There is the passion of yearning for something so completely fulfilling, now distant and far away until there is nothing left but the constant longing for its return. Time does not diminish the intensity of the hunger, it merely deepens it until any of the associated imperfections attached to it are eroded away. It is a passion that consumes everything, dulling the appreciation of what is until the burning desire for what was or might have been, becomes a poison for which there is no antidote. It seeps into the veins like a vile concoction, tainting the whole until there is nothing left but the overriding need to satisfy something that should have remained forgotten.

At night, when the other held her close, whispering his dreams for a new beginning, she could only let her mind drift to him, who for one brief moment, showed her perfection. Patiently, she endured the other's attempts to please her, resigned to knowing he never would and fighting back the need to escape and find the man who had. She knew where he was and for a long time after he walked out of her life, she stared at the stars overhead and dreamed of the night they shared the canvas of light together. She wondered if he ever gazed into the sky like she did and wondered about her as often as she thought about him.

She hoped time would ease the burden inside her heart. At times, she hated him for making her feel this way, hating him for making her burn for him so but knew if she stopped yearning for him, she would lose the best part of herself. Yet without him, she wouldn't care if she did. There was no respite, no end to the want inside her and with each day that passed, her life slipped further into the mists, until the only reality she could endure was the brief time she spent with him.

She would recall what he looked like and remember he was a beautiful man, even though he took great pains to hide it. After she laid eyes on him that first time, she could not imagine why someone so handsome would hide the way he did until she understood he did not believe himself to be beautiful. When she looked at him, she understood what it was for the first time to lust purely for the sake of it. She wanted him and though it took time to break through the barrier of her reservations, it crumbled at the sight of those almost childlike eyes and a face that should have been immortalized on someone's canvas.

Of course, he never imagined anyone could feel passion for him and was almost grateful for the attention. It had never occurred to him women could perceive him as a thing of beauty. He did not believe himself to be attractive to women with no idea a smile from him could send most of them into fits of orgasmic distraction. He was such an innocent in these matters that when she chose to pursue him; he stood no chance of resistance.

Until then, he was quiet to the point of almost being shy, a thing that escalated her passion for him more than the lack of physical contact from her husband. His eyes did not just look at her, they teased her with his own desires. When he tried to speak to her, his attempts to charm were so clumsy it became obvious he had not much practice in such matters. His words oozed with feeling, dripping with desire he dared not acknowledge because he knew she belonged to another.

It did not help the rift between herself and the man she chose for her husband was widening with each mile traversed in the long journey they were taking. As man and wife, they viewed each other like strangers, bound together by the loss of a child but forever split apart because they were unable to cope with each other's grief. The further apart she drifted away from her husband, the easier it became to justify the shy young man was what she wanted, with caution being edged closer and closer to being hurled heedlessly into the wind.

When there was danger and terrible men spirited her away, it was not her husband who came to find her, it was him. Without any thought of the danger, he risked himself to save her and in doing so, sealed both their fates as they rode into the sunset. Of course, they never reached the others that night.

Even as they rode away with the intention of returning to the others, she knew this night was for them and whatever happened tomorrow was still far enough away for neither to care.

Under the same stars, she would stare longingly into every night after that, they made passionate love the likes of which she had never known. Once freed of his inhibitions, he indulged himself by pleasuring her with such searing intensity that nothing before or since could be compared to the experience.

Everything about him remained vivid in her mind. The silk of his skin, the softness of his lips as he devoured hers and tasted every inch of her body, the raw heat he was capable of generating because he dared to find every place that yielded pleasure and exploit it.

That night, their bodies melded continuously, burning with the same passion that kept the fires aflame at the campsite where they pleasured each other. She remembered the soft cries of her ecstasy and the groans he made when he reached his peak and was about to release it within her. She savoured such memories, allowing them to warm her during the nights when it was necessary to feign some interest in the performance of her marital duties. Despite her husband's attempts to rekindle some genuine passion, even he understood he was powerless against a memory.

As much as that night was treasured and enjoyed, she knew as much as he had, it was a one-time event. Even though she wanted him still and she knew that it was much more than that for him, she tried to walk away, to leave the edge of the precipice from which she hung so precariously. She saw the pain in his eyes because he did not understand the complications that came from being wed to someone else. He was a creature of feeling, even though it was restrained most of the time. However, when it was allowed to emerge, he could see nothing but the emotions he was feeling and believed it to be a simple matter of just acting on those baser impulses.

For a time, they dreamed like children, catching a moment in the sun before the sensibilities of adulthood claimed them again. Faraway places with names that held more enchantment than the reality ever could, sprung to mind as they imagined a paradise to offer them refuge in their sinful indulgence.

It was he who came to his senses first and realized what they did was wrong. He was honourable this man she loved so passionately. Bearing a streak of nobility that would allow him to put principle ahead of his own desires, he knew he had to step away. On some level, she knew he was right but accepting it was hard no matter how he tried to convince her it was the right thing to do. His want to return to her husband told her the fever that allowed them to take leave of their senses was gone.

She watched him go, feeling a little part of her die as he disappeared with promises he would always love her, even though they would never encounter each other again. She accepted his good wishes and returned to her husband whose happiness to have her back had allowed the broken fences between them to be mended. For the first time in a long time, her husband looked at her with love.

And she looked back thinking about how he could never be the man who had just rode away with his six friends.

She endured the return to married life as best she could, throwing herself into the building of a new home on a piece of land that would have been ideal if the man she shared it with was not her husband, but the lover she mourned daily. Eventually, her ambivalence started showing and the animosity that had been the cause of all this sorrow returned with as much vigour. The rift created this time was wide enough to be permanent and even her husband knew there would be no healing it.

They continued as they had always done, two animals locked in the same cage while she indulged herself with thoughts of the man she really wanted until the passion for him reached climax, and she now found herself on this lonely road.

She knew the stage came by this trail regularly and she left her horse untethered, confident it would know the way home after she was gone. Everything she owned was wrapped up in a neat bundle including all the jewellery her mother had given her for her wedding. She had enough money to secure passage on the stage and when she reached her destination, the jewellery would allow her a few weeks accommodation while she sought him out.

As she heard the thunder of hooves coming down the road, she picked up her belongings and flagged the stage to a halt as it rounded the corner. The stagecoach driver whom she saw on occasion, immediately spotted her and brought the team of horses under his control to a halt.

"Good morning." The elderly man greeted, tipping his weather-beaten hat at her at the same time.

Charlotte Richmond paused to answer as she was about to climb into the stagecoach.

There was the kind that was almost as infectious as the first. It consumes with as much intensity and drives all other emotions away, even the ones that know the difference between right and wrong. It is a passion so complete in its possession of the soul it becomes the madness of obsession. Once entrenched, nothing would release its hold upon the heart.

Even after everything that transpired between them, despite the finality of their last meeting, she could not let him go. She would never let him go. She would pursue him until the end of time if need be because he was hers. Even if it meant damning him to the same hellfire she would undoubtedly be forced to spend eternity, she would not release him. Perhaps it was the one way to ensure he would be hers finally. She had sacrificed everything for him and she would continue to pay the price required because he was her destiny.

He was, after all, a man and despite her love for him, she had to appreciate he could not understand things as women do. However, his lack of comprehension was of little consequence since she could do the thinking for both of them, as she had often done whenever he chose to go astray. It was a chore she happily endured though, making the hard choices for him when he was incapable of making them himself. Ever since that first coupling, where they had come together in youthful abandon, she knew it was her lot in life to forever guard him and keep him from the dangers intruding their grand love.

Theirs was a relationship transcending time and space. No matter how far away he was, no matter what he may tell himself about her, she knew the truth.

She loved him from the moment she met him and would continue to do so until the last breath left her body and she was burning in hell for the sins committed to possess him. There was no end to them, there would never be so long as they were within reach of each other.

She let nothing stand in her way, not then and certainly not now. When he made the ultimate show of foolishness by marrying some farmer's daughter, she watched with careful deliberation. Of course, she knew the woman meant nothing to him. He could be so misguided at times by these foolish dalliances with women who could never possibly hope to understand him or love him the way she did. Still, she endured their presence in his life, knowing it would not be for long and when it was required, she stepped in and took matters into her own hands.

When he married, she was slightly disappointed he would go to all the trouble when it was simpler to just sleep with the woman and be done with it, but then he was never very smart. The woman, he chose, with her wide-eyed look of innocence might have tricked him into believing this was the honourable thing to do. She sat back, waiting patiently for this show of domestic bliss to run its course and he would come back to her, as he was meant to.

When the child arrived, she understood the farmer's daughter was attempting to sever the love that existed between them for so long. He was as vulnerable as most men to the pride of having a son and for the first time, she began to perceive the threat that was his marriage to their long-standing emotional bond. Deciding it was necessary to act for his benefit as well as hers, she took steps to dissolve this untenable situation he had stumbled into. It was easy enough to arrange since he travelled a great deal to support this family that was now not only an emotional burden to him but also a financial one.

She watched from afar the flames that blazed when the men she sent to free him had finished their work. She watched the small house burn, mesmerized by the dance of amber in the night sky, hearing not the screams of his little family, but the sweet song of his freedom drowning out the murder she committed for him. She stayed there until the house was nothing but cinders until the fire could consume nothing more and the billowing smoke disappeared when the sun ascended over the horizon.

She lost him for a time following the fire and searched for him through the agents at her disposal. Eventually, she heard stories about a sombre, brooding gunslinger who was always garbed in black and tended to drown himself in whisky during the nights he took up residence in any saloon. She felt his pain and wished she could explain the necessity of what had been done, knowing if he could only hear her say the words, he would understand it was for his own good. A man such as he could not be tethered by the mundane concerns of family and responsibility. He was a free spirit, a force of nature that could not be tamed.

Later on, when he had found solace in the town she would come to know as Four Corners, she was pleased to learn he was rekindling his desire to live by finding six friends who would protect him as well as offer him comfort from the loneliness of her absence. She waited until the time was right to present herself to him, knowing as soon as they were together again, all the sorrow of what he lost would be forgotten.

He almost killed her for taking his family from him. If he had not desisted in killing her, she would have been forced to consider perhaps he might not have been as in love with her as she originally believed. However, she did not like what that could mean and the terrible implications following that train of thought meant if she was wrong about how he felt about his family's death then perhaps, she might have been wrong about a great many things.

She left because he was still grieving for his family and knew he needed time to accept the purity of their love before he could come to her. Naturally, she had people keeping a close eye on him and intelligence regarding his life there reached her with regularity. It kept her abreast of what was happening in his life until she was ready to take her place in it once again.

Unfortunately, things rarely occurred as they should and now she was informed he intended on taking another wife. She remembered the woman Mary Travis and considered the blond widow to be a rival even more formidable than the farmer's daughter. This was no simple woman who was content to raise a child waiting for her husband on a homestead. Mary Travis was a power onto herself and she had the intelligence to cause serious concern.

So, for the second time in his life, she was going to have to save him from another mistake. Mary Travis would be harder to deal with than Sarah Connelly but then any woman who captured Chris Larabee's heart had to have mettle.

Chapter One
Homecoming

"How long are you going to be hiding out here for?" Buck Wilmington asked Chris Larabee as the two men sipped coffee on the front porch of Chris's shack. With the arrangements for his wedding to Mary Traviscurrently being the main occupation of almost everyone he knew in Four Corners, Chris fled the town in hopes of escaping the chaos of those preparations. Instead, he chose to take refuge in the familiar surroundings of the shack situated on the plot of land he had bought not long after his arrival in Four Corners.

The strange thing of it was, Chris never intended on staying in the dusty town he had more or less happened upon by chance during one hot day in summer, on his way from someplace he no longer remembered, to somewhere else that mattered as much. He could not understand why he bothered to stop at all, save perhaps needing a drink because the day was hot and dry and he was in need of a shot of whiskey, which he never ended up drinking. At least not until after the gun battle that would change the course of his whole life from that point on had concluded.

"I'll ride in there sometime today," Chris remarked as he eased back into the chair, admiring the day beyond his porch and deciding with a secret smile he had not picked a bad spot to build.

It was late fall and the leaves were turning golden with beams of sunshine peering through the cracks of the foliage, bathing the place in a warm amber glow. Besides its aesthetic value, the land was also fertile as evidenced by the trees surrounding the shack and the waist length blades of grass covering most of the property. He supposed that one of these days he ought to think about doing something with it since the soil was good for growing. Still, Chris never fancied himself a farmer, nor could he bring himself to ruin the inordinate beauty of the place by trying to tame it.

"That's right," Buck nodded as he remembered what day it was. "Billy gets in today doesn't he?"

"Yeah." Chris nodded, feeling some pleasure at the imminent arrival of Mary's son. With the new schoolhouse being erected in readiness for the semester next year, Mary finally had reason to bring Billy home permanently to Four Corners.

She had been wrestling with the decision for quite some time now and Chris knew it was hard for her to be separated from her young son for such long periods of time. In some way, his pleasure at seeing Billy return home permanently had as much to do with how happy it would make Mary, as much as his own joy to see Billy again.

