cover us, to give me enough time to get the others away. I should never have agreed.” He paused, and bit his bottom lip. Inez gripped his hand a little tighter.
“I take it someone shot him,” she said.
“I had just gotten to cover when I saw him go down. But I couldn’t get to him, Inez. I was the only one between the Judge and those children and the guns. I couldn’t break cover to get to him, or they would have been unprotected. My God, but he looked at me from where he was on the ground, Inez, pleading for me to help him as he gripped his shoulder. Then that behemoth came.” He shook slightly, spitting out the word behemoth with a heavy dose of acerbity.
“Behemoth?”
“Brute. Beast. Monster. Ugly, huge, and nasty. Nathan’s height, and Josiah’s girth. He came out of nowhere and picked up Nathan like a rag doll, shaking the poor man as a means to get rid of his anger. I tried to take a shot, but he put Nathan between himself and me, and then I had to keep firing in other directions as gang members started attacking from all sides. I couldn’t cover them all, Inez. I had to make a choice….I couldn’t help Nathan without…..” He placed his free hand on his face, covering his eyes, and Inez frowned.
She’d never seen him like this. Ezra and the other six were the most self-assured men she had ever met, even against impossible odds, and yet, here he was, admitting to her that, for a moment, he had been absolutely terrified. She crept a little closer, taking more of his hand in hers. He was shaking his head now, as if to clear it, lifting the hat off of his head to place it on the table. With his free hand, he ran it through his thick hair, rumpling it slightly.
“Thank God for Buck,” Ezra said suddenly, quietly. “He came charging like a bear out from the alleyway, knocking that ugly bastard off his feet. He saved Nathan’s life, and sprained his shoulder in the process by throwing a man one and a half times his weight on his head,” he chuckled. “Remind me never to get on Buck’s bad side,” he said, looking at her with a rueful grin. His smile fell before her unwavering gaze, wondering if he wasn’t already part way there.
Buck had barely spoken to him the whole way back, unable to hide the fact that he partially blamed him for Nathan’s injuries. The others had all said they understood his actions, covering the lie by expressing no more feeling on the matter than they would a day at the lake, and even Nathan had forgiven him, telling him there was nothing to forgive. But Buck was not the type to forget so easily, or to hide his emotions as well as the others. It seemed clear to the gambler that the ladies' man blamed him for Nathan almost as much as Ezra did himself. And for all their machinations, he knew the others felt the same. He’d seen the relief in Chris’s shoulders when he and Vin had ridden away with the Judge, happy that they could forget about him for a week. Even Josiah had been less forthcoming. But what did he expect? Nathan was the preacher’s best friend. Ezra didn’t know what he was in the older man’s eyes. Only JD and Nathan hadn’t been cold, and Nathan only because he’d been asleep most of the time.
Inez continued to watch him, and he was amazed to notice how clear her eyes seemed. He saw only understanding and trust in them, and it took his breath away somewhat. Swallowing, he covered his sudden discomfort, “In any case, Buck got Nathan to safety, and, not long after, the firing stopped as the rest of the gang was brought down.”
“So you saved those kids and the Judge?” she asked.
“They weren't hurt, no,” he said, looking away.
“Then…then you saved those kids and the Judge,” she repeated. He shook his head. Pressing her lips together in a determined expression, she stepped forward, moving her hand from his hand to his arm. Grabbing his chin in her other hand, she forced him to look her in the eye.
“Ezra, listen to me. You saved the kids and the Judge. You did what you had to. Nathan did what he had to. You can’t be everywhere at once. You know that. If you had broken cover to help Nathan, leaving those three innocents without protection, what would have happened?”
Like a child refusing to admit the truth, he shrugged.
“You know, Ezra. Can you honestly tell me they would have survived without you there? You had no choice. What happened was a terrible thing, but you had no choice.”
“Nathan nearly died, Inez. That man had him by the throat. If Buck hadn’t been there…” He shut his eyes, and she loosed his chin to place her hand on his chest.
“But Senor Wilmington was there. That was what he was supposed to be doing, yes? Making sure you and Nathan were protected as you, in turn, protected those children and the Judge? If it is anyone’s fault, Ezra, it is his for not being there to cover you from the beginning.”
Ezra’ eyes widened, and he frowned. “No, absolutely not! Don’t you dare accuse Buck of doing something wrong! He couldn’t be there.”
Inez tilted her head. She could feel his heart beating furiously beneath the vest. “You’re right,” she whispered. “He did nothing wrong. And neither did you, for the same reason. Do you see?”
Ezra didn’t answer, instead he just looked at her, unable to tear his eyes from hers. She looked at her hand on his chest, feeling the soft material of the brocade waistcoat under her fingers.
“Ezra Standish, whether you realize it or not, I know you. I knew you from the minute I walked in those doors over a year and a half ago. You think you are the only one who can read people, Senor? Believe me when I tell you, I have had many years to learn what an evil man, a selfish man, or a cowardly man looks like. I grew up around them, was beaten by them. Do you honestly think that I would have tried to become your partner if I had seen any of those qualities in you? I could have looked for work anywhere, but I chose you.”
When he didn’t answer, she reached up to rest her hand gently on his face, brushing her fingers along his cheekbone, then up over his temple, brushing back a dark curl. “You are a good man, Ezra. The others, they know this. Even Buck. You’ll see….I predict that, in a couple of days, when Senors Larabee and Tanner return, there will be no more uncertain looks. Deep down, they trust you, and their fear will pass. They know that what you did, you did because that was what was required. Don’t believe for a second that, if you hadn’t had the Judge and those witnesses to protect, that you wouldn’t have taken that bullet for Nathan yourself, if you could have.”
“How can you be so sure,” he asked weakly.
“Because…,” she replied, looking up at him, her voice fading.
She smiled, and leaned up to kiss him, ever so lightly, on the lips. The touch was feather light, and so soft that his lips tingled in the same way as if he’d just eaten too much sugar, or had touched absinthe to his lips. Instantly, he stiffened, backing up slightly, surprised.
“Inez….” He stammered, his breathing becoming more rapid. “I….What about….”
Twice in one day, she noted absently, twice I’ve seen him completely terrified.
Gently, she reached up and rested her arms about his neck, allowing her hands to tickle lightly at the back of his hair.
“Are you going to back away this time?” she murmured.
