Nothing Sweeter

To prepare one's plan minutely, to slake an implacable vengeance, and then to go to bed . . . there is nothing sweeter in the world. - Josef Stalin

ONE

"That, my friends, is living proof there is a God."

The awed voice of Josiah Sanchez broke the quiet that had settled over the group of regulators gathered on the jail porch in the bustling little town of Four Corners. Buck Wilmington looked up from the checkerboard where he and his seven year old ward, Vin Tanner, were currently battling it out for the title of checker champion. His experienced ears had picked up the tell-tale tone of admiration that only a woman could put in a man's voice. Buck glanced with interest at the older man and followed his gaze to watch as a beautiful, stylishly dressed blonde stepped from the stagecoach.

Chris Larabee looked up as well and his hands stilled over Ezra Standish's little ones. The boy was standing between the seated man's knees. Chris' arms surrounded Ezra and his large hands guided the boy's in carving a scrap of wood into a figure vaguely resembling a squirrel. The blonde man watched as the elegant lady who had captured the big man's attention snapped her lacey parasol open and daintily positioned it over one shoulder.

"An angel has surely come down from Heaven to grace us with her presence," Josiah intoned, his hands moving dramatically to cover his heart.

Ezra, his concentration on his task broken with the Chris' stillness, looked up in question at his mentor. Then he turned to see what the three grown men were looking at.

Chris felt the little body stiffen and caught the hurt, betrayed look that flashed through the boy's eyes as he jerked his gaze from the woman busy giving orders for the disposition of her luggage to the ex-preacher making cow eyes at her. Then a wall slammed down and Ezra's expression smoothed out into his 'poker' face. Before Chris could stop him, Ezra ducked out of his arms and ran inside the jail.

Josiah had not missed the look the child had thrown him either. The large man stood in confusion as he watched the straight little back of the boy disappear inside the darkened jail.

"Ezra?" he called after the boy then turned to look at his friends in puzzlement only to slam into an icy glare from his leader.

"What?" he asked, not understanding either the boy's reaction or the reason for the glare.

"I would have to say that, for Ezra, instead of proving there's a God it proves that there's a devil," Chris ground out in anger.

"But…wha…" Josiah started to say and then it all clicked in his mind.

"THAT'S Maude Standish?" Josiah's amazed voice rose.

"Judging by Ezra's reaction, I'd have to say that's a given," Buck said carefully.

"By all the saints," Josiah signed in remorse. "I didn't know, Chris. I didn't even think."

"It isn't me you need to tell it to," Chris' glare turned down a notch but still blazed.

Although the regulators of Four Corners had never met the woman, they were all familiar with the horrible things she had done to the little boy who was now under their guardianship. The child had suffered greatly at her hands and she had even gone so far as to sell him to a soulless, monster of a man. A monster that had died by Chris Larabee's hand when the man had kidnapped Ezra from his own bedroom one night. Josiah - although honestly ignorant of the identity of the woman on the stage, and only meaning to liven up a quiet day by drawing the men's attention to a lovely woman - had stepped right into the middle of an emotional mine-field with his comments. One wrong step could bring the ire of the other regulators down on his head and ruin his relationship with not only Ezra but the boy's twin as well.

While the ex-priest pondered on the appropriate thing to say, the group's attention was turned from Josiah when Vin suddenly jumped down from his chair. He stood for a moment looking at the woman with his little fists clenched and his mouth screwed into an expression of anger and determination. Vin started toward the woman, intent on venting his emotions on the stepmother that had abused his twin brother so badly. He was stopped when Buck grabbed him by the waist and pulled him off his feet.

"Now hold on a minute there, son," Buck told the little boy who had immediately started fighting to get down.

"Let me go, Buck!" Vin snapped out angrily.

"Nope," Buck told the squirming boy. "Not until you listen to me."

"But she's the one that hurt Ezra and tried to sell him. We can't let her get away with that!" Vin said and fought even harder to escape.

Buck finally hauled the boy up and held him at arms length. Vin's wildly pedaling legs were left dangling several feet off the ground. Buck gave the boy a gentle shake.

"Listen here, Vin," Buck's stern but sympathetic voice finally captured Vin's attention and the boy's movements stilled as he listened. "Nobody said anything about letting her get away with what she did to Ezra, and I promise you that she's not going to have the chance to hurt him anymore. We won't let her. We're going to protect you and Ezra from her."

"But Buck…" Vin started only to be interrupted.

"Trust me, Vin."

Angry blue eyes looked into calmer blue ones and Vin finally relaxed, his body going limp as the anger drained from him and left only fear and concern for his twin. Buck pulled the boy close and hugged him. Vin cuddled his head between Buck's chest and chin and wrapped his arms around the man's neck and his legs around his waist.

"I don't want her here," Vin whispered to his guardian. "Make her go away."

"She won't be here long," Buck reassured the child.

While Buck had been dealing with the distraught boy, Chris had issued orders to the remaining peacekeepers and they had swiftly separated to carry them out. After putting his carefully laid plans into motion, Chris walked over to the now quiet Vin and rubbed the child's back gently. Vin looked up at the group's leader and Chris could see the tears that had gathered in the little one's eyes.

"It's going to be alright, Vin," Chris told the boy. "I promise you."

Vin sniffled and nodded in acceptance of the promise then laid his head back on Buck's chest.

"You know what to do?" Chris asked Buck with a raised eyebrow.

The other man nodded and a grim smile pulled at his face. The blue eyes that usually held laughter and life hardened to icy-cold stone.

"I'm going to check on Ezra. Then I'll take both boys to the boardinghouse and stay with them until JD gets there. Then it's my turn," Chris instructed and waited for Buck's acknowledgment before turning on his heel and entering the jail.

Chris scanned the dimly lit interior of the building but failed to see Ezra anywhere. He approached the desk and squatted down to look under the knee well. There he found his little one crouched with his arms wrapped tightly around his raised knees.

"Ezra?" Chris asked quietly so as not to startle the boy too much. "Would you come out, please?"

Chris opened his arms to the child who scurried from his hiding place to jump into his protector's arms.

"It's alright, son," Chris told him. "You don't have to be frightened of her. You're not alone anymore, remember? I won't let her hurt you and neither will Buck or JD or Nathan or Josiah. You're safe now, Ezra."

"But Josiah said…" Ezra's trembling voice broke off as Chris pressed a gentle finger across his lips to stop his words.

"Josiah didn't know who she was, son. Now that he does he's real sorry that he said that. He realizes he hurt you with his words and he never meant that to happen. I'm sure when he gets back from the errand I sent him on he'll want to tell you that himself."

Ezra held on a little tighter and Chris allowed it for several minutes before he pulled back and looked down on the child.

"I'm going to take you and Vin home and stay with you until JD gets there. Then I have some business to take care of. You two will stay with JD until we get back."

"You are going to deal with Maude?" Ezra asked seriously.

Chris nodded, "Yeah. We'll deal with her. I guarantee she's not going to be enjoying her very short stay here."

"Be careful," Ezra whispered. "She's not as harmless as she looks."

Chris hugged the boy closer, touched by his concern.

"I'll be careful, I promise. You just behave for JD and try not to worry. Everything is going to be alright."

Ezra sighed and reluctantly drew back from the comfort of Chris' arms. The man stood up and held out his hand. Ezra grasped it and Chris led him out of the jail and onto the porch where Buck and a now much calmer Vin were waiting. Buck stood watching the threesome as they made their way to the boarding house. Vin threw several worried looks over his shoulder at him and Buck tried hard to convey with his confident smile that the child didn't need to worry. The minute the group disappeared into the boarding house the gunman's smile turned predatory and he stepped off the porch to put his part of the plan into action.

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JD stood leaning casually against the wall across from the registration desk of the town's hotel and watched as the stage driver struggled to carry in the many heavy suitcases that Maude Standish had brought with her on the stage. As Chris had ordered, JD had hurried ahead of the woman and corralled the hotel owner, Marvin Green, for a few well chosen words. It had been JD who had rescued Green's pretty young daughter from a gang of ruffians and the man had been embarrassingly grateful to the young sheriff ever since. The hotel owner had been only too glad to do a favor for his daughter's savior.

"Good day, Sir," Maude's cultured southern voice addressed the hotel keeper as she stopped before the desk. The woman gave the man a charming smile and said, "I'd like your best room, please."

Marvin Green threw a quick look at JD then told the woman, "Sorry. We're full up. You'll have to look elsewhere."

Annoyance flashed across the beautiful face for an instant and then was gone just as quickly.

"Oh surely you have something," Maude's voice became even sweeter and more charming as she wheedled. "It doesn't have to be your best. I do declare, I am so weary from my journey that a closet would suffice. I'd be willing to pay extra."

Mr. Green shook his head firmly and replied, "I'm sorry. I can't help you."