"For good," Chris added after a moment. Despite his usual laconic manner, he was unable to keep the pleasure from his voice at the boy's homecoming. Although it had been extremely difficult to admit to himself, Billy reminded Chris so much of Adam it ached just as much as it did for Mary whenever Billy had to return to school in Eagle Bend.

"So will you be keeping this place once you and Mary tie the knot?" Buck asked, his gaze sweeping over the landscape before him and could understand if Chris was reluctant to move into town and leave this all behind.

There was a serenity in the stillness of the woods around them that tended to offer peace of mind. Chris had certainly needed it. When he first arrived in Four Corners, the gunslinger was a notch or two above savage. Buck understood the reason for it of course and they remained friends, no matter how sullen and dark Chris had become in the wake of Sarah and Adam's death. He knew much of Chris's decision to live again had to do with the fellowship that formed between the seven men who acted as the law in Four Corners as well as the arrival of Mary Travis into his life.

Buck Wilmington knew people.

While his behaviour bordered on the buffoonish at times, there was more going on behind his blue eyes than most people suspected. His easy-going manner masked a personality prone to watching and studying human responses. It was his insight that allowed him to be the most approachable of the seven. It was also the reason why he was such a success with the ladies.

From the moment Mary Travis asked him about Chris Larabee, Buck sensed the inquiry was motivated by more than just journalistic curiosity. Perhaps the prim and proper Mrs Travis might have been merely interested, but the beautiful creature beneath, whose blue-grey eyes flared with hidden fire, desired something more. The empathy in her eyes as Buck told her about Sarah and Adam had given away to a deep understanding. Following that day, they were always skirting on the edge of something that was obvious to everyone but themselves.

Buck wondered if either suspected how inevitable their relationship was. Nevertheless, as far as Buck was concerned, Mary had done the impossible. Against all odds, she was the only person in years to penetrate the hard shell of Chris Larabee's grief. With Mary, Buck had seen Chris come alive the way nothing had since before Sarah and Adam's death. It was easy enough to understand how one woman could change a man's life so drastically if that woman was Mary Travis.

Even Buck had to recognize she was one of those rare women who could heal a man with nothing more than a breezy smile and a toss of her golden hair. Buck loved her as all the seven loved her. She was their friend and at the beginning of their time here, their most ardent supporter. She accepted all of them without question or doubt, knowing they all had a past but concerning herself with none of it because she had faith in them. At a time, when most of them spent their years as exiles from life, Mary welcomed them with open arms.

Mary had made them a family and it was why every one of the seven would die for her if need be.

"I thought I might have Vin stay at the shack," Chris announced, answering Buck's earlier question about the fate of this place once he and Mary were married. Chris had no difficulty staying in town with Mary at her home since it made sense to do so with Mary's role as editor of the Clarion News, and Chris's responsibilities as one of the town's lawmen. The gunslinger also knew it was pointless making the offer to Buck because his old friend was a social creature who liked having people around him all the time and would soon tire of this place and its solitary location.

"He'd like that." Buck agreed, knowing the choice was a good one. Vin preferred the quiet and was accustomed to taking off in his wagon just to escape the noise of urban living if a town like Four Corners could be perceived as such. While these forays into the wilderness had lessened in frequency since Alexandra Styles entered his life, Buck knew Vin would appreciate a place far away from the hustle and bustle of town living.

"Where is he anyway?" Buck inquired, aware Vin had left town but little else. "Don't tell me he's off pining somewhere for Alex because she's gone to Sweetwater for a few days."

Chris threw Buck a look that told him to take another guess.

"Well, I'll be..." Buck laughed as it finally dawned on him what Chris was alluding to. "I never thought Vin had it in him to be so sneaky."

"I'm guessing they're probably together somewhere out of the way." Chris glanced at Buck with a wolfish grin as he thought of what Alex and Vin were probably doing at this moment.

"No doubt signing the hotel register as Mr and Mrs Smith," Buck added.

"Something like that," Chris answered. "I think Vin wanted to get her away from town after everything she'd been through the last few months."

"Can't say I blame him," Buck agreed, aware that it had been a trying number of months for Vin and Alex. First with Randall Mason, then the whole ugly business with the Klan and last but not least goddamn Riley Marshall. Hopefully, the couple were somewhere enjoying some heated quality time together, in the confines of an out of the way hotel, in a town no one had probably heard of. Buck found himself sighing with envy. "Well, at least they're engaged now."

"Yep, it does stop the tongues wagging for some reason," Chris replied, remembering how much simpler things became when Mary and he made their relationship public with news of their engagement. Although it was a mixed blessing considering what was happening in town at this moment. Inez was organizing the wedding with Julia Pemberton in assistance since Mary was too filled with excitement at the notion of having Billy home, to give any thought to such arrangements.

Chris who hated fanfare of any kind was starting to have this terrible suspicion his wedding was going to be about as low key as a three-ringed circus. When he had told Mary to do what she wished, he assumed there would be a quiet ceremony with close friends and a tasteful get together after. With so much to do, what with the paper and Billy coming home, Mary had unwisely given over the organization of the wedding to Inez who was more than thrilled to do this thing for her best friend.

Unfortunately, it did not take very long before they soon discovered the scope of Inez's vision for the day and suddenly, Chris decided Mary had made a mistake of biblical proportions. Unfortunately, there was no way to stop it, without offending just about everyone Inez had dragged in putting this together. Thus Chris decided the safest place for him to be at this time was right here, away from the line of fire. He could almost understand why Vin and Alex had decided to take this trip out of town to avoid being recruited as Inez's wedding helpers.

"Inez is driving Ezra crazy planning this thing for you," Buck said with a smile, remembering the gambler's state of mind this morning when he learned he was required to take over the bartending duties for the day while Inez ran errands for the forthcoming nuptials.

"All I'm doing is turning up for the thing," Chris said firmly, having no wish to become embroiled in the preparations. As it was, he was shuddering at what a debacle the actual event was turning into and kept telling himself it would be worth all this trouble when Mary was his bride.

Keeping that thought firmly in his mind was the only thing preventing Chris from riding very far out of town. He had no wish to become a part of a community or to be considered respectable for that matter. Chris still saw himself as the town's bad element even though it was somewhat difficult to maintain the image when his fiancee was a pillar of the community and his wedding was turning out to be the social event of the year.

Perhaps there was time to make it to Mexico.

"Well, I got an interesting bachelor party planned for you." Buck grinned with just enough mischief on his face to give Chris cause for concern.

Chris stared at him sharply, perfectly aware of what kind of parties Buck was inclined to throw. His head was starting to throb just remembering how he felt the morning after the party Buck threw him when he married Sarah. If Buck had anything like that planned for him then Chris had good reason to be very afraid.

"Buck, I want to be able to walk down the aisle not be carried down it, so whatever you're planning, it better not be like it was the last time you threw me a stag party."

"Aw come on Chris," Buck exclaimed, throwing him a look of mock hurt. "You had a great time at your bachelor party." He reminded.

"A great time?" Chris stared at him. "I woke up in the middle of a field at Hank's place, with a bell tied around my neck and not much else! The man was already gunning for me for marrying his daughter!"

"Yeah," Buck smiled completely unrepentant and wished there had been a way to capture the moment, especially when Chris had to sneak into town wearing little more than his boots and that cowbell. "But trust me, you had fun."

"I'll take your word for it," Chris grizzled. "I still don't remember a thing."

"This time, I promise it will be different."

Chris gave him a stern look and warned in no uncertain terms, using a voice reserved for manic Confederate generals and errant ranch owners with delusions of grandeur. "If I wake up anywhere strange with less than I got on when I came into this world, I will hunt you down and kill you Buck. Wedding day or not."

"Would I let anything to happen you pard, especially on your big day?"

Chris did not even bother to answer.

Her son was coming home.

Beyond that, Mary Travis had let nothing else penetrate her thoughts today as she made preparations for the arrival of Billy on the next stage. Although Billy had returned home on numerous occasions before this, today was special because he was coming home for good and with her impending marriage less than a week away, Mary had a lot of reason to be happy. The past year had seen many changes in her life. Mary never suspected when she first cast her eyes on that black-garbed stranger who rode into town with an air of mystery surrounding him, how much chaos he would bring to her own existence.

Not that she would have traded one moment of it for anything.

However, with Billy coming home, Mary looked upon the future with a sense of expectation of what tomorrow would bring. The nature of who she was and the man she loved had more or less written it in stone her life would never be quiet or normal. The only thing that marred an otherwise exciting existence was the absence of her son and as of today all that would change.

Mary rose early this morning and immediately aired out Billy's room, spending an hour changing the linen on his bed and ensuring everything was perfect for him when he finally arrived. She dusted and cleaned, performing all the domestic duties a mother was supposed to do for her only son, blissfully happy to know she would soon be doing these things on a daily basis. She took note of the carved horse on his bureau and recalled with a smile when he first received the tiny figurine carved from wood.

It had come to Billy during his first meeting with Chris and Mary recalled with fondness how Chris managed to draw a smile out of Billy where none had been for so long. At the time, Billy was hiding the secret regarding his father's death, a burden which manifested itself as terrible nightmares that left Mary no choice but to send him away to Eagle Bend, to protect his sanity. Thanks to Chris and the rest of the seven, Billy was able to reveal the true identity of Steven's killers and bring the men responsible to justice. However, more importantly then that, the boy started the first tentative steps to healing from the wounds of that terrible experience.

After that, Mary became accustomed to sharing Billy's time whenever he was home from school and it was time she gave up willingly when she saw how much her son adored Chris, even before they became lovers. Man and boy were able to fill a void within each other that had been vacant for far too long. Chris was the only person Billy had truly connected with since Steven died and Mary liked to think her son touched a part of Chris still grieving for his own child.

Mary spent most of the morning, preparing Billy's room for his return until she was changing the linen twice and three times because of her determination to have everything perfect when he finally stepped through the door. She wanted nothing to mar this day and was adamant everything was ready and waiting by the time the stagecoach brought Billy into Four Corners. Following her preparations in his bedroom, Mary started thinking he would be hungry and thus found herself in the kitchen where she was soon preparing a dozen different dishes she knew were Billy's favourite.

She was in the middle of slicing apples for a pie when she heard a knock on her kitchen door. With a knife and bowl of apples in hand, Mary made her way to the door and saw Julia Pemberton waiting outside the front step. Since her miscarriage some time ago, Julia's relationship with Mary had improved after the turbulence of the emporium owner's first few days in Four Corners. Unlike Alex who was a sardonic wit and Inez who was a storm waiting released, Julia was vain, egocentric but capable of surprising everyone with a streak of warmth she detested anyone to see. Slowly but surely, Mary had come to realize despite her manner, Julia considered her, Alex and Inez the first real friends she ever had.

"You look busy." Julia pointed out as the redhead followed Mary into the kitchen after the lady let her in through the door.

Mary Travis's kitchen appeared to be a work in progress with pots and pans covering the countertops and ingredients awaiting preparation on the kitchen table. Julia was not much of a cook but she knew when a feast was being readied.

"Billy is coming home today." Mary smiled, unashamed of how happy she felt at this moment. The joy of knowing her son was coming home to her was making her positively giddy and she radiated delight from every pore.

"I know," Julia said with a straight face. "You've been telling us this at least three times a day for the past week. I take it from the look of this kitchen you're planning to cook all his meals for the next week today?"

"He's a growing boy." Mary pouted but could not deny there was enough food on the table to feed the entire Union Army.

"What do you want him to grow into, a horse?"

"Are you here for a reason?" Mary scowled at the woman sarcastically, unwilling to hear any rebuke today because her son was coming home. Besides, she huffed silently; it was a mother's prerogative to see her son had a decent home-cooked meal with as wide a selection to choose from.

Julia chuckled deciding to give Mary a break.

"Actually, I'm here for Inez. She wants you to pick which flower you would like for the reception."

"Flower?" Mary wrinkled her brow in exasperation, telling herself yet again Inez was only trying to make things perfect for her with this escalation of her simple wedding to a full-blown social event.

"Yes," Julia reached into the basket she brought with her and produced two small bundles of local flowers. Mary could not remember what they were called but one was a pale lavender shade and the other was a vibrant red. "Pick." The emporium owner said holding them both up for Mary's scrutiny.

Mary studied both bundles for a moment and decided to go with the lavender because while the red on its own was pretty, as an arrangement in volume, would appear quite garish. The burst of colour on the day would probably kill the groom whose sole appreciation of colour was a grim black. "Tell her the lavender."

"Good choice." Julia nodded with approval and then secreted the flowers into her basket once more. "Incidentally, you do realize you have created a monster, do you not?"

"I know, I know," Mary groaned as she went back to peeling her apples. "I had no idea Inez's idea of a wedding could be so grandiose. Yesterday, she had me picking up the kind of napkins we would like at the reception."