After a moment, he shook his head. She smiled again, all coyness gone. Leaning forward, she once more brushed his lips with hers, taking in his scent. She could smell the pine and cedar soap he used to wash his face and hair, and the muskiness of the road on his clothes. Her fingers wrapped themselves more tightly in his hair, and she reveled in the warmth of his breath on her skin as he leaned over to kiss her back.
Ezra closed his eyes and loosened his grip on the table, his hands wrapping themselves around her. With an almost furtive touch, he pulled her in close, allowing her to wrap her arms more securely about his neck. This kiss was harder, more desperate in feeling, and Inez could feel his arms trembling slightly as he held on to her.
She parted her lips slightly, letting her tongue tickle his lips, inviting. He responded immediately, deepening the kiss, taking her mouth completely in his. Shivers ran down her spine, and she pressed herself closer, standing up on her toes to reach him better. Before long, he let her lips go, trailing kisses along her cheek and down her neck, nipping at her skin with his teeth and eliciting a slight moan from her. Grabbing his head in her hands, she drew him back, as if afraid to let him go, her movements more forceful as she took his lips in hers.
Neither noticed the slight creak of the floorboards near the door as someone looked in on them, then disappeared.
Finally, Ezra moved his head away, and he once more trailed kisses down her neck until he reached her bare shoulder. Then he simply stopped, resting his forehead on her burning skin, holding her tight, hugging her so closely she could barely breathe.
For a long time, he just held her.
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Buck’s head was spinning. He’d gone to find them in the storeroom so that he could apologize to Ezra, to tell him that he had been wrong to be angry….
That rat bastard.
Sweeping back through the saloon, he barely glanced at Seth as he grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the bar, not caring that it belonged to someone else. Cherise stood up from the chair where she’d been waiting for him, her brown eyes bright with surprise as he walked past without looking at her. She looked over at Seth, who was busy trying to placate the man from whom Buck had stolen the bottle. He succeeded when he gave him another one.
“Should I go after him?” Cherise asked timidly, brushing a light brown curl away from her face. Seth looked up, adjusting the glasses on his nose with a nervous air.
“I don’t know,
She shrugged, “Well, I could help him with that….”
“Sleep, Cherise. Home to sleep.”
“Oh,” Cherise bit her lip, then looked past Seth to the backroom. She lowered her voice, “What do you think happened back there?” she asked.
Seth furrowed his brow and pulled the cloth off his shoulder
to start wiping down the bar. “None of our business,
“Seth…”
“No. I’m not going to go a guessing about other people. She wants to let us know, she’ll let us know.”
Cherise frowned at him, and shook her head. “Maybe I should go after Buck….”
“No, stay here and help me tonight. I get the feeling Miss Inez is going to be busy taking care of Mr. Standish for a while, and it’s almost dinner time. Soon as the sun goes down, I’ll be needing you.”
Cherise grimaced. “All right. But I don’t like watching wounds fester, Seth. Buck needs people with him to heal properly, even if people is just me. If he’s worse tomorrow, I’m blaming you.” She grabbed the rag from his hand and walked off, planning on wiping down the tables and grabbing the empty mugs. Seth sighed and leaned over the bar.
The man who’d had his whiskey stolen chuckled, and the bartender shot him a dirty look.
“Seth?” Inez wandered in from around the corner, a couple of bottles of Red-Eye in her hands. “Something the matter?” she asked as she set the bottles under the bar and brushed a piece of dark hair behind her ear.
The bartender blushed and shook his head. “No, ma’am. Just asking Cherise to help me. Thought you might be busy with Mr. Standish—”
Inez narrowed her eyes slightly, not sure how to take that.
“I see,” she watched as Cherise attacked the tables, and smiled. “I take it she’d rather be with Buck.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Well, Senor Standish has gone up to his room to rest. I’m going to take him some dinner, and then I’ll be back. Tell Cherise she can leave when I return, okay?”
The bartender nodded, earning another dry chuckle from the man at the bar. Inez glanced at him, dismissed him as a drunk, then headed back into the kitchens. Seth sighed again.
“Gotta love women, eh?” the drunk asked. “Take charge better than any man I’ve ever known, even when they’re not supposed to.” Seth didn’t correct him, to tell him that Inez actually was in charge, just went to pull another rag to wipe down the bar.
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When she got upstairs with the tray and knocked, no one answered at Ezra’s door. Balancing it on one hip, she tried the doorknob, interested to notice it was open. Silently making her way inside, she found Ezra asleep on the bed in a rather odd position. He’d obviously meant to just sit on the bed and wait for her, but had succumbed to putting his head on the pillow, leaving him in a half sitting, half lying down position. He was still fully dressed, even his boots were still on.
With a shake of her head, she placed the tray on the dresser, pushing aside the guns he’d lazily placed there, noting that his derringer was not among them. Quietly, she turned and made her way across to him, to pull off his boots. Once done, she stripped him of his jacket and waistcoat, which caused him to mumble something incoherent as he dug his head a bit deeper into the pillow. She looked at the derringer rig for a moment, before deciding to let him keep it on – she wasn’t sure she could take it off anyhow. Finally, she tipped his feet up onto the bed so that he was lying down properly, then rolled him over to pull the covers down. Not long after, she had him tucked in, covers up to his chin, face firmly ensconced in the white pillowcase.
“Sleep well, mi amor,” she whispered, kissing his forehead. Brushing her fingers once more through his hair, she hung up his jacket and waistcoat, grabbed the tray, and left.
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Cherise knocked on Buck’s door, but, as Inez had with Ezra, she got no response. However, when she tried the doorknob, she found it locked.
“Buck?” she called quietly. “Buck, are you alright?”
No one answered. She thought she heard something shift inside the room, but then nothing,
“Lover, I know you’re in there. Listen, I don’t know what you saw that sent you storming off an hour ago so angrily, but Inez is back in the bar and she gave me the night off. If…If you need me, I’m here.”
She listened some more at the door, then rested her forehead against it.
“Buck…I’m uh, I’ll be at the bar, should you want to find me, okay? I won’t leave, except to got to sleep, which I will do tonight on my own, just in case you change your mind.” Sighing, she listened for another minute, then slowly made her way back outside.
Inside the room, Buck took another swig of the whiskey in his hand and leaned against the headboard of his bed. Wiping a tired hand across his face, he wondered if he shouldn’t take Cherise up on her offer, but decided against it. He wanted to wallow in misery tonight.
