Nothing Sweeter
by Purple Lacey
Part 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
January 2004