"Considering half the guests are barely housebroken, it does seem to be a redundant gesture." Julia agreed perfectly aware of how maniacal Inez was getting since most of the linen for the wedding was coming from her Emporium.

Julia had not forgotten how comforting Mary had been when she lost her baby and had donated all linen for the reception as her wedding gift to the couple. "Why do you think Alex got out of town so fast?"

"Because she wanted a sinful weekend with Vin?" Mary looked at Julia with a raised brow and an evil smile.

"Why Mrs Travis," Julia laughed with mock reproach in her voice. "I thought a respectable journalist like yourself would be above such tawdry gossip."

"I know, I know, " Mary replied showing no sign of guilt. "I feel absolutely sick about it."

"Are you and Chris planning some sort of honeymoon after the wedding?" Julia asked since no mention of it was made, at least from Inez.

"I don't know," Mary replied. Honestly, the thought of such a thing never occurred to her. What with the wedding and Billy coming home, the idea of a honeymoon had completely slipped her mind. "I don't really want to leave Billy with strangers. He's going to have a hard enough time fitting back into life at Four Corners on a permanent basis. Not to mention, he doesn't know any of the local children."

"Well, he'll get to know them when school opens." Julia pointed out. "Have you acquired a school teacher yet?"

"Yes as a matter of fact," Mary said brightly, glad she was prepared for at least one thing. Mary had sent letters of inquiry across the state in search of someone who would be willing to accept a teaching post in such rugged surroundings. Despite the fact that Four Corners was reaching some semblance of civilization, the news had yet to reach the rest of America and finding someone to fill the post had been quite an effort. Still, Mary was pleased she found someone who was suitably qualified.

"Her name is Audrey King and she's been teaching for fifteen years. Apparently, her husband passed on recently and she wants to get a new start somewhere with her twelve-year-old daughter. Her references are quite impressive. She'll be here sometime this week, apparently to get settled in before the school year begins."

"This is the place for beginnings," Julia admitted, being able to attest to that fact personally. "Well, I've got to get going." she sighed as she remembered she had a dozen other errands to run for Inez today. If she had known how determined Inez was to make this wedding nothing less than perfect, Julia might have reconsidered her offer to lend the woman a hand. Still, Julia had to admit she liked being able to help.

Back in Philadelphia, her female relations never liked her enough to ask her assistance in such matters and it felt good to be finally included in such an event. Looking at the list Inez had given her with instructions of what she was required to do, Julia met Mary's gaze and responded. "I apparently have to go find Gloria Potter and put the wind up her about getting a three-layered cake ready for the ceremony with a dozen icing roses on each section."

"Oh my God," Mary exclaimed, having enough expertise at cake making to know how much of a chore that was going to be. "A dozen roses?"

"I told you," Julia said as she started to leave, "you've created a monster."

"You're telling me," Mary groaned.

"Mary," Julia paused as she was about to walk out the door. "Want a piece of advice?"

"Conditionally," she stared at Julia suspiciously.

"I think Billy is going to be so happy to be home with his mother, he's not going to care what he has for dinner." Julia gave her a little wink and swept out of her kitchen.

Mary knew Julia was right but in the meantime, she still had a pie to bake.

It was afternoon and Vin Tanner had not remembered ever spending such a prolonged period indoors or in bed for that matter. He peeked out the window and saw the morning was almost over as the sun reached its apex in the sky. Outside, the main street of this quiet town showed no more activity than when he and Alex first arrived here. It was Alex who suggested they pick this particular place for their escape from Four Corners. Not only was it half-deserted and off the main travelling routes but it was also the town she liberated him from bounty hunters when he was delivered into their hands by Randall Mason.

Vin liked her sense of irony.

The hotel they were registered in was one of those places Vin knew to be a favourite of those who did not wish to be found, which was exactly what they were. It was by no means lavish but had a door with a lock on it and a nice big bed which was all Vin and Alex wanted or needed. For the past two days, neither had come up for air as they indulged their desires in this vacation away from their lives. For once, Vin had the thrill of waking up next to Alex and sharing an entire night in her bed without having to sneak away in the morning, for fear of inciting gossip.

After the business with Francis Lamont and more recently Riley Marshall, Vin decided they needed to recover from the trials of the last few months. Alex had been through something of an emotional time and though she was now on the mend, Vin felt the time away from being Doctor Styles would do her some good. Thus as far as Four Corners knew, the doctor was going to Sweetwater for a few days and he was heading out to the Indian Village to visit with Kojay and Chano. Besides, they knew he preferred soaking up the solitude denied him in the lively atmosphere of the town. Alex left first and Vin let a day pass before they met up at the arranged place so they could journey here together.

He watched her sleep, basking in the loveliness of her as she dreamed all things wonderful he hoped. It was still a source of astonishment to him to know he was engaged to a woman like her. Alexandra Styles was a true lady in every sense of the word and yet she was willing to accept him for what he was, even though he had no fortune to speak of and a price on his head. He knew before there could be any question of marriage, he would have to deal with his ongoing situation in Tascosa.

Still, it was nice to know she was his.

Alex lay within the sheets next to him, oblivious to his observations and Vin felt the familiar tingle of arousal as he took in the sight of her body, separated from his touch by a thin layer of cotton. She was lying on her stomach, dark hair covering most of her face when Vin nuzzled closer to her as another wave of desire took control of him. Vin brushed aside her tousled dark hair, seeking the soft skin of her neck through the strands of jet.

She pushed up against him in her sleep, not at all minding his weight on top of her as she slumbered. Letting out a pleasured sigh when Vin found her neck, the tracker smiled as he lowered his mouth and started teasing her skin by tracing circles with his tongue. She was still asleep but he could feel her body responding immediately to the gentle nips he made along the length of her neck before sucking the curve where it met her shoulder.

Alex moaned languidly, pressing her body further into his as he continued this seductive assault, still asleep but aware of his caresses by her dreamy responses to him. Vin's hand slid in the space between her breast and the soft mattress, searching for the nipple pressing hard against the linen. He enjoyed the journey there, savouring the soft round warmth beneath his palm, the supple curve of her breast and the texture of skin pulling taut against muscle. He felt her sharp intake of breath as he kneaded the ripe flesh, teasing her nipple until it tightened with the aching pleasure she could feel, even in this dreamy state. Unconsciously, her back arched slightly into him so he could take up her whole breast.

Vin grunted softly at the feel of her in his hand. The sensation was strong enough to send waves of heat rippling through his arms and continuing all the way down to his cock. He felt himself stiffen with growing need as he continued caressing her this way, thrilling in the soft sounds she made each time he did something that touched her in just the right way. He kneaded her flesh harder, drawing pleasured moans from her as she started to come out of her sleep.

Plucking her taut nipples mercilessly between his fingertips, Alex started moving beneath him, trying to grind her body into his. Vin closed his eyes, feeling the arousal building in his hardening cock as Alex writhed under him, the firm flesh of her bottom pushing into the hard ridge of his manhood. It strained for stimulation and before he even knew it, he was rubbing himself against her, relishing the feel of her skin against him while the swollen head of his erection started pushing against the inside of her thighs.

"Can I do something for you cowboy?" She mumbled, coming out of her sleep almost purring.

"Whatever you want darlin'," he smiled and continued kissing her neck, moving to her shoulders before showering her bronzed skin with light kisses. Alex purred in delight as his other hand journeyed down her side to her hip. Vin loved the feel of her skin under his hands, almost as much as he craved hearing the sounds of pleasure escaping her.

"I could take this for a few more hours." Alex smiled as she pushed herself against him, feeling a wicked gush of moisture between her legs at the sensation of his chest against her bare back. She could feel his cock pressing into her, demanding entry as his hips involuntarily thrust against her.

His kisses had become more fervent now as his desire building steadily in the erection making itself felt so prolifically between her legs. Alex parted her thighs slightly, immediately allowing him to run his shaft along the heat of her damp sex.

The sudden slide against the length of his cock made Vin pause a moment as the pleasure of it forced a small groan from him.

"Jesus." He whispered and felt his hips moving of their accord as he pushed against the velvet folds but not far enough to penetrate. As he slid up and down, he could feel her moistening with each delicious stroke, until she was very silent and her breaths were little more than shallow gasps of anticipation. Vin positioned himself so his cock would make contact with her clit and pushed again.

"Oh, Vin." She whispered as she felt him tease that tiny pearl of flesh as he ran his shaft against it. The sensation made her buck against him and he squeezed her breast with renewed intensity as his own desires gripped him with similar abandon.

Vin was covered in her juices now and the need to enter her was so overwhelming he could barely stand it. He left her breast and moved both hands to her hips, sliding down her sides with a firm descent so that she could feel every inch of his journey in the rough calluses of his palms. When he reached the curve of her waist, he slid his hand underneath her belly until he reached the thatch of dark hair. Sliding past her wet thighs, he relished the musk of her arousal in his nostrils as he explored her moist folds. Gently, inserting a finger inside her, Vin groaned immediately at the feel of wet and tight muscle enveloping him upon entry.

"God." She whimpered, her hips pushing into his hand as he strained to plunge his fingers as deeply into her as he could. Quivering flesh enveloped his insistent digits, promising him all kinds of pleasure as he pressed his fingers within the passage his cock would soon invade. Her hips started to lift slightly off the bed, attempting to give him more access to her until the texture of her round bottom, grinding against his pelvis was enough to drive him insane with hunger.

"Get on your knees," he whispered huskily, his blue eyes dark with feral need.

"Yes." She whimpered softly, moaning with disappointment when he drew away from her to allow the movement. She did not wish for his hand to stop what it was doing to her body but she was burning with need for him now. Alex wanted to feel him inside her, perfectly aware of how wonderful he would be when he started fucking her hard and savagely.

Vin felt his cock impossibly harden when he drew back and saw her raising herself up on her hands and knees, offering him a full view of her sex as she did so. He wanted to be inside her so badly he could not even wait before he was up against her, forcing himself through the silky folds. As the head of his cock penetrated the tight ring of wet flesh, Vin had to hold onto her hips or else he would have completely lost control and forced himself into her brutally. His need for her was such now it was driving the sense from his world.

"Jesus, you feel good." He groaned as he pushed into her, enjoying every inch of flesh coaxing him further and further inside.

Alex was moaning incoherently as he made his invasion, parting her legs wider, feeling as if he could never be deep enough inside her as she pushed down hard until what care he was taking was washed away in the totality of complete penetration. She heard him groan as he was embedded inside her until his hips were pressed hard against her bottom and she could feel the weight of his semen engorged sacs bouncing against her flesh. His hands dug into her hips with such force she was almost aroused by the pain. Their lust had become almost animalistic in its intensity.

"Harder Vin," she gasped. "Harder."

Her plea was so raw and full of need it almost undid his control. He felt a gush of fluid escape him in the arousal from those three words. He was more than happy to oblige her because the sensation of her all around him was beyond belief. He was somewhat amazed he had not begun a frantic fit of furious thrusting because his cock was so hard and bursting he did not know how much longer he could have maintained his control. Pulling her hips forcefully into his throbbing member, he began pumping her hard, his own gyrations making this melding of flesh into a dance of brutal pleasure.

Sweet Jesus, Vin thought inwardly as the sensation washed over him. The intense pressure of her inner muscles was crushing his cock into submission with each hard thrust into her body. He pounded her with such relentless force before he even knew what was happening, Vin was groaning her name through his gritted teeth.

"Oh God Vin, don't stop!" She whimpered and threw her head back, her dark hair splaying across her back, intermingling with the sweat of her skin.

Vin saw the cascade of jet before him, a stark contrast against her golden coloured skin and immediately felt himself pumping even harder until the pleasure of her was so unbelievable all he could do in response was to hold on and enjoy the ride. He rode her hard and fast, knowing despite her ladylike manner, she liked to be handled roughly. Without ever knowing how he had managed to be so fortunate, Vin knew he had a wildcat in his bed.

He slammed into her again, his cock reaching such heights of ecstasy neither it nor he was going to recover for a good while after this incredible session. Judging with Alex's whimpers, he could tell that she was very close and rammed into her with continued force until he could go no deeper. The sensation that came from being completely sheathed was more than he could bear, forcing him to bury his face in the sheen of her jet coloured hair.

Suddenly, he felt her stiffen under him. Her back straightening like an animal that had awoken from a deep sleep and felt the need to stretch out. All sense left his mind when her wet insides contracted around his cock in a powerful display of orgasmic pre-eminence. She cried out his name like she was in worship as if the word chanted would make her plunge over the abyss of pleasure all the more powerful. He felt her warmth sweep over him and that it would take whatever control he had with it.

"Oh, Christ!" He groaned, feeling himself explode inside her until all he could see before him were stars amidst a canvas of jet. His body spasmed as he continued pumping into her, forcing Alex to accept every last drop of seed until finally, he collapsed against her body, bathing them both in each other's perspiration. For a moment, he could do nothing but remained draped over her, trying to catch his breath from yet another affirmation of why he could never be without her.