Tomorrow he’d teach that son-of-a-bitch gambler a lesson in making moves on innocent women like Inez.
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Chapter Two
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He came awake slowly, body rebelling at the mind’s need to insure that all was well. Confusion marked his expression for a moment, as he felt the soft feel of a mattress beneath his cramped shoulders and light touch on his brow of someone’s fingers. Then, with a sense of calm, he remembered the day before, remembered returning and having the town step in to take care of them, of Inez….
Inez!
Green eyes shot open with shock, and he twisted around to look at whoever was brushing the hair from his forehead. His mouth fell open stupidly as he found her sitting on his bed, fully dressed, her fingers lazily caressing his face. She trailed a finger lightly down his cheek, her lips twitching into a smile at seeing him awake.
“Hi,” she whispered.
His eyes got a little wider. Had they…? “In…” he croaked, then coughed, bringing his right hand to his mouth. He stopped when he saw the derringer rig still on it, and the fact that he still had his shirt on. Thank God. Not that he really believed his dreams anyway.
Nuts.
“Shhh,” she whispered, taking her hand away. “Here, I brought you some food, and I expect you to eat it, since you missed dinner earlier.” She stood and wandered across to the dresser and the tray she had placed there this morning. Lifting it, she waited until he moved into a sitting position on the bed before coming to play the tray on his lap. He took the glass of water on the tray greedily, downing it in one gulp.
“It’s still night,” she continued, watching as he drank the
coffee on the tray more slowly. He was
watching her warily. “It’s only about an hour after
He swallowed, still watching her. Throughout her whole speech, he’d only had one question on his mind, “Inez, yesterday, did we…?” He trailed off, his mind questioning whether kissing her had been a dream.
“Did I kiss you?” she replied.
“You kissed me?”
“Well, you did kiss me back, I believe,” she grinned, and his mouth fell open again. Then, just as suddenly, he grinned boyishly, and she laughed. Leaning forward over the tray on his lap, she kissed him lightly on the lips then stood.
“You should get over to the clinic,” she said.
“Thank you Inez,” he said, his tone expressing that he meant the words to encompass much more than simply waking him up and bringing him food. In response, she merely nodded.
“Now, I want you to eat all of that,” she said. “I want it empty when I come to clean it away.” She pointed at the tray, and he grabbed her arm with his left hand, preventing her from leaving.
“Will you go to dinner with me tonight?” he asked, a slight tremor of nervousness in his voice.
She blinked, blushing slightly, and smiled. “The saloon…” she began.
“Can survive one night without you,” he insisted. “Please. Whatever you want.”
She pursed her lips, remembering the blue dress that she had seen arrive yesterday at the Potter’s when her own supplies had come in. Mrs. Potter always kept a few loose dresses on hand, just in case, and this one had been particularly pretty. With a few adjustments by the new seamstress in town, Miss Eileen, it could easily be ready….
Finally, Inez nodded, then laughed as Ezra blew out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding.
“Wear your navy jacket,” she said, gently lifting her arm from his grasp. “And be by to pick me up at six.” She offered him one more smile before taking her leave. Ezra ached to go after her, to pull her to him again and let her kiss once again take away all the pain of the last week, but he wasn’t sure he could trust himself to ever let her go.
Still grinning stupidly, he attacked the food on the plate before him with a gusto reminiscent of Buck, not even caring that he was still extremely tired. He could sleep at the clinic.
________________________________
JD was rudely interrupted from a dreamless sleep by a hammering on his door, two hours after dawn had broken the horizon. Grimacing at sore muscles, he rubbed his right shoulder with his left hand as he moved to answer the door. Wrenching it open, he offered his best glare at whoever had the tenacity to wake him. Carl Weathers stood opposite him, dark eyes bright with worry, and JD instantly readjusted his expression to concern.
“What is it?”
“Trouble at the saloon. Couple of cowboys are bothering Inez.”
“Where’s Ezra and Buck?”
“Buck’s still asleep in his room, I was going there next. Ezra’s at the clinic. He relieved my Sarah there late last night.” JD frowned at the news that Ezra probably still hadn’t gotten any rest. Sighing, he nodded at Carl.
“Okay, got get Buck, then Ezra,” JD reached behind him to pull up the straps of his suspenders, having not bothered to pull his pants off last night, and went to grab his rifle in the corner. Grabbing the still very dusty jacket sitting next to it, he almost ran out of the door.
Pushing out into the bright morning light, he jogged over to the saloon, quickly discerning the sounds of glass breaking and the yelling of an irate manageress. Tom Mitchell stood out front, hands gripping his rifle in a white knuckled grip, clearly waiting for JD to arrive.
“When Inez opened the storm doors to let in some air, these two trail types must’ve pushed their way in, despite her telling them that she wasn’t opening for another hour,” Tom said hurriedly. He pointed to the batwing doors, and at the awkward way they hung. “You can see they broke the latch on the batwings to get in, and maybe a hinge. Then they started to yell and began pushing her around, demanding she get drinks and food for them. When she still argued, they started getting the stuff themselves.”
“How do you know…?”
“Me and Carl arrived when they started to yell. I been listening while Carl went to fetch you and the others,” Tom looked a bit sheepish, indicating that he hadn’t had the courage to try and face down the two cowboys on his own. JD nodded, not looking at Tom.
“Alright, you stay here and wait for Buck and Ezra,” JD tried smiling at the obviously scared older man, then jogged up to the broken doors to peek inside. He could see that one of the cowboys was behind the counter, helping himself to whatever was behind the bar, while Inez was being held by another cowboy near the backroom. She was still fighting, but this one had one arm around her throat and another pulling her hair.
“Where’s the food, harlot,” the man was hissing. “We’re hungry and we don’t want no arguments from no woman.”
“Go to hell,” she spat back, trying to pull her head forward, but he pulled it back.
“In the back?” he said, ignoring her answer. “And you say you’ll cook it for us? Whatever I want? On the house? Why how nice…” he licked her cheek, earning a scream of frustration from the manageress. She suddenly jumped up and stomped on the toes of his feet, causing him to yell and loosen his hold. Twisting, Inez got enough leverage to move and grab a bottle from off the counter, and, just as quickly, turn and smash it across his face. He yelled again, holding onto the side of his face, while his companion behind the bar pulled his gun to point at Inez as she stumbled away.
