Acknowledgements: I send thanks to Jenn for her continuing support and great suggestions, and to everyone who reads theses stories and sends such wonderful feedback!
Author’s Notes: I bought a new CD and played it for the first time at work. The very first song on it immediately made me sit up and pay attention. I knew right away it was a Vin and Buck story just waiting to be told. I’m sure some of you have already guessed which song it was. For those of you who are curious I included the song title and artist after the story’s end. You can probably get the lyrics from lyrics.com, although I haven't checked that out to be sure.
Dedication: This story is lovingly dedicated to Trevor, my new nephew, born 7 lbs, 6 oz on 7/06/04 (our very own little miracle!) and to my niece, Meghan, who has proven herself to be Big-Sister-Extraordinaire. I’m so proud of you!
Something Magic
By Purple Lacey
The morning was cool. The dew drenched grass sparkled like millions of tiny diamonds in the light of the rising sun as Vin Tanner sat sipping a cup of coffee on the steps of his front porch. He loved this time of day when everything was peaceful and the world looked fresh and new. And he would never get tired of viewing that world from his very own home.
Hearing tiny footsteps behind him, Vin looked over his shoulder at the equally tiny boy that stepped from the front door rubbing sleep from his eyes.
“Mornin' Buck,” the tracker greeted his son.
Buck crawled into Vin's lap and rested his cheek against his papa's chest with a wide yawn before sleepily mumbling, “Mornin', Papa.”
“Sounds like somebody didn't get all their sleep out this mornin',” Vin said with a grin as he hugged the boy closer with one arm and moved his coffee cup farther away with the other to avoid spilling the hot liquid on the child.
Buck didn't answer but rubbed his face on Vin's shirt like a cat getting comfortable. Vin chuckled and stroked the boy's head with his free hand.
“That sure was a loud storm last night wasn't it?” Vin said gently.
The past few days the weather had been bad on and off. They had already endured several thunderstorms, some hitting during the day, but a couple coming in the middle of the night. Vin had learned very quickly just how much little Bucklin hated them, or more particularly hated the sound of the thunder they spawned.
Last night the tracker had been brusquely woken when Buck had come running into his bedroom and launched himself at the prone man's chest at the first rumble of thunder in the distance. After he had gotten his breath back, Vin had taken the boy into his arms and held him close while Buck latched on to him tighter than a noose around a condemned man's neck.
It had taken a long time for Vin to calm the boy down enough so the child could slip back to sleep. He had finally managed it by pressing Buck's ear to his chest so the child could listen to his heartbeat while covering the other little ear with his hand to drown out the continuing boom of the thunderclaps. The two had spent the rest of the night that way: Vin flat on his back holding on to the child while Buck sprawled over his chest.
When his internal clock finally roused him, Vin had carefully moved Buck onto the bed and risen to dress and start the fire in the cook stove and get the coffee to brewing. While both heated, he headed out to the barn to milk the cow - which Buck had named Wilbert for some reason that Vin had yet to figure out - and feed both it and his horse, Tomatillo. The pleasant aroma of coffee greeted him on his return to the house and the longhaired sharpshooter had poured himself a cup and wandered out to sit on his front porch and enjoy his peaceful moment.
“It was too loud!” Buck grumbled about the hated storm from his place in Vin's arms.
Vin leaned down to kiss the top of the little brunette head and smile. “When I was knee high to a grasshopper my Mama always told me that thunder was just the angels playin' marbles.”
Buck raised his head enough so he could lean back and look at Vin with a childishly skeptical eye. Vin laughed and tweaked the end of the boy's nose. “Well that's what she said,” he defended.
The little boy sighed and shook his head at his papa before laying it back down on Vin's chest. He may have been only three-going-on-four but he knew adult-silliness when he heard it.
“You about ready for breakfast?” Vin asked as he gave the boy another hug and received a nod in return. “Okay then. We need to see about rustlin' somethin' up. Why don't you go get dressed then go find us some eggs? I'll go start some bacon fryin'. We got to go into town 'cause I've got patrol this morning so we'd best be hoppin' to it.”
Buck nodded and crawled from Vin's lap and obediently headed back inside to dress. Vin took one last glance around before following. So began another day for the Tanner household.
The pair had ridden into town where Vin had left Buck in Chris' care while he did his patrol. Afterward, they had joined the others for lunch at the town's restaurant before heading back home to the work that waited for Vin there.
In between his duties as peacekeeper, the tracker had been making the repairs he felt the ranch needed before he could bring in his breeding stock; a few to the house as well. He was assisted by his fellow regulators on many occasions. Although Ezra's assistance was usually in the form of keeping Buck occupied and out of trouble while the men worked, he had actually broken his long standing rule against menial labor once to help Vin whitewash the house. Vin had been suitably appreciative...even after the gambler had sent him a bill for the pair of trousers he ruined in the process.
