Spoilers: "Safecracker", "Working Girls", "One Day Out West", "Ghosts of the Confederacy", and "Witness"
Summary: JD learns about sexual politics
Pairing: implications of Chris/Mary, implications of Chris/Vin, implications of JD/Emily
Rating: PG, more or less.
Warnings: sexual suggestions
Beta-ed by the wonderful Sara and Jin!
Author's Note: Set between "Working Girls" and "Safecracker", this one picks up right after Weaving: Fraying: Denim
"How many fighting men have you got, cap'n?" asked Joe, as though he had not heard the foregoing remarks of his companion.
"Twenty-seven, men and boys that can handle a rifle well."
"Couldn't you drum up a few more?"
"There are several more boys that might be made useful."
"Boys are as good as men often, I guess," was the laconic response, and looking at Joe, Captain Reynolds felt that be at least he was.
"Well, then, I can make the force thirty-one."
"No women what know how to shoot a rifle?" asked Joe, with utter disregard for the proprieties of the Queen's English.
"Yes, but I wouldn't have them risk danger."
"Better risk it than make it certain."
"How do you mean Joe?"
"That if you got any women-folks that can shoot, take 'em on the bluff with you, and pour in a heavy fire the first time.
"Then if you've got any extra rifles and shot-guns, load 'em and lay 'em by the men to use, and the women can reload the other weapons.
"I tell you, cap'n, that Bad Blood is an old soldier for fighting, and he has got two hundred braves.
"But if you can knock about fifty under the first two volleys, and then pour the music in pretty lively, you'll see those Injuns dig out in style."
"You seem to be an old soldier, too, Joe, for your advice is good and I will follow it."
"I've seen some fighting," was the cool reply . . . . "- From Chapter Four of "California Joe, the Mysterious Plainsman" by Col. Prentiss Ingraham, an original Dime Novel published by Beadle and AdamsJD watched as Buck and Nathan rode away, still pondering. Women. He really liked Emily - she was pretty and lively and fun. He'd wanted her to stay in town - he'd wanted all of the women to stay in town. But even though Mrs. Travis had backed down on her own dislike of the idea, Lydia and Norah and most of the others had voted to go to 'Frisco - more money there, they'd argued and probably better men to choose from.
JD sighed at the thought, his hands in his pocket as he ambled out of the dusty roadway and started down the boardwalk.
"JD?"
He looked up from his musing, pleased but a little unnerved to find himself almost abreast of Chris.
"Ladies off to San Francisco?" the gunslinger asked, even though JD knew that Chris had been watching.
"Yeah," he sighed. "Sure am gonna miss 'em." He stopped to stand next to the older man.
Chris nodded, his eyes on the street. "Me too."
JD frowned. "Then why'd you let them go? Lydia would have stayed if you'd said so, and the others would have stayed with her. With Wickes dead, they were safe here - "
But Chris was frowning and edging off the pole he had been leaning on, standing straight. "Lots of other things going on, JD. Not just a matter of Wickes."
"But Mrs. Travis was getting to be nicer about it - "
"Mary don't speak for the whole town, and even if she did, she's got a point." Chris shook his head, his gaze wondering down the street. "I can't argue with you that men have needs and that women take care of a lot of them - hell, you yourself pointed out how fond I am of Lydia. But women have needs as well, JD, and eventually, they all want to have something more permanent than scratching a man's itch. I don't know about you, but I ain't ready to settle down with Lydia - "
JD stiffened, shocked. "What are you talking about? Lydia wasn't planning on - "
Chris laughed then, a light sound that JD loved because of its rarity. "No, nothing had been said. Yet." His tone darkened a little. "But once we had made them the offer of protection, that would have been the start of it. Lydia was already nosing around about me and Mary, and ever since we rescued her from Wickes, Mary's been a little overly-thankful - and while I ain't looking to settle with anyone, Mary included, the fact that Lydia was sniffing around was only gonna unsettle things. Nah, I don't have a problem with working girls, not at all. But we don't need 'em where we gotta watch out for 'em. Right, Vin?"
JD jumped when a voice drawled over his shoulder, "I ain't looking to get caught up in 'em games." Then he felt Vin's hand pat his shoulder. "Sorry, kid, didn't mean to scare ya."
'Then stop sneaking around!" JD snapped before he thought. Fortunately, Vin and Chris only laughed a little, not taking offense. Even though sometimes JD wished they would take offense, 'cause then he'd at least know that they respected him -
"I'm gonna head over and see if the bar-keep's got some coffee that ain't too old to drink," Vin said pleasantly, moving past JD. "Y'all want some?"
Chris squinted up at the sky, then adjusted the angle of his hat. "Might could stand another cup myself, now that you mention it. Oh, Vin? Lydia said for me to tell you she was sorry she didn't see you last night."
Vin's step faltered, and he looked hard at Chris before saying, "She didn't miss nothing - 'spect she had more than enough on her hands."
Chris grinned slightly. "'Spect your right," he answered. "Just surprised you didn't make it. Woulda liked for you to come."
Vin swallowed, still looking hard at Chris, before picking his pace back up and leading the way.
JD followed the other two, more for the company than the coffee.
The boardwalk was just crowded enough that they couldn't talk, other than the occasional 'morning', or 'hello' to the people they passed. JD noticed that Chris did most of the 'howdy's', mostly because people seemed to be speaking to him, not to Vin or himself. Several did speak to JD - he was the town's sheriff for the time-being, and he had worked to get to know many of the shop-keepers as they seemed to be the ones he saw the most. But he did notice that most either ignored Vin or kept well away from him. It was curious, he thought, and he filed it away as something to ask about later.
By the time they got to the saloon, though, his mind was back on the women - mostly because the first thing Sidney, the guy behind the bar asked, was "Couldn't you talk them women into staying? We need women like them in here - keeps the customers happy."
"Sorry," Chris said shortly, "but my job ain't keeping your customers happy. If it's that important to ya, maybe ya should start giving blows yourself."
JD almost spewed his coffee across the bar, and Vin chuckled. "Don't think that'd make much money for 'em," he said quietly, as Sidney glared, then turned away. "Don't look like he's had a lot of experience in that area himself."
Chris picked up his coffee tin and headed for a table. He settled into a chair before saying, "Seems a man knows what he likes - and what he don't. Can't imagine him not having a blow at least once in his life - hell, there are enough broke cowboys any Monday night who'd pay for a shot a whiskey by opening their mouths."
JD had already managed to swallow by the time Chris started speaking, so he was left stammering at the other man's suggestion. "Wha - come on, Chris - men don't - not for a shot of - "
"Take a breath, kid," Vin grinned, sliding into the chair next to Chris. "You really ain't been out here long, have ya."
JD stared, knowing he was staring, knowing he was looking wide-eyed and innocent and feeling every bit of it, even as he hated himself for it. But - men blowing other men for nothing more than -
"Ain't a lotta women round here," Chris said, leaning back in his chair. "And sometimes, when a man has an itch and there ain't a woman around, well, he has to make do with whatever - or whoever, he can." He sipped his coffee, staring out the window of the saloon. "Tell him, Vin."
JD turned to stare at the other man. For his part, Vin winced, but JD thought it was because the coffee was hot. "Sit down," Vin said instead, using one long leg to push a chair in JD's direction as he put his own cup down on the table. "You're making me edgy."
JD did as he was bid, but his eyes never left Vin; he landed a little hard in the chair, bumping the table and almost spilling their cups, but he was hardly aware. "You boys are kidding me, aren't you - this is another one of your tricks to make me look like a kid - Buck'll think this is the funniest thing - "
"'S true," Vin said quietly, "Buck'll tell ya." He stretched out his legs under the table, crossing them at the ankle, his hands resting on his belly. He looked completely relaxed, but there was something about his voice that made JD uncomfortable, as if Vin were making a joke, but it wasn't a funny one and he knew it.
