Very Few to Love

by Julia Verinder

Webmaster Note: This fic was formerly archived on another website and was moved to blackraptor in October 2008

- 1 -

'Good evening, Mr.-?'

Vin glanced sideways at the woman who was delicately perching herself on a barstool only a couple of feet to his right. She smoothed her skirts and then patted the abundant toffee-colored curls that cascaded from a hair band of red silk. He had noted her looking at him once or twice during the three days she'd been in town but this was the first time that she had addressed him. He considered her greeting, mindful that her husband was playing cards at a table not twenty yards from where they sat, and wondered what she was after.

In truth, he did not approve of adultery. His views sprang not from any notion of sin but rather from a belief that people should keep their word once they'd given it. He had gone against that belief only once, in a situation that seemed at the time to justify it, and found nothing but heartache at the end of it.

Of course, none of that meant he couldn't be civil.

'Tanner,' he finished her sentence. He did not offer his given name, although he suspected she already knew it.

'I'm Ellen Dawson,' she told him boldly, as if a married woman introducing herself to a single man in a saloon was the most natural thing in the world. Until that moment, she had appeared to be the model of propriety.

Vin did not regard himself as susceptible to womanly wiles, often being amazed by how Buck reacted to any bit of cuff that passed through town, but he could not deny his response to this one. He could easily have ignored the stirring in his pants that betrayed his appreciation of her petite but curvaceous figure, but there was something about her perky vulnerability that exerted a more powerful attraction for him.

'I know,' he said, conscious that he allowed a note of warmth to enter his voice and a twinkle to enter his eyes.

'And what are you doing here, all alone tonight?' Her tone left him in no doubt that she was flirting with him. It was a side of her that he had not seen before and, although at one level it shocked him, at another it appealed.

He was hardly alone, with four of his six friends in the town dotted around the bar. Only Chris and Josiah were absent, the former not due back from his shack until noon the next day and the latter most likely in his room at the back of the church. Vin had been playing cards with Buck, JD and Nathan but, deciding his pocket couldn't withstand his losing streak any longer, had folded his hand and taken his drink to the bar. He often sat there, occasionally chatting to Inez but usually just watching the patrons' movements in the mirror behind her. That evening, the woman's husband was giving Ezra a drubbing at poker. Not too many men could do that when Ezra was playing in earnest, and Vin was curious what had brought the kind who could to their dusty backwater.

'You're here, ain't ya?' he teased.

'Before I came in, silly.'

'Nothin' much.'

'There's not much to do in this town, is there?'

There was no particular criticism in the remark. Mrs. Dawson seemed only to be stating things as she saw them. Vin couldn't argue with her assessment, given that entertainment in Four Corners pretty much ended with drinking and gambling. With no whores in town, only a man like Buck - willing to devote half his life to the chase - could have a woman most of the time. Perhaps the lack of one was his trouble, Vin pondered. He hadn't had a woman since Charlotte Richmond and had to admit that he'd been feeling the deprivation. He could take care of his immediate physical need easily enough but his hand didn't satisfy the desire that he felt. Perhaps it was because of that he kept talking, when his instincts told him to stay well away from the Dawsons.

'It is kinda quiet.'

Mrs. Dawson took a sip from her glass of watered whisky, and then let the very tip of her tongue trace her lips in a subtle but highly suggestive gesture. Vin's loins stirred, getting their vote for action in fast.

'What sorts of things do you like doing?'

Asked without her wit and subtlety, the question would have seemed coarse to Vin. As it was, it conjured a vivid image of exactly what he would have liked to be doing at that moment. He felt the blood pulsing through his body and knew that, while his groin might be concealed by his jacket, she would spot the minute changes in his eyes and complexion that betrayed his interest.

He replied with a half-truth. 'Aw, huntin' an' fishin', I reckon.'

'Really?' Her honey-gold eyes were wide. 'Then this must be the perfect place for you to live.'

He hadn't decided how to answer that when he spotted her swift glance at her husband. It brought him instantly back down to earth. There was something off about the look, the same something that had been bothering him ever since the Dawsons came into town earlier that week. For some reason, Mrs. Dawson was annoyed with her husband and she was flirting with Vin to get her own back. Glancing up at the mirror, Vin saw the same annoyance reflected in Mr. Dawson's face. Looking more closely, he decided that the expression owed more to irritation than to annoyance. He pondered that, wondering whether it was odd for a married couple to carry on in such a manner. He couldn't lay claim to much experience but he figured he'd be a good deal more than irritated if his wife set out her stall for another man in front of him, not to mention a full saloon.

Of one thing he was sure: he didn't like being a pawn in anyone's game.

'What's he done t'make you wanna play games with me?' he asked bluntly.

She smiled, clearly unperturbed by his frankness. In fact, he thought she seemed delighted by it.

'Why would I need a reason to play games with you?' Those pretty eyes widened again. 'You're very sweet.'

Vin wasn't sweet, and he judged Mrs. Dawson too astute to make any mistake on that score. He thought himself fair and just, and might even have gone as far as 'kind' if pressed for a description, but his life had been far too harsh for him to remain innocent or sentimental, even if he had been made that way to begin with. His reason for continuing the conversation, when he suspected he would do better to terminate it, was far from sweet. The woman's proximity had him as hard as the barrel of his gun and, while he didn't expect to find a holster for his weapon that night, he saw no harm in fueling the fantasies that he expected to be his only relief later on.

He let a broad smile spread slowly over his face. Unlike a lot of men he knew, he had good teeth and colder women than Mrs. Dawson had fallen prey to his smile. Aware of the hold that her intense amber stare had over him, he let his keen blue eyes hold it for a few seconds. When he was sure he'd given her ample opportunity to gauge his interest, he dropped his gaze back to his shot glass and let her chatter on. He wasn't much of a talker but had no doubt that she could keep a conversation going single-handed, once she'd been given such a clear invitation to do so. He would have to make do with the fluid movements of her pink lips forming her words and the rise and fall of her shapely bosom as she drew breath.

 

- 2 -

Having stayed up way past his usual hour, Vin woke late the next morning. He was sorry to wake at all, leaving behind a dream far more satisfying than real life was likely to be. He caressed himself lazily, drawing out his pleasure, savoring every last second of his leisurely release. The sun was peeping over the buildings on the east side of Main Street by the time he hauled himself out of his wagon. Such self-indulgence was unprecedented, and he knew that he could expect a good ribbing about it from his friends. By the time he'd been through his customary routine, it was mid-morning. Even so, he was surprised to see Chris's black gelding already hitched outside the restaurant.

He had barely opened the door before JD and Buck started on their double-act.

'Here he is!'

'And about time too.'

'Yeah, Vin, what time do you call this?'

'I thought you trackers were always up with the sun.'

He ignored them, collecting his usual breakfast of eggs and coffee before sauntering over to the table that they were sharing with Chris.

'Hey, Cowboy,' he greeted his returned friend, still refusing to rise to the others' gibes.

Chris smiled, an expression he wore too little but which was all the warmer for its rarity. Vin liked Chris, more than he could ever recall having liked any man in his life. It wasn't often that you met someone you felt so easy with, someone you admired and respected without any sense of awe or distance. He supposed he sort of aspired to be like Chris, although not in the youthful way that JD tried to emulate them all. Vin's father had died before he was born, and he'd never felt any need for a replacement, but he thought his feelings for Chris were akin to how a son was apt to feel for a good father. He wasn't blind to Chris's faults, his consuming need to resolve his past and the heavy drinking that it often triggered, and yet still he saw a model for aspects of how he would like his own character to develop. In particular, he was fascinated that a man whose fast draw was known across three territories could be the avid reader and kind father that he knew Chris to be.

'Anything new?' Chris inquired, draining his cup of coffee.

His words recalled to Vin's mind Mrs. Dawson's comments about social life in Four Corners. 'Nope, dead as a doornail around here.'

'Oh, I wouldn't say that.' Buck grinned. 'Seems to me like you been keepin' busy there, Vin.'

Vin took a mouthful of his eggs before looking up to find three pairs of eyes on him, all filled with amusement. He guessed that he'd been the topic of conversation even before his arrival. That was another drawback of living in a small town - everyone knew your business, even before you had any business to know.

It brought back the whole episode with Charlotte Richmond sharper than Vin needed to see it. It had taken months for him to work through his feelings, slowly disentangling his disappointment, humiliation and loneliness until his soul lay bare before him. Then, he had been furious with Buck and Ezra for the way they'd talked about the affair, making tawdry something that was so precious to him. Now, he relegated those memories to the past. They had nothing to do with Mrs. Dawson, a woman who clearly had no fear of her husband and whose interest in Vin appeared to be as superficial as his interest in her. If he planned on acting like Buck in sight of the whole town, he could hardly complain if the change in him was remarked upon.

He settled on a self-deprecating reply. 'I should be so lucky.'

Chris grinned at him. 'I figured they were talking through their hats.'

Vin shrugged. 'She was jus' foolin' around, tryin' to get her husband on the worry, 'less I miss my guess.'

He saw Chris's eyes narrow minutely, and registered anxiety in the gaze. Chris was worried that he was about to be hurt again, and Vin was touched by the concern. He let his own eyes speak back, conveying that he had had known how the land lay and was just enjoying the attention. Chris no longer had time for such nonsense from a woman, seeing only ladies to be respected and whores to be paid, but Vin guessed there'd been a time when he'd have enjoyed a harmless bit of fun as much as the next man.

Even as he gave his reply, Vin knew there was an element of self-defense in it. By telling his friends that he'd spotted the trap, he was implying that he hadn't fallen into it. He might have believed it himself, except that his hopeful glances up and down Main Street before coming into the restaurant left him in no doubt that Ellen Dawson had done more than tantalize him. He was intrigued, by more than just her more obvious assets, and debated asking Buck and JD what they thought of the newcomers in town. Then, knowing any such question would undermine his feigned indifference, he decided to let sleeping dogs lie. Besides, if anyone knew anything, it would be Ezra, a man who didn't usually need several hours of poker to assess a character.

 

- 3 -

Vin had gone back for bread after his eggs, then cake, and ended up chewing the fat with the others until breakfast had stretched through dinnertime and beyond. When they ran out of steam, he wandered outside, leaned against the corner of the building and returned to pondering Mr. Dawson's presence in Four Corners. The town offered poor pickings for a professional gambler and his wife's remarks about the limited social life suggested they were accustomed to livelier surroundings. They might simply be on their way to somewhere else but Vin's gut wasn't satisfied with that explanation. As objective as he tried to be, he couldn't decide whether he really thought something was off or whether he just wanted a justification for pursuing his personal interest.

