"Mary, I cannot in good conscience allow you to risk your position with Billy over me," the gambler insisted again. "You don't deserve this, and it is happening due to your association with me."

"Ezra, I am not listening," Mary informed him. "What is happening now is as much, or more, my own fault, and I get the feeling that even if I told Orin that I wouldn't see you again that it wouldn't be enough."

"Then I should leave. If I am not here, he would have no reason to try to take Billy away from you." The thought of losing her was almost unbearable, but the thought of seeing her lose her son because of him was even worse.

"No! You can't do that," she stepped closer and rested her hands lightly on his chest. "Ezra, I can't lose you either."

The gambler hugged her tightly to him. Eyes closed, he turned his face into her hair and inhaled the faint hint of lavender that lingered there. She used that scent in her hair because she knew how much he liked it, and it made him smile to think that she would do that to please him. "Mary, the last thing I want is to lose you. After I lost Julia, I thought I could never love anyone again. I could not imagine being able to give my heart that completely to another, but I have." He felt her pull back slightly and their eyes locked when their gazes met, neither of them being able to look away. "I love you. I loved you even before the time in the cave. But, you deserve better than me."

"There is no one better than you," she said sincerely, as she slipped her hands up behind his neck to pull him down to her. Just before their lips met she paused. "I love you too."

Ezra wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as he lightly brushed his lips over hers, before claiming her mouth completely. When the kiss ended they stood holding each other, foreheads touching as they caught their breath. "I have wanted to hear those words for so long," he admitted. "I was afraid, if I told you, that I might end up pushing you away."

"That isn't going to happen." She kissed him lightly in emphasis. "I didn't think I could ever love anyone again either, but I do. I really do. Please, don't even think about leaving."

"I won't leave you," he promised her. "Whatever happens, we'll face it together."

~M7M~

Evie Travis stood in the small kitchen, listening to the couple in the sitting room. She knew there had to be more to this than the lewdness depicted in that horrible letter. Orin might have caught them together, but they were together because of love, not just for the physical pleasures. She hated to intrude on them, but now more than ever, she needed to talk to Mary. Quietly, she stepped back out the back door and eased it shut. After a minute she knocked lightly.

She hoped that she had time to say what she needed to say and still get back to the hotel room before Orin did. He had left her there to rest, and she had slipped out when she was sure he was gone. When she had stepped through the kitchen door and had heard a male voice she had a moment of panic, until she recognized the voice as Ezra's, not her husband's.

When the younger woman opened the door, she smiled warmly at her and pushed her way inside. "Forgive me, dear, but I didn't want Orin to see me coming in here. I wanted to talk to you without him around. Is Ezra here?"

"No, he isn't." She hesitated when the bells jingled on the front door. "He just left."

"Oh, I would have liked to talk to him too, but maybe I can catch him a little later. Right now, you are the one I really need to talk to," Evie explained.

~M7M~

Orin Travis checked his watch and sighed heavily. Evie had never raised her voice to him before, and he could not recall even one time when he had raised his to her either. Oh, he had ranted about other things from outside their marriage. Every man had to blow off some steam, but it had never been aimed at her before. It would still be a little over an hour before they would go down to the restaurant for supper, so now was as good a time as any to go start asking some questions.

He paused on the boardwalk just outside the hotel door and considered where to go, or more importantly, who he should talk to first. The obvious choice would be to look for Nathan or Josiah, since they both knew about the situation with Mary and Ezra. His first thought was to go to his right down the boardwalk in the general direction of the church and hope that he would catch up to one of the two men fairly quickly.

Two doors down he passed in front of the jail and noticed the door was propped open. Peeking in, he saw Nathan reading from one of his precious medical books. "Nathan, I could use a word with you."

"Sure, Judge Travis. What can I do for ya?" He closed the book and pushed it aside as he watched the judge close the door and then take a seat.

"I think you know what I want to talk about."

"Yeah, I figure I probably do. Listen Judge, I know ya don't much care for Ezra. Didn't like him much at first either. Seemed like he was always lookin' fer some way to con someone," the healer commented.

"Seemed like? You make it sound like you don't think that now." Travis was somewhat taken aback by the information.

"No, I don't, least ways not completely." The healer weighed his words carefully as he spoke, knowing all too well that one wrong comment could be disastrous for the gambler. "I ain't sayin' he never looks fer what he can get out of things, but now most of the time he ain't lookin' at just what's in it fer him. That ain't no little thing fer a man raised like Ezra was."