The clouds had started to grow angry and dark as they rode from town, but Vin had been sure they could make it back home before the storm hit. Unfortunately, he had underestimated the speed of the gathering thunderhead and wound up racing for home. He had actually started to relax, thinking they had beaten the storm, but as he galloped up the lane that led to their house the first raindrops began falling. Vin brought the horse to a stop in front of the house and quickly lowered Buck down.
“Get up on that porch where it's dry and wait for me,” Vin instructed. “I'm just gonna take care of 'Tillo then I'll be right back.”
Buck stood on his tip-toes to hang his arms over the porch railing and watched as Vin wheeled his mount around and headed toward the barn at a fast clip. So far there had only been rain without any thunder so the child was calm, and was actually delighting in sticking his hand out to swat at rain drops. Vin hurried to the barn to bed down the horse and rushed through the familiar routine, not wanting to leave Buck alone for too long especially with the thunderstorm moving in. He knew the thunder would be starting any time and that Buck would be frightened and would need him close.
Vin had completed his task and was running through the rain toward the house when calamity struck. At first the tracker didn't know what had happened. He had been running through the rain one minute and then found himself on the ground the next. He tried to shake his head to clear it of the fuzziness that filled it as he took stock of his situation.
He was lying on the ground in the mud, he decided. His ears were ringing vociferously for some reason, and he found it hard to move. It took him a few extra seconds to discover that he couldn't move well because of the large branch that was lying across his legs. Vin sat up, bracing himself on his elbows as he processed this new information. He followed the branch with his eyes to the smoldering, ragged stump that had once been a tree near his house.
Slowly it dawned on the still dazed tracker that the tree must have been struck by lightening. The concussion wave from the lightening strike had knocked the tracker from his feet and then the falling branch had pinned him. Luckily for him, the majority of the ruined tree had fallen in the opposite direction or he would have been crushed for sure.
He wiggled various parts of his body and was relieved to find no broken bones, so he started working his way out from under the branch. It only took a few minutes before he was free: scratched, bruised, and still a bit disoriented but otherwise unharmed.
Vin pulled his legs under him and carefully stood, testing his shaky balance for a moment. The ringing in his ears was slowly subsiding but the sound that replaced it chilled him to the bone. Vin's head flew up to see Buck standing frozen on the front porch screaming at the top of his lungs in terror. That snapped Vin back as nothing else could have.
The tracker stumbled his way to the house and grasped the porch post to help his unsteady feet climb the steps. He fell to his knees in front of Buck and pulled the stiff little body into his arms. At first, Buck continued to scream, not even aware that Vin was holding him. It took several tense moments until Vin's reassuring words made it through the child's shock and Buck collapsed into the tracker's arms and started crying hysterically.
“It's okay, little man,” Vin crooned, “I'm here. You're alright. Everything's fine.”
Buck buried his face in Vin's chest, grabbing onto the tracker's shirt tightly with both hands, and continued to sob.
Vin shakily rose to his feet and carried the boy inside to the rocking chair that sat beside the fireplace. He pulled off the old quilt he kept on the back of the rocker and then dropped into the chair, wrapping the quilt around them both. He started rocking as he continued to chant reassurances to Buck.
Eventually the boy's sobs began to slow and then transform into the occasional sniffle. Vin never eased his hold on the child or stopped his soothing monologue.
“Better now?” Vin asked and gently pushed a resisting Buck back so he could judge for himself if the boy was actually unharmed.
Buck nodded slightly then dove back into the security of his father's arms.
"I'm glad you're alright," Vin told the boy as his arms tightened once again. "I was scared you'd gotten hurt when the lightening hit. I would feel really, really bad if that happened."
"I was scared too," a tiny little voice floated up to Vin's ear with the admission. "It got real bright all of a sudden and there was a real loud noise then the tree falled down and then you falled down and...and..." Buck was getting more and more agitated as he spoke.
Vin placed a gentle hand on the boy's mouth to stop the flood of words spilling out.
"I'm alright, little man," he tried to reassure Buck. He smiled as he added, "I may have got my brains rattled a bit, but that's all. It didn't really hurt me none. Anyway, it's over now. We're both safe and sound. That's all that really counts."
Buck burrowed deeper in Vin's embrace and the tracker tightened his arms around the obviously still upset little boy. Neither felt any great need to talk, both content for the moment just to hold one another: Buck because he needed the security of his father's arms after the trauma he had just endured and because the thunder still boomed occasionally in the background; Vin because he was actually more shaken up by the event than he let on to Buck. Eventually the soothing motion of the rocking chair lulled Buck to sleep.
