Buck Wilmington arrived in Purgatory sometime in the dead of night and found the shantytown alive with activity as always. Purgatory never slept, the way one might imagine Hell was incapable of doing so. Some of the more righteous citizens of Four Corners described the place as a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah. Buck had no idea where either of those places were, but if it was anything like Purgatory, it could not be all that bad.
Purgatory was located within a canyon, surrounded by high walls of rock with only one way in or out. Its history was checkered, and Buck remembered hearing about its existence as far back as the war. It had always existed and who or why the first operator of liquor and women set up here still remained a mystery. Over the years, it became an infamous part of the Territory; a monument to the lawlessness that ran rife throughout the new West until the coming of the lawmen.
It attracted the worst of men and was home to working girls and moonshine distillers who wanted the freedom to trade without the inconvenience of bible bashing matrons, screaming their dogma of evil and hell. The men who came here had little fear of God, and the only religion they aspired to was the law of the gun.
In the past two years since Buck Wilmington and his friends put down roots in Four Corners, they occasionally visited the place, mostly for the pleasure of paid female company. Despite Chris’s reluctance to admit it, the gunslinger usually came to see Lydia, the working girl they’d rescued from Wickestown. Of course, now Chris and Mary were openly courting, the man stayed as far away from here as possible. Buck wondered if Mary had any idea about Lydia and decided it was probably best she did not.
Buck, on the other hand, knew just about every woman in the place even if he did not bed them all. He was seldom in need of paid female company and indulged in it only when he was in the area. They liked him, which was hardly surprising. Women, in general, found Buck quite pleasing; both as a lover and as a person. Their treatment of him reflected their affection. On this particular night, he indulged himself a little even though after the fact, he did feel somewhat guilty since he was meant to be working. However, the news about Julia Pemberton bothered him to no end, especially when she had offered Ezra her favours.
Buck was really starting to wonder if his animal magnetism had abandoned him.
Nevertheless, he spent the evening with the charming young lady who went by the name of Gillian. After the encounter, Buck found himself a stool and took watch in some unobtrusive corner in one of the many saloons giving him a clear view of Elisa’s tent so he could keep watch on her customers. The weather was still bad, with rain coming down the tents and makeshift shelters housing the bulk of Purgatory’s business. Elisa’s place was little more than a canvas tent, but it kept the rain out although Buck knew personally a little water would be of little hindrance to any man wishing to satisfy his natural urges. Elisa indicated to him she would be partial to letting him know when the horse trader departed. After all, she needed to make a living.
Buck was never one for surveillance and soon found his mind wandering to the situation in Four Corners. He was still incensed by Ezra getting to Julia Pemberton first. However, he had to admit never guessing under her prim and proper exterior was such a forward young lady. He heard of some city women who behaved that way but never saw it for himself.
As it was, Buck often wondered how far Ezra had gotten with the lovely Doctor Styles. Ezra was too much of the gentlemen to tell anyone if he had or not, but judging by the way he reacted about Julia, it seemed to Buck Miss Pemberton's feelings towards Ezra may not be so one-sided at all.
Buck glanced at the tent where Elisa conducted business and saw a man emerge. She said her farewells to him with a lingering kiss before the man tipped his hat in her direction and went on his way. As he departed, she glanced Buck’s way and shook her head to inform him this was not the man he sought. Buck frowned and returned his attention to his drink, disliking the waiting more than anything else. It left him too much time with his thoughts and thinking too hard, made his head hurt. He would prefer to visit some of the young women in Purgatory who would no doubt enjoy his company after the sorry bunch he’d seen moving through this place today.
He wondered if Vin was this similarly bored during the young tracker’s time in Purgatory. He doubted it since Vin had perfected the art of sitting quietly and watching. It was all Vin ever seemed to do these days, and it saddened Buck to know his friend was still pining for Charlotte. Buck hoped Vin was not in any trouble out there since he was probably suffering enough playing escort to Alex. The two of them were likely ready to rip each other’s throats out by now.
Suddenly, he caught sight of a man entering the flap Elisa was holding open for him. Her eyes raised long enough to meet Buck’s, which was all the sign he needed to know this was the man he was waiting to appear. Buck drained the rest of his glass before striding towards the counter, paying for his drink. He kept a close eye on the tent as the time passed, remembering the promise he made to Elisa not to barge in on them. Considering the value of the information he would be receiving in return, he did not mind honouring that agreement.
Buck lingered inside the saloon for the next twenty minutes, trying to look inconspicuous while waiting for the man to conclude his ‘business’ with Elisa. Finally, when Buck’s patience was starting to wane, he emerged from the tent, wearing a smile on his face which clearly meant he received his money’s worth. Elisa glanced in Buck’s direction again, and Buck knew he was free to act.
Buck waited until he had put a little distance between them, but not enough to risk losing sight of him. Not that the man was easy to lose anyway. He looked like an undertaker, and Buck wondered if Elisa was mistaken about him being a horse breeder. As Buck followed his quarry through the rain, he wondered if all undertakers looked like thin vultures.
Predictably, the man had only come to Purgatory for one reason, and now Elisa had properly satisfied him, was heading for his horse to return to his more respectable life. He did not notice Buck in pursuit because he was more intent on reaching his horse and limiting his time spent in this inhospitable weather. Buck waited until he neared his horse and was preparing to mount the animal when Buck appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his leg with a vicious pull.
He lost his footing and tumbled off the horse, landing on the muddy ground with a slight splash on impact. As he scrambled to his feet, clearly enraged, and was prepared to protest the point when he found himself staring at Buck’s gun aimed right between his eyes.
"Howdy pardner," Buck said politely. "I didn’t mean to be rude, but I wanted your attention."
"What the hell do you want?" The man demanded angrily, trying to clean the mud off his dark suit with little success.
"You’ve been selling horses," Buck cocked the gun, so the man knew he meant business. "Five of them as a matter of fact, to men who pay you in cash."
Recognition drained into his eyes, despite his best attempts to hide it and Buck knew their hunch had been right. He did know something. The question was; did this man know something about the robberies?
"Are you the law?" The man asked suspiciously, unable to decide from the look of him if Buck was or not.
"Close enough," Buck said, taking a step forward. "I want to know everything you do about these men who see fit to gun down unarmed women and children.” Buck showing it in his voice in no uncertain terms what would happen if he dared to refuse.
"I can’t tell you!" He said desperately, backing away as if he was preparing to run. Buck tightened his finger around the trigger of his gun to persuade him otherwise. The man’s eyes widened as he saw Buck’s stony expression and guessed correctly the threat made was not an idle one.
"They’ll kill me." He cried out, trying to make Buck understand his situation.
Except Buck had seen the bodies of the dead close up and nothing this coward could have to say would erase the horror or his part in it. "I’m ain’t hearing what I want to know Mister." He took a step forward and jammed the barrel right against the man’s throat. "Start talking."
The man’s Adam’s apple bobbing nervously as he spoke. "I don’t know much except that they bought more horses from me yesterday." He quivered at the feel of metal against his skin. His eyes kept darting from Buck’s dark eyes to the gun at his neck. "They said they were for a job today. Apparently the last one cause they weren’t going be needing me after this."
"Where?" Buck pressed, shoving the barrel deeper against the man’s throat until Buck could feel the tissue of larynx providing an obstruction.
"Bitter Creek to Four Corners." He replied finally, letting the words slip out of his mouth as if he was exhaling a breath held too long.
"You better not be lying to me." Buck stepped away. A noticeable sigh of relief flooded the man’s eyes when Buck withdrew the gun from his neck. "You ain’t that hard to find, and the law is just looking for someone to hang over those murders. You gave those men their horses, that makes you an accomplice. Just think on that."
With that, Buck gestured towards the man’s horse, and he understood what Buck was alluding to. Without wasting any time, he climbed onto the animal quickly, desperate to put some distance between himself and the lawmen. Buck watched him ride out of the narrow mountain pass and did not turn his back on the snivelling coward until Buck was sure he was gone. The man struck him as one who would find little difficulty in putting a bullet into him when his back was turned.
Once he was gone, Buck made an immediate beeline to his own horse because he had to reach Four Corners fast and round up the others. As far as he knew, the stage from Bitter Creek was due in town late this afternoon, and if they could catch it before it left, they might be able to provide a secret escort when the outlaws attacked.
They had one chance left at this, and Buck did not intend to waste it.
*****"No luck?" Mary asked Chris meeting him outside the Clarion after his long ride with Josiah searching for Vin and Alex. The preacher had taken himself into the saloon for a well-deserved drink after the wet trip and Chris was looking forward to a hot meal himself.
"No." Chris shook his head unhappily. "I’d like to have gone all the way to the Doherty place but with this lead Buck may have found at Purgatory, I don’t want to be too far away when he gets back."
"I know." Mary felt the same apprehension for their absent friends. "Maybe they decided to stay on, what with the weather and everything." She glanced at the grey sky. The rain was no longer pounding but was still teeming around them.
"I sure hope not," Chris confessed, and Mary saw his concern was not just about their welfare. It was more profound than that. Something was bothering him, something he did not want to speak out. After Julia’s remarks regarding the nature of Vin and Alex’s relationship, Chris found himself unable to stop thinking about it until a few observations of his own surfaced and put light to a potentially explosive situation.
"What is it?" She urged because there were no secrets between them.
"I seen how he looks at her Mary," Chris finally replied. "He’s hiding it, but he’s got feelings for her. Enough to make me worry how it could end up." Chris hated interfering with Vin’s relationships, in anyone’s for that matter, but he was aware of how hot passions could run between even good friends for the hand of a lady. He did not want to see that happen between Vin and Ezra.
"Vin wouldn’t do anything," Mary stated but looked clearly disturbed at the possibility. It never occurred to Mary Vin felt anything for Alex. After all, he rarely spoke to her and went out of his way to avoid the doctor, even when he was injured and sorely in need of help. "Alex is with Ezra."
"That didn’t stop Vin from running off with Charlotte."
"That’s not fair," she spoke up in the tracker’s defence. "Charlotte practically threw herself at him. Vin doesn’t have much experience with women. Of course, he’s going to be overwhelmed when someone like Charlotte pays any attention to him. Alex is different. She knows better, and she cares about Ezra.”
Chris frowned wishing he could let this uneasy feeling in his stomach dissipate. Since when had his world become about this? He felt like he was the head of a large family, and it was falling in his lap to keep everyone in line.
"I hope you’re right."
Suddenly, they heard the thunder of hoofbeats tearing through town, and both Chris and Mary turned to see Buck Wilmington riding hard towards the saloon, probably in anticipation of finding his friends. The couple crossed the road and hurried to the establishment as Buck dismounted his horse and hastily tethered it to the hitching post.
"Buck!" Chris called out as the tall cowboy strode towards the saloon.
Buck whirled around as he saw them and paused mid-stride. "Chris, I got a lead. They’re going to hit the stage that leaves Bitter Creek this afternoon. If we can get there first…"
"We can give the stage an escort and catch these bastards." Chris finished off seeing where he was going with this. "Okay, you find Nathan. I think he’s at the infirmary."
"I saw JD getting ready to ride," Mary announced. "He’s going up to the house to relieve Ezra."
"We don’t have time to get him," Chris said abruptly. "We’ll be hard-pressed making it to Bitter Creek as it is. Mary, go get JD and tell him to meet us here. We’ve got a stage to catch."
*****ADULT SCENE TO FOLLOW
Where the hell was JD?
Ezra paced up and down the floor of the Travis place, feeling more trapped than he ever felt in his life. Julia watched him from her chair, reading a book Mary lent her earlier today, appearing ignorant to his plight even though she was the cause of it all. After the exchange with Buck in the saloon, Ezra rode back to the farm, thinking to himself how wrong everyone was. Julia was merely infatuated with him. What could she possibly see in him any way other than a gambler and a rogue?
The answer frightened him.
Julia saw nothing else and still wanted him. He had been with enough women in his time to know what she was after was not conquest, even though it began that way. In the days since Ezra started guarding her, the gambler noticed a genuine attempt to get to know him. She questioned where he was from, was impatient with him when he tried to avoid the seedier sides of his life and most of all, she liked what Ezra was, and felt a thrill of excitement at the life he led.
Strangely enough, she also understood the need to settle here. They were all misfits in some way who found a home in Four Corners, Julia was trying to build the same security for herself and saw through the façade of profit he wore over his true feelings.
There was no need to hide what he was with Julia because they both had their secrets and felt no immediate hurry to disclose them to each other. He thought about how he hid aspects of himself from Alexandra because she was frightfully honest and deception just was not in her vocabulary. He was drawn to Julia even though he knew he would never trust her completely. Still was that really required?
"Mr Standish?" Julia finally spoke, becoming weary just watching him. "Is there something wrong?"
Ezra turned to face her, looking as if nothing was driving him to distraction at all. "Why do you ask?"
"You seem a little preoccupied." She remarked and then returned to her book.
"I am concerned about Alexandra."
"I’m sure you are," Julia replied, not looking at him as her attention was focused on her book.
"I am." He insisted. "Why do you sound so sceptical?"
"I’m not." She laughed, wondering what was running through his mind all of a sudden. For the past two days, she used every trick to seduce him, and none of it worked. She listened to what Josiah told her during their periods together and realised perhaps, she was going about this the wrong way. Julia knew she penetrated the wall of Ezra’s resistance, but he was still holding fast in honour of the doctor he cherished, but she was almost certain, did not love.
"I will not give up Alexandra for you."
Julia almost reacted in surprise but managed to conceal her shock enough to put down her book and look at him, as if she were mildly curious, nothing else.
“I never asked you,” she answered and then came to a decision. She was going to speak plainly since nothing else had worked, none of the seductions, manipulations, or flirtation. Sincerity was her last hope.
“Ezra I want you. You are the most exciting man I have ever met, and I am supremely attracted to you because you see through my flaws and know exactly what I am. You’re probably the only one who ever has, and I’ve insisted on pursuing you because you’re simply too good to let slip by. But the fact is, you do have your doctor in your life, and I’m unprepared to bear the guilt if you throw her away for me."
"That choice is mine." Ezra found himself saying, knowing without doubt, this was no performance on her part. He had seen a thousand cons and a dozen speeches like this but knew deep in his heart, she was not lying to him. "I would never make you feel that way. I care for Alexandra and no doubt, I will bear the brunt of much guilt if I choose to abandon her, but I would never make you pay for my decision."
"I guess we will never know."
What came next was the result of the instantaneous attainment of clarity Ezra would never again know. Covering the space between them in two smooth strides, he enclosed his fingers around her arm and raised her to her feet. Startled, she dropped the book, letting it fall on its face as Ezra drew her to him. Sanity made a final rallying cry before the madness swept it away, where he questioned what he was about to do since the aftermath would leave everything in his life a shambles.
Since she arrived in town, he avoided her touch. Dreading it actually, because he knew once he slipped over the edge, there would be no going back. Ezra wondered whether he ever had a choice. Julia Pemberton, if that was indeed her name, was the first woman he really understood, like an extremely well-made timepiece and he was the only watchmaker capable of maintaining it.
Before Four Corners, he would have already bedded Julia and thought nothing of the fact he was openly courting Alexandra. However, since his arrival in town, Ezra tried to be a better man, even an honourable one. Yet from Julia’s debut as the lone witness to the stage robbery, to a stunning performance capable of unbalancing Chris Larabee, Ezra watched with secret fascination, this titian-haired beauty’s struggle to be more than what she was.
Oh, Ezra understood that part most of all.
Julia was self-serving, arrogant, and devious, but those were skills cultivated to mask pains he could not imagine, just as his own tools of the trade had its foundation in a sad past. Listening to Julia’s dreams of her emporium, her desire to be her own person was so reminiscent of the watershed changes he made in his life the last two years, it almost felt like déjà vu. Trying to maintain his honour was the only reason he kept her at arm’s length, but he knew, just knew deep down inside, he had been waiting for someone like Julia all his life.
When he kissed her for the first time, it was like kissing fire.
His intense passion drove both of them against the wall, knocking over a chair as her back met the obstacle of wood. His lips devoured hers, exploring, tasting, and feeding off her desire for him. Julia parted her lips, revelling in satisfaction as the invitation waiting days for a response, was finally accepted. His tongue met hers inside each other’s mouth like two titans about to do battle to claim the field.
Once Julia overcame her shock that the gauntlet she had thrown at Ezra was finally being picked up, she applied the familiar pattern of domination she used for all her past lovers. Even when he was fighting his feelings, Ezra imagined how their lovemaking would be and knew allowing her to take charge of the proceedings, would be a mistake.
Like Petruchio, he was not about to be ruled by his Katarina.
Ezra’s lips slid past her chin, charting a sensual course down her jawline and her neck, leaving her gasping when he bit down on soft flesh whenever the fancy took him. The action drew a sharp response from her, and he heard Julia moaning in a mixture of pleasure and pain. She ran her fingers through his hair, exhilarating in the feel of him, so much better than she imagined. Digging in her nails when the sensations gripping her became too much to bear.
Pinned against the wall, Julia tried to regain control of the seduction until he tore open the front of her dress, popping buttons across the floor, caring little if the clothing was usable after this. His sea-green eyes were almost black as he delighted in her perfect curve and creamy skin. Ezra gave her a silent order to undo the laces of the corset amidst her soft pants of anticipation. No sooner than the tension in the garment was eased, Ezra freed one plump breast and dove in for a taste.
He was half-aware of her crying out as her back arched, forcing more than a taste into his mouth. Ezra nibbled and sucked one rosebud nipple, thrilling in the soft cries she made as his free hand cupped the other and caressed it with equal determination. After a while, he proceeded to tug at the rest of her clothing, forcing away layers of skirt, petticoats, and undergarments into an unruly heap around her ankles.
When she was completely bare, he withdrew just long enough to admire the sight of her naked, wanting to commit every line, every curve and flaw to his memory because she was perfect.
Sweeping her off her feet, his mouth return to hers as he carried her into the room where no doubt Billy Travis was probably conceived in the same manner. He dropped her onto the soft bed, allowing her now freed copper coloured hair to frame her face in a wave of red. Ezra admired her beauty, wondering if anyone bothered before him, or did they just rush to own the territory.
Blushing at the scrutiny, she suddenly felt self-conscious by the way he was studying her. The way he charted her skin with his eyes, made Julia shudder because to her, the business of sex was always such a quick, pedestrian affair. Once in their bed, she gave them what they wanted, finished them quickly and got what she needed in return, which was something usually outside the bedroom. The physical pleasure was never a part of the equation since she derived her enjoyment from the power, not the sex.
But this was different, she could feel it. There was anticipation, a desire for satisfaction that was always disappointed because she always sensed once it was done, she'd missed something. How Ezra stared at her, not with black lust but with affection and perhaps adoration, told her he might know what that was.
Freed of almost all clothes Ezra still wore his pants, Julia ran her hands over his chest, delighting in the feel of taut sinewy flesh under her palms. Ezra smiled at her, and there it was again, that gleam in his eyes devoid of his earlier black lust. Lifting her hand to his lips, he trailed kisses down her forearm before he returned to her breasts again, needing to ravish them with just a little more attention.
Relishing every moan that escaped her lips, Ezra feasted on the tight buds of flesh he cultivated with swirls of his tongue and the bite of teeth. Each time, he nibbled and sucked the hardening tissue between his teeth, he sensed her surprise and wondered if she actually knew the act was meant to be pleasurable for both. Slipping his hand between her legs, his fingers were soon exploring the slickness inside of her. The action immediately prompted her legs to part wider, providing Ezra greater access.
Her fingers were raking across his back and her moans surprising unrestrained from one who claimed to have a succession of lovers. Of course, he noticed she tried to control the seduction, but that made him wonder if power was all she craved because she had no idea the mysteries of sexual fulfilment included the female of the species enjoying completion too. Was it like that for Julia, thinking she mastered sex because she was so disconnected to what it actually was?
It saddened him to think so, and it brought out the best in him to ensure he tamed this beautiful creature by introducing her to the pleasures of her body, not just fulfilling someone else’s need for barter.
Raising his eyes to her, he kissed the soft skin between her breasts before sliding down her stomach. Meeting her green eyes with a gleam of mischief, Ezra allowed himself a smile before he lowered his head and proceeded to deliver heaven with the tip of his tongue.
The cry that escaped Julia when his mouth began its determined exploration of her inner folds was possibly the first one Julia had ever uttered in complete abandon. Her fingers dug into the crisp sheets beneath her and raked through his hair with mindless abandon. Julia was gasping as she became aware of every flick and swirl of his tongue as it burrowed through moist, clenching flesh.
Oh, my Lord, Julia thought brokenly, what was he doing to her?
Ezra’s hands held down her hips, forcing her to remain still because she was squirming in mindless ecstasy. He delighted in teasing the tiny pearl of a clit with hard suction, relishing the corresponding cries of pleasure that followed. Making sure she escaped none of this lesson, Ezra wrapped his arms around her creamy white thighs, burying his face in her heat as he alternated between merciless teasing of her clit and fucking her with his tongue.
She was so close, Ezra thought. There was nothing he loved more than the tingle when a woman was about to come in his mouth. Wanting her to reach that final crescendo, he sucked her pebbled clit past his lips, held it in place with his teeth before flicking it with the broadside of his tongue.
“EZRA!” Julia almost screamed with that final overload of exquisite sensation.