They lay there still for a few seconds, holding each other as they recovered, their bodies pressed against each other. Vin rubbed the rough stubble of his cheek against the smooth skin of her back and felt Alex wriggle.

"Stop it." She tried to suppress a laugh. "That tickles."

Vin repeated the action again and drew another sharp giggle from her. "I hadn't noticed." He smiled.

"Stop it," she laughed again and squirmed from under him. "That drives me crazy."

"Well then," he said with a devilishly grin. "I'll just have to keep doing it."

With that, he covered his body with hers and filled the room with their playful laughter.

"Is the stage here yet?" Chris asked when he met Mary in front of the Clarion office later that day.

His fiancee was pacing the boardwalk in front of the premises, looking every bit as impatient as he knew she was feeling. Chris tried not to smile as he saw Mary attempting to look normal even though she was bursting with impatience over the impending arrival of her son. This was something he had become accustomed to seeing throughout the months of their courtship. Billy's arrival was the only thing that could make Mary Travis heady to such an extent.

"No," she glanced at the small watch she had been keeping in her pocket. "Its ten minutes late." She said unhappily as she glanced up the main street once more, to see if the stagecoach had appeared on the horizon since the last time she looked thirty seconds ago. "This tardiness is most unacceptable." She grumbled with her hands on her hips and continued pacing. People were starting to look at her curiously as they passed by and reacted only by throwing Chris a sympathetic glance as they continued on their way.

"Mary you're going to wear a hole in the ground." Chris pointed out. "Relax."

"I can't relax!" She exclaimed, knowing he could not possibly understand how she was feeling at this moment. There were butterflies in her stomach at the thought of having her son home permanently, not just for a few days or weeks but forever! She was so happy she could barely form the words but this wait was driving her insane! "Where is that damn stage?"

Chris raised a brow at her tantrum and found himself unable to contain the smile that sneaked past his lips almost involuntarily. Mary noticed it and narrowed her eyes, realizing he was having some amusement at her expense. She was about to open her mouth and reply when the timely arrival of Ezra, Josiah, Buck and JD saved him from any bloodshed. Mary was in that kind of mood right now but she tended to keep her temper from public view unless absolutely necessary.

"I take it young William has yet to arrive," Ezra stated the obvious.

"Good to see you out from behind the bar," Chris responded, unable to hide the amusement in his voice.

Ezra glared at him. "Inez has finally liberated me from that tiresome chore. Apparently, the wedding of the century can take a break for the rest of the day."

"Thank goodness," Mary sighed, glad that for today anyway, she would not have any flower arrangements to preside over, any dinner plate patterns to select and furthermore, any talk of the bridal shower Inez intended on throwing her. All she was interested in today was her son.

"The hard work is just too much for him," Josiah commented, giving Ezra a bemused look.

"I told you once and I shall it again reiterate again, a gentleman does not perform menial labour." Ezra pointed out in the dignified way that only Ezra could do. "I just hope you and Mrs Travis appreciate the sacrifice some of us have been forced to make for your coming nuptials.

"I'll keep you in mind when I write the thank you cards," Mary said rolling her eyes in resignation wondering how Julia put up with the man sometimes. Still, Julia's personality lent well to Ezra's southern gentlemen persona and Mary was sure the woman humoured him a great deal.

"Don't worry Ezra," Buck grinned. "It will be all worth it when I throw the bachelor party."

"Bachelor party?" Mary turned slowly to Chris with an expression on her face revealing she was not at all enthusiastic about his having a stag party. She heard what commonly went on at these affairs to know she did not want Chris hungover on the day of their wedding.

"Nice going, Buck." Chris grimaced, noting the frown that suddenly developed on his future wife's face.

"Don't worry Mary," Buck stepped forward, quick to defend his friend and his stag night. "It will be perfectly respectable, even my mother would be proud to attend." He oozed charm as he tried to convince her nothing sleazy would be taking place even though it was an outright lie that neither Mary nor any of the seven believed.

"I'll believe that when I see it," Josiah remarked, giving Chris and Ezra a knowing look. If Buck could do anything with complete expertise, it was to organize celebrations that included plenty of libations and all the vices to make it an evening to remember. Of course, such parties would give any potential groom much cause for consternation with all the temptations that would undoubtedly be present on the night.

"Stage is here!" JD announced and immediately moved everyone's attention from what was possibly an incendiary subject.

As they made their way to the stage depot, Mary easily outdistanced them as she hurried forward, raising her skirts so it would not hamper her swift approach. The stage rumbled into Four Corners, trailing a small cloud of dust as it travelled through the outskirts of town and meandered into the main street. Mary felt her heart pounding with excitement, oblivious to the men who were attempting to keep up with her as she strode purposefully along the boardwalk.

By the time she reached the depot, the stage had already pulled up and the driver had alighted and was preparing to open the door for the passengers.

Unsurprisingly, it was Billy who bundled out of the carriage first, even before the driver could swing the door open completely. The long confinement during the journey had strained his youthful patience to such an extent he was extremely grateful to be free of it as he hurried out of the Concord, in search of the mother who was no doubt waiting for him like she always did.

"Billy!" Mary called out happily and the boy ran straight into her arms as mother and son exchanged a warm and happy embrace of greeting.

"Let me look at you," Mary said trying not to let her emotions get the better of her as she spoke. Every time she saw him, it just felt as if it was years since he had been gone. Upon observation, she noted he had grown a little taller and he was in need of a haircut but other than that he was still her little boy and that alone was enough to make Mary forget everything else.

"Is it true ma?" Billy asked enthusiastically. "Am I home to stay?"

"Yes," she said delighted he was happy about this. "You don't have to go back." There had been a moment of darkness when Mary considered the possibility Billy may not want to leave his friends and grandparents in Eagle Bend. After all, Eagle Bend had so many things Four Corners did not and she worried bringing him home would just make him miserable.

"And I can go to school here?" He questioned further.

"When school opens." Mary nodded and her response was rewarded with another warm hug from her son that just about broke her resolve to keep from crying. She looked up to see Chris approach with a smile on his face he rarely showed anyone. This one was real and was mostly reserved for those occasions when Billy came home.

"Hey, pardner." Chris greeted the boy as Mary disengaged herself from him and ran towards the gunslinger.

"Hi, Chris!" Billy grinned, staring at the tall man in black with nothing less than adoration as he ran to Chris and hugged him with just as much affection as he had done to his mother. Chris had dropped to his knees to hug the boy back, showing his comrades a side of him rarely displayed except when in the presence of this child.

The next few minutes were a chorus of greetings and ruffled hair as Billy was offered warm salutations from all the lawmen present who were just as enamoured with Mary's young son as Chris Larabee himself. In a way, though none would admit it, they all felt warmly towards the boy and felt some measure of responsibility for the child as they did for his mother. Ever since they arrived in Four Corners, each one of them had adopted Billy in one fashion or another and the young Master Travis could always be counted to be in their company whenever he was home from school.

It was Ezra who noticed the other passenger that alighted from the stage.

"Oh my Lord." He said with wide eyes, watching the young woman who climbed out of the stagecoach with nothing more than a wrapped bundle as her luggage. He recognized her immediately of course. After all, the part she played in their lives during those turbulent days on the trail had left an impression that time could not dispel no matter how much of it hurtled by.

"Mrs Travis, is that who I think it is?" Ezra asked, calling their attention to the new arrival's presence.

"What?" Mary asked as she followed Ezra's gaze and looked over her shoulder. Her mind was still wrapped in euphoria over her son's arrival so she did not realize immediately what had captured his attention until she concentrated. When she did, it made her stop short in astonishment at the sight of the familiar face.

The woman let her hazel eyes sweep over the area, taking in her new surroundings while at the same time, collecting herself after her long journey. She brushed a strand of red hair out of her eyes as she adjusted her straw hat on her head before her line of sight shifted in their direction. It took an instant longer before those eyes came to rest upon then and their faces registered in her memory. Recognition flooded her face immediately and she broke into a wide smile as she made her way towards them.

"Mary, it's me Charlotte, Charlotte Richmond." She announced upon reaching them as if any introductions were necessary.

"I remember," Mary smiled politely, still somewhat surprised at seeing this face from their recent past. "How are you Charlotte?"

It was difficult to not remember Charlotte Richmond after her illicit affair with Vin Tanner during the time the seven was required to escort a wagon train further west. Vin who until that point had very little experience with women had fallen head over heels in love with Charlotte whose relations with her husband were strained. While Mary thought Charlotte was merely using Vin to forget her marital troubles, the tracker had taken the relationship very seriously and was prepared to throw everything away just to be with her. The subsequent affair had damaged Chris and Vin's friendship for a time and strained relations between the seven as nothing had done before.

Fortunately, Vin had come to his senses and dissolved the affair by sending Charlotte back to her husband after a brief flight and neutralized a situation that was on the fast track to becoming explosive. The affair left the tracker sullen withdrawn for quite some time as he came to grips with losing the first love he ever had. Secretly, both Chris and Mary were of the firm belief Charlotte had merely taken advantage of Vin's inexperience for her gratification.

"I'm fine," Charlotte said breathlessly completely unaware Mary did not think much of her for the injury she caused Vin. Instead, her eyes searched the faces of the men behind Mary, seeking one in particular only to find he was not present. "I'm in town for a few days. I thought I would catch up with Vin while I'm here. Is he in town?" She asked, forcing her voice to sound as nonchalant as possible even though Mary saw through the ruse easily enough. Charlotte had come to Four Corners specifically for Vin and nothing else.

"Chris?" Mary looked to her fiancee with some help as to what she ought to say to Charlotte considering Vin's situation at present. She wanted to blurt out Vin was no longer free and Charlotte should leave the young man alone considering there was someone else in his life but it was not her place to make that decision. It was Vin's.

The gunslinger fidgeted uncomfortably, gripped with the same conflict running through Mary's head at this moment. Like Mary, he was wrestling with whether or not it was his business to tell Charlotte that Vin was not only attached to someone else, he was also engaged. Chris cleared his throat and finally made the safest response he could think of since he was unwilling to do anything until he spoke to Vin and heard it from the tracker how he wished to handle things.

"He's out of town." He said abruptly, revealing in no uncertain terms he was unhappy to see her. Charlotte had brought Vin a great deal of pain by playing with his affections the way she had. Like Mary, Chris knew Charlotte's reason for coming to Four Corners involved his best friend.

"Oh," Charlotte said with clear disappointment before she was aware of the eyes watching her closely. She knew Chris Larabee had not approved of her relationship with Vin and the lack of his understanding contributed to Vin making the decision she ought to return to her husband. She returned his piercing gaze with a hard look of her own, unwilling to let his imposing manner keep her from what she wanted.

Vin was no one's creature and he loved her. The choice was always his to make, not Chris Almighty Larabee's. Recovering quickly, Charlotte shrugged off the stares of the men before her and decided there was nothing to be done until Vin returned to Four Corners and she was certain they would be no help to her.

"Well, could you please tell him that I'm in town when he does get back? I'll be staying at the hotel for a while." She gestured to the establishment as she spoke. With no further reason to linger, Charlotte decided that it was wiser to depart. "I guess I'll be seeing you around town." She said with a small smile before sweeping out of their presence as suddenly as she had stepped into it.

For a few seconds after her departure, no one spoke.

Finally, it was Billy who broke the silence. Youth spared him from knowing the history of the woman who had just appeared before them. "Can we go home now ma?" He asked looking up at Mary and oblivious to the shock currently running across the faces of his older companions.

"Absolutely," Mary nodded, still staring after Charlotte who was continuing down the boardwalk towards Heidegger’s. It took a further second for Mary to free herself from the distraction before she remembered her son once again.

"Are you hungry Billy?" She asked as she started to lead him away from the stage back to the house.

"Grandma gave me sandwiches," he informed her dutifully. "But I didn't like them much."

"Never mind," Mary said brushing a strand of blond hair out of his face. "I got some afternoon lunch ready for you." She smiled and then regarded the men who had been very silent following their encounter with Charlotte. "If you gentlemen would like to join us, I have plenty." It was more or less a forgone conclusion Chris would accept but Mary knew home-cooked meals were somewhat of a luxury for the others.

"Much obliged Madam." Ezra finally responded, shaking thoughts of Charlotte Richmond out of his head as he looked at Mary.

"You go on ahead," Chris replied. "We'll join you shortly."

Mary nodded and continued towards home with Billy at her side. Chris could not help but let a jaded smile steal across his face as he saw the mother and son walking down the boardwalk, hand in hand as they spoke in the language outsiders could never grasp. Chris recalled how he used to watch Sarah and Adam do the same thing, lost in their own world and felt a profound feeling of gratitude at having them back again in Mary and Billy.

After a moment, he turned to his companions who were still rather silent in light of Charlotte's arrival at Four Corners. In their eyes, he saw the same thing he was feeling at the woman's unexpected presence in town. Even though it was none of his business really, he immediately felt concern Charlotte's presence in Four Corners was going to complicate things considerably for Vin when he finally did return from his little vacation with Alex.

"You know something?" Buck asked no one in particular.