As the storm's violent rage slowly wore itself out and gradually dwindled to a steady downpour, Vin rocked with Buck while a constant stream of what-ifs paraded through his mind. He didn't much like his answers to those, thankfully, hypothetical questions. He knew he had some serious thinking to do, but it would have to wait. For now, he needed to get things back on an even keel for the both of them.
When Buck woke a short time later he was, mercifully, much calmer and seemed to have returned to his normal self. The persistent grasp he had on Vin's shirt front was the only outward sign that the boy was still bothered by the episode.
“Well, if we got to be inside for awhile why don't we make the most of it and you show me what Uncle Ezra's been teaching ya with them blocks of yours,” Vin said looking down at the boy who sat up and looked back at his father with a proud grin.
“Uncle Ezra says I'm a very-table wonder 'cause I already know most of the letters,” the boy bragged. “He said I'll be ready for college before I turn five at the rate I'm goin', but I told him I'm gonna raise horses just like you.”
“Don't see no reason why you couldn't do both,” the tracker said with a shrug.
“But I wanna stay with you!” wailed Buck and looked up with pleading eyes while his hold on Vin's shirt tightened.
Vin hugged him closer and chuckled. “Don't worry, Bucklin. You're stayin' with me until you're grown and decide you don't want to no more. Uncle Ezra didn't really mean you'd have to go off to school when you're five. He was just sayin' how smart you are.”
The little body relaxed in relief at Vin's assurance. Vin pulled the quilt back and lifted Buck from his lap. He set the child's feet on the floor then nodded toward the stairs.
“Why don't you go on and fetch your blocks, while I go change into some dry clothes.”
Buck didn't wait for another invitation, but streaked upstairs as fast as his little legs could carry him while Vin watched in amusement. Vin lifted the quilt from his shoulders and left it on the rocker as he slipped out of the parlor to his bedroom and stripped off his damp clothes then pulled on dry ones. He walked back into the parlor and was still buttoning his shirt as he sank to the floor to sit cross-legged and wait for Buck.
The child returned moments later dragging the heavy canvas sack that contained the precious blocks Ezra had purchased for him in El Paso. The thump…thump… thump the bag made as Buck dragged it down the stairs made the tracker shake his head with patient affection.
Buck joined him, overturning the bag and boisterously dumping the blocks onto the floor in an untidy pile. The boy began pawing through the wooden cubes until he found the ones he was looking for then began to lay them out in a row so Vin could see.
“B…U…C…K. Buck!” he grinned proudly at the long-haired man seated beside him. “See, I know how to spell my name!”
The grin Vin returned was just as proud and the tracker reached out a long arm and pulled the boy over for another happy hug.
“That's great, Buck! Ezra's right. You sure are smart!” The man enthused and he watched the boy wiggle with delight at the praise.
“Look, Papa, look!” Buck scrambled back to the pile and grabbed another set of blocks. “C…O…W. That spells cow, Papa. Like Wilbert! And A…N…T, that spells ant.”
“Wow, we may have to re-think this whole send-ya-away-to-college-when-you're-five thing,” Vin teased with a straight face.
“Papa!” Buck looked aghast at the possibility. Vin lost it and started laughing.
“I'm just teasin' ya, Buck. I would never send you away. I promise.”
Buck frowned and shook a little finger at the laughing man in reproach for scaring him that way, and Vin laughed harder. He grabbed the boy and lifted him over his head as he rolled onto his back on the floor. Buck's legs peddled wildly and he shrieked with laughter as he hung over Vin.
The rest of the day and evening passed enjoyably with the two playing with Buck's toys, roughhousing and just generally enjoying each other's company. When it was time for bed, Vin didn't even bother trying to put Buck to bed in his own room that night. Instead, he settled the child down in his bed, figuring it would save time in the long run and ensure they both got a better night's sleep.
For the second morning in a row, Vin woke to a little body sprawled across his chest and had to carefully reposition the child on the down-filled mattress before he could rise to begin his day.
Vin was once again sitting on the porch enjoying his morning coffee when he spotted Josiah, and Chris riding up his front lane. Vin set his cup on the porch and rose to fetch two more coffee-filled cups for his friends.
“Mornin', Brother Vin,” Josiah greeted him as he swung down from his horse and tied him to the porch rail.
“Mornin', Josiah, Chris,” Vin nodded his own greetings and handed each man a cup.
“Thanks, Vin,” Chris told him as he took the offered coffee and blew on it gently before taking a sip.
“Things quiet in town?” Vin asked as he led the men up the porch, bending down to retrieve his own cup, and then took a seat in one of the chairs that sat on the front porch. The other two men found their own seats.
“Yeah,” Chris told him, “All the rain yesterday and the mud today, are keeping most people indoors. Not a lot going on. I figured we'd come check on you after that storm yesterday and maybe see if you needed help with anything. Looks like you lost a tree there.”