“Drop it!” JD yelled, jumping into the saloon, rifle raised. The one at the bar turned the gun on the kid, a dumb smile on his face, clearly not seeing a threat in one so young.
Inez fell to the floor, ducking behind a chair just as the rifle shot rang out. The man behind the bar cried out in pain, gripping his now bleeding arm, the gun uselessly falling to the floor.
JD shook his head, “I warned you,” he said quietly, a smug smile on his face. The other man, still holding his now bleeding face, turned to try and duck through the back, only to find himself facing an extremely angry Buck Wilmington. The gunslinger had come in via the backdoor and the kitchens.
“Going somewhere, peon?” Buck asked, smacking a frying pan across the top of the guy’s head. Eyes rolling up in his head, the cowboy fell like a stone. Buck smiled mirthlessly and adjusted his bad arm inside the sling he still wore. Despite having used his good arm, the hit had wrenched his back again, and it began to ache.
Inez sighed in relief and got up from off the floor, just as Ezra pushed into the saloon followed by Carl and Tom. JD was still holding his rifle on the man at the bar, who was whimpering and glaring at the kid at the same time. JD nodded at Ezra, who was grimacing at the scene before him. In seconds, the gambler was by Inez, helping her up and letting her lean on him.
“This one’s alive,” Buck said, looking up from checking on the cowboy he’d decked. His face darkened when he saw Ezra hold onto Inez, as if he’d been the one to save the day. Ezra was oblivious, only having eyes for the woman before him.
“Are you alright?” the gambler was asking her. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here….”
“Oh please,” she breathed, attempting to sound flippant, “it’s not as if this sort of thing was unusual.” Still, she hugged him tightly, betraying the fact that she was shaking. Then, as if suddenly aware that others were in the room, she let him go, though one hand stayed on his arm, as if she were afraid to let him go. He turned to look at the man behind the bar, his face twisted in a mask of anger.
“You want to fix them up Ezra?” JD asked, never taking his eyes from the cowboy.
“No,” Ezra replied quickly, then he sighed in resignation at JD’s amused glance. “Oh hell. Get them to the jail. I’ll go get what I need from Nathan’s.”
“How are Nathan and Josiah?” the kid wanted to know.
Ezra looked at the boy, and nodded. “They’ll be alright. Slept the whole night through, and Nathan’s fever is finally gone. He should be up and about soon.”
“Nice,” JD smiled, clearly pleased. “Right, Tom, Carl, you grab the one Buck hit, and I’ll take care of the ugly one here.”
The cowboy behind the bar gripped his arm tighter, his eyes watering with pain, and spat in JD’s direction. “Ugly?” he retorted.
“Call ‘em as I see ‘em, mister. Ain’t seen too many uglier than you,” JD snorted. “Now get moving,” he indicated the man move with a jerk of his rifle. The cowboy frowned even deeper, then came out from the bar to head out the door. Tom and Carl walked up to Buck, who was still rubbing at his shoulder under his sling, and, between them, picked up the unconscious one. Buck followed them out slowly, and, as he passed Ezra and Inez, he caught him kissing her hand.
“You sure you are alright?” Ezra whispered.
“Fine, Senor. I’ve been through much worse, as you know.” She smiled, and gripped his hand tightly. “Just make sure you don’t forget about tonight,” she told him.
Buck tripped on an upturned chair, using the movement to cover the sharp intake of breath he had at hearing that. Gritting his teeth, he followed JD and his captive out of the clinic.
___________________________________
Ezra bandaged the cowboy’s arm, assuring the man that the bullet had only grazed him, despite the graze being deep. As he fitted the man into a sling, he glanced across at the other one. The second cowboy had regained consciousness and was holding a compress to the side of his face where Inez’s bottle had cut him. His eyes were glassy, but he was alert. Ezra glared at him, unwilling to do more than supply the soaked compress. The man could clean his own cuts.
Buck was standing in the jail, twisting the keys in his hand, waiting. JD had gone to help Inez clean up, while Carl and Tom had gone home to get some rest from having stayed up at the jail all night.
Finished, Ezra backed out of the cell, wiping his hands on a towel.
“I will be most pleased when Mr. Jackson regains his sensibilities,” Ezra muttered, throwing the towel on the desk with some disgust as Buck locked the cell doors behind him. He sniffed at the noxious smell of linseed oil and milk on his fingers and grimaced.
“Well considering who put him in the clinic, I’d think you’d just be happy to know that he was going to recover at all,” Buck snarled. Ezra stopped moving, his whole body going rigid.
Neither spoke as Buck walked around Ezra to the lean on the desk in front of him, arms crossed. The gambler was watching him quietly, his eyes wide open.
“It wasn’t my fault, Buck. I had the Judge and those two kids to….”
“I don’t want to hear it, Standish,” Buck watched him like a hawk. “I do, however, want to know what your intentions are towards Inez.”
Ezra startled and rocked back a step. “Inez?”
“You taking her out tonight?”
Shaking his head, Ezra took another step back, back in the direction of the cells. Inside, the two injured cowboys were listening expectantly.
“I…I don’t see how that is any of your business, Mr. Wilmington.”
“Not my business?” Buck roared, standing up to full height so he towered over the smaller man. Ezra took another step back, hitting the outer cell door.
“You know,” Buck hissed. “You know full well how I feel about her.”
“Buck, I…”
“Shut up!” Buck gripped his good hand into a fist by his side, a movement Ezra watched with a tightening of the jaw. If Buck hit him, he’d let him. The gambler would not defend himself. After everything that happened this week, if this was the only way he and Buck could resolve this, then it was a small price to pay.
“I know I may not be good enough to be with someone like Inez,” Buck said, watching the man before him intently, “but I sure as hell know you ain’t good enough for her either. And yet, even after what you did in Red Fork, you still have the balls to go in there and kiss her? You bastard! She deserves so much better than a self-serving weasel like you. What if it’d been her instead of Nathan, huh? Would it have made a difference?”
Ezra was breathing more heavily with each stinging word, their conviction bruising his still fragile heart with severe blows as sure as any fist. Buck had seen them kissing yesterday? Oh lord. “Please Buck…”
“No, no, I don’t want to hear it, boy! You may wear the clothes of an adult, Standish, but you’re still a hell of a lot younger than me, and you’re going to listen to what I have to say.” He took a step closer, and Ezra gripped the bars behind him.