JD swallowed, blinked, then swallowed again. "Men being with other men. It's not natural - I mean, is it?"
Neither Vin nor Chris said anything at first, then, glancing at Chris who continued to stare out the window, Vin said, "Don't rightly know whatcha mean. When I lived among the Peoples - "
"Indians?" JD interrupted, his mind taking a different interest. "You lived with Indians?"
At that, Chris turned his head slightly, looking at Vin.
Vin shrugged. "On and off. They taught me how to track buffalo - and other things. They got different ways of thinking about - well, everything, I reckon. Made me realize that what people think about things don't really involve no thought at all, just fear and habit. If it ain't hurting anybody, then what ain't right about it? 'Specially as it ain't really nobody else's business anyhow."
JD sat back, his gaze still on Vin. "So - you think it's all right?"
Vin sighed, reached for his mug and drank from it before answering. When he did answer, he didn't look at either one of them. "I think it ain't nobody's business, that's what I think."
Then, putting his cup back down on the table, he pushed himself up. "I'm gonna ride out toward the old mine. Some of the trail riders in last night mentioned hearing some wolves out that way, thought I'd go look for some tracks, see if we got a pack big 'nough to bother worrying with."
He pulled his hat up onto his head, tightening the rawhide straps as he turned away.
"Think ya need company?" Chris asked, toying with his own mug.
Vin hesitated, but he didn't look back. "You wanna come, come on."
Chris shrugged. "Was thinking JD might be up for ride. Seems he's got a lotta energy to work off, and with the number of women in the town declining, thought you might could show him - "
"Fuck off, Larabee." The words were so soft that JD wasn't quite sure he'd heard them. Only the slight turn of Chris' lips let him know that the other man had been teasing and had taken Vin's response in kind.
He wasn't certain if Vin knew, though, as the tracker was already walking out of the saloon, his stride unusually loud for him.
JD looked back to Chris, feeling a little grin of his own, even though the idea, despite its humor, scared him. "Maybe you shouldn't tease Vin like that," he said cautiously. "I don't think I want him thinking that I . . . "
Chris looked at him, one eyebrow arching. "That you what, JD? That you'd let him blow ya?" He laughed out right as JD tried hard not to blush and failed miserably.
"That ain't funny, Chris," he snapped, wishing he were just a little older. "Vin could probably kill me in my sleep."
Chris laughed a little harder but agreed. "Yeah, reckon so. But don't worry, boy, he won't." He stood up himself, finished off his coffee, then, gracefully, he leaned over the table. "I won't let him touch ya. You ain't his type, anyway."
He's joshing, JD thought, but he blushed even harder. He knew Chris was kidding - Vin didn't have a type - hell, Vin wouldn't blow any man.
Would he?+ + + + + + +
"JD? JD! What the hell is wrong with you?"
JD looked up, aware suddenly that Buck was not only talking to him but probably had been for a while. "Sorry, Buck," he said with a sigh. "Guess I'm just . . . "
"Damn, JD," Buck leaned closer, his elbow nudging JD's, "if I'd known you were going to be missing her this bad, I'd have kept her here myself!"
JD sighed again, putting down his fork. He looked up before answering, checking to make certain that their conversation was reasonably private. "It ain't Emily," he said quietly, "well, not exactly, anyway." He stared at his plate, wishing he felt like eating. But the corn, beans, and potatoes all blended together into a lumpy mix that he could barely push around on the plate, much less bring to his mouth.
"Wanna talk about it?" Buck asked softly. "Ain't like you to be so quiet."
The sheriff sighed again, then, looking around one more time, he asked, "Buck, you ever . . . I mean, have you ever thought about . . . .well. . . .um, you know, um, letting a man blow ya?"
He turned away just in time to keep from getting a spray of beer in his face as Buck spewed his mouthful. "What?"
JD opened one eye cautiously, looking back at his friend. Around him, laughter echoed through the semi-crowded saloon and the late afternoon patrons started back into their conversations. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking," JD said, pulling his napkin from his collar and patting it over the drops of beer on the table nearby. "I just . . this morning, after you left, I was talking to Chris about why he didn't keep Lydia and Emily and the other women here. And while we were talking, he mentioned that sometimes men blow other men, and then Vin said that he didn't think it was anybody's business, and then Chris wanted me to go with Vin and Vin thinks he should show me - "
"What?" This time Buck's voice was hard, the way JD had heard it at Wickestown when they had found Wickes beating Norah. "Vin touched you - "
"No!" JD held up one hand, glad he hadn't eaten much as the nausea gurgled. "No," he repeated less desperately, reaching out to take a swig of his own beer. After swallowing, he said, "Vin didn't do nothing - hell, he was so pissed when he left I'm not even sure he knew Chris was joking."
Buck didn't seem to relax though, his face still creased with anger. "He say anything at all that made you feel . . . JD, you tell me the truth, son, he do or say anything - "
JD placed the hand he was holding up on Buck's arm, surprised at the tension in the other man, but somewhat flattered as well. "It's all right, Buck. Vin didn't say or do nothing and he acted pissed as hell that Chris would joke about it. He rode out right after Chris made his bad joke, and as far as I know, he ain't come back to town." He grinned just a little. "No, Vin's okay. It ain't him."
Buck took a deep breath, then reached for his own beer again. After guzzling about half of what was left in the mug, he set it down, saying, "So Chris mentioned that sometimes men . . . get to hankering for women who ain't around - is that it?"
JD frowned, thought about it, then answered, "Yeah, that's kinda it, but - well, really, Buck - if there were no women around, would you - I mean - another man?"
Buck coughed again, and instinctively, JD covered the top of his mug with his hand. "It ain't . . . I mean . . . " Buck closed his eyes, frowning, then opened his eyes again and looked at JD. "How about we wait and have this conversation in about three months?" Buck grabbed his mug, drained it, then rose and hurried to the bar where he had it refilled, emptied, then refilled again in one of the fastest spaces of time JD had ever seen any bartender here perform.
"It's true, then," JD said when Buck finally made it back to the table, flushed but a little more relaxed. "Men...with other men..."
Buck sat down, picked up his fork, pushed some food around on his plate, then said, softly, "When ya ain't got no other choice, things happen that wouldn't normally happen. I ain't saying it's right or the way it's supposed to be, just that sometimes, it is."
"I thought they were joking," JD muttered. "Thought they were just kidding around, making fun of me 'cause I don't know as much as the rest of you."
Buck put his fork down and pushed his plate away, but he smiled. "Well, it is kinda fun to pick atcha. You do have a lot to learn 'bout living out here, that's for damned sure." The smile faded. "I wouldn't have picked this as a place to educate ya, though. Damn Chris."
As if on cue, the doors to the saloon parted and the gunslinger stalked in. JD tensed at the look on the man's face.
"Buck, JD," Chris acknowledged, stopping at the table. "Seen Vin?"
Buck was looking up, his expression unreadable. "Nope," he answered, picking up his beer. "Trouble?"
JD instantly reached to the grip of his guns.
Chris' lips set in a hard line, but his voice was steady. "No trouble, just wanted to know what he found out about them wolves."
"Is he back in town?" JD asked, letting his hands come back to the table. He pushed his own plate away, then picked up his beer. "I ain't seen him since he stormed out this morning."
Chris stiffened, and JD blinked, suddenly worried. He hadn't meant to say something wrong -
"Something wrong, Big Dog?" Buck asked. The question seemed innocent, but JD thought he heard something in Buck's tone and he glanced uneasily to his friend.
"Nothing I can't handle," Chris answered. He put one hand on the chair beside Buck, then hesitated. "Mind if I - "
"Ya ain't gotta ask, Chris," Buck interrupted and there was some warmth in his tone. "'Specially seeing as how you done scared the balls right on offa JD here!" He laughed to ease the bluntness of the statement, but JD felt himself blush.