Finally, she understood why some women became so lost to terrible men. Julia never grasped why that would be so when it was apparent how power was to be maintained in relationships. She never thought there was another side to it, that a woman could become just as enraptured by a man because of pleasure. What he had done to her, no, for her, left her shuddering with gratitude and genuine love. Had she known him capable of this? Is that why she pursued him so relentlessly?
Lapping her up as she flooded his mouth with her exquisite taste, Ezra relished every whimper and moan like a triumphant cry of victory. All the time he was delivering his oral assault, those fevered pleas rushed straight to his cock, hardening him to the point of madness. In the race towards her climax, Ezra’s cock was hard and erect, waiting with growing impatience for its time.
“Ezra,” Julia begged softly, still not quite recovered from that shattering orgasm. “I need you.”
“God yes," Ezra blinked hearing her impassioned plea and felt it all the way to his throbbing cock hungry for release. Without wasting any more time, he reached for her thigh and hooked her leg around his hip before probing the slick space between them. Ezra watched her face as he slid into her for the first time. His breath caught at how beautiful she looked upon penetration, the glassy expression, the full lips slightly parted, and the heaving breasts as she accepted all of him as her fingers clawed at his back. Watching how she took him inspired such hunger within him, Ezra wished the moment would never end and only when he buried himself all the way inside her, did he dare take a breath.
"You are so beautiful," he grunted as he looked into her eyes, trying to come to grips with the intense sensation of taut muscle crushing his cock into subservience. Her hands dug into his rear, pulling him deeper into her as a demand to start moving. It was a request Ezra was more than happy to oblige as he started pumping into her body. The first stroke into her almost drove the reason from him. It resonated through his entire being, making him shudder with pleasure and forcing him to begin thrusting with even more insistence.
This was right, this thing with her. Even though it might seem folly to throw away the love of a good woman for this red-headed siren, Ezra knew he had not made the wrong choice. She was created for him, he could feel it.
Each stroke into her was pure bliss. The harder the stroke, the more paralysing the sensations became until he was bracing himself against the mattress to keep control. Julia pulled him deeper into her until he began to feel himself collide against the barrier of flesh at the innermost depths of her. Each impact forced a shudder of pleasure through both of them, rippling through their bodies and their cries of ecstasy became one voice reaching a crescendo.
Ezra tried desperately to maintain control, but the more and more he felt himself plunging into a well of delight, coupled with her heated cries, the more he felt himself slip away. The heat they were generating was so intense, Ezra feared it might result in burning down the place again. Suddenly, he felt her shudder in his arms, and the muscles inside her tightened so intensely that he felt the air escape his lungs from the powerful sensation of crushing weight around his cock.
"Oh Ezra!" Julia gasped, her climax ripped the reason from her mind in that one desperate groan of sensation. Her inner muscles clenched around him and bathed his cock with fire until he felt seared alive in the agony of pleasure.
"Good Lord, I cannot...!" He was commingled with lust as he felt himself literally explode within her body, releasing seed into the deepest crevices of her. He continued to pump every ounce of ecstasy into her body, shaking from the overload of pleasure. When he was utterly drained, Ezra collapsed against Julia's body, breathing hard as he tried to understand what had just happened.
They were both fools trapped in the same cage.
*****The stagecoach rumbled out of Bitter Creek on schedule, under the watchful gaze of numerous men with different reasons for their attention. According to the passenger manifest, the carriage carried only three travellers, and on this occasion, this state of affairs suited all parties well enough. As the stage departed Bitter Creek, Chris Larabee and the lawmen at his side followed close, careful to keep the carriage in view while remaining at a discreet distance to continue their pursuit concealed.
"I sure hope you’re right about this Buck," Chris remarked as they travelled in the wake of the stage, following the fresh tracks in the wet mud while keeping a close eye on the surrounding landscape and poised to act at the first sign of trouble.
They were only an hour out of Bitter Creek, and Chris did not expect company so soon, but his gut instinct told him danger was close and he relied on the feeling enough to know it was seldom wrong despite his admission to Buck. So far, nothing had appeared could be considered trouble but Chris hoped this would change. For once, he welcomed the danger because it would put an end to this spree of murder that terrified travellers throughout the area. The citizenry needed to feel safe while travelling through the Territory, and until these outlaws were caught, an essential line of transport was effectively severed.
More than that, he wanted to catch these bastards before they had a chance to disappear and start this entire cycle in a new place, where more lives would undoubtedly be lost. Men, who killed like this, would invariably get a taste for it and such addictions were difficult to discard.
"He was too scared to lie," Buck said firmly as he kept pace alongside the gunslinger, taking no offence at Chris’ doubt. It would be a cold day in hell when Chris did not have faith in anyone except himself. Buck sometimes wondered what it was like to be that confident. "Besides, I kind of think he never expected the victims to be women and children."
"But he didn’t have any trouble taking their money." Chris said automatically, remembering the assassin who had told him how killing Sarah and Adam had been ‘just a job’. Chris had no sympathy for those who profited from the death of others. Men were born with the ability to choose because it was a God-given right. The only person to blame when things went wrong was oneself, not the circumstances.
"I suppose." Buck disagreed, but he was not going to argue the point.
He saw the look in Chris’s eyes when they found the victims of the first robbery and almost felt the same outrage seeing that dead child. Buck remembered seeing the same look in his friend’s face the morning after returning from Mexico. Buck never forgot the intense sorrow when Chris found Adam, his small body charred and broken. He never wanted to see that kind of pain again and knew no words could ever justify anything these outlaws had done or the men who helped them.
"Hey Buck," Chris said suddenly, feeling a need to speak because he felt a little guilty over his treatment of his old friend during the past few days regarding.
"Yeah, Chris," Buck asked, watching the road ahead intently, studying the tracks before them.
"She was just using you, you know."
Buck turned to Chris, unable to fathom what the gunslinger meant by that remark. "Excuse me?"
"I think she was using you to make Ezra jealous," Chris replied, understanding the beautiful Miss Pemberton’s behaviour once Josiah had made the statement that she had only eyes for Ezra.
Buck frowned, hating to think he was being used but unable to deny it was probably true. Chris didn’t miss such things. Actually, it was a small miracle when he even bothered to notice. Then again, Mary had a significant effect on him. He was starting to mellow again, shifting from that dark place he was for so long after Sarah and Adam’s death back into some semblance of a human being. He wondered if Chris knew how accessible he was these days with Mary in his life.
"I wouldn’t be surprised," Buck said with a sigh. "My animal magnetism ain’t what it used to be."
Chris chuckled softly. Good ol’ Buck, never one to bear a grudge. It was one of the reasons why they were friends for so long because, through Buck, Chris was always able to share in some part of the light in his sunny disposition. Had it not been for the good-natured cowboy, Chris doubted what condition he would be in following the wake of Sarah and Adam’s death. There were moments of such darkness Chris actually considered eating a bullet. Only Buck pulled him out of that pit and gave him the chance to find some kind of happiness with Mary.
"I wouldn’t worry about it," Chris answered. "There are good ones, and then there are the ones who are nothing but trouble. I get the impression she’s trouble ."
"Stop it, pardner," Buck grinned. "You’re getting me all depressed again. You know nothing fires me up more than a challenge."
"You don’t need that much of a challenge." Chris laughed when suddenly; he caught sight of something in the corner of his eye and the humour drained from his face immediately. In the distance, just emerging from the horizon, were a group of riders. They were still far enough in the background to have not seen either Buck or Chris, but that would not last.
"Buck hold up," Chris ordered, pulling the reins to his gelding and bringing the animal to an abrupt halt. The horse whinnied its protest but nevertheless did as commanded. Chris motioned Buck to the cover of some trees nearby where they could examine the approach of the riders without notice.
"You think it’s them?" Buck asked as they moved behind the safety of a large shrub effectively hiding them from view as they continued their observation.
Chris did not answer until the riders became more visible. They were making rapid progress across the plains, and their direction showed they were headed for the stage rumbling through the trail up ahead. The light drizzle of rain made it difficult to see their faces clearly, but what Chris did see left no trace of doubt in his mind.
They were all wearing scarves over their faces.
"Let’s go." Buck urge.
"Not yet," Chris said, watching them intently. Four riders were taking up the same route recently traversed by the stage. Chris wondered at this because he was led to understand there were five men not of four. His eyes scanned the surrounding area for the missing man but saw no sign of one and the others were hell-bent on reaching the stage. Chris let them disappear out of sight before turning to Buck.
"Now."
The two lawmen lunged out of their hiding place, their horses sprinting forward in a full gallop. This was the closest the lawmen had come to catching the men wreaking terror over the area with their brutal crimes. The horses crossed the terrain quickly, splattering mud in all directions as they thundered forward in close pursuit of the would-be hunters. Up ahead, the stagecoach rumbled onwards, oblivious to the peril coming their way but for once Chris was unconcerned.
It was time to bring an end to this.
The stagecoach continued up the weathered track leaving deep indentations on the grounds as it travelled towards Four Corners. The stage driver kept his senses alert and took note of everything taking place across the quiet landscape around him. The lessons of the past three robberies were etched into his mind. With so many already dead, he was taking no chances in falling prey to the villainy of outlaws capable of gunning down innocent civilians to mask their identities.
Despite the rain teeming down around him, the icy chill in the weather was making the horses move faster. The cold air sent a surge of exhilarating through their enormous lungs as they galloped ahead through the mud while navigating the trail as if born to do nothing else. He saw little reason to assert control over the reins and hung on just enough to let them know he was still in charge. He trusted the animals’ instinct to find the best route over the slippery track since they knew better than he ever could just what sort of terrain they were best able to traverse.
When a man was accustomed to living the life he had, it became easy to distinguish the sounds made by every horse. It took years to master the skill where one could differentiate between one set of hoofbeats and another, but it was a skill he possessed. The first signs of trouble emerged when he heard the sounds that did not belong to his team of stage horses. He could tell by the uneven rhythm of their approach this was not a group riding in tandem but individual riders all with differing pace.
Glancing over his shoulder at the direction of the new arrivals, he saw the figures in the distance approaching rapidly across the soaked golden fields. Four of them, he quickly counted. Wasn’t the number of outlaws terrorising these hills meant to be five? He pondered the question briefly but decided not to take any chances. Four or five, they were still riding hard after the stage. Reaching for his gun, he kept the weapon in his hands while still holding court over the horses before him.
For a moment, he entertained the notion that the riders might simply be fellow travellers on the same track, journeying to some destination of their own. They were still far enough away to support this illusion of security, so the driver kept his gun close by while maintaining a watchful gaze. His eyes alternated from the road ahead to the one travelled recently, and the distance between the wooden carriage and the men were dwindling swiftly. He could see the bobbing heads of their horses as the animals galloped forward, their powerful and sinewy muscles surging ahead under a veneer of dark silk.
He knew they would overtake the carriage because it was slow and cumbersome, and the animals behind it were sleek and fast. It would not take very long before the space between horse and carriage narrowed until there was no separation at all. Inevitably, they would diminish the slim lead that the stagecoach had somehow managed to achieve.
The seconds started ticking away at the final minutes of the pursuit, and the driver sighted their hidden faces beneath the wide-brimmed hats. Using an assortment of scarves and bandannas, their concealed visages only confirmed their identity to the stagecoach driver in the only description that mattered.
"They’re coming!" The driver yelled out to the passengers inside the carriage.
Looking over his shoulder after this duty, he found they had narrowed the lead yet again. The time in which they would reach the coach shortened to a matter of minutes only. Reluctantly concluding force was now necessary, the driver cocked his gun kept in reach for safekeeping and sighed in disappointment at the impending gunfight. He hesitated in firing first for he was never a believer in violence, understanding it as a necessary evil all men must sometimes suffer.
When he saw the horse only inches away from the back wheels of the carriage, he knew the time had come to fight. The bandits determined to reach the stage gave him little choice to do otherwise.
Until now, he achieved some measure of success in his attempts to keep in front of them, even though it was no more than a hair’s breadth of space. When the riders open fire, he ducked. Bullets whizzed past him, and he heard one of the shots as it passed by his ear, making him shudder at how close it had truly been. He glanced at the road ahead, knowing it was imperative the stagecoach remained on the given track and not be forced off the trail into the shrubs. Still, he needed to fight too.
He squeezed off a series of shots, discharging half the load inside the chambers before and noted with some satisfaction when one of them dismounted a rider. The man tumbled from his saddle, rolling across the muddy track before disappearing into the grass flanking the road.
The driver watched long enough to see the fallen man slip from view before returning his attention to the team of horses pulling the carriage forward. The sounds of gunfire frightened them, and now they were surging ahead, too gripped by fear to take note of where they were headed. Taking advantage of their panic, he snapped the reins forward, spurring them on to a faster pace; using the sudden burst of speed for however long it lasted.
The bullets came again, this time more quickly. Some impacted on the wood of the carriage, creating splinters swiftly swept away by the rush of wind and speed. The driver ducked and weaved, all the while maintaining control of the horses starting to falter after such relentless pace. It was almost with a sigh of relief when he saw two other riders, even farther behind the outlaws closing in at their own heady pace.
The driver heard an explosion of sound too close, and suddenly, there was a flare of white-hot pain as one of the outlaw’s bullets struck flesh. He grunted in pain as his muscles reacted involuntarily, forcing him to drop the gun. It slid across the roof before coming to rest against the railing, beyond his reach. He would have tried to retrieve it except he was now driving the stage with one hand. Blood started to pulse from the wound with every flex of muscle even if he suspected the bullet passed through flesh only, avoiding bone.
The team was too large to control with one arm, but he made a valiant effort to try nevertheless. His handicap meant the temporary gap would now be swallowed up by his struggle to keep control. The outlaws continued firing, picking up the scent of the proverbial blood in the water. Being in no position to return fire, the driver kept his head down and concentrated on keeping the stage on the wet trail.
The constant rain over the past few made the track treacherously slick, and at the speed they were currently travelling, disaster was being courted, and the driver knew it. It would not take much for the stage to lose a wheel or worse yet, be run off the road. None of which seemed quite as bad as what would happen if the outlaws caught up with them.
Not if but when he thought to himself. Capture was inevitable now.
The horses were gaining quickly and carried the riders alongside the stage close enough to be dangerous to everyone involved. The firing ceased, there was no reason to with their guns only inches away from the windows, they aimed firmly in the driver's direction.
"Pull up!"
The driver ignored the instruction, struggling to keep the pace up, but the pain was starting to wear him down. He could feel the warm ooze of blood running down his sleeve, creating a stain soaking the material of his shirt. He saw the lawmen in the distance, narrowing the gap between the stage and outlaws and was satisfied his surrender would be temporary.
The outlaw shouting the order, fired a bullet near the wooden seat to solidify his point. Tiny splinters of wood dug into the driver‘s skin and elicited a small curse under his breath. He pulled the reins gently, and the group of horses feeling the pressure in the bit began their gradual halt. It did not take long before the stage stopped entirely by the side of the muddy track.
The driver watched the short-lived triumph of the bandits upon the realisation they were being pursued. Their reaction if anything was predictable. The driver saw the confusion as they sought the answers in each other’s eyes. Initially, baser instincts told them to run, but the lure of this last job was simply too good to resist. He could see them come to the decision they might be able to take the two men coming toward them with guns drawn. The odds were two to one, and there were still the hostages in the stagecoach. He knew what they were going to do as surely as he heard the thought echo in their minds.
But he knew something they didn’t.
"Now!" Josiah Sanchez shouted and rolled off the side of the stage before the men on horseback could shoot him. He dropped to the ground as the outlaws open fire. Fortunately, the carriage provided him with ample protection from the bullets. Josiah landed on the mud and remained where he was, secretly hiding the grimace of pain caused by his injured arm.
Inside the carriage, Nathan Jackson and JD Dunne showed their faces through the window. No longer playing the part of passengers, their guns were aimed squarely at the outlaws whose murderous spree was now about to end.
"Move, and we’ll kill ya!" JD barked angrily. Both barrels stared the gunmen in the face, and they had only to look in his eyes to know he would not hesitate to shoot them down.
The bodies JD saw in the aftermath of the robbery left him outraged, and JD’s eyes reflected the burning hatred he felt at the murder of those innocents. These men callously gunned down unarmed men, women and children whose only crime was to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The leader of the pack, a man whose features were concealed behind the blood-red scarf he wore reacted swiftly, surprising Nathan and JD because, despite their foresight in replacing the actual passengers of the stage, the riders had the high ground on their horses. The plan needed Josiah to be present once the outlaws had been ambushed, to cover them from above until Chris and Buck arrived. Unfortunately, they had not counted on Josiah being shot and lost that precious asset. No plan was truly foolproof, as they were soon to discover.
The leader was close enough to one of the horses to strike it hard on the rump. The animal snorted in surprise and was startled into galloping forward. The stage rumbled away, taking JD and Nathan with it while Josiah scrambled in the dirt, clutching his bleeding arm without a gun.
The leader’s eyes crinkled, and Josiah knew he was smiling behind his mask as he raised his gun to fire when suddenly his chest erupted in a flare of blood. The others looked at the direction of where the bullet had come and because Josiah had no gun. They went for their weapons but could not do anything else before another eruption of gunshots. Josiah kept his head down to avoid being caught in any crossfire. While he remained on his knees, he looked up long enough to see the other two men dispatched just as quickly before joining him on the dirt in slightly worse condition.
Josiah stood up shakily when the proverbial dust settled, and the bodies moved no further. As Chris and Buck came riding up to him, Chris was holstering his gun while Buck was sliding his rifle into its holster in the saddle. Both dismounted their animals and hurried towards the preacher.
"You don’t look so good Josiah," Buck commented with concern at the sight of the blood on Josiah’s fingers as he attempted to stem the flow on his injured arm.
"Josiah?" Chris asked quietly, examining the arms as he approached. "How bad are you hit?"
"I’m okay," Josiah reassured him, glancing at the wound with a slight wince. It was still pulsating fresh blood each time he moved and decided that it would help if he stopped doing that very same thing. "Bullet passed clean through."
Behind them, they heard the rumble of the coach returning with JD at the reins and Nathan at his side. The young man had no trouble leading the animals to his friends, and Chris noted this was just another one of those amazing skills JD seemed to possess, surprising them all. Nathan, on the other hand, searched the group for signs of injury and immediately fixed on Josiah. The healer jumped off the stage before the carriage came to a complete halt and was striding towards the preacher.
"Let me have a look at that," Nathan demanded as he approached Josiah. His tone would tolerate no arguments on the matter.
"Well that does it then," JD said, looking distastefully at the bodies who would not require any kind of medical attention, ever again. The outlaws remained where they fell and did not seem so menacing when they lay on the ground covered in blood and drying mud. "We stopped them."
There was almost pride in his voice as he said that and Chris supposed ending the threat of these varmints was something to be proud of. The leader of the seven could see very little pride in any of this after the innocent deaths these bandits left in their wake, and maintained his stoic mask.
"Yeah." Buck grinned just as equally gratified. Buck found it difficult to think of the dead and preferred to focus on the victory they had just won even if the price was too high by Chris’s reckoning. "This calls for a night of solid drinking and anything else that might come along."
There was no need to elaborate on what ‘anything else’ might be.
Chris was more concerned about how Josiah was faring under Nathan’s insistent ministrations. Despite Josiah’s claim that he was superficially wounded, Chris would not rest easy until Nathan told them so. The healer was the only one among them who was qualified to say for sure how well Josiah was doing and that included Josiah himself.
"How is he?" Chris asked Nathan, ignoring JD and Buck as the two men planned the evening debauch they would no doubt enjoy upon their return to Four Corners. He strode over to the healer, who by now, had torn open Josiah’s bloody shirt and was taking a closer look of the injury. From where Chris was, he could see the small dark circle of ruined flesh that was covered in blood.
"It’s a flesh wound.’ Nathan confirmed Josiah’s earlier allegation. "It's worse than it looks but the bullet passed clean through."
"I’m glad you think so," Josiah grumbled, flinching a bit when Nathan made a temporary bandage to stem the bleeding until they returned to Four Corners where he could treat the preacher at his infirmary with better instruments and medical aids.
"You’re tough." Chris smiled faintly. "We’ll get back to town and buy you a drink to wash down the pain or better," he glanced at Buck and JD, "if those two have their way."
"Well, I guess it's over then," Josiah said studying the dead bodies around him. The outlaws looked no different than any other they had run into since becoming the law in Four Corners. Strange how the resemblance was only apparent after they had paid with their lives and were strewn across some forgotten place with their life oozing into the sand. Suddenly, Josiah became aware of Chris studying the bodies with a look in his eyes that did not seem so convinced.
"What happened to the fifth man?" Chris found himself asking although he did not expect an answer.
"You don’t think he went after Miss Pemberton, do you?" Nathan asked, hoping they would not return to the Travis Place to find a nasty surprise waiting for them. The healer had a great deal of respect for Ezra Standish and knew the gambler was more than capable of protecting the lady from one man; however, they knew almost nothing about this gang of bandits. Who was to say that the band of outlaws was not more extensive than initially perceived?
"I don’t think so," Chris responded, unable to say how he knew it. "Still, we ought to get back to town anyway."
Although he did not voice it, Josiah knew why Chris was impatient to get back to Four Corners. Now this problem with the outlaws was more or less concluded, he knew what was next on Chris Larabee’s agenda.
Finding Vin Tanner and Alexandra Styles.
*****Well, I do believe you have done it now, Mr Standish.
Breathing in the scent of her hair, the thought ran through Ezra’s head even as he felt exhilarated by the smell of wildflowers.