The man in black jerked his chin toward the remains of the tall oak tree that had once stood watch over the ranch yard.
“Got struck by lightenin',” Vin stated laconically.
Larabee looked closer at the other man and asked, “You hurt?”
Vin wasn't surprised at his friend's question. Somehow the man had always been able to read him like a book.
“No. Got some scratches, and a couple of bruises, but nothing serious. Worst part about it was Buck saw the whole thing. Scared the devil outta him.”
“He okay?” the hardened gunslinger asked with touching concern.
“Yeah, pretty much. It took awhile, but he eventually calmed down,” Vin reassured him.
The other man nodded his acknowledgement, unable to completely disguise his relief. Vin was not the only regulator whose heartstrings were wrapped around Buck's little finger.
“Where is the little scamp?” Josiah asked as he sipped his own coffee and raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Still sleepin',” Vin answered. “Had a rough night. Had to wake him up a couple times when he started whimperin' in his sleep. He just got over his nightmares about his Mama being gone, and now they're startin' all over again.”
Josiah looked at his friend's concerned face and tried to come up with something to reassure him. Chris beat him to it.
“He's little, Vin. He's more resilient than an adult would be. He won't break. He'll bend under this a bit then he'll bounce right back up. He'll be fine, Pard.”
“I hope you're right, Cowboy,” Vin said, the naked worry in his voice there for all to hear.
“He's right, Vin,” Josiah seconded. “Buck will be just fine. Just keep on loving him and give him a little time. He'll be right as rain.”
Vin grimaced at the allusion and remarked wryly, “Poor choice of words, 'Siah. Anything to do with storms is not welcome around here right now.”
Josiah chuckled in appreciation of the tracker's dry humor.
“Uncle Chris! Uncle J'siah!” Buck's voice drew the men's attention as the little boy bounced excitedly out the front door and hurried to greet each man with a hug.
“Mornin', Twiglet,” Chris said as he hoisted the child up on his lap for his own morning hug and snuggle. “What are you up to this morning?”
Buck settled on the gunman's lap and sighed at him. “Nothing, Uncle Chris,” the boy explained patiently, “I been sleepin'.”
Chris laughed and hugged him.
"You boys had breakfast yet?" Vin asked looking around at his friends. "You're welcome to have it with us."
"I could eat,” Josiah answered with a smile. "This morning air has stirred up my appetite."
"Sounds good, Vin. Thanks," this from Chris.
"Good," Vin said pleased. "Well then we best get busy, Buck. We got company to feed. You go gather the eggs and I'll start the bacon and biscuits."
Buck climbed from Chris' lap obediently and walked toward the porch steps then the men saw the boy jerk to a stop and stand staring out at the ranch yard.
Buck had started for the steps when the view of the shattered tree that had fallen during the storm the previous day caused the memory of the events to flash through his mind. As the events of the storm replayed in his head, he started to tremble in remembered terror. The boy's immobility didn't go unnoticed by Vin or the other two regulators.
"Buck? What's the matter?" Vin asked softly as he walked over to kneel by the boy. As he got closer he could see fine tremors shaking the child and he reached out to hug Buck to his chest.
Buck whirled around and threw both arms around Vin's neck.
"Hey what's this?" the tracker murmured gently.
Buck tightened his hold and buried his face in Vin's neck.
"Come on, little man," Vin encouraged as he stroked the back of the boy's head with one hand while he kept him pulled close with he other. "Talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."
"Scared," was the muffled reply.
"About yesterday?" Vin guessed.
Buck nodded.
"It's alright," Vin tried to reassure him. "The storm's over. Nothin's gonna hurt you now. Why don't you go ahead and roust them chickens. I bet if you ask him nice Uncle Josiah might even go with you."
"NO!" a little brunette head refused to budge from the safe haven of his papa's arms.
The memory of the loud storm and the sight of his father disappearing under the branches of the lightening-struck tree was too fresh in his mind. Buck was afraid to leave the porch. He was convinced the tree was just waiting to get him like it tried to get his papa yesterday. As long as he stayed on the porch the tree couldn't get him and he'd be safe.
Vin looked at his friends for help but only received shrugs as neither man knew how to help the new father with this one.
“How about if I go with you? That would be okay, wouldn't it?” Vin tried.
Buck held on tighter and stubbornly shook his head. Vin sighed, not knowing how to handle this new situation.
“Why don't I go wrestle those hens for a few eggs,” Josiah suggested helpfully, “You can help your papa with the rest of breakfast today. How about that?”
Buck lifted his head from Vin's neck to look at the big man and nod his acceptance, “Okay.” He said with relief.