It wasn't long before his vigil was rewarded and the door of the hotel swung inwards. Ellen Dawson stalked haughtily onto the sidewalk. Startled by the change in her demeanor, he faded out of sight without making any sudden movement that might draw her eye. Leaning forward just enough to watch where she was going, he saw her flounce off through the dust in a direction he suspected she had chosen at random. There was nothing ahead of her but open country, not the prettiest in the vicinity and containing nothing that she could possibly reach on foot. If she had succeeded in attracting her husband's attention, doing so clearly hadn't brought her happiness. The fact that she was unharmed, not to mention furious rather than fearful, made Vin wonder if it was her husband who deserved pity.

He thought back to the couple's irritated glances. Their odd relationship was one of the things that troubled him. He'd seen a jealous husband as close as he needed to and irritation hadn't covered the look on that man's face. Dawson's annoyance at his wife's flirting was identical to her annoyance at his choosing to play cards. As that thought made its way through Vin's mind, he realized she hadn't been annoyed at him playing - he'd already played several games with various people - she was annoyed at him winning, especially against Ezra.

After a few minutes, Vin decided to follow Mrs. Dawson. He had no doubt he could do so unseen and, although he didn't expect the surveillance to yield much of value, it seemed worth a try. As she had pointed out, there was nothing compelling for him to do elsewhere.

Predictably, his quarry found nothing to entertain her in the dust and grass that surrounded Four Corners. After a half an hour's aimless wandering, she threw herself down beside a birch sapling and began to sob. He settled himself against a cottonwood about fifty yards away, watching her thoughtfully. He might have been moved to comfort her, had he not understood the nature of her tears. She wasn't upset in the usual sense and he didn't believe her husband had been ill-treating her. What he saw was a woman looking for an outlet for her frustration, as if he or one of his friends had gone for a hard ride, shot at some cans or picked a fight for the hell of it. He wondered what could have incensed her so. Whatever it was, there was plenty of it because his legs were beginning to cramp by the time she dried her eyes.

She stood up and looked around, seeming to scan the lonely landscape for inspiration before walking more calmly towards the creek that ran east of town. Vin thought about her choice. He usually rinsed out his washing down there and could stage a chance encounter if he wanted to. He weighed up the idea: he was curious and he could think of worse things to do with an afternoon than spend it with Mrs. Dawson, even in her present frame of mind. He could handle being told to go to hell, if that was to be her response. Had he thought it through that far, he would have been less comfortable with the idea of using her misery to breach her defenses for his own satisfaction but he did not, instead setting off back to town to pick up some things from his wagon.

Traveling at his own pace and in straight lines, even with his detour, it took him less than twenty minutes to reach the creek. He moved silently through the trees, scanning his surroundings until he spotted the lady, who was now sitting on a grassy bank throwing pebbles into the water. He realigned his approach to take him innocently past her on his way to a beach suited to his purpose. In a performance of which he was justly proud, he strode casually along until the creek's winding course revealed her to him and then made a decent show of being surprised. Watching her reaction to his arrival, he suspected he had been wasting his time. She was surprised by his arrival but there was a knowing quality in her gaze that suggested she did not believe in coincidence. It didn't matter; the charade enabled them both to pretend that the encounter was accidental.

'What brings you down here, Mr. Tanner?'

There was no trace of anger in her voice, but the vivacity of the previous evening was gone too. Unable to read her mood from her tone or her expression, some of his uneasiness returned. He didn't regard being good with people as one of his greatest strengths and something told him that this woman's skills in that area far exceeded his own. Still, having come so far, he had little option but to finish what he'd started.

'I usually do my washin' here,' he replied truthfully, waving the bundle he carried.

He saw the indecision in her eyes and let it play. She wasn't sure whether to tell him to go ahead or to intercept him. As for himself, he wasn't sure what answer he was hoping for.

'Oh, come over here for goodness' sake,' she said. 'I can't be doing with all these games.'

Only then was he sure that his eagerness to spend more time with her outweighed his doubts. He did as he was told but then stopped short and settled himself against a tree stump, facing her but a few feet away.

'Your husband won't be happenin' by, will he?'

'Who knows?' she asked. 'Who cares? He pleases himself so why shouldn't I please myself?'

Vin studied her, considering the response. She intended to play the separate lives defense for what she wanted to do. He knew it wasn't the whole truth but he was pretty sure it was part of the truth: his impression from the previous evening was that Dawson would be annoyed by what his wife was doing but not because he objected to the act itself. Vin couldn't begin to understand that attitude. He was respectful of women, considering them whole people to be listened to and treated fairly, but he was also a healthy male of the species who, having chosen his female, would fight off any other contenders for her favors. He never questioned that instinctive response, knowing too well the natural heritage from which such urges sprang, but neither did he question the instinct that was driving him now. An attractive female was leading him on and her male was neglecting his duty to defend her - few animals would waste time in questioning such a golden opportunity.

Any hope of reason triumphing over lust evaporated when Mrs. Dawson crawled over and kissed him. Her lips were hungry, offering not diffident little pecks but a passionate exploration of his mouth. Only two thoughts managed to find space in his distracted mind. The first was that he should try to think of her as Ellen, not by the name that identified her as someone else's wife. The second was that what Buck said about widows was equally true of wives: they knew what a man wanted, far better than any young maiden ever could. Ellen was almost devouring him, parting his clothes to seek out his body with an urgency that he'd rarely experienced. Somewhere at the back of his mind, a small voice questioned whether such… desperation… was normal but he didn't want to hear its protest. He pushed her backwards, not roughly but firmly, and unbuttoned his fly one-handed while probing her mouth with his tongue. He wasn't sure why he was hurrying, almost forcing the encounter, and wondered if it was from fear that she might change her mind before he got satisfaction.

It couldn't even have been a minute before he groaned and made his final thrust into her body. Only then did the unseemly haste come home to him. Even when he paid for sex, it was always an amicable affair. He would hold the whore close afterwards, stroke her hair and listen to her chat for a while. Part of what he needed from sex was to be close to someone but he didn't feel close to Ellen. He had no idea who she was or why she would let him do what he just had. She'd betrayed her husband with a man she'd barely spoken to, which put her way below a whore in Vin's estimation. Still, although he wasn't proud of what they'd done, he wasn't particularly ashamed either. He had a strong romantic streak, which had taken him far along the path to love on a few memorable occasions, but he was also a pragmatist who felt no compulsion to deny that people had the same basic needs as other animals. He wouldn't lose any sleep over satisfying his, even with another man's wife.

Judging by the way Ellen pulled away from him, the encounter had seemed as abrupt and loveless to her as it had to him. He watched her hastily restore her dignity and then set off back to town at the same stomp as she'd left it, without even bidding him farewell. He remained where he was, wearing a bemused expression. He'd had plenty of opportunity to observe casual encounters during his acquaintance with Buck and what he'd just seen was far from casual. Ellen was a veritable cauldron of simmering emotion and he knew women well enough to see that her fury could turn to more tender feelings in a flash. He wondered if he had been wrong to use her, not because she was married but because she was acting strangely for reasons as yet unknown to him.

 

- 4 -

Eventually Vin returned to town, joining Chris and Buck in the saloon. Sensing an atmosphere, he studied their faces. He was unsure whether they were waiting for some explanation from him or whether his guilty conscience was playing tricks. A closer look at Chris convinced him that something had happened.

'What?'

'Mrs. Dawson just marched her husband back to the hotel,' Chris informed him, in a typically neutral tone that conveyed no opinion on the matter. 'I don't suppose her frame of mind could have anything to do with you?'

Vin weighed that up. His previous adulterous affair had pushed him close to the edge of his friendship with these men but the current situation was quite different. He didn't feel particularly defensive on this occasion, knowing that his actions didn't affect them directly as they had before and also that Buck at least wouldn't have turned down the offer had it come his way.

He said, 'She was already mad as hell.'

Buck grinned. 'So was your contribution to give her what she wanted or not to give her what she wanted?'

Some part of Vin resisted answering that question. What he'd done was bad enough - he didn't need to compound his crime by telling the whole town. 'Does it matter? She's fit to be tied. I don't know what's goin' on but I reckon it won't be too long till we find out.'

Their conversation was interrupted by Ezra's arrival.

'Hey, Ezra,' Buck said. 'Didn't expect to see you so soon. Inez said you and Dawson were still playin' when she called it a night.'

Ezra collected a glass of beer from the bar before joining them.

'Indeed. I do believe I saw the dawn from the wrong side.'

'Lose much?' Buck asked.

Ezra scowled at him, clearly resenting the suggestion. 'No.' He took a sip from his glass, then gave a wry smile. 'Although I must confess that I have rarely worked so hard, merely to break even.'

'Is he that good?' Chris asked.

'Yes, he is.' Ezra looked up significantly. 'And I think that begs a question. What is a professional of his caliber doing here in our town? So far, I have thought of few innocuous possibilities.'

It was the same question that had been bothering Vin, and he suspected it had occurred to most of their number by now. His train of thought was interrupted by Ezra staring at him. He raised an eyebrow.

'I was awoken somewhat rudely from my slumber by a commotion at the hotel. Its solid construction denied me the details, but I have the impression that a fracas is in progress in the Dawson household. It sounded as if heavy objects were hitting the partition wall when I left. May I assume you had something to do with that?'

Vin didn't have a chance to answer, because Buck jumped right in. 'Is she all right?'

Ezra's smile broadened at the assumption. 'I suspect it is Mrs. Dawson who is doing the throwing. What is your opinion, Mr. Tanner?'

Vin knew his silence was an admission that he agreed with Ezra's assessment.

'What the hell kind of man stands for that?' Chris asked.

'Long experience of my dear Mother's romantic affairs would equip me to furnish a full profile. However, I do not believe that Mr. Dawson fits any description I might offer.'

'Then why does he put up with it?' Vin asked. It was a question that he wanted answered, because he felt he was rapidly getting out of his depth.

'Alas, that is a question to which I am, as yet, unable to give a reliable reply.'

Vin was about to pursue it when the subject of their discussion strode confidently through the saloon doors, ignoring the bar and coming directly to their table. Vin took the chance to appraise the man whose wife he had just taken so unceremoniously. Taller and darker than Vin, he was a good-looking man with steady brown eyes that betrayed both intelligence and determination. He appeared unscathed by his wife's tantrums.

'I wonder if I might have a word?' His voice was low but insistent.

Surprised to be tackled so soon, Vin rose slowly to his feet. He didn't expect any support from his friends to face a lone man with a fair grievance. If it came to violence, he would have to fight his own battle on such a personal matter. He had no fear of Dawson, confident he could take him with any weapon and willing to face the consequences if he was wrong. He hoped it wouldn't come to that because, although he was not ready to die, neither was he eager to take a life over something so trivial.

Still, thinking himself prepared for anything, he followed the other man outside. When Dawson spoke, Vin realized that he had not been prepared for one thing: a reasoned argument. His rival put his case in the same calm and rational tone that Vin had heard him use in card play.

'I realize I am somewhat tardy in my intervention but I would be grateful if you discontinued this dalliance with my wife. I know she has been a willing participant but I think you can see for yourself that she is less than stable at present. You are under no obligation to take advantage of her vulnerability.'