"What?" JD responded since no one else did.

"Vin is in for a world of trouble," Buck stated firmly and sadly no one could disagree.

Chapter Two
Encounters

They called it the Ranch.

It had no other name nor did it require one. There are places that are simply known, branded in the awareness without ever needing to have its name uttered. People in town knew where it was even if they never had reason to visit its premises. It existed as a place of notoriety even though the more upstanding members of the community would never make a move to remove it. Men, young and old had a chance to visit the establishment at one point or another, leaving the moral contingent of the community fuming in impotent dislike.

He had never been to the town but found it no different than any other existing in the Territory. Like every boomtown emerging across the West, this one rose from the prosperity of the rural community.

Prosperous farmers and ranchers brought with them businesses offering opportunity abound. While it was a long way from being urbanized, there was enough buildings and people walking up and down the streets to ensure it would survive, even when times were lean.

It was just the kind of town that needed a place like the Ranch to give it spice.

He despised such communities because the idea of being shackled to one place was odious to a man like him. Freedom to him was the ability to pick up and leave at a moment's notice, where he could roam the plains like some untamed spirit. In his line of work, it was wise to live this way, for enemies were quick to exploit the weakness that came with family and friends. He had none to speak of, merely associates and he kept those at arm's length and used them only when necessary.

Until three days ago, he was enjoying the excesses of wine, women and song at Eagle Bend, indulging in all the vices that made life worth living, during the periods before meeting yet another client. His services were often in demand and his reputation was spoken of mostly in the shadows. He was very good at what he did, mostly because he moved unseen through his assignments, taking care to maintain his anonymity. As a result, he never failed to carry out a job and no client ever walked away disappointed.

It took some doing to be able to maintain a record with such impeccability but when the Jack of all Spades gave his word that a thing would be done, invariably it would happen. He never reneged on the promise of a contract and this reputation assured his would-be clientele. On this occasion, however, he was surprised by a neatly folded note slipped under his door. The message was intriguing and he debated whether this was not some trap set by an enterprising lawman with a penchant for theatrics.

For a day, he did nothing with the information at his disposal and the more he waited, the deeper his curiosity became until finally, he saddled his horse and left Eagle Bend bound for the destination he was provided.

The Ranch, in Willow's End.

It was not difficult to find the Ranch once he arrived in the town of Willow's End. Everyone seemed to know it and those who were not embarrassed to speak of it gave him good directions. The Ranch was located on the edge of town, situated on a particularly large spread of land on top of a hill. The house reminded him of those grand mansions found in New Orleans. It was certainly large enough to have such pedigree. However, in a town like this, such a house had only one source of income.

The girls greeting him as he walked up the cobblestone path to the steps leading to the wide main porch, were definitely of a better standard than others he had seen in similar establishments. They were clean and well dressed, appearing not at all like soiled doves but girls one might see at a Sunday church picnic. There were no signs of garish paints or exposed pantalets, no breasts oozing out of overly tight corsets in a blatant advertisement of goods. The best word he could use to describe them was 'tasteful'.

They looked like women a man might call on to take to a dance or a stroll. He began to understand why this 'house' had the success it did. When he spoke to the ladies, he discovered he was expected. Not him specifically, but a man was going to pay a call on the owner and proprietor of the Ranch. Once inside, he found the interior of the house was as ambiguous as the rest of the place. The front hall looked like it belonged to an exclusive girl's school, not a bordello.

He was shown in by a girl who was young enough to ensure some client would pay a fortune to bed her, to the person who summoned him.

She awaited him in her parlour, having obviously heard of his inquiries in town and was more than prepared for him by the time he arrived. Tea sat in waiting as he was shown to a comfortable wing chair, giving him a sweeping view of the town and the land surrounding it from a bay window. He took the time to examine her as she asked him politely if he would like sugar.

She was not as young as the others in her charge but for a Madam, she certainly did not wear the worn look most were known to have. She was still quite a beauty. Her dark gold hair hung loose and her green eyes sparkled with hidden depths. She dressed modestly in a dress with floral prints with one pearl-encrusted clip to hold some unruly strands of hair out of her face. She did not look at him as she poured the tea, nor did she make any effort to speak. The more he looked at her, the more intrigued he became.

"Your tea Sir," She said with a smile and presented the fine china cup to him.

"Thank you, Miss." He returned politely.

"My name is Ella, Ella Gaines." She smiled before taking a sip from her own cup and waited for him to do so before continuing. "I must thank you in indulging me this audience. I am aware of how you like to maintain your privacy."

"Thank you, Miss Gaines." He responded. "May I inquire as to how you came to be aware of me?"

She smiled, anticipating the question. "In my line of business, it is easy to pick up things. In your case, I heard nothing more than whispers I never paid much attention to. I do know you have a most impressive reputation for getting the job done and you've never failed in a contract. I require such efficiency. The man who used to take care of these things for me is no longer available so I must look to other agents."

"I see." He nodded in understanding. "And how did you learn that I was in Eagle Bend?"

"I heard the name Jack of Spades mentioned in conjunction with Eagle Bend and I took a gamble you might be there. I have contacts in that town who were able to narrow down a list of candidates so I sent invitations to all." She paused and met his eyes. "You are the only one who answered."

"I might not be him then." He remarked. "I could be anyone."

"I trust my instincts you are the man." She said with a smile. "I rely on them to keep myself and my girls from harm. They are seldom wrong."

"Alright," he conceded the point, deciding she had summoned him here for a reason and in matters of such business, he preferred to have the negotiations concluded as quickly as possible. "You have called me and I am here. This is how it will go. You have told me you have need of my services, I will hear the details and then I will give you a price. There will be no negotiation and you will pay me half first and the rest on completion. Is that clear?"

"It is clear."

"Now," he eased back into the wing chair. "What do you wish me to do?"

"Only after you hear my demands." She said firmly, leaning forward in her chair and penetrating his gaze with her icy coloured eyes. Her cordial persona disappeared at that moment, to be replaced by something darker. Menace reflected in her eyes. Despite his ability to maintain his own rock-solid demeanour, the sudden change caused an involuntary shudder down his spine.

"I am waiting."

"First of all, there are two targets and I want them both taken care of. There is no negotiation on this point. You will kill them before the date I will provide you with and I am to be present when it is done. They must know why they are dying. I want the pleasure of telling them."

He had no difficulty with that request. It was not unusual although the vehemence in her voice begged the question of what wrong this woman suffered for there should be so much venom in her demand?

"That can be arranged. Will I encounter opposition?"

"Yes," she answered automatically. "The targets are protected by seven men. They are devoted and very good at what they do. They will rather die than let the targets be killed. There is one among them named Chris Larabee." She met his eyes again. "Under no circumstances is any harm to come to him. Is that clear?"

"Chris Larabee, the gunslinger?" He asked, recognizing the name.

"You know him?" She responded, uncertainty entering her features at the possibility this man might know Chris and the reputation Chris now held as one of the most formidable gunslingers and now lawmen in the Territory. She wanted the best and this man by reputation alone was enough to send shivers down the spines of those who were aware of his existence. Now that Cletus Fowler was gone, she needed someone with his lethal expertise. Ella would not be satisfied with anyone else. To kill Mary Travis, she would not accept second best.

"I know of him." He replied, recalling the stories he heard. There were always stories flying about the West about men with fast draws, who robbed, killed and lived a whole plethora of adventures keeping tongues wagging forever. "He's supposed to be very, very good. I may have to factor this into my price."

"He is very good." Ella Gaines agreed. "But you are still not to harm him. You may kill anyone else you wish, but not him. The others will protect him with the same loyalty as the targets, but I gather you can do something to expedite matters."

"I have my ways." He said quietly, ruminating on what those methods might be. Chris Larabee's reputation was one of the most consistent in the Territory. He knew the gunslinger had dropped out for a time but reclaimed his fearsome notoriety in the past three years. Larabee was known to have a soft side so he also had his share of supporters as well as enemies. Once again, the man known as the Jack of Spades was curious over Ella Gaines's connection to Chris Larabee.

On that note, he looked at Ella again after the momentary lapse. "Now you will name the target."

"The targets are nothing extraordinary," she remarked stiffly, almost as if she disliked speaking of them or describing them in any detail. He did not care. If she wanted his services then he insisted on full disclosure of all information at her disposal.

"Her name is Mary Travis." Ella finally revealed. "She is in residence at a town called Four Corners, it's in the Territory. It is also where you will find Chris Larabee and his six protectors. She will be relatively easy to find. The woman is the editor of the local newspaper. I want her and her son removed."

He looked up at her. "Son?"

"Yes," Ella replied, feeling a wave of hatred towards Mary Travis, who was stealing her Chris with her brat. What did it take for Chris to learn children were simply ruses utilized by their widowed mothers to snare men like him? Ella thought the lesson he learned after she was forced to kill Sarah and Adam would be enough to steer him away from such circumstances again. However, Ella loved Chris enough to know he was not the most intelligent of men and so she had to make allowances for his weaknesses.

"The boy is eight years old. I want them both killed."

The coldness of her words as she made the statement explained a great many things to him as he understood at last, what Ella Gaines was all about. He had come across jealous wives before and this woman was nothing different. However, wanting to take the life of the child involved in the triangle, took true malevolence. He wondered what Larabee had done to provoke such hatred.

"They are to be married in less than a week." Ella continued, further confirming his suspicions of her reasoning behind the contract. "I want her killed before the wedding. She will not walk down the aisle with Chris Larabee. I want you to see to that Sir." She glared at him fiercely so that he would not mistake just how determined she was on this point.

"If that is what you wish and if we come to an agreement upon the price for my services, I assure you it will not happen."

"Good," she said calming down slightly as if embarrassed by the display of emotions. "I am sure we can come to an equitable conclusion."

"Might I offer a word of advice?" He found himself saying, not knowing why he was interfering or even cared. Perhaps because in all the jobs he had taken to end someone's life abruptly, this was the one had the least justification. Perhaps, this woman and her anger could be reasoned with.

"If you like." Ella sipped her tea and regarded him with mild surprise.

"If Larabee finds out you are responsible for this crime and I think he might if you stand to gain most by it, do you think that he could forgive such a trespass or shift his affections to you?"

"He loves me, Sir," she smiled, with a gleam in her eyes that made him everything then. "He loves me more than anything in the world and he will forgive me as he always has. For certain, he'll be angry for a while but in the end, he'll know I did it all for him. As I have always done it for him."

He fell silent, almost feeling some measure of pity for Chris Larabee because he knew now with absolute certainty, Ella Gaines and her uncontrollable passion for the gunslinger, was insane.

Billy Travis stared at his mother.

He listened to her explain after Chris and the others left the house, how she would soon be marrying the gunslinger. For a moment, the boy did not know how to take the news. Sure, he liked Chris very much and loved him as he loved no other since his father died but Billy was uncertain whether or not he wanted Chris to replace Stephen Travis. Chris was his friend and they did things together not even his father had time to do with him. Billy was not so young he had forgotten all the lonely dinners where it was just him and his ma because his father had not the time. His father was a busy man and Billy assumed by natural extension all fathers were like that.

If Chris became his stepfather, would not Chris be the same?

Billy had also become accustomed to hearing his ma tell him he was the man of the house. At school, he knew he had to behave well because that was what she told him to do. The man of the house had to be responsible and so he did all these things for her because she was his ma and he loved her. Billy wanted to be the man of the house so he could take care of her someday. All this time, he assumed Chris was taking care of her until the day he grew up and he could do it himself. He never for a moment imagined there was more going on than just that. It now appeared to the young boy his best friend had betrayed him.

"Billy say something." Mary pleaded as she looked across him at the dining table. The expression on his face was one of dismay and she felt her heart pounding in her chest because she assumed there would be no problem. Billy adored Chris and Mary believed he would love having Chris at home on a permanent basis, just as she did.

"You said I was the man of the house." He said in a small voice, his eyes screaming fear in every word that left his quivering lips.

"Of course you are," Mary exclaimed, feeling her heart sink as she started to realize the extent of the problem.

"No, I'm not!" He shouted. "If you marry Chris, then he's the man of the house and he won't be my friend any more and you won't be just my ma! You'll be his wife!"

"Billy please!" Mary said mortified, watching a bad situation quickly descending into a terrible one. How could she have made such a mistake about his feelings? She had assumed...

That was her mistake.

She had just assumed. She never sat the boy down and actually had this conversation with him. Mary reeled from despair as she saw the tears starting to run down his pink cheeks, knowing it was her foolishness that caused her son to cry. The sight of his tear-stained face felt like a thousand knives stabbing at her heart. It almost brought her to the verge of tears herself.

"I hate him and I hate you!" He cried out again, screaming in anger as only a child could, oblivious to everything except the pain weighing him down and making him feel like the end of the world was one word.

Wedding.

Without saying anything further, he darted out of the room. Mary collected herself enough to go after him, almost knocking a chair over as she ran past the dining table but not quite quick enough to catch an eight-year-old who had no desire to be reasoned with. She had no more reached the hallway when she heard the sharp slam of the front door and his small footsteps, drawing further and further across the gravel in the street outside.