So Josiah left the porch to gather eggs while Buck accompanied Vin back into the house. After breakfast, Chris and Josiah left to return to their duties in town and Vin worked on replacing posts in the corral fence. Buck refused to venture any further than the porch. Nothing the tracker said or did could convince the boy to take one step into the open. Vin's efforts to talk him into playing in the yard only led to tears and further upset for the boy so Vin gave up. Buck spent the day quietly playing with his toys on the porch in view of his laboring father.
As he worked, Vin wracked his brain to come up with a solution to his newest problem as a parent. He had been dreading the next morning when he was due in town for his turn at patrol until he hit on the idea to rise early and take Buck into town while he was still asleep. He hoped to avoid another scene like that morning's that way. It was a temporary solution at best. He needed to find a way to get Buck over his fear. He went to bed that night still clueless as to what he could do. He finally decided to talk it over with his friends the next day.
The sun was only a glimmer on the horizon the next morning as Vin rode his horse into Four Corners. A sleeping Buck was resting against Vin's chest wrapped in a blanket and held securely by the tracker's arm around him. The tracker reined his horse to a stop in front of church where Josiah stayed and carefully shifted the sleeping child to his shoulder so he could dismount. Vin climbed the steps to the church and opened the door Josiah never bothered to lock.
Vin stepped to one of the wooden pews and laid the sleeping Buck down, making sure he was covered by the blanket to ward off the early morning chill that filled the building. He sat down beside the sleeping boy and pulled off his hat and plopped it down beside him as he stretched his long legs out in front of him and crossed his ankles. He slumped down on the pew, folded his arms across his chest, and closed his eyes.
The pair was sleeping peacefully when Josiah rose an hour later and stepped from his room on the way to the restaurant for breakfast. He hesitated for a second at the unexpected sight of the tracker then walked over to lay a hand on the man's shoulder.
Vin jerked awake at the touch and sat up straight. Josiah held out his hands out in a non-threatening gesture as the tracker looked around.
“You're out early, even for you, Brother Vin,” Josiah said quietly and settled his large frame on to a pew in front of the one Vin and Buck were resting on.
“I had to bring Buck to town while he was still asleep. I didn't know what else to do, Josiah. I had to be here today, and I couldn't think of any other way to get him here. Buck is still so scared after what happened in that storm two days ago. He wouldn't even leave the porch all day yesterday. I don't know what to do for him.”
The ex-priest watched the concerned look the tracker gave the boy sleeping beside him and tried to restore some of the confidence that had been stripped from the man with the whole ordeal.
“I have faith you'll think of something, Vin. You just have to remember that he's got to WANT to let things get back to normal. You need to get his mind off of it and give him something else to think about when he's outside besides the storm and what happened. Something that will capture his imagination.”
“Make him want to come into the yard,” Vin mused absently as he latched onto the other man's words.
“Sure,” Josiah answered, “Make him forget his fear by giving him something better to focus on.”
“Yeah,” Vin replied and started smiling as an idea formed. “I think I know how to do that.” Vin looked up at his friend with a silent plea and continued with, “I may need some help with it though.”
“I'd be happy to help, Brother, you should know that without asking. What did you have in mind?”
As the sun silently rose to paint the morning sky with a pallet of red and gold, Vin filled Josiah in on his plan.
77777777
For the second morning in row Buck woke up in a different place than where he had gone to sleep. The little boy pushed back the covers and sat up on his own bed in his own bedroom. He sat there looking around as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, wondering when his papa had brought him home. Shrugging, Buck climbed from the bed and hurried to use the chamber pot under his bed and then pulled on fresh clothes. He started out of the room then ran back to pick up the nightshirt he had dropped on the floor and hang it up on the hook Vin had put on the wall at just the right height for him before heading downstairs.
Buck headed straight to the porch where he knew his father was usually to be found of a morning. As he pushed open the front door and stepped outside he could hear voices coming from the front yard. Buck looked around but his Papa was not sitting on the porch steps as he normally was. Buck followed the sound of laughter to the front porch rail. He wrapped his arms around the top rail and stepped up on the bottom one to look out into the yard.
Buck could see his father's back and that of another, larger man standing by the tree that had fallen during the storm. Both men were bent over doing something but Buck was unable to tell what. By listening to the other man's voice he realized it was Josiah with his papa.
“Papa!” Buck called.
Vin turned his head to look over one shoulder, “Mornin', Buck,” Vin called cheerfully.
“Hey, Buck,” Josiah turned to smile and give a small wave to the watching lad then turned back around and continued what he was doing.
“Whatcha doin', Papa?”
“It's a surprise,” Vin told him mysteriously.
“A real good surprise,” Josiah agreed.
Buck leaned forward excitedly and asked, “For me? Are you makin' somethin' for me, Papa?”