"That's not what I - Buck! I ain't scared!"
Chris pulled out the chair and sat, then smiled as he said, "Sorry, JD. Ain't nobody gonna do anything to you that you don't want done - and I'll make sure of that. Thought we settled that this morning."
JD wasn't sure which was more startling, the apology or the idea that Chris was gonna back him up. Both pleased him.
Before he could mumble a reply, though, Buck was talking again. "Not even Vin? Sounds like you pretty much set him on JD - "
"Oh, hell, Buck," JD exploded, unthinkingly reaching out and hitting Buck in the shoulder with his fist. "I told you, Chris was kidding with Vin! He even said I'm not Vin's type!"
Buck was smiling, his eyes on Chris, but JD felt something between the two of them that wasn't friendly.
"And what is Vin's type?" Buck asked, but his voice was slower, softer, almost a growl.
JD swallowed, looking from Chris to Buck and back.
Chris was staring at Buck as well, his eyes narrow. "The type that'd end up dead," he said as quietly as Buck.
"Your gun?" Buck asked.
Chris didn't answer, but somehow, JD knew he didn't have to. Buck's question wasn't really a question at all.
"Um, how about a beer, Chris?" JD said quickly, already getting to his feet. "Or whiskey - you prefer that - "
Chris was rising as well, but it was Buck who answered. Reaching out, he laid a hand casually on Chris's wrist, just where it curved, and said, "Let me buy you a drink. Seems I owe you at least one."
Chris was still glaring at him, but he rested against the table, not yet moving. "Ain't me you owe."
Buck took a deep breath, then nodded. "Maybe, maybe not. But you're here now. Sit back down and let's straighten JD out before he's afraid to spend the night on the trail with us."
Chris stared a few seconds longer, then sat back down. Reaching into the pocket of his pants, he pulled out several coins and tossed them toward JD. "Bottle if they got one, JD, and thanks."
By the time JD got back with the bottle and a couple of glasses, Buck and Chris were smiling and talking and JD wasn't quite sure what the problem had been earlier. He suspected he didn't want to know, either.
Evening wore into night, the other members of their little group coming and going. Nathan had returned to his clinic, Ezra was deep in a poker game at a nearby table, and Buck was carrying on at the bar with one of the saloon ladies when JD noticed that Chris had pretty much stopped drinking. The bottle was more than half full and much of that had been consumed by Buck.
Josiah was in the middle of some story about some strange god named Vish-something, when he broke off, asking, "JD? I'm not boring you, am I?"
JD turned to the older man. "Um, no, sorry Josiah, I was just - Chris, you all right?"
The other man turned toward them, and JD realized that he had been watching the doors of the saloon. "Yeah, JD, just wondering on where to go looking for Vin."
JD frowned. "He said he was going up toward the old mine . . . "
"Yeah," Chris mused, looking back toward the door. "Lots of places along the way that a man could find trouble."
Beside JD, Josiah shifted then said softly, "Especially a man like Vin."
"What does that mean?" JD asked, confused. "Because he lived with the Indians and such?"
Josiah blinked back at JD, then shook his head. "Guess that makes sense. Should have seen it myself." He grinned.
"You didn't know?" JD felt a little thrill of pleasure at knowing something that one of his elders didn't.
But before Josiah could answer, Chris spoke again, his voice tight. "Man's past is his own, JD. Ain't for others to speak light of."
JD blushed, partly in embarrassment and partly in anger. "I wasn't speaking light of Vin - I'd never do that. Seems like you're more likely to pick at him than I am!"
The instant the words were out of his mouth, he found himself wondering what had possessed him to say them - some death wish he didn't know he had, apparently.
But Chris was only glaring at him, the green eyes glittering in the saloon's dull light.
"Don't reckon Vin was too secretive about it, if he told JD," Josiah said calmly, looking at his beer. "But Chris is right, JD; there are things that you might know about a man that you don't want to share with strangers. No matter how innocent they may seem to you, they could get someone else killed if they made it to the wrong ears."
JD forced himself to swallow, his throat painfully dry. When he could speak, he said, "I ain't sharing things about Vin - or anyone else - with just anybody. But hell, we all trust each other - we all watch each other's backs!"
Chris flinched then, a slight movement of his eyes that JD almost wasn't certain he saw.
"For the most part, we do," Josiah agreed. He looked up then, his eyes meeting Chris' across the table. "But there are all kinds of things that get said without thinking, all kinds of things that a man might dwell on the wrong way."
"Damn it all," Chris sighed, but he wasn't glaring any more. He rose and reached for his hat. "I'm gonna go see if I can find him, make sure he ain't gotten into anything he can't handle."
But as he turned, the saloon doors were pushed open and Vin appeared. He stepped into the large room and to one side, scanning the crowd before catching sight of them. When he did, JD noted that the tracker stiffened a little, as though he weren't too happy, but he walked toward their table.
"JD, Josiah," he nodded to them before turning and saying flatly, "Chris."
"Just coming to hunt you down," Chris said, putting his hat back on the table. "Thought you might have found more trouble than even you could handle."
Vin frowned, his fingers clenching where they rested against his gun belt. "Told ya I wouldn't run out - "
"And I said I'd watch your back."
They stared at each other, hard, direct looks that made JD think of dogs getting ready to fight. He felt again that there was something he didn't understand; he glanced at Josiah, who was also looking at Vin and Chris. The older man's expression wasn't quite bemused, but it did hold some confusion.
It was Chris who broke first, but not the way JD expected.
"I didn't mean anything," he said quietly. "I . . . I wasn't thinking." Casually, he sat back down, leaning back in his chair.
Vin didn't move at all that JD could tell, his hands were still in the same place, still knotted into tight fists with his thumbs looped into his gun belt, his feet were still planted firmly on the floor, wide enough apart for him to stand straight and tall, his shoulders back, his head high, his chin out - yet he somehow seemed to shrink. No, he thought, tilting his head slightly as if that would give him a clearer view, Vin seemed to relax.
"Don't look like a pack, maybe three or so," Vin said casually, and his hips eased to one side, his shoulders slouched a bit. "Figger they're heading toward the ranchers, easier to get calves. Long as they stay clear of the town, we won't have no problem with 'em."
Chris nodded, looking up at the other man. "Always like it better when it's someone else's problem. Here," he reached over and pushed at the chair to his left, "sit down."
Vin didn't do anything at first, so Chris looked back at him. "Vin? Sit?" He hadn't said it, JD was pretty sure the word wasn't one Chris used a lot to start with, but for some reason, it seemed to echo in the room, as if, instead of saying 'Vin' or 'sit', he had said 'please'.
The tracker shifted his weight, then, taking a deep breath, he took the chair.
Chris smiled, and JD did too. Beside him, he heard Josiah chuckle, but when he looked, the big man was sipping from his beer.+ + + + + + +
JD sat quietly, trying to ignore the soft 'hasp'of the rag wiping against metal, the sickly sweet scent of the gun oil. His stomach roiled, though, as a soft breeze gusted, carrying with it the smell of bacon grease and coffee.
He didn't realize he had made a noise until Vin's voice said from beside him, "You let Ez talk you into a game of cards last night?"
JD glanced over to where the other man sat propped back against the jailhouse wall, cleaning his gun with a thoroughness that amazed the young sheriff this early in the morning.
"More like Buck," he answered, closing his eyes. The movement of Vin's fingers was making him dizzy. "I'd be fine if I hadn't got hit in the head with that chair during the fight."
"You wouldna hit your head during the fight if you hadn't been skunked on whiskey," Vin countered. But he was teasing, and JD knew it.
The smell of food grew stronger, followed almost immediately by the sound of steps on the boardwalk. JD opened his eyes to see Mary Travis coming their way, carrying a napkin-covered tray, a large tin coffee pot prominent in the middle.