"I have to say that I am surprised that he seems to have the wool pulled over your eyes too. I thought you would be one I could count on to stay objective," the judge grumbled.

"Judge, ain't no one here doubted that man more'n I did. I've treated him worse than any man I have ever known, and I ain't proud of it either." Nathan was unable to look the older man in the eyes. He had always told himself that he would never treat someone else the way he had been treated, but he had been wrong about himself, just like he had been wrong about Ezra. "I let my own prejudices take over, but it was his bein' southern that turned me against him the most. I couldn't get past that, so I kept finding more and more to find fault in."

"Nathan, he's a con man. They never change. I've been a judge long enough to see so many of his kind that I can recognize them a mile away." Travis pushed himself up from the chair and turned to leave. When he got to the door he looked back and shook his head. "I just can't believe that he got to you too."

The black man sat and looked at the closed door in stunned silence. He respected Judge Travis, and there was no way he could possibly repay him for letting him have those last weeks with his father. But now he found that the one man he thought had truly risen above petty prejudice was harboring some of his own.

"Ezra, yer gonna have a rough time with him," he said to the empty room. "I wouldn't want to be in yer shoes right now, not for no amount of money in the world."

~M7M~

Travis decided not to go on searching for Josiah, at least not right then. He still wanted to talk to him, but he had promised Evie an early supper after her long trip. Instead, he walked slowly down the boardwalk and ducked into the General Mercantile. He had no idea what he was looking for or even why he had come in, and he stood looking around at the stocked shelves.

"Can I help you?" Gloria Potter asked. "Oh, Judge Travis! I didn't recognize you from the back. What can I get for you?"

"I'm not really sure," he confessed. "May I see this please?" he asked as he pointed to a small bottle inside the display case. He carefully removed the stopper and waved it under his nose. The scent was light but completely compelling, and he knew Evie would love it.

"That is one of my favorites," Gloria told him. "I have to confess, sometimes I have to sneak in a little sniff of some of them."

"I can see why. Your secret is safe with me," he said conspiratorially. "How much for this?" he asked.

"I hate to even tell you the price of that. It seems so outrageously extravagant, but it isn't easy to get something of that quality here." When he didn't hesitate after that information, she told him. "It's two dollars…but it's from France," she added quickly to try to justify the cost."

The Judge looked at the small bottle and thought of how much Evie would love the perfume. "I'll take it." After handing her two silver dollars, he put the stopper in the bottle just far enough to pick up a drop of the amber liquid. Before Gloria realized what he was going to do he had caught her hand and turned it over to bare her wrist. One quick motion spread the drop over the pulse point, and he had to smile when she gasped in surprise. Gloria was a very kind woman, and since her husband was killed, he doubted that she could allow herself some of those simple pleasures most women liked. "Thank you, Mrs. Potter. Do you think you could wrap that in some way for me?"

"Of course," she said, and quickly wrapped the bottle and handed it back to him. "If you would tell Evie that I would love to see her while you two are here, I would appreciate it."

"I'll be sure and do that." He promised as he glanced back at her on his way to the door and caught her sniffing her wrist and smiling.

Once outside he turned and headed back up the boardwalk toward the hotel. By the time he woke his wife, and she freshened up, it would be time for them to go to supper.

Evie was right where he had left her earlier, stretched out on the bed. It didn't look like she had even moved in her sleep, which he took as evidence that she was really exhausted from the long trip. He bent and kissed her lightly, and she shifted a little in her sleep. Encouraged by that minor success, he kissed her with a little more insistence, but he wasn't quite prepared for her reaction. She turned away from him.

"I would really rather you didn't do that," she told him in a low voice.

"What?" He gently turned her face back toward him. "You don't mean that. Evie, you've never turned away from me."

"I am still upset with you, Orin."

"Why? Because I want to protect our grandson?"

"No." She exhaled slowly and paused a moment before saying what was on her mind. "Because for the first time since we've been married you refused to get all the facts before you condemned someone. That isn't the same Orin Travis that I have loved for all these years."

"I know what I am doing, and I know him. I know who and what he is," he said in self-defense.

"You know who and what he was. There's a big difference," she insisted.

"I don't think it is a good idea to discuss this now. It's time to go for supper, and I don't want us to be arguing during our meal," he said as he coaxed her off the bed.

"Don't worry, Orin. I won't embarrass you out in public," she informed him. "I have always known you are a proud man, and everything has to be the picture of propriety. Heaven forbid that anyone were to find out that we are having a difference of opinion."

~M7M~

"Do you think this is wise?" Ezra asked for the third time.