Maude's eyes hardened a bit but her sweetly imploring look never faltered as she addressed the man, "Perhaps you could direct me to another hotel or a respectable boarding house?"

"The only place you might be able to get a room is at Virginia's hotel," he answered.

"Very well, then," Maude sighed daintily and turned to address the stage coach driver only to find the man had slipped out during her conversation with the hotel owner leaving her bags in a pile to one side of the front doors.

"Could I impose on you to have my bags brought to Virginia's hotel?" Maude asked, fluttering her eyelashes delicately at the man.

Green shook his head again and told her, "I'm sorry. I'm short handed today. I can't spare anyone to help, and I have to stay and watch things around here."

Maude's gentle façade was starting to slip a little and her voice sharpened when she asked, "Then would it be acceptable if I left my bags here and sent someone for them later?"

"You can leave them there, but I'm not responsible for watching them. If something happens to them while you're gone then it's on your own head."

"You are too kind," the sharp tone of her voice edged into sarcastic. With a withering look, the blond beauty swept out of the hotel in search of other accommodations for the night.

The two men stood staring after her for a moment then Marvin Green looked at JD.

"How was that?"

"That was perfect, Mr. Green. Absolutely perfect. Thanks so much for your help," JD grinned and grabbed the man's hand to shake.

"Anything I can do to help, Sheriff. My family owes you a lot, and my wife dotes on those two little boys y'all are raising. It's a privilege to help you dish out some of what that one deserves."

JD tipped his bowler hat and quickly exited the hotel through the side door leading into the alley. JD sprinted down the alley as fast as he could. His mission accomplished, he hurried to make his report of success to the peacekeeper's leader then take over watching the boys.

JD was not the only regulator visiting the townsfolk and calling in favors. Nathan had visited two of the rooming houses, the livery and the hardware store. Josiah had started with Inez' saloon, and made his way to all the others. Buck had hurried to Virginia's hotel and then had a few words with all the boarding house proprietors in town. After JD relieved him, Chris had cornered Mary Travis in her newspaper office, and then headed to Potter's store. One by one, every business owner in the town had been enlisted in the regulator's plot of revenge on one child-abusing confidence woman. Some cooperated out of thanks to the regulators for past help. Some for fear of reprisals, but most agreed to help because of their fondness for the twins after hearing a very well-edited version of what this woman had done to poor Ezra. By the time Maude had found her way to Virginia's, the ever-efficient grapevine of Four Corners was already abuzz. For once this suited the town's regulators just fine.

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The peacekeepers, minus Nathan, had gathered in the parlor of their boarding house after speaking with the townspeople. Nathan was keeping a close eye on the woman. He had followed her around all afternoon as she searched for a place to spend the night. The woman had taken one look at the lobby of Virginia's hotel and immediately turned up her nose and left to find something more suitable. Thanks to the efforts of the peacekeepers, she had reluctantly returned from her fruitless search after a few hours and grudgingly paid for what was, apparently, the only available room in the small town.

Now while the healer watched the woman to make sure she stayed out of trouble, the other regulators met to compare notes.

"Things are goin' good, pard," Buck's cheerful voice assured his friend and leader.

Buck smiled down at the blonde seven year old sitting in his lap and tugged on the child's hair playfully. Ezra sat on his own guardian's lap with the man's strong arms surrounding him. The little boy took comfort from the arms holding him so securely. He snuggled against Chris' chest feeling protected from the old hurts and fears that seeing his stepmother had stirred up.

"What exactly is your plan?" he asked curiously.

Chris looked down at the little face raised to his own in question and gave an evil grin.

"Were going to make her suffer," he replied.

"Yeah, Ez," Buck threw in, "She's gonna get a little of her own back."

"I don't understand," Ezra said.

"You told me she always insisted on the best, remember?" Chris replied with a grin, "The best hotels, the best restaurants, clothes, and entertainment you said. Well we thought she deserved to have a taste of the worst for a change."

"But I thought you were gonna turn her over to the people she cheated, " Vin said, puzzled.

"We will do that if she doesn't agree to go away and leave you two alone."

"So why don't you just do it now so they can lock her up in jail?" the boy persisted.

Chris looked at the two little boys and chose his words carefully.

"When Ezra was staying with her she made him do things," Chris told him gently.

The man looked down at the boy in his lap. Ezra tried to hang his head, but was stopped by Chris who took the boy's chin in his hand and gently forced the child to look at him. Although he was speaking to Vin, his eyes remained on Ezra.

"Ezra had to do what he was told. He was too little to decide for himself if what he was doing was right or wrong, and that woman punished him harshly if he didn't do as she said. He had no choice but to learn what he was taught and act the way she wanted him to until he was big enough to escape from her. He is not to blame for the crimes she committed or the people she hurt."

Chris' solemn eyes drove his message deep into the heart of the child who had been watching him with fear and shame welling in his emerald eyes.

When the man was certain his words had been accepted by the child he turned his head to look at Vin as he continued, "Ezra wasn't to blame, but sometimes when people get angry they don't always stop to reason things through. They just lash out at anyone they think had a part in hurting them or making them angry."

"So if you turned her over to these people they might get mad at Ezra, too?" Vin's voice rose and he looked at his twin in alarm, "And want to punish him too? No! That's not fair!"

"Easy, Vin," Back hurried to calm the child in his lap. "We're not going to let anybody do anything to Ezra. We decided to punish the woman ourselves and then make her go away and leave you two alone."

Mollified, Vin settled back against Buck.

"So what precisely have you arranged for her?" Ezra asked again.

"A very uncomfortable stay in our town," Chris' laughing voice answered.

Amid rounds of gleeful laughter, the regulators filled the boys in on their plans.

TWO

Maude Standish was in a simmering rage. The trip to this backwater town was turning out to be one of the worst disasters of her life. She had been forced to suffer one indignity after the other since setting foot on the dusty street of this God forsaken, rat hole of a town, beginning with being turned away at the only decent hotel in town AND every respectable boarding and rooming house in town, and ending with her current situation. Although the sign out front said Hotel the sounds emanating from many of the rooms through the paper thin walls left no doubt where at least some of the "working girls" of the town resided.

At the moment, the beautiful con-woman was seated in a chair, its back shoved under the door knob to keep out the aging lothario that had pursued her from the lobby of the establishment to her room. It had taken a well placed knee to the groin to discourage her unwanted suitor enough to make it into her room alone. Now she was forced to barricade her door with her own body to keep out the ruffian who was currently pounding on the door and swearing loudly. Each solid hit to the door caused her head to recoil from the force and then land against it again with a small thud.

Maude reached up and withdrew the hat pin holding her fashionable haberdashery in place and threw the hat angrily across the room onto the bed. She watched in disgust as the hat bounced off the faded coverlet sending a plume of dust flying up in its wake. Her nose wrinkled in distaste as she took in her current accommodations. As far as she could tell dirty, dark, and dilapidated was the predominant decorating theme of the room. It looked liked the walls hadn't seen a coat of paint since Noah stepped from the ark, and the drapery was faded and so full of grime that the original color could not be determined. Maude decided it was just as well that she was not interested in looking at the view since the filth covering the window glass completely blocked any possibility.

With one last bellow and a hard blow that made the door shudder in its frame, the woman's admirer gave up and left to find an easier conquest. Maude sighed in relief. She rose and picked her skirts up so they would not drag through the accumulation of dirt and litter that was scattered over the floor when she made her way over to the bed. She used two fingers to pull the dusty coverlet from the bed and toss it on the floor then pulled back the sheets. The con woman grimaced in disgust at the sight of the bed linens stained with things she didn't even want to think about. The stench that rose from them made her wonder if they had ever seen a tub of hot water.

She gingerly pulled the sheets from the bed and tossed them into the pile with the coverlet. There were visible lumps in the stained mattress and, although not as bad as the sheets, it too emitted a rank odor. That she, who had stayed in the Presidential Suite at the Ritz and been waited on hand and foot, had been reduced to this made her want to scream. It took all of her control to resist the urge to stomp her feet and yell like a two year old throwing a tantrum.

Downstairs, a grinning Buck threw his arms around the hotel's owner and kissed her soundly on her painted lips.

"Ginny, darlin', you are a wonder!" his laughing voice cheerfully informed the woman. "I appreciate all the effort you put into this. I owe you one. "

"You just make sure my room gets cleaned up properly and you take that God awful mattress back to where ever it came from and we'll call it even," Virginia Newsom replied.

Buck laughed again and said, "We got it from the livery stable. Tiny keeps it there for that ole hound dog of his to sleep on in the winter."

"I'm afraid that room will have to be aired for a week before I can rent it out again, but the girls and I had fun preparing the room for our 'guest'. I'm usually getting after the girls for letting their rooms get messy. This is the first time I've ever told them to actually bring in dirt from outside!"

"You are one generous angel for helping us out this way, Ginny."

"You know I'd do just about anything for you, you rogue," the woman said fondly.