"Ew," he murmured, nausea building.
Vin sighed his agreement, which surprised JD, but before he had a chance to ask, the woman was on them.
"Morning," she said brightly, glancing from one to the other. "Chris asked me to bring breakfast for you two and your prisoners. He said you had three of them?"
Vin rose, setting the parts of his rifle on the chair he had vacated, and opened the door to the office. "Thank you, ma'am," he said politely. "I'll take that for ya - "
"Oh, it's no trouble, Vin," she smiled again, walking past him into the jail.
JD sat outside, knowing he was going to owe Vin for this one, but struggling more to keep his stomach contents where they were. His only consolation was that he knew the three men in the cells were probably suffering as much as he was, possibly even more; before they had started their bar fight, they had each consumed about a bottle of whiskey each, and then they had spent a lot of time hitting on each other before JD, Buck, Ezra, and Josiah had resorted to hitting on them to keep the saloon from being destroyed.
He winced though as he heard the sound of a metal cup slamming into the metal bars of the cells; Vin was making sure their prisoners were awake to appreciate the trouble Mary had gone to bringing them breakfast.
The chorus of groans and whines that followed let him know Vin's efforts were successful.
A few minutes later, the sound of voices grew louder, then the door reopened and Mary came out, followed by Vin. The other man was carrying two plates, one of which he set on the wide railing near - but not too near - to JD.
"Mrs. Hammond wanted me to remind you that there are more biscuits for you two if you want them. And to please return the tray and the dishes when everyone's finished."
"Yes, ma'am," Vin agreed politely, leaning against the wall and holding his own plate. "Thank ya for yer worry."
Mary smiled at him. "No trouble, Vin. The town's a lot safer with you around, even if we do have differences of opinion about some things."
He nodded his agreement, toying with the fork on the plate but not yet eating.
Mary watched him for a moment, and JD saw her nervousness. He didn't think that Vin did, though, because his friend was looking down at his boots, as if he were uncomfortable with her scrutiny.
"I . . . I know that I wasn't very nice or very fair about - well, about Norah and Lydia and their . . . their friends," Mary stammered out. "And I'm sorry, I know that they really are doing the best they can . . . " She took a deep breath, twisting her hands together, and despite his pain, JD found that he couldn't not say something.
"We know, Mrs. Travis," he blurted. "We know there are things you want for the town and that you want things to be respectable and the like - "
"Yes, thank you, JD, I do, I really do - but it's not just for me. My son - Billy, my son, well, he's . . . " She looked away, out into the street, but her words rushed on. "When is father . . . was killed, I had to make the decision to send him to live with his grandparents - I didn't want to, I miss him horribly - I can't imagine what Chris goes through every day, knowing that he'll never see his boy again - " She stopped, sucking in a breath as if she were in physical pain.
JD froze, not knowing that to do. Oddly, it was Vin who recovered first. Thrusting the plate he held to JD, he darted to Mary's side, taking her arm as he pushed JD away and reached for the chair he had been sitting in. "Sit down, Mrs. Travis," he said, his voice gentle, "take a deep breath - there ya go, just take a deep breath." He guided her to sit, one hand on her shoulder, the other on her upper arm. "There now, just breathe - JD, get Nathan - "
"No, no," she finally said around the air she sucked in, "I'm fine. Truly, fine." She took several more deep breaths, and as she steadied, Vin drew away from her, almost stepping off the boardwalk to put space between them. She didn't seem to notice though, her eyes closed as she picked up where she had left off. "Even the thought of losing my child, like Chris did - I can't imagine it. I just - I just can't. I don't think I could live." She paused, then visibly forced herself under control. When she opened her eyes, she nodded at JD but then turned her attention to Vin. "Billy is six - just six. Some days I miss him so badly that it takes everything I have just to get myself out of bed. Living without him - it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Harder even than losing my husband."
She was staring at Vin, so intensely that JD thought she might see into his brain.
But when he looked at his friend, he was surprised at the pain on the other man's face. He knew Vin was older than he was - not as old as Buck or Chris, but old enough - certainly more aware of the world than JD thought he might ever be - but right now, looking at him looking at Mary, he thought Vin might be six years old himself. His eyes were so innocent, so open - and so hurt.
"Billy's coming to visit soon - and hopefully, to stay with me. But only if I can show him that it's safe here - that he won't be hurt. He was there when his father was killed. He's . . . he feels threatened here, like whoever hurt his father is still here." She reached out then, one hand, very slowly. "Having you here, protecting us - it's making it safer. Hopefully safe enough for my boy to want to stay here with me."
Vin moved even more slowly than she did, and JD was almost afraid the other man wouldn't move at all. But even as he was getting ready to take her hand himself, he saw Vin lean forward, lightly taking the tips of her fingers onto his loose fist.
"Billy is going to love Chris. Chris will make him feel safe. And if anything can help Chris find peace again, hopefully it will be having a little boy around. One who misses his father as much as I know Chris misses his son."
They stared at each other, Mary at Vin and at first, him at her. But then, as she fell silent, he looked away, and JD saw his fist tighten.
He never understood how he knew, but somewhere in the space of about two seconds, he knew it was his turn to do the saving.
"Mrs. Travis?" He forced himself to stand, his own pain diminishing when confronted with the cloud of misery that seemed to be hanging around them. "How about I walk you back to the - "
"No, no, thank you, JD." She rose, graceful even in her distress. Her hand had moved from Vin's, and in the freedom, Vin had actually moved off the boardwalk. "I can find my own way." She smiled, but it was wan, and it was quick. Her face was clouded again as her eyes came back to Vin. "I just wanted to let you know - all of you - how much it means to me to have you here."
Vin wasn't looking at her - he wasn't looking at anything, only the top of his hat visible. He lifted his right hand, though, his fingers tugging at the hat's brim in polite salute to her words.
"Thank you, ma'am," JD supplied the words, looking back to her. "We'll do our best to protect you and your son - no boy should be without his momma, ever." He knew the last words sounded sincere because they were. He hardly went a day himself without thinking of his own ma and how much he missed her. He couldn't imagine what it must be like for Mrs. Travis. Certainly not for Chris.
She nodded, a little smile trying bravely to twist her lips, but as she turned to leave, she looked once more to Vin.
He still stared at the ground.
The echo of her steps was fading and almost gone before Vin finally moved out of the street. His steps were slow, sluggish even, as though he hurt in every part of his body.
JD started to ask, but he couldn't find a way to put the question -
Then the breakfast plate on the railing slammed into the side of the building, the crash loud as a gunshot.
JD watched the eggs oozing down the wall, his heart beating so fast that he heard nothing over it, not even the sound of Vin's boots storming down the boardwalk, away from the town.
Then his stomach finally caught up and he made it to the rail just as he expelled what little he had left onto the dusty road.+ + + + + + +
"How's the head? Better, I bet, now that your prisoners are all gone on their merry way. Rough job, being sheriff, having to work all night long, watching over the bad guys even when they're sleeping it off, huh. That tiny little cut doing better?"
JD jerked as Buck's hand reached toward him. Instinctively, he slapped at it. "Fine, just damned fine," he snarled, moving out of reach.
Buck dropped his hand, but frowned. "What's got you in such a mood?" he demanded. "That chair hit you harder than I thought?"
JD sighed. It wasn't Buck's fault. In fact, it wasn't really anybody's fault - 'cept maybe his own. "Nah," he mumbled, dropping into the chair behind the sheriff's desk. "I'm just so . . . "
Buck grinned then, and JD sighed harder. "It ain't that, Buck - don't you ever think 'bout anything else?"
"Sure!" the big man laughed, scooting around to sit on a corner of the desk facing JD. "Sometimes I think about my friends needing the company of a fine lady - 'specially when I'm feeling affectionate, like I am now!"
"Well, I don't need that!" JD retorted. "And if I did, we sure as hell ain't got no where to find it!"