"I refuse to let him make me feel like a prisoner in my own home," Mary insisted. "Besides, I don't want him thinking I am ashamed of being seen with you. You know how he would take that. He would think that I am ashamed of being with you, and that couldn't be farther from the truth."

The gambler looked at her and his features took on a serious expression. "Mary, would you have agreed to allow our relationship to become public knowledge if the judge's arrival had not given you a push in that direction?"

She moved closer and slipped her hands up behind his neck, as she looked him straight in the eyes. "Ezra, I am not ashamed of anything that has happened between us. That isn't what held me back before. I wasn't sure just what I was feeling at first, and then after what we said in the cave about the fire not being there, I was even more confused. That fire was there for me, and it scared me to feel something that strongly again. But then when you said it wasn't there for you I didn't want to try to force you into something more than you wanted."

The sincerity in her eyes moved him almost to tears. He hugged her tightly, afraid to speak until he could swallow the lump in his throat. "We really should agree on one thing," he finally managed to say.

Mary hugged him close and asked, "What would that be?"

"We won't keep things from each other in the future," he said. "We have lost so much time being afraid to express ourselves freely."

"I agree completely."

"All right, my dear, would you do me the honor of joining me for supper tonight, with Master Billy?" He offered her his arm and smiled, showing off his dimples.

Mary looped her hand through his arm and smiled brightly. "It would be my pleasure, Mr. Standish." They headed through the sitting room and paused at the bottom of the stairs to call Billy down to join them.

The young boy bounded down the stairs and stopped in front of the adults. "Are we gonna go eat now?" he asked impatiently. "I'm starvin'."

"Yes, we are going now. Would you like to lead the way?" Ezra suggested.

"Yeah! Come on. Let's go!" he said enthusiastically.

Mary laughed lightly at her son's antics as he hurried out the door and stopped on the boardwalk to wait for them. When they joined him he reached up to take his mother's free hand. She noticed how he leaned around to look at the two of them walking arm in arm..

"Mama?"

"Yes, Billy?"

"Why are you walkin' like that?"

"Walking like what?" she asked.

"Holdin' onto Ezra," he explained, and looked questioningly at her. "Are you sick again?" His eyes grew wide when he remembered how she had needed help to get around after she had been hurt.

"No, honey. I'm not sick. This is how a man and a woman walk together when they are courting," she explained.

"Courting?" Now he was really confused.

Mary looked at Ezra for help. She wasn't sure how to explain the concept of courting to a seven-year-old.

"Uh…well…um…don't you think this would be better coming from you?" he asked her.

"No. I think you can explain it far better than I can," she insisted.

"Yes, well…Billy…" Ezra cleared his throat and swallowed. "Perhaps this is something that would be better discussed after supper in the privacy of your home."

"Awww!"

"Excuse me?" the gambler asked, clearly puzzled by the kid's reaction.

"Grown-ups always say stuff like that, then they never tell ya."

"Billy! That is no way to talk to Ezra," Mary warned.

"I'm sorry," the boy said to the adults.

Standish stopped walking and moved around to squat down at eye level with the youngster. "You have my word that we will talk about this in more detail. I remember being told similar things as a child and then they were never mentioned again. I know how much I hated that, and I will not do that to you."

"Promise?" Billy asked

"Promise," Ezra agreed and offered his hand to shake on it.

The boy stared at the gambler's outstretched hand for a moment and then broke into a huge grin. His pa had always told him that if you give your word and then shake on it, you have to keep your promise. He held out his smaller hand, to have it engulfed in Standish's larger one. "Can we go now?"

"Yes. I, for one, am famished," Ezra said as he resumed his place at Mary's side.

Her eyes twinkled with mischief when she glanced at him. "Coward."

The gambler blushed slightly and gave her a quick wink. "Yes…well… sometimes it proves beneficial to buy a little thinking time."

"Mama, can I have fried chicken?" Billy asked.

"Since Ezra is treating us to supper, you really should ask him."

Billy looked around his mother and asked, "Can I?"

"You, young sir, may have whatever meal you desire as long as it meets with your mother's approval," he told the youngster as they entered the door to the town's only restaurant.

The trio took a seat at a table near the window and Ezra checked the handwritten menu. "It seems you are in luck; fried chicken is on the bill of fare." The three ordered their meals and sat talking while they waited.

Without any warning, Billy jumped up and dashed across the room. "Grandma!" He stopped next to the table where his grandparents sat finishing their meal and waited for Evie to reach out to him for a hug.

