THREE
Nettie returned to the house where she found her niece was out of bed. She was about to tell the girl they had a guest, when Casey heard the sound of hammering. "What the hell ... I mean what on earth's that noise?" the girl asked, hurriedly correcting herself as she saw the stony expression on her aunt's face."That's just Vin. He's come back to help us out some more and he's going to stay here for a spell."
"Kind of early, isn't he?" the girl observed tartly.
"'Kind' is certainly the word for him," her aunt replied, "and you should be as grateful as I am for his help."
Casey pouted slightly, but wisely held her tongue, having more sense than to anger her aunt by speaking out against Vin. She was not particularly pleased to learn that Vin was to stay with them for a while. She did not dislike the tracker, and she knew that he always did his share of the work and more, but she did not actually want him living there.
She knew it was childish, but she always felt somewhat resentful when she saw her aunt fussing over him and preparing his favourite dishes. Nettie seemed to appreciate the work he did more than that that Casey did. Casey conveniently overlooked the fact that she had her obligations as a member of the household, whereas Vin helped out of kindness and would have been mortified had he been offered any financial remuneration. Further, she did not like any suggestion that the ranch-work she so enjoyed was really a man's province.
She also did not like the fact that her aunt made far more of the scruffy tracker than she did of JD. Since the sheriff was Casey's particular friend, she thought that her aunt should have shown him special consideration. However, Nettie seemed to see him as a boy and to treat him as such, showing no particular interest in his opinions and doings beyond what politeness called for.
Accordingly, after breakfast, she opted to ride out to check on stock, a task guaranteed to take her as far away from the tracker as possible, since he was apparently going to work on the barn.
The first evening meal the three had together raised her hackles further. "Casey, we have company tonight. You should have changed for dinner," Nettie said, as she turned disapproving eyes on Casey's patched jeans.
"Why? Vin isn't dressed up!" Casey blurted.
She immediately felt guilty as Vin blushed and said, "I'm sorry, Nettie, I ain't got anythin' else to wear. Iffen ya want I can eat outside."
"No need to apologize, Vin," Nettie hastened to say, glaring at her niece. "You are a guest in this house and your clothes do not matter."
Hearing this double standard, Casey shoved her guilty feelings aside and said rudely, "That's not fair! If I have to dress up, he should have to shave at least."
"Casey!" her aunt exclaimed, "I will not have you talking to Vin like that. You apologize immediately."
"I'm sorry," Casey muttered reluctantly, feeling anything but apologetic.
"It's okay, Casey. Yer right, I should have tidied myself. I ain't real used to dinin' with ladies. I'll shave before dinner tomorrow."
Partially mollified by this concession, Casey refrained from further comment.
They finished their meal and Vin insisted on washing-up. "Please, Nettie, ya did the cookin' so it ain't right that ya should clean up too."
"Casey and I will do it. It's women's work."
"I don't mind. I allus do the cleanin' at Ch ... at Chris' place." That was true. Washing dishes had been about the only task Larabee had allowed him to undertake during his convalescence and even then he had been nagged about keeping his bandages dry.
Nettie noticed the slight hesitation and it further confirmed her suspicions. She had thought that he might have fallen out with Chris Larabee over something. It would have been unlikely that an argument with anyone else would have upset him so much. After all it was obvious that no one meant more to the tracker.
"Well, if you insist. While you're doing that I'll go and make up the spare room," she said.
"Nettie, as I told ya, iffen ya don't mind I'd liefer to sleep in the barn. I usually sleep in the livery in town and I feel happier there than inside a room." That was true, but Vin also feared that, if he did finally manage to go to sleep, he might have one of his nightmares that he had suffered periodically since Hudson's attack. He knew that he often cried out during these and did not want to frighten the women or to have them overhear his ramblings and learn what had happened either then or since with Chris.
"But, Vin, it doesn't seem right for a guest to sleep in the barn."
"But I ain't a real guest," the tracker argued. "I'm a sorta ranch-hand. Please, Miz Nettie, I'd rather sleep there."
"All right," she conceded reluctantly, "but you will take a pillow and an extra blanket with you."
"Thank ya, Nettie."
His self-imposed kitchen duties done, Vin excused himself and headed for the barn, saying he thought he would have an early night. In truth, he knew sleep would be elusive, but he could not face an evening of making small talk. That would have been hard enough for him at any time, but at present was unendurable. The women would be bound to mention the other members of the Seven and he knew he just could not talk about Chris.