Buck rolled his eyes. "Are we back to that again? You being angry because Emily is gone?"
"Dammit, Buck - that ain't it!"
"Then what is it?" Buck's voice was as loud as his, making the silence that followed almost physical.
JD sighed. For one of the few times in the short time they had known each other, Buck didn't say anything. He waited.
JD sighed again. "I . . . you can't laugh, you gotta promise me that you won't laugh and you won't tell me I'm a kid and that - "
"JD." Buck leaned forward, his voice sincere. "I tease you a lot, I know I do. But if whatever's bothering you is this - well, bothersome, then I won't laugh atcha."
JD looked at him, suspicious.
The other man shrugged. "I can't promise ya anymore than that."
JD leaned back in the chair - but not too far; he wasn't in the mood to make a fool of himself by falling on the floor again. "Maybe all of you are right about me being too young. There seems to be so much that I don't understand. . . . " He drifted off, looking out the window.
"Like what?" Buck asked quietly. He leaned back a little, comfortable but not crowding.
JD sighed. "Women, I guess, mostly, but . . . but well, like this morning, when Vin got so riled. I couldn't figure it out - there we were, with Mrs. Travis bringing us breakfast, then telling us about how much she appreciated what we were doing. Then she goes into this story about how her boy had seen his pa get killed and he couldn't stay here with her, and he wasn't any older than Chris' boy when he was killed and - "
"Whoa - she said what about Adam?" Buck stood up then, his shoulders stiff.
JD took a breath. "Adam? Was that Chris' boy's name?"
Buck nodded, his face grim. Unconsciously, he rubbed at his throat. "Sarah and Adam. Why the hell would she be saying anything about them?"
"Not about Sar-Mrs. Larabee," JD interrupted, feeling himself blush. Didn't seem right to even say her name. "And she wasn't talking bad about Adam or nothing - just saying that she didn't see how Chris got through the day, that if she'd lost her son, she didn't know how she'd live. She said that some days it was hard to get out of bed 'cause she missed him so much."
"Jesus," Buck moaned, closing his eyes. "And she said this in front of Vin?"
"More like she said it to him - I mean, I was standing there, with 'em, and she was looking at me as well, but she was talking more to Vin, and Buck - you shoulda seen the look on Vin's face, like he was little kid hisself, I thought he was gonna - "
"What did she say about Chris?" Buck asked, his hands clenching.
JD thought for a few seconds before answering. "She said that us protecting the town and making it safe was gonna be good because then maybe her boy could stay here with her. And that she knew Chris would keep him safe and that she thought that Chris might find some peace with her boy being here too, that he might find part of what he's been missing."
"Damnation," Buck swore. Then he kicked the desk so hard that it moved several feet.
JD sat up straight, staring at the other man. "What?" he demanded. "You're as pissed as Vin - I mean, I thought at first that he was upset because maybe he liked Mrs. Travis and here she was talking about Chris so he was jealous, but then I thought that didn't make no sense because I've never seen Vin with a woman but I know he talked some to Lydia and he seemed right pissed about the way Mrs. Travis was treating her and Norah and the others, then I thought that maybe it was because he - "
"JD!" Buck's tone was piercing, biting into his flagging headache.
They stared at each other, both breathing hard, until Buck relented. "I don't know what the hell got up Vin's ass - and don't really care. If he's hot for Mary Travis, he's got a hell of a lot more balls than I gave him credit for, 'cause she sure as hell ain't interested in anything he's got to offer. Hell, I'm surprised she's even looking at Chris - she don't seem like the type who likes a man with a mind of his own." He took a breath, then rolled his shoulders, forcing himself to relax. "But if she is after Chris, which seems most likely, then we got a bigger problem. Chris ain't gonna be happy with her talking about his boy - hell, Chris ain't happy she even knows about his boy." He lifted his hand, rubbing at the same spot he had rubbed at earlier, and JD wondered if he's gotten a skeeter bite.
"Think she'd make trouble for him? He told me the other morning that women were always wanting to settle down and such - that was why he didn't try to talk Lydia and the others into staying, even after Mrs. Travis got a little nicer about it."
Buck smiled, but it was sad. "He said that? That Lydia wanted to settle down?"
JD shrugged, then sat back in the chair. "More or less. He said that even if she didn't now, she would eventually and that she'd be looking at him to stay with her."
Buck slouched finally, leaning against the desk even though he didn't sit on it. "That old dog," he muttered. Louder, he said, "Mrs. Travis could be a problem, 'specially if Vin's already gone and told Chris that she's after him - "
"I think Vin left town again," JD cut in. "I'm pretty sure I saw him riding out on Peso soon after he left here - "
"Good," Buck breathed. "That'll give me some time - now, listen, JD, this is real important. I know you get excited about things and all, but it's real important - and I mean real real important - that you do not let on to Chris about what Mary said."
There it was, JD thought, the heart of the problem. "Why?" he asked, feeling that same irritation that had started this whole thing. "What the hell is so damned complicated about all of this? First Vin gets riled, then you - and now you're telling me that Chris will too - hell, if this is all because of one woman, maybe Chris was right to let the gaggle of 'em head out of town!"
Buck stared at him for a few seconds before chuckling. After a few seconds, the chuckle turned into a laugh, then he was bent over double.
JD shook his head. "Hell, maybe I don't even want to know. Maybe women really do make men crazy."+ + + + + + +
"JD? You in here?"
JD cringed, wondering if he could make himself any smaller, maybe disappear into the stall between his horse and the wall -
"JD! Didn't you hear me calling?"
He sighed, stepping away from Bullet's side, making himself more visible. "Sorry, Chris, I was just finishing up - "
"You seen Vin?"
And there it was, the one question he had been dreading. Since his conversation with Buck in the jail, he'd spent the afternoon and evening avoiding being anywhere around Chris - hell, around any of the others, but especially Chris. How in the hell was he supposed to answer that without bringing up that whole mess with Mary -
"JD? Something wrong with you?" Chris was leaning on the door to the stall, his head tilted to one side as he watched.
"Um, no, I just - um . . ." He swept the brush back other Bullet's neck, even though the horse tossed his head restlessly.
"You're brushing too hard - surprised he hasn't bit you yet."
JD eased up, knowing Chris was right and silently apologizing to his mount. Bullet nickered as if the words had actually been spoken.
"JD? This ain't still about what I said yesterday morning - I was just kidding." Chris tone held that edge of impatience that JD knew meant his temper was coming out. He swallowed, wishing he had Ezra's way with words.
"No, it ain't about that," JD answered, wondering how many miscommunications they could have on one week. "I ain't seen Vin since this morning, at the jailhouse," he answered evasively - but honestly. He knew he was bad liar.
"Yeah, that's what I keep hearing," Chris said dryly. "But I suspect something must've happened? From what I can tell, even though he won't say it out right, when Buck got there to relieve you or Vin, Vin was already gone?" The anger was sharper now.
JD swallowed. "Vin had just left, it wasn't like he was shirking or nothing - "
"JD." Chris' teeth were clinched, but the tone was unmistakable.
"Um, Vin, um, I think he went riding - I know I saw him on Peso, heading out of town - "
"Why?" The word was like the crack of a whip, sharp, biting, and ringing through the enclosed space. Following it, Chris straightened and took a step forward, past the door and into the stall itself.
Despite himself, JD took a step back. "He didn't say nothing to me, Chris, he just - "
"If someone doesn't start talking to me, I'm gonna get real pissed."
From what JD could tell, it was too late on that one. He took another step back, wondering whether it would hurt worse for Chris to shoot him or Bullet to kick him. He was closer to the horse's hind legs that he usually liked to be.