The elder Mrs. Travis smiled and wrapped her arms around her grandson. "What are you doing here, sweetie? You aren't having dinner at home?"

Billy shook his head and grinned. "Nope, Ezra is takin' us to supper, and I get to have fried chicken."

"Honestly, I think you are going to turn into a big ole' fried chicken leg, the way you like to eat them. So, what's the occasion?" she asked him.

"Huh?"

"Is there a special reason for you having supper out?" she wanted to know.

"Oh, I think it's because Mama and Ezra are courtin', but I don't know what that means, but that's okay 'cause Ezra's gonna tell me all about it when we get home," Billy rattled on excitedly.

Evie glanced up and caught the look on her husband's face. "Oh, I see, then you better go eat your supper. It was just set on the table." She gave his small shoulders another hug and shooed him on his way.

"Orin, don't you cause a scene," she warned.

"I have no intention of creating a public display, but he is doing this deliberately to goad me into something," he seethed. "Courting! We'll see about that. It appears that she has made her choice then." He shook his head in agitation.

"Now, dear, you promised you would get all the facts before you did anything," Evie reminded him.

"I have been, and somehow Standish has even managed to sway Nathan to his side. Nathan! There was enough tension between those two to string a bow with and now…" the judge threw up his hands in disbelief. "That's it! I have to get out of here. I can't sit here and watch this."

The judge pushed away from the table and went to help his wife with her chair. He ushered her out of the restaurant, without a backward glance toward the three by the window.

Mary looked up from her meal in time to catch Evie's eye, and they exchanged a knowing look. She knew that her mother-in-law would do all she could to help settle the situation with Orin, but she didn't delude herself into thinking that there wasn't still a big problem ahead of her.

The remainder of the meal was uneventful, and they soon found themselves back out on the boardwalk heading back toward the Clarion. It would not be much longer before the fires would need to be set to light up the walkways. The air had a slight chill to it and Ezra pulled off his jacket to wrap it around Mary's shoulders as they walked. When they reached the door he held it open for Billy and her to go in first.

"I am going to go put on some coffee. You are staying for a while, aren't you?" Mary asked.

"Indeed I am. There is the little matter of a promise I made earlier this evening," he reminded her.

"Well then you two can have your talk while I fix the coffee and get us some dessert. I have some pie that Inez sent over earlier." She left her two 'men' to themselves and went to the kitchen.

"Billy, why don't we have a seat on the settee?"

The young boy climbed up on the small couch beside him and gave the gambler his undivided attention. "You didn't ferget," he said in amazement.

"No, I didn't forget. I gave you my word. So, let's see if I can find a way to explain what courting is. It isn't really that easy to explain to someone as young as you are," Ezra explained. "But, I will do my best."

"Billy, you know that I really like your mother, don't you?" he began.

The youngster nodded. "Sure, and Mama likes you too," he said seriously.

"Good, well courting is when a man and a woman more than like each other. It is when they want their relationship to move forward." He could tell by the look in those trusting blue eyes that, that had made no sense whatsoever.

"All right, let's try this another way. Do you have a really good friend?" At the boy's nod he continued. "When you first met this person, you weren't friends, were you?"

"No, I didn't know him yet," Billy replied.

"But, after you knew him awhile you became friends, right?" Ezra asked.

Billy nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, we're best friends."

"Well this is something like that. Only it is for grown-ups. When a man and a woman meet, they don't always like each other right at first, but then they get to be friends, and then best friends. Courting for a man and woman is the next thing after best friends. It is when they decide that they want to get to know each other a lot better, so they know if they want to stay together." The gambler had no idea if he was making any sense at all.

The boy looked at him intently for a minute and then asked. "You mean you are trying to figure out if you want to marry my Mama?"

"Well…..uh… yes…that is pretty much what it is all about. You already knew about this?" Ezra asked.

"Yeah, I remember when Tommy Carter and Sally were always together and hangin' onto each other and kissin' and stuff. They ended up gettin' married. You and Mama been actin' the same way," he announced.

"Oh we have, have we? If you knew this, then why am I explaining this to you?" the gambler wanted to know.

"I just didn't know that was courting. I heard Buck say Tommy and Sally were sparkin' so I thought that was what you and Mama were doin," he explained.

Mary stood out of sight just inside the kitchen door and pressed a hand to her mouth to keep from giggling at Ezra's discomfort. Leave it to her son to catch the gambler off guard. But, she had to admit that she had no idea Billy knew that much about adult relationships.

"Yes…well…Mr. Wilmington should take a little more care about what he says around young ears."

"Ezra?"