He tried so hard to stay true to Alexandra, to fight the attraction sparked into being the moment he saw this little schemer. Was his surrender always inevitable?
It was not just that she was beautiful. Beauty was the least of the things that charmed him so much. If so, he would never have strayed from Alex for anything in the world. Although he was wise enough not to voice it, Alexandra’s natural beauty would always be more compelling than the devastating seduction Julia Pemberton exuded from every pore.
No, he was in love with this little wanton because in her eyes, there was no deception he had not tried already, no trick Ezra had not learnt years before and best of all, no con she could play he could not beat. He saw all things in her that challenged his baser instincts and it was a gamble so wild Ezra could not walk away for all the beautiful doctors in the world. He knew he was a fool to let Alex go, but he was starting to believe it might be a kindness to her as well.
Besides, Ezra knew inwardly the commitment Alex wanted was something he could never give her, no matter how much he might force himself to aspire to it. Nevertheless, he did feel some measure of guilt for what he would do when she returned to Four Corners. The least Ezra could do was tell her face to face.
"You are quite exceptional, Mr Standish." Julia smiled, rolling on top of him as they lay spooned together on the bed after their intense lovemaking. "I shall have to keep you close at hand always."
"You may try Miss Pemberton," he replied, letting his hands caress her thighs as she straddled him. "However, you will find that I am not as enthralled as you think."
"How so?" She pouted while twirling a lock of red hair falling across her face.
"I have not thrown away the love of a good woman so that I can be a cuckold to anyone who captures your passing interest. Never play that game with me, Julia. I care about you, but you are not so charming that I will not leave you should such intelligence reaches me."
"You think I would do that?" She looked at him, realising he was serious.
"I know you would if the opportunity arose. Restraint is not in your vocabulary, is it?" He ran his fingers along her lower back and watched her shudder slightly at the feathery touch against her skin. "This may come as a shock to you and believe me, it came as a bigger shock to me first, I find myself in love with you and expect the same kind of consideration should you wish to be a part of my life."
Her temper flared a moment at the suggestion and then realised he was absolutely right.
Julia had given him no reason to believe she was capable of staying faithful to him, and now he was hers, Julia knew she did not want him gone. He made love to her the way no man had ever done, and for a woman who believed herself incapable of feeling anything real for any man, the discovery she loved him was a welcome one.
Julia wanted to be good for him. She wanted to love him because he was worth loving, even by someone as broken as she. Julia wanted the fairy tale prince she read about in books before her father tainted all the purity in her. She looked at Ezra and saw a thousand adventures with him that only required her loyalty to enjoy.
"No, it isn’t,” she admitted, “but I came here for a new start, so I don’t want to be that person anymore.” She admitted quietly, understanding the need she saw in his eyes. Ezra wanted Julia to be a part of his life, but he was not about to sacrifice his self-esteem for her. It impressed Julia because no one had actually made the request before.
Most of the men she knew previously expected it as if it were their right, and she belonged to them like some object. At the time, it served her purpose for them to believe she did. No more, Julia came to Four Corners because she wanted more than to be someone’s wife or mistress or both. She was more than her looks, more than her ability to seduce, and she was smart. Smart enough to leave Philadelphia behind, smart enough to buy this business and envision the possibilities to help it thrive.
With Ezra, she could have more.
She saw a kindred spirit, someone who loved her for every devious bone in her body and wished nothing more than a similar commitment to him. There was no need to hide behind an alluring smile because Ezra could see straight through it. The freedom to simply be was something Julia was never allowed to experience. She was always something to someone.
To her father, she was the wife he lost. His dark love ensured she would never be able to sleep with an unlocked door ever again. To men like Packard, she was a beautiful thing to adorn their homes and their social standing. She had no more substance to them than an expensive painting. The only thing she ever wanted in her life was to be seen as more than just a face.
"I have fallen in love with you, Julia," Ezra responded with a softer tone aware he was harsh with her, but she had to know the rules from the beginning if she wanted to play. "I have not felt this way towards any woman in my life. I thought I did about Alexandra, but I cannot deny it was an attraction to her spirit, not love. I have done her a great wrong, and I will have to live with the consequences, but it will never affect how I feel for you. I simply cannot stand the thought of sharing you with someone else."
Julia let the happiness steal across her face and nodded in understanding. "I don’t think I can stand the thought of you being with anyone else. I think I love you too Ezra and God help us, I don’t know which of us is the bigger fool."
"I rather leave that question open for the moment." He grinned and then slapped her hard on the rump.
"Hey! That hurt."
"Not as much as your reputation if the others come back and find us like this." Ezra climbed out of bed. "Besides, if you intend to be a businesswoman in this locality, you must act the part. I am certain you can manage to put your impressive skills as a thespian to work."
Julia gave him an imperious look as she walked out of the room towards the heap of discarded clothes outside.
"Mr Standish, after your request, I am afraid that my best performances are going to be for you only ."
*****The town was a flurry of excitement when the bodies of the outlaws were brought into town. After the sombre arrival of the stagecoach previously, this occasion was markedly different from the previous times when the lawmen returned with the bodies of victims. The rain more or less stopped, with only a few scatterings of grey clouds in attendance, trying hard to sprinkle some drizzle on the drying landscape.
Chris sent JD to the Travis place to tell Ezra to escort Julia Pemberton into town so she could identify the man she saw. Although one of the outlaws were missing, the town was nonetheless elated at the deaths of the remaining four since it saw an end to the siege they were enduring these past two weeks.
Mary seemed to be the only person who did not look uncomfortable at being present at the undertaker’s gloomy offices. As a journalist, she covered numerous stories about outlaws and thieves, not to mention obituaries. Her vocation brought her in contact with the mortician several times/Mary's familiarities with the place allowed her to visit its premises without any lasting effects. She was present now because this was news to be featured in the Clarion News in the next edition. As a journalist, she wanted to be close at hand to get her facts of the situation.
"They don’t look so dangerous now," Mary said to Chris as he and Buck assisted the mortician with the bodies.
"Dead men seldom are," Chris remarked as Buck helped with the loading of the last corpse onto the wooden table for treatment. It was hard to believe the men who had caused so much grief over Four Corners, Bitter Creek, Sweetwater, and Eagle Bend should end up so ignominiously after creating such a wave of terror.
"How’s Josiah?" Mary saw the preacher being led away by Nathan to his infirmary. She could only guess he was injured. Although since he was walking when they departed, she assumed his injuries were not too severe.
"He’s okay," Chris answered shortly, watching the mortician cover the bloody bodies with a white cloth that quickly absorbed the blood and left vibrant stains across its surface. Even though the rain had driven away most of the summer heat these past few days, the inside of the room felt icy cold, and there was a smell to it that made his skin crawl. He did so hope Ezra arrived with Julia Pemberton soon.
"Chris," Buck came up to both of them, looking even more ill at ease than Chris himself if that was possible. "If you don’t need me, I’m going to get a drink." He cast a distasteful glimpse around his surroundings before meeting Chris’s eyes again. "This place gives me the creeps."
"Go on," Chris gestured towards the door. "Mary and I will wait for Miss Pemberton to arrive."
Buck frowned, once again reminded Ezra made the conquest before he did. "You had to remind me." He glared at Chris good-naturedly before sweeping out the door.
"What’s that about?" Mary looked at Chris in question.
Chris had no intention of voicing Julia Pemberton indiscreet behaviour to Mary, especially in this place, so he merely shrugged in a non-committal way. He was almost grateful when Julia and Ezra chose to enter the premises at that moment, followed closely by JD who was eager to be a part of the drama when Julia identified the man who had tried to rape her.
"Are those the men?" Julia asked, a little daunted by the outline of bodies underneath the sheets.
"That’s right," Chris nodded. "Do you think you can identify the man you saw?" He knew how delicate the dispositions of some women could be. Thank God the women in his life did not know the meaning of the word.
Julia cast an uncertain look at Ezra, who nodded at her in some secret gesture of support Chris and Mary did not miss. Neither said a word, allowing the implications to slip past in light of the present situation. "I am certain you are up to the task, Miss Pemberton."
Julia swallowed hard and took a slow step forward. The mortician stepped aside after he lifted the veil on all the dead faces lying in wait for her. To her credit, she held up well even though her horror at seeing the corpses bloodied and broken was all too apparent in her wide green eyes.
Ezra was close at hand, ready to come to her aid if it was required. A few minutes seemed to stretch into eternity as Julia made her grisly inspection. When she reached the last body and gazed into its dead face, she let out a sigh of relief, grateful the chore was now over.
She took a deep breath and came back to the group, forcing the revulsion from her face as she tried to forget the faces she had just seen, knowing they would not be forgotten for some time.
"Well?" JD asked first, displaying the impetuousness of youth. "Was he there?"
She met Ezra’s gaze wishing she could tell them what they wanted to know but found herself compelled to tell the truth. These were the rules Ezra demanded of her, and she intended to prove she could live up to his expectations. Turning to Chris, she shook her head slowly.
"I’m sorry, Mr Larabee, the man I saw is not among the dead."
It took the better part of the day, but eventually, Vin found a way down the hills that didn’t require travelling the perilous track that almost cost Alex her life. Although Vin offered to let her rest for a while, knowing she suffered a shock when swept away by that landslide, Alex assured him she could continue, even if she was a little shaky after the experience. Ironically, once Vin began searching for an alternate route through dense foliage surrounding after they strayed off the track, the rain dwindled from downpour to a light shower.
Alex, who was covered from head to toe in mud did not seem to mind as the droplets of water cleansed her skin. With Calliope gone, she was forced to ride with Vin and felt self-conscious of being so near him in her present dishevelled state. Vin promised her they would stop at the river once they descended the hills, so she could get cleaned up properly although Alex would prefer they kept going. Washing in the river was not as enticing as a hot bath at home. Strangely enough, she no longer felt uncomfortable about riding double with him. After her ordeal, it was a relief to be able to wrap her arms around him and rest her head against his shoulder after he mounted Peso to begin their journey home.
Vin savoured the feel of her soft breath in his ear. The hair on his neck stood on edge each time a wisp of warm air caressed his skin. He wondered if she had any idea at all what it was she did to him. Cursing himself every time the thought crossed his mind, Vin could not forget how it felt to touch her during those few short minutes in the cabin. Just the memory of her lips against his and the taste of her skin aroused Vin so much he could barely think. Vin was glad these episodes took place while they were riding, so she was unable to see just how much he was being affected. The embarrassment of that would be more than he could stand.
They spent most of the day riding through the rain as Vin navigated Peso through the treacherous terrain of jagged rocks and creeping foliage, threatening to topple the horse at any moment. Unlike the open plains, the vegetation covering these hills was hardy and unyielding. Thick vines and bushes with painfully sharp thorns scratched them as they moved by, while every patch of green threatened some form of danger, lashing at them as Peso struggled to get by.
After a while, it almost felt like the thick canopy of green would never yield and they would be lost forever in this labyrinth of trees and shrubs. Despite her twisted ankle, the scrapes and bruises received during the landslide and their attempt to weave a path through this dense growth, Alex felt strangely at ease. Usually, in a situation where she found herself out of depth, and this certainly qualified, she would be frightened and agitated. Yet Alex felt no such fear and knew it was because Vin was with her. She found herself able to rely on him with complete confidence, and that was something she never allowed herself to do with anyone.
Thus, it was to no surprise when they finally escaped the hills and levelled off unto flat ground, signalling the end of the treacherous terrain they were forced to endure all day. Alex saw the open plains before her and despite it dull, grey pallor thanks mainly in part to the rain, she found herself letting out a sigh of relief.
"River won’t be far from here," Vin remarked simply, showing his own elation at leaving the mountains behind with one of those faint smiles of his.
"Thank God. I need to wash."
He looked over his shoulder and let his eyes move up and down her body before muttering. "I don’t know, you look alright."
"Coming from you, that’s not exactly a compliment. You always look like you need a bath even when you’re clean."
Which was true. Vin admitted he always looked like he had just come from a particularly hard ride even though he spent most of the day in the saloon. He was just one of those men who always appeared scruffy, no matter what they were doing.
"I knew you being quiet was too good to last." Vin teased as Peso started trotting at a faster pace, now the ground beneath his hoofs was steadier. The animal was enjoying moving without fear of losing its footing.
"I held out for as long as I could. I thought I’d give you a break after what I put you through the last two days."
"It’s going to take a hell of a lot more than you just being quiet to do that." Vin taunted her in return.
"I’ll buy you a drink at the saloon." Alex quipped aware he was baiting her, as he always did for some unimaginable reason.
"That ain’t going to do it. After having to put up with you for two days, I’m gonna need a whole bottle." The mischief in his voice was unmistakable.
Alex was discovering it took quite a bit to draw Vin into a conversation. He was mostly quiet, always reserved and seemingly unflappable about most things, except her. Apparently, she was the only thing capable of making him vocal. Still, she liked his dry sense of humour because it was similar to her own.
Her profession made it necessary to always wear a façade of detached calm. To be the cool, mercurial physician, Alex was forced to develop calluses around her emotions to maintain her distance. It didn’t always work, but it was there nonetheless. She did not know why Vin erected his walls, but she noticed when he lowered them, it burned hot. They had that in common too.
They were both feeling a little better, now they were out in the open plains, and with the river not far in the distance, their tempers were better. For the first time since this whole ordeal began, there seemed to be some end in sight.
"I take it you’re never going to let me live this down?"
"Not for a while," Vin answered in that soft voice of his. "Or at least you do something else that changes my mind you ain’t a bad-tempered mule that needs a good whipping."
"Why thank you. For a minute, I thought you were going to insult me." She laughed, horrified by the comparison but unable to keep from finding it funny. "You must have known I’ve waited all my life to hear man describe me like an animal with an attitude problem."
"Actually," he grinned, enjoying this bantering himself because it dispelled the awkwardness between them. "I actually was thinking more in the lines of a nag."
After what happened in Agnes Doherty’s cabin, they had crossed a line in their relationship. Ezra was still looming in the background, keeping a watchful eye over them even in his absence but at least Vin knew he wasn’t alone in his attraction to her. While she may choose not to act on it, they could at least speak to each other without any awkwardness.
"Nag!" She exclaimed and slapped him on the arm. "You’re lucky you don’t need any medical treatment, Mr Tanner, I would surely make you pay for that remark."
Secretly, Alex was pleased they were back to their former adversarial positions after what happened the night before. It was too easy for her to start replaying the events in the cabin when she was ready to throw out all good sense just to have him touch her. The thought made Alex blush, and she dispelled it before it took any root.
"They’re probably going crazy wondering what happened to us." Alex sighed.
"Maybe," Vin replied, knowing for a fact Chris was never quite happy unless he knew the whereabouts of his friends at all times. It was not that the gunslinger did not trust them to look after themselves, but Vin had this idea Chris was so fiercely protective because he felt he failed Sarah and Adam and was not about to repeat the mistake.
"I think Chris would be more worried about those outlaws actually." Alex pointed out, remembering the hollow look in the gunslinger’s eyes when they brought in the boy. Although the young victim left them all outraged, Alex knew Chris felt the death most profoundly since he knew what it was like to lose a child to violence.
"He has plenty of room to worry about a lot of things. Besides, he knows I got a good sense of the land to keep us out of too much trouble."
"Oh, really?" She peered over his shoulder and caught his eye. "We’ve made stunning progress so far."
"I could have left you buried under all that dirt." He reminded her pointedly, and Alex had to concede defeat to him on that point.
"Okay," she whined. "You got me there."
Thinking about the landslide only serve to remind her that Calliope was gone. Alex never thought she would become so attached to the horse. However, Calliope had been her chief transport getting around Four Corners, hitched up to Alex’s buggy. "I wish Calliope had made it though."
"I’m sorry I couldn’t do nothing for her. Her leg was broken. It was better if she went that way instead of suffering more than she had to."
Alex understood, aware he wouldn’t have made the decision lightly. She trusted him enough to know he did what he believed to be right. Alex shifted uncomfortably in the saddle, her body aching in places she forgot were there. Leaning forward, she rested her head against his back, the full weight of her chest pressing up against him. Vin, who became acutely aware of her whenever she did this, had come to realise this usually meant she was exhausted and needed to rest.
Except she was probably too proud and stubborn to admit it.
How could any woman be so beautiful and so exasperating at the same time? Vin asked himself and knew there was no adequate answer to that question. It had to do with what made his blood boil with heat each time she was near him. It was part and parcel of who she was, and Vin was accustomed enough to her moods to know how to handle it.
"Do you need to rest?"
This was a recurring theme all day. No matter how tired she was, Alex was adamant she not show weakness in front of him. He wondered why, and guessed it had to do with her being a doctor. Maybe she had to be like that so the men doctors wouldn’t think she wasn’t good enough to be in their company.
"I’m fine." She said a little guiltily and quickly straightened up. "I’ll get some rest when we stop at the river. I’ll be fine to keep going after."
"No, when we get to the river, we’re stopping for the night."
"I don’t need it," Alex said hotly. If there was one thing she hated, it was being coddled because she was a woman. Of course she was tired, but so was he and he had been doing all the riding.
"Yes, you do. We’re taking a break."
The river appeared before them and Peso’s excitement was reflected by the increased pace of his advance. The horse slipped into a smooth gallop, eager to taste the water and quench its thirst after a hard day’s riding behind it. The sun was already starting to set. The rain was still teeming, but the wind had died. For the most part, it looked calm.
"I’m telling you I am perfectly capable of continuing on this journey, Mr Tanner." Alex insisted as they reached the banks of the waterway, with its currents sweeping along in an almost lethargic flow.
Peso needed no encouragement as he waded into the water, allowing the swirling moisture to soothe the hooves forced to travel over jagged terrain for so long. Vin allowed his trusted companion to indulge in the freshwater while listening to Alex argue she was more than capable of riding on into the night, even though it was apparent to him she was exceedingly tired.
"I say we rest anyway." He was weary of this argument because he knew she was being stubborn just to prove a point, just like she would not admit rushing off to Agnes Doherty’s aid was a bad idea. Especially without checking to see if the woman was in town first. He wondered if the old lady had any idea what they were going through just because she failed to keep her doctor’s appointment.
"Vin," Alex wanted to get home to Four Corners sooner rather than later. Yes, she was tired but spending another night out in the cold and dark, particularly with him, was temptation she would prefer to avoid. "I can make it. I don’t need you to feel sorry for me."
"That’s it," Vin growled, deciding enough was enough. He saw Peso was almost knee-deep in water and knew he was probably courting death, but this was one of those times where it was necessary to take the buffalo by the horns or in this case, the doctor .
Without warning, he gave Alex a little shove.
She let out a short scream before hitting the surface, her entire body was swallowed up the river for a few seconds until she appeared again when her feet touched the ground. The water was deep enough to cushion her fall and give her a good soaking at the same time without being caught by the river’s currents. Alex sputtered in fury as she struggled to stand, the weight of her wet clothes making it hard to do so.
Vin knew he should not smile because it was exceedingly dangerous to do so, but the smirk appeared on his face anyway.
"You bastard!" She cursed as she struggled to her gain her footing, trying to brush the wet strands of dark hair from her face. Alex glared at him as he looked at her smugly.
"You did say you wanted a bath." He looked down at her without one wit of repentance.
"I suppose I did." She smiled sweetly before reaching for him and yanking him forward by his coat. He hit the water beside her with an even louder splash that made Peso move away in caution, in case the insanity displayed by his master and the female was catching.
Alex watched in smug satisfaction as Vin rose to his feet and gave her the filthiest of looks. He snatched his hat, threatening to float away and put it on his head, only to have its brim sag down around his ears.
"That wasn’t funny." He grumbled as he waded towards Peso.
Alex was still smirking as she remained where she was. Although she was not going to admit it, she did need to get cleaned up. There was mud in the most uncomfortable places on her person, and Alex wanted to look partially civilised when they reached Four Corners.
"Strange," she smiled triumphantly. "It seemed funny to me."
"Keep it up, and you’ll be walking home."
*****Chris Larabee stared into the amber depths of his whisky for the second straight minute without touching the glass. He was doing that a great deal today and if he was forced to pinpoint when these sudden lapses began, Chris knew with confidence he could name the exact moment.
"Are you going to drink that?" Inez inquired, having noticed he had not touched the glass since she set it down minutes ago and went to serve other customers. When she returned to the corner of the counter he occupied, she found him still staring at the golden fluid as if trying to find answers in the slack swirl of its contents.
Chris looked up at the curious gaze of the sultry bartender, who was standing curiously before him, with her hands on her hips, while grasping a serving tray. She, who was Mary’s best friend, stared at him with concern.
"I’m just thinking."
"Those must be deep thoughts. I thought you’d be celebrating your victory with the rest of your friends." Inez tilted her head past his shoulder to the others at their table.
Chris glanced over to see Buck and Josiah engaged in a hearty drinking contest, with Nathan and JD urging both competitors on to new lows of inebriated behaviour. Ezra was absent because he was escorting Miss Pemberton back to her hotel and mentioned something about dinner. Mary was busy writing her article, and Chris found himself alone with his thoughts for company and a nagging feeling he could not let go.
"They’ll make up for me being here." Chris shrugged, still distracted by the sharp instinct telling him something was wrong without having any proof whatsoever, often turning out to be right. Tonight, he could have done without it.