Vin was caught off-guard by Dawson's apposite choice of strategy, hitting on the only one likely to influence him. He tried to read Dawson's expression, still seeing no sign of jealousy, only strong concern for Ellen. That made him regret indulging his baser instincts.

'Wasn't plannin' t'make a habit of it,' he said and then, hearing how blunt that sounded, added, 'Wasn't plannin' on it at all.'

Dawson nodded and turned away, walking briskly back towards the hotel as if they'd been discussing the price of stabling. After a few seconds of stunned silence, Vin went back inside, where his friends were waiting with thinly veiled curiosity. JD had taken his place at the table. Vin bit his lip thoughtfully and glanced around them.

'What do you make of a husband who's worried about a man pushin' his wife over the edge but don't seem to care about him giving her a seein' to?'

'Maybe he can't,' Buck suggested.

'Or perhaps he isn't her husband,' Ezra posited.

Vin looked at the gambler. 'That's my bet.'

'So no repercussions for your fun, then?' Buck goaded.

Vin gave him a long look. 'Don't know how you live with yourself sometimes, Buck. I feel like a sack of dirt.'

Buck did a fair impersonation of wounded innocence, which was wasted on Vin who knew how long he'd have spent debating the issue if the pretty young wife had turned her attentions in his direction.

'What were Dawson's exact words?' Ezra inquired.

'That he'd be grateful if I discontinued this dalliance,' Vin repeated, unintentionally mocking the man's turn of phrase then adding in a more matter of fact tone, 'That he reckoned I can see she ain't stable and I ain't obliged to take advantage of it.'

Ezra pursed his lips. 'At the risk of sounding cynical, and without questioning the man's motives, I'd say that has a professional ring. My guess is he judged you were more susceptible to a plea of that type than a threat.'

Vin shrugged. 'Don't mean it ain't the truth. She's different every time I see her - I don't call that stable.' He kneaded the space between his eyebrows. 'Anyways, if they ain't man and wife, why the play-actin'?'

'But they're sharing a room at the hotel,' JD volunteered, making Buck roll his eyes into a never-mind-the-boy expression. 'I only thought,' JD spelled out patiently, 'That seemed pretty cozy. I ain't saying they gotta be married but I'da thought a man sharin' a bed with a woman would be just as jealous, with or without the paper.'

'Fair point, son,' Ezra agreed. 'Of course, they may not be sharing a bed in the way that you infer but it does seem an intimate arrangement. Family perhaps? A con gone wrong?'

Vin gave a slight nod. 'Ain't easy for a couple on the run. Stuck with husband and wife, brother and sister, such like. Best thing'd be to split up but I doubt she'd last a week.'

'They could be brother and sister - I've known a few teams like that. It's useful when working, both being free agents so to speak, but not so good on the run, when one doesn't want to attract that kind of attention. If she is becoming unreliable, he'll have some hard decisions to make. Meanwhile, if he's the professional I think he is, I suspect our concern should be who is after them and whether they are on their way to this municipality.' He paused thoughtfully before adding, 'The lady obviously has a soft spot for you, Mr. Tanner. You might be our best chance to find out more.'

Vin was uneasy with that idea and made no effort to hide it.

'I was suggesting merely that you try to talk to her,' Ezra emphasized hastily.

Vin shifted in his chair, loath to voice his doubts. Finally, he said, 'Ain't so sure she'll want to talk to me.'

Ezra shrugged. There was no need for them to pressure him, Vin thought sourly, because his conscience was doing a fine job of that on its own.

 

- 5 -

After pondering the matter for a good part of the night, Vin decided his loyalties lay with his friends and the town. He settled on a compromise: no more sessions like the one by the creek but he would try to talk to Ellen. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he should try to do so anyway. He had never taken a woman in quite the way he had the previous day and certainly never come out of an encounter avoiding a woman's gaze and watching her stomp off in disappointment.

He loitered around town all morning, unobtrusively watching for Ellen while occupying himself with checkers, seeing to his horse, tidying his wagon and anything else he could think of to disguise his purpose. It was gone noon when she emerged from the hotel. Her looser stride suggested an easier mood but she set off in exactly the opposite direction from the creek, a choice so precise that it could hardly be accidental. Vin saw it as meaning that she did not want to be reminded of what had happened, or that she did not want to run into him by accident, or both. He regretted the need to disappoint her again but tacked up his gelding, aiming to loop round and run into her during her walk, in another supposedly chance encounter.

His plan went well enough and he spotted her when she was still most of a hundred yards away. She turned off the road when she saw him, struggling through the long grass towards a knot of trees on a ridge. When she saw him change direction, she stopped for a moment but then carried on, resigned to the fact that she could not avoid a man on horseback if he chose to intercept her. They met under the cover of the trees.

He dismounted, tethered his horse then walked over to where she had settled herself on a small grassy mound. He looked into her golden eyes, which today contained only sadness and shame, the fury of the previous day gone without a trace. He squatted down in front of her.

'I'm real sorry about yesterday,' he said. 'Had no call to do what I did.'

Her surprise was obvious. 'Why are you apologizing? I asked for it. There's nothing you could have done that I wouldn't have richly deserved.'

'You were upset.'

She gave a hollow laugh. 'I seem to be upset most of the time these days. I'm becoming a liability. Poor Rich…'

She stopped sharply, giving Vin an anxious glance. He didn't know what first name Dawson was using but it clearly wasn't Richard. He let the slip go. It confirmed that the couple weren't who they claimed to be: more could come later. He settled himself at the base of the mound, his back comfortably supported by its steepest slope. He decided to take a more casual approach to his questioning, moving on to something that she might be happier to discuss.

'Why'd you pick me?'

She blushed a becoming shade of pink. 'You seemed kind, something about your eyes.'

That shamed him. 'Yesterday must have been a hell of a disappointment then.'

She gave a slight shake of her head. 'You're a man. You only did what any man would have done.'

'I'd like to do better than just any man,' he told her. 'Reckon we could forget it ever happened and start over?'

Her smile at his request lit up her face, bringing back something of the woman who had charmed him in the saloon. 'I would love to do that,' she replied.

'Your husband asked me to stay away from you.'

'Did he? I expect he felt he had to.'

Vin didn't know what to make of that response. 'You don't think he cares what you do?'

'Not in the way you think.'

'He seems worried about you.'

She nodded.

'Ain't none of my business but I don't reckon he is your husband.'

She did not reply but the lack of surprise or outrage seemed to confirm his hypothesis. Not daring to push her further, he drew his knees up towards his chest, folded his arms on his knees and rested his chin on his forearms. Gazing into the distance, he pondered how to draw her out of herself.

'You seem like a different woman every time I see you,' he ventured. 'Sad today. Angry yesterday. Full o' fun the night before.'

She nodded again. 'I'm not in control any more. I don't know what's happening to me.' Tears rolled down her cheeks, without any other indication that she was crying, no sobs and no sniffs.

Vin moved to her side and put his arm around her shoulders, his touch now offering reassurance in place of passion. She leaned against him, seeming to find some comfort in his embrace.

'Do you think the mind can just go, Mr. Tanner, like eyesight or hearing?'

'Vin,' he told her absently as he considered her question. 'Don't know. That what you're afraid of?'

She nodded. 'It's not just the moods. I forget things too. That's disastrous in our line of work.'

He couldn't let that one pass. 'Your line of work?'

She looked puzzled for a moment, as if she had already forgotten using those words. 'Mr. Standish knows,' she said obliquely. 'John should never have risen to that old chestnut.'

So, John Dawson was really Richard something.

'That why you were angry at him playin'?'

'Angry at him winning.'

Vin nodded to himself. If that intuition had been correct, he assumed his other suspicions were too. The details were less important than the potential consequences.

She snuggled against him, as if trying to draw strength from him. Her movement was not suggestive but more like a child seeking protection from its parent. However, unaccustomed to having women press their bodies against him, Vin had to make a conscious effort to stifle his natural response. He rested his chin on her head and smoothed the layers of tight waves left where she had twisted her curls into a knot at the nape of her neck.

Suddenly, she pulled away from him. 'Oh, how stupid of me,' she scolded herself, getting to her feet. 'You and your friends are worried about your town, not about me. I expect they told you to talk to me.' She set off down the slope at a reckless pace.

Vin watched her leave, uncertain of his ability to convince her otherwise, particularly since she was right. Well, perhaps not completely right - he was actually becoming very concerned for her. After a couple of minutes, he rode after her, jumped down lightly into her path and caught hold of her shoulders.

'We are worried what you might be runnin' from and we ain't so keen on you bringin' your troubles here. Okay? But that don't mean I ain't worried for you too.' He gave her a slight shake. 'Okay?'

She was taken aback by his earnestness. 'Why would you care about me?'

'Don't like to see no one as sad as you are,' he replied truthfully. He mounted the gelding, extended an arm to help her up behind him and rode back to the little mound. It was a peaceful and private spot, as good as any for the soul-searching he hoped to persuade her to do. He settled himself again, drew her close and tried to relax, hoping that she would follow suit and talk in her own good time.

She leaned against him, tearing a blade of grass into tiny pieces and he waited to see what, if anything, she would decide to share with him. After a long silence, she eventually spoke.

'Have you ever been married, Mr. Tanner?'

'No.' Wanting to keep her talking, he tried to expand on his customary taciturnity, 'Can't say I have. Why?'

Ignoring his question, she asked, 'You have never wanted children?'

He considered that. It wasn't particularly that he didn't want children, just that he wasn't keen on ties of any sort, to people, land or anything else.

'Ain't much of a one for settlin'.'

'I come from New England. I expected to be very settled, have my perfect husband and perfect children in a perfect little house with a perfect white picket fence.'

He smiled at the characterization, knowing she was half teasing, half telling the truth.

'I felt my life had ended when I found I couldn't have children. Things weren't as they should be when I became a woman,' she explained delicately. 'The doctors weren't sure but I made sure for myself, repeatedly. So yesterday wasn't as traumatic for me as you may have imagined.'

He put his arm back around her shoulders, knowing now that he had been right to regret his treatment of her. No wonder her behavior was so erratic when expressions of love were so tightly bound to past disappointment.

She looked up into his face, running her fingers over his rough jaw and then lifting her face up to kiss him tentatively. He hesitated, having implied to her companion that he would back off and promised himself that he would take no further advantage of her, but then responded with similar restraint.

'I'm sorry for how I've behaved toward you over the past few days, Vin. I had been experiencing difficulties for some months and then we made a serious error of judgment in selecting a mark. Now here we are, trying to lay low, but each succumbing to our own weaknesses and temptations. You are not seeing us at our best.'

Vin smiled. He wasn't a fan of confidence tricks and would have been less susceptible to the woman on good form than he was to her now she was in need. His thoughts must have showed.

'Perhaps you would only have despised me anyway.'

'Don't know about that. Don't often see eye to eye with Ezra but I'd be a fool to think he ain't got his uses.'