"You have another question?" The gambler sighed in resignation when he saw the little tow-headed boy nod vigorously. "And, what pray tell would that be?"

"Will ya show me some tricks?" Billy asked innocently.

"I would be delighted to dazzle you with some slight of hand." Ezra smiled and winked at his young companion. "I will need your assistance with some of it. Do you think you are up to the task?"

"Sure!" The youngster crawled to his knees on the couch facing Standish, excitement dancing in his pale blue eyes.

He has his mother's eyes. Pale as the sky on a misty morn, the gambler thought as he watched Billy practically bouncing with anticipation. Ezra pulled out his deck of playing cards and started to shuffle them. "Prepare to be amazed."

~M7M~

Judge Travis escorted his wife back to the hotel and then decided to do a little more investigating into this sudden change in Mary's behavior. He hadn't seen Josiah since that morning, but he was sure he saw Chris heading into the jail a little earlier. When he stepped inside he was glad to see that Chris was alone.

"Judge, something I can do for you?" Larabee asked.

"Actually, yes there is. Mind if we talk a bit?" the older man said.

The man in black shook his head and motioned to the empty chair across from him. "What's on your mind?"

"You mean you haven't already decided what I want to talk about before I open my mouth?" The judge sounded slightly sarcastic even to his own ears.

"I have a pretty good idea, but I believe in letting people speak for themselves," he explained to Travis.

"I appreciate that. What I need to find out is what is going on with Mary. It is like she has lost all ability to reason out the consequences of her behavior."

"Sorry, but I don't really think I am the best one to be asking about Mary," Chris hedged. "But I can tell you that she knows the consequences of what she does better than anyone else I know, and at this point I am lucky she even speaks to me after what happened."

"I know what happened, and that you are the one that hit her, but it was an accident. You wouldn't do something like that to her deliberately. I always had high hopes that more would come of things between you and Mary." The judge pointed out. "I know that given a little time, she'll see that she made the wrong choice with Ezra."

"How can you even suggest that she would see me with anything but contempt, if you know what happened here?" Larabee growled. "You don't know me well enough to know if I would have been right for Mary or not."

"I know you are a good, decent man, despite a little recent tarnish on your reputation. She feels something for you. Just give her a little time for her to get over what happened," Travis suggested. "Don't give up on her now."

"There is no way she is going to forgive me. Don't you think I have tried to get her forgiveness?" Chris yelled at the judge. "You don't just go causing a woman to lose a child and expect her to just forget about it."

"What?"

"It is my fault that her baby is dead. She can barely stand to be in the same room with me now. And I am the one you think would make a good match for her?" Larabee shook his head in exasperation. "You're wrong! Ezra's ten times the man that I am."

Most of the outburst went right on past Travis, because he had caught onto one word before it sailed on by. "Child? What do you mean 'lose a child'?"

"Oh hell!" Chris got up; he just couldn't sit still any longer. He paced the room for a minute like a caged animal before he finally made himself sit back down and face the judge. "You said you knew what happened! Son-of-a-bitch, I should have known that you wouldn't be pushing her toward me if you knew it all." The gunman laid his head in his hands and shook his head. "Damn…"

"What are you talking about?" Orin snapped.

"No, I've already said way too much. I've hurt her way too much already to hurt her more now." Larabee swallowed hard and sighed heavily. "Don't ask me to say any more," he said in a strained voice.

"You don't throw out a statement like that and then expect me to drop it. If I have to go and ask her myself, I will find out what is going on," Travis threatened.

Chris slumped in the chair in resignation. The last thing he wanted was for the judge to go tear into Mary again. "She lost a baby when I hit her," he said weakly.

"I knew she was hurt because you hit her, but not that she lost a baby. Whose? Ezra's?" The judge was furious but he tried to keep control of his temper. "It isn't bad enough that he is corrupting her in other ways but…the only thing keeping me from killing that man right now is my duty to uphold the law."

"Don't react like that. That moment of satisfaction isn't worth the hell I am going through every hour of every day. I wouldn't want to see that happen to you," Chris explained. "I felt the same way, and that is how this all happened. Just seemed to me that the only explanation was that he had to have forced himself on her, that she couldn't possibly have fallen for him. My blind rage is what nearly killed Mary, and it did kill the baby she was carrying. I don't want to see anyone else suffer like that."

"This whole situation just keeps getting worse. I should never have let her convince me to allow her to stay and keep the Clarion going. Well, she made her choices, but I sure as hell can make sure that Billy isn't influenced by her." Travis pushed himself up from the chair and left, leaving a stunned Chris Larabee behind, wondering what the judge had meant by that last comment.