“You'll have to wait and see,” Vin answered and grinned.
“Paaapppaa!” Buck whined in little boy frustration.
Vin simply laughed and turned back to his work. The two men continued to laugh and joke as they labored on the project and a very curious Buck watched from his place on the porch for almost an hour before Vin and Josiah spread a canvas over whatever they were doing and walked back to the house, slapping at their clothes and sending up clouds of some kind of dust.
“I've worked up quite an appetite this morning,” Vin said stepping up on the porch and sweeping Buck up for his morning hug. “You about ready for some coffee and breakfast, Josiah?”
“Sounds good,” Josiah answered with a grin. “My stomach's starting to think my throat's been cut.”
Vin chuckled at the man's dark humor. “How about you, little man? That tummy of yours rumbling yet?”
Buck had been too caught up in trying to figure out what his father and Josiah were doing to notice if he was hungry or not, but at the tracker's words his stomach gave a large growl that caused Vin and Josiah to laugh.
“I'd say that was a yes!” Vin said still grinning as he hugged the boy close and rubbed noses with him.
Vin set Buck on his feet and led the two inside. After breakfast the two men parted company, Vin to continue the work on his corral, and Josiah to head back into town for his patrol.
“I'll be back this evening,” Josiah called as he turned his horse toward the front lane before leaving. Josiah would be spending the night so he would be able to help Vin some more that evening and the following morning on their new project. The ex-priest had also offered to stay with Buck the next day while Vin was in town on his patrol and Vin and gratefully accepted.
“Bye, Uncle 'Siah!” Buck waved madly from his perch on the porch steps.
Josiah returned the wave and headed out. When he returned that evening he was accompanied by Chris and Ezra. Buck was disappointed when the group gathered around the fallen tree with his father with only a few waves and smiles sent toward the boy jumping around in excited greeting on the porch. Soon the sound of laughter and the men's voices filled the air.
Buck looked with longing at the men then at the front steps, but didn't try to leave the safety of the porch. Instead he tried to get the men to pay more attention to him.
"Look at me, Papa!" he yelled as he climbed up into one of the rocking chairs on the porch, stood up, and started the chair rocking while he balanced precariously on the seat. "I can ride like a bronc buster! Watch me! Watch me!"
Vin turned at Buck's yell and frowned before saying, "Buck, get yourself down from there before you break your neck!"
"But I can do it," Buck protested.
"Buck," Vin answered him, the warning clear in his tone.
Buck sighed and climbed down from the chair and tried something else.
"Uncle Ezra? Will you come show me some more words?" he called to the gambler.
Ezra turned and smiled at the boy then answered, "I would be more than happy to teach you more words, Buck...in a little while. I wish to admire this fine example of your father's and Mr. Sanchez’s hidden talents a bit longer. I will join you shortly."
Buck was getting more and more frustrated.
"But what is it?" he cried.
Ezra's smile grew larger as he replied, "Something magic, I assure you!"
"It's not fair!" The little boy said to himself and dropped to sit cross-legged on the wooden planks of the porch. His little arms were crossed over his chest and his bottom lip was poked out in a major pout.
While Buck sulked on the porch, the group of regulators chuckled at the little one's demeanor.
“If that lip of his was poked out any farther he'd be tripping over it,” Chris said in a low voice full of amusement when he glanced surreptitiously at the child.
“I do believe our little one is working himself up to a fine case of mad,” Josiah confirmed.
“Good,” a crafty grin split the tracker's face with his reply. “It's working then. Pretty soon he's gonna be so worked up with wondering what we're doin' and frustrated that we're not doin' it with him that he's gonna forget to be scared. Knowin' how Buck likes to be right in the middle of things, I don't reckon he'll be able to stand it much longer. He's gonna have to come see what all the fuss is about. Once he takes that first step, we'll have him. That's the hardest one. The rest should come easy after that. All we got to do is keep doin' what we're doin'.”
“You have a very cunning mind, my friend,” Ezra laughed, “To quote your own words back at you, I am glad you are on our side, Mr. Tanner.” The other men joined him in his laughter. “I must say, though, that I am impressed with your project so far. I truly had not realized you gentlemen had such talents.”
Vin nodded in satisfaction as he rubbed his hand over the subject of Ezra's remarks. “Kinda surprised myself, if truth be known. Got to give a lot of credit to Josiah. He was a big help, and he taught me lot while we were doin' this.”
“I just provided the tools and some experience, Brother. The rest came from you,” The big man replied.
Uncomfortable at such open praise, Vin self-consciously shrugged it off, “At any rate, I think it will work on Buck. That's what's really important.”
“Indeed.”