"That's always good to know," Buck's voice lowered seductively. "We'll have to explore the possibilities of that after this is over."

Buck laughed as the experienced woman of the world blushed like a school girl.

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Josiah sipped from his cup of coffee as he surreptitiously watched the woman waiting impatiently at a table across the room of the town's restaurant. The morning breakfast crowd had whittled down to only a few lingering people by the time Maude had entered the door looking tired and irritable. He could not help but notice that her current appearance was not as bandbox perfect as it had been yesterday when she had arrived. Although still beautiful, she was definitely looking a little ragged around the edges this morning. The night spent in the quarters Buck's friends had painstakingly prepared for her had apparently not been conducive to sleep if the red-rimmed eyes and slightly pale face were any indication. His eyes followed her as she made her way to an empty table and sat down.

Sally Anne, the restaurant's waitress, had taken one look at the other woman and retreated to the kitchen with a hostile glare, leaving her new customer to wait for service. Josiah secretly smiled behind his cup. Ezra and Vin were favorites of the young waitress. She always spoiled them with extra-large pieces of apple pie, or second helpings of peach cobbler whenever the regulators brought them by for a treat. Judging from her reaction, Sally Anne had obviously heard the talk about the con-woman and her treatment of Ezra. The man had to stifle the laugh that threatened to escape when he imagined what was about to happen to Maude since the restaurant's cook was also one of the boy's conquests.

He couldn't help the sigh of regret that escaped him as he gazed on the woman. That such beauty covered such a black heart seemed a colossal tragedy to the ex-preacher. As he watched the fingers of one of the woman's delicate hands drum out her irritation on the table top, it occurred to Josiah that it would be so much easier to get through life if a person's outward appearance reflected their character. He would have been able to take one look at the woman as she stepped from the stage and known what she was. Instead he had been taken with her good looks and inadvertently hurt a little boy that had already been hurt too often in his young life. He had given his heart-felt apology for his remarks to Ezra the night before. Although the boy had granted him forgiveness, Josiah still regretted the incident. It made him even more determined than ever to extract a little justice from Maude Standish. He didn't usually agree with the 'eye for an eye' philosophy, but he sincerely believed this woman deserved everything she would be receiving. Hopefully, she might learn a lesson on the treatment of others.

Maude had been sitting at the table for at least fifteen minutes before Sally Anne grudgingly approached the table and stood before the seated woman, hostility radiating from her like heat from a raging wild fire.

"You want somethin'?" the waitress snapped out.

Maude stiffened at the woman's harsh tone and her blue eyes narrowed with anger before she ruthlessly brought it under control and her face smoothed out into a pleasant mask again.

"A cup of coffee to start, I believe," she replied, "and some toast, not too dark and buttered lightly. Two poached eggs and bacon. The bacon crisp but not hard."

"Why of course, yer Majesty," the waitress snarled sarcastically, "Right away, yer Majesty."

Sally Anne turned and stomped her way back to the kitchen. It was another twenty minutes before she reappeared with a chipped coffee cup and a blue speckled coffee pot that she slammed on the table. The waitress spun around and left only to return minutes later with a plate of food. She practically threw the plate down on the table before spinning around and leaving again.

Maude was left staring at her meal in dismay. Her "poached" eggs were a half-cooked, gelatinous mess. The toast resembled pieces of charcoal. The bacon was almost raw. She shoved it away with disgust and reached for the coffee pot to pour herself a cup then watched in repelled fascination as the thick, viscous contents sluggishly poured into the cup.

Josiah had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at the expressions that flitted across the woman's face as she surveyed the completely inedible meal. He had to fight hard to maintain his appearance of disinterest when she pushed the plate and cup away. She looked toward the kitchen door indignantly but Sally Anne wisely remained in the kitchen. Maude threw the napkin she was holding in her hand on the table angrily and rose to her feet. She marched from the restaurant with her head held regally high, her shoulders straight, and her back as stiff as an overly-starched shirt. Josiah threw another look at the abandoned meal and finally lost his battle. The loud roar of his laughter shook the windows. He mentally added another weight to Ezra's side of the Justice scale.

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Ezra watched from the parlor window of the boarding house while his stepmother walked down the boardwalk on the opposite side of the street. He stepped away from the window when she disappeared inside the general store. The twins had once again been left in the care of Mrs. Jeffers, who was currently busy changing bed linens and cleaning. The boys had been sent to the parlor to play. Ezra joined his brother by the sofa and sighed.

"I am not satisfied this is such a good idea, Vin," he said.

"Don't worry Ez," Vin said confidently, "It'll be okay. I know I can do this!"

Ezra chewed his lower lip worriedly and replied, "I do not believe either Chris or Buck would approve of your plan."

"You heard them. We have to make her pay for what she did," he said as he picked up the supplies he had gathered, and slipped them into a cloth sack then slung it over one shoulder.

"I doubt they meant either of us to actually participate when they were explaining their plans," he told his brother.

Vin grinned at the other boy and started out of the room. "They never said we couldn't. I'll be back soon."

"I would feel much better if I went with you," Ezra called after him.

"You heard Chris. You're supposed to stay here as long as she's in town. He'd be really mad if you left after he told you to stay."

"It is not fair that I have to remain inside while you do not," Ezra grumbled.

Vin paused in the doorway and turned to face his brother. "I know, Ez," he said with his voice full of sympathy, "but she knows you. She's never seen me."

Ezra threw himself back on the settee with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyebrows drew together in a frown and he pouted as he said, "It still is not fair!"

Vin didn't know how to comfort his brother so he just replied, "I'll tell you all about it when I get back," and quickly left.

Vin exited through the kitchen door. He headed down the alley to the rear of Virginia's hotel and knocked on the back door. It was opened by a large apron-clad woman with curly red hair and bushels of freckles on her merry face.

"Vin!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Child, what in the world are you doing here?"

The woman stuck her head out the door and looked around for one of the boy's guardians then looked down at him again when she failed to find one.

Vin held out his sack and grinned at the woman. "I brought some stuff for Miz Standish's room."

"What is Buck Wilmington thinkin' to let you come here!" she said with disapproval in her voice as she pulled the boy inside and hurriedly slammed the door.

"Please, don't be mad at Buck, Miz Adams," Vin begged.

The hotel housekeeper smiled at the child looking up at her so adorably and nodded. "Alright, Vin. For you I'll let it go this once... but only this once. This is not a proper place for you to be."

"I won't be long. I promise, Miz Adams," Vin assured her.

"Come along then. The faster you get started, the faster you'll be done."

The housekeeper led Vin up the back stairs and down the hall. She stopped in front of a closed door and pulled a ring of keys from her pocket. She searched through the various keys until she found the one she wanted and used it to open the door. She ushered Vin inside with a hand on his back.

Vin laid his bag on the dirty floor and started pulling out items. Mrs. Adams watched with interest.

"What have you got there?"

Vin held up a smaller bag with a grin. "Bats," he answered causing the woman to shudder. "We got 'em outta Miz Jeffer's attic. They're for the wardrobe. This one's got lizards for the drawers," he told her holding up another sack and then pulled a third from the larger bag. "Sugar to put in the perfume Ezra says she always wears." He reached in a final time and pulled a glass jar of mud out. "For her slippers."

The housekeeper grinned in amusement and asked knowingly, "I wonder whose ideas these were?"

Vin grinned back at her proudly and answered "Mine and Ezra's."

She nodded. "I'm sure glad you boys are my friends. I wouldn't want to be your enemy if those are the kind of things you think up to get even."

Vin's grin got even bigger. "We're gonna make sure she pays for what she did to Ezra," he replied.

"I'd have to say that if you're lookin' for a way to make THAT one suffer, you sure picked a real good way to go about it. I ain't never seen a more persnickety person in all my born days," she said with an evilly delighted smirk. "You should have heard the yowling she did yesterday." Her voice rose to a high-pitched drawl as she mocked," 'This room will never do.' and 'These sheets are an abomination.' I never saw anybody get so red in the face like she did when Miss Virginia told her if she didn't like the accommodations she was free to leave." The housekeeper's massive frame jiggled wildly as she laughed. "She turned around in a huff and stormed back to her room, and I swear you coulda heard that door slam from all way across town."

"Good!" Vin snapped a nod and scowled. "She deserves it. She shouldn't have done the things she did to Ezra."

"True enough," Mrs. Adams agreed. "I get the impression she don't have people tell her no very often. Don't take to it much, I'd say."

"She better learn to take it," Vin's replied, his eyes narrowing with anger as he thought on all the terrible things his twin had endured while in this woman's care. "Cause Chris and Buck said she's gonna be hearing it a lot while she's here."

The woman slapped her hands together and returned her attention to the task at hand. "We better get busy. You need to get out of here on the double. There's no telling when she'll be back."

"Yes ma'am," Vin replied.

With the housekeepers help, he quickly completed his business and Mrs. Adams shuffled him out the back door again.