He wrapped his own and Nettie's blanket round him and huddled down into some loose hay. Even though he was exhausted both physically and mentally he could not sleep. He tossed and turned as he found himself going over and over what had happened between him and Chris. He was in a cleft stick: apparently he could not live happily with the gunslinger, but what could life offer without him? Nothing, nothing at all, just long, empty days. Despairing at ever finding an answer to the problem, Vin suddenly found himself weeping bitterly over the loss of all that he had dared to hope for from a relationship with Chris Larabee: friendship, love, a real home. All were gone.
As he fought to regain control, a small detached part of his mind stood back and jeered at him both for his emotional weakness and for his failure to handle the situation any better than he had the traumas of his childhood.
And thus he passed the interminable night.
+ + + + + + +
The following day was a long and arduous one for the tracker. He rose at dawn, pale and drawn after his fitful night of anguish, and spent most of the time chopping and stacking wood and doing more repairs around the barn and corral.
Nettie, concerned both about his arm and his health generally, tried to persuade him to rest on more than one occasion, but Vin said that he was fine and carried on. In truth, he hoped that, if he exhausted himself, he might actually get some sleep that night instead of tormenting himself with his thoughts of Larabee.
By nightfall he was desperately weary in body and spirit, but knew that just retiring to the barn was not an option. Nettie would expect him at her table or would demand an explanation. Further, he was also aware that he needed to tidy himself up first to avoid a repetition of the previous night's unpleasantness. Accordingly, he made his way to the nearby stream and made a hasty ablution and had a quick shave before heading to the house.
When a freshly bathed and clean-shaven Vin Tanner entered the room and Casey was caught off-guard and stared at him transfixed. She had never really looked at Vin before. By his general demeanour, he had always seemed to be of Chris Larabee's generation rather than her own and so of no particular interest to her. Now she was thunderstruck by the realization that not only was he was actually little older than JD, but that he was the most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes on. How could she not have observed the beautiful sky-blue eyes and the shining, light brown hair that curled so enticingly? She must have been blind. Suddenly having Vin on the ranch did not seem a bad idea at all.
Aware of her close scrutiny, Vin blushed. He saw her pretty blue dress and well-brushed hair and was sure that she believed his own efforts to tidy himself up were lacking in comparison. He was totally oblivious to his own attractions. To him, the ideal of manly good looks came in the form of a tall, well-built, blond gunfighter, and certainly not in that of a slight tracker, of no more than medium height, with tangled mouse-brown hair. So he had absolutely no idea of the thoughts whirling through her head. "I'm sorry, Casey," he apologized, "Like I said, I ain't got any other clothes."
"Y-You l-look fine, Vin," she stammered, coming out of her reverie. "It's just ... I just ... You look so different! I don't think I've ever seen you clean-shaven before."
"Prob'ly not," he agreed. "I don't shave much."
"Why don't you?"
"I ain't no picture either way. Anyway, I reckon the stubble makes me look older. I don't want Buck treatin' me like a kid he might try to boss me like he does JD."
"How old are you, Vin?"
"Dunno."
"But you must know!" Casey exclaimed.
"Nope, I don't remember my ma sayin' anythin' 'bout when I was born."
"But didn't you celebrate your birthdays when you were a child?" Casey asked in surprise. Her late parents and then her aunt had always made quite an occasion out of her birthdays.
Vin looked awkward and muttered, "Weren't no reason to celebrate my birth."
"But there must be records. The town where you were born would have them. You should write to the minister. What town was it?"
"Dunno that either," he admitted, shamed by his ignorance of what was clearly a matter of some importance to Casey.
At that point, Nettie bustled out of the kitchen. She had overheard the conversation and had decided it was time to rescue Vin from the interrogation, well meant though it might be. Casey never seemed to know when to leave well enough alone and had apparently not noticed the discomfort in Vin's voice. She had even mentioned writing. Surely the girl should have realized that Vin was not only illiterate, but very embarrassed by his disability. Okay, he was at pains to hide the fact, but Nettie had observed that he always made a hurried exit if there was any possibility that he might be called upon to read something. She had seen JD go to hand him a newspaper, with an excited comment about a piece of news, and the tracker had moved away as if the paper was red-hot and had quickly voiced his need to be elsewhere. However, the young were often self-absorbed, so she supposed she should not be surprised that neither Casey nor JD had realized the truth.