“So how long’ve you been with Inez, huh? Seducing her behind my back for weeks, now, haven’t you? You probably both been laughing at me for ages, what with my pitiful attempts to win her. No wonder she kept rebuffing me, cause all this time she was with you….” Buck’s train of thought was all over the place, his anger, frustration and jealousy submerging all his reason and logic. In some small part of his brain, Ezra knew this, but the gambler’s own psyche was too strained to think any clearer than his friend.
“Yesterday…was the first time, Buck. I swear. Please, you must believe me. I would never intentionally hurt you—”
“Well, you are hurting me. Just like you let Nathan get hurt,” Buck smiled as Ezra visibly cringed. “What’s the matter, Ezra? Can’t face what a bastard you are? Well, neither can I!” Buck stepped forward to stand less than a foot from the younger man, staring down his nose at him. Ezra waited patiently for the blow with his eyes closed, his whole body tensing in anticipation.
“Get in the other cell.”
Ezra opened one eye, then the other, and looked up at Buck. “What?”
“Get in there. You’re going to rot in there all day until I figure out what I’m going to do with you.”
Turning, Ezra glanced at the empty cell next to the one the two cowboys shared. Dust swirled in the sunlight that streamed in through the small barred window above the bed, and the odor of all the unwashed men who’d stayed in there assaulted his nostrils. He looked back at Buck.
“Can’t you just hit me?” he asked.
Buck smiled thinly, lips curling away from his teeth like an animal about to strike. “I never hit first, Ezra. I only hit back. Now, get into that cell.”
Ezra swallowed, “What about Nathan and Josiah. What if they need me?”
“There are others who can take care of them, now that we’re home. Besides, you told JD that they’re going to be fine. Josiah’s more than healthy enough to call for help should anything change. Now, get in there before I throw you in there.”
Ezra grimaced, but nodded. Resignedly, he watched as Buck opened the outer cell door and shoved Ezra in front of him. In moments, he had the other door opened and was indicating to Ezra to get inside.
“You’re going to sit in there and think, Standish, about all the things you did wrong this week, all the people you hurt, and why you are going to stay the hell away from Inez. You got that?”
“Yes sir,” Ezra mumbled, watching as Buck slammed the door behind him.
“Good,” Buck gripped the keys in his fist and smiled wickedly. “I’ll see you later then. And don’t bother asking JD to get you out. I’m taking the keys with me,” he let the iron keyring play around his index finger, the keys on it chiming dully together, then shoved them into his coat pocket. Repeating his earlier snarl-like smile, the ladies man turned to leave. At the doors to the outside, he looked back and nodded, more to himself than to his captive, as Ezra sat down on the musty cot.
“That one loves ya, don’t he,” the cowboy with his arm in a sling grinned. Ezra snarled back, and turned to face the wall.
_____________________________
“Hey Buck!” JD jogged across the street from the saloon, working to catch up with Buck who was striding swiftly down to street towards Digger Dan’s. “Buck, where are you going?”
“To get a drink, JD,” the tall man replied angrily. JD frowned, not understanding the hostility emanating from the older man. He continued to have to jog slightly to keep up with Buck’s long strides.
“Well, where’s Ez? He gone back to the clinic? Inez was asking—”
“He’s in jail, JD. And he’s going to stay there.”
JD came to an abrupt stop, not hiding his confusion. Buck, however, kept on moving. Breaking out to his reverie, JD ran to catch up with his best friend, grabbing him on the arm and spinning him around.
“What are you talking about, in jail? Why is he in jail?”
“Because he deserves it. Now leave me alone.” Buck turned back around, but JD moved to stand in front of him.
“For what? For what he did in Red Fork? Buck, he had to do what he did. He had no choice! They would have killed those kids and the judge if he hadn’t covered them. Nathan deliberately let himself be a target so that Ezra could get them to safety. You know that.”
“Do I?”
“Buck, don’t be stupid. This is Ezra we’re talking about.”
“I know.”
“Could of happened to anyone of us, Buck,” JD insisted.
Buck looked at him. “But it didn’t.” The words came out before he was aware of them, and when he did hear them, part of him almost saw clearly. He’d had this exact same argument with Chris about JD after the kid had accidentally shot Annie…except now he was playing Chris’s role.
JD frowned up at him, then shook his head. “I don’t understand. I’m going to go let him out.” He looked at Buck, waiting for an argument. Instead, Buck stared at the dirt at his feet. Snorting in disgust, JD made to step away when Buck suddenly reached out to grab JD’s arm in a tight grip.
“He kissed Inez,” he whispered, almost guiltily, as if in explanation. JD stopped instantly, turning slowly.
“Oh,” it was the only thing he could think to say. He almost smiled, happy to know that Inez and Ezra had finally seen what he and the others had known for ages. Stupid as he may be around Casey, he wasn’t nearly so blind or foolhardy when it came to the others. But seeing the pain on Buck’s face, the smile never appeared.
He didn’t realize that Buck still felt that way about the senorita. He had thought Buck saw what the rest of them did. That Inez, while fond of him, had never thought of him that way. She never looked at him the way she looked at Ezra. JD thought Buck was aware of this.
Obviously not.
“Buck…I’m sorry. But…Inez, she makes up her own mind. If she and Ezra…well, she wouldn’t have just let him kiss her. More likely she kissed—”
“Stop,” Buck shouted, loosing JD’s arm. “She has no idea what sort of person he is. He’s a snake, a cheat, a…a…a coward.” His expression faltered as he heard the words he’d just spoken, hearing how false they rang even in his own ears.
JD just raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like it is you who doesn’t know what sort of man he is, Buck.”
Buck frowned, his reason breaking through for a moment. JD was right. Ezra wasn’t any of those things anymore, if he ever had been. Buck knew in his heart that everything he was feeling and saying right now was wrong, that Ezra deserved as much from him as JD did. Damn it, he liked Ezra, liked him a lot. But then he saw Inez walking across the street to the Potter’s, a look of anticipation and joy on her face, and his expression darkened. Glaring once more at the kid, he started walking away, heading once more to Digger Dan’s.
“I’m going to go let him out, Buck!” JD called after him.
“I have the keys JD!” Buck retorted, intent once more on getting drunk and forgetting for a while. The kid’s mouth opened, then closed. Staring after Buck, he shook his head, then started to run towards the jail. Inez saw him go, curious at why he was rushing, but the curiosity was soon replaced by the excitement of buying that dress…and her date with Ezra tonight.