"Vin?" She called as he started walking down the alley with the now empty sack thrown over his shoulder.

Vin turned around and looked at her questioningly.

"You be careful while that one's in town, you hear me? I would hate to hear that something happened to you or your brother. That woman's proven she don't much care who she hurts. "

The boy grinned and raised his hand to tip his hat to her. "I will," he promised. "Buck and Chris and the others will make sure of it."

"And you tell Buck Wilmington that he better not allow you back in this place again!"

Vin grinned and waved before turning and running home. Mrs. Adams watched him disappear around the corner before she realized the child had never promised to convey her last words to his guardian.

THREE

Maude Standish was not having a good day. It had started out with a stiff neck and back from spending a seemingly endless night trying to sleep in the straight-back wooden chair in her room. It had only gotten worse when she had attempted to get breakfast and was served an inedible mess and been snubbed by the uneducated, ill-mannered bumpkin of a waitress at the restaurant. Now here she was-- tired, achy, and hungry-- wandering around this backwater wasteland masquerading as a town while its citizenry insulted and abused her.

If she hadn't been so frustrated she might have been alarmed at how easily the people in this place seemed to see through her ploys and obfuscation's. Everywhere she went she was met with frowns and whispered words behind her back. So far she had been thrown out of three business establishments and been escorted none too gently from the bank. She had been trying to glean some information about Ezra's whereabouts from the locals but had been met with only a few hostile 'I don't have what you're looking for's and 'There's nothing for you here's. People had pointedly turned their backs and walked away as she approached them. She had actually seen some women draw their shirts back as she passed as if they didn't want to soil them by letting them come in contact with her. She had held her head high and tried to preserve her illusion of unconcern. Maude had traveled widely, but never had she been in a place that treated strangers in such a manner. It never once crossed her mind that the people were reacting to her personally and not to a nameless stranger.

She was lost in thought as she walked along the boardwalk and paid no attention to the dark-haired cowboy that was approaching from the opposite direction at a fast pace. While seeming to pay her no attention, Buck was actually very focused on every move the woman made. He had been waiting for her to walk down this particular stretch of the walk for over an hour and now was putting the plan that he and JD had come up with into motion. If this was to work he had to time things exactly right.

Buck slowed his steps just enough so that he passed Maude as she reached the pre-chosen spot that just happened to be across the street from the jail. As he went by he sped up again and bumped into the woman hard enough to make her stumble. With just a tiny extra push, he sent her flying off the porch to land in the horse trough with a mighty splash. Buck never looked back but continued on as if nothing had happened, leaving the woman sitting in the water, sputtering in indignation. Her once stylish hairdo was coming down in sodden ropes that dripped down her face and back, and her hat was seriously listing to one side. As Maude struggled to rise, hampered by the weight of her wet skirts and petticoats, JD slowly walked down the steps of the jail and crossed the street. The young sheriff shook his head in disgust the whole way and he stopped in front of the trough with hands resting on his hips.

"We don't take to public drunkenness in this town," he said sternly.

"WHAT!" Maude stared up at the young man in disbelief. "You must be joking! Surely you witnessed that deplorable display of bad behavior from that… that brute that pushed me in here then carried on his merry way without so much as a by-your-leave!"

"All I saw, lady, was you stumbling around drunk and falling into the water trough," JD replied.

He reached down and pulled her up until she was able to stand on her own, then assisted her from the trough, keeping a firm grip on her arm.

"Come on then," he said and began leading her toward the jail.

"Wait! Where are you taking me?" Maude said as she tried to pull her arm away.

"To jail, of course," JD told her. "I told you we don't cotton to drunks roamin' our streets."

"But I'm NOT DRUNK, I assure you!" the woman desperately stated.

"That's what they all say," JD sighed heavily and through a combination of pulling and pushing managed to get the con woman installed in a jail cell. "You just sleep it off in there," he told her as he slammed the cell door and locked it.

"I tell you I am not in the least inebriated!" Maude finally lost the last shred of her control and screamed out.

JD simply ignored her and wandered out on to the jail porch where he sat down in his favorite chair and leaned it back against the wall. His face broke out in a huge grin and he struggled to contain the laughter that wanted so badly to escape. It was only a few moments before Buck joined him on the porch. He stood by his friend, his head turned to one side as he listened to the shouted imprecations the enraged con woman spewed.

"Sounds like a scalded cat, don't she?" Buck uttered with a gleeful glance at JD.

"Yep, she sure does," the sheriff agreed with his grin still in place.

"How long you reckon we should keep her in there?"

"I'd say overnight.

Buck nodded thoughtfully. "That's good. It'll give Ez a chance to get out of the house for a while. He's been real good so far, but you know he's probably gonna get cabin fever if he has to stay in much longer."

"That's good thinkin', Buck," JD answered. "I'll keep her locked up until you're ready. You just give me the word when and I'll let her out."

Buck slapped JD on the shoulder in gratitude.

"Thanks, kid. I'll go tell Chris it's safe to let Ezra come out."

Buck hopped off the porch and strode toward the boardinghouse whistling. He was half way home when he heard his name called.

"Buck Wilmington! I want a word with you!"

Meanwhile, Chris was busy in the boardinghouse with the twins. He had returned from a patrol and found Ezra and Vin huddled on the parlor settee whispering and giggling together. He had stood unnoticed in the doorway, listening to the happy noises coming from the two boys and felt a warm flood of happiness rush through him as he watched them. He silently gave thanks to whatever greater power had led the two brothers in to his life. In the short time they had been in his care, they had managed to claim huge chunks of his heart for their own. His life had been dark, and drab, and full of despair. Then Ezra and Vin had arrived and lit up his world once again, the love and joy they inspired shining more brightly than the sun into his troubled soul. His happiness had become forever entwined with theirs. If they were happy then so was he.

"What's so funny?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed casually over his chest.

The boys started in surprise and Ezra hopped off the settee and ran to his guardian. Chris smiled and uncrossed his arms to lean down and catch his ward then haul him up into his arms.

"Chris! You're back!" Ezra greeted and hooked one arm around the man's neck.

"So what have you two been up to while I was gone?"

"Umm," Ezra flashed Vin a look and Chris, as an experienced parent, instantly knew that they had been up to something; something they were apparently hesitant to confess.

Chris' "Nothing" emerged in unison with the children's. Ezra and Vin looked startled for a moment then guilty.

"Uh-huh. That's what I thought," Chris smile was ironic.

"Really, Chris," Ezra hastened to say, "I was just reading… honest!"

Chris stared into the boy's emerald eyes and nodded. "I believe you," he said, and he felt Ezra's body relax in his arms. Chris deliberately kept his face blank, suppressing the smile that he wanted to show. "So it was just Vin, huh?"

Ezra jerked and sat up straighter. "I… I didn't say… I didn't mean …" he stammered. He glanced nervously at Vin who returned the look anxiously.

Chris turned his look on Vin who was standing with his hands clasped together tightly as he watched the pair. He immediately bowed his head when he saw the blond man looking at him.

"So, Ezra has been reading today. What have you been doing, Vin?" Chris asked mildly.

The boy swallowed hard and looked up at Chris. He opened his mouth but before he could speak another voice answered for him.

"He's been goin' places he didn't have any business goin'," Buck's stern assertion got everyone's attention.

"And where exactly might that be?" Chris asked.

"Seems Vin has been delivering a few little presents to Miz Standish. Miz Adams stopped me on the street just now to give me her opinion on proper and improper places for a boy that age to visit," Buck said, his stare never straying from the guilty looking child in front of him. "You can understand my surprise at hearing how a boy that was supposed to be staying away from that woman had deliberately gone to her room. A room, by the way, that is in a place that he has been told is off limits to him and his brother for many, many years to come."

"I just wanted to help!" Vin told him earnestly.

"You were told to stay inside and away from her, Vin," Buck told him.

"Nuh-uh," Vin protested, "Y'all told Ezra to stay inside. Nobody ever said I had to."

Buck took a deep breath and counted to ten as he fought to keep his temper under control.

"But you were told to stay away from Maude Standish, weren't you?" he said.

The blond head nodded reluctantly. Not one to give up without a fight, Vin continued, "I didn't go near her, honest Buck. I made sure she wasn't in her room first. I was in and out long before she got back."

"She could have shown up at anytime and found you there, and you were told not to go to Virginia's, weren't you?" Buck said and threw up a hand to stop the argument that was forming on Vin's lips. "No more, Vin. Whatever your reasons were, you knew you weren't supposed to go near her and you decided to go anyway. You knew you weren't to go to that hotel and you went anyway." Instead of yelling at him as Vin expected, Buck's voice got quiet as he said, "I'm very disappointed in you, Vin. I thought I could trust you better than that."