'You seem an honest, direct sort of man. Those are qualities I don't see very often. For what it's worth, we usually take people who are no better than us. That's partly how we got into this mess. O'Rourke is a mean-spirited man, who has come by most of his money dishonestly. I saw little harm in diverting some of it our way. Now it has gone wrong, I wish we had selected a less vicious mark.'

'You choose this life, or just follow him?'

She set about destroying another blade of grass. 'I can't blame him. He took care of me and gave me something when I had nothing. There was a time when I enjoyed a good con as much as he does. But it's no substitute for what I really wanted and ten years of moving on every week or month has shown me that it never will be. Now, not only do I have no husband and children, but I have no friends or neighbors either.'

Picking up on her need for real contact, for some sincerity in her dealings with someone, he tried again to find out more. Keeping his voice light-hearted, he asked, 'So, you gonna tell me who you really are?'

She laughed gaily, giving a glimpse of the woman in the bar. 'It won't mean anything to you. We're not famous!'

He smiled back, pleased to see her settled into an easier frame of mind.

'He's my brother, Richard Thorn. My name's Adele.'

He was surprised how glad he was to hear their true relationship confirmed, freeing him to worry only about how his actions affected her and not about any other impediments to their involvement. 'Pleased to meet you, Adele.'

She smiled back at him, seeming to share his amusement at the somewhat belated introduction. When she kissed him again, he put his arms around her and settled her against his chest. So far, he'd seen four sides to her: this soft, reflective woman; the charming chatterbox at the bar; the spitting fury of the previous day; and the despairing wretch that emerged between her other moods. She wasn't apt to bore a man, whatever else. He had enjoyed her conversation at the bar but the woman beside him now was definitely his favorite incarnation.

'You'll tell the others?'

Vin wasn't sure how to answer that. He didn't want to shatter the mood he was enjoying so much.

'Like I said, what they need to know is who's comin' and how much trouble.'

'O'Rourke's a big name in Oklahoma City. He runs rackets of various sorts and has some evil types on his payroll. If his men come here, we'll run if we have time or they'll kill us if we don't. I don't think it will affect anyone else, as no one will be defending or hiding us.'

He respected her brave assessment of the situation and wondered if there was some way he could help.

'You'd do better to split up.'

'In the past, I'm sure we would have but Richard is afraid to leave me now that I'm not coping so well.'

Vin pondered further. If Richard Thorn moved on, with the proceeds from the con, any men coming to Four Corners would be unlikely to identify Adele alone. That could meet his companions' requirements, at the limited risk of Vin assuming responsibility for the somewhat unpredictable visitor. He wondered if her brother would consider such a plan.

'How 'bout if I said I'd keep an eye on you?'

She gaped at him, her astonishment plain to see.

'Why would you do that?'

'One, I reckon you're less likely to get killed that way. Two, I reckon O'Rourke's men'd go on after your brother and the money - gives us what we want.'

Put like that, it was a sensible proposition, with something for everyone.

'I could talk to him. I am tired of running and I'm sure Richard would be safer without me, with things as they've been lately. But I am not sure he will be able to trust you - we are apt to see people in our own image.'

They said little after that but did not move on for some time. Vin was surprised to find, not twenty-four hours after their brutal coming together by the creek, his feelings drifting in a worryingly tender direction. He hoped he wouldn't regret becoming entangled with a woman who might be as likely to kill him as to love him back.

When they eventually returned to town, she rode sidesaddle behind him. She looked precarious, perched there, but he could feel that her seat was as secure and confident as his own. Women of the West rode astride, and more often drove anyway, but Vin knew that ladies back East often rode in the European fashion.

 

- 6 -

After stabling his horse, Vin joined his friends in the saloon. In a few short sentences, he told them all they needed to know about Richard and Adele Thorn, concentrating on their practical circumstances and only hinting at Adele's state of mind. He concluded with the offer he had made to her and his reasons for doing so.

Chris looked surprised. 'Could be a good idea,' he admitted, 'But you sure about gettin' caught up with her?'

'Ain't sure o' nothin' where she's concerned. Never seen a woman flip between moods like she does. But least this way, it'll only be me gets shot in my sleep.' His companions grinned at that but soon reverted to the uneasy expressions they'd worn so much since the Thorns came to town. 'Main problem is whether he'll go for it.'

It was most of an hour before Richard Thorn strode into the saloon. Although he joined them, he still addressed himself to Vin. His posture was stiff with suppressed anger, confirming that he wished Adele had kept their troubles to herself, but his voice was as controlled and civil as before.

'I am sorry you disregarded my request of last evening. I understand Adele has chosen to confide in you and I assume you have relayed the substance of that conversation to these gentlemen.'

Vin gave a slight nod.

'Why would you offer to help her?'

'Be safer for you to split up and we don't want no trouble here.'

Vin endured the man's scrutiny, trying to remain natural since he knew that any attempt to con a conman was doomed to failure. He assumed that he must have passed muster when he heard Thorn's next question.

'Do you have any idea of how… difficult she can be?'

Vin replied with a half-smile. 'Some.'

Thorn permitted himself a small smile in return. 'Yes, she was in fine form yesterday, wasn't she? Most of the contents of our hotel room found their way in my direction.' He looked sadly at the table, then at Ezra. 'I wish you could have seen her before all this. She really was one of the best in the business: charm, memory and initiative.' He looked back at Vin. 'You probably think it's my fault.'

Vin shook his head. 'It's the kid thing, ain't it?'

'She told you about that too?' His surprise was evident. 'All she ever wanted was children. The life we lead isn't much of a substitute. I got her into it to stop her last hysterical spree, which looked set to take in just about every man in New England. She seemed fine for years after that but now it's started again.'

Vin hadn't mentioned the matter of children to the others and their expressions softened at the realization that the woman's precarious state of mind had some foundation. If Chris could devote years to bitterness over the loss of his family, perhaps it wasn't so strange for a woman to resent being denied a family at all.

For his part, Vin was surprised to find his attitude to Richard Thorn undergoing the same transformation as had his attitude to Adele. There were more layers to the man than met the eye, just as there were with Ezra.

'You leave her here, I'll do the best I can. Just take the money and lead these fellas away.' As an afterthought, he asked, 'Don't suppose you ever thought about giving the money back?'

Thorn and Ezra exchanged amused glances. 'I don't believe that would quite take care of it. It's the principle of the thing, as far as O'Rourke is concerned.' He toyed with his watch chain for a few seconds before returning his attention to Vin. 'I'll leave her. I hope she isn't too disruptive. She can be petty and jealous but she's never been a threat to anyone but herself. I don't know how you'll put up with it - sometimes I could throw her off a tall building myself. In her defense, I can only say it's not her fault she was brought up to think a woman's sole purpose is to bear children. A constant sense of failure for something outside your control can't be much fun.'

Vin nodded. 'Reckon she was pretty straight this afternoon. Can't say I don't know what I'm gettin' into.'

Eyes fixed firmly on his hands, Richard added, 'In spite of everything, I… she means the world to me. Look after her.' He rose hastily, obviously unused to revealing even the least of his emotions.

Vin watched sympathetically as Thorn left the saloon. The combination of sorrow and guilt he saw in Thorn reminded him of when Josiah had confided his sister's history. No one could have guessed from the face that Vin presented to the world but he understood something of how the women felt. Nature had made him a non-conformist and circumstance had turned him into an outsider: he disliked the controls that folk put on folk to behave in a certain fashion and resented the petty pressures they exerted to get their way. Even so, a man was lucky in having far more freedom to map his own path. Denied her preordained future as a wife and mother, Adele faced a range of spinsterish occupations, in the company of sad and lonely women in similar positions. Had she been stronger, she might have carved a different destiny in the West, where roles were less rigid than in New England society, but she would never have the self-reliance and drive of a woman like Mary Travis.

 

- 7 -

The next morning, Thorn joined the westbound stage. Given the possibility that he might not return, he left his sister with a generous packet of money but took the bulk with him as suggested. Vin watched from a distance as the brother and sister kissed goodbye, Adele shaking like a leaf in a breeze. He felt a grim sense of foreboding, aware that their tale was unlikely to have a happy ending. He had no idea how he had been drawn into the saga, given that he disapproved of their lifestyle and was generally somewhat dismissive of hysterical women. If only he had never glimpsed what he believed to be the real Adele… once he did, he was lost. His compassionate nature had quickly embroiled him in a situation that he felt singularly ill-equipped to handle.

When even the dust cloud raised by the stagecoach had disappeared from view, Adele returned sadly to the hotel. Vin left it until dinner time to check on her, tapping softly on her door and then knocking louder when he got no reply.

'Go away,' a listless voice instructed.

He tried the door and was amused to find it open. Either Adele wanted to be intruded upon or she had forgotten to barricade herself in. He closed it softly behind him and sat on the edge of her bed. He didn't doubt her low spirits were genuine: no sister would happily bid goodbye to a beloved brother under their current circumstances and every normal emotion seemed to be amplified in her.

'Reckon we need to get something straight,' he told her. 'I'm gonna do my best to look after you and you're gonna do your best to be looked after.'

'Aren't I even allowed to mind my own business in my room?'

He detected what had become a familiar edge in her voice. When the moods came on her, there seemed a short window in which she could be pushed into them or cajoled out of them. If life over the coming days or weeks was to be tolerable, he needed to get the hang of manipulating her as he was sure her brother could.

'Only half a day's broodin' at a time,' he said firmly.

She struggled into a sitting position to take a closer look at him. There was a spark of defiance, quickly chased away by remorse.

'I'm sorry. I'll try to be good. What do you want me to do?'

'Come and get some grub.'

She dutifully followed him to the restaurant and ate a sandwich. Josiah and Nathan joined them when she had finished and, knowing they had not met Adele properly, Vin made the introductions.

'Adele, this is Nathan Jackson and Josiah Sanchez. They'll be only too happy to help you if you let 'em. Body and soul, you might say.'

He had briefed his friends on the arrangement early that morning, before the stagecoach left. Both were compassionate men on whom he knew he could rely for whatever help he might require. He hoped it wouldn't come to Last Rites.

'I'm very pleased to meet you, gentlemen,' Adele said primly. 'Vin has made me promise to be good, so I'm sure I won't be troubling you.'

Vin gave Josiah a knowing look. He reckoned Adele's promises were probably good for about an hour.

'What're you gonna do with yourself while your brother's away?' Josiah asked her.

'What can I do? Only last week, Richard told me that I'm neither use nor ornament these days.'

'Hey!' Vin said sharply, not intending to let her fall back into self-pity.

'I meant only that my skills aren't much in demand here,' came her meek reply.

Josiah was watching the exchange closely and seemed to understand that Vin was trying to lay some ground rules for the demanding woman for whom he'd agreed to care. 'I could use some help at the church now and again. Not too long ago, a visitor told me it's not as clean as a House of God should be.'