________________________________
The kid charged into the jail, puffing slightly, and grimaced when he saw Ezra sitting curled up with his arms around his knees on the cot in the second cell. The gambler was staring blankly at the wall in front of him. The other two cowboys both appeared to be napping, their injuries having wiped out their energy.
Calming his breath, JD stepped forward to the outer cell doors and rested his arms through them. A quick glance at the empty post where they normally hung the keys told him that Buck hadn’t been lying.
“Ez?”
The gambler didn’t reply.
“Ez? I’m going to go and try and talk to Buck and get you out of here.”
“Don’t bother,” came the terse reply.
“You don’t belong in here. Buck’s just jealous, Ez. He’ll get over this.”
“Hmm,” came the non-committal reply. JD leaned his forehead against the bars separating him from his friend.
“Ezra, you don’t deserve this. You do know that, right?”
Ezra hung his head, resting his forehead on his knees, then turned his neck so he could see JD.
“Are you so sure I don’t?”
“Yes. Without question.”
Hanging his head again, Ezra couldn’t help but smile. The boy’s conviction was like a salve on a wound, even if Ezra hadn’t quite reached that conclusion himself.
JD waited for a moment, to see if he would say more, then sighed when he realized that Ezra still didn’t understand. Swallowing, he steeled himself, determined to fix the damage his jealous best friend had inflicted, even if it meant bringing up the one thing he least liked to talk about.
“Ezra…Ezra, do you remember when I shot Annie?”
The man on the cot flinched, and he turned surprised eyes to stare at his friend.
“Well,” JD continued, “you remember what that did to me? I thought…I thought that it happened because it was me who had the gun. You understand? Almost as if I had done it on purpose, because, if I hadn’t of tried to stop them on my own, that if I hadn’t fanned my gun, or, if I hadn’t tripped in my haste to get out of the line of fire, if…” he paused, licking his lips. “If….” He frowned, aware that his train of thought had gotten away from him as the scene played out for what was probably the thousandth time in his head.
Ezra sat up straighter, turning so that he faced the kid leaning on the bars, not hiding his concern at the boy's strange words. Why had he brought this up? “JD, it was an accident. A fluke. You could have said what if she hadn’t been standing by the window to see what was happening, or, what if she’d gotten behind cover, or, hell, what if the thieves had shot you first? You can't—”
“Point is,” JD said harshly, stopping Ezra, raising his voice to warn him from interrupting again. Ezra's mouth closed, and JD took in a deep breath. “Point is,” he repeated more quietly, “I knew it was an accident, see? I knew it then, just as I know it now, but…but I heard what the townsfolk were saying about me, and I saw the doubt in Chris’s eyes, and, well, I convinced myself that they were right. That it was me. That if anyone else had been there, that Annie’d still be alive. It wouldn’t have happened.” He paused, taking in a shallow breath.
“JD, you don’t have to—”
“But then I wouldn’t have been on that stagecoach when Achilles attacked it. And he would have killed the people on it, I know. Iffin I hadn’t been there then, he would have succeeded, wouldn’t he? So, it was another, what did you call it? A fluke? It was another fluke that I was on that coach, but it was me that saved it. So the “what ifs”…that time, they worked out.”
Ezra nodded. “Luck of the draw,” he deadpanned. JD, who had been staring listlessly at the floor, looked back at Ezra with clear eyes.
“Do you understand what I’m trying to say, Ezra?”
The gambler frowned, not seeing the parallels. He shook his head. “What I did was not an accident, JD. I made a deliberate choice.”
“No, you didn’t. It was already out of your control by that point. Just like when I made the decision to try and stop those bankrobbers and pulled my gun. You can’t control everything all the time, Ezra. You have to make decisions, and sometimes something awful happens as a result, but you have to live with it. You and Nathan made the decision to split up so that you could better protect those people and the Judge, Ez. After it was made, all you could do was what you did. Protect the people who couldn’t protect themselves, and trust that one of us would arrive in time to help Nathan. And Buck did.”
Ezra watched JD, and saw that this conversation seemed to be healing the old wound of the boy’s as much as it was meant for Ezra. JD smiled suddenly.
“So you see, Ezra? What Buck thinks right now, the doubts he has? They aren’t real, and, besides, he’s wrong. Nathan and me, Ez, we know the truth. We know, because we know you. Once, long time ago, I let the judge put you in here ‘cause I didn’t know what kind of person you were. Well, I know now, and I’m going to do whatever I can to get you out.”
Ezra shook his head, and, suddenly, started to laugh. JD grinned, and lifted his head to brush some of the hair out of it.
“Mr. Dunne, tell you what, so long as I’m playing Nathan’s role in this town at the moment, I’m nominating you to play Josiah’s.”
“Really?” JD’s grin widened. “What I said helped?”
“Yes, Mr. Dunne. I think, between you and Inez, I may actually finish this week with my soul intact.”
Hearing the name Inez caused JD’s smile to falter, but Ezra didn’t notice as he was rubbing the tiredness from his eyes. The younger man nodded then, exuding the deep confidence of one destined to be a great leader, and stood up straight. Tipping his hat to Ezra, he said, “I’ll go talk to Buck then.” Ezra’s eyes flew open again, and he shook his head.
“No…wait. Let him think for a while on his own, JD. Maybe he just needs some time. I know I do. I don’t have to be anywhere until later, so I’m all right here, plus, I could use the rest. Fact is, I’d rather he be the one to let me out, unless there is no other recourse.” Ezra shifted as he spoke, turning on the cot so his feet were on the ground again and his head leaning back against the back wall.
JD frowned, “You sure, Ez?”
Ezra stared up at the pockmarked gray rock of the ceiling, and nodded.
Still frowning, JD sighed. “I don’t like this, Ezra.”
“You don’t have to, Mr. Dunne. And...frankly…I’m rather glad you don’t.” He smiled again, and JD returned it wryly. Ezra sighed, “Besides, I do have somewhere rather important to be tonight. Should Mr. Wilmington not return in time for me to get ready for this evening, then you may go and speak to him.”
JD perked up at that. “All right, Ez. I’ll wait, but when Chris and Vin get back tomorrow, or if Josiah gets wind of this, I can’t promise they’ll be as patient.”