"You deserve to celebrate a little," Inez pointed out, leaning against the counter when she poured herself a drink to join him for a moment. It wasn’t busy in the saloon, despite the riotous behaviour displayed by his comrades. The evening crowd would come in soon enough and Inez did not particularly miss their presence since it gave her time to catch her breath. "Those men have paid for their crimes."
"Yeah, they have." He agreed but did not appear very convinced.
"Are you worried about Vin and Alex?" Inez asked, knowing Chris felt strongly towards Vin Tanner whose relationship with the gunslinger was the closest in the group.
While they were always seven, Inez knew from her friendship with Vin, the group really formed when Chris Larabee gave him a subtle nod across the street, without ever speaking the words they were not going to let a bunch of drunks hang Nathan Jackson. From that silent understanding, so much had changed.
"I am," he admitted but the gnawing at his insides was not because of the tracker or the doctor. Vin could take care of himself, and he was more than capable of taking care of Alexandra Styles as well.
Besides, if something terrible did happen to the duo, then it would make no difference if he worried or not. It was already too late. However, Chris preferred to think Vin was holed up somewhere waiting out the bad weather. Now that it was starting to diminish, he did not doubt they were on their way home and expected to see Vin any time soon.
No, his uneasy feeling came from Julia Pemberton’s inability to identify the man she’d seen among the dead outlaws. It confirmed there were indeed five men, and where was he now? Why had he allowed his gang to carry out that last job without him? It made no sense. Chris usually had some idea about the bandits they were chasing, but these varmints left him bewildered because everything they did went against what was typically expected of such men.
"You want to know why, don’t you?" She asked after a moment.
Chris met her gaze; bewildered for a second, she could have made such an accurate guess. Women’s intuition, he snorted silently to himself, he had seen it at work before. Sarah and Mary had it, Alex almost certainly did, and now Inez too. He wondered what was this power allowing them to know a thing with such confidence. A question for another time, he supposed.
"I guess I do."
"Is it not good enough they are caught and made to pay for their crimes?"
"No, not until I have my answer.” Chris had no idea why he placed such importance in the absence of one man. For all he knew, the missing man could have left early or might have been killed by his partners, scum like these had no trouble turning on each other when the lure of money became too tasty. Inez was an excellent sounding board. Usually, it would be Vin, but God only knows where the tracker was. The friends behind were celebrating, and he didn’t want to intrude while Mary was probably hard at work on her article.
Maybe a fresh perspective was what he needed. “There’s just something wrong about all this.”
"What?” Inez prompted, giving him an opening.
“I don’t know,” Chris frowned. "Why kill all those people? There ain’t no reason for it. No one saw their faces to be able to identify them. There was no point gunning down every single passenger when their faces were hidden. Hell, Vin was framed for killing a man, and they got a $500 bounty on him. Why kill so many and risk being marked for life?”
Inez could understand his confusion. “It does seem very senseless without cause.”
"Yeah, I mean, why shoot a child? Shooting a kid is going to make sure every lawman will be hunting high and low for your hide even if they don’t know who you are. Killers like that have a way of being caught."
"Maybe," Inez replied, thinking hard. "Maybe, the child’s death was to make a point."
"A point?" He stared at her, unable to imagine what message that tiny dead body could convey to anyone other than rage and revenge. It would make everyone rabid with anger until the demand for justice went screaming from every town and its lawmen. The hunt for the men responsible would be relentless, there would be no pause until the guilty was brought in. Hadn’t that taken place exactly? Hadn’t Eagle Bend, Bitter Creek, Sweetwater and Four Corners mobilised to stop the carnage?
A thought occurred to him then, and it made him freeze in shock when he started to realise, he might have his answer.
"What if," Chris said softly, the light flickered in his ice coloured eyes as the idea started to gain more traction. “What if, that’s what they wanted? To drive every lawman crazy?"
"For what purpose?" She leaned forward, intrigued by how his mind worked and how quickly it locked onto a train of thought once once the right element was introduced.
Chris started drumming his fingers along the counter, letting the idea gain momentum in his head, knowing he was on to something substantial and just had to keep working on it to unravel the truth. "Money?"
"They would have received a great deal from all those robberies." Inez pointed out.
"Did they?" Chris questioned. "Some folk travel with a lot of money on the stage and some don’t. With the telegraph and all, it ain’t necessary to carry lots of cash. Banks have a way of transferring things around on you. But say it’s about money, how would they know who was on the stage with what? If you want fast money and weren’t afraid to kill, there are surer ways of doing it, instead of gambling on what might be on a stage."
"I don’t understand. "If the outlaws did not rob and kill those people for the money, why bother at all?"
The answer was so clear.
“It has to do with money,” he said finally. “Just not on the stage.”
With a grin, he knocked back the half-empty shot glass on the counter. Swallowing down the whisky, he leaned over the bar and pulled Inez to him, planting a kiss on her forehead.
"Why Mr Larabee," Inez laughed as he started moving away from the counter. "People will talk."
"Let ‘em." He grinned and swept out of the saloon before she had a chance to say anything else.
*****Chris was so fired up by his discovery he went straight to the Clarion News because the writing of Mary’s article could wait. Now the idea was fully formed, he could not let it go. Stepping out into the evening air, he looked up at the sky and noticed the grey clouds amassing once again. It looks like they had only passed through the eye of the storm because the rumble of thunder promised more inclement weather. Strangely enough, the eye of the storm seemed applicable in this situation as well.
"Mary!" Chris called as he went through the office entrance of Mary’s home and newspaper office.
She was at her desk when he entered the front door, putting the finishing touches to her headline article for the next edition of the Clarion News. She had written the tale of the capture with a sombre note to it since the conclusion of the outlaws’ spree was only more death. There was nothing to gain by making their arrest sound like an epic of grand proportions. With so many innocent people dead because of these men, ending their bloodbath was more a question of justice rather than victory.
Mary heard Chris’s arrival and immediately rose from her chair as he came striding through the door. For a moment, she wondered what had happened. She did not want to think another crisis had emerged so soon after putting an end to this latest situation. Was Four Corners some sort of magnet for this kind of trouble?
"What is it?" She asked, hoping nothing was wrong. Worries about Vin and Alex surfaced in her mind.
"I had an idea." He pulled up a chair and sat down. "What if we were set up?"
Mary’s eyes widened as she returned to her desk. "What do you mean?"
"For two weeks, we look under every rock and hole in the wall joint for this gang, and we find nothing." Chris eased back into his seat, allowing his mind to fully travel the wild speculative course he latched onto. If Vin were here, he would be throwing this hypothesis at the tracker because Vin possessed as much a honed intellect as himself or Mary Travis. In Vin’s absence, Chris had to break his own rule about bringing any unpleasantness to her but right now, he needed her help to think this through.
"They hardly left any clues for us to find them." Mary pointed out. She’d seen his eyes blaze like this before and was delighted by the almost youthful wonder in them. Chris Larabee was never more alive than when he had a challenge before him. "They were very thorough."
"Were they?" He asked pointedly. "They ransacked all the bags and trunks for money like a bunch of amateurs. There was stuff everywhere. Maybe it wasn’t to find anything but for show."
"For show?" She questioned. Chris had never let her anywhere near the murder scene, but she knew they were brutal. No one who came across the aftermath of the robbery murders was left unscathed. The visual impact of what they saw was etched on their faces.
Was it because it was meant to be the desired effect?
"Think about it," he said in that smooth voice of his. "You kill a bunch of people and have every lawman in the Territory chasing after you. When they’re nasty like these robberies were, most won’t try to bring you in alive. It set the whole Territory chasing after a gang, when we should have been after one person, one person who had everything to gain.”
"The fifth man." Mary mused as she latched onto the same thought now he planted the idea in her head.
"What if Buck didn’t stumble onto that information?" Chris pressed on. "What if he was meant to find it? I mean this fifth man, he’s smart. He managed to keep quiet enough to commit three stagecoach robberies. You think he’s going to be dumb enough to let someone from Purgatory get into his business, and pass it on?”
"So, you think this mysterious fifth man planted the working girl with the information." Mary guessed, following the pattern of his thoughts enough to know where he was going with this. “But why?”
“Because the other four are loose ends. They were sacrificial lambs, and with them dead, we wouldn’t be so fired up to find him because the robberies and murders would stop. He could fade away with the money."
"Except Julia has seen him."
"What does that matter now, if he takes himself across the country to say California or the east?" Chris countered. "She can identify him, but we need to find him first and that ain’t going to be easy to do."
"All this for less than ten thousand dollars?" Mary sighed, unable to imagine the estimated haul of money for the robberies being worth the death of so many people. Bank robbers had stolen more for less effort. It was perplexing.
"It might be more,” Chris replied. “We just don’t know. I think it has to do with a lot of money, but I can’t imagine how he would have made it. There haven’t been any bank robberies in the past two weeks, no army shipments that might have been ambushed. In fact, nothing has been going on to need that much of a distraction.”
Mary could see his genuine confusion, and she shared in it wholeheartedly. Mary was often impressed by Chris’s ability to work such problems out. What would he have done with his life had he not chosen the path he had?
Mary and Chris sat quietly for a moment as they tried to untangle this problem together. Chris’s fingers were drumming on the desk softly, his eyes far away as his mind sought an answer. Mary wished she could help him unravel the mystery before him. Despite his belief in her intelligence, she had no answers for him. He was the one able to see through lies and deceptions, but it was a talent emerging from the darker side of him, one she could never understand.
Mary found herself thinking about all the lives changed with these deaths the past few weeks. All the fathers and mothers, now absent from someone’s life. The boy who had died had the consolation of knowing he would leave no parents to mourn him, for they had fallen right beside him. She wondered how many homes across the Territory and the East who were grieving relatives who never return to them, how many changes would take place because of ….
Her mind trailed off as the thought fixed itself in her mind.
"Chris." She said suddenly because she had it. She had it!
Chris met her eyes and recognised the glimmer. "What?"
"The victims, Chris," Mary whispered. "We don’t know anything about the victims."
It took Chris a split second to catch on. "Can you wire Bitter Creek, Sweetwater and Eagle Bend tonight?"
"Yes," she said with a widening smile. "I’ll bang down the door until Franklin lets me in, but I can."
"Good," He nodded rising to his feet. "You get everything you can on the people who died, even the ones who don’t come from the Territory."
"Where are you going?" She asked as she saw him making his way to the door.
"I’m going to Purgatory," Chris replied as he swung open the front door. "I’ve got a date with a working girl named Elisa."
“Just what every fiancée wants to hear.”
Chris flashed her a grin and headed out.
*****
"I don’t believe this!" Alex complained as the rain pelted down against the small tent serving as their only protection against the elements.
Vin kept silent, trying to maintain his stoic calm as Alex went on a tear. It did seem as if they were jinxed. Shortly after convincing Alex the sensibility of stopping for the night, he’d set up the tent for her because the rain had been light at that point. No sooner after she’d washed up, the weather shifted again, and the light shower was banished in favour of the torrential downpour threatening to bring down the tent over their heads.
"What’s next?" She said exasperated, feeling cold and miserable in her dirty clothes. "A cyclone?"
Vin listened to her tirade, unable to blame her for her anger. It seemed nature was taking some particular delight in making their journey back to Four Corners as long and arduous as possible.
"Settle down." He growled impatiently. Did she think that he was any happier with the situation?
"Settle down? You try doing that in this!" She gestured to her clothes, sodden in mud and water. The rain was so heavy, they couldn’t even light a fire and the way the wind was blowing outside their tent, it was not going to be long before the gale made short work of this temporary shelter.
"Look, I ain’t any happier about this than you are, but there isn’t much we can do about this. SO CALM DOWN!”
Vin’s unflappable façade collapsed with a resounding crash. After the last two days, it had been coming. Did she think he was any happier about this? All Vin wanted to do was climb into his wagon back in Four Corners, where he would be warm and dry and be allowed to drink himself into a suitable stupor, enabling him to forget this entire miserable experience.
Alex knew she was working herself into a righteous wrath and putting his patience to test, but the anger she was usually able to control would have none of it. She wanted to be in her home, with a warm bed and a good book. Alex was tired and hungry, and another night in these cramped surroundings with only Vin as company was leading into a situation Alex might not be able to walk away from. She had no intention of repeating the incident at the cabin.
"This tent is not going to hold."
Vin rolled his eyes in similar annoyance. Of course, he was aware the tent was not going to hold! It was not meant for this kind of weather. It was meant to protect him from a light drizzle because most people had sense enough to get shelter before the harder stuff came down.
"I know that." Vin bit back tautly. His voice was now a thin line of anger, pressed firmly under the weight of his desperate attempt to keep a rein on his own temper. She was sitting before him cross-legged, hugging her arms around her knees as she raged on about how unfair this was. Vin who had tried to get some rest had stretched out, on the off chance he might get some sleep. However, with Alex’s complaining the way she was at this moment, meant not only was he not going to get any sleep, but he was also going to be treated to a full-blown tantrum.
"How can you be so calm about this?"
She felt butterflies in her stomach just looking at him, trying not to become intoxicated by the sight of his handsome face, even if it was hidden underneath stubble and wet hair. She wanted to snuggle up to him, wanted him to keep her warm and with his too soft voice caressing her ear.
"There’s nothing I can do about it, that's why." Vin glared at her for a moment before lying down to sleep, so she’d get the hint.
"Are we going to spend the entire night out here?" She questioned again and proved otherwise.
Vin tried not to swear under his breath, and he opened his eyes again and said with increasing tension to his voice. "For now."
"Is it safe out here?" Alex inquired again. If they kept talking, then perhaps they would not be engaging in any other activities. Who knows what could be running through his mind right now?
"Okay," Vin let out a frustrated sigh and threw his hat on the ground as he raised himself to a sitting position. "We’re going."
Alex looked at him in surprise. "Now?"
"Yes, now!" He snapped as he crawled out of the tent.
Alex scrambled after him but did not emerge into the rain. "But it’s raining out there!"
"Really?" Vin barked back as he began to dismantle the tent around her ears. "I hadn’t noticed!"
"We can’t go out like this!" She declared as Vin started to pull the small stakes holding the tent to the ground swiftly. At this point, Alex realised she may have been a little unreasonable.
Vin shoved the stakes covered in dirt and mud into one of his saddlebags before dropping to his knees. "Get on the horse." He ordered in a voice that indicated he was not in the mood for an argument.
"No," Alex said somewhat timidly, not liking the shift in his manner. She was used to him being restrained, and this side of him intimidated her slightly. "It’s too wet to ride."
Vin grabbed Alex's arm, dragging her out of the tent, which collapsed behind her by the sudden action. Alex let out a short squeal of outrage as she was forced into the open air. With his hand clamped firmly around her wrist, Vin headed towards his horse, pulling Alex along who was too astonished to put up a fight until he was halfway across the campsite nearing Peso.
"Vin Tanner, let me go!"
He said nothing as always and paused only when he reached his horse. Without saying another word, he put his hands on Alex's hips and lifted her up, so she could mount Peso. Alex climbed on, dismayed at his behaviour while at the same time furious.
"Are you insane? We can’t ride in this!" The rain was all through her now, and Alex had to brush the wet strands from her face to see him.
Vin ignored her and continued dismantling the tent. In a few seconds, it was completely collapsed, and Vin continued with the work of gathering his things. He was tired of everything, tired of her complaints and damn near ready to shoot her if they did not get back to Four Corners. He needed a drink so badly that if he did not get one tonight; he was not going to be responsible for his actions.
"Vin we can’t ride in this weather!" She declared as he completed his work of clearing the campsite and strode back to Peso with an unreadable look in his dark eyes. She could see the line of his jaw set firmly as he climbed onto the horse.
"We’re going." He said simply.
"But…" Alex tried to protest but Vin cut her off before she could say anything else.
“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT!”
He dug his heels in and prompted Peso forward through the pouring rain in the direction of the river. The water was choppy, but the horse was used to swimming through worse. Vin was sure he would have no difficulty in crossing the distance. If Peso was not up to it, well drowning was not such a bad way to die either. In any case, it would finally be quiet.
"What’s gotten into you?" She asked innocently as they edged towards the embankment.
Vin resisted the urge to shove her off the horse again.
*****He knew he should not be making this journey alone, but Chris had to know if what he and Mary suspected was right. The weather was starting up again, and Chris wondered if the rain was linked to his state of mind. Without offering any explanations to his companions, he mounted his horse and started the ride to Purgatory. After the day he put in, Chris knew it was wiser to leave the trip until tomorrow when the rain had eased off. However, Chris couldn’t wait, he needed his answers, and he needed them now.
All this time, they operated under the assumption the victims of the stagecoach murders were random, unfortunate in their lot because of where they found themselves during the robbery. It never occurred to anyone, perhaps the victims themselves were the key to the whole mystery. As he confessed earlier, Chris never understood why it was necessary to kill all the passengers. That point stuck in his mind because no matter how much he looked at it, it made no sense.
There was no good reason to kill all those passengers other than the ones he and Mary suspected. Her intuition the victims might be the motive for the killings now brought new possibilities to light, particularly about the fifth man. Even before arriving in Purgatory, the leader of the seven knew what he would find there. Buck’s lead had come too quickly. He realised it now. Before this afternoon, there was no chance to question it because they needed to reach the stage swiftly. After the losses during the first three robberies, the lawmen couldn’t risk Buck’s news was anything but genuine.
But if it was not genuine, if the information was planted and they were set up, then they played executioner, so the mastermind of these crimes could escape without suspicion. The idea the bastard who engineered the deaths of so many, escaping with his loot unscathed made Chris Larabee sick to his stomach. It reminded too much of how Cletus Fowler had died, protecting Ella Gaines, who was the real killer of his wife and son. Chris was not letting the mysterious fifth man have that pleasure.
He arrived in Purgatory a short time after leaving Four Corners. He rode at full gallop using Mary’s horse instead of his black gelding because the animal was exhausted after the run from Bitter Creek. Homer was fresh, and although he was not very fast, the horse was reliable and could endure this pace.
Chris knew from Buck Elisa was one of Lydia’s girls, and he was familiar with the area where Lydia ran her business. He had not seen the working girl for some time now since Mary became more than just a figment of his nightly fantasies. Chris had no difficulty staying faithful to one woman. He managed to do so for all the years with Sarah and found it easy to slip into old habits now Mary was a part of his life.
It was easy enough to find Lydia’s tent, but not easy to face Lydia.
He had no idea why he should feel anything, after all, theirs had been a purely business arrangement. He hoped Lydia was not with anyone because he didn’t want to go barging in on her. Chris found the tents occupied by Lydia’s girls. It was not far away from the saloons that were little more than tin sheds and tents. Chris approached the thick canvas of Lydia’s tent and listened carefully. It was quiet inside, and there were no sounds of speech or anything else that might indicate she was conducting business. After a moment, he lifted the flap and slipped inside.
The woman who looked over her shoulder at him had light golden hair, not the white gold of Mary’s but close enough. Her face registered surprise as she put down the brush with which she was using to comb those long, sensuous strands of hair, which he knew from personal experience were luxurious to the touch. Her robe was open, revealing the undergarments beneath.
"Well, as I live and breathe." She said with a genuine smile. "Chris Larabee."
"Hello, Lydia." He tipped his hat lightly and allowed the rain gathered on his brim to dribble slightly.
"I hear you’re courting that Mrs Travis in Four Corners," she said rising from the dresser she was seated at and sauntered over to him. Chris ignored the seduction in her eyes as she approached.
"Yeah." He nodded in answer, seeing no reason to lie. It was public knowledge now.
"I never figured you for going respectable on me." She smiled, placing her hands on her hips as she regarded him.
"Never happen." Chris shook his head and returned her smile, glad she held no hostility towards him.
"She’s a good woman," Lydia commented with genuine sincerity. "You’re lucky to have her."
"So she tells me,” Chris managed a faint smile before he became all business again. "Lydia, I need your help."
"Let me guess, you want one of my girls for that friend of yours, what’s his name. Tanner?"
Chris looked up at her, wondering what on earth gave her that idea? "What makes you think that?" He asked before he had time to consider whether he really wanted to know.
"Only one of your men I ain’t seen here." She replied, surprised it was not the reason. "I guessed it had to be because he’s shy or something."
Well, she was half right. Chris had never seen Vin here. For some reason, the tracker stayed away from working girls, even before Charlotte and Alexandra Styles came into his life. He could not understand the man’s hesitation, for he was young and must have needs, but this was not Chris’s reason for coming here and frankly, discussing his best friend’s sex life or lack of, was making him uncomfortable.
"I need to find a girl named Elisa," Chris responded instead.
"Sure," Lydia went to the flap and pulled it apart and pointed to one of the tents situated directly in front of the saloon. "She’s in that tent over there. I think she’s got someone with her."
"That’s too bad.’ Chris reached into his pocket and took her hand to place some money into her palm. "This will make up for whatever I’m going to do in there."
Lydia looked at him, warily. "Chris, I won’t let you hurt her." She said firmly, determined he understood that clearly. Lydia was extremely protective of all her girls, and Chris had no wish to incur her wrath, but he was going to get his answers.
"Neither am I." He replied, leaving, “but she’s going to answer me, one way or another."
While Lydia was free when he entered her tent, upon approaching the canvas shelter where Elisa conducted her business, it was apparent she was not similarly unoccupied. Chris hated barging in on anyone in such a vulnerable position, but at the moment, he did not care. Chris was convinced the woman in played him and his friends as fools and was paid for her trouble. As he approached the tent flap, he could hear the heated breathing and pleasured sighs coming from two distinct voices but allowed nothing to deter him as Chris strode into the shelter dripping rain as he entered.