Mary swung open the door in pursuit but by the time she scanned the faces on the street, going indifferently about their business, horses moving up and down the street on their way from one place to another, she saw no sign of her son.

"Billy!" Mary called out in desperation, hoping perhaps he might answer her. People glanced at her in curiosity but that was as much response as she received until she saw Chris emerging from the saloon. He looked towards the direction of the Clarion, their eyes meeting, instantly and conveying the message something was wrong.

"Mary, what's happened?" He asked, unable to imagine what could have transpired in the half-hour since he left the house to join the rest of the seven at the saloon for a drink. He could see she was distraught and knew something awful had taken place.

"Its Billy!" She wailed. "Oh Chris, he is so angry with me! It never occurred to me he might have a problem with the wedding!"

Chris understood and immediately took her hand so they could continue this conversation inside. This was not something that needed discussing with the town in earshot. Besides, she was too upset to think clearly with so much activity taking place around them. They returned to the dining room where only moments ago, Billy Travis made such an abrupt departure. Mary sat heavily in the chair, shock still etched in her lovely face.

"Tell me." Chris urged, hating to think they might have a problem with Billy.

Mary wiped her eyes and composed herself, trying not to cry like some foolish woman even though she felt like one. "He said I wouldn't be his ma any more if I married you. I'd be your wife. Chris, he thinks he's losing both of us if we get married!"

Chris let out a deep sigh and eased back into the chair, trying to think a way out of this particular situation. In truth, he was slightly annoyed Mary had not told Billy about them sooner, so the kid could at least get used to the idea instead of having it sprung on him a few days before the wedding was to take place. However, he kept silent knowing in the end, Billy was Mary's son and he had no right to tell her what to do when it came to his upbringing. Nor was this the moment for an 'I told you so'.

"Do you want to call it off?" He asked quietly.

Mary met his gaze and saw he was serious. "Of course not!" She exclaimed and was somewhat surprised she was able to be so absolute about that. "We've waited long enough for this Chris. I want to marry you," she took his face in her hands. "I just don't know what to do about Billy."

"Mary, he's young," Chris responded, kissing her palm gently. "It's also been you and him for a long time. It's hard for a kid Billy's age to understand things have to change and a lot of what's going on in his mind is not clear, in the way we know it. We just gotta talk to him and try and understand what he thinks is going to happen."

Mary nodded, wondering if it was truly as simple as that. "You think that will do it?" She asked, hoping he was right because Mary could not even think of that terrible exchange between herself and Billy only a short time ago.

She loved her son but she also loved Chris and it was time for them to get married. As much as Billy might not like the idea now, she knew he loved Chris too. He was just afraid.

"I don't know," Chris confessed, making no promises. "We'll have to convince him nothing will change. Billy is a smart kid. He'll figure it out eventually, we just have to give him time."

Mary swallowed, wiping the fresh tears that formed in her eyes. "How did you get to be such an authority on child-rearing?"

Chris looked and her and mere replied. "After all these years riding with Buck? Where do you think?" He grinned, trying to coax a smile out of her face.

It succeeded and she laughed softly, feeling a little better although not much. She knew she would not feel better about anything until this situation was resolved. Mary was feeling incredibly short-sighted for not foreseeing this problem earlier and now that it had presented itself, hopes things would transpire as smoothly as Chris believed it would.

Billy Travis kicked a rock that came across his path. It skittered across the gravel ground and disappeared out of his line of sight. The young boy did not know where he was going, only that he wanted to keep walking until this hurt inside him went away. He felt bad for yelling at his ma but he had been unable to help himself. He just felt so angry he had not known what to do. He did not want Chris to stop being his friend and he wanted his ma to be his always, even though he knew Chris liked his ma very much.

Once he stopped running, he found himself in front of the new Emporium. Despite his melancholic state, he was quite pleased he was able to read the long word and wondered what an Emporium was. As he ascended the steps leading to the front doors, he saw it was just a big store. Not knowing where else to go because Four Corners had become an alien place to him since he left for Eagle Bend, Billy wandered through the entrance, away from the heat of the afternoon sun.

The inside of the Emporium was almost as large as one of the bigger stores in Eagle Bend that grandma took him to when they went shopping. There were many people, both men and women moving up and down the aisles, perusing the wares in the store. He saw shopgirls behind the counters, serving customers and wrapping things up. Billy was grateful to lose himself in the crowd, unhappy because he had shouted at his ma and wanted nothing but to be forgotten by everyone because, at the moment, it was how he felt.

He found himself in an aisle with hair products took note of the silver-handled brushes and ornate clips on display. He reached into his pocket and examined how much money grandpa gave him for the trip here. The collection of the coins in his hand did not seem like very much and Billy frowned, thinking he probably could not even by his ma a present after the mean things he said to her.

"Good afternoon Master Travis." An unfamiliar voice greeted him.

He looked up to find himself staring at a most pretty lady with red hair and sparkling green eyes. Billy did not recognize her but obviously she knew him.

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." He said meekly.

"This is my store," Julia Pemberton said with a smile, having seen the boy wandering in earlier. She had seen Billy Travis before but never had the occasion for a face to face meeting. Judging by his manner, he did not at all seem happy and considering how euphoric Mary had been about his arrival today, Julia thought she ought to at least investigate. "You have to talk to me or leave."

"Do you know my ma?" He asked, suddenly aware she must have been a friend of his mother's if she knew him.

"Yes I do," Julia nodded. "I'm surprised you're not with her. She's been talking about nothing but you coming home these last few weeks."

"I yelled at her." His gaze dropped to the floor, in an expression of shame that involuntarily tugged at Julia's heartstrings when she thought nothing so sentimental could ever affect her.

"I see." Julia nodded and started to draw away. "Come on." She motioned him to follow her.

He paused a minute, still uncertain whether or not he ought to be following her because she was a stranger but if she knew his ma, that made it all right, didn't it? He followed her deeper into the store, past the aisle to the other side of the building, where there appeared to be something of a small diner and to his surprise, an ice creamery. He knew Eagle Bend had one but he did not think such treats were available in a town as small as Four Corners.

"Take a seat," Julia remarked, taking a table nearest the window. The view outside was of Four Corners going about its business. He could see the saloon in the distance as well as his house where the newspaper was. Billy wondered if his ma was worried about him and then decided begrudgingly she would hardly miss him at all now Chris was there to comfort her. He slid into the booth and saw Julia seating herself across the table from him.

"What kind of ice cream do you like?"

"Strawberry." He said after a moment's thought.

Julia called over one of the waitresses and promptly put in the order. Billy guessed she really must own the store because they were very nice to her and went away quickly to do what she asked. He observed her closely, noting she was very different from his ma. She looked fancier somehow and he could not imagine her skipping rocks in the creek or even wading in with him, barefoot-like his ma sometimes did. That was not to say that he did not like her though. She just looked different.

"I haven't been very polite," Julia stuck out her hand across the table. "I'm Julia Pemberton. You can call me Julia if you like."

Billy shook her hand and stared at her, uncertain if he was allowed to do that. Ma was very specific about him minding his manners. "I don't know if I'm supposed to."

"It will be our secret," Julia replied automatically. "I don't get much of a chance to try the ice cream here. Ezra just hates it. You know what these southerners are like, they're just not good with new things and you can't really eat ice cream alone, you know? Besides, I think he's a little too stuffy for ice cream."

Billy merely listened, unable to comment on that because he had no idea what stuffy meant.

"Of course, its different when they're boys," Julia continued, not expecting an answer but aware he was listening most intently. "All the important things seem to become silly and all the silly things become important."

"I don't understand." He finally dared to say.

Julia waited until the ice cream was served and Billy had his first taste of strawberry before she continued. "Well, it just seems like when you're younger, things that change seem a lot worse than they really are. When I was a child, I thought I knew everything about anything. It didn't matter I was only little and had a great deal of growing up to do, I knew it all. Of course, when things happened, it just felt so terrible until my father would explain change is good. It needs to happen or nothing gets better."

"Why does it have to change?" He asked, finding her words striking a little close to home.

"Because that's the way it is," Julia said firmly, deciding it was useless to lie to the child when what he needed to hear was the truth, not as he believed it to be or might wish it so but the way it actually was. "Let me tell you something Master William," she leaned closer to him. "Life isn't fair and it doesn't always work out the way you want it too either. You can want things to stay the same forever but that just takes the fun out of it. Do you like reading the same book over and over again?"

"No," he shook his head. "That's stupid. You know what happens and it's boring."

"That's right." Julia nodded. "Change is like a new book, you don't know what happens but its fun to find out."

He could see a little bit of what she was saying. "I yelled at my ma cause I didn't want things to change." He confessed guiltily, putting down his spoon as he made that confession.

"Your mother won't be mad at you for being upset over change William," Julia said gently. "She loves you and nothing you ever do could ever make her stop loving you. Right now, I'll bet she is going out of her mind wondering what happened to you."

"I got mad because she's marrying Chris." Billy looked at her, certain she would not understand either but then she had explained about change in a way that made it clearer for him to grasp. Maybe he could talk to her.

"I thought you liked Chris," Julia said slightly confused. From what Ezra told her, Billy adored Chris and spent most of his time with the gunslinger whenever he returned from school.

"He's my friend but if he marries my ma, he won't be any more," Billy stated as if it was something everyone should have guessed by now.

"Why do you think that?" She asked, truly concerned about his dilemma.

"Because my pa wasn't my friend, he was my pa. We never did what Chris and I do, going fishing and hunting. He was always working and if Chris marries ma, then he becomes like pa and we won't do stuff together any more."

It made sense, Julia had to admit. If one was a child and knew nothing better, it might seem that way to him. The boy, after all, had been without a father for quite some time and if he thought that was how fathers were meant to behave from his limited experience, it was conceivable he would come to such conclusions. Julia wondered if Mary was aware of how neglected her son must have felt with his father to believe that ignoring a child was the way things were supposed to be.

"That doesn't happen all the time William," Julia pointed out tactfully, aware of the level of trust she had gained for him to have admitted this to her. "There are many different kinds of fathers. Mine had his moments," Julia said, refraining from thinking about the darker elements of Donald Avery's parenting. "You know Doctor Styles?"

"Yes." Billy nodded, knowing the lady doctor who was one of his ma's friends.

"Her father was a doctor too and they went everywhere together. He took her travelling across the world. I'll bet if you asked your mother, she can tell you stories about her father too. I'm sure when Chris and your mother marry he won't change. You'll still do all those things together. Chris loves you, you know."

"That's sappy." Billy declared, reminding her he was still an eight-year-old boy with that one remark.

Julia smiled to herself and then changed tack. "Sorry, we girls can't help it." She replied. "You know about Chris's family don't you?"

Billy nodded sombrely, having heard the talk around town he was not supposed to listen to, but did anyway.

"Chris lost his family a long time ago and you remind him a lot of his son. Don't you see? He never thought he could have a child again and then you came along and suddenly it doesn't hurt him so much any more because he has you. He'd never forget you, William."

Billy was not ready to quite believe her yet but he did feel a little better. He decided he liked Julia a great deal. Not as much as he liked his ma or grandparents but he liked sitting here with her, eating ice cream and having her talk to him like he was not a little kid who did not know anything. Maybe someday, when he was bigger, he could marry her too. Like Chris was marrying his ma.

"I'd like to buy ma something." He responded with a smile after a long silence.

"This is the place to buy." She replied, feeling a great deal of accomplishment being able to coax a smile from his cherubic face. Strange how one could get so much pleasure from one simple act.

"I have this much money." He reached into the pocket and showed her all his change, allowing it to clatter noisily on the table.

Julia regarded the dollar in coins before her. "It's not a lot," she said honestly. "But I think we can manage to find Mary something nice and if not, I'm going to teach you a very important phrase that will carry you through life without any trouble."

He leaned closer deciding it must be important if it was coming from an adult.

"It's called charging it to your parent's account."

Vin Tanner rode into Four Corners the next morning completely relaxed and wondered if it showed what he had been doing the past few days.

Of course, his friends were not completely stupid and he expected to bear the brunt of much teasing when he finally did see them but Vin was beyond caring. He was happier than he had been at any point in his life and nothing could spoil it. He and Alex spent two great days away from Four Corners, where no one knew them and they could just enjoy being with each other. He left Alex who was spending the night in Sweetwater and was due home sometime tomorrow. He hated being apart from her, even for a night.

Still, it was just as well that she was out of town today because he had an errand to run and he didn't want her knowing about it since it was going to be a surprise. Chris had allowed him the time to track and capture a horse thief named Ambrose Wayne, who had a reward of $300 on his head. Vin tracked the man to Purgatorio and brought him in, allowing Chris to collect the bounty at Bitter Creek. Despite Vin's willingness to share the reward money, Chris refused, aware of wwwhat Vin wanted the cash for in the first place.