Vin knew that he could count on Josiah for almost any kindness and that the former preacher had a lifetime of experience in dealing with a sister even more damaged than Adele. It gave him some confidence to feel he had someone to turn to if he found himself unequal to his task. He thought Adele might be offended by the idea that she should undertake menial chores but also that Josiah was a hard man to be offended by. She must know enough about her reputation to realize that anyone offering to endure her company was doing so as a favor. Still, he was relieved when she agreed politely.

'All right. When should I start?'

'There's no time like the present,' Josiah stood and offered his arm.

After a brief hesitation, she took it and followed him out. After they left, Vin leaned back in his chair and rolled his eyes at Nathan. His friend laughed.

'Might find you took on more than you bargained for.'

'I'll be dependin' on you fellas to help keep her occupied,' Vin replied. He felt a pang of guilt at the implied criticism: as difficult as Adele could be, he already regarded her as a friend and could easily come to feel more.

'Don't beat yourself up, Vin,' Nathan said, as if reading his mind. You're going well beyond the call here.'

Vin waved away the encouragement. His reasons were mostly as pragmatic as he claimed but there was an element of penance for the episode by the creek and an element of desire for another, more satisfying, such episode. With such mixed motives, he didn't see himself as ready for sainthood yet.

 

- 8 -

Vin was late coming into the saloon that evening, having looked around half-heartedly for Adele first. He was dismayed to find her at the bar, a third of the way down a bottle of whisky. Some of his friends were watching her but hadn't seen fit to intervene and Inez's disapproval, while plain to see, hadn't made her refuse service.

'Don't reckon things'll look any better for that,' he told Adele, moving the bottle away.

She snatched it back. 'How would you know?'

He looked towards the ceiling for a moment, debating whether to make an issue of it. It was obvious from her demeanor that the liquor wasn't bringing her good cheer so he took her arm with the intention of steering her back to the hotel. The fierce slap she landed on his cheek brought him up sharp and silenced everyone in the room. Ignoring all the eyes that had now turned on him, he grabbed Adele's wrists and stared her down. His skin was still smarting from the blow and he injected considerable menace into his warning.

'I ain't your brother. You hit me again, I'll hit you back. We clear on that?'

'I hate you,' she snarled at him.

'I can live with that,' he assured her, releasing his grip and letting her storm off into the night.

He took the bottle and glass with him when he joined his friends. The other customers gradually returned to their business, the hum of their conversations slowly rising to its former level.

'Regretting your chivalry yet, Mr. Tanner?' Ezra inquired.

'That one's enough to drive a man to drink,' Buck remarked, as Vin poured himself a generous measure.

Josiah smiled. 'She's been polishing pews like a regular little churchgoer all afternoon. You wouldn't think it was the same woman.'

Vin gave a weary grin. 'She ain't borin', I'll say that for her. Never know who she'll be day to day. Hour to hour, come to that.'

Buck picked up on his warning to Adele. 'You reckon it's 'cause her brother's spoiled her?'

'May be some of that,' Vin conceded, 'But it goes deeper. She can't control it and she hates herself afterwards.'

Buck nodded. 'If she was a man, taking a drink and pickin' a fight, nobody'd think too much of it. We just ain't used to seein' a woman get mad like that.'

'True enough,' Vin admitted. 'But, if she was a man, I'da knocked her through the wall.'

His friends laughed at that and he tried to relax in their easy company. He couldn't afford to let himself get tense after one day of Adele, given that he had no idea how many more days lay ahead. Dealing with her was not so different from handling a spoiled child and he'd seen how unfortunate relatives did that. He hoped that he would get the measure of her in time.

 

- 9 -

It was almost noon when Adele emerged the next day. Vin had been undecided whether to seek her out but, working on his spoiled child theory, thought in the end that it might be better to pay her more attention when she behaved well and less when she was difficult. She breezed into the saloon, where she found Ezra tackling his first drink of the day having risen little before she had. Vin watched unseen from the doorway.

'Good Morning, Mr. Standish. I was wondering if you might play a hand or two with me.'

'I'd be honored, Ma'am.' Ezra lied fluently, even though he was doubtless wondering how long her good mood would last. 'Five-card stud?'

'I prefer draw,' she told him.

'Draw it is then.'

They played throughout the afternoon and seemed to enjoy each other's company. It wasn't surprising that she had sought him out, the man most like her brother in town, but Vin suspected there was more to her choice. Ezra had never confided in him, or anyone else to the best of Vin's knowledge, but meeting Maude confirmed that Ezra's childhood had been far from easy. Perhaps some of the self-control that he brought to bear on his past might rub off on Adele. Meanwhile, she was in the guise in which Vin had first met her, the charming chatterbox, and Ezra was well able to sustain his end of the wide-ranging conversation that she initiated. Several of Vin's friends came and went during the game, while he monitored the situation over the door at intervals.

When she returned to the hotel, he waited for half an hour before calling on her. He saw straight away that she was in a contented frame of mind. Her room was tidy and a book lay on the bed where she had been reading. She let him in and closed the door softly behind him.

Staring at the floor, she said, 'I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have slapped you. And I don't hate you.'

'I know. Feelin' better today?'

She nodded, still downcast.

He put his hand under her chin and tilted her face upwards. She looked so forlorn, able to see now that he had been trying to help her and ashamed of her response. He shook his head slightly, telling her not to worry about it, and then kissed her tenderly. She seemed to melt into him, showing again that vulnerability that penetrated his defenses so easily. It was as if his desire gave her some of the purpose in life she lacked. The responsibility the role thrust upon him was daunting but, never one for brief flings, he resigned himself to it. His relationship with her was tempestuous but he did not forget the fact that he had been pining for female companionship before she came along. She had let him get closer to her in a few days than many couples managed in a lifetime and, on top of that, a part of him liked the feeling of being needed.

When she pulled away from him, her expression was playful. 'My reward for being good?' she teased.

'Might be a punishment, for all I know,' he responded in kind.

'No, never that.'

Tossing the book casually onto a chest of drawers, she pulled him onto the bed. He let himself be maneuvered, indulging her while he could and enjoying the gentle touch of her fingertips on his skin. There was none of the craving that had characterized her passion before and, instead, she seemed to be exploring him, discovering the texture and scent of each part of his body. Knowing what she now sought from him was romantic, not carnal, he wondered if any man had ever seen this side of her. Even without her brother's remark about a hysterical spree, Vin knew from her delicate allusion to her past that she was as well-used as a whore but her nomadic lifestyle since would surely have made sincere courtship difficult. Indeed, he assumed her hurried assault on him was down to her belief that she'd move on before she could cultivate a more conventional relationship.

He responded to her ministrations, touching and kissing her at every invitation, but did nothing that might erode her control over the encounter. His confidence in himself was such that he could easily surrender the initiative to her and he wanted to make her see that she could act in partnership with someone, rather than using a con to deceive or a tantrum to manipulate. Perhaps some of his self-assurance rubbed off because she slowly became more assertive, her movements remaining tender but growing more positive. When he lay back, shirtless but still wearing his pants, she clambered astride his hips and began to trace the outline of his navel with her forefinger. The yearning he felt then, even while she remained fully clothed, was a thousand times more erotic than the fleeting satisfaction he had found by the creek. Cupping a corseted breast in one hand and imagining his cock inside her body instead of crushed beneath it, he was close to climax.

He stayed that way, on and off, for longer than ever before. Physically, the frustration was almost painful but, emotionally, it was one of the most exciting evenings of his life. It was nearly midnight when he eventually left and, apart from a detour to relieve himself, he retired directly to his wagon. Part of the reason was basic enough - having restrained himself in Adele's presence, he had little choice but to find release in her absence - but there was a more romantic element. He felt a warm glow from their unconsummated love-making and wanted to hold on to that feeling for as long as he could.

 

- 10 -

Those two days set the pattern for the next couple of weeks. On Adele's good days, Vin felt on top of the world. He let her into every area of his life, from his meager leisure activities to the patrolling and tracking he did to earn the Judge's dollar-a-day for minding the town. On her bad days, he tried not to let her spite and selfishness destroy the fondness he bore for her. He refused to reward like with like, sometimes cutting himself off from her but never responding to her insults in kind. Sometimes that was harder than he'd expected and it was after one of her cruelest taunts that he made the decision to accompany Nathan to the reservation for a break. Knowing he couldn't just abandon her to the town, or perhaps the town to her, he went to see Josiah.

'Morning, Vin,' Josiah said, with a wave of his coffee pot.

Vin nodded. Perhaps things would look better after a cup of coffee.

'Something wrong?' Josiah asked perceptively. 'Another bad day?'

Vin nodded again.

Josiah seemed to think for a few seconds before pursuing his point. 'JD heard her in the stable yesterday.'

Vin's skin burned. He hadn't realized anyone else was within earshot of Adele's last outburst, a filthy tirade that centered on his sexual performance, and his state of mind was made none the better by knowing it had been heard by one of his friends, let alone passed on. He felt particularly ill-used because he had not made love to Adele since their first hasty coupling and had carefully followed her lead in all of their intimacies since, doing only what she appeared to want. Josiah's uncanny intuition must have been working overtime.

'He didn't say anything to the others, Vin. He only talked to me because he's worried about you.'

Realizing that he was beginning to jump to the same sort of conclusions that triggered half of Adele's moods, Vin tried to lighten up. 'I'm gettin' worried about me.' He hesitated but then decided that he needed to raise the delicate subject he'd been considering. 'Don't take this wrong, Josiah, 'cause I don't mean to step outta line, but is this anythin' like you went through with your sister?'

Josiah must have been expecting the question because he did not show any surprise and began his answer after only a brief pause. 'Some,' he said cautiously. 'It was steadier with Hannah. Like I told you, she was worse each time I saw her. On a good day, Adele seems nigh on normal.'

'I ain't sure what normal is any more,' Vin admitted. 'Sometimes she's as hard to handle when she's feelin' up as when she's feelin' down.'

Josiah nodded. 'I'd noticed she's apt to get a little…' He paused, as if seeking the right word.

'Hysterical?' Vin offered.

'I guess,' Josiah conceded.

'I jus'…' Vin began sadly. 'It's real hard to turn a deaf ear to some o' what she says. Then again, I know she don't mean nothin' by it.'

Josiah spread his hands in a demonstration of his helplessness. 'I don't know what I can tell you, Vin. I don't think she chooses to be the way she is, but I don't know as that makes it any easier to handle.'

'It don't,' Vin said with conviction. No man liked to be told he was incompetent in the sack, even if his head told him that the woman wasn't fit to make the judgment. He knew he was being foolish, letting that particular barb get to him after ignoring so many others, but he supposed every man had a chink in his armor. He hoped some distance might let him get things back into proportion. 'I was wonderin'…'

He had an even harder question for Josiah.