"Something happened this morning - Vin wouldn't just ride outta town without checking in and letting me know where he is, especially after yesterday." Chris stood still, glaring at JD, his tone even but still angry. "I know that Mary Travis brought breakfast - I asked her to. And I know that Vin left soon after that. So either you two got into it . . . "
He paused for just an instant, his eyes narrowing.
"No!" JD said - or tried to. Despite himself, it came out as a squeak and he wasn't sure whether to be mortified or terrified. "Vin didn't say nothing to me and I didn't say nothing to him - I swear, Chris, I like Vin, I wouldn't do nothing to upset him - "
Chris shifted slightly, his weight coming to rest on his left leg. "Then what the hell did Mary say to him?" he asked quietly. "The truth, JD, I want the truth."
JD swallowed. He had never been so confused, he thought, not even when Emily had told him she didn't want to love him in the hay loft. He had no idea what the truth was anymore, not after what had happened with Vin then what Buck had said about Vin and Mrs. Travis and not telling Chris and -
"She said something about me, didn't she," Chris said so quietly that at first, JD wasn't certain he had heard it.
"Wha-huh?" he stammered.
"She said something about me and it upset Vin," Chris repeated, his voice a little stronger - and a lot angrier.
"No, not so much about you," JD blurted, not wanting Chris to get any more riled.
Chris arched an eyebrow, waiting, but not patiently.
JD licked his lips, then stumbled as Bullet moved, stepping closer to him.
"She was talking mostly about her son," he said, "'bout how hard it was for her to be without him, and how she wanted him to come stay here with her and that us keeping the town safe was gonna make him feel better and - "
"Her son. Billy." His words were measured, and JD let himself take a breath.
As he did, Chris went on, his voice quiet, "She said something 'bout how a kid needs his ma and how Billy misses her - goddamit, that's just what Vin needs to be reminded of, right now while he's already having second thoughts 'bout staying here - "
"Vin's not staying?" Unthinkingly, JD moved closer to Chris, his fear changing from one for himself to one for his friend.
But Chris was already moving out of Bullet's stall and over to one at the far end, where Pony was lazily chewing on hay. "He's staying," Chris said grimly as he pulled his saddle blanket off the stall's wall and slung it over Pony's back. "Nobody walks out on me, 'specially someone like Vin Tanner."
JD stood, trying to understand what Chris had said. The words seemed clear enough, but something underneath them was as confusing as - well, as Buck's reasoning earlier in the day.
He was still trying to puzzle them out when the sound of an incoming horse drew his attention to the door of the livery. He turned to see Vin leading Peso in. Both man and horse looked tired and dusty and a little impatient to find other humans in the stable.
Chris had just started lifting his saddle from its place over the stall wall, and he resettled it, his hands still on it as he called out, "Where the hell have you been?"
JD blinked. Chris sounded angry again, furious even, but he thought that if he listened just right, just hard enough, he heard something that sounded like worry in the other man's voice.
"Ridin'," Vin answered shortly, leading Peso into the closest empty stall. He was already uncinching the saddle as the horse stopped, his long nose going to the feed bucket. Peso grunted, a sound as full of annoyance as any human voice, when he discovered the bucket was empty.
"Goddamit," Chris swore. He whirled around, jerking the saddle blanket back off of Pony and throwing it over the saddle before striding out of his horse's stall, past JD, and into the stall with Vin and Peso.
By that time, Vin was slinging his own saddle over the stall wall, his movements efficient and practiced. He was in mid-turn when Chris pushed into him, grabbing him by the shoulders.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" their leader snarled, jerking Vin hard.
"Stripping my horse," Vin snarled back, pulling at the hold on him. "Gitch yer hands off me!" He raised his own hands, knocking at the arms so close to his.
"I'll put my hands wherever the hell I please," Chris shot back - but JD saw that the hands fell away in the same breath.
"Put 'em on me again and I'll put yer ass where ever the hell I please," Vin replied. But JD noticed that he had stepped back and lowered his own hands, his body not reflecting the mood of his voice.
In fact, Vin sounded tired. And . . . . sad, JD thought, like Chris had upset him.
In a flash, he recalled the look on Vin's face that morning, that strange innocence and pain that had come in the wake of Mrs. Travis's words. It was unsettling to think of Vin as being - well, as young as JD was.
The two men were staring at each other, and even in the light of the lantern, Vin looked the way he sounded. And Chris - he couldn't quite tell how the other man looked. At first, he blamed it on the shadows cast by the brim of the black hat, and the hard angles of his face. But even taking that into account, Chris's face looked scared.
Vin sighed. "Ain't going nowhere," he said quietly and so slowly that JD wondered what force was pulling the words from his lips. "Tried, but can't seem ta . . . ta get up the will."
Chris nodded. "Don't wantcha to. Need ya."
Vin shifted, then his shoulders sagged. "Don't see why," he said, the words barely audible.
Chris stepped closer. "Don't matter why. Just do." One of his hands rose, and JD felt himself flinch in instinctive worry.
Vin, however, looked up as the hand settled on his shoulder, and it seemed that he actually leaned a little closer. "Guess I should take it while I can git it, huh," he said, his voice still sounding tired but a little less strained.
"Vin, why don't I finish up with Peso and you and Chris get dinner?" JD asked, thinking to be helpful.
He startled the other two men, though, and as they jerked away from each other, both reaching for their guns, he worried that he might actually get killed for his charitable act.
"Hey! Whoa!" he called, holding up his hands, "It's just me!"
"Jesus, JD," Chris snapped, but he was uncoiling, his hand sliding off the grip of his revolver which had come half-way out of its holster by the time he recognized the voice.
"Sorry, but you knew I was here," JD reminded him, feeling a little testy in the wake of his surge of terror. "Hell, we was just talking - "
"Long day," Vin interrupted, holding up the hand that had just left his own gun. "Iffen ya don't mind, I'll take ya up on that offer. I could stand a shot a whiskey at the least, food'd be even better."
"You never had breakfast, did ya," Chris said with a hint of a smile.
Vin frowned, looking from Chris to JD then back, and JD felt an accusation hanging in the air. "Wasn't hungry," he muttered. "That a problem?"
"No," Chris answered, and his hand found Vin's shoulder again. "But it's been a long time since ya last ate, so let's get some food into you. Don't wantcha getting any skinnier."
"I'll get Peso," JD announced again, feeling like something else was going on and he was missing it - again.
Vin moved then, walking slowly past Chris and out the stall entrance. Chris didn't seem so much to move his hand as it just slide away, down Vin's arms and off his elbow as he passed. "Thanks, JD," Vin said, with a hint of a grin. "I owe ya. Buy ya a beer or two later." He was limping slightly, JD noticed, the way he did from time to time.
"Yeah, see you soon," JD agreed, then nodded again as Chris moved past him as well.
"Thanks, JD," the older man said quietly. His eyes met JD's for a second, and something in them told JD that this was sincere gratitude.
Some thing else was in them too, but JD, once again, had no idea what it was. He pondered it as he brushed down Peso, making sure to give him extra feed.
Peso was unusually well-behaved, JD thought as he finished currying the gelding. Maybe it was because the first thing he had done was feed him - that worked with almost every horse but especially with Peso, who was almost as skinny as his owner.
Brushing the horse had taken longer than usual. JD wondered how far and how long Vin had ridden; despite the coolness of the weather, the horse was sweaty and dirty. Vin was going to owe him more than a couple of beers.
"When the civil war broke out, California Joe went with the Union Army as one of a band of Border Sharpshooters.
That his deadly aim did not fall him in army service, is proven from the fact that war-correspondent of Harper's Weekly sent a report of his having "picked off" a Confederate sharpshooter at the distance of fifteen hundred yards, when even artillery had failed to dislodge him.
After the war, in which he won the name of a long-range dead-shot, California Joe returned to the border, and one day came near losing his life, as he was on his way to make a visit to the Reynolds cabin, where he had not been since the night he had carried Maggie back to her parents.