“I believe we should be able to complete it by tomorrow evening if the weather holds and nothing else happens,” Josiah, seeing the younger man's self consciousness, steered the conversation back into more comfortable territory.
“I do believe I saw just the thing to add the finishing touch in Potter's store yesterday,” Ezra mused, turning his head sideways as he considered the object.
Vin raised a curious eyebrow and the gambler explained causing the tracker to grin in appreciation and say, "That sounds like a good idea, Ez. Thanks."
As dinnertime approached the group made their way to the porch, Vin stopping long enough to re-cover their handiwork with the canvas.
Buck leapt to his feet, face suddenly alight with his wide smile, as the men climbed the steps. He flung himself at Ezra who swept him up for a hug then asked. "Are you ready for your next spelling lesson?"
"Yes, please, Uncle Ezra!" Buck said eagerly.
"Very well then," the gambler replied as he set the boy back on his feet. "Fetch your blocks and we shall begin."
As the boy ran inside to comply, Vin headed to the kitchen to rustle up supper, and the two other men settled themselves comfortably in the porch chairs and prepared to enjoy another evening with each other.
The next evening all the regulators but Nathan, who had elected to remain behind to watch the town, gathered in Vin's yard. Ezra, who had stripped off his red jacket and rolled up his sleeves, was crouched on his heels as he wielded a thin paint brush. He gave one final flourish of the brush then stood up and took a step back to admire his handiwork.
"Gosh, that sure is pretty," JD said as he looked on with admiration.
"We promised Buck something magical. I do believe we have delivered on that promise," Ezra said with a pleased smile.
"I have to agree with you there, Ezra," Chris said as he circled the results of their many hours of labor.
With a shrewd look at his friends, Vin raised his voice so the little boy sulking on the porch could hear him clearly and said, "Well, it's finally done. Sure did turn out nice, didn't it?"
Vin watched cannily as Buck's head turned to look at the group of men on hearing his father's words. Grinning, the men began heaping praise on the object. Little Bucklin watched from the porch, his curiosity reaching new levels as he listened to the men talk. No one had let on to him what Vin was making no matter how hard he had tried to get the information out of them. Buck could hardly stand it.
"Papa?" Buck called out forlornly.
"Yeah, Buck?" Vin answered.
"Are you coming back in soon?"
"Nope, it might be awhile, son," Vin said although he had trouble keeping a straight face as he watched the disappointment-inspired temper flash through the child's blue eyes. "We're gonna admire our new toy for bit, I think."
Buck perked up at the mention of the word toy.
"It's a toy?" He asked eagerly.
"Kinda," Vin answered cryptically.
Buck stomped his small boot in frustration as Vin appeared to turn away. Actually Vin kept a sharp watch on the boy from the corner of his eye and had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop the laugh that wanted to escape as the foot made contact with the porch. The child edged closer to the steps and stood craning his neck in an attempt to see what had his uncles and his papa so enthralled, but the men's bodies hid it from view.
The regulators pretended not to notice the boy's slow, steady advance toward the edge of the porch. Each man tried to outdo the others in lauding the new toy without letting Buck in on what it was. It took almost half an hour, but eventually the boy stood poised on the edge of the porch only a hair's breadth from the front steps.
Vin was holding his breath as he watched Buck's foot ease onto the top step for the first time in over four days. Buck was still hesitant to leave the shelter of the porch but, as Vin had known it would, his curiosity and need to be in the center of things pushed him toward the group of men.
Buck stood for a moment on the top step and looked around cautiously. To Vin, he resembled nothing so much as a deer testing the wind for danger before venturing forth, ready to spring back to safety in a heartbeat. When nothing jumped out to get him, the child risked other small step forward. Step by cautious step, Buck made his way down the stairs until he was standing on solid ground. Vin felt like shouting in triumph.
"I wanna see, Papa!" Buck called with a touch of plaintive whine in his voice.
Vin looked at him with a warm grin, and held out an arm to the child. "Well come on then. Nobody said you couldn't."
Encouraged, Buck bolted to his father and latched onto his leg. A very happy and much relieved Vin dropped a hand to the boy's shoulder and gave it an encouraging squeeze. Back looked for the first time at what had engaged the men's interest for so long and everyone could see the wave of wonder that filled him.
"That was the tree?" his awed voice whispered as he stared.
Before him was what remained of the large oak that had been shattered when the lightening had struck. Vin and Josiah had sawed off the jagged ends and stripped away all the branches, leaving only a piece of the trunk. Together the men had hacked and carved the wood into the unmistakable shape of a horse, complete with saddle. The two men had sanded and smoothed the wood then Ezra had painted the horse a beautiful ebony black with the paints he had purchased from Potter's store. The hooves, mane and tail he painted a dazzling silver. The saddle was painted a very realistic brown shade with silver shooting stars trimming the edges.