Elisa looked up at him and screamed.
The man beneath her did the same as well.
Chris looked at him with recognition, tipping his hat in greeting at the startled man who had thrown Elisa off him by now, and was scrambling to find his clothes.
"Good evening Reverend.”
The gunslinger shifted his gaze away from his nudity at the spiritual leader of Bitter Creek who was grabbing his clothes and hastily slipping on his pants. Whatever sexual ardour may have been in his mind before Chris’s abrupt entry was almost certainly quashed when he stumbled out of the tent, too choked with horror and humiliation to say anything in response.
"You bastard!" Elisa said, covering her nakedness with a sheet as she glared at him. "How dare you just come in here! He was a paying customer.!”
"I wouldn’t worry," Chris took a step towards her, which made the girl retreat in fear. Her dark brown hair was tousled around her face and judging by the shapely curves beneath the sheet, he could well understand why she was so popular. "I’ve already paid Lydia for your time."
"What do you want?" She demanded suspiciously.
Chris could see the fear in her eyes, but it was fear mingled with recognition. She knew who he was, and that was surprising considering he never laid eyes on her before. He crossed the room in two strides and took her arm firmly, just in case she had it in her mind to run. He had no patience to try and find her should that happen. "Who paid you to tell Buck about the horse trader?"
Her eyes narrowed enough for Chris to know she was perfectly aware of what he was referring to. Chris almost expected the lie that would soon come from her lips.
"No one paid me. I told him because he put the word out with Lydia."
"I don’t have time for this." He glared at her with his intense gaze, telling her this was not the time for deception. He was able to reduce men to quivering mounds of terror with that high-powered gaze of his that saw all and reflected the predatory danger inside him. "I know you were paid and I know you were paid specifically to tell Buck about the horse trader." His voice reeked with menace.
His hand dug into her forearm with such force she released a slight gasp of pain.
"I don’t know anything!" She whined.
"Okay." He nodded but did not relax his grip. "I’ll just take you back to Four Corners and have you charged as an accessory to several counts of murder. By the time you get out, you’ll be too old for this game." He started dragging her towards the tent opening before adding. "If you get out that is."
"No! I didn’t do anything!"
"Don’t misunderstand me," Chris stared at her with hard eyes. "I am not offering you a choice. You tell me what you know now, or I will take you back to Four Corners. This ain’t no negotiation."
She started to cry, a predictable tool in her arsenal but one which had little effect on him. Frantically, she looked around, trying to decide what to do as they approach the opening in the canvas. She knew she was not strong enough to deal with life behind bars and was also aware of Chris Larabee’s reputation. If he decided she was going to jail, then Elisa did not doubt she would arrive there, unless she acted quickly.
"Wait!" She cried out finally, hating him for forcing her to capitulate.
Chris paused as a gust of cold wind blew through the opening of the tent. The rain outside was still fierce, and he had no wish to drag this girl through the downpour, so he did hope this was a genuine attempt to give him what he wanted and not some desperate act designed to trick him into releasing her. If not, his reputation was going to need serious work.
"Who paid you?" He asked once more, slowly and deliberately, pinning her fear with an icy glare.
"I don’t know his name!" She exclaimed. This time the tears coming down her cheeks did not seem false, but Chris was in no hurry to release his grip of her arm. "He only started coming here a few weeks ago. He was young, about twenty or twenty-five, I think." Elisa was speaking faster now, the truth spilling from her lips now the barrier holding her silence in place was gone.
She went on to offer a description that was not too dissimilar from what was given to Chris by Julia Pemberton. Elisa’s account was more descriptive since she spent several sessions with the young man.
"Sometimes he came alone and sometimes he came in with four others. I’ve never seen them around either. I think they were from up north. I heard them talking about the Rockies and Canada. He wasn’t though. I think he was from back East and his hands were soft, not like working man’s hands you know?"
Chris did know. It was easy to tell what vocation a man was in by merely glancing at his hands. Soft hands indicated a life spent in leisure, without having to work or ride for that matter. Leather reins tended to leave its mark on the skin, especially over the years of prolonged use. "Go on."
"Early this week, he came up to me and offered me some money. Said that there’d be more on the way if I did this little favour for him. He told me if anyone came asking, I was to tell them about this one particular customer I had, one who bred horses."
And there it was.
A perfect plan to get rid of his partners while allowing the law to believe the murders were over since the guilty were punished or dead. There was almost a beauty to the symmetry of that plan and how easily Chris Larabee and his friends had danced to this secret play, without ever realising they were on someone else’s stage.
"Alright, I believe you," Chris let her go, convinced she had told the truth. He hated being anyone’s tool, but that is precisely what had happened. They were used. All of them. Himself, the friends he rode with, this foolish young woman with her promises of money and most of all, the fools who had trusted their unseen leader. They had entrusted him with their lives, unaware they’d done his dirty work and become his scapegoats, allowing him the perfect escape.
This was not over, Chris decided as he started back to Four Corners.
Not by a long shot.
Three days ago, her life was simple.
In fact, it settled into a nice routine. After the nomadic existence of Alex’s youth, travelling the world with only her father for company, life at Four Corners was as close to perfect as she could imagine. Her medical practice was becoming a community staple. Her friends included an eclectic group of lawmen, in particular, a healer who reminded her so much of her father, it was like having the man back again. She was also courting a suave, dapper gambler with big dreams and a penchant for making every word sound like Shakespeare.
Riding back to town, Alex kept thinking about Ezra and how he charmed her from the very beginning with his dimpled smile and sardonic wit. While there was no formal understanding between them, they were courting, and he seemed perfectly at ease with her calling as a doctor. Before she arrived in Four Corners, the men she encountered would either belittle or be intimidated by a woman professional. Ezra was a pleasant surprise.
With the town limits of Four Corners rapidly approaching in the distance, Alex knew something had changed.
Vin Tanner had come out of nowhere and literally, sweeping Alex off her feet. When he took her hand in comfort all those months ago, the spark between them was completely unexpected. She had simply stood there, staring at him while experiencing the cliché emotions of a romance novel heroine. Breathlessness, excitement and butterflies in the stomach, things she never felt once in Ezra’s presence.
Naturally, Alex ignored it. Attributing her response to Vin as the result of her emotional state at the time, Alex gave Vin a wide berth, and since the tracker did the same, there was no reason to think about it anymore. Until Agnes’s cabin.
Even now, Alex could scarcely believe the intensity of what took place between them. If she had not come to her senses at the last minute, Alex had no doubt she would have surrendered to him. What was worse, Alex had a premonition if she pursued it, what passed between them had the potential to be beautiful and lasting.
But Alex still cared for Ezra and took the commitments she made to the gambler seriously. Despite his seemingly confident nature, Alex was not blind to Ezra’s insecurities about himself. If she were to simply discard him for one of his best friends, it would hurt him, to say nothing about the potential break between Ezra and Vin. Such a rift could fracture the unity of the seven, and it was a risk Alex would not be a party to.
Yet even as she thought all these things, Alex knew the situation was far more complicated. Alex cared for Ezra, but what she felt for Vin made those affections seem pale in comparison. Would remaining with Ezra be a kindness when everything inside her yearned for Vin Tanner's touch? Alex hadn’t lied when she admitted she wanted Vin so much it hurt. When she drew away and saw the hurt in his eyes, it had broken her heart as much as it did his. Even now, the need to tell him she cared was overwhelming if not for the damage she knew it would cause.
For the first time in her life, she didn't know what to do.
It was almost one o’clock in the morning, and Four Corners was still obscured behind the curtain of rain that hounded Alex and Vin throughout their entire journey home. It lay mostly in the dark, glittering with stray lights like a jewel against a sheath of blue velvet. Like this, without the bright light of the sun illuminating all glaring flaws and the dusty veil left in the wake of horses, wagons and people, it was beautiful.
Alex was glad to be home, but she also knew nothing would ever be simple again. The past three days brought too much to light, and now Alex was not entirely sure how she would cope with Vin Tanner in the future. How Alex ended up in the middle of a triangle, she did not know, but no matter what her course, someone was going to get hurt. Yet how could she deny what she felt for Vin?
It was a situation she was convinced Vin was very aware of since he was sombre and broody throughout the last leg of their journey. Her attempts to speak to him was rewarded with grunts and single word answers. Alex couldn’t blame him for being angry at her. Her rising panic at being alone with him for yet another night, made her irrational and childish, straining even his formidable patience.
*****Vin was not speaking for good reason.
He was angry with himself and at her for all the things he could not change. He didn’t know what was more infuriating. Was it the idea Alex thought being alone with him was so unpleasant she had done everything but say ‘stay away’? Or was it worse than that? She bore no feeling for him at all, and the incident in the cabin was one big mistake for her?
In either case, it did not matter. Once Vin and Alex reached Four Corners, what took place in the confines of Agnes Doherty’s cabin would be forgotten by both. He would return her to Ezra, knowing with rising jealousy it would be Ezra on the receiving end of her kisses and it would be Ezra who would make love to her one day. His heart ached just thinking that.
Why were the women he cared about always taken?
*****Four Corners was mostly asleep at this time of night as Vin and Alex rode through the muddy streets. The only place open at this time of night was the Standish saloon, and it was a good bet most of their friends would be in attendance. Ezra rarely slept early because the bar was his private playground and he would continue to play until he ran out of fools with money. Considering they were gone for almost three days, Vin thought it a wise idea to let someone know they were back safe and sound.
"I need a drink," Vin spoke for the first time in hours as Peso struggled miserably to reach the hitching post and the water trough next to it. The animal needed a long rest to recuperate after the ordeal today. Vin hated forcing Peso through such weather, but he wanted to get Alex back to Four Corners before one of them said something they could not take back and would regret. He also wanted her away from him, so he could disappear inside a bottle and forget all about her.
For a while, at least.
"I second that." She agreed quietly, surprised he’d said a word after the long stretch of silence. "Ezra and the others are probably still there."
Vin stiffened at the mention of his rival’s name but made no other reaction beyond that. Ezra was his friend who staked his claim on Alex first. Vin was not going to let his desire for Alex come between their friendship.
"Yeah, they probably are."
Vin dismounted the horse when Peso finally reached the hitching post. Glad to be out of the saddle because he was aching all over, Vin wanted nothing but sleep after the pace they travelled. As he helped Alex off the horse, Vin felt that familiar charge of heat between them and saw she felt it too. Setting her down, they held each other’s gaze for a long time, before Alex leaned forward and pressed her lips against his in a soft kiss.
Vin hated how much he wanted it to go on forever.
"Vin," she said, pulling away, wanting to explain. "If it wasn’t for…."
"Yeah." Vin cut her off before she could say more. "I know."
Stricken by the hurt she saw in his eyes, Alex turned away quickly, not wanting to look. She hurried up the steps leading to the batwing doors, leaving a little piece of herself with him as she went.
*****"Alexandra!" Ezra exclaimed the moment she walked through the doors. The gambler dropped his cards on the table and practically leapt out of his chair, striding towards them. The rest of the seven, those still conscious that is, turned sharply at Ezra’s announcement and followed his advance across the saloon.
"Ezra!" She smiled as they both met in a warm embrace and a firm kiss of happiness and greeting.
Ezra practically swept her off her feet once she was in arms reach, grateful to see her alive and well.
"Where have you been? I have been worried, sick!" He then took note of her appearance. "Good God, what happened to you?"
"What didn’t?" She gushed and started to relate the events following her departure from Four Corners in one long, continuous sentence.
Vin appeared in the saloon at that point and was quickly surrounded by his friends. Chris stayed where he was at the counter because the tracker would join him soon enough. He watched the younger man fielding questions about where he and Alex had been the past few days, while Buck slapped him on the back and told him it was good to see him.
Vin smiled faintly but said no more than that, but Chris saw something in his eyes recognisable to the gunslinger but no one else. JD began relating in slurred drunken speech what had been going on the past few days during his absence as Vin made his way through the room, pausing long enough for Ezra to thank him for looking after Alex.
Vin and Alex regarded each other briefly before she returned her attention to Ezra whose arm was still around her. Vin continued towards the bar, hiding any trace of emotion, concealing just how much it galled him. Buck continued to blather in Vin’s ears about how they captured and killed the outlaws and about the woman who was an eyewitness. Chris saw him approach and guessed the outlaws were the furthest things from the younger man’s mind.
Vin reached the bar and appeared almost relieved when he caught sight of Chris.
"I knew he’d come riding up out of nowhere!" Buck grinned as he called out to Inez to bring his returning comrade a drink.
The bartender immediately appeared with a shot glass of whisky and stared at Vin with concern.
"You’re absolutely soaked." She exclaimed seeing the water dripping off his clothes and the buckskin jacket he wore.
"It’s raining pretty fierce out there," Vin said quietly, offering a polite nod of thanks as he took the shot glass and downed it in one gulp.
"I’ll make a bed up for you upstairs," she gave him a look telling Vin she was not accepting any argument from him on this matter. "I’ll run you a bath if you like?"
"No," Vin shook his head. "Just a bed will do and maybe something warm to eat." He asked hopefully, aware it was late and the kitchen was usually closed at this hour.
"It will be my pleasure," Inez smiled at him warmly, pleased he was back safe and sound.
"I suppose I better be getting JD to bed too." Buck sighed, seeing the youngster staggering about like a newborn calf. Nathan was trying to steer him towards a chair without much success. Josiah was starting to doze off in his chair. "Lord knows the only thing holding him up is his boots." Buck turned to Vin and gave the tracker a warm squeeze on the arm. "It’s good to have you back Vin. If things weren’t so crazy around here, we would have come after you."
"We were okay," Vin assured the big man touched by the sincerity behind that admission. "We just got caught in the rain and decided to hold up somewhere until it eased off. When it didn’t look like it would, we thought it best to try and get back into town anyway."
"Can’t have been nice," Buck replied. "You both must have driven each other crazy."
"Something like that," Vin grumbled and quickly searched for the bottle Inez left behind.
Chris did not say anything until Buck had gone to help Nathan with JD, who was starting to protest he was not a kid any more and could handle his liquor, an argument that lost its impact by the shade of green he was turning.
"How you doing, pard?" Chris spoke for the first time.
"I’ve been better," Vin answered, downing his second drink. He hoped by the time Inez had a bed ready for him, it would be a third or fourth.
"Everything alright?" Chris asked, his gaze shifted long enough in the direction of Alex, who was being escorted out of the saloon by Ezra, before turning back to the tracker.
"I don’t want to talk about it."
"Okay," Chris nodded, understanding everything in that one response. "It’s over now, ain’t it?"
Vin did not want to meet his eyes because Chris Larabee was possibly the only person who could see through his unflappable mask to know just how heartbroken he felt right now.
"Yeah," he said after a moment because Chris would appreciate his feelings and leave it at that. "It’s over."
“That’s good."
Chris turned to the counter and refilled his glass and left it just at that because that was how Vin wanted it.
*****Julia was unable to sleep and wished Ezra was here with her. The memory of their lovemaking kept her awake, dreaming of a repeat performance sometime soon. She never believed any man was capable of wielding such carnal power over her, but Ezra was an incredible surprise. She had been with numerous men before, but none aroused her or satisfied her in the way Ezra Standish was capable. She knew she loved him without a doubt, and it was a wonderful feeling to know it was reciprocated. To have someone like him, who knew everything about her, still, want her was something Julia never expected to find in Four Corners.
She heard voices outside her window and felt compelled to investigate. Chris saw no reason to have her sequestered away at the Travis place since the bulk of the gang was killed and doubted there would be any more attempts on her life. Tomorrow, the guards would resume their vigilance, but for tonight, she had the privacy she desired. Julia took up a room in the hotel again and was pleased to be back in town although it meant Ezra could not be a nightly visitor until she found a house of her own. His dedication to her reputation was endearing.
Peering out through the window, she saw the rain against the glass and wondered if it ever stopped raining in this town. Two people were walking along the boardwalk, and Julia immediately recognised Ezra as one of them. Almost immediately, Julia guessed Alexandra Styles had finally made her return to town. A smile formed on her lips knowing Ezra’s was well and truly hers now but upon closer examination of the good doctor, understood why it was so difficult for Ezra to make a choice in her favour.
My God, she’s beautiful!
Julia found herself thinking and this was quite an effort on the part of Alexandra Styles, considering she looked like she had quite literally been put through hell. If she was like this now, how did she appear usually? Julia saw women like this before, whose beauty was such it literally took the breath away and yet she could not understand the logic behind not using that tremendous power. They chose to hide it away beneath a veneer of respectability and convention or in Miss Styles’s case, behind a worn doctor’s bag.
Suddenly, Julia felt her confidence in Ezra waver. What if he was swayed by the enchantments of Doctor Styles and chose not to abandon her? Julia could not bear seeing him with someone else. She was sure of this now. She moved heaven and earth to get him; she was not about to lose him. Her green eyes watched the couple walk down the boardwalk, laughing and talking as if they were never apart and as if Julia Avery, no, Pemberton did not exist. It made Julia seethe in rage Ezra might not make good on his promise to tell Alexandra about her.
Perhaps it was too hard for Ezra, Julia decided, stepping away from the window once they faded from view. She sat down on her bed, contemplating the dark thoughts simmering inside her jealous mind.
Maybe, she would spare Ezra the pain of telling Alexandra Styles the truth. Yes, she would do that for Ezra because she loved him. She would take the brunt of the doctor’s anger because she loved Ezra, and she was not allowing anything to get in the way of her being with him.
Julia Pemberton had sought her whole life for someone like him.
She was not going to let him go.
*****"What did you find?" Chris Larabee asked the moment he walked into Mary’s office the next morning.
With the return of Vin and Alex, he could now focus his attention on finding this elusive fifth man whom he was certain masterminded the entire plan and sacrificed his partners to escape into obscurity. Their only lead to finding him was through the victims he left behind. Chris was confident Mary was correct when she came up with the idea of the victims being the key to the whole mystery.
"Not much," Mary confessed, having only collected the wired information a short time earlier.
Franklin was not very impressed with her when she pounded on his doors late yesterday evening. However, when she explained to him the urgency of the situation, the telegraph operator was more accommodating. Telegrams were sent to Bitter Creek, Sweetwater and Eagle Bend respectively. She did not expect all the answers to be presented first thing this morning and was surprised by the amount that did await her when she awoke.
"Most of the passengers were from around these parts. Mostly farmers, horse breeders that sort of thing." She presented Chris with the list she complied, and the gunslinger studied the names and notations under it. He tended to agree there was nothing about them to raise suspicion.
"Of course," Mary added. "We haven’t got the responses from back east yet. Those will take a few more hours, if not towards the end of the day."
"I suppose." Chris frowned, not liking the wait but realising it was necessary.
"Are you going to find Alex and Vin today?" She inquired, moving off the subject a moment because she knew the delay would only make him stew with impatience.
Chris winced, realising he had yet to tell her about Vin and Alex. "They came back last night."
"Thank Goodness! How are they? Where have they been?"
"Apparently, they tried to sit out the rain," Chris explained it as Vin told him. "They waited as long as they could but decided to come back when it looked like the rain wasn’t stopping. Alex got caught in a landslide, and her horse got hurt. Vin had to put it down."
"Not Calliope!" Mary said in dismay, knowing how attached Alex was to the horse. After a moment, she threw Chris a furtive glance and asked gingerly. "Anything else happened out there?"
Chris looked at her and guessed her meaning immediately. "Now Mrs Travis," he said with a hint of reproach. " Whatever do you mean?"
Mary huffed in sarcasm and shot him a withering look. "You know perfectly well what I mean since you’re the one who put the thought into my head. Now let’s hear it."
Chris laughed shortly, remembering why he loved this woman so much and wished Vin could have the same kind of happiness. "Something happened up there, but Vin won’t say what."
"You don’t think…." Mary looked at him in suggestion.
"No," Chris shook his head. Vin did not give Chris the impression he had come away from his journey with Alexandra Styles with anything remotely resembling a fond memory. "He’s even quieter than usual and doesn’t want to talk about it."
Mary could understand that. Vin Tanner was an extremely private person. Even more so than Chris, she sometimes believed. It was near impossible to breach the walls of his personality. It was an even greater mystery why they were in place at all. While Vin was not marked by tragedy as Chris had been, he did spend a great deal of his life alone. She would have thought the idea of human contact would be appealing to him after such a lengthy period of isolation.
"Maybe he’ll come around later." Mary sighed, deciding to return to the work ahead. "Since you’ve got nothing better to do, you can help me cross-reference some of these names in the list with Steven's files. There might be something useful in there that could help us."
Chris sighed and picked up the list, not relishing the idea of paperwork but could think of no excuses to avoid it, at least none Mary would find believable. "You’re a tough woman," he grumbled. "Making me work like this."
"Well, you’re a tough man," she smiled as she stood up and went to the filing cabinet. Rummaging through the stored folders, she pulled out a thick stack and handed it to Chris.
Chris frowned as he eyed the collection distastefully before deciding that he was going to have to do this. "I had to find me a working woman."
*****Alex woke up the next morning, relishing the joy of being in her own bed once again. She returned home the night before and slipped into a warm bath, having little care about what time it was. Alex was determined to wash away the last two days, like a bad dream. Outside, the rain had finally stopped, and the blazing sun through her window indicated it was going to be a lovely day.