Buck's soft words were worse than a slap to the little boy. His eyes began to fill with tears as he looked at the man staring at him sadly, disappointment written all over the mustached face. Vin bent his head and tried to blink away the tears, but they escaped and flowed down his face. If he had been watching Buck he would have seen the flash of empathic pain that flashed through his eyes.

Buck hated seeing his boy so upset but knew he had to be firm. Although he wanted Vin to grow up strong and independent, Buck knew the child had to be taught to follow instructions. The territory they lived in was still rough and dangerous. There would be times when the boy's life might depend on his absolute obedience, and Buck was not willing to chance having Vin lose his life because his guardian had not instilled the proper respect for his authority into the boy... but it was so hard to watch those heartbroken tears flow down that little face. Buck stepped forward and knelt in front of the child. He slowly drew the boy in for a hug then cuddled him close.

"I'm sorry, Buck," Vin whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Shhh, Vin. I'm not real pleased that you disobeyed, but that doesn't change things between you and me," Buck assured him. "I still love you."

"I just wanted to help," Vin said with a sniffle.

"I know, son, but there are times it's alright for you to help and times that it isn't. You need to ask me first so I can let you know if it's okay or not. And when I tell you not to do something or go somewhere I expect you to listen and mind me, okay?"

Vin nodded vigorously, his earnest little face raised to Buck's as he promised.

Buck's smile returned at his ready agreement and Vin sighed in relief. His world was spinning on its axis right if Buck was smiling.

"I was just coming to tell you that JD and I took care of Maude for a little while so you and Ezra could get out for a bit," Buck said.

Ezra's face brightened and he and Vin shared a happy glance.

"It's a real shame that Ezra's finally able to go out and you have to stay inside," `Buck continued.

Vin looked up at his guardian in dismay.

"But Buck..." he began.

"Nope. I believe you need to stay inside and think about what I just told you," Buck said firmly.

"Yes, sir," Vin answered in a small, dejected voice.

Ezra had silently watched the whole scene play out, and watched his twin dejectedly seat himself on the sofa that had been Ezra's jail all morning. Ezra raised pleading eyes to the blond man holding him.

"Chris?"

Chris shook his head and told the child, "No, Ezra. Buck is right. Vin needs to learn. He broke the rules and has to pay the price for that so he'll remember better the next time."

Ezra gave a deep sigh of disappointment and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Vin," Ezra said. "I will stay and play with you."

Vin shrugged and gave his twin a half-hearted smile.

"You told me it was a bad idea. I should have listened. It's my fault, not yours. You go on while you have the chance. I'll see you when you get back."

Ezra reluctantly let Chris carry him from the room, his little shoulders drooping.

"Come on, son, cheer up," Chris smiled at the solemn child. "It's not forever. You'll be playing with Vin again soon. Right, Buck?"

"Sure," Buck reassured him. "I'll make him stay in by himself for an hour or so then he can come out and join us."

Ezra's perked up and finally smiled, eager to get out of the boarding house now that he knew his twin was not going to be stuck in their "prison" for long.

"Can we go visit Josiah?" Ezra asked with a smile?

"Sure can," Chris told him. "I wanted to hear about how things are going with Maude Standish anyway. I haven't had a chance to talk to him since I got back. Let's go see how the plan is progressing," Chris finished with an amused grin.

The trio headed over to the old church looking for the ex-priest. They found him busy sanding one of the hardwood pews in the small church he was restoring. Ezra pulled away from the two adults accompanying him and ran toward the large man.

"Josiah!" Ezra greeted him.

Josiah smiled at the uncharacteristic enthusiasm of the greeting and said, "Sounds like someone is glad to be out of the boarding house."

He lifted the now blushing child for a hug and then shifted him to his hip.

"Yep," Buck grinned, "He just got sprung and wanted to come see you first thing."

"Well, I'm honored then," Josiah teased with a toothy grin. "It's been a long time since I've been anybody's first."

"I think that's a road we don't need to be going down just now," Chris said dryly with a nod toward Ezra.

Josiah looked startled for moment then his grin got even wider as he shook his finger and he replied, "You, my friend, have a salacious mind. I can recommend some penances to help you rid yourself of the problem...or perhaps the names of a few charitable ladies willing to help keep you on the straight and narrow."

"I believe I'll pass," Chris smiled back. "I think I can find my own salvation when it comes to that."

Ezra had looked between the two men as they teased, his brow wrinkled in confusion as he tried to divine the meaning for their humor but failing,

"I don't understand," he told them causing all three men to start laughing.

"Ask me again in about eight years and I'll explain it to you," Chris promised.

"So why did you want to see me?" Josiah asked to distract the boy.

Ezra shrugged and said, "You have been very busy keeping an eye on Maude, so I haven't seen you today. I merely wished to say hello."

Touched, Josiah hugged the child again and grinned, "Well, hello to you too."

Ezra returned the hug and smiled back at his large friend and asked. "I hope we did not interrupt something important."

"Just taking some of the ugly off this pew and letting its beauty out," Josiah informed him.

Fascinated the boy looked from Josiah's face to the pew the big man had been bent over when they arrived.

"How do you do that?" Ezra asked.

"Here, I'll show you," Josiah offered, setting the child on his feet and leading him over to the pew. Josiah picked up a piece of sandpaper he had been using and placed it in the little hand.

"You rub this sandpaper on the wood like this," the man wrapped his hand around Ezra's and guided the boy. "You keep doing that until you get down to the clean wood underneath. Then polish it with a little oil and elbow grease and you can have it gleaming."

Delighted, Ezra rubbed the sandpaper across the pew briskly and grinned as years of grime and old varnish gave way to the naked wood.

"It is beautiful!" he told the watching men.

The three grown ups watched the child happily sand the pew, while Josiah related all he had witnessed regarding Maude Standish's first day in their town. The men shared several laughs over the tales Josiah told of the treatment the woman had received, and when Buck told the story of how he and JD had arranged to lock the woman up for the night, they were almost rolling on the floor.

Ezra had watched them, his eyes gleaming with his own humor and enjoyment of the stories. A happy feeling engulfed him as he listened to how many people had joined his guardians in helping to dish out justice to the woman that had hounded and abused him. Ezra had found a home when Chris and Buck had taken him and Vin in, but suddenly he realized his home included more than the boarding house he resided in, and the five men that had become his family. Home now included the whole town of Four Corners and its citizenry. The wonder of that filled him up to overflowing.

"So you plan to keep her in the jail all night?" Josiah asked wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

"Yep," `Buck stated firmly. "I reckon it'll give her a taste of what she can expect if she don't agree to leave town and never bother the boys again."

"You gonna let her change outta them wet clothes?" Josiah grinned. "She might catch cold staying like that all night."

Buck looked thoughtful for a minute then answered, "Well, I guess if she comes down with a cold we'll just have to let Nathan give her some of his bug-juice. You know, that stuff he gave us the last time we came down with colds."

Josiah blanched at the memory and looked uncertainly at his friend. "I don't know if I can go along with that one, Buck. That's almost too cruel!"

Buck just grinned.

"Josiah's right," Chris' voice interrupted. "We're trying to make her suffer, not make her ill. See that she gets some dry clothes and a hot meal."

"Ah, Chris," Buck groaned. "You aren't going soft on me are you? I thought you wanted her to get what she deserves just as much as I did!"

"I said to take her some clothes, but I never said they had to be hers," the blond man grinned, "and I never said the hot meal had to be fancy, now did I? Beans and hard tack are pretty filling even if they aren't exactly gourmet foods."

Buck slapped the blond on the back and whooped out his approval.

"Has it been an hour yet?" Ezra asked, still busy sanding.

Buck looked over at the boy and then at Josiah, and suppressed a laugh.

"Close enough," Buck said. "Why don't you go tell Vin he can come down now?"

The words had hardly left his lips before Ezra was dusting off his hands and heading for the door.

"I shall return shortly and continue with our project, Josiah," Ezra called back as he left the old church.

As soon as he disappeared, Buck began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Chris asked.

"Look at Josiah, and then look at Ezra,' Buck told him. "I ain't never seen anybody, young or old, able to do something like that and still stay so clean"

Josiah looked down had his own hands and clothes that were covered in wood dust and, remembering the nearly immaculate child that had just left, had to join Buck in his laughter.

Chris smiled ironically and shook his head, replying, "Most people want their children to learn to stay clean. Here I am wishing mine would learn to get dirty."

"Life does take some interesting, and unusual turns sometimes," Josiah intoned with a smile.

"Amen to that, preacher," Buck laughed and threw an arm across his friend's shoulders good naturedly. "Amen to that."

FOUR

It was almost nine o'clock the next morning before JD escorted a smoldering Maude from the jail with a final admonishment to lay off the liquor. Later he would tell his friends that the woman was almost exploding with fury and indignation when she stalked away.