~M7M~

Orin Travis paced their room in the hotel while Evie sat in the room's only chair. She sat by the window rocking slightly while she waited for the outburst that she knew was coming.

"The nerve of those two. Flaunting themselves like that in public. They were just rubbing it in my face," he fumed.

"Now, Orin, they were doing no such thing. They were simply trying to enjoy having supper together, which is a perfectly normal thing for a couple to do. You are really overreacting to this." Evie chose her words carefully, but she still wanted to get her point across.

"Overreacting! Mary is no longer a fit example for our grandson. I'll not have it, Evie. She isn't going to corrupt that boy with her immoral ways. You don't know the half of it," he exclaimed.

"Oh? And just what would the other half be?"

"I hate to even tell you this."

"Well, if you won't tell me then I guess I should go ask some questions of my own." She looked at him defiantly.

"You'll do no such thing," Travis huffed.

"I will if you make it necessary for me to!" Evie shot back at him.

The judge took a deep breath and decided he didn't have any real choice but to tell her. "She was pregnant when Chris accidentally hit her. She was carrying that con man's child!" he snapped, unable to keep his voice down.

"Oh, dear God!" Evie's hand flew to her mouth and she gasped in shock.

"There! You see! Even you can't get past that, can you?"

Evie looked at her husband like she didn't know him. "Of course I can. It had to be horrible for Mary to go through that alone. Oh, that poor girl."

"That poor girl? Can you hear yourself? How much of this kind of behavior will it take for you to say that's enough?"

"She made a mistake. She's human, and we all make mistakes. Even you," Evie pointed out protectively. "You have no room to go pointing fingers at her, Orin Travis!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he countered.

"It means that I know you are no saint yourself. There are things from your past that you thought I didn't know about, but I do. According to the good book, Jesus said, 'He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.' No one could do it then, so how can you now?"

The judge stared at his wife, stunned into silence. He had no idea what she meant by something from his past. "What are you talking about?" he asked, his tone much more subdued.

"I know about Abigail," she answered flatly.

"Abigail?"

"Don't try to act like you don't know what I'm talking about. The ignorant act doesn't suit you."

Orin hung his head and took a deep breath. "How did you find out?"

Evie looked him straight in the eyes when she answered. "I knew before we got married, but my mother convinced me that it was just a natural thing for a man to sew a few wild oats. She said it wasn't something I should let on that I knew about, because it wasn't my concern. I never did quite figure out how the fact that the man I was marrying had fathered a child with another woman wasn't any concern of mine, but I took my mother's word as the voice of experience."

"You've know all these years and you never said anything?" He couldn't believe that she had kept quiet all that time.

"I never said my mother's advice was always right," she admitted. "The point is, you had a baby with this other woman when you were engaged to me. You have no right to judge Mary for her behavior now. You are threatening to take her child from her for something you are guilty of yourself."

"It's different for a man…"

"Oh, don't give me that excuse. The only difference is it is easy to see when a woman stumbles because the evidence is right there in front of you. It takes two to make a baby, and you were just as wrong as Abigail was, maybe more so because she was so young." Evie sighed and turned sad brown eyes toward her husband. "You can't condemn Mary and Ezra for doing the same thing you did. They are both old enough to know what they are doing. The big difference was that they weren't running from the responsibility; but you did."

"How do you know Ezra wasn't running from it?" Travis demanded.

"Because he's still here, and he's still with her despite all you have done to try to drive him away. He truly loves her Orin, and she loves him."

~M7M~

Josiah heard the telltale creak of the main door and left his bedroom to go into the main room of the church to see who had come in. Judge Travis stood looking at the row of lighted candles, his hat in his hands and his head slightly bowed

"Judge Travis, what brings you to the Lord's house at this hour?"

"The need for a little peace of mind, Josiah. I have too much on my mind to try to sleep," Travis explained.

"You need to talk about it?" the preacher asked softly. "Sometimes it is easier to sleep with a clear conscience."

"What makes you think my conscience is bothering me?" the judge asked defensively.

"When you're sitting in the judgment seat, don't you get a feel for who's tellin' the truth and who isn't?"

"I suppose I do sometimes," Orin admitted.

"Sometimes it is easy to see when someone has a troubled conscience, and I think yours is very troubled right now. You know anything you say to me won't be repeated," Josiah informed him.