As she prepared to get on with her day, the situation with Vin seemed far away for the moment. Eventually, she would have to sit down and seriously consider what she wanted. Her heart was making demands of her, her mind was not yet ready to accept. For now, she simply ignored the whole situation.
Getting dressed, she made a mental checklist of the things she needed to do and reminded herself to drop in on Mary Travis to catch up on all the news. Judging by what Ezra had told her briefly last night; Four Corners had quite an eventful few days. Mindful of how tired she would probably be this morning, Ezra had invited her to lunch at the hotel.
It felt good to brush her hair and put on some fresh clothes after having been wearing nothing by soiled and wet garments for the past two days. However, she did feel a slight prickling in her throat and was alarmed by what that could mean. She supposed it was not unreasonable to assume she would come down with a cold, considering she endured the elements for almost two days.
Nevertheless, the sickness had not caught up with her yet, and before it did, she was determined to have a good day. Very soon, she was dressed, having slipped into a plain violet coloured cotton dress with a scoop neck which she completed with a shawl and slippers, before making her way to the front door to leave. As she was about to open the door, Alex caught sight of a folded piece of paper slipped through the crack beneath.
Intrigued, she reached for it and unfolded the crisp white card, which soon revealed itself to be the complimentary stationery of the Four Corner’s Hotel.
We must speak.
Julia Pemberton
Julia Pemberton. The name sounded familiar. Alex tried to place it as she folded it up again and slipped the note into the pocket of her dress. She was down the steps and into the street when Alex remembered she heard the name from Ezra the night before. It was the eyewitness they were protecting. Ezra related how the seven was charged to guard Miss Pemberton since, at the time, she was their only witness to the murders on the stagecoach trail. Alex questioned why Miss Pemberton would request such a clandestine meeting but guessed there was only one real way to find out.
It was not quite noon yet, and she had time before she was to meet Ezra at the saloon. Alex hated arriving there in the middle of a game because it meant that she would have to wait until he was done and she disliked loitering about the establishment. It was one thing to go there when people required doctoring, but like Mary Travis, she did not make it a habit to frequent the saloon more than necessary.
She walked through the street, waving greetings at everyone who tipped their hat in her direction and offered salutations. The bulk of Four Corner’s residents were out in force today, now the sun finally made an appearance after almost three days of unyielding showers and storms. The ground was still muddy, so people kept to the boardwalk, staying well out of reach of the horses and wagons splattering mud in all directions.
Alex loved this town and could honestly say it was her home now. It had taken so long to find a place for herself in this world, and while Four Corners was not exactly Paris or London, it was good enough for her. It did not take long for her to reach the hotel and even shorter time to be shown by one of the polite hotel attendants to Julia Pemberton’s room. Alex was still puzzled by why Julia wished to see her and deduced she probably needed something to calm her nerves.
Poor thing, Alex thought. It was bad enough to be the sole survivor of a murder spree but to be the only witness, with her life threatened as well? Alex felt a wave of sympathy for her. She arrived in the hallway and saw Chris Larabee stretched out on a chair near the woman’s door. The gunslinger was reading a book but noticed her the moment she appeared.
"Hello, Alex." He greeted pleasantly in that silky voice of his, wondering why she was here.
"Is she still under protection?" Alex asked, puzzled. "I thought you’d caught the outlaws."
Chris nodded. "We did, but the one she identified is still missing."
"How awful. Do we even know who this person is?"
"Getting there." He shrugged.
Most of the information on the stage passengers revealed nothing out of the ordinary, and until they heard about the Hendersons who were from the East, Chris knew the fifth man could still be in the area. He had taken pity on his comrades who were massively hungover this morning, and decided he would guard the fair Miss Pemberton while they were recovering.
"Why are you here?"
"She asked to see me." Alex gestured towards the door.
"Something wrong with her?" Chris asked in concern. He saw Julia when he had first arrived, and the young lady’s appearance did not indicate anything requiring a doctor’s presence.
"Not that I know of." Alex knocked on the door gently. "She just wanted to see me."
For some reason that bothered Chris, though he could not figure out why.
*****
"You wanted to see me," Alex asked as Julia showed the doctor into the parlour of the hotel room.
Since it was apparent Julia was going to be staying in the hotel for a while until she could secure herself a house, she indulged herself by taking up residence in the only suite in the hotel. It was not lavish by city standards, but it had a small parlour for entertaining and a separate bedroom.
"Please join me for tea," Julia smiled politely; examining Alex closely. It was as Julia suspected the night before. In the light of day, Alexandra Styles was even more beautiful than ever and could give her serious competition for Ezra’s affections unless Julia acted now.
Both women sat down before a table laden with the accoutrements for what Alex remembered as Devonshire tea, so favoured in England. That is tea with scones and jam. Of course, most Americans had no idea what the term meant since most of them still thought of her reference to tea as an evening meal somewhat odd, as they preferred to call it dinner.
"There is no delicate way to put this." Julia began once she poured them both a cup of tea and the pleasantries had dwindled to a point where there was no longer any way to delay the inevitable.
"I am a doctor, everything you say will be purely confidential." Alex tried to put the other woman at ease. After all, she knew how difficult it was for some patients to be honest about what was ailing them.
"All right," Julia answered, deciding that this was going to be easier than she thought. The woman really had no idea, did she? "It’s about Ezra."
Alex blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"Ezra Standish is in love with me." Julia saw no need to mask the truth in any flowery language to lessen the impact of what she was going to say. No matter how it was related to the doctor, it was never going to be taken well.
For a moment, Alex thought she misunderstood. What was this woman talking about? Alex saw Ezra last night! She was on her way to meet him for lunch at this very hotel! The idea he could have done the very thing she managed to resist, infuriated her. No, Ezra was better than that, he would not be so deceitful.
“I think you’re mistaken. Ezra and I have been together for some time now. He doesn’t love you."
Alex wondered if Julia was one of those women with a mental disease that caused fixations and obsessive behaviours.
"He told me he loved me," Julia met her eyes with a hint of a smile. "Did he ever tell you?"
“That’s none of your business,” Alex snapped and inadvertently answered Julia’s question. What nonsense was this? Ezra stood at her door last night and told her after escorting her home how worried he was about her. She thought about their dinners at the hotel, their buggy rides, and walks. How dare this twisted woman tried to infer Ezra could be so dishonourable.
Then again, hadn't she held him at arm's length since the encounter with Vin at Nettie's? No, that wasn't fair, she had not changed her behaviour and was more devoted to him because of it.
“So that’s a no,” Julia said smugly. The doctor was not quite ready to accept it yet, so Julia piled on. “Of course, he told me himself, you and he are merely courting. There’s nothing formal in your relationship, so he is within his rights to go elsewhere.”
“Ezra Standish is an honourable man. How dare you slander him?” Alex got to her feet, not about to listen to any more of this woman’s delusions.
"I’ve slept with him. I know you haven’t." Julia announced, and Alex froze in her tracks.
Slowly, the doctor turned on her heels with her eyes blazing. "That’s a lie.”
"I assure you it’s not. We made love during the afternoon the outlaws were caught. The others left Ezra alone with me while they went to intercept the stagecoach. It was just Ezra and I, alone at the Travis place all afternoon and trust me, he needed the affections of a woman. I’m told he’s been celibate since he met you.”
"You’re lying," Alex whispered, very near the edge of her tight emotional control. She was trying not to believe a word this woman was saying, but the fact was, Ezra, did tell her he was guarding Julia Pemberton at the property once owned by Mary Travis. In fact, Julia had no reason to lie when it was easy for Alex to confirm it with Ezra or Chris.
"He’s a beautiful lover." The titian haired siren continued, now only inches away from where Alex was standing. Julia wanted to see the look in the doctor’s eyes when she told her how beautiful the union had been. Such confrontations always empowered her like an elixir of fine wine. "You’re a fool for staying away from him for so long. I have had a great many men in my time, and he was easily the best. You should see the darling way his eyes become dark green when he’s just about to….."
Alex slapped her before she could finish that statement.
Like the hellcat she was, Julia’s reaction to the attack was swift. She lunged at Alex like a coiled snake, while the doctor was reeling from the fact she was angry enough to strike someone. Nails sank into her arm, and Alex let out a small cry of pain, recovering sufficiently to slam an elbow into Julia’s chest to push her away. The smaller woman took a step back and crashed into the table, sending the teapot and cups clattering to the floor noisily. Alex turned away, unwilling to humiliate herself in a further show of violence when suddenly she felt Julia’s nails in her loose hair.
Twisting around painfully, Alex tried to wrestle Julia’s hands from her dark hair and in doing so, succeeded in making them both lose their footing before falling to the floor with a loud thud.
"Let go of me!" Alex shouted as she wrapped her hands around Julia’s throat to make her release her grip. This was mortifying! It was beneath her!
Julia let go long enough to sink those nails into Alex’s arm and make her bleed under the cotton of her dress.
At this point, the commotion was loud enough to cause Chris Larabee to come smashing through the door. He took two steps into the room and was struck dumb by the sight of Alex and Julia rolling around the floor like brawling children. His arrival provided enough of a distraction for Julia to release her grip on Alex. Feeling her arm sting in pain, Alex threw her fist forward and connected with the smooth line of Julia’s jaw.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Alex scrambled away and glanced briefly at the blood oozing through her dress as Chris stepped between them as Julia was now on her feet. The Easterner ran straight for Alex when Chris barred her from continuing any further and said very firmly. "That’s enough."
Alex felt hot tears running down her cheeks, as her mind was too wrapped around the possibility Ezra might have actually slept with this…this witch!
"I’m sorry, Chris," Alex mumbled dazed, trying to stop the tremor in her voice but could hear it herself she was failing. She was mortified by this disgusting display and was completely ashamed of herself. Without saying another word, Alex fled the room, too embarrassed to face Chris or anyone else for that matter.
Chris watched her leave, seeing the anguish in those brown eyes and decided he was not going to just let her go. In all the time he had known Alexandra Styles, Chris had never seen her so distraught. She was not a woman who went into hysterics because he had seen her work flesh so ruined it would make most men puke, while she barely flinched. Chris turned sharply towards Julia and spoke in a voice that was nothing less than menacing.
"Stay here."
*****Alex was hardly aware of the curious looks she was receiving when she stormed down the street, making a beeline for the saloon. Ezra was most likely there since their lunch plans the night before involved meeting each other at the bar first.
Lunch, she snorted. He’s already had his feast!
Blood oozed from the scratches in her throat, the crimson stain spreading beyond the four lines of red into one big mess. The pain hardly registered. All Alex could think of was the possibility Ezra stood in front of her yesterday and told her a bald-faced lie. How much could he have missed her if he slept with that red-headed Jezebel!
All these years, she tried to be calm, to be measured in all things. As a woman, she knew how easy it was to let her passions run away with her and Alex swore she would never allow her sentiments to get the better of her. When she began courting Ezra, she did so against her better judgement. Men like Ezra could not be tamed. Their first love was the game, and a woman came a pale second. She gave him the benefit of the doubt because she saw more than what everyone else did.
"Alex!" Chris caught up with her. "What’s happened?"
"Did you know?" She whirled around and stared at him.
"Know what?"
"About Ezra and her!"
Oh hell. What else could make two women go entirely insane?
"I don’t think there’s anything to know." He placed his hands on her shoulders so she would stop and catch her breath. As it was, he was trying to think of something to say to calm her down while at the same time defend Ezra. "They were never alone together….."
Oh hell . Chris remembered he was the one who told JD not to relieve Ezra yesterday while he was guarding Julia at Mary’s place. They were alone together for almost the entire afternoon and suddenly the little exchange Chris noticed between them in the undertaker’s office, made sense.
The slight pause was all the proof Alex needed, and she shoved his hands away from her shoulder.s “That, that, SCUM SUCKING, TWO TIMING PIG!”
She stormed towards the saloon, leaving Chris to wonder if Ezra had any idea what was coming at him.
*****Ezra glanced at his pocket watch and prepared to leave the saloon to meet Alexandra at the hotel.
Perhaps he should not have made the suggestion since she was probably still exhausted from her ordeal in the wilderness.
Not that he was in any great shape either. While he was suffering from the same hangover, like the rest of his associates, Ezra was determined to look his dapper best. The others were sprawled out on their chairs, their hats covering their faces, or heads resting on the table to hide away from any bright light. Buck was in such a state he did not indulge in his daily habit of harassing Inez who was moving through the room, dispensing meals to paying customers. JD actually looked green while Josiah hit underneath his hat and said nothing. Only Nathan and Vin were in any condition to give Ezra a decent game of cards.
"Ezra!" He heard a voice bark so sharply he was actually startled. Looking up, he saw it was Alex bursting through the batwing doors.
At least he thought it was Alex, it was hard to tell because she was very dishevelled, bleeding and wearing a storm cloud on her face that made what the town endured the past three days seem mild in comparison. She was in such a state she captured everyone’s attention as she walked into the saloon. Even Inez was staring at her in shock.
"Alex, what happened to you?" Inez came towards her in concern.
Alex did not answer as she walked past the bartender, her eyes focused firmly on Ezra. She was neither interested in talking to anyone else or explaining herself for that matter until they had words.
"Alexandra, what has happened?" Ezra demanded, his eyes shifting to the stain of blood he was seeing on her shoulder.
"Don’t Alexandra me!" Alex snapped barely registering Vin and Nathan at the table. Right now, there was only one thing she wanted. "Did you sleep with her?"
Oh damn, damn, damn!
Ezra swore inwardly, wondering how on earth she found out about Julia and before deciding it was not really important at this moment. From the corner of his eye, he saw Chris enter the saloon unsurprised by the scene greeting him. Buck was staring at him with a widening grin while JD seemed merely confused. Josiah and Nathan were glaring at him with accusation and disapproval respectively, while Vin’s expression was utterly unreadable.
"I can explain…"
And there it was. Confirmation. For a moment, Alex almost hoped Ezra would deny it, but instead those three words were spoken with the weight of a door slamming shut for good.
"You did ." Her voice was a strangled whisper.
"It was not my intention to hurt you," Ezra tried to explain but knew it sounded feeble. Alex's eyes were filled with pain, but also with betrayal.
"It is a little late for that,” Alex hissed and spun around to leave.
A small titter of laughter came from the men at the bar who were not apart of the seven. Under normal circumstances, Ezra would have reason to take offence, but at the present time, he had more significant troubles to contend with.
"Alexandra, it was not like that at all!" Ezra hurried to catch her. He had to explain, at least make her understand it had nothing to do with her.
"Oh, you have an explanation that makes this better?" She paused long enough to ask, her voice still cold and hard, oblivious to how public this discussion was becoming. The entire town knew he was openly courting her during the last month. There was not going to be any hiding the truth if even half of what that red-haired witch said was true. That he loved her. Just thinking about it made Alex sick to the stomach.
"I accept men have...needs,” she glared at him. “I accept I could not expect you to be celibate, but you could have chosen better! If you had gone with a working girl, I could understand it. I wouldn’t like it, but I would have understood, but you chose that repulsive creature who absolutely adored telling me how much she enjoyed your affections yesterday afternoon!"
Ezra was beyond horrified. He saw the tears streaming down her face and could find nothing to say in his defence because he did behave abominably, nothing could ever change that. He wanted to say something, but explanations and everything else died in his throat as she waited for him to speak.
When he did not, she merely nodded in understanding. "We are done , Ezra Standish. Don’t ever come near me again."
Ezra watched her disappear out of the room, feeling as if she had taken all the air with her. His dismay and shock was a tightening knot in his chest, and he watched her go feeling like something that should have been scraped off her boots. No one said a word in the wake of her departure and Ezra looked around the room nervously, unable to ignore the accusing eyes staring at him.
"If you will excuse me, gentlemen," he said to his friends, his voice sounding dazed and distracted.
"I need to take my leave of you." He strode towards the door where Chris was standing when the gunslinger grabbed him by the arm and kept him still.
"Leave her be," Chris warned quietly.
"I have to explain…" Ezra started to stammer like a child who had been well and truly caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I cannot just leave it like this."
"You can, and you will . I’m not judging you Ezra, but she’s in no mind to listen to anything you have to say. Leave it be until she calms down."
Alex was his friend, and in the short time, she had been in Four Corners had impressed the gunslinger with her cool head and her determination to heal no matter what the consequences to herself. He remembered that terrible period after Mary’s miscarriage where Alex remained close by, taking turns with Inez to ensure the woman he loved was never left alone when he could not be present.
"But..." Ezra wanted to protest. He never meant to humiliate her this way or hurt her so publicly. He still could not believe what Julia had done and scolded himself because he should not have been surprised. Suddenly, the mortification he felt in the wake of Alex’s sorrow was quickly fuelling into fury at Julia’s actions.
"Ezra, I’m your friend, and I’m telling you, leave her alone. You’ll do more harm than good by trying to see her now."
If anything could deter Ezrafrom what he intended, it was the possibility he might hurt Alexandra any further than he already had. Ezra nodded slowly and felt somewhat touched by Chris’s sensitivity.
"Thank you, Mr Larabee," Ezra said quietly. "If you release your grip on my person, I give you my word I will not approach Alexandra."
Chris believed him and did so immediately. Ezra took his arm back and straightened his jacket before walking through the doors. Chris watched him go and noticed the gambler was not heading in the direction of the doctor’s clinic but instead was making fast tracks towards the hotel. The gunslinger let out a sigh, feeling sorry for the betrayal he saw in Alex’s eyes and made a mental note to have either Inez or Mary call on her.
Chris ambled into the saloon, ignoring the rumble of gossip following Ezra’s departure. No doubt, the word would soon be across town like wildfire although Alex was discreet enough not to mention Julia by name so there would be some doubt cast over the identity of Ezra’s paramour for a while. Chris took the seat previously occupied by the gambler and saw everyone still astonished by the scene between Alex and Ezra.
"I can’t believe Ezra cheated on Miss Alex!" Nathan was the first to break the silence. If Nathan thought it would help, he would have gone after Alex because they had become very close since the doctor’s arrival in Four Corners. However, Nathan held back because Chris’s words to Ezra was good advice to them all.
"Have you seen Miss Pemberton?" Buck exclaimed in surprise at the healer. "That’s a very sexy woman."
"Oh yes," Josiah drawled from where he was sitting. "What a truly exquisite piece of work indeed. So few women can exercise such discretion.”
"I cannot believe that Ezra!" Inez grumbled as she stormed past. "Just when you think he could not sink any lower!" The bartender disappeared into the kitchen with her tray and her apron and exited a moment later, wearing neither. No one had to ask where she was going, and Chris was glad Inez saved him the trouble of asking her to check in Alex.
"I hate to be in Ezra’s shoes," Buck whistled as he saw the woman he cared for walking out of the room. "Then again, I never thought he had it in him to be such a heartbreaker either."
Chris did not listen to the banter of his friends as they discussed the situation Ezra now found himself. Instead, his attention was focused on the one person who had said nothing during this entire episode.
Vin Tanner knew Chris was expecting him to make comment, but honestly, nothing came to mind. The scene he witnessed earlier between Alex and Ezra was as much a shock to him like everyone else in the room. He could doubly understand her outrage at discovering Ezra bedded Julia Pemberton when she had found herself in the same position with him and managed to restrain herself. The irony of it was not lost on Vin.
Still, Vin had no wish to prey on her wounded heart at this moment. He knew Alex well enough to guess that there would be no way Ezra could explain his way back into her affections after such a betrayal. Vin had heard the tone of her voice when she told Ezra they were done.
He had no doubt she meant it.
He felt sorry for Alex, and it was taking all his control to not rush by her side and offer his comfort. Instinct told him it was best to let Alex recover from this without his interference. When the sting of what happened passed, and she was clearer about her feelings, Vin might pay a call on her then.
But not before.
*****
Mary Travis had no idea of the drama unfolding around her when she arrived at the saloon shortly after the explosive confrontation between Alex Styles and Ezra Standish. When she walked through the doors, she noticed the aftermath of that spectacular quarrel that had taken place in her absence.
Chris was at his customary position, holding court over the men who were the law in Four Corners. It was not her custom to enter the saloon unless she had to and the men who were present knew she only did so when the need was warranted.
"Chris." She said as she approached. "I’ve got the wire from Eagle Bend." She gestured to the piece of paper clutched in her hand.
Chris did not say a word as he took the paper from her and read its contents carefully. In the meantime, Mary noticed that the group was unusually quiet even for men with hangovers. Her journalistic instinct immediately picked up something was amiss.
"What’s wrong?" She looked from face to face; not particular about where the answer came.
Chris shrugged, and Vin remained stoic as ever. JD looked to the others to answer the widow, while Josiah and Nathan exchanged glances that spoke volumes. It was at this point that Mary noticed that Inez was not present, which was odd because this was the saloon’s lunch hour, and Inez was normally run off her feet at this time.
Finally, it was Nathan who answered. "Miss Alex and Ezra had a quarrel."
"Really?" Mary asked curiously. "What about?"
Nathan looked uncomfortable and did not wish to talk about any woman’s indiscretion to another, but he supposed Mary eventually would learn about the whole sordid tale. He met Chris’s gaze as if seeking permission to impart such scandalous information to her. The gunslinger had not looked up from the paper in his hand and hardly noticed that Nathan was staring at him. Mary caught all the silent signals and soon became impatient with the stalling.
"It couldn’t be that bad."
"Oh, yes, it could." Buck found himself muttering under his breath.