Maude found it difficult to maintain an appearance of dignity and decorum as she made her way back to her hotel room clutching handfuls of the dress the sheriff had shoved at her through the cell bars the previous day before he had beaten a hasty retreat out the front door of the jail. It had only taken one looked at the worn and faded flour-sack dress to realize the sheriff must have obtained the garment from the local poor box. Besides being old and frayed, the dress was three sizes too large for her. Maude had reluctantly replaced her own stylish and expensive clothes with the castoffs only because of the discomfort she felt from sitting on the cell's bed in damp, chilly clothing.

Once changed, she had tried to spread her wet clothes across the bars as best she could so they would dry only to be stopped by the young sheriff. JD had done an admirable job of keeping a straight face as he had lectured the woman on the rust damage to the cell doors that could have been incurred if the damp cloth had been allowed to remain hanging from the steel bars, and didn't hesitate as he solemnly recited the penalties for damaging public property. He had informed her that her property would be returned to her hotel for cleaning.

To her disgust and dismay, she had awoken in the morning to find her clothes still gone, another plate of the bland, unseasoned beans and flat bread she had been served for an evening meal sitting on the floor of the cell, and the sheriff nowhere in sight. She had been left to her own devices for over an hour before JD had sauntered into the jail to release her. Her indignant requests for her own clothing had been refused, forcing her to show her face on the streets of Four Corners in what she considered to be rags, her hair uncombed and scraggly.

She had a very hard time pretending not to hear the snickers and whispers that followed her progress down the street to her hotel. One individual was so uncouth as to guffaw when she stepped on the too-long skirt of her dress and stumbled on the top step of the porch almost landing on her face. Only her quick grab for the porch support had saved her. Unfortunately, she had been forced to let go of her garment to grab the wooden post causing the dress to slide off one shoulder, revealing rather more skin than was considered proper. Her face turned red with embarrassment before paling almost white with rigidly controlled temper when a wolf whistle signaled a ranch hand's appreciation for the sight.

If she thought her day was going to get better once she got to her room, she was sadly mistaken. After slamming the door in a display of temper, the con woman stalked over to the window and wrestled it open. The air in her room was too redolent of the odor from the mattress for her to tolerate it. She strode to the wardrobe where she had hung her clothes. She opened the door only to start screeching in terror as the bats Vin had left immediately made a bolt for freedom, flying right around Maude's startled head.

She wildly windmilled her arms about trying to shoo them away only to lose her balance and windup on her backside in the middle of the filthy floor. The bats made good their escape through the open window. Maude continued to sit on the floor while she brought her racing heartbeat and breathing back under control. When she finally tried to rise, she found herself hampered by the too large dress once more, and she almost pitched face first into the dirt on the floor when she caught her foot in the hem of the dress again. Maude ripped the garment from her body, threw it down, and then jumped on it several times like some demented kangaroo, gleefully grinding the despised garment into the dirt and grime covering the floor. She finally kicked it into a corner, and took a deep breath as she tried to smooth her hair back from her face; her suddenly lady-like actions as she regained her control very much at odds with the maniacal ones just demonstrated.

Maude cautiously returned to the wardrobe and peered inside. When she found no more bats she reached in and pulled out a blue silk robe. She slipped her arms in the sleeves and pulled it around her. The feel of the cool, expensive material against her skin caused a sigh of relief to slip out. A sigh that quickly turned into a shriek as she felt fluttering movement on the back of the garment. Maude tore the robe off, her actions made clumsy with the overwhelming urgency she felt at the thought of having one of the repulsive creatures on her person. She threw the robe on the floor and jumped halfway across the room to stand with her back pressed to the wall, not caring in the least that the dirt on the wall was now smeared all over the back of her chemise and bloomers. Her hands were clenched together over her heart as if she was trying to keep that organ from jumping completely out of her chest, and her lungs were heaving. A strangled whimper escaped the woman as she watched a lone bat crawl out from under the puddle of material and take flight after his brothers.

It took quite some time for the woman to gather up enough courage to leave her spot on the wall. Eventually she made her way over to the dresser, taking a wide detour around the robe still laying on the floor, and completely avoiding the still open wardrobe. Never taking her eyes from the spilled silk, Maude reached into the drawer and pulled out a fresh set of underwear. Maude once again detoured around the robe as she headed for the chair on the other side of the room, watching the blue robe for any sign of movement. She worried that the previous bat had not been the only one left behind.

Maude set her underwear down on the chair and started pulling off the old ones, still throwing worried glances between the wardrobe and the floor. When she had stripped down to skin, she poured water from the cracked enameled water jug into the wash bowl and did her best to wash the dirt and smell of the jail from her body with the coarse washcloth provided by the hotel. The equally coarse towels scraped at her skin as she dried off and then quickly stepped into a clean pair of bloomers. She reached for her chemise and froze.

Tiny eyes glared up at her from the middle of the silk underwear lying on the chair. Although actually nothing but a small sand-colored lizard, in her current state the reptile appeared of monstrous proportions. The two stared at each other for a moment until the lizard flicked out his long tongue. That was the end of a short fuse for the dynamite that was Maude Standish. The woman let loose a scream that was heard for half a mile, and jumped up on top of the bed, standing with her back in the corner as she tried to push her way through the thin plaster or climb it in her desire to get away; the volume of her continued screams never once diminishing.

It was only a few minutes before someone started pounding on her door.

"Here now!" came the voice of Mrs. Adams through the door, "We'll not put up with that kind of thing here! You stop that right now!"

More screaming was her only reply. The housekeeper pulled her ring of keys out and unlocked the door. She entered and accessed the situation at a glance. Walking further into the room, she picked the small lizard up and took it to the window where she gently placed it on the outside wall and watched it scurry away. She pulled her head back inside the room and faced the now quiet, half-naked woman. Shaking her head in disapproval, the woman went to the wardrobe and pulled out the first garment she touched. Mrs. Adams threw the clothing at the pale woman still standing on the bed.

"Don't got no decency, at all," the woman grumbled before stomping back through the door, completely ignoring the other woman's strangled attempts to ask her to stay.

The housekeeper made it back to her kitchen to find Buck waiting for her.

"She hurt?" he asked, torn between hoping she was and guilt that their plan might have caused serious injury.

"Naw!" The woman reassured him with a grin, "She just made the acquaintance of a couple of Vin's little friends is all. She's fair to carving out a hole in the wall from trying to get away from 'em. Never knew anybody to carry on so bad about a lizard. City folk!" The last spoken with an exasperated shake of her head.

Buck returned the grin and tipped his hat before sneaking back out the way he had come in. He hurried to share this latest tale with his friends.

7777777

And so the days continued: Maude suffering one slight and prank after another, and the regulators coming up with more and more ways of drawing that suffering out, aided and abetted by the willing population of the town. It might have continued indefinitely, but fate decided to take a hand in it.

The peaceful sounds of morning were broken by the thunder of hoof beats as a gang of twelve dusty men blazed into town. The men quickly dismounted and surrounded the bank, their bandanas pulled over the lower parts of their faces. Four men entered the bank with guns drawn, and shots were soon heard from inside.

The shots of course alerted the town's regulators. Chris and Buck had finished breakfast with the twins and were enjoying the early morning time with the boys. Mrs. Jeffers had already finished cleaning up the dining room and had headed out to do the morning shopping. When the shooting started, both men immediately jumped up and started for the door.

"You two stay inside!" Chris and Buck's terse order to the boys echoed in unison as they rushed out the door.

Ezra and Vin were left staring in shock at the closed door for a moment. Then they rushed out of the kitchen to the upstairs parlor. They ran to the window that faced the main street and craned their heads out trying to catch a glimpse of their guardians. The boys were too concerned with what was happening at the bank to notice the eyes watching them from across the street.

The irate Maude Standish had just endured another of the restaurants attempts at breakfast and was heading to the General Store to try once more to glean information from the owner when the gang had ridden into town. As the shooting had started, she found herself shut out of all the businesses as the owners hastily slammed shut their doors and took refuge from any stray bullets. It was only because she was searching for a safe place to bolt to herself that she happened to look up and see the two children leaning out of the boarding house window.

Maude forgot herself enough to let her jaw drop at the sight of the child she had been searching for-- had endured so much to find, and had almost decided was no longer in this town- suddenly appearing right before her eyes. The woman's eyes narrowed in anger as she stared at the boy that appeared to be well cared for and was reminded of all the indignities she had suffered while in this town. Her thoughts fed her anger and that anger took on one target: Ezra. Forgetting the danger from the gunplay happening down the street, the woman lifted her skirt, jumped from the boardwalk onto the muddy street and took off running for the boarding house.

She was halfway across the street when Vin caught her motion from the corner of his eye and turned.

"Ezra!" Vin gasped urgently and grabbed his brother's arm. "She saw you!"

Following his brother's wild eyed stare, Ezra stiffened as the woman that had made his life a living hell raced toward his sanctuary.

"We gotta go, EZ! Now!" Vin began pulling Ezra away from the window. "We gotta hide until Buck and Chris get here! Hurry, Ezra!"