"I know, Josiah." The judge took a seat in the front pew and waited for Sanchez to join him. The preacher turned sideways on the hard bench so he could look at Travis while he talked. "You're right. I do have something bothering me. Something I have kept locked away for a very long time. Evie and I have been having a difference of opinion since she got here today. I know you are aware of what is going on with Mary and Ezra and how I have felt about that situation."

"Yes, you made your position very clear this morning," the preacher reminded him.

"Well, Evie reminded me that my own past isn't so perfect either. I had no idea that she knew anything about it until she tossed it in my face tonight." He took on a pained expression as he remembered the incident. "We married very young. She was fifteen when I asked for her hand but her parents made her wait until she turned seventeen. I was twenty by then. During those two years, I made a very big mistake. I …well… without going into all the details, I got involved with someone. It was just one time, but it was enough to get her pregnant. My future was already planned and I didn't know what to do about it. Suddenly, Abigail just disappeared. Turned out my father had paid someone to take her away and marry her and raise the baby as his. I had no idea that Evie knew about it."

"That makes it a little hard to justify the way you are acting toward Mary and Ezra, doesn't it?" Josiah asked.

"Yes, it does. Josiah, I know I have been raving about her immoral behavior, but it is really more about who she chose. How could she possibly fall for a con man? I always thought that would be something she would protest against very strongly. I've seen enough of them to know his type doesn't change. I am so afraid he will end up teaching Billy to follow in his footsteps, and Billy is the last part of Steven that Evie and I still have." His eyes misted over and he struggled not to blink.

"Judge, Ezra has changed. He still has a way to go, but he is no more the same man that he was when he first came here than I am Robert E. Lee."

"How can you be so sure that it isn't just another con?"

"What profit would there be in it for him? Mary isn't rich. The Clarion supports itself and Mary, but it isn't making her large sums of money. There is no big social coup to be made. Mary is respected but she isn't an heiress or connected to someone in high places. Besides that, I have gotten to know him." The preacher settled in for a long talk and he knew this was one time his audience would want to hear what he had to say.

"The way you are protecting the two of them, I gather that you are aware of the full extent of her injury," Orin commented.

"Yes, I know about all of it. I want you to know the kind of man Ezra has turned into. He has been there for her every minute from the time they first found out until now. They had been planning on getting married before she was hurt, and he would have still gone through with it, but she said no. I think she was afraid he would end up feeling trapped. I have watched things blossom between them for all this time, and I can tell you honestly that they really do love each other.

~M7M~

Travis tried not to wake Evie as he slipped into bed, but he should have known she wouldn't be asleep. He hadn't intended to be gone as long as he had, but time had passed quickly as he sat and talked to the preacher.

"Where have you been?" his wife asked as she turned over to face him.

"Talking to Josiah," he answered softly.

"You probably should have talked to him first instead of the others."

"You're right about that. Evie, I am sorry I have been such an ass. I've made so many mistakes it would take the rest of the night to name them all. But, the biggest ones were keeping that secret from you and not trusting Mary's judgment."

"Why did you keep that secret?" she wanted to know.

"I was ashamed. We weren't married yet, but we were promised to each other, and I was unfaithful to that promise. And it really bothered me that I had let my father sweep my mistake under the rug," he confessed. "He paid someone to take her away and marry her."

"What would you have done if he hadn't?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't know. It wouldn't have involved marrying her, that much I feel sure of. Maybe I would have made arrangements for her to go away and have the baby and then find it a good home. What happened was a one-time thing; just two young people who got carried away and let their bodies rule over their brains for a short time. At that age, I just wasn't seeing the full picture. But, I know I would have done anything in my power to keep you. I never loved anyone but you." He wrapped an arm around his wife when he felt her curl up against his side, relieved to feel that closeness again.

"So, what did you decide about Billy?" she asked a little apprehensively.

"I still want to talk to Ezra before I make my final decision." Orin felt Evie tense up beside him. "Talk, Evie, just talk. There are things I need to settle completely in my mind before I can feel comfortable leaving Billy here."

"You'll really listen? You won't just assume he is out to con you? Just promise you'll give him a fair chance," she pressed.

"I promise I will."

"Thank you." She kissed him good night, settled her head on his shoulder, and tossed her arm over his chest. Finally, they would both be able to sleep, and hopefully tomorrow would be a better day.

~M7M~

Ezra cracked one eye open against the early morning light. He was never awake this early, so why was he now? Then he heard it again, a knock on the door. He wrapped himself in a blanket and moved quickly to the door, thinking it might be Mary, but he received quite a shock when he found Orin Travis standing there.