Ezra’s smile became more crooked as he thought of the others, wondering if JD was right. Probably he was, but Ezra was questioning everything at the moment, from his own soul to those of his friends, despite JD’s words. Like Buck, he just needed the time to mull it over in his own head. The only thing he was sure of was that he would be there to pick up Inez tonight. More than anything, he wanted tonight to go right. Something this week would go right.
It had to.
______________________________
Chapter Three
______________________________
The day passed slowly, with no one outside of Buck and JD aware that Ezra was in jail. Up in the clinic, Josiah watched over Nathan, although he did wonder why Ezra hadn’t returned after getting the supplies he needed. He hoped it was because the gambler was getting some more sleep. The younger man had still looked exhausted, especially after watching over them last night, even though he had seemed lighter than he had all week.
Josiah didn’t blame Ezra for what happened to Nathan, how could he? But, like the others, the preacher had needed a little distance for a while, something he was denied because Ezra was tending both of them. Nathan and JD had both accepted Ezra’s actions without thinking, but Josiah knew he had acted coldly, just as Buck, Vin and Chris had. He regretted that aloofness now, knowing it might have badly damaged the relationship he’d been building with the younger man, and hoped Ezra would stop by so that he could tell him in person.
Dearest God, how could he have been such a fool as to allow himself to act that way?
Nathan yawned and opened his eyes, looking up at his friend sitting next to him. The healer smiled, and raised a hand to reach for Josiah’s. The preacher grabbed it without hesitation.
____________________________________
Several hours later, around early afternoon,
“Afternoon strangers, can I help you?”
“You the livery owner, blacksmith?” the taller man
asked. He was swarthy, thick of lip and
dark of brow. Black hair was tied back
sloppily behind his head, allowing for several loose strands. Some women might describe this Hispanic man
as handsome, but
“That would be me. You need your horses stabled?”
“This one is quick, huh Frank? Smart as a whip, eh?” the second man grinned
as he spoke, his voice oddly high pitched for someone with such an old
face. Perhaps about fifteen years his
companion’s senior, this old man was also much uglier. His face twisted into a leer as he watched
Yosemite shot him a look, but didn’t reply. Instead, he looked back at “Frank.” The Hispanic man shot his old friend a dirty look for the sarcastic comment, then dismounted.
“How much,” Frank asked.
“Nickel a day,”
Frank nodded, and handed his reins over to the stout man. As he pulled his bags from off the horse’s saddle, he looked up at his companion, “Give him your horse, Chet.”
Chet snorted slightly before dismounting and adding his reins to Frank’s. Then he fished a couple of nickels out of the small purse at his belt and handed them over. Yosemite accepted them with a nickel fisted salute. Chet ignored him and went to pull his own bags from off his horse’s saddle.
Frank turned to look over the town, his eyes alighting on
the two saloons. After a moment, he chose the one he imagined their friends to
have chosen and walked away. Chet followed, shooting one more twisted look at
The blacksmith grimaced slightly, then shrugged. He reached out to pet the one called Frank’s horse, who responded by tossing her head slightly. She showed signs of having been ridden hard, which annoyed the soft-hearted man.
“Shh, lovely lady. We’ll get you and your friend here someplace nice and comfy, very soon.”
___________________________________
Frank threw his tack against the wall of the boarding house, his anger evident in every muscle on his face.
“Sons of bitches! What the hell were they thinking!” They’d just spent almost two hours working their way through town, only to discover that the two men they’d come to meet had been put in jail this morning.
Chet flinched where he sat on one of the small beds, and shook his head. “Shhh, Frank, you want the whole world to hear?”
“Shush? SHUSH! You want me to be quiet! Blast you, old man, I have a right to be angry. All those two lowlifes had to do was scope out the town for the day, make sure it was still empty of peacekeepers, and what happens? They get themselves tossed in jail and, to make matters worse, Slim gets himself shot in the arm! What hell good is a lockpick and a safecracker with only one arm? There’s more gold in this town’s bank than in any of the ones in a twenty mile radius, all because of the seven lawmen, and now I’ll never even get to look at it!”
“Boss, boss, there is some good news,” Chet tried smiling, betraying several gaps in his yellow array of teeth. Frank, who tried to keep his teeth white (for the ladies) turned away in disgust.
“What good news. You heard what they’re saying in town. Them peacekeepers of theirs are back, which is why it was so easy for them to take our boys down this morning. Damn fools! Damn, stupid idiots! Iffin we hadn’t gotten that info about them being away in Red Fork so late—”
“Boss—”
“What?”
“Boss, they ain’t all back, and, those that’re here? I understand only two of them ain’t hurt.”
Frank frowned, turning to Chet with dark eyes. “Say again?”
“Well, see, there’s supposed to be seven of ‘em, right? Six and the Larabee fella? Well, Larabee’s out of town with one of the other ones, and they’re not expected back till tomorrow. Then I heard tell that another two are laid up in the clinic over the livery, basically useless to anyone, so I’ve been told. And then there’s a big fella whom everyone’s been saying is drunk as a skunk in one of the saloons, and, when I went to look, boss, sure enough, there he was. But best of all, he got himself a sling. Wrenched his back and hurt his shoulder, so they say. So that leaves…” he paused, counting down on his fingers from seven. Finally, he held up two fingers proudly. “Two!”
Frank watched the small man throughout his whole speech with a cold expression, but when he finished, some warmth returned.
“Well, just two, eh? Any idea where they are?”
“Well, I peeked in the jail about an hour ago, and saw one of them behind the desk watching our boys and some gambler type sitting in the cells. The other, so I overheard, is probably up in the clinic watching the sick ones.”
Frank pursed his lips, then clicked his tongue. After a moment, he nodded. “Well, that does make things seem a mite bit brighter, Chet. Don’t mean we’re going to rob this town, not with Slim hurt, but at least we can probably get ‘em out of jail without too much trouble.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” Chet positively beamed, and Frank had to look away again so as not to look directly at his teeth.
“Well, then,” the dark man said, “let’s get this over with. I want this done before the drunk one gets his wits back.”
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Ezra looked up as JD as the kid wandered back into the jail, his face expectant. Behind him, the lazy late afternoon sun shone warmly, silhouetting the boy in the door for a moment before he shut it. When JD shook his head, Ezra sighed.