Even though a formal announcement of their engagement had been made, Vin had yet to get Alex an engagement ring. Although she said she required no such token to prove she was his, Vin still did not like the idea of any fiancee of his not wearing so much as a ring, even if there were no plans for a wedding any time soon. Still, he knew he was a novice at this and as much as he hated to admit it, he was going to need help in buying one.

Instead of heading straight for the livery to stable Peso, Vin rode straight to the saloon. It was late morning so he knew Ezra and Buck would be present at the establishment and Vin needed the help of the polished gambler if he intended on buying Alex a ring. Chris was probably still hiding out at his shack, far away from the wedding preparations for the day that was looming closer and closer. Vin made a mental note to tell Alex if they ever did get married, Inez was not doing the planning.

He dismounted the animal before the familiar surroundings of the saloon and made his way into dimly lit establishment, his eyes searching the table normally occupied by his friends and comrades. He saw Ezra, Buck, J.D. and to his surprise, Chris, who now that he thought of it, must have come into town for Billy Travis's homecoming.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," Buck exclaimed as Vin reached the table and pulled himself a chair.

"Hey, Vin." J.D. greeted enthusiastically and made a space for Vin to take his place at the table.

"Howdy." Vin drawled, perfectly aware of the gleaming leer on Buck's face. Obviously, he was fooling no one as to where he had been the past two days.

"I trust your time away was well spent," Ezra replied as he toyed with the deck of cards in his hands. A faint smile was crossing the gambler's face as he made that statement. "You seemed refreshed."

"Extremely refreshed," Buck added with a straight face even though he was trying not to laugh. "The wilderness can really refresh a man."

Vin rolled his eyes and was about to respond when suddenly, Chris spoke up."Okay, that's enough."

Vin had bigger problems to deal without suffering any of this juvenile ribbing. At the moment, Vin had no idea what calamity was coming at him and he needed to be told while there was still time for him to get out of town, Chris could not resist thinking.

"Leave the man alone. He's got trouble enough."

Vin looked at Chris blankly. "What?"

"Maybe it isn't that much of a problem," Buck spoke up, hoping Vin had better sense than to throw away what he had with Alexandra Styles. Buck had seen how he had been the last few months and knew that the tracker was never happier.

"What?" Vin turned to the tall man across the table from him, bewildered.

"Perhaps we are reading more into this then we should," Ezra added his two bits worth. "After all, this may be just a chance encounter."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Vin demanded, shifting his eyes across the faces at the table one by one.

"Charlotte Richmond is in town!" J.D. blurted out, unable to stand the suspense any more than Vin. The three older men turned to him in reproach that lasted only for a second before they returned their gaze back to Vin's astonished face.

"Charlotte?" Vin stammered, thinking he heard wrong for a moment. Of course, he hadn't. The others would not have brought it up otherwise.

"She arrived yesterday Vin," Chris said quietly. "She was looking for you."

This was just getting worse by the moment. Vin had no idea what to do and was almost grateful when Buck poured him a drink and slid the shot glass over. The tracker did not have to think twice before downing the contents with one sharp tilt of his head.

"Another." He said shoving the glass back to Buck who promptly filled it up again.

"When is Alex due back, pard?" Chris asked, knowing what an explosive situation Vin had on his hands. There was not a man in the world brave enough to get caught in the crosshairs of two women who had both staked a claim on him.

"Tomorrow," Vin said almost in a small voice. "I was going to buy her a ring today." He mused because he could not quite think clearly. "I was going to get Ezra to help me."

"I think that's the best thing you can do," Buck agreed robustly. "Go buy that gal of yours a ring. Charlotte's in the past Vin. She's old news. This doesn't have anything to do with you or Alex."

"But she came all this way to find me..." Vin declared. "There has to be a reason."

"There may be a reason," Ezra added his voice. "It may even be a good one but that does not change anything. You have made commitments to Alexandra, Mr Tanner."

"I don't need anyone to tell me that." Vin snapped with uncharacteristic annoyance.

His normally unflappable demeanour was shaken to the core in light of this situation. Of all the things that could have happened to him today, this was the one he least expected. He remembered Charlotte and the memory of their love still lingered in his mind, no matter how much time passed by. For all he knew, she could be just visiting and wanted to look him up but somehow, he knew that was not it. After their parting the last time, what they said to each other was very final and for her to seek him out like this meant something had changed significantly.

"Then deal with this situation quickly." Ezra declared just as sharply and then turned to the others. "You know as well as I do, why she is in town. We all saw it and we know it was not because she just happened to be here. She is here because of you Mr Tanner and unless you want the situation to escalate into something that is going to harm everyone involved, especially Alexandra, you will end this quickly and make Mrs Richmond understand. She still travels under that name so I am assuming that Mr Richmond is still in the picture."

"This is none of your business Ezra," Vin warned with enough menace in his voice to tell Chris this was starting to become ugly. "Just because you tom catted on Alex, don't mean I will!"

Ezra jumped to his feet and Vin rose to meet the gambler's anger in kind. Chris immediately grabbed Vin's arm as a warning for restraint while Buck and J.D. did the same thing, keeping Ezra from doing anything they might all regret.

Chris, who had kept his own counsel until this point, finally spoke. "This is no one's business but Vin's." He aimed that remark not only at Ezra but also at Buck and to a lesser degree J.D. "Now the both of you settle down." Chris put enough threat in his voice to make certain he was obeyed.

"I apologize, Mr Tanner," Ezra said first, reluctantly realizing perhaps he pushed Vin into reacting because of his own treatment of Alex in the past. "I did not mean to impose myself upon you."

"Its okay," Vin conceded, accepting the subject of Charlotte always made him crazy. The thick atmosphere of tension evaporated as Buck quickly poured both Vin and Ezra a drink after they all sat down once again.

"Drink up," Buck ordered. "It will keep you both from saying anything stupid."

"Do you still need assistance with that ring?" Ezra asked quietly, knowing Vin needed to do this before Charlotte got to him and made him start questioning his motives for such a purchase. The seven learned one thing about Vin Tanner when it came to the subject of Charlotte Richmond. The woman could make Vin behave with extreme unpredictability. Until that point, Vin was the reliable member of the team everyone could always count on.

However, Charlotte robbed him of all good sense and both Ezra and Chris, who could read people well enough, knew that time and separation had changed nothing.

Vin thought a moment, realizing what Ezra was asking. He loved Alex, there was no question of that. Neither was there any question he wanted to marry her and that she made him happier than he had ever been in his life. Charlotte's arrival in town was awkward but not devastating. It had ended between them when he left her with her husband. As far as he was concerned, that was all there was to the matter.

"Yeah." He nodded firmly, coming to the conclusion, Charlotte was in the past and Alex was his future. "I do. I'd be grateful if you could give me a hand buying it Ezra."

"I'd be honoured, Mr Tanner," Ezra said graciously.

However, Chris Larabee who could read Vin better than anyone at the table, knew the situation was far from over.

Alexandra Styles returned to Four Corners at almost the same time as Vin Tanner made his arrival a day earlier.

She spent the day before in Sweetwater, doing some shopping, stocking up on medical supplies and took a day for herself that did not involve her patients. Of course, it was nowhere as exciting as the two days she spent with Vin locked in a hotel room, making passionate and steamy love. She did so enjoy being with him because he was never patronizing or typically male although, like the rest of the gender, he had his moments. Still, she was secretly thrilled by their recent engagement.

She spent the first few hours after her return home getting rested after her journey, doing some laundry after her sordid interlude and also unpacking after her shopping spree in Sweetwater. Strange, how such menial things could take up so much time and be oddly relaxing. She supposed everything was if one did not consider it work. Once she took care of her chores at home, Alex stepped out of her house and went to let Vin know she was back. She felt a little guilty for leaving it so long, knowing he would have wanted to know the moment she hit town.

She headed towards the saloon first, knowing it was the most likely place he would be if he wasn't in the jailhouse. As she continued down the boardwalk, familiar faces, some friends, and some patients greeted her. Alex wondered how Inez was going with the wedding preparations for Chris and Mary's wedding, aware the lady bartender was turning it into the biggest event since the battle of Gettysburg. The wedding had kept Chris Larabee hiding out in his shack out of town and Mary running for cover. As it was, Alex did not know how much longer she could sidestep Inez's efforts to get her involved.

Alex hated nothing more than to become embroiled in such things, preferring to lose her sanity working than trying to decide which china patterns went with what napkins. She was passing Gloria Potter's store when suddenly she heard a voice call out.

"Alex!"

Damn, Alex swore under her breath as she heard Inez's voice sail out of the shop and ensnare her with no avenue of escape. Freezing in place, Alex decided she could no longer avoid the terrible fate in store for her as she turned around and waved at Inez who was emerging through the doors.

"Hi Inez," Alex greeted politely. "How goes the preparations?" It was best to get these things over and done with.

"Well now that you ask," Inez smiled sweetly, linking her arm through Alex's because she was perfectly aware the doctor had been hiding to avoid being recruited in the wedding preparations. "You know I am the maid of honour."

"Yes," Alex nodded. "And you're doing a wonderful job at it, so wonderful in fact I'm sure you don't need me at all." She disengaged herself from Inez and tried to sneak away.

"Hold it right there Doc," Inez said sternly, not at all fooled for one minute. "Mrs Recillios did not raise an idiot. You will help me and you will help me with a smile on your face, like this." She demonstrated by smiling brightly for Alex and then said in a more menacing tone. "Si?"

"Si," Alex frowned, deciding Inez had finally snapped. "What do you need me to do?" She asked, submitting to her fate like someone being marched to the block.

"Now that's the spirit," Inez grinned almost maniacally. "We have decided to have the bridal shower early, mostly because Mary thinks it would be too much bother to have it the day before, what with the preparations and all. I have too much to do and so I need someone else to arrange it."

"You want me to organize a bridal shower?" Alex exclaimed. "What about Julia?"

"She's busy helping me." Inez folded her arms, a stance Alex knew to mean she was not taking no for an answer.

A bridal shower? What exactly happened at these things? She knew cucumber sandwiches and tea were involved with gifts being exchanged, lots of matronly women sitting about talking of how young bride's first night would be, droning on about the pitfalls of marriage. Even thinking about it sounded extremely dull to Alex, to say nothing of organizing such an affair.

"But its boring Inez," Alex whined. "All these women sitting around talking about marriage and preserves and making jam. Who enjoys these things?"

Inez rolled her eyes and looked at Alex as if she were an unlearned child. "Since when were you such a traditionalist? Be creative! Do something different! I mean think of something fun!"

"In this town? Are you kidding?" Alex exclaimed exasperated. "Did you forgetting this is the place that almost lynched a man when that theatrical troop put on Midsummer Nights Dream?"

"Well, you had to admit it could be forgiven someone might mistake that Puck fellow's name for something else."

"Inez, I don't know how to organize a bridal shower." Alex implored. "Can you throw something together yourself? You're resourceful and smart, an astounding organizer. You can do this thing with your eyes closed."

"Flattery will get you nowhere Senorita Styles," Inez said reverting to Spanish which meant she was starting to get mad. When the colourful Spanish expletives began flying, even Buck had the sense to get out of the line of fire. "Bridal shower."

Alex let out a visible groan before nodding in compliance, deciding she was no match for Inez on this matter. Alex made a mental note to tell Vin that if they ever did get married, Inez was not doing the planning.

"So now we have that all cleared up," Inez said brightly moving on, realizing she was not going to get any further arguments from Alex on this matter. "How was your trip?"

"Fine," Alex said cautiously.

"Just fine?" Inez looked at her with a playful smirk.

"Okay," Alex could not help allowing a little smile to steal across her features. "A little better than fine."

Alex knew she could confide in Inez, who was not judgmental about the intimate relationships of her friends. "It was nice being able to wake up with him for once," she said quietly since the rest of the town need not know her private business. "No sneaking around in the middle of the night, in or out of bed. I'd love to do that all the time," she sighed, remembering how nice it was to wake up with Vin holding her.

"Then perhaps you should get married."

"Oh no you don't," Alex looked at her. "Do I have to get myself a crucifix to protect myself from you!"

They had almost reached the saloon when Alex saw Vin emerging onto the street. She was about to wave at him when suddenly she heard a voice calling out.

"Vin!"

Vin Tanner heard her call and turned around just in time to see Charlotte Richmond hurrying across the street with unbridled happiness on her face. She looked just as beautiful as he last remembered her, with dark auburn hair and eyes that seemed to reach into his soul and tear out his heart. She lifted her skirts as she ran towards him, letting it drop to the ground once she was near enough to throw her arms around him and pull him to her in a fierce kiss of passion. There was such hunger and need in hr lips it was almost impossible not to respond to it even slightly.

"Charlotte." He said breathlessly as he broke the kiss, unable to think of what to say. It was at this point he saw Alex staring at him.

Oh hell.

Her eyes were fixed on him and the look he saw in her eyes was devoid of any expression. She walked forward slowly, with Inez at her side closing in on Vin and Charlotte.