He was riding along the river bank, when suddenly he beheld a canoe and an occupant, and turned just as a rifle was leveled at him. He spoke just in time to save his life. But as Joe related the story of that meeting with Maggie Reynolds-for she it was-to Captain Jack Crawford, the "Poet-Scout of the Black Hills,"* and he has told it in rhyme, I will give my readers a few of the verses, in their own pathetic words:Beside a laughing, dancing brook.
A little cabin stood,
At weary with a long day's scout,
Spied it in the wood.
A pretty valley stretched beyond,
The mountains towered above,
While near the willow bank I heard.
The cooing of a dove.
T was one grand panorama;
The brook was plainly seen,
Like a long thread of silver
In a cloth of lovely green.
The laughter of the waters,
The coning of the dove,
Was like some painted picture
Some well-told tale of love.
While drinking in the grandeur,
And resting in my saddle,
I heard a gentle ripple,
Like the dipping of a paddle.
I turned toward the eddy-
A strange sight met my view:
A maiden, with her rifle,
In a little bark canoe.
She stood up in the center,
The rifle to her eye;
I thought (just for a second)
My time had come to die.
I doffed my hat and told her
(If it was all the same)
To drop her little shooter,
For I was not her game.
She dropped the deadly weapon,
And leaped from the canoe.
Said she: "I beg your pardon,
I thought you were a Sioux;
Your long hair and your buckskin
Looked warrior-like and rough,
My bead was spoiled by sunshine,
Or I'd killed you, sure enough."
"Perhaps it had been better
You dropped me then," said I;
For surely such an angel
Would bear me to the sky."
She blushed and dropped her eyelids;
Her cheeks were crimson red;
One half-shy glance she gave me
And then hung down her head.That blushing young huntress being Maggie Reynolds, dear reader, it need not be said that the romance of her life and that of California Joe ended in the reality of matrimony."
- From Chapter Fourteen of "California Joe, the Mysterious Plainsman" by Col. Prentiss Ingraham, an original Dime Novel published by Beadle and AdamsHe had finished up with Peso and was walking toward the saloon when someone called out to him. He turned to find Mary Travis hurrying toward him, and something inside him tensed. He looked around, glad to see that he was alone, as the memory of events of earlier in the day played in his head. He had spent the day upset because he didn't understand, hiding out because he didn't understand and couldn't talk to Chris, and he had almost gotten himself killed because he had talked to Chris about something he still didn't understand then spoken up when Chris and Vin had forgotten he was around because they were talking about something he didn't understand. And it all seemed to have started with her.
Yep, he thought, she was pretty much the last person he wanted to see right now.
But there was nowhere to run. He had already caught her eye, and the fire barrels were burning just bright enough for him to stand out in the darkness.
"Have you seen Chris?" she asked as she neared him, the sound of her heels on the boardwalk a brutal compliment to the shrillness of her voice. "I really need to speak with him - I just received a telegraph about someone that I need for him to meet in the morning - it's important that I find him."
JD sighed but touched his hat politely as she stopped just a little too close to him. "Last I saw, he was off to find supper with Vin," he answered, proud that he was mastering the art of evasion. It was true, of course - they hadn't exactly told him where they were going to eat, just where they would eventually end up.
And for some reason, right now, he felt very protective of the two men - Vin especially. He didn't want Vin to leave, and he thought Chris didn't either. He wasn't sure why he thought of Mary as a threat - but right now, he wasn't sure of why he thought much of anything. He just knew, suddenly, that he felt it and that that was important in its own right.
"Do you know where?" she asked, watching him.
He shrugged, smiled, then looked away from her. "No ma'am, they didn't tell me. Knowing Vin, they probably headed out of town for Vin to find a rabbit or something - "
"Please."
He hated this. His mother had always been able to do it to him, too, catch him in a web of his own emotions. Guilt - women and guilt, he realized, they always made you feel that you could hurt them with just the wrong word, and then there were tears and crying and even when you knew you shouldn't say something else -
"They're in the saloon," she said flatly. "It's all right, JD, I know that Chris spends a lot of time in there with Vin. I know that men like Vin are more comfortable in those sorts of places." She squeezed his arm as she moved past him, and he felt the sudden dread of knowing where she was going.
Women and guilt. Men - well, at least Chris would have shot him - simple, quick, done. Mary was gonna make him suffer forever, just like his momma would have. Then Emily sprang to mind, accompanied by Chris' words from the other morning about settling down. Slow, painful, agonizing, one knife-blade of guilt at a time, cutting and cutting and hacking -
"I'll get him," he heard himself blurt out, remembering how quickly Chris had almost drawn on him earlier. "You just wait here, I'll bring him out to you."
He started down the boardwalk, knowing with a strange clarity that he wasn't as much protecting her virtue from the saloon as he was protecting Chris and Vin - and the others, from her virtue. From her. He wondered what it meant - but unlike earlier in the day, he didn't wonder a lot. It was another one of those things that he didn't think he could explain.
He knew she was behind him even before he heard the clatter of her heels, and he hurried as fast as he could without actually running. He didn't mean to bang the saloon doors open - certainly he didn't mean to hit them with such force that they almost hit him as he came through and would have hit Mrs. Travis had she been just a few steps closer to him. Fortunately, they did stop her from nearing the entry, giving him a little space to breathe.
The other six were gathered at their usual table, Nathan and Josiah on one side, Ezra at the end, Vin and Chris at the other end in that strange sort of way they had of sharing the same space but not, with Buck on the side between Chris and an empty chair - JD's chair.
The bar had quieted at his abrupt entry, but as soon as he was recognized, the normal level of noise returned.
"'Bout time, boy!" Buck called. "I was getting worried that Vin's beer money was gonna run out by the time you finally got here!"
Despite himself, JD grinned at his friend - at all of them. Something about the empty chair that was waiting for him made the day seem not as bad now, even if Vin was glaring at Buck and Nathan was speaking rather loudly again about dignity and the backs of women and Ezra was pointedly ignoring him and heels were tapping loudly on the creaking boardwalk behind him
Dammit.
"Um, Chris?" he called, moving closer to the table and farther from the door and ears that he knew were listening. "I, um, need to talk to you - "
"What is it?" Chris asked, even as he raised his arms over his head. He was stretched out, his legs crossed at the ankles, back curled into the chair, cigar perched in one corner of his lips.
"Um, well, I, um," JD twisted, using the fingers of one hand to point towards the saloon doors. For some reason, he didn't want to have to say her name out loud, didn't want to see the reactions of the others when he did. "There's someone here - "
"Jesus, JD," Buck laughed, "ain't never seen you at such a loss for words. You been around Vin too long - next, you'll be using your shirts to dry your face!"
JD had no idea what in the hell Buck was talking about, but before he even had time to decide he didn't care, Chris said sharply, "Spit it out, before someone gets hurt."
So, he did. "Mrs. Travis wants you, now."
The table fell silent for just a few seconds, before the laughter started again. This time, though, Buck was joined by Ezra and Josiah, who might have been laughing along with Buck, or who might have been laughing at Nathan who had almost choked on his beer.
The laughter grew louder as Chris, who wasn't laughing, sneered, "Shit," inelegantly - but quietly.
But JD's eyes were on Vin, who also wasn't laughing. Like that morning, Vin was looking down so that only the top of his head was visible. He was still - not his usual still, but a total absence of any movement, as if he had stopped breathing as well.
"You old horn dog," Buck slapped Chris on the shoulder. "Didn't tell us ya had plans for the evening!"
Out of the corner of his eyes, JD saw Chris tense at the comment and the physical contact. Instinctively, he continued, "She says she just got a telegram, and there's someone she needs for you to meet in the morning, something that needs doing."
"I'll just bet there is," Buck laughed even louder, even as Chris sat up straighter in his chair.
Vin didn't move a muscle.