“I tried, Ez, but he’s really far gone. He got angry with me or asking, then…” his face took on a slightly pained expression, and he touched his rear end, “then he got kinda frisky.”
Ezra’e eyes widened at the remark, and, unable to resist, burst into laughter. “Oh, my poor friend! Dear Lord….” He held his hand over his heart, while JD tried to shoot him a nasty glare. Finally, incapable of not seeing the humor, JD smiled as well. Over in the adjacent cell, the two cowboys watched and listened with crooked expressions. Then JD sighed.
“Anyway, Ez, I think you may have to—”
“Get myself out. Yes, I thought that might happen,” Still chuckling, the ever resourceful gambler drew out the pair of picks he had secreted in his waistcoat pocket, sighing as the thread holding them in place ripped. He hated having to do that—mainly because he hated always having to sew them back in afterwards. JD’s mouth fell open as Ezra moved to the cell door and twisted sideways so he could reach his arm through and insert the picks into the lock.
“I forgot you could do that,” JD said, watching Ezra twist the picks around. Ezra smiled. After a moment of, JD frowned.
“Hey, wait a second, you could do that all along?” he asked.
Ezra nodded as the lock clicked, and he pushed open his cell door. “Of course, but I told you that I wanted Mr. Wilmington to be the one to let me out. However, I don’t have the luxury of waiting for him any longer. Not if I want to take a bath and be ready for this evening.” At the outer cell door, he again twisted sideways to reach out and insert the picks in the lock.
JD shook his head in amazement, then he smiled. “No, I mean," his eyes narrowed slightly, "have you always been able to do that?”
Ezra looked up, pausing his playing with the lock. “What do you mean, always?”
“I mean, always. As in, from the day we got here?” JD was watching Ezra’s fingers, the flat pick loose in the man’s flexible hands. Ezra smiled.
“As in, why didn’t I let myself out when you first put me in here, all that time ago?”
JD grinned and nodded, and Ezra shook his head. The conman leaned more into the door and returned to his craft.
“Mr. Dunne, if I knew that answer to that question, I would gladly tell you. All I know is, instead of taking advantage of your absences at that time, I had chosen to wait. I’m not really sure for what.” The lock fell open, and Ezra pushed open the outer cell door. Well, truth is, he did know, but he would never admit it out loud. He’d stayed because he’d wanted to follow Chris again.
“Hey mister! How bout letting us out too!” one of the cowboys cried, holding onto the bars of his cell. “We’ll make it worth your while.”
Ezra threw them an incredulous glance and looked back at JD. The young sheriff was leaning on his desk with his arms crossed, clearly impressed.
“Will you teach me how to do that, someday?” he asked. Ezra shrugged.
“Sure, but—”
“But at the moment he’s going to use that talent to let my friends out,” a low voice said. Both JD and Ezra immediately went for their guns, but it was too late. A tall, handsome Hispanic man stood in the open doorway with a gun pointed and cocked at JD’s head. As he walked inside, the creak of the back door to the jail also shut and a gray-haired man wandered in from the rear of the jail. He too had a gun raised, a LeMat from the looks of the old weapon.
Frank indicated the cell door with his weapon, “Open it.”
Ezra considered his options, feeling the comforting weight of the derringer on his right arm. Sensing the hesitation, Frank stepped up and clobbered JD on the side of the head with the butt of his gun. The kid fell to the floor in a heap, never having made a sound.
“Hey!” Ezra tried to move forward, but the click of the LeMat behind his head stopped him.
“Let them out, gambler.”
“Frank! Chet! Man, are we glad to see you!” the man with the sling said.
“Shut up, Slim.” Frank glared at the man, trusting Chet to watch Ezra. “What the hell were you idiots thinking? Now I got to get you out of here before that other lawman finds out.”
“We’re sorry, Frank,” the man with the compress on the side of his face said. Slim, meanwhile, looked confused.
“What other lawman? The drunk one, you mean? The one with the keys? You ain’t got to worry about him, Frank. From the sounds of it, he’s well into his cups and won’t be coming out for a while.” Slim was watching Ezra, who was still trying to decide if he could get out of this.
“No, dimwit. The other one. They says there are two who ain’t hurt, and we don’t want that other one coming here and causing trouble.”
Slim frowned, “But, Boss, the other one is here. You got him there.” He pointed at Ezra, who was pursing his lips in annoyance. Frank’s expression changed then, face lit with astonishment as he looked at Ezra. The gambler glared back.
“You sure, Slim? I thought this joker was just in jail?”
“Yeah, ‘cause the drunk one’s jealous about something. That’s him, Frank. You got ‘em both.” Slim smiled then, and Frank’s lips twitched. His eyes appraised Ezra and, slowly, he smiled.
“You don’t say….” He watched as Ezra swallowed, the conman's fingers itching to reach for his guns. “Grab his guns, Chet,” Frank said happily. The older man pulled the Remington from Ezra’s hip, then lifted the sides of his jacket up to make sure there weren’t any more guns. Ezra hadn’t bothered to put his shoulder holster and Colt on this morning, so the Remington was the only obvious weapon he wore.
“Now let them out,” Frank smiled. “Let them out, or I will ensure that this boy here doesn’t see another tomorrow,” he placed a boot on JD’s exposed neck and started to press. Though still unconscious, JD’s face started to tense up as his air was caught off.
“Stop, please!” Ezra hissed, his brow furrowed. “I’ll let them out.” He walked to the cell door and inserted his picks. In less time than it had taken himself to do it backwards, he had the door opened and the men were released. Ezra stepped back as Slim and his companion walked out. The two cowboys walked to the desk and pulled it open to get their own guns out.
“Impressive,” Frank applauded, watching Ezra carefully. “You know, gambler, it seems a shame to waste such a talent. Tell you what, I’m going to give you a chance to save this boy’s life.” He still kept his boot pressed to JD’s neck. Ezra glanced down to make sure JD was still breathing, relieved to see a weak rise and fall of the chest. He looked back at Frank, noticing grimly that he now had four sets of guns pointing at him.
“What have you in mind?” he asked softly.
Frank smiled, pleased at the resigned undercurrent to the man’s voice. “Well, I’ve seen your skill with a lockpick, gambler. Tell me, can you also crack safes?”
Ezra gritted his teeth. “You want to break into the bank,” he said.
Frank nodded slowly, “Dead to rights, gambler. And if you don’t help, this boy will never see the light of day again.”
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