Chris had contributed a set of child's stirrups he had acquired from an old saddle Tiny had salvaged many years before. The man in black had spent the day sitting in front of the jail cleaning and oiling the leather until it was smooth and shiny. JD had been in the chair beside his leader all day fashioning his own contribution to the project. The young sheriff had used a few bits of leather he'd scrounged to fashion a bridle and reins for the wooden beast. The two men had taken their gifts and fastened them on with some well-polished brass-tacks.
Buck unthinkingly raised a hand to touch the horse, but was stopped when Vin intercepted it.
"Not yet, little man," the tracker said as he swept the boy up to sit on his hip. "The paint's still wet. It'll be a while until anybody can ride 'em. Not until tomorrow at the least. You're just gonna have to be patient a bit longer."
"He's so pretty, Papa!" Buck’s face was aglow with exuberant admiration, his earlier fears completely forgotten as the excitement of the new plaything pushed them aside.
“And he's all yours,” Vin told him with a happy smile.
Buck's eyes got wider, as did his grin, before he threw his arms around Vin's neck. Vin had to laugh as the boy began bouncing in his arms, his tiny body unable to contain the pure joy and happiness that filled him but finding an outlet in movement.
“Mine, mine, mine!” Buck crowed with delighted little-boy greed.
The five lawmen, all hardened and toughened by the rough reality of life in the West, had to laugh with hearts made lighter by the child's innocent pleasure.
“Well, I believe you did indicate you would like your own steed,” Ezra smiled at the boy. “I would have to say your wish has been granted.”
“What do you say to your Uncles for helping make him for you?” Vin said looking down at Buck.
“Thank you, Uncle J'siah” Buck said and leaned out to the ex-preacher. Josiah caught him up and Buck wrapped both arms around his neck and gave him a big, very enthusiastic kiss. Chris, Ezra, and JD were each given the same treatment before the child was once again back in the trackers arms.
“So what are you gonna call him, Buck?” JD asked, “Every horse needs a name, after all.”
“Very true,” Ezra agreed. “Such a fine mount deserves an equally fine name.”
“How about Midnight?” Josiah suggested, “Since he's black as midnight?”
Buck's hair flew into his face as he shook his head firmly. Vin helped him push it back.
“Or how about Star since he's wearing so many of them?” was JD's suggestion.
Once again the little head gave a negative shake.
“You have a name in mind then?” Chris asked the child with curious smile.
“But he's already got a name,” Buck insisted.
Surprised, Vin looked down at the boy and asked, “He does?”
Buck nodded positively.
“So what's his name?” JD asked.
“Magic,” Buck replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
The men looked at each other then began laughing.
“Of course, it is,” Ezra chuckled, remembering his earlier answer when Buck had asked him what he was looking at. “How silly of me to forget.”
Buck nodded his agreement and gave the gambler a pitying look. The men roared with laughter again.
7777777777
Vin was just finishing Wilbert's morning milking when he heard a sound that sent him to the barn door. He leaned against the open door, his arms crossed loosely across his chest and a big smile on his face.
"Let's go, Magic!" Buck yelled and gestured forward with his left arm.
The little boy was still in his night shirt, the material hiked up to his thighs so he could sit astride the ebony horse. He held the reins tightly while he bounced in the wooden saddle and his bare feet, held securely inside the small stirrups, kicked the sides of his steed with enthusiasm. His eager imagination was sending him racing into adventure with his new friend.
The tracker watched his adopted son at play and felt a wave of feeling wash over him. His adventurous little one was back at last, and Vin couldn’t have been happier. He had not realized how much he had missed the intrepid spirit of the little boy until it had returned. Now Buck was back to normal and Vin’s world was starting to spin in the right direction again because of it.
If someone had told him even a few scant months ago that one small blue-eyed, black-haired boy would come to be the best and brightest part of his life Vin would probably have laughed in their face, but here he stood watching Buck and realizing that was exactly what had happened.
He supposed he should have been scared at the thought of having this wonderful, loving child dependent on him. Maybe he should have felt burdened at having such a weighty responsibility as someone else’s child on his shoulders. There may have been a lot of things he should have been feeling as he watched Buck play, but the only emotions that filled him were a boundless love that threatened to overflow, and thankfulness that this amazing child had come into his life.
“Papa!” Buck yelled as he caught sight of the man watching him. “Me and Magic’s gonin’ on a ‘venture. You wanna come too?”
“Sure, partner,” Vin said with a grin as he straightened away from the door and started walking toward the waiting child. “Wherever you’re goin’, I’m right there beside ya.”
The End
07/08/04
Rockin’ Horse
Sung by Sara Evans on her Restless Album
Written by Sara Evans, Matt Evans, and Marcus S. Hummon