"Judge Travis, what brings you to my door at this hour?" he asked cautiously.

"I would like to have a few words with you, if I may," the judge replied.

"Of course," Standish opened the door wider and let the older man in. "I apologize for the state of the room. I was still asleep."

"I thought you might be, so I felt sure I would be able to catch you here alone." Travis crossed the room to take a seat in the rocking chair near the window, while Ezra sat on the edge of the bed. "Ezra, I need to ask you some questions. Will you answer me honestly?"

"Will you believe me if I say yes?" the gambler asked in return.

"Yes, I will."

The gambler stared at him openmouthed. "Then yes, I will answer you honestly," he finally managed to say.

"Do you love her?"

"More than life," Ezra answered sincerely.

The judge saw only truth in that pair of unwavering green eyes, and he nodded in acknowledgement. "I believe you do." He paused and gathered his thoughts. "I love her too. She and Billy are our last connection to our son," he admitted.

"I know you love her, and I know you want what is best for her and for her to be happy." The gambler swallowed hard and drew a deep breath. Talking about such personal matters was going to take a lot of getting used to.

"Yes I do, and apparently her idea of what fills those needs isn't the same as mine." Travis half smiled. "You've made some good friends here. These men wouldn't hold up for you if they weren't sure of you, and neither would Mary."

"I don't deserve any of them, but I am very grateful to have them," Ezra said.

"I need to know something. What about Billy? I…"

"Sir, if you are afraid that I will try to persuade him to follow in my footsteps, you needn't fear. The life I have led is not one I would press anyone into, especially someone I love. Maude gave me no choice, but I have a choice now."

"Are you saying you won't pursue your con man's trade any longer?" Orin asked hopefully.

"I haven't done a con in a long time," Ezra admitted. "But, my gambler's trade is all I know."

Travis smiled knowingly. "I can live with that; from what Josiah told me, you don't even cheat now unless it is in the other person's favor."

The gambler blushed hotly. "Josiah sometimes says too much."

"In this case, that is a good thing."

"There is this nagging feeling that I have that there is something more to your change of heart than just some good words from my associates," Ezra observed.

"That was what finally got me to understand things, but there was something else that forced me to stop and listen. Someone pointed out some of my own past mistakes and made me realize that I could be making another really big one now."

"Are you still thinking of trying to take Billy from Mary? I love her and I don't want to lose her, but I won't be the reason for her losing her son," the gambler turned sad, pleading eyes toward the judge.

"If I had any last doubts about you, knowing that you would give her up to keep them together just settled them. No, I won't try to take Billy. He belongs with his mother, and I hear that he is very fond of you," Orin commented.

"As I am of him."

"Why don't you get dressed, and let's see if we can find Mary. Maybe she has some coffee on and we can all sit and talk," the judge suggested.

~M7M~

Evie whispered in Mary's ear as she hugged her goodbye. "I told you to leave him to me."

"Thank you. I don't know how you did it, but I am so grateful," the younger woman whispered back.

The two women released each other and Billy eased in between them to tell his grandparents goodbye. "I love you, Grandma," he told her and hugged her, squeezing her hard.

"Ugh… what a hug," the elder Mrs. Travis teased him. "That one will have to last me until next time we can visit."

"What about me?" the judge asked. "Don't I get a goodbye too?"

"Yes," the youngster said as he launched himself at his grandfather to give him his own bear hug.

"You be good for your mother, promise?"

"I promise. Do ya have t' go?"

"Yes, we do but we'll see you again soon," Evie spoke up as she elbowed her husband.

"Well…hopefully we will," the judge said. "Evie and I were talking and we would like to invite you to come for Christmas." He saw the shadow of disappointment that passed over the gambler's features and hurried on. "That includes you too, Ezra. We both think it would be a good chance for us all to spend some time together."

Both Ezra and Mary were stunned momentarily speechless. "Orin, we would love to. Wouldn't we, Ezra?" Mary could not have smiled much wider as she turned to wait for the gambler's reply.

"Indeed we would. Thank you both." He held out his hand to the judge who took it firmly in his own.

"Good, we'll see you all then. Come on, Evie. The stage driver is getting impatient." Travis helped his wife into the coach and checked one last time to be sure that his horse was securely tethered to the back. The older couple waved as the stage pulled away, and Evie blew a kiss to Billy when he chased after the coach shouting his last goodbyes.

Mary turned to Ezra and grinned. "I honestly think you could charm the devil, Mr. Standish."

The gambler laughed and gathered her into his arms. "I thought I just had."

End

I'll Be Home For Christmas

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