'What?' his friend prompted. 'Anything I can do…'

'I could use a break from her,' Vin admitted. 'I was kinda hopin' maybe you'd keep an eye on her, iffin I went along with Nathan to the reservation. It'd only be for a few days.'

Josiah broke into a broad smile, giving Vin the idea that he had been prepared for a harder request. 'I'd be glad to, Vin. If I have to tie her down, I'll keep her out of trouble for you.'

The thought of Adele bound to her bed brought a smile to Vin's lips, in spite of his low mood. He was glad to have a friend like Josiah; it never even crossed his mind that he'd earned the favor by his solid support throughout the troubles that had come Josiah's way during the time they'd known each other.

As always, his tone said more than his few words. 'I'd appreciate that, Josiah.'

 

- 11 -

The trip to the reservation and back took four days, as Vin had expected. He enjoyed the outward journey, riding through open country in Nathan's company and feeling completely at ease for the first time since he'd met Adele. The visit itself went well, Nathan doing his doctoring while he renewed his friendship with Chanu. He had been out to the reservation half a dozen times since helping the young Indian to clear his name and found that they had a liking for a lot of the same pursuits, from hunting to swimming. He said nothing to Chanu about Adele, not because they couldn't talk to each other but rather because he did not want to let her absence demand as much of as his attention as her presence usually did.

By the return journey, his mind was clear again. Adele's insults had faded from his memory and he was missing her. He was unaware of it but, as they neared the end of their journey, he urged his horse on faster. Seeing Nathan's amusement, he grinned but made no comment. What was there to say? He was acting like a stallion too long without a mare - he knew it and Nathan knew it. It took a conscious effort for him to slow the pace for the last mile to cool the horses, ready for stabling.

They rode into town at a steady jog. Josiah, Buck and Ezra were sitting outside the saloon, all reading newspapers which Mary had presumably just published, and looked up when they heard the horses.

'How is she?' Vin asked as he reined back, foregoing any greeting.

Josiah scratched his head, clearly wishing he had better news. 'Well, the truth is, she's been holed up in the hotel for a couple of days after a bit of a confrontation.'

Vin sighed and raised his eyebrows. Ezra took a book of matches from his vest pocket and tossed it to him.

'She had plans for your wagon.'

'Why?' Vin asked in disbelief.

Buck grinned. 'I hope you been behavin', 'cause there's a green-eyed monster here thinks you ain't.'

'I wish I had the energy. She's puttin' years on me. Thanks, boys.' He pocketed the matches and passed his lead rein to Nathan. 'Put him away, will you? I best go sort her out.'

His tread was heavy as he approached Adele's door. He had been looking forward to seeing her again, hoping the sensual loving Adele would be waiting for him, not one of her troublesome kin. His knock brought a familiar response.

'Go away.'

He tried the door and found it locked.

'Open up, Del. It's Vin.'

'I don't want to see you.'

'Why?'

'Ask the others. You'll only be angry.'

He smiled to himself. 'They already told me. I ain't angry. Let me in.'

There was a long pause before the door opened a crack.

'Why aren't you angry?'

'S'only a wagon. Just stuff. It ain't important.'

She opened the door and flung herself at him, clinging so tight he could barely walk the two of them forward to close the door.

'I thought…' she began.

'I know what you thought.'

'Josiah gave me such a talking to about it.'

Vin smiled. 'Well, whatever he said, he was probably right.'

'He said you don't often do that but, if you were doing it, it was none of my business.'

'Like I said, he was probably right. Look, I'm glad you care but you can't go round settin' fire to things just 'cause you're worried about somethin'.' He found it hard to be stern when she looked so miserable. 'As it happens, I spent most of my time thinkin' about you and hopin' the nice Adele would be waitin' for me.'

'She is. She was just afraid the other Adele had gone too far this time.'

He held her close, sorry that she'd spent days worrying he would be angry about the few bits and pieces he owned, even if she had succeeded in destroying them. When the dark moods were upon her, she never seemed to be able to judge him right, thinking he'd care about an old wagon but expecting him to shrug off a personal insult. Maybe he should care more about his property than his prowess as a lover but he didn't.

Deciding that the time had come to set the agenda himself, instead of letting her tempers define their relationship, he tossed his hat and jacket aside and filled the basin on the washstand from the ewer beneath. He had bathed in a stream that morning but wanted to wash off the trail dust before taking what he was aching for. He wondered if she would throw him out or go into one of her fits but carried on in spite of his uncertainty.

Sitting primly on the bed, she watched him, curiously at first and then with some surprise as he stripped to the waist. He could just about see her reflection in the mirror and kept an eye on it when he spoke.

'D'ya know what made me take that trip?'

She shook her head. He thought that was the truth.

'D'ya recall what y'said t'me in the stable on Tuesday last?'

She thought about that. It was typical that she would not remember, the words forgotten almost as soon as they tumbled out of her mouth. He waited until her nervous glance at him confirmed that she had recalled that particular episode.

'Wasn't much of a thing t'say, was it?'

She shook her head.

'Think it was fair?'

She shook her head again.

'Gonna let me prove you wrong?'

He caught her eye and let her see that he was smiling and no longer scolding. Her eyes filled with the tears of regret that came so readily when the anger had gone. She nodded.

'Good, 'cause I ain't been chasin' other women. I must be a darned fool but, fact is, the one I want is you.'

He patted his torso dry with a towel and then unbuckled his gun belt. Adele stared, wide-eyed, when he unbuttoned his pants and let them fall to the floor. No one could have told from her expression that he'd already had her but then, in his own terms, he hadn't. He intended to leave her in no doubt that he knew how to make a woman feel good… real good. He stood in front of her, cradling her cheek in his palm.

'I can take a lot, Del, but I don't wanna hear nothin' like that from you again. You listenin' to me?'

She rose slowly to her feet, put her arms around his neck and pressed her face against his throat. 'I'm so sorry, Vin. I wanted to make you hurt the way that I was hurting but you're always so self-possessed. I kept saying worse and worse things, until you reacted to something.'

He gazed down at her, wishing he could hate her but not finding it in his heart to do so. He didn't begin to understand her explanation but it told him that he was wasting his time looking for sense or truth in her words when she was overwrought. It hadn't occurred to him that what she said had no basis in reality but, perhaps, knowing that might help next time. He had no doubt that there would be a next time and, remembering what Chris had said of Richard Thorn before they knew his true identity and while they still thought Adele his wife, he wondered if his friends would grow to despise him for enduring her behavior. He didn't want that to happen, and yet he couldn't let the possibility dictate his actions. He drew her close.

'You're so pretty,' he whispered softly. 'You shouldn't let dirty talk like that come outta those pretty lips.'

He kissed her, at first with tenderness but then with mounting desire. His fingers skipped over the tiny buttons of her bodice, undoing them with a swiftness that even Buck would be proud of.

'Why'd ya wanna hurt me?' he continued in the same reassuring murmur. 'I'd never set out t'hurt you.'

His left hand was pulling pins from her hair even while his right was undressing her. It wasn't that he was an expert in seduction but the same dexterity that enabled him to reload a gun in seconds served him well in many other delicate tasks. His decisiveness must have appealed to Adele because she leaned into his touch, saying nothing but shifting to let him reach each layer of her clothing. He had never seen her even half-naked, having let her do what she liked to him but never taken anything for himself unless she offered it first. When they first came together, her layers of frothy petticoats had meant that he barely saw what he was doing at all. This time, he planned on that being very different. He unbuttoned the top one and rolled it off in one smooth maneuver. Two more followed it onto the floor.

When she wore only her corsets, camisole, knickers and stockings, he sat back to study her. Charlotte's underclothes had been far cheaper and more functional than the layers of lace-trimmed fancies he had just peeled away. Adele was exactly how he usually pictured a white woman when he fantasized. Although most of his experience had been with Indians and Mexicans, he'd once seen some stereoscope cards with women who looked just how Adele did at that moment, and he was eager to try making love to a woman dressed so daintily.

Silk knickers slid freely over silk stockings, exposing a neat triangle of fine brown hair.

'So pretty,' he murmured again, as he pressed his lips to the soft strands.

He was no innocent when it came to the ways of love, bringing the best of three cultures with him. He was normally cautious until he knew a woman well, discovering early on that few were as broad-minded as he was, but, still unable to forget Adele's taunt, he could not resist picking up the gauntlet that she had thrown down.

Over the next hour, he made her sigh and gasp until her throat sounded parched. He didn't let his first two climaxes interrupt their lovemaking, dedicating himself to her pleasure until his body was primed again. Only when he groaned his satisfaction for the third time did he bring her gently down from her ecstasy, holding her close while she trembled in his arms.

It was she who whispered in his ear then. 'That was wonderful. I don't deserve you.'

Too honest to lie to her, he chose his words carefully. 'You don't deserve t'have things work out the way they did, Del. A family ain't such a lot t'ask for. Most folks take it for granted but maybe, iffin they couldn't have kids, they wouldn't deal with it no better.'

'I don't think so,' she said quietly. 'I know there's something wrong with me. I saw some doctors the last time it was bad but it didn't help.' This time her shudder was not from pleasure. 'They did terrible things to me, Vin, awful things that I don't like to remember, but I was still the same. Some of their treatments even made me worse, until Richard forbade me to see any more doctors. He couldn't bear it.'

'Don't think on that. It's all past and you got me now.'

With an overwhelming urge to protect her, Vin was frustrated that the pleasure he could give her would be so short-lived. The dark moods would return, if not tomorrow then later, and he was as powerless as the doctors to stop them. He wished they had been able to take out whatever it was that ailed her, like Nathan pulled a bad tooth, but suspected the only help she would find was being locked away in an asylum someplace. He did not intend to let it come to that.

 

- 12 -

After that loving reconciliation, Vin's life with Adele became more settled. She seemed to take his and Josiah's words to heart, not so much about his right to see other women if he chose but about his right to a life of his own as well as looking after her.

When she was well, she stopped monopolizing him and socialized with anyone who would accept her company. Many of the townswomen wanted nothing to do with her but Vin's friends rallied to fill her time as best they could. She passed many hours in helping Josiah or Nathan, and playing cards with Ezra or Buck. Sometimes Chris engaged her in a game of checkers and she even tried fishing with JD and Casey, although her hatred of the slippery flip-flopping of their prey soon put paid to that.

When she was less well, she kept to her room and tried to stay out of trouble. When he went to investigate, he never knew whether to expect floods of tears or a spitting fury but, either way, he appreciated her trying to keep her emotions out of sight. He learned to ignore her words at such times, and be grateful if she kept her voice low enough that only he could hear them.

On the few occasions when she was too unwell to cope, he stepped in to deal with whatever problems she caused. He wasn't unhappy with the arrangement: the love he got from the affectionate Adele more than made up for the intermittent problems with one of her kin. He knew how hard she had to work to maintain the level of control she was showing and he was wise enough to understand just how deep a love that demonstrated.

