Six Reasons
Safecracker Epilogue
J.D. eased himself down in one of the chairs in front of the jail making sure not to jar his injured arm. Nathan said the knife wound would heal fine as long as he took it easy. It still hurt so J.D. was inclined to take the healer's advice. It took a five-minute argument and Nathan's intercession to convince Buck that 'take it easy' didn't mean 'confined to bed.'
From his chair J.D. watched the stagecoach carrying Olivia and her mother pull out. He craned his neck and leaned forward as he spied Buck go chasing after the stage. Buck was yelling. One word floated back--watch--and J.D. laughed as he realized what must have happened. He raised his right hand and checked just to be sure his cufflinks were still where they were supposed to be.
J.D. shifted his gaze to Chris and Vin who were shaking their heads and laughing at Buck's situation. He couldn't keep a smile off his face at the scene. It wasn't like he'd never seen Vin or Chris smile, but this seemed more like an unguarded moment of genuine happiness and that was rare, especially for Chris.
The youngest member of the seven knew the loss of his family was never far from Chris's thoughts. The man wore his grief like armor. He dressed dark and most of the time, his mood matched. J.D. figured Chris embraced the pain because for a long time it was all he had.
The young man understood some of what Chris was going through. Losing his mother had devastated J.D., and despite the enthusiasm and zest he exhibited now, it had been a struggle to find the strength to go on then. He understood the hurt, emptiness and anger of losing someone that you loved more than life itself. Of course, he knew he couldn't completely understand what Chris had suffered. Losing a parent wasn't the same as losing a wife and child.
The one thing J.D. understood for certain though, was that life went on whether you wanted it to or not, whether you were ready for it to or not, and it wasn't all pain, but you had to be willing to let yourself feel and let new people into your life. As he watched Chris and Vin share one last smile before Vin headed toward the saloon, J.D. hoped Chris was finally starting down the road of healing that would lead him back to his life.
Instead of following Vin into the saloon, Chris changed direction and came toward the jail. The smile was gone from Chris's face replaced by the serious, grimmer demeanor he usually wore.
J.D. nodded at Chris's approach. Part of him was only a little surprised when Chris casually settled into a nearby chair, propping his feet on the rail of the boardwalk. J.D. had gotten an earful from Buck about how foolish it had been trying to chase Coltrane's men on his own and how J.D.'s next lesson was going to be how to duck. So far though, Chris hadn't said anything about J.D.'s injury.
J.D. wasn't fooled by Chris's nonchalant attitude. Chris Larabee didn't seek out J.D.'s company simply for the pleasure of it. They weren't that close. J.D. hoped someday they would be, but they weren't there yet. Chris had something on his mind.
"How's the shoulder?"
"It's gonna be fine. Nathan says good as new."
J.D. saw Chris nod. The younger man tried not to fidget in his chair as he waited for the wrath of Chris Larabee to rain down on him in what he was sure was going to be a grand lecture that would make Buck's scolding sound like a pep talk.
"It's different when it's your blood bein' spilled, ain't it?"
The quiet question startled J.D. He wasn't prepared for that question or the casual way it was asked--as though Chris were asking if J.D. thought it was gonna rain. There was no hint of anger or reproach and no wrath in sight.
J.D. took a couple of seconds to answer. He wasn't exactly sure what Chris wanted to hear. In the end, he settled for the truth.
"It's a lot different," J.D. answered slowly sliding his gaze to the black clad gunslinger trying to gauge his reaction. When Chris only nodded in response silence fell between them. J.D. figured Chris was waiting for him to continue. Reluctantly he did.
"I was scared," J.D. admitted, again throwing a sideways glance at the man next to him. J.D. expected to see disapproval or worse--something akin to disgust at his confession of weakness, but Chris's face remained impassive.
"You give any thought to headin' back east?"
J.D.'s heart started to pound faster in his chest, and his stomach began to churn. Was that what this conversation was about? Was Chris telling him he should go back? He never should have admitted his fear, especially to Chris whose respect J.D. desperately wanted to earn.
But come on, who wouldn't be afraid having a knife stuck in 'em? When J.D. noticed Chris glance in his direction, he realized he'd never answered the question.
"I'd be lying if I said Boston never crossed my mind," J.D. responded and remembered vividly the moment right after being stabbed. His first thought had been to find the others, but he'd also had the thought that he would never have been hurt if only he'd stayed in Boston. Then Vin and Ezra were there helping him to Nathan, the gun battle and finally it was all over. Everyone was safe. J.D. knew he was gonna be fine, and he never gave Boston another thought.
"I'm not goin' back," J.D. stated firmly.
"It would probably be a lot less dangerous."
"Probably," J.D. agreed and added, "Not much risk in bein' a stable boy."
"It's honest work."
"Can't disagree with that," J.D. responded, "but so's what we're doin' here. And ya know, I don't know any stable boys who get to save Seminole Villages or keep a little girl from having to grow up without her Mama."
J.D. paused trying to decide if he should go on. Finally he decided that Chris deserved the whole truth. "Besides, there's nothin' for me in Boston anymore. My Mama was the only thing I cared about there. I got no reason to go back."
"You reckon you got a reason to stay here?"
J.D. shifted in his chair until he met Chris Larabee's gaze directly, and then he answered the same way, "I can think of six right off the top of my head."
Eye contact was held for a few seconds and then broken as Chris rose from his chair and adjusted his hat. He stepped off the boardwalk but turned back saying, "When that shoulder's healed some, you're gonna need to practice that arm and get it back into shootin' shape."
"I will," J.D. answered. He couldn't keep the smile off his face as he watched Chris Larabee make his way toward the saloon. The man in black met up with Buck halfway. Buck was slapping the dust off his hat, but J.D. watched as he held up his pocketwatch triumphantly.
+ + + + + + +
"Kid okay?" Buck asked, having seen the direction Chris had come from.
"He'll do," Chris answered and then he continued into the saloon.
The End