That was, she believed, one reason why the tracker seemed so much older than those two. He was always so kind and so sensitive to the needs of others, so respectful of their rights and feelings. Yet, perversely, he was also younger than either of the pair was in some ways. Others might see only the strong, silent, self-contained man, blessed with preternatural tracking and sharp-shooting abilities, but she saw beneath that veneer. In his expressive eyes, she caught glimpses of the lonely and vulnerable boy, painfully shy and unaware of his own sterling worth, that still looked on the world with the innocent wonder and fears of childhood.
So now, anxious to change the subject, she bustled around, piling up Vin's plate, while he protested he would not be able to eat half what she expected him to.
After that, the meal went relatively well. Casey was at her most charming and Nettie was relieved to see she had got over her sulks of the previous evening. Vin still did not eat much, but Nettie thought he seemed slightly more at ease, if only because he was not having to cope with a prickly teenager.
Indeed, Casey continued to act pleasantly over the next few days.
At first, Nettie was pleased with the change in her niece. Casey was not only dressing for dinner, but she was making more effort with her appearance generally. Further, she was being friendly towards Vin and was actually seeking his advice in ranching matters and thanking him for his help with chores. However, she soon became aware that Casey's eyes were following Vin and realized the girl was fast becoming infatuated with him.
Now there was no one that Nettie would rather have had for a nephew by marriage than the tracker, but she was a realist. Ezra had been correct in his suspicion that Nettie had recognized Vin's sexual predilections. She had surmised that his interest was in Chris Larabee and she had accepted that without comment. She had lived too long to be easily shocked and just hoped that the outwardly cold and deadly gunslinger could, contrary to appearances, provide the love and security that Vin so desperately needed. What an acquaintance might see as his aloofness, Nettie recognized as almost painful shyness and expectation of rejection and she desperately hoped that Larabee could help him overcome both conditions.
So, she regretted Casey's newfound interest in the tracker and resolved that she would have to invite JD to come to dinner as soon as possible. Hopefully, his boyish exuberance and good looks would turn Casey away from Vin, and thus save her aunt from the awkwardness of having to explain to her the reason why it was hopeless for her to pursue Vin Tanner. She feared that otherwise Casey's infatuation could only lead to hurt and embarrassment for both her niece and the tracker.
Accordingly, when JD called in to visit Casey, a couple of days later, Nettie was more than usually hospitable towards him.
"Why, JD, how nice to see you!" she exclaimed, smiling warmly.
"Afternoon, Mrs Wells, I've come to ask Casey to the dance that's on next Saturday. Is she around?"
"She should be back any time now. She's just seeing to some stock."
"Shall I go and give her a hand?"
"No, you sit down and I'll get you something to eat. Casey will be fine. She's got Vin with her."
"Vin's here?" JD asked, in some surprise. "I hadn't realized he was fit enough for ranch work yet. Since he moved out to Chris' place, we haven't seen much of him. I figured he must still be poorly."
"Actually he's staying here at present."
"How come?"
"He knew there was quite a lot of work needed doing, so he asked if he could stay for a few days. As if I'd ever turn him down! Casey does her best, but the place needs a man."
"I could come and help if you needed it," JD offered.
"I know that, JD, but your job as sheriff must come first."
"Yes, it is important, but I'd still come if you needed me."
"I'll keep your kind offer in mind."
As she spoke, she glanced outside and saw Vin and Casey riding in. "There they are now," she said.
Spotting JD's mount, Vin said, "Looks like ya've got a visitor, Casey. Ya go on in and I'll tend to the horses."
Casey felt a twinge of annoyance. Things were not going as she had hoped. Not only had Vin apparently failed to notice her interest in him, but now he was pushing her towards another man. 'Just a kid really,' she thought. 'Not like Vin.'
In truth, Vin was completely oblivious to Casey's newfound interest in him. Buck Wilmington would have spotted it in a moment, but unlike the ladies' man, the tracker had always underrated his physical attractions and had never realized that many women would have rated his looks ahead of Buck's.
Wilmington's experienced eye would have immediately observed even subtle changes in dress or hairstyle and the appropriate compliments would have tripped off his tongue. However, Vin, though so observant when tracking, would have been hard pressed to remember even the colour of a lady's gown, let alone the various fripperies that made up the outfit.
To him, women were a mystery and a somewhat frightening one at that. Nettie and Mrs Potter, who ran the general store, were okay, but he felt gauche and tongue-tied with others.
Casey would have been mortified to learn that he felt fairly comfortable with her because not only did he see her as still very much a child, but also her high spirits and tomboy behaviour appealed to him. She was daring and fun and did not expect polite small talk on subjects that meant little to him.