Both boys scurried out of the room and ran down the hall. They threw open the door to Chris' bedroom and slammed it shut behind them, turning the key in the lock. Then they scrambled under his bed, holding hands tightly as they held their breaths.

"Help, Chris. I need you!" Ezra silently pleaded. He squeezed his eyes shut and gripped Vin's hands tighter.

The sound of the front door slamming against the wall as it was thrown open reverberated through the boardinghouse. Both boys heard the taunting voice as swift footsteps could be heard running up the stairs.

"I saw you, you little bastard! I know you're here. You're not getting away from me this time. You're going to pay for everything you did!"

They could hear her as she rushed into the parlor, carelessly turning over furniture as she searched for them, screeching out a long list of affronts and insults endured for which she seemed to hold him personally responsible.

"You can't get away from me, Ezra. There's no place to go. Do you really think whoever is watching out for you will want anything to do with you when they find out all the things you've done?" An evil laugh followed the shouted words. "No one is going to want a liar and a thief in their home. They'll toss you out on the street faster than you can blink. When I leave this Godforsaken place you'll be going with me, Ezra, and you're going to remember why you never, ever disobey your stepmother," Maude sneered.

Not finding her prey in the parlor, Maude started down the hall, stopping to throw open each door she passed and searching the room before moving to the next. When she reached Chris' door and found it locked she grinned in triumph.

"You should know better, Ezra," she said. "One locked door when all the others were unlocked? It's a dead give away. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk," Maude mocked as she withdrew a pin from her hair and knelt before the door. "I see I'm going to have my work cut out for me once I get you away from here. I do believe I'm going to enjoy our lessons."

Ezra couldn't help the shiver of dread that ran over him at the implied threat. Vin curled an arm around his brother's shoulder and squeezed tight.

"Can she get through the door, Ez?" Vin whispered.

His brother nodded and shakily whispered back, "She's not as good at picking locks as my father, but she knows how. Given enough time, she can get past the lock."

"Then we can't stay here," Vin whispered again. "We need to get out while she's busy. Come on."

Vin pulled his brother after him as she scrambled out from under the bed and hastened to the window. He quietly raised it and stuck his head out.

"Look, Ez," Vin said, pointing to the drainpipe that ran up the side of the house near the window. "If we stretch we should be able to grab on to the pipe and climb down. Hurry!"

Suiting actions to words, Vin climbed over the window sill and grabbed the drain then pulled himself from the window and began climbing down.

"Come ON, Ezra!" Vin's worried voice pulled his twin out the window and onto the drainpipe.

The two boys made it down to the ground in one piece, where they huddled under the open window wondering what they should do next. The sound of gunfire had grown more sporadic but could still be heard. As much as they wanted to flee to the safety of their new guardians, the boys knew better than to run out into the street when guns were being fired. They also knew they were not supposed to be leaving the boardinghouse without permission. With the disapproval of their guardians for their last instance of disobedience still fresh in their minds, neither child was eager to repeat that mistake. Not knowing what action would be the right one in Chris or Buck's eyes, the children could only remain where they were, able to go neither forward nor back.

Maude's run across the street had not gone unnoticed by all the peacekeepers. Chris and Buck exchanged worried looks as they returned fire at the gang whose members had been reduced from twelve to five. They had the bank robbers pinned down but were in turn pinned down themselves, unable to leave the safety of their cover without being shot down by the now completely desperate men. Both regulators wanted to rush to the boy's aid, but knew they wouldn't do the children any good by getting themselves killed. Frustration rose as the men worried about what the con woman would do if she found the boys. JD and Josiah finally managed to work their way behind the gang's position and, after a few well placed shots, finally convinced them to throw out their weapons and surrender.

"Josiah," yelled Chris as he jumped up and started running toward the boardinghouse, "You and Nathan help JD round them up and get them to the jail."

"Where ya goin'?" JD called in puzzlement after the retreating backs of his two friends.

"She found the boys," Buck yelled over his shoulder. No one had to ask which ‘she' he was talking about. The three remaining peacekeepers began impatiently hustling the disarmed prisoners toward the jail, anxious to check on the boys' safety for themselves.

The two gunslingers were running full out toward the boarding house when they saw Maude lean out of an upstairs window and look down at something in the alley below.

"I see you, you little runt! You and your little friend too. He's the one I read about in the newspaper, isn't he? The one they called your brother. We'll just have to bring him with us if you're so fond of him. Maybe he'll be useful…after the proper training." The sneering laugh that followed the remark made the words into a dire threat. "You might as well give up," the men heard her say, "There is nowhere left to run, nowhere I can't find you."

Realizing that the woman did not yet have the boys, Buck exchanged a relieved look with Chris and both men veered to the side of the building just as the woman pulled her head back inside. The men reached the alley to find the twins just rising from their crouched position under the window, eyes rounded in fear.

"She's coming! We have to run, Ez!" Vin was saying, "We need to find Buck and Chris!"

Ezra was shaking his head, "They told us to stay here! They'll be mad if we leave!"

"But Ez…" Vin began.

"Boys!" Chris' voice got their attention and the children started in surprise at the sudden appearance of their saviors before leaping towards them.

"Chris!" Ezra whimpered, wrapping his arms and legs tightly around the blond man as he was lifted up into strong arms and held close. The child held on for all he was worth.

Vin mirrored his twin's action when Buck swept him up.

"Hey, we're here, now," Buck soothed, "You're okay. Everything's alright."

"She was there, Chris," Ezra drew back enough to say. "She saw me in the window and she rushed right inside. She was searching the whole house for us! She was going to take us away, both of us!"

"We hid in your room and even locked the door but she started picking the lock. We climbed down the drain to get away. She saw us from upstairs and now she's coming to get us!"

"She's not going to get either of you. You are both staying right here where you belong," Chris reassured the frightened kids. "The only one leaving will be Maude Standish."

Chris brushed the hair back from Ezra's face and hugged him close again.

"Her time in this town is up. This ends now," Chris ground out grimly.

Buck looked at him over the blond head of the child trembling in his arms and nodded his agreement. The men turned and walked to the front of the building where they waited for Maude to appear, standing tall in the street with eyes blazing in righteous anger.

The town's people were once more stirring, now that the gunplay had stopped. They ventured from their hiding places, curious to discover the outcome of the early morning battle. They breathed sighs of relief as they found their five protectors were victorious once again. Small groups had begun crowding together, eager to discuss the day's excitement, so there was already quite an audience gathered when Maude Standish came running from inside the boardinghouse only to skid to a halt at the sight of two large and extremely angry men holding two small, frightened children.

As the woman froze, gazing on the two men and trying to access the situation, they were joined by three others who stood staring at her with faces made hard with dislike and wrath.

"It's time you left," Chris told her sharply.

Putting on her best charmingly distressed look, Maude stepped down from the boardinghouse porch and approached the group.

Not realizing her earlier words had been heard by anyone other than the boys and thinking she could con her way out of trouble and still get away with her prize, Maude drawled softly with an emotion-filled trembling smile lighting her face, "I'm afraid you don't understand. This boy is my stepson. I'm afraid we were tragically separated, but I've found him at last and have come to take him home." The woman even dared to let a tear fall from her eye with perfectly feigned sincerity. She daintily wiped it away with a lace handkerchief she pulled from her sleeve. "I didn't think I'd ever see the little darling again. I'm so happy to have finally found him," she finished with a lady-like sniff as she pretended to be overcome with emotion at their reunion.

Chris gave Ezra another reassuring hug then set the child on his feet next to Buck who likewise set Vin down, and placed a comforting hand on each small shoulder.

Chris took a step forward to block the woman's view of the boys, and then started clapping slowly.

"That's quite a performance," he said as he dropped his hands back to his sides.

Maude was taken aback at this reaction, but continued to play her roll.

"I... I'm sorry. I don't know what you mean," she said with simulated confusion.

"You can save it for someone who'll believe your act," Chris told her grimly. "We know who you are…WHAT you are. Nobody is going to buy it…Maude."

The woman stiffened on hearing her real name and threw a hateful look at Ezra.

"We know who you are and so does the territorial judge. After reading a few telegrams from some of the people you've cheated, the judge ruled you have no rights to Ezra or his brother. They belong to us now. You will be leaving my town, but Ezra and Vin will be staying here where they belong."

A crowd of townspeople had gathered around the con woman and the group of regulators as the little drama unfolded and murmurs of agreement could be heard from the citizens at Larabee's last statement. Maude stood staring around her uneasily before her gaze was drawn back to the blond leader when he began to speak once more.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen well, you heartless witch. You will be on the stage and out of my town before nightfall. You will keep going and be out of this territory by the end of the week. You will go, and you will NEVER come back this way again. If you ever show your face again in this town, you'll be arrested and all the people you've robbed will be notified of your whereabouts. I doubt you'd be seeing the outside of prison for a very long time if that happens.