"Now, Mr. Wilmington," Ezra chided lightly, "you'd best be cautious. Your words, as amusing as they are, might well besmirch the honor of our dear employer's most worthy of in-laws! I have little doubt but that Mrs. Travis' needs are of the utmost urgency and delicacy - perhaps I could do the honors of discussing with her the seriousness of her situation?"
Buck opened his mouth to make some smart retort, but the voice that answered was Chris'. "Do it, Ezra. Find out what the hell she wants. It can't be that important if she can't get over herself to come in here."
JD blinked, worried; he'd been the one to suggest that she wait - well, he hadn't really suggested it, but he'd let her think that he would bring her Chris -
Ezra seemed as surprised as the rest of them. "I beg your pardon?" he asked, sitting up in his chair and stopping the motion of the deck of cards he had been cutting one-handedly.
"Go," Larabee made a shooing gesture with his hand. "There are seven of us - she don't have to talk to me every time she need someone to pick up her trash."
The statement was harsh, enough so that the others at the table seemed to be put off by it as well.
"Chris."
JD hadn't realized he had looked away from Vin until he heard the raspy voice, soft and easy. The younger man had moved now, had turned to look at Larabee, his gaze direct.
It was all he said. And apparently, in that way that they had, it was all he needed to say - at least with his mouth. They looked at each other for a good few seconds, long enough for JD to notice that the other four were watching them as well.
Then, with no other words said, Vin nodded once, and Chris sighed.
"Godammit," he snarled, but he got to his feet, killed off the rest of the whiskey in his glass, and picked up his hat. "I'll be right back," he spat. He reached for the bottle and poured another measure into his glass. "Don't drink my whiskey," he ordered. "I'll need it when I get back." Then he looked directly at Vin. "Stay put. I won't be long."
The other man still didn't say anything, but he leaned back in his chair, pushing the front two legs off the floor and leaning back against the wall.
Chris wasn't gone long, just long enough for JD to get a plate of food and a beer, and to settle in between Buck and Ezra who were having a conversation about the merits of different bars they had known in New Orleans. Not surprisingly, their opinions on the quality of the bars was based on different standards, but it was good to know the ones they agreed upon.
When Chris returned, they were into a point-by-point comparison of two bars in the French Quarter that apparently faced each other on some side street. JD couldn't really understand which one was which, but Josiah seemed to know them as well and was making little remarks too, most of which were more amusing and led to stories from Buck and Ezra that made JD realize he might not live long enough to catch up with the experiences these two men had. He was so enthralled by the tales that Chris had not only returned by had downed his whiskey, retaken his chair, and poured himself another, and it was only Buck's interruption of Ezra's story of the curse of the satin love-seat and the poker-playing, feather-wearing woman who sat in it, that got his attention back to the world he was currently in.
"That was quick," Buck grinned. "Has it been that long since Lydia was around?"
Chris looked at Buck, said nothing as he took the cigar back out of his mouth and sipped at his whiskey. The silence grew heavy before he finally said, "She's got some prisoner that she wants us to pick up in the morning. Need to meet the prison wagon around Three-tree Bend sometime soon after sun-up."
Buck nodded, and even though his grin had worn off in the heat of the other man's stare, it returned now as he said, "Yeah, that's pretty early for a ride that long - what is it, about two hours? Two and a half? Each way? Guess that does require getting up awful early. Gonna need your rest."
He picked up his beer and was just about to drink it when Chris answered, "Thank goodness I got such hardy young men like yourselves to handle this early-morning stuff then. You don't mind handling it, do ya, Buck?"
Buck turned a looked at Chris over the rim of his glass. "Me? But you're the one she wants!"
"Funny," Chris said, a grin tilting at his lips, "I suggested that someone else could talk to her about it, but for some reason, everyone here seems to think that I'm in charge. So if that's the case, then hell, I'm delegating." He took a drink of his whiskey then asked, "Who's on patrol in the morning?"
Nathan lifted his head.
Chris nodded. "Fine, you and Buck can do the pick up." He tossed a folded sheet of paper toward Nathan. "The custodial release, for the men bringing him. Shouldn't be too hard, one prisoner, just released from jail. Mary's got some parole program going where she's trying to help out deserving people getting over a rough spell - kinda hard to put paid to it without giving it a try, so this time, we'll do it. After all, she is the Judge's daughter."
"In-law," Buck corrected, but it came without thought. "Chris, now, you don't really mean for me to - "
"I'll go," Vin said softly, and JD thought that this was the first time he had heard the other man speak since Chris had left the saloon. "I'll be up - "
"Yeah," Buck agreed, his eyes on Chris, not on Vin. "Vin's always awake - he'd be much better that time of the day - "
"You're going." Chris tone was hard, leaving no question. "If I'm gonna lead, then I'm gonna lead. I ain't gonna be your whipping boy, Buck, doing your bidding when you don't want ta do it."
No one at the table said a word; while Chris was looking at Buck, there was no doubt that the words were for them all.
After a few seconds, Josiah said, "We all have our roles to play. Our diversity is our strength. But we do need someone to be in charge. I, for one, don't want that responsibility. I have a church that needs my attention as much as this town needs protection. Chris, I'd be honored to give you my service."
Beside him, Nathan nodded. "I'm a healer. I ain't got time to be running the town - and you bunch of trouble-finding fools as well. You just tell me what you want me to do."
"Five dollars is hardly enough to keep my clothes clean after riding patrol," Ezra frowned. "I find that supplementing my income to support myself requires far more time than I have to give to directing the protection of this fair burg and I just hope that you do not come to your senses and see the error of your ways, Mr. Larabee."
JD blinked, realizing that they were working in a circle, sort of, and as ever, his mouth worked without his brain - but completely accurately. "I sure as hell can't do it - hell, I can barely keep my guns working!"
Chris didn't look at Vin, but he didn't have to. There was never any question between them, and all the others knew it.
As ever, Buck finally smirked. Downing the rest of his beer, he picked up his hat. "Well, if I'm gonna be up at sunrise to pick me up a prisoner, I guess I better be meeting up with Blossom sooner than I'd planned!" He got to his feet, smacked JD once on the back, and said, "Nathan, if you're ready and you haven't seen me - "
"He ain't coming to look for ya," Chris growled, but it wasn't angry. Or, as angry as he could have been. "He'll come get me and I'll come looking for ya."
Everyone laughed, even Buck.
Within minutes, Josiah and Nathan had left as well, with final instructions from Chris to make sure Tiny loaned them an extra mare for the ride back - and charged it to Mrs. Travis. Ezra had allowed himself to be drawn to another table for a game of cards, leaving JD alone with Vin and Chris.
They sat in silence and at first, JD didn't like it much. He kept thinking of questions he wanted to ask, things he wanted to know. But the words died on his tongue before they were born, caught in a net of discomfort and confusion.
After a while, he realized that he was the only one uncomfortable. Chris and Vin seemed content, neither speaking, but, as he watched, he saw that in that way that they had, they were talking without words. It came in the way Chris handed Vin the bottle when Vin's glass was empty - which was far less often than Chris' was - and in the way that Vin would have a Lucifer whenever Chris' cigar would need to be relit. In the way that Chris would glance at Vin then lift his chin toward another table when voices rose, and Vin would shake his head, and after a few seconds, the voices would calm.
And finally, in the way that Vin canted his head to one side, listening, then rose. Before he said anything, Chris stood as well, drained his glass, and said to JD, "Wolves are out. If anyone complains in the morning, let me know. We're gonna get some shut eye and take the morning patrol. You get some sleep too - was a long night last night and there's no way to know what tomorrow's gonna bring, 'specially with this friend of Mary's coming to town."
His hand fell on JD's shoulder as he walked past, but more surprisingly, so did Vin's.
"Night, kid."
Surrounded by six empty chairs, JD knew that nothing else really mattered.