Consequently, her efforts to improve her appearance had gone unnoticed and her inexperienced attempts at mild flirtation had been passed off in his mind as childish jokes on the few occasions that he had even noticed them. Indeed, with his distraught thoughts full of Chris Larabee and the destruction of all his hopes for a future at the gunslinger's side, much of the time he was barely aware of her prattle and had no idea what she had actually said.
However, JD was not so unobservant. Indeed, his eyes stood out on stalks when he saw that Casey was wearing a divided skirt instead of her usual jeans. He thought that he even detected a touch of artificial colour on her lips.
He knew that his visit had not been expected and so he all too aware that the primping had not been for his benefit. However, he made polite conversation, filling both women in on the latest happenings in Four Corners. Not that there had been very much of note.
One strange thing that he had noticed was that Chris Larabee was spending a lot of time in the saloon. Okay, that was not unusual. He had been a regular there until he had taken Vin out to convalesce at his cabin. Obviously now that the tracker had recovered, it stood to reason that Larabee would return to his old habits. However, what was odd was that he had apparently given up drinking. Even odder was the fact that he was now spending quite a bit of time talking to Ezra. In the past, the gambler had often been a bit like the proverbial red rag to a bull as far as Larabee was concerned, but it seemed that had changed markedly.
Both JD and Buck had speculated about what was going on, but the sheriff suspected that Wilmington knew more than he let on. That was annoying. JD hated the feeling that he was being treated like a kid and that something was being hidden from him. When he had tackled Buck about that, the ladies' man had teased him about being paranoid and he had been diverted into a slanging match.
Well, Mrs Wells showed some interest in his comments about Chris' drinking, saying that she thought a number of the townsmen could profitably follow his lead and curb their alcohol consumption, but Casey showed no interest at all. She kept glancing at the door and, at one point, even said that she really ought to help Vin, a suggestion quickly squashed by her aunt's reminding her that her duty was to her visitor and that Vin Tanner was perfectly capable of feeding and bedding down two horses without her assistance.
All in all, the conversation was rather strained. JD could not help but appreciate Nettie's efforts to fill uncomfortable gaps and thought that Buck would be proud of the way he kept up a polite conversation in the face of Casey's obvious disinterest.
Finally, there was a light tap on the door. "That'll be, Vin!" Casey said, animatedly, jumping up and hurrying to the door. She flung it open. "Come in, Vin, you don't need to knock," she said, pulling at his sleeve when he hesitated.
Vin seemed somewhat taken aback by her enthusiasm. He looked across at Nettie. "I-I don't want to intrude on ya. I just wanted to ask JD if everythin's all right in town."
In truth, he wanted to hear about Chris Larabee. Had he not been so desperate to hear that Chris was okay, he would not have gone near the house at all.
"You come in and sit down and talk to JD, Vin," Nettie instructed. "I'll get you some coffee. I'll just put a bit more water on the stove."
"Thank ya, Nettie." He shuffled across the room, with a smiling Casey hanging onto his unwilling arm.
The next few minutes were exceptionally awkward. Vin could not bring himself to ask directly about Chris and stumbled over his words. His confusion was increased as Casey had chosen to sit very close to him on the couch and he was feeling uncomfortably crowded.
For his part, JD felt he had already said enough about the gunslinger and did not wish to bore Casey by repeating material in which she had already shown herself to be totally uninterested. Further, he definitely did not like the way her attention was riveted on Vin. He started to wonder whether Tanner had been making up to her and so was embarrassed to have him arrive. That would account for his awkward manner. Further, he noticed that, like Casey, Vin had spruced himself up a bit. That was not a good sign.
Things improved a little once Nettie returned with Vin's coffee, but JD was not enjoying his visit at all. He even wished Buck was present. Although it would not have been pleasant to have Wilmington witness his discomfiture, the ladies' man could have been invaluable in assessing the realities of the situation for him.
He glanced at the clock. If he was going to get back in time for his evening patrol he would have to leave soon. He had not broached the topic of the dance, but having already told Nettie that that was the reason for his visit, he knew that he would have to do so.
"Casey, I'll have to get going, but I wanted to ask you something. There's a dance on this coming Saturday and I wondered if ..." He hesitated trying to remember what Buck had instructed him to say, but the smooth words were gone. "Do you want to go?" he asked bluntly.
Casey looked at him. Dancing did not hold much appeal for her, but what if Vin was intending to go? Of course, if she had given it a moment's serious thought she would have realized that a dance was the last place one would find Vin Tanner. "I guess I might," she replied, surprising her aunt, who had expected a outright refusal.