"Apparently Ezra has been getting very friendly with Miss Pemberton," Nathan finally answered, trying to think of a delicate way to put this.
"How friendly?" She asked, her voice suddenly laced with suspicion when she realised what he was getting at.
"They know each other in the biblical way," Buck replied, tired of seeing Nathan struggle to explain.
Mary’s eyes widened. "You’re joking!"
"Nope." Buck shook his head. "Alex was in here a while ago tearing strips off Ezra cause Miss Pemberton told her to her face."
Buck neglected to add the said coupling had taken place in the house Mary shared with her husband. Although Mary had lent her home to be used as a safe house to protect the safety of Julia Pemberton, it had been assumed that protection was meant to extend to her virtue as well.
"Poor Alex!" Mary said horrified, understanding where Inez was at this moment. If it was not for the information she discovered about the murdered Henderson couple, she would be on her way to finding the doctor as well.
"Yeah." Buck nodded sadly. "She was pretty upset. Ran out of here in an awful state."
Mary turned to Chris; clearly disturbed by what she had heard but knew that particular situation could wait. Right now, they still had a murderer to catch. "As soon as I heard about the son, I got the Sheriff in Eagle Bend to wire the college where he is meant to be."
"What’s going on?" Josiah asked, wondering what had engrossed their leader to such an extent.
"I think I know who set us up." Chris volunteered, finally. The others knew they had been tricked after his return from Purgatory with news of Elisa’s duplicity. Buck had been none too happy to learn he had been a cog in someone else's plan and he was deceived so easily by a working girl.
"Who?" Nathan sat up in his chair.
"Apparently, Mr and Mrs Henderson, two of the victims who were killed on the stage when we found Miss Pemberton, has a son."
"A son?" Buck did not get the connection.
"I wired a friend of mine who owns a paper in Chicago," Mary took up the narration. "Apparently, the Hendersons' have a son with massive gambling debts. He has been raking up some hefty markers, and it was rumoured the amounts were so large Mr Henderson refused to settle them."
"You mean this kid might have planned this murder to get rid of his gambling debts?" Buck exclaimed, horrified that anyone could commit such crimes against his own kin.
"It was never about gambling debts," Chris said coolly. "It’s about the inheritance of almost a million dollars."
"A million dollars!" Buck almost fell out of his chair. JD reacted for the first time with something other than a feeble smile.
"That’s worth killing for." Josiah nodded in understanding. "Quite ingenious actually."
"Exactly," Chris continued. "He comes out west, knowing his parents plan on taking a trip out this way. He organises men stupid enough to buy into his story that he’ll share the loot with them, assuming he ever told them about it at all, and didn’t just convince them that the stage robberies would be worth the money."
"They killed all the people in the first two robberies so by the time they get to the third one, the one the Hendersons’ are actually on, no one would consider this was about an inheritance. They would think it's just part of the pattern." Josiah spoke out loud, following the train of Chris thoughts.
"And Junior walks away with a million dollars." Nathan finished off.
"So, what now?" Buck inquired. "Is he still here?"
"That I don’t know." Chris frowned. "If he were smart, I’d say no, but he’d still have to come back here for the inquest, and that may be a problem since Julia can still identify him. He has to get rid of her first."
"Well Ezra is with her at the moment," Vin remarked for the first time. "Maybe one of us out to get over there. Ezra ain’t the best person to be guarding her life right now."
"I’d like to be a fly on the wall for that particular conversation," Josiah said with a hint of a smile.
"They deserve each other." Mary huffed in annoyance, unable to believe Ezra was capable of such behaviour, particularly to someone like Alex.
Vin rose to his feet and looked at the gunslinger. "Maybe I ought to go over there and see if they’re okay. Ezra ain’t gonna be in the best mind to be guarding her if this guy is still around."
"Good idea." Chris nodded in agreement, knowing Vin just wanted to get out of here because he needed something to do.
The ramifications of what had taken place had far-reaching consequences, not merely in Ezra’s relationship with Alex. It had the potential to change things significantly between Alex and Vin. Vin made up his mind the night before she was beyond his reach. As hard as it was to make that admission, Vin knew he could accept it. How was he to know that Ezra would choose someone else? Vin thought him mad at the very least. If Alex was his, Vin could hardly imagine thinking about another woman, let alone cheating on her.
And now the possibility existed Alex could be his after all.
All he had to do was give her time.
*****Ezra Standish was angry.
He seldom felt the need to waste the energy on anger, but today, he was happy to expend as much time and effort to the whole venture. As he strode towards the hotel where Julia Pemberton was currently in residence, Ezra had never felt more ashamed of himself in his life. The very public exchange between Alexandra and himself hardly bothered Ezra.
After all, what had she said that was not true? He behaved in less than gentlemanlike fashion when he had taken up with Julia. Of course, he had every intention of making Alex aware of the situation with a modicum of sensitivity and grace, not in the vile manner in which Julia must have imparted the news. The look of betrayal in Alex’s eyes was something he would not soon forget, and as he hurried through the front lobby of the steps towards the rooms upstairs, he wondered if it was at all possible to repair the damage.
He knew there was no possibility of rekindling anything between them, not after this. However, they would have to live in the same town, and he wanted them to remain friends on some level. Ezra had intended on waiting a few days before telling Alex that he wished to dissolve their romantic relationship. He would have started seeing Julia a short time after and no one would have been hurt or disgraced as they had been today.
"Was that really necessary!" Ezra demanded as he burst into the room and found her fixing her hair before the dresser mirror. Except for a stain on the parlour rug, there was no sign of the altercation earlier.
Julia turned to face him, a dark bruise forming under her jawline. She curled her lips into a pout and came towards him. "Now, I only did it for you."
"For me?" Ezra almost shouted at her as he slammed the door behind him. There was no need for Four Corners to know any more about his relationships than they already did. No doubt, it would be spread across the town in lurid detail in the coming days.
"Explain to me madam," he said, grabbing her arm and forcing to sit. "How you could even imagine that I would be impressed by what you did today?"
"I did it for you." She snatched her arm away and glared at him. "I wanted to spare you the pain of telling her."
"I care about her, damn you!" Ezra growled, never feeling so infuriated in his entire life. "I may not love her, but I do care about her and what you did was inexcusable whatever the motivation!"
"Would you have even told her? Would you have prolonged the situation by coming up with some quaint explanation to salve her ego!" She honestly did think she had acted appropriately.
"Of course, I would have told her." He said astonished that she could even think such a thing. "What do you take me for? You ?"
Julia recoiled at the insult but understood that he was angry and probably did not mean much of what he was saying. Despite his seedy past, Ezra Standish had a streak of righteousness, which she loved and admired. It was sometimes necessary to circumvent it for her purposes.
"You’re a good kind man Ezra, and I love you, but the fact of the matter is, you would have hurt more by not telling her the truth and I don’t think you had any intention of doing so."
"Whether I did or not is none of your damn business! You hurt and humiliated her in public!"
"I’m not the one who made it public!" She cried in her defence. "She did when she hit me!"
"If you were not a woman, I would hit you too!" Ezra snapped and decided that this was pointless, she did not think anything she had done was wrong, and God help him, he chose to throw his lot in with her. Ezra knew he had no one to blame for himself. He turned on his heels to leave the room, unable to bear being in the same space as her at this moment.
"Ezra! Where are you going?" Julia cried out, seeing he was leaving. He was very angry with her now, but it would not last, she just knew it would not. It was best to leave him be to calm down. Later on, she would make amends for this unpleasantness.
"Far away," he said sharply as he strode towards the door, intending to never lay eyes on her again.
Julia watched him go, feeling some semblance of apprehension as he slammed the door behind him. The sound made her jump, and for a brief moment, she entertained the notion he might be true to his word and not return. The idea of losing him terrified her, but she knew she had done the right thing to secure his affections. He would have just wasted time trying to make it easy for himself and Alex Styles and just complicated matters a great deal more. In this way, she was solving the problem for everyone.
The door swung open after a pause of a few minutes and Julia felt her heart flutter in anticipation of Ezra’s return. She knew he would come back!
Except the man who entered the room was certainly not Ezra Standish...
*****Ezra had not made it out of the hotel premises when he saw Vin Tanner approaching in his direction. Ezra let out a slight groan, having no wish to face any of his friends after what had happened in the saloon. Right now, he wanted to hide somewhere and get drunk, not necessarily in that order. As it was, he felt like such a complete brigand, he did not need the rest of the civilised world, pointing it out to him.
"Hey, Ezra." Vin greeted as he met the gambler on the foot of the steps. Judging by the dark cloud on his face, Vin assumed he had already had his audience with Julia Pemberton.
"Did Mr Larabee send you to ensure I would not be bothering Alexandra?" Ezra snapped, irritated to the extreme by the situation without having Chris question his word after it had been given so sincerely.
"Take it easy," Vin said, trying to pacify him. He was making no judgements on Ezra. He felt a little guilty because Ezra’s current problems proved decidedly advantageous for him, although he was not about to admit that to the gambler. "Chris didn’t send me. We think we know who the fifth man is and he still might be after Miss Pemberton."
Ezra glanced instinctively over his shoulder in the direction of the hotel. Suddenly, he felt guilty about being so cross with Julia considering what she was enduring the past three days. Not just the continuing threat to her life, but facing gunmen who would have undoubtedly raped and killed her, if the seven had not reached her first.
"I apologise," Ezra said with genuine regret. Vin was the most private man he knew, and he did not offer judgement or counsel where it was not required. Ezra should have known better than to lash out at the tracker when it was himself he was furious with. "I shall guard her. It would appear she is now my responsibility."
"Want some company?" Vin asked, seeing the sincere regret in Ezra’s eyes and guessing his feelings for Julia Pemberton was not some sordid tasteless affair. He really did care about the woman.
"I would appreciate that Mr Tanner." Ezra sighed. "You know I never meant to hurt Alex. It just happened."
Vin could appreciate how easily that could be. After all, he had no choice in the matter when he fell for Alex. Sometimes, the heart wanted what it wanted.
The two men made their way up the staircase towards Julia’s room when Ezra caught sight of her door, slightly ajar. He had distinctly remembered slamming the door in his angry departure and wondered why she would leave it open like that.
Suddenly, Ezra’s mind was filled with stark fear when he realised he had left her alone with a killer on the loose! He reached the room in an instant, unaware he was running until he barged into the room panting. The signs of violence were evident, a toppled chair, a length of curtain draped haphazardly against the floor, hanging by the wooden runners by the remaining strands of thread.
"She is still in the building," Ezra said as Vin came up alongside him. "We did not see them come through the front door."
Vin nodded. "I’ll look downstairs. He may have seen us standing outside!" With that, the tracker hurried out the door.
Ezra thought quickly as he roamed through the suite, ensuring that Julia and her assailant were not cleverly hidden in the room as unlikely as it might be. His heart pounded in his chest, aware the killer had no need to keep her alive for any length of time. Her attacker’s main aim would be to kill her and then get away clean without being seen. Wherever he chose to do it, it had to be private. He could not risk being identified once again.
What had he been thinking? Ezra thought to himself when he stormed out of here and left her alone. He had been so furious at what she had done that he had hardly concerned himself that the fifth man might still be in town. Although Chris and the others believed he was far away and would be foolish to come after Julia, Ezra was unaware of the new evidence coming to light since he had walked out of the saloon.
He stepped out onto the corridor and listened carefully. There were the usual sounds of people going about their business in the area but none that might indicate violence. Somehow, Julia’s assailant would not be foolish to attempt slipping out of the place when he and Vin were at the door, and Ezra had not left Julia behind that long ago. A thought occurred to him, and Ezra’s eyes moved upwards to the ceiling. A ladder at the end of the corridor led to the roof of the building.
Ezra ran forward, unbuttoning the flap on his gun holster as he reached the first rung and began climbing up its length rapidly, praying he was not too late. He saw Vin running up the stairs to report his progress when the tracker stopped short as he saw Ezra climbing the ladder. Ezra said nothing, merely pointing to the ceiling, giving a clear indication of where he believed Julia and her assailant to be. Vin’s gaze met his, and they conveyed a silent plan of action to which the tracker nodded his approval before running down the stairs again.
Ezra reached the small door on the roof and pushed it open, the rusted hinges creaking loudly and giving away his arrival as he poked his head through the access way. No sooner he was halfway through, a bullet exploded, and Ezra barely managed to avoid being hit in the chest by letting go of the rungs and falling into the corridor once more. He landed badly, feeling the sickly pop of his ankle. Uttering a small groan, Ezra did not stop to examine the injury and resumed his journey up the ladder again.
This time, Ezra did not try passing through the opening as he had done before. Instead, he shoved the door forcefully, allowing it to arch neatly before hitting the floor of the roof and staying open. Sunlight peered into his eyes as a series of shots rang out, followed by a scream Ezra knew belonged to Julia. With a sigh, relief flooded into him as he heard her, thanking whatever he held faith with, she was still alive.
People had started to emerge from their rooms, investigating the noise as Ezra fired blankly into the air, hoping the gunshots would force the unseen shooter to fire once more. He did, and Ezra counted the shots as they boomed in his ear.
Four.
Five.
Six .
At the discharge of the sixth shot, Ezra knew the killer would have to reload and taking advantage of the pause that inevitably followed, the gambler pulled himself through the access way. Predictably, there were no shots following his appearance on the roof and Ezra scanned the area quickly, searching for Julia and her attacker. There was no place to hide on the roof and in broad daylight, no darkness to conceal a murder.
He was just as Julia described him. Young. Ezra estimated he was no older than JD. However, that was as far as the similarities between the two young men went. There was no youthful enthusiasm in this young man’s face. What Ezra saw in the dark eyes glaring back at him looked more like Chris Larabee on a particularly bad day. The intent in his eyes was as clear as the gun he was holding to Julia’s throat, now obviously reloaded. She stared back at him with terror, pleading silently with Ezra to save her.
"There’s no way off this roof," Ezra spoke calmly as he aimed his gun at the boy’s hardened face.
"I think there is." He answered with a confident grin.
"I think you are mistaken, Sir." Ezra stepped closer to them, entirely aware of how close they were to the edge of the building. "You have to come through me first and then through my friends who are now aware that you are here."
"I think as long as I have this bitch with me, I can go anywhere I please." He sneered at Ezra, shoving the gun deeper into Julia’s creamy white throat.
"I would not take that gamble. You overestimate Miss Pemberton's importance. Actually, if truth be told, you would be doing me a service by putting a bullet into her. She has caused me nothing but grief."
Despite her situation, Julia managed to scowl at him darkly. Ezra hoped she would be alive to make him pay for the comment later.
"Nice try." The boy sneered, "but I heard you two arguing. I know this little tramp means a little more to you than that."
Ezra’s eyes never wavered from his face, but the gambler was no longer looking at him. Instead, he focussed on Vin who was taking up a position with his rifle on the roof of the next building. Somehow, Ezra had to buy Vin more time so the sharpshooter could take the shot. At this stage, there was every danger while Vin might kill the man, he may not be able to do so without Julia being shot as well.
"I confess you have caught me out in a lie." Ezra sighed in mock resignation. "She does mean a great deal to me, although she is a handful. If I put down my gun, would you let her go?"
The shooter’s grin widened in triumph. "I might.”
Ezra knew a liar when he saw one and no doubt this man was lying. Ezra knew the moment he put down his gun, this boy was going to kill him and have no hesitation in doing it either. However, to shoot Ezra first, he would have to aim the gun in the direction of the gambler, not the helpless woman caught in his unwavering grip.
"You have me at a disadvantage then," Ezra said casually, putting on his best poker face as he slowly lowered the gun to the ground. He saw Julia shaking her head, trying to keep him from making a decision that would get them both killed. Ezra took a deep breath, knowing he had the killer’s undivided attention because the young man was naturally suspicious and assumed he had some last-minute trick to save his life.
"Step away.’ He told Ezra, motioning the gambler to take a step away from the weapon once Ezra set it down. Slowly, Ezra complied, seeing Vin aiming carefully from the opposite building, waiting for the most opportune time to fire.
Without warning, he shoved Julia roughly over the side of the building. Julia let out a short scream as she toppled over the railing. Ezra felt his heart constrict until he saw her delicate hands grabbing hold of the rail. The shooter swung the gun in Ezra’s direction, ready to kill him on the spot. Ezra dropped to his knees and pulled out his derringer hidden neatly within his sleeve. However, before either of them had a chance to pull the trigger, Ezra heard the familiar eruption of sound from Vin’s rifle.
The bullet slammed into the young man’s shoulder, causing a froth of blood to burst out of the wound. Dazed by the surprise attack, he spun around, following the direction of the bullet. He lifted his arm to fire at Vin’s direction, but the sharpshooter never gave him the chance to pull the trigger. The next round took him squarely in the chest, and Ezra saw him spasm in pain before he crumpled to the ground in a final gasp.
The moment Vin fired the second shot, Ezra was already running towards Julia on his injured foot. His ankle flared in pain as he skidded toward her, conscious of her hands desperately clinging to the rail for dear life.
"Help me!" She squealed in terror as she dangled precariously from three floors up. Below her, a crowd was gathering as the scene unfolded. Frightened faces were looking up in fear as the young lady hung on the edge of death. Ezra caught sight of Chris and the others running across the street from the saloon.
"Stop struggling!" Ezra ordered, for her attempts to climb up was making it harder for him to get a firm grip on her.
"Just get me up!" She cried, too hysterical to be polite about anything at this point.
Ezra locked both his hands around her wrist and grabbed firmly. He started to pull her up when suddenly, he paused a moment. His grip on her was sound, and although he could not leave her suspended indefinitely, he did have a bone to pick with the fair Miss Pemberton and now seemed a good a time as any.
“Now that I have you in this position," he said with a smug smile. "Do you promise never to do anything like this behind my back again?"
"Are you out of your damn mind!" She snarled, her emerald eyes widened in disbelief he would extort her obedience at a time like this. Julia looked down and felt dizzy at the distance between her and the ground.
"Swearing will only worsen your situation, my dear," he replied with a straight face. "Do you?"
"Ezra!" She cried, unable to believe he would stoop to such tactics when she was balanced between life and death on a razor’s edge.
"I did not hear that promise," Ezra repeated himself, adamant he was going to get his answer.
"Yes! I promise!" She burst out enraged, sending daggers and everything else at him in that black glare of rage in her eyes. "Now will you pull me up?"
"Certainly my dear," Ezra grinned triumphantly. "I had every intention of doing so."
"Bastard!’ She swore as he pulled her up over the railing with both hands until she was far enough along to be able to push herself for the rest of the way. They both collapsed on top of each other as Chris and Josiah climbed through the door.
"Are you all right, my dear?" Ezra asked in concern as they both lay on the ground, breathing hard from the effort. He did not think her attacker had harmed her seriously, but it never hurt to inquire.
Julia was trembling as she rolled off Ezra and did not answer him for a few seconds as she took note of the dead boy only metres away from her. She was shaken at how close she had come to dying yet again. After a few seconds, when she was suitably composed, she looked up at Ezra and struck him full across the jaw, dropping him flat on his back.
"You lousy son of a bitch!" She cursed with unrestrained outrage. "You could have killed me!" Julia kicked him in the ribs as she vented the full intensity of her outrage.
Ezra chuckled, not at all hurt by her blows. After a moment, he sat up with a smile on his lips. "I would say we are almost even."
Julia stopped short at that and glared at him, realising he had her. She swallowed down the rest of her anger and stood up shakily as Chris Larabee, and Josiah Sanchez approached.
"I truly hate you." She said through narrowed eyes and then tossed a strand of red hair over her shoulder, trying to maintain some dignity in this situation as she swept forward like a pompous dowager.
"No, you don’t!" Ezra called out as she walked past Chris and Josiah.
"Read my lips." She stared at him imperiously but wore the barest hint of a smile. "I hate you."
"I’m sure," Ezra said, feeling somewhat vindicated after what she had done to Alex.
"You all right?" Chris asked, ignoring the interplay between the duo. Josiah noticed the body of the dead man and had gone to administer some sort of last rites, even though the chances of the man reaching paradise were extremely slim by the preacher’s reckoning.
"I shall probably be limping around for a day or two, but I think I will survive," Ezra answered starting to feel the throb in his foot more acutely now he was no longer engaged in a life or death situation. His gaze was following Julia who was lowering herself back into the hotel with a haughty look on her face and a secret gleam in her eyes that indicated despite her words of hostility, things between them were just as she wanted it.
Chris followed his gaze and shook his head. "You know something, Ezra?"
"What is that Mr Larabee?" Ezra met the gunslinger’s amused gaze.
"I don’t know whether I ought to feel sorrier for, Alex or for you." He stared at the descending crown of red hair. "But now I think you’re the one in worse shape."
"I like the challenge."
"Well," Chris had to admit. "You certainly got one."
Mary Travis was a woman with a mission.
Two days after the death of Lambert Henderson and life in the town of Four Corners returned to normal, or as close to normal as it could ever get. The events of the past week had yet to fade, leaving noticeable tension running through her circle of friends. Inez had been punishing Ezra for his treatment of Alex by barely speaking a civil word to him since his quarrel with the doctor. Similarly angered was Nathan Jackson, whose close friendship with Alex meant he was not happy to see her mistreated.