You will NEVER try to see, write, or make any other kind of contact with Ezra or his brother. You will, in fact, forget they ever existed -- because for you they don't. You will do everything I just told you, or I will personally see to it that you make it to Hell a little sooner than you would on your own. I guarantee to make the trip there as painful and unpleasant as possible," Chris stated grimly.

Maude looked into the cold eyes of the gunslinger and saw something she had not expected to see, something that chilled her to the bone. The potential for violence shining out at her was expected -- and to someone of her experience easily manipulated-- but the keen intelligence was not.

This was a man not easily fooled; a man that saw what most others missed. This was a man who could anticipate, strategize, and lead others in the execution of his plans. Chris Larabee was a man of action with fluidity in his thinking, in short, an extremely dangerous man for any cheat to go up against.

A good confidence woman knew when to cut her losses and gracefully walk away. Looking into Chris Larabee's eyes, Maude knew this time she'd better run.

"If you would be so kind as to call the porter to help me with my luggage I would be more than happy to oblige," she said.

"If you want them then you'll carry them yourself," Chris growled at the woman. "No one in this town is going to help you with anything. That includes carrying your baggage. Just consider yourself lucky that I'm letting you leave with anything at all. If I gave you what you really deserved you'd be running out of this town wearing nothing but tar and feathers."

"But that'd be an insult to the chickens," Buck drawled.

Maude's head snapped around to glare at the dark-haired man standing beside the two small boys with one hand on each little shoulder. The last trace of pretend civility stripped from her in her anger.

"I should have expected insults from such a brainless and low-class… no… make that no-class… dreg of humanity such as you," Maude snarled nastily. "It's no wonder that brat is so comfortable here. He's with his own kind!"

"The only thing saving you from the beating of your life is the promise I gave my Mama that I'd never lay a hand on any woman in anger," Buck said through clenched teeth. "If it wasn't for that promise you be laying in the mud where you belong right now."

Reading all the regulators as not being the type of men that would hit a woman and therefore feeling safe, Maude had the audacity to sneer at the lawmen as she snarled, "Fine, I'll leave. You can keep the brat. He's nothing but a piece of worthless trash anyway. He's not fit for…"

Maude's words were stopped by a hard fist to her face that made her to go flying backward. The force of the blow caused her to land in an undignified sprawl in the muddy street. The woman raised a shaky hand to her face and wiped the blood away from her split lit as she stared at her attacker in amazement.

"They might not be able to give you what you really deserve because you're a woman, but I can!" Mary Travis growled, standing over the fallen woman while rubbing the red, rapidly swelling knuckles of her right hand with her left.

"And so can I!" Gloria Potter stepped forward aggressively, her fisted hands held stiffly on her hips as she stood looking down at Maude.

"And Me!"

"Me too!"

Feminine voices filled the air with their cries of readiness to do battle for the boys. Ezra and Vin had captured the hearts of most of the town's womenfolk and they saw this woman who had deliberately hurt one of the boys as a disgrace to her gender. The women were more than ready to extract a little physical justice on Ezra's behalf since their regulators could not.

The surprised expressions of the five regulators rapidly morphed into wide grins as the men stared at the ring of townswomen with approving delight.

"You're the one who's trash, and you're not fit to lick Ezra's boots!" Gloria Potter snapped out angrily. "Now you heard, the gentlemen. You get yourself up and get on that stage and don't come back!"

"You tell 'er, Gloria," JD crowed.

"Ezra's not alone and vulnerable anymore," Josiah stated as he stepped inside the ring of angry women. He reached down and yanked the fallen woman to her feet. "He's got a family, and he's got friends…a whole town of 'em. And each one of them will stand up and fight for him if necessary."

"You get a free ride this time," Chris told her coldly. "You won't again. If you ever show up here again, or try to come after the boys I guarantee you'll get everything that's coming to you and more. I'll see to it."

"I doubt the "good" people of this town," Maude sneered, "would be so quick to defend the little bastard if they knew half the things he did when his father…"

The woman's words were stopped by another punch. This one thrown, much to the townfolk's surprise, by the ever genteel and lady-like Mrs. Jeffers, owner of the boarding house where the regulators and the twins lived.

"That is QUITE enough out of you," Mrs. Jeffers stood shaking a stern finger at Maude who had once again wound up in the mud. "I will not put up with anyone calling that sweet little boy such vile names."

Josiah silently bent down and hauled Maude to her feet once again. The woman stood swaying dizzily for a moment before catching her balance.

"Take her back to Virginia's and watch her while she gets her things," Chris ordered Josiah. Then he turned and addressed Maude once again, "The stage leaves in twenty minutes and you're going to be on it, with or without your bags. I suggest you hurry. That was an awful big pile of luggage you came with."

The furious con woman hauled her muddy skirts up with both hands and trudged away to her rooms, Josiah following behind her like the hand of doom.

Chris turned to face the women that had been gathered around the con woman and tipped his hat.

"We're much obliged to you ladies," he told them. "I want to thank you for your help. Ezra couldn't ask for any more loyal defenders."

"I'd say he already has that in the five of you," Mary smiled back.

"You were pretty fierce yourself," the blonde leader thawed out enough with her to grin at the suddenly blushing newspaper editor. "That's a mean right hook you have there. Remind me never to get you angry," he teased.

Ezra had stood silently by Buck and watched the confrontation unfold. At first he had been frightened that Maude would somehow manage to turn everyone against him. He knew how good she was at twisting things around to suit her purposes. Then he had been gratified when Chris and the other regulators had stood up for him. But he had been stunned when the town's residents had done so as well. Ezra pulled away from Buck's hold and walked to where Chris was standing by Mary. The boy looked up at the woman who smiled and kneeled down in front of him when he approached.

"Thank you, for defending me, Mrs. Travis," Ezra said softly.

Mary reached out slowly and drew the child toward her for a hug then pushed back in order to see his face clearly.

"You don't have to thank me, Ezra," she said. "It's my fault she found you in the first place. I owed it to you to make it right."

Ezra's sweet smile slowly filled his face and twin dimples formed in his cheeks as he held out his little hand to the woman who took it in her own.

"Then I would say all debts are paid in full," he said.

Mary laughed and the two shook hands.

"May I ask you something?" Ezra asked with a mischievous grin.

"Certainly, Ezra," Mary told the child.

"What did it feel like?" Ezra's smile got even bigger if possible and his question startled a laugh from the woman.

"Good," she answered still laughing, "Very, very good!"

He gave her a final smile and went to find Mrs. Jeffers who was having her hand looked at by a hovering Nathan.

"Mrs. Jeffers?"

The woman looked down and smiled at the waiting boy and shooed Nathan back, the healer retreating to go examine Mary next.

"I just wanted to say thank you," Ezra told her.

The woman ran a hand over his hair, gently smoothing it into place and returned the smile that Ezra was giving her.

"It was my pleasure, Ezra," she said fondly. "No one is allowed to speak of you like that in MY presence."

"We need to get some cold water on that hand before it swells too much, ma'am," Nathan told the woman as he moved closer once more, Mary Travis following in his wake.

Giving the man an indulgent smile Mrs. Jeffers allowed the healer to lead her and Mary Travis to his clinic.

Ezra stood watching as the crowd started to break up, several people coming by to pat him on the back and tell them how glad they were that he and Vin were all right.

Chris was watching the child try to process it all. He said a final thank you to Gloria Potter and approached the silent boy.

"You okay, son?" he asked softly, cupping a gentle hand on the back of the boy's head.

Ezra looked up solemnly at his guardian and the two searched each other's eyes for a moment, reading the emotions each was feeling.

Ezra's beautiful smile, the one that always reminded Chris of the sun rising in the morning, came out and his dimples winked at Chris as he said, "It's really true, isn't it? She's going to leave and never return. I'll never have to see her ever again."

Chris' own smile escaped as he answered, "Yep. You're finally free of her, Ezra. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

Ezra stood looking up at the gunslinger, his relief and excitement and happiness building up to the point that it finally had to find release or cause him to explode.

"WOO-HOO!" The little boy yelled as he threw his arms wide and began to turn in euphoric circles.

Chris broke out laughing and he watched with undisguised enjoyment the uncharacteristic display of sheer happiness and abandon his little gentlemen was giving.

"Ezra!" Vin called as he ran to his twin.

"She's going forever, Vin," Ezra stopped long enough to grin at his twin then started twirling again. "She's never coming back! WOO-HOO."

"WOO-HOO," Vin happily echoed, and joined his brother in his spinning celebration.

Buck, JD, and Nathan joined their leader and watched the laughing pair, each man smiling with their appreciation of the happy sight.

Buck chuckled and said, "Looks like we're raising a couple of whirlin' dervishes, pard."

Chris smiled affectionately at the boys and said, "After all they've been through they've earned it, Buck. Let ‘em whirl!"

The End
Next: Vindicable