Sadly, their next challenge was not long in coming and it was destined to shatter the longest good spell since the Thorns came to town. While Adele was off somewhere by herself, Vin was taking advantage of her absence to enjoy a quiet game of poker with Chris. They were comfortably ensconced outside the saloon, beers in front of them, enjoying the chance to catch up with each other.

'I'll see you,' Chris said.

Vin revealed his two pair with a cautious flourish. He thought he had the winning hand but never underestimated the difficulty of reading Chris when he didn't want to be read. Chris tossed down a broken flush, short of a card that Vin had held from the start of the hand. Vin swept his winnings to his own side of the table and began to shuffle. He glanced up and found Chris's eye on him.

'What?'

Chris gave a slow shrug. He was asking if Vin was okay, without pushing Vin into an answer if he didn't want to give one. Vin grinned and mirrored the shrug.

'I'm good right now,' he said noncommittally.

Chris gave a slight nod.

'What the hell kind of man stands for it?' Vin asked, knowing Chris would recognize the quotation.

'Didn't know then what I know now.'

'Still don't see you standing for it.'

'Never had your patience.'

'Ain't patience.'

Vin's customary honesty shone through the answer. Only his love for Adele made him tolerate being her punch bag. He didn't lie to himself about that and saw little point in lying to anyone else either. Any further confidences he might have shared were cut short by Mary's arrival.

'Hello, Vin.'

Even if she hadn't looked as worried as she did, Vin would have known something was amiss when she greeted him alone. He heard his dread of another confrontation when he spoke.

'What's up?'

Mary laid a newspaper on the table and seated herself in a vacant chair. Vin's reading was coming along but he couldn't scan a paper fast enough to be useful. However, he could tell from the masthead that the paper on the table was not The Clarion.

'That's The Chronicle from Julestown,' Mary filled in. 'There's a report in there about Adele's brother.'

Mary's reaction to Adele had been a revelation to Vin. He had already known that Mary was kind but she was also one of the most determined and self-disciplined woman he'd ever met. He was prepared for her to despise Adele, as he knew Inez did, but instead she had surprised him with her sympathetic support. He remembered word-for-word her response to his gruff thanks after an episode one day: 'She can't help it, Vin. One day, doctors may be able to do more for people like her but I've seen what's available now and I pity her.'

Vin had no idea what the treatments were that Adele had suffered but Mary's words told him that she knew and that, for once, Adele had not exaggerated. Now he waited to hear the news that he must relay to Adele.

'It says that a John Dawson was shot dead in Julestown last week.' Mary looked up at him regretfully. 'They didn't catch the killers and no one knew the reason for the shooting. As he was only passing through and had nothing on him to indicate where he came from, the Sheriff closed the case.'

'No mention of the money?' Chris asked.

'No. I assume they must have taken it.'

'Hell,' Vin said.

The single word, and the calm tone in which he uttered it, did not do justice to his tumultuous feelings. Now he had two worries: how Adele would react to the news and what he was going to do with her afterwards. As long as her brother was in the background, perhaps returning at any time, he had not needed a plan. Suddenly his safety net was gone and he was Adele's only support in a world that she seemed unable to inhabit alone.

Mary tore carefully around the article and handed it to him. 'She might want to see it for herself.'

He took it, his fingers trembling slightly as he did so. He'd been half-expecting the news ever since Thorn left town but it still had the power to shock. He knew that did not bode well for what would happen when he told Adele. He had answered Chris honestly when he said he felt good. Five minutes later and the world had fallen into shadow, as if a thunderhead had just blown in over them. How precarious his happiness had been.

He set off to find Adele, following the direction he had seen her take and heading towards the creek. He had eradicated the bad memories of their first encounter there with several, far more tender, intimacies and it was now one of her favorite places. He found her sitting by the water, skimming flat stones across its surface as he had shown her. He stopped short, watching her contentedly bouncing her small missiles into a rock near the center of the stream, wishing he did not have to ruin her happy mood as his own had been ruined. He asked himself what was to be gained from telling her before he had to but then realized that there was little to be gained from putting it off either. He strode forward, making enough noise to be sure that she would hear his approach. She turned towards him when he was about thirty paces from her.

As she turned, she was smiling. She had a smile so radiant that it lifted her from pretty to beautiful. That might have been his heart talking, had he not seen how she could charm other people with it. He wasn't conscious of wearing a particular expression himself but knew he was because her face fell as soon as she saw him.

'Richard?'

Her voice was tiny and fearful, like a child in its dread. He barely heard it, reading her meaning from the movement of her lips.

He nodded. 'I'm sorry.'

He hadn't known what reaction to expect from her. Prepared for anything, from screaming to fainting, he strode swiftly to her side. She seemed disoriented, staring at him as if she couldn't understand his answer, and then began to tremble. As her eyes filled with tears, he saw both grief and guilt but, overshadowing both, he saw fear. She'd told him that she had no one else in the world but her brother and now he saw her horror at having to go on without his unstinting loyalty. Vin guessed that he was a poor substitute in her mind. She had ten years of evidence to reassure her that Thorn would never let her down; he did not expect the same degree of trust, having known her little more than a month and being far from sure that he wanted to turn that into a lifetime.

As he dropped to his knees beside her, she fell against him in a faint. He held her close, listening to her shallow breathing but making no attempt to revive her. Having discovered how hard it was to influence or control her emotions, he intended to let her work through her loss in her own way unless she caused real problems around the town. He shifted to get more comfortable, resting her body across his thigh and stroking her loose curls lovingly. Several minutes passed before her eyelids fluttered open. She stared up into his face and he saw her hope that it had been a nightmare and then her realization that it had not. Once she knew that, it was as if her spirit drifted away. Perhaps it was seeking somewhere safer, far away from him and his news.

'You okay?' he asked, hearing how foolish the question sounded even as he uttered it.

She didn't seem to take it in, her glazed eyes staring uselessly past him. He gave it half an hour before accepting that there would be no easy answer, no sudden cure. He tried to help her to her feet but she was a dead weight. She might as well have been unconscious, although her eyes were still open. He hefted her across his arms, her small frame making a light burden that barely slowed his return to town.

Chris was still outside the saloon, now accompanied by Buck and Ezra. Vin walked by without a word. What was there to say? Inside the hotel, the clerk at the desk stared coldly as Vin passed. Vin couldn't blame him: Adele's tantrums had made plenty of work for the hotel staff and he doubted they bore her any fondness. He made his own way upstairs, fumbling one-handed through Adele's purse for a key and then shouldering the door open. He laid her on the bed, locked the door and then stretched out beside her. He had no intention of leaving her alone until he got some feel for just how badly the news had affected her.

By the evening, he knew they were in for a long haul. Adele still lay motionless, her eyes now closed because he couldn't bear their unfocused stare. When the smell of her urine alerted him to the state of her petticoats, he stripped and washed her before putting her to bed with a towel and oilcloth beneath her. In the coming days, he could see that he would be supervising the processes needed to keep her alive and clean. For anyone but her, he'd have called on another woman to help but he balked at letting her ignominy go further than it must.

When Adele eventually fell into a fitful sleep, he locked her in and walked sadly over to the saloon to explain how things were going to be. Buck and Ezra said nothing but their pity was obvious. They were worried for Adele, as well as for him, but Vin saw in an instant that Chris's concern was focused entirely on him. He tried to look confident, although he didn't really feel it, and spoke pragmatically.

'You best tell the Judge he can keep his dollar a day f'now. I ain't gonna be much use t'ya.'

Chris's eyes refused the offer. 'The folk of this town owe you better than that.'

Vin didn't press the point. Far from rich, he didn't relish the idea of trying to survive on his meager savings. Although Adele had money, he was not the kind of man who would take it - even if nursing her was the reason for his hardship. As well as masculine pride, there was the little matter of his honor, given that he did not approve of how she'd come by her wealth.

Josiah repeated a protest that he'd already made once. 'You can't do it by yourself, Vin. I'll spell you. She's sick: it doesn't matter that it ain't in her body.' He paused, then added quietly, 'It's nothin' I ain't done before.'

Vin knew how hard it was for his friend to reveal the extent of his sister's decline at all, let alone in front of the others. He nodded slowly, reluctantly accepting that he could not be there for Adele around the clock - he would have to attend to his own bodily needs at some time - but resolving to call on Josiah as little as possible.

'If y'can give me a coupla hours mornin' an' evenin' t'get myself fixed up,' he conceded.

'Whatever you need.'

Vin touched the brim of his hat in a gesture of gratitude and then left for the hotel. He planned on sleeping at Adele's side, leaving her only to eat and clean himself up. It would be a long and tedious vigil but, and he felt cruel for thinking it, she might be less demanding in some ways than she usually was.

 

- 13 -

The two men tended Adele for a week before they began to see small signs of improvement. Vin had gradually accepted more help from Josiah, until they settled at a comfortable two-to-one split. That gave Vin long enough to recharge his batteries, whether by riding, playing cards or getting some real sleep, without feeling he was letting her down. When, ten days after he'd broken the news about Thorn's death, he returned from a ride, Adele was sitting up in bed. She was almost as white as the pillowslip but managed a weak smile for him.

A few days later, she ventured out with him for the first time. Although she leaned heavily on his arm for support, there was little weight in her body. He took her for dinner in the restaurant, where she took almost half an hour to work her way through a light meal. Josiah joined them when she had finished eating.

'If there's anything more I can do…' he told her.

She nodded gratefully. 'You've both been so kind to me. I'm sorry to have been such a nuisance.'

He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. 'Wasn't like we missed out on much.'

Vin smiled, sharing Adele's gratitude and also Josiah's sentiment. He did not begrudge the time he had devoted to her and, providentially, there had been no other calls on his attention. Never had he felt the despondency he saw in her during the first week of her confinement and so it was beyond him to imagine how a person could long for death as she so clearly had. It wasn't that he feared death, just that he reckoned he'd only got one life and he planned on making it count for something. In truth, despite the bounty on his head and setbacks like Charlotte's rejection, he was pretty content - fond of his friends, at ease with himself and at one with the land.

Adele's recovery progressed after that. Some days were better than others and, as the depression lifted, the bad moods returned as well as the good but she managed two steps forward for each one she took backwards. Vin saw the pensive side of her nature far more often than the chatterbox but she slowly resumed most of her usual activities around the town. He knew they were making real progress when she sought intimacy with him again. On the third occasion, he reckoned they'd finally won.

They were lying by the creek on their stomachs, watching a small group of deer that had come down to drink. There was a buck, with his five does. In the middle of the rut, the buck was battle-scarred but magnificent. He had probably already served his females several times but soon began to pester the smallest doe, a pretty one with a paler coat than the others. Adele giggled, a stifled little sound as she tried not to startle the herd.

'He's just like you,' she mouthed at Vin.

He grinned, unperturbed at being compared with the splendid beast. In fact, he kind of liked the idea that he could satisfy a harem like the buck's, even if it was probably untrue. Vin watched the doe's resistance crumble, until she eventually allowed her mate to mount her, and then waited for the buck to finish just seconds later. Deciding they'd been considerate for long enough, he laughed aloud.