Mary made no such judgement on Ezra Standish because she knew the gambler regretted his treatment of Alex and the affection he held for Julia Pemberton was sincere, even if it did seem like folly. Meanwhile, Vin Tanner disappeared on one of his trips into the wilderness, and it was anyone's guess when he would return. In the year since the seven put down roots in Four Corners, Mary was aware Vin sometimes felt the need to be by himself for a while and often took off on his own. She supposed after what happened with Alex and Ezra, Vin probably had a great deal of thinking to do.
It was anyone's guess how Alex was faring because no one had seen her in two days.
Despite Inez's attempts to see her immediately after her explosive confrontation with Ezra, Alex did not answer the door when the bartender came calling. Mary tried later on with little success, and even Nathan made an attempt with similar results. Yet their efforts to draw the doctor out were met with silence, although they were sure she was still in the house, for no one had seen her leave town.
Mary knew this situation needed resolution because while the seven still functioned as a group and remained as close-knit as ever, Mary hated the conflict among the men she now considered family. First of all, however, Mary had a few things to impart upon Julia Pemberton if she was going to remain a part of Ezra's life. Julia was not going away; not if the way Ezra looked at her was any indication of how he felt about the woman. Still, she was an unknown element with very few scruples as her behaviour towards Alex proved.
Mary invited Julia to the house for some lunch as she wanted to conduct their discussion in private. They engaged in idle conversation for most of the dining experience, talking about the merits of setting up a business in Four Corners, the local gossip, and the difficulties for women in business. The topics remained trivial because Mary did not want Julia to suspect what turn the conversation would soon take.
Both women were taking tea in the parlour when Mary set down her saucer and cup on the table and looked at the younger woman. Julia was undeniably beautiful, whose power to seduce was utterly overwhelming to the inexperienced. Yet behind her green eyes, Mary could also see ruthless calculation hidden under a veil of charm.
"I do have an ulterior motive for inviting you this afternoon, Julia." Mary finally announced. "I mean, aside from wanting to see how you were after that terrible incident with Lambert Henderson."
"Yes," Julia shuddered, thinking about the man involuntarily. How had the nice Hendersons produced such a vile offspring? "It was quite alarming," Julia admitted. "But what is this ulterior motive, Mary? You have me singularly intrigued."
"Nothing quite as dramatic as it sounds. I just wanted to let you know that I am aware that your real name is Julia Avery."
Julia's eyes flew open and immediately fixed onto Mary's face. For a brief instant, Mary saw a gamut of emotions surface in the redhead's eyes. Shock was the most apparent, followed by fear and then finally, calculation.
Julia set down her cup. "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Yes, you do." Mary kept her gaze fixed on her, showing Julia for the first time that she was not fooled by the act the newcomer put on for everyone. There was no need for the facade in the presence of Mary Travis. "Your name is Julia Avery. Pemberton is the name you picked up on your hasty departure from Philadelphia, not Pennsylvania."
It had been quite a simple matter of tracking her down really.
Julia Pemberton's bank records began less than two weeks ago. She did not exist before that. Thanks to her friendship with Mr Donnely, the manager of the Eagle Bend Bank, Mary learned the location of the enormous bank deposit into Julia's account was made far north, in Philadelphia, not Pennsylvania. Mary's newspaper contacts around the country, allowed her to trace Julia all the way to Baltimore. Mary suspected Miss Pemberton's reasons for coming out West might have more to do with just the need for a fresh start.
Meanwhile, the most salacious news in Philadelphia was still the embarrassment of mogul Roderick Packard, whose bride Julia Avery left him at the altar. The coincidence was too much for Mary to dismiss.
"Assuming you are right," Julia shrugged, wondering how the woman discovered this information and then realised a journalist of Mary Travis's calibre had resources across the country to manage such a feat. "There's nothing wrong about my changing a name."
"I didn't say there was," Mary said silkily, pouring herself another cup of tea. "I merely wished to let you know the way things function in Four Corners."
"Really?" Julia glared at her, knowing something was coming at her and it was not going to be pleasant. "And how do things function in Four Corners, Mary?"
"We're a caring community," Mary stated. "Since the arrival of the seven, it has been as close to ideal as it has ever been. I don't want that to change. Do you understand me?"
"What could I do to alter that?" Julia feigned ignorance.
"I don't know," the newspaperwoman said honestly. "However, I think you need to understand the ground rules."
"The ground rules?" Julia shifted uncomfortably in her chair, her mind reeling at discovery, but she wanted to hear what Mary's demands were before she spat them back in the blond woman's face.
"Yes," Mary nodded and leaned forward. "What you did to Ezra and Alex was inexcusable. Before you came along, they were happy and now that has all changed. I cannot do anything about Ezra because he does love you, God only knows why. He has thrown away the love of one of the best people I know for you and I do not want him hurt. You will do your best to make him happy because he's saved my life more than a dozen times and despite his awful taste in women, Ezra is a good man, and he deserves the happiness."
"I do love Ezra," Julia said through gritted teeth, trying to remain calm in the face of Mary's verbal attack.
"I'm sure you do," Mary dismissed the statement as little more than obligatory because Julia had shown nothing to indicate she loved anything but herself. "And you will make his happiness your mission in life, do I make myself clear?"
"Or what?" Julia retaliated, calling Mary's bluff. How exactly did this woman think she was going to make Julia do anything that Julia did not want to do?
"Or I might let your fiancée know where you are." Mary felt a measure of satisfaction seeing the colour drain from Julia's face as the realisation of what that could mean, sank in. "You remember Roderick Packard don't you?"
Julia was too stunned to speak.
"Of course you do," Mary stirred the sugar in her cup. "You left him at the altar remember, humiliated him publicly? He gives me the impression of being a man who does not take too kindly to being made a laughing stock. I don't believe he would be kind if he were to find you, Julia."
"You wouldn't." Julia stammered. "You don't have it in you."
Mary looked up at her with eyes of steel. "You have no idea what I am capable of, Julia. I've been in this town for years, and I've learnt to be tough, tough enough to spot the likes of you and what you really are. You breezed into town and decided you wanted Ezra and you got him. You didn't tell Alex about the two of you because you wanted to spare him anything. You told Alex in that disgusting way because you wanted her to know you had taken him away from her. Perhaps some of it had to do with fearing Ezra might just change his mind about you two once she was back but it was mostly because you needed to win. So I am giving you fair warning now. If I see any more dishonest, vicious behaviour in my town again, I swear I will nail your fancy hide to the wall by the time I'm finished with you."
Julia rose to her feet abruptly, clearly shaken and knowing now her assessment of Mary Travis had been entirely erroneous. She thought Mary was only formidable, she had no idea until now the widow was also utterly ruthless and had no conscience in using such methods to protect her own. "I think you've said enough."
"I think we understand each other now, don't we?" Mary looked at her with a raised brow as Julia started to collect her things to make a hasty departure.
"Yes," the young woman replied through her teeth, hating it when anyone could get the better of her but knew she was helpless in this situation. She did not require Roderick Packard's presence in her life, and she could become accustomed to dealing with Mary Travis's request. "We do."
As she hurried out of the room, Mary allowed herself a little smile and asked as Julia crossed the floor. "You sure you won't stay for another cup of tea?"
*****Ezra Standish thought he would try again. For two days, he stood on her back porch, hoping she would answer the door so he could try to give her an explanation about the unfortunate turn of events in their relationship. Ezra did not want Alex to think this was anything to do with her. He still cared a great deal for Alex, and he knew his actions caused her a great deal of pain. Ezra possessed a gentleman's code when dealing with women, and he knew he failed badly in his handling of this entire situation.
"Alexandra, please," Ezra knocked on her door again. "We need to talk."
Once again, the silence greeting him during his last two visits continued through the door and told him to go away. He wished he knew how Alex was because it was driving Mary, Inez and Nathan insane not knowing. Mary's distress, in turn, annoyed Chris, while the same thing went for Inez and Buck. Nathan had not actually rebuked him for what he did, but the healer viewed Ezra' s relationship with Julia with distaste.
"People are worried about you. I am worried about you." He implored, hoping his words reached heir in some shape or form. While he was realistic things could never be the same between them again, he did want everything else to return to normal. He paused a moment as the silence continued, trying to think of some way to reach her. "There is no way for me to apologise for what happened and no words that will make what Julia did right. I suppose you could take some consolation, in fact, I deserve what I am getting, but you need someone better than me, perhaps you always did."
To his surprise, the door swung open.
She stood before him, clad in a robe and nightgown, looking quite ill indeed. Her pallor was grey, and there were circles under her eyes. Meanwhile, her nose was rubbed raw from the handkerchief she was clutching in her hand. "Normally, I wouldn't let you see me in this state," she replied, her voice betrayed the cold she was suffering, "but what do I care now?"
"How long have you been at the door?"
"Long enough to know that your grovelling leaves a great deal to be desired." She remained at the doorway, with no intention of letting him in.
"It's been a long time, I am out of practice in the art. You, however, do not look at all well."
"I went through six years of medical school. I don't need you to tell me that."
"Obviously," he recanted and then took on a more serious note. "I never meant to hurt you."
Her eyes glazed over as if she was trying not to cry and to the most part, she succeeded, but the sorrow in her eyes spoke more vividly than tears could express. "You did, anyway. Do you love her?"
Ezra was not sure how to answer this, but he knew she deserved an honest response.
"Yes," he nodded. "I do."
There was a flicker of pain in her eyes as the words registered, but she crushed it mercilessly. Alex wanted to be furious at him. She should have been angry at him because he behaved shamefully, but Alex also knew there were sins she too was guilty of, and perhaps this was indeed the best thing for both of them. Somewhere out there, an uncertain situation awaited her in the wilderness, and for the first time, Alex had the freedom to pursue it.
"I hope it works out for you Ezra, I really do, but she's a poisonous snake. You should have chosen better."
"You are correct on both counts, but it was not something I could help. I just wished you were not caught in the crossfire."
"I'm still hurt Ezra," she whispered. "I am hurt, humiliated, and I feel worse than I've ever felt in all my life, but I will survive. We'll stay out of each other's way for a while, and eventually, I'll get used to seeing you with her but until then, allow me the courtesy of keeping her away from me, would you?"
Ezra nodded slowly, willing to grant any request after the pain he caused her. "I will see it is done."
"Good," She started withdrawing into the house once more, pulling the door behind her as she left. "Goodbye, Ezra."
As the door closed shut quietly after her, Ezra could only sigh and reply softly even though he doubted she would have heard him.
"Goodbye, Alexandra."
*****Chris perused the article in the Clarion News regarding the final disposition of the robbery murders and the man who had brought about the entire affair in the first place, Lambert Henderson. After his death, the seven learned Lambert had been in and out of town over the last few days, alternating his search for Julia Pemberton and cleaning up any loose ends that might be traced back to him. Unfortunately, this included dealing with Elisa the working girl and the horse trader who had provided the outlaws with their mounts.
Shortly after Chris left Elisa that night, Lambert had made an appearance in Purgatory and strangled the young woman inside her tent. If it were not for someone seeing Lambert leaving after the murder, Chris was painfully aware of how he might have been implicated in the death. Unfortunately, Lambert arrived too late to keep Elisa from giving Chris the information he required, unlike the horse trader who was murdered at the same time he and the others were ambushing Lambert's partners at the stage.
His gang were little more than small-time outlaws who were quick with the gun but seldom stole anything worth the price of the lives they ended. Lambert was wise in selecting them because he knew they would have no hesitation in drawing their guns on unarmed civilians for the promise of easy money. It was uncertain where he might have met them because no one in Purgatory recognised the men nor would they admit to it if they did. Places like Purgatory chose to keep its patrons anonymous unless it was in exchange for a stipend.
Lambert Henderson had come out west about a month before his parents embarked on their journey through the West. His father recently sold the family's textile factories in Chicago for a tidy sum of almost a million dollars, all of which would have been left solely to him upon the death of both parents. The Hendersons, like most immigrants coming in search of streets paved with gold, arrived in the New World and found out the truth regarding that particular myth. Through years of hard work and determination, they built themselves a small empire in cloth and calico. Lambert was their only child and in their desperate need to see he wanted for nothing, indulged his every whim.
By the time he grew to adulthood, the young man was accustomed to having everything and did not take kindly to being refused it. He enrolled in college and quickly took up the habit of gambling except he was as proficient at it as he was at his studies, which was to say not very good at all. Very quickly, he incurred massive debts to characters with no patience to wait for their money. Assuming as always his father would extricate him from this situation, Lambert was astonished to hear the old man's refusal.
Enraged, he conceived the plan resulting in the deaths of so many and ensuring his escape when the dust settled.
Evidence of the stormy week more or less dried up with the coming of the sunshine. Chris found himself seated in front of the door as he read Mary's summation of the entire week in her article. The position allowed him to bask in the warmth of the sun while still remaining indoors. Chris set down the paper, wondering how Vin was faring on his own. The tracker had wanted some time to himself, which was not unusual for Vin, because Chris knew people tended to overwhelm him. This time, however, Chris suspected the situation with Alex left Vin needing some time to himself to think.
Behind him, Josiah and Buck were engaged in a game of checkers, and Chris smiled slightly hearing Buck swear after losing the third game in a row. For a man accustomed to playing chess most of the time, Josiah found checkers rudimentary in comparison. The preacher took Buck's grumbling with a faint smile although JD was more vocal in his response. The kid was enjoying Buck's defeat quite profoundly, and Chris estimated another two or three minutes before Buck throttled him.
Nathan was engaged in the same activity as he was, reading a book and enjoying the relative quiet of the early morning. They drove themselves hard the past three weeks in their search for the outlaws, and Chris relished the temporary peace while it lasted. No doubt, some other catastrophe would follow soon enough, but at this moment, Chris was content to await its arrival.
A shadow stole across him, blocking out the sun when Ezra walked through the batwing doors in the saloon. Chris was well aware of where the gambler had been and wondered if he had any more success getting Alex to talk to him. Chris, who appreciated the need to be alone after a particularly painful experience was unsurprised when Alex disappeared into her house these past two days, shunning the company of all. The action drove Mary, Inez and Nathan insane with worry despite Chris's belief Alex would emerge when she was ready. However, Ezra worried worst of all since he was the cause of her withdrawal.
"Any luck?" Chris asked as Ezra walked by.
"She opened the door for me." Ezra sighed, uncertain if it was progress or not.
"That's something." Chris shrugged.
"Is she okay?" Nathan asked, coming over when he heard that snippet of news.
"She appears to have a severe cold," Ezra confessed. "But she did not seem to appear on death's door if that is what concerns you."
"Maybe I ought to go see her." Nathan mused and then realised Miss Alex probably wanted to be alone right now and she was, after all a medical doctor. She would know better than him how to look after herself.
"She was not in the best state to receive visitors. I get the impression she might have spent the past two days in bed."
"Well, she was out in the rain for almost three days," Nathan reminded. "Not that you would have noticed." The healer said sarcastically eyeing Ezra as he made that point.
Ezra frowned, knowing that he would have to endure such jibes from Nathan for quite some time and realising the healer was entirely justified for making him suffer. "Thank you for reminding me, Mr Jackson. I take it you are going to be responsible for my penance in the immediate future over this issue?"
"What are friends for?" Nathan grinned.
"Wonderful," Ezra groaned. "Who needs enemies?"
"Considering what you got for a lady friend," Chris drawled with a wicked sneer. "I say you're filled up on both."
*****Alex heard the door knock and groaned.
Go away.
She was not in the mood for people, and the brief exchange with Ezra sent her into another pathetic fit of tears. Alex did not realise facing Ezra would be so hard even though she did nothing wrong, and he was the guilty one. It was a hollow victory because in the end he was still with that snake and she was here wallowing in self-pity, trying to deal with the cold caused by her ordeal in the wilderness with Vin Tanner.
Vin Tanner.
Alex was in no mind to think about him, and what the future held for them with Ezra was no longer in her life. Even thinking those words made Alex recoil in confusion because she never imagined the possibility ever coming to pass. After the turmoil with Vin in Agnes's cabin, Alex believed she would never have to face what took place between them. Now thanks to Ezra's actions, she would have to give serious thought about what to do about the tracker. What he could be to her, scared Alex to no end. Being with Ezra was safe, she was in complete control of herself with him.
She knew it would not be that way with Vin.
"We're not going away until you open the door!" Alex heard the second knock, followed by Inez's familiar, determined voice.
She meant it too; knowing what the hot-blooded woman could be like when she was adamant about anything. Alex sighed and decided that perhaps it would not be so terrible having company. She had been a hermit these past few days and was no doubt a source of concern to her friends. Just because Ezra behaved like a complete ass, did not give her the right to treat them poorly. Climbing out of bed, she padded down the hall and went to answer the door.
"It's about time," Mary stated when Alex let her in. Both Inez and Mary brushed past her, entering the house without waiting to be invited. "You had us worried sick!" The blond woman declared as the duo headed toward her kitchen with every expectation Alex would follow.
"Leave me alone." She whined as she followed them into the kitchen, somewhat curious as to what Mary and Inez brought with them.
The two women were going through her kitchen, grabbing plates and glasses from her cupboards as Alex sat down at the kitchen table. She could smell the enticing aroma of baked pastry from the basket Inez brought with her. "What's in there?".
"Apple and cinnamon pie," Mary said with a wicked gleam in her eyes as she set down the plates. "Is it starve a cold or feed a fever? I can never tell. You're the doctor."
"Today, I don't care." Alex looked into the paper bag that set next to the pie. Inside was a tall bottle of scotch. "Inez, did you swipe this from the saloon?"
Inez gave her a look of innocence. "I am a partner in the business." She remarked with complete dignity. "I do not need to swipe. I just took it when no one was looking."
"It's not the bottle Ezra uses for drinks on the house, is it?" Mary asked, remembering what Ezra had said about the free drinks in the saloon.
"There is no such bottle," Inez said gruffly. "I just told him that so he wouldn't complain every time I had to give anyone a free drink."
"Can we please not talk about Ezra?" Alex grumbled.
"Well, in your honour, I have been torturing him with a terrible mood for the past two days." Inez grinned as she poured them all around of drinks while Mary began to serve pie. "He'll either shoot me or go crazy, whichever comes first." Inez smile was almost sadistic.
"Keep it up for a week at least." Alex had to laugh at the wicked gleam in Inez's eyes. The doctor was starting to feel a little better although not much. "Make him suffer."
"Aside from the cold, how do you feel? Mary asked seriously since Alex had been hidden away for two days.
"I feel like hell," Alex admitted, trying not to let the emotions get the better of her. She felt awful, and that was the truth. Alex had no idea what she should feel. She was angry at Ezra for cheating, but she was also guilty because of her growing feelings for Vin. Right now, all she wanted to do was bury her head under her pillows and never come out.
"That's men for you." Inez sighed, taking a sip of her drink and savouring the liquid in her mouth. "They can never make up their minds. One minute they say they are the one for you and the next minute you know, he is chasing everything in a skirt around town. Sometimes, I wonder why we bother."
"Speak for yourself," Mary remarked. "Chris is perfectly wonderful except I can't get him to wear anything else but black for some reason. Is there something wrong with blue?"
Inez and Alex simply stared at her.
"What?"
"Chris may be the exception." Alex pointed out, moving off the topic of Chris Larabee's fashion sense. "I am perfectly content to believe that all men are too much trouble right now." With that, she dug into the pie and took a large bite and introduced comfort food to her stomach for the first time since she was a teenager, pining after her first crush.
"Even Vin Tanner?" Mary asked coyly, wondering if Alex had any feelings on the subject of the tracker. Mary was certain more took place between Vin and Alex out there at the Doherty place even if none of them was saying what that might be. Sometimes the best way to forget about an unhappy relationship was by toying with the idea of a new one.
"Don't go there." Alex groaned, not wishing to discuss the tracker in any shape or form at this point. Her feelings towards Vin was half the reason she was in her current state, and she had no wish to discuss him until the fog in her brain cleared a little more.
"Vin would never hurt a woman," Inez said confidently about the tracker. "Although I don't think he has known that many."
"He knew Charlotte." Mary pointed out.
It was the first time that Alex heard about any woman's name connected to Vin Tanner. "Who's Charlotte?"
Mary went on to relate the story about how Vin had become infatuated with Charlotte Richmond, the wife of one of the men leading the wagon trail further west. The whole affair had ended badly with Vin having to give her up at the end of the journey. The incident was one of the few occasions where Vin and Chris disagreed on anything, even though Chris professed to not judging him and tried to advise the affair was ill-timed.
"I never pictured him as such a romantic," Alex replied, even though she knew perfectly well just how passionate Vin Tanner could be when he was inspired. Did she inspire him? Alex believed so, and she also remembered those precious few moments inside the cabin when suddenly, Ezra Standish was the farthest thing from her mind.
"He has to be drawn out that one," Inez commented. "I think once you make him admit it, he'll surprise you."
"I suppose he would." Alex mused, suddenly letting her mind drift away on the memories of their kisses. For that one brief moment, it was the most perfect experience of her life before the fears and obligations to Ezra crowded in on them, and she had run from Vin like a frightened teenager. In hindsight, Alex wondered if it would have been better if she allowed Vin to make love to her. At least, Ezra's betrayal would not feel so acute then.
Mary smiled faintly; recognising the glimmer in Alex's eyes as the thought crossed her mind and knew Alex was on the mend, even if the doctor felt like her world was ending at this moment. It would take time, but the possibility of what Vin Tanner could mean to her was now starting to dawn on Alexandra Styles.
They say patience was a virtue, and happily, Mary Travis had a great deal of it.
Alex and Vin would be together. It would just take a little longer.
And a bit more pushing.