She turned to Vin. "Are you going, Vin?" she inquired eagerly.
Vin stared at her. He thought she knew him better than to ask. "Not my sorta place, Casey. Iffen ya want I could escort ya to town and wait till yer ready to come home." He figured if he stayed at the livery he would not encounter any of the other six as they would all likely be in attendance at the social function.
"Hang on, Vin," an annoyed JD interposed hastily, "I asked Casey to go with me."
Taken aback by the hostility in the kid's voice, Vin hurried to apologize, though he was not sure why his well-intentioned offer had offended JD so much. "Sorry, JD, I just thought it'd save ya the ride out here."
"That's kind of you, Vin," Casey said, imagining a romantic moonlight buggy ride. Maybe she could even persuade Vin to go to the dance too if she talked hard enough en route. "I expect as sheriff you'd prefer to stay in town on a Saturday night, JD, just in case there's any trouble."
"No worries, Casey. I'll get one of the boys to cover for me."
Casey felt like telling him she had changed her mind and would not go, but she knew her aunt would be justifiably incensed by such rudeness. She fought down a sharp retort and consoled herself with the thought that she still had five days to convince Vin to attend the dance.
JD took his leave soon after that.
As soon as JD reached town, he hastened to the sheriff's office in search of Buck, who had been filling in for him. Buck's much vaunted experience in matters of the heart was hopefully going to prove useful for once.
He poured out the whole tale, finally reaching the conversation about the dance. "I asked her real nice like you said and she agreed, but then she asked Vin if he was going. As if you'd ever get Vin to a dance! You know I reckon she'd have have jumped at the chance to go with him if he'd asked her before I did. What do you think is going on, Buck?"
Wilmington hesitated, thinking over what JD had said and wondering what was safest to say. Finally he said, "Well, she could be tryin' to make ya jealous, kid. Have ya been neglectin' her a bit lately?"
"I s'pose I haven't been out there that much," JD conceded.
"Well, there ya are, kid! The solution is in yer own hands. Ladies like lotsa attention, ya know. And pretty presents! Ya'd better buy some flowers or somethin' to give her on Saturday."
JD grinned. "Thanks, Buck, that's a good idea. Perhaps I'll take her some candy. Anyway, I'd better get off on my rounds."
JD hurried off much heartened. After all, if there was one topic Buck knew about it was women and if he felt Casey's attitude was caused by JD's lack of attention rather than the emergence of Vin as a rival, he was probably correct.
For his part, Buck sat at the sheriff's desk mulling over what the kid had said.
He had suspected that Tanner and Larabee had fallen out, from Chris' increased presence in town, but had not realized that Vin was no longer living under the gunslinger's roof. That they had argued had not surprised him, as he had feared that Chris was smothering Vin, in his desire to care for and protect the tracker, and that eventually Tanner would rebel in attempt to regain at least a measure of independence. However, he had expected that the two would reach a compromise after some hard negotiating. The fact that the tracker had apparently absconded both surprised and concerned him, as clearly the trouble in their relationship was serious.
He wondered if Chris knew where his lover was, but decided he must do or he would have been out scouring the countryside for him
It upset him to think that the two were at odds. He felt that the two men were so good for each other. Since meeting Vin, Larabee been much more like his old self from the days before the tragic deaths of his wife and child. He was no longer either so morose or so reckless as he had someone to live for and love. Further, Wilmington believed that Vin's relationship with Chris had given the younger man the first real security and love that he had had since he was orphaned by his mother's death.
He resolved to pay a visit to Nettie's place as soon as possible to talk to the tracker and see what could be done to heal the rift.
Never for one moment, did he consider that Vin could have turned his attentions to Casey. However, although he had not said as much to JD, he could imagine her getting interested in the tracker. Vin was a very handsome man and Casey's aunt liked him a lot and might well have elected to encourage her niece to look in his direction. He hoped that was not the case, as he did not want to see JD unhappy, especially given that he could see no way that the tracker would welcome Casey's infatuation.
He sighed. It would have been so much easier if he could have told JD about Vin and Chris, but the kid had absolutely no understanding of such things and he did not relish having to explain and defend their actions to a shocked JD. He suspected the kid would not believe him and would be likely to make comments or ask questions of Vin, and even possibly of Larabee, that would cause upset and embarrassment. Further, given that such a relationship was against the law, the fewer that knew the true nature of the pair's friendship the better.
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