'Reckon you'd be kinda let down, iffin it was over as quick as that.'

The sound of his voice sent the deer leaping back into the woodland.

Adele giggled again, looking delighted but also a little self-conscious at what they'd witnessed. Vin was not at all embarrassed but his appetite had been whetted. He nuzzled Adele's flushed cheeks, hoping that her resistance too would crumble. She smiled shyly, stroking his stubble with her knuckles and touching her lips to his. Growing desire made him too eager to want to fight his way through her layers of clothes. Instead, he reached up inside her petticoats, worked her knickers down effortlessly, then rolled her back onto her stomach.

Standing astride her, he took hold of her waist and lifted her easily onto all fours. He wasn't sure she would let him do what he was of a mind to but she did not resist, remaining where he put her while he dropped his pants and knelt between her legs. Gathering up her petticoats over her hips, he rubbed the tip of his cock against her. She was already damp with excitement and moaned softly at his touch. Tantalized by the velvety embrace of her flesh and mindful that he would last no longer than the buck once he entered her, he kept up the rhythmic movements until her breathing became a blend of gasping and panting. Only when he felt his balls tighten did he allow himself to slide inside, managing two short thrusts before erupting there.

She laughed merrily, collapsing onto the grass and letting him lower his body onto her without withdrawing. He could happily have stayed like that all day, but his shrinking cock had other ideas and so he eventually flipped her over and lay down beside her.

She propped herself up on one elbow to look at him, her smile the happiest he'd ever seen it. 'I love you, Vin.'

'You know how I feel about you.' He let his tone convey the sentiment, feeling no need to echo her words. Despite her doubts about everything else, she never demanded that he tell her he loved her.

'But I think I should go back home, to New England.'

He rolled onto his side to look into her eyes, checking whether that was what she wanted or if she was trying to provoke a response from him. Seeing that she was sincere, his mood darkened.

'I'd like to spend the rest of my life with you but I'm the wrong person,' she said earnestly. 'It hasn't been too bad while things are quiet here but I could easily get you killed.'

He recognized the truth of what she said but that didn't make the idea of her going any more palatable.

'Even if I'm fine for a long time, you would never know when I might let you down - just like I did Richard.'

'Don't blame yourself for that. He judged the con wrong and they caught up with him, even when you were out of the way. It wasn't your fault.'

She shrugged. 'Well, I didn't help and your life is dangerous enough as it is.'

He was glad that he had never told her just how dangerous. Pulling her close, he kissed her words away. 'Soon,' he said. 'I ain't ready yet.'

Her expression wavered between joy and sorrow. 'All right then. Soon.'

 

- 14 -

Vin did not forget the conversation about New England. He knew that Adele could not stay with him, for the reasons that she had given and for others that he had never thought it necessary to tell her, but he was in no hurry to send her away. Days turned into weeks, until another month had passed. The seasons were shifting and the first chill of autumn had moved their late afternoon poker game with Chris and Ezra indoors from their customary spot outside the saloon. She was on sizzling form, teasing him, flirting with the others and winning handsomely. He was enjoying her company, aware that she was a very lovely woman and, at that moment, both his friends would have been proud to call her theirs. He was too realistic to imagine that either would seriously want to take on the whole package that was Adele Thorn but few red-blooded men would not be drawn to her when she was at her best, as she was just then.

Their entertainment was abruptly interrupted by the hurried entrance of Buck and JD.

'A whole bunch of men just rode into town, lookin' like they mean business,' Buck told them. 'Don't look the sort you'd invite home to meet your Ma.'

Josiah and Nathan came in through the back door and joined their friends.

Vin looked at Adele uncertainly. He thought it unlikely the men were after her but wasn't aware of any other situations brewing. She held his gaze for a second or two then looked at Buck.

'Is there a very tall man in buckskins and a man with an eye-patch?'

Buck nodded.

She sighed and got to her feet. 'I'll go out to them. I suppose Richard and the money wasn't enough: O'Rourke wants me dead too.'

Vin caught her arm. 'You ain't going nowhere.'

'It's not your decision, Vin. There's no point anyone else getting hurt. Now that Richard is gone, there's no one to miss me anyway.'

'Ever think I might?' he asked angrily.

'Ever think how I'd feel if you got hurt?' she threw back. 'I haven't done a single worthwhile thing in my life but I haven't been the death of anybody yet.'

'Won't come to that.'

'It might.' She tried to prize his fingers off her arm.

He hesitated, reluctant to force her to do anything, but then used his free hand to press on the mass of nerves at the base of her skull. His years with Kiowa and Comanche had taught him a hundred ways to control or hurt the human body, leaving it the work of seconds to render Adele unconscious. Easing her back into her chair, he faced the others.

'I can't just send her out there.'

Chris gave a grim smile. They had stood together for his father-in-law, a man for whom he had held no affection, and now they would stand together for Adele. Or, if not for her, then for Vin.

'Wouldn't ask you to,' was all he said.

The men checked and loaded weapons. Vin moved Adele's chair behind the bar, affording her as much concealment and protection from stray bullets as he could. As he and Chris prepared to greet the unwelcome visitors, Ezra took position by the saloon doors and the other four went out back to surround the newcomers as best they could.

With Chris at his side, Vin faced up to the gang. There were eleven men and they matched Adele's description of evil types. Vin was sure of two things: they were capable of inflicting a lot of damage and they were more than willing to do so.

'Something we can help you boys with?' he asked.

The man to whom he addressed himself stood over him by several inches, with a frame that was broad and heavy. His eyes were sharp and mean.

'Lookin' for a woman by the name of Adele Thorn. We know she's here. Sooner you hand her over, sooner we'll be out of your town.'

'What you want with her?'

'She's a thief and she's coming back with us.'

Vin knew how long a woman's journey to Oklahoma City would last with such men: just long enough for them to finish having fun with her.

'Ain't nobody of that name here,' Chris said, draping his coat back to reveal his gun.

'Two of you gonna take all of us?' the big man scoffed.

There was a second of silence, broken by the sound of several guns being cocked.

The man's lips parted to reveal a white smile at odds with his filthy appearance. 'Still sounds near two-to-one by my reckonin'.'

There was a tense pause, while the riders eyed the two men in front of them.

'Believe me, she ain't worth it.'

Vin's eyes narrowed. 'Believe me, she is.'

He loosed three shots in the time that it took him to roll to cover on the sidewalk. Chris did the same, but made for the far side of the street. Two or three minutes of sustained firing followed, with several injuries among the intruders. Vin's friends had the initial advantage of cover but their adversaries soon established their own positions along Main Street. There were longer intervals between shots as men looked for opportunities.

With only a barrel for cover, Vin traded bullets with two men on the other side of the street. His right flank was dangerously exposed but Ezra was giving him good cover from his vantage point in the saloon. The odds were as O'Rourke's man had guessed and Vin's two opponents were good shots. He was under no illusions about how easily his life might be ended in his defense of Adele. Hearing a lull in the shooting from the saloon, he muttered to himself.

'C'mon, Ez. I'm countin' on you.'

It came as a relief when another shot rang out but a surprise when it bit into a post three feet shy of its target.

'You're gonna have to do better'an that.'

Another shot went just as wide. Vin frowned. Ezra couldn't match his aim but was still a fair shot.

'What the hell you playin' at?'

As he spoke, a nasty suspicion worked its way into Vin's mind. Drawing back behind his barrel to reload, he took a risk and shifted his attention to the right. He saw his life hanging in the balance. A man was edging along the sidewalk, his revolver already aimed at Vin. With an empty gun in his hand, Vin looked to Ezra in the saloon for help. He expected to see his friend leaning cautiously around the doorframe but instead his gaze was met by the doors flying open. Adele plunged through the opening, Ezra's gun hanging loosely in her right hand.

'No!' Vin shouted.

He could do nothing to stop her throwing herself into the line of fire. Turning away from him, she looked at the gunman and stood her ground. The bullet that had been meant for Vin hit home in her left breast, spinning her around as she fell. A dark stain appeared on her lace bodice. It was a little low for her heart but too close to offer much hope. Before she had crumpled to the sidewalk, the man beyond her fell backwards. Through the confusion, Vin didn't hear the shot but a glance across the street confirmed that it came from Chris's Colt.

There was a split second of silence before Chris held up his gun cautiously, requesting a truce. O'Rourke's man stepped forward and pointed his gun at Adele.

Chris took aim. 'Let her be,' he ordered. 'You can see she ain't got long.'

The man hesitated, but then acquiesced. He and his men drew to one side, waiting to see Adele out of the mortal world but no longer determined to hurry her departure.

Vin rushed to her side, with Nathan only just behind him. He supported Adele against his thigh and let Nathan check what he already knew. When Nathan shook his head sorrowfully and stepped away, Vin kissed her lovingly. The blood he tasted on her lips confirmed how short their time was.

'One worthwhile thing,' she whispered.

'I love you.'

'You know how I feel about you,' she joked. Her smiled faded, 'I'm sorry for all the times I was cruel to you.'

'I'll be rememberin' all the times you weren't.'

'You are the sweetest man I ever…'

As her voice faded, he knew he was losing her. He held her tightly long after he had.

He left it to Chris to deal with the gang. With Adele's killer already dead, he saw no point in more killing or in trying to arrest them. Their claim that they intended to take Adele back to answer for theft would be hard to disprove in a court of law. A trial could do nothing but tarnish her memory with details of how she and her brother had made their livings.

'You've done what you came to do. Now get out.' Chris's tone made it clear that any delay would be unwise.

O'Rourke's man held his stare for a few seconds, glanced back at Vin, and then gave a slight nod. Without wasting any more time, he instructed his men to load up the body of Adele's killer, mounted and led them away. Several of them were clutching wounds but all looked set to survive.

Vin's friends gathered around him. Ezra stood with a blood-soaked handkerchief pressed to a gunshot wound in his shoulder, his uncharacteristically emotional expression revealing both his sorrow at Adele's death and his regret for his own limited contribution to the tragedy. Nathan rested a hand on the good shoulder, and then took him to one side to deal with the bad one.

Vin did not blame Ezra; if he blamed anyone, it was himself. He rose to his feet, Adele in his arms, and headed for the undertakers. She was gone and nothing he did would change that.

 

- 15 -

They buried Adele the next day, not in the town's graveyard but on the ridge where Vin first got to know her. He sat on the mound for a day after they laid her to rest, wishing that he had sent her home as soon as she suggested it, but then, heart still heavy, he returned to the saloon and to his life. Lacking the temperament for depression on the scale of Adele's grief for her brother, he shouldered his loss - and the responsibility that he felt for it - as simply one more burden in a life already too heavy with them.

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Front cover

The title comes from She dwelt among the untrodden ways, written in 1800 by William Wordsworth

She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove,
A maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love.