"What is it, honey?" Charlotte asked, seeing the strained expression on his face and the eyes that were staring at a completely different direction. Vin broke away from her and strode towards Alex, hoping to explain before the situation got out of control as Ezra predicted.

"Alex, this is not what it looks like," Vin said swallowing hard, feeling as if he was already tried, convicted and sentenced by the intensity of her gaze.

"Explain it to me then." She said in a cool measured voice. Alex was telling herself repeatedly to give Vin the chance to explain because she loved him and she knew he would not intentionally hurt her.

Inez made a discreet exit, hurrying into the saloon because she could think of doing nothing but getting Chris out here. The gunslinger seemed to be able to pacify such situations and Inez had a terrible feeling this situation needed pacifying rather urgently.

Charlotte neared Vin, aware now there was something between her former lover and this dazzlingly beautiful woman who looked mad as hell. Suddenly, it occurred to her Vin had not languished in the months since they parted. He had actually picked up the pieces of his broken heart and given it to someone else. The realization created anguish inside Charlotte so sharply she almost doubled over from the despair of it.

"This is Charlotte." Vin introduced. Charlotte was a subject he had never discussed with Alex because as far as Vin had been concerned, there was no reason to bring it up. After all, she was no longer a part of his life and would never be again.

Alex knew who Charlotte was, long before she and Vin had begun their relationship. Mary told her about the illicit love affair Vin shared with one of the married women of the wagon train the seven escorted out West. She saw in his eyes, the desperation to be believed and suddenly her anger faded. Alex recognised his fear she would not believe him and that dampened the fire of her rage significantly. This was Vin after all and he'd proven time and time again, he would not hurt her for anything.

If she had faith in nothing else, Alex had faith in that.

"And the kiss?" She asked, hoping there was a reasonable explanation for that too.

"She was kissing me darlin', not the other way around. I swear to you." He walked to her and held her hands in his, making her look into his eyes so she would understand there could be no one else after her.

"I believe you," Alex said finally and allowed her gaze to shift to Charlotte who was staring at them both, in pain at the realization Vin's heart was no longer hers. Vin seemed to remember her at that point too and he turned back to his former love.

"Its good to see you Charlotte." He stepped towards Charlotte, Alex's hand in his.

"You said you were going to love me forever." She said defiantly, feeling like a child who was lost. She left everything for this man! What was she to do now? Her panic was real and palpable, it constricted in her throat and made it difficult to breathe.

"Charlotte it's been almost a year." Vin tried to make her understand because he had no wish to hurt her. "I moved on!"

"I left my husband!" She wailed, tears running down her cheeks. "I left my life for you and you're telling me you've moved on? How could you promise me that?"

Alex saw the conflict in Vin's eyes and wished there were something she could say to take the guilt she saw in his face. A part of her was furious at this woman who would just expect Vin to be waiting for her after all this time.

Another part of Alex, the doctor who felt compassion towards all, no matter what the crime, pitied Charlotte Richmond for the mistake she made.

"I thought you were going to try and make it work with your husband," Vin said helplessly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chris, Buck and Inez emerge from the saloon. "We said goodbye..."

"You said you would love me forever," Charlotte repeated, becoming more distraught by the moment. "Was that a lie?"

"No, it wasn't." He stammered, trying to explain things had changed. He had loved her for a very long time. There was not a day that went by during those first few months after she had gone, Vin had not dreamt about riding out to the land she and her husband had settled to spirit her away. To go to Brazil like they talked about. However, even he understood it was not meant to be. She belonged with her husband. He saw that in the wake of Dicky O'Shea's attack on the wagon train when Richmond was almost killed. Vin believed then Charlotte loved him because he reminded her of the man she married, not for himself.

"But I had to move on Charlotte. I couldn't live my life waiting for you."

"Well I found out I couldn't live my life without you and I left my husband to come here." Charlotte returned, the resentment in her voice starting to surface. She glared, not at Vin but at Alex, who held the heart she let go almost a year ago. "What am I going to do now Vin? I've lost everything!"

"Charlotte," Vin took a step forward and then realized if he were to go to her aid, he would be making the biggest mistake of his life. Instead, he held firm and tried to reason with her. "I'm sorry and I'll help any way I can, but it can't be like it was. ."

"I won't let you go, Vin." She said defiantly, wiping the tears from her eyes as she regarded Alex as her hated rival. "You loved me once and I don't think you've stopped. I won't let you go. Not ever."

"We're engaged to be married." Alex found herself saying because she could not endure another moment of this tirade. It was cutting Vin to ribbons just hearing it. She could see the lashes in his heart each time Charlotte spoke.

"You're not married yet," Charlotte said viciously. "And I'm back now. Things change."

Alex did not know what to say to that but Vin did and he did so with some anger. He could tolerate Charlotte's rage at him but he would not endure it aimed at Alex who was the innocent in all this. "Not that much Charlotte. Not that much."

"Your eyes tell me different Vin," Charlotte said quietly, her eyes softening when she met his. "I know you still love me and until you stop, nothing is over."

With that she hurried away, leaving destruction in her wake.

Chapter Three
Bachelors and Brides

Buck Wilmington made a decision following Vin's ugly confrontation with Charlotte Richmond.

With the dark cloud forming over the celebrations, Buck decided to take a page out of Mary Travis's desire to have her bridal shower a few days earlier, and do the same for Chris's bachelor party by throwing it on the same night.

After what happened with Charlotte, Alex was actually pleased to organize the bridal shower.

Throwing herself into something distracting was just what she needed to forget her present predicament. Although Vin assured her he was unaffected by the exchange between him and Charlotte, Alex knew better. He was hurt to the core by Charlotte's words, not so much by the fact she still loved him but by the circumstances she now found herself, having abandoned her husband. Considering the land the Richmonds were occupying contained gold, she had walked away from a comfortable living and Vin could not feel partially responsible for that loss.

Alex felt sorry for the woman but not for her actions. After all, it was the height of arrogance to assume Vin would simply wait for her indefinitely. Fortunately, Charlotte stayed out of sight for the next two days, allowing both Alex and Vin to recover from the encounter. She threw herself into the task of organizing Mary's bridal shower, deciding Inez was right, she need not adhere to the convention of what was expected at such occasions and decided to tailor her plans to suit Mary's adventurous spirit.

Since Julia had an entire house to herself, where else Alex's home was divided between her personal space and her clinic, the bridal shower was held at the Emporium owner's home. Invited were most of the women of Four Corners since Mary's reputation as a community leader demanded nothing less. Knowing it was a slight not to be invited, Alex was careful with the invitations and when all the guests did finally arrive, it was more or less a full house.

To accommodate the volume, Alex decided it was simpler to have the shower in Julia's garden and the whole affair evolved into a tasteful garden picnic with everyone bringing a dish of their own to add to the collection on the large table holding the food. It was a nice autumn day, so it was not terribly hot but not very cold either. The affair began shortly before noon and did not expect to last much longer into mid-afternoon which was just as well for Alex had more planned than just this for the festivities.

Inez did tell her to be creative.

The garden party was a most civilized affair with everyone lazing about in the afternoon sun, gossiping about the local goings-on sipping tea and nibbling on the selection of food contributed by the guests. Alex found the thing utterly boring and admired Mary's ability to sit still and listen with complete patience to the ramblings of many Four Corners matrons. She saw Mary sitting with Mrs Janet O'Leary and Gloria Potter, who were both bombarding the young widow with all kinds of good advice. Alex immediately felt a stab of sympathy for her friend and hoped what she planned this evening would make up for some of this.

Julia was similarly indisposed talking to another gaggle of housewives, no doubt about the future plans for the Emporium and what she intended to do with the establishment later on. Alex saw Inez engaged in conversation with Nettie and Casey and quickly decided that was where she preferred to be. She had been skirting the edge of the party, mingling and making enough small talk to seem sociable but in truth, she wanted to be far away from here.

"Well I must congratulate you, Alex," Inez complimented as she looked around in approval at the gathering before them. "You managed quite well for someone whose arm I had to twist into doing this."

"Thanks," Alex replied with a faint smile and then met Nettie's gaze with an expression of humour. "It's mostly because I feared for my life. She would have hurt me if anything went wrong."

"Now you leave Inez alone," Nettie laughed. "It's a hard thing organizing a wedding." The older woman gave Inez a wink. "A hundred things need to be done."

"I know I'm going to get you to do my wedding someday, Inez." Casey declared with complete sincerity.

"I shall be honoured," Inez said graciously. "Although I don't think I would like to do another wedding for quite a while." She let out a loud exhale at the remark. "It's just too much work."

"Oh, you're loving every minute of it." Alex scoffed with an expression on her face that told the lady bartender she was fooling no one.

"I am not," Inez replied with great dignity, lifting her chin and tossing her hair back slightly to make her point. "I am doing this for Mary."

"Speaking of which," Nettie glanced in Mary's direction. "Someone ought to be rescuing the bride, she's been too long with Janet. Listening to that woman is enough to drive anyone crazy as a coot."

Nettie was not far wrong if the expression on Mary's face was anything to go by. The widow was still wearing the same mask for most of her conversation with Mrs O'Leary but even Casey could tell Mary needed rescuing. Mrs O'Leary was one of those women who had an opinion on everything, no matter how little she knew on the subject. Mrs O'Leary believed the wisdom of her age entitled her to impress on everyone her views on how they ought to conduct themselves.

"Mary." Inez stepped forward, deciding as maid of honour it should be her responsibility to intercede on the widow's behalf. Beside her, Nettie advanced as well, deciding she could be of some assistance in this delicate operation.

"Yes?" Mary said with clear relief in her face as Inez's voice halted Mrs O'Leary's conversation for the moment.

"I need you to have a look at some of the flower samples for the wedding," Inez replied, not needing to tell Mary this was a rescue.

"Well," Mary quickly rose to her feet. "I guess if I really have to." She looked down at Mrs O'Leary and took her leave of the woman as she went to tend to matters of the wedding. Mrs O'Leary had little time to argue as Nettie immediately slipped into Mary's former seat and took up the threads of conversation, ensuring Mrs O'Leary had no idea she was being abandoned.

As Inez and Mary drew away, Mary whispered into her ear. "Thank God. If I had to hear one more thing about how to keep a firm hand on Chris, I was going to scream."

"Keep a firm hand on who?" Inez glanced over her shoulder in astonishment at the woman who dared to be so presumptuous. "On Chris Larabee?"

"Exactly," Mary shook her head. "You have a better chance of turning lead into gold."

"Well, how is the bride enjoying her bridal shower?" Alex asked when the two joined her and Casey once again. Alex immediately poured Mary a glass of punch and handed it to the widow, who took it gratefully and downed it because she really needed a drink.

"I had no idea there were so many women in Four Corners." Mary sighed taking a sip of the punch and then regarding it a moment because its fruity flavour seemed to be laced with something else. "I think I have talked to everyone this afternoon."

"And gotten more advice than you needed right, Mrs Travis?" Casey laughed, knowing how it felt to have everyone talking down to her. As the youngest member of the quartet, Casey often had to endure her elders imparting their advice upon her, even when she did not need it.

"Exactly," Mary said taking a deeper sip of the punch. "What is in this?"

Alex looked at her a little guiltily. "Just a little tinge of gin. Julia thought it might make people relax."

"There's a little bit more than a tinge to make people relax," Mary retorted but nonetheless emptied the glass and handed it to Alex. "But I like it."

"Well don't like it too much," Alex warned but filled the glass anyway. After all, it was Mary's bridal shower. She deserved to enjoy herself tonight. Besides, Alex had plenty in her worn doctor's bag that could cure a hangover.

"This is just the appetizer. The main course starts in approximately four hours."

"I am intrigued," Mary replied and glanced at Inez. "Do you know what's happening?"

"Nope," Inez shook her head honestly. "She has not even told me. All I know is we have to pack an evening dress."

"An evening dress?" Mary exclaimed, now sufficiently intrigued. "Doctor Styles, what mischief do you have planned?" Mary looked at Alex's innocent expression with narrowed eyes.

"Trust me, you'll enjoy it," Alex said confidently, having planned the whole evening well ahead of time before the first matron had even arrived this morning with pie.

"Why do I have a feeling I'm going to get into trouble?" Mary turned an accusing stare in Alex's direction.

"Because trouble is your middle name and getting into it is your first?" Inez suggested helpfully.

Mary stared at both Inez and Alex for a long moment and then said to Casey. "I think I should be afraid, very afraid."

It was almost three o'clock by the time the last guest left and Mary had drunk enough of Julia's fruit punch to be very relaxed indeed. In fact, she was actually looking forward to whatever intrigue Alex planned for the evening and hoped it was not as traditional or as suffocating as the previous garden party. Mary understood the earlier soiree had to be this way because of her position as a community leader, but she hoped Alex had something fun planned.

However, their afternoon plans were exclusively for Mary, Inez, Julia and Alex. Mary wished Casey could have accompanied them but according to Alex, she was not sure Nettie would approve of where they were going this evening.

As per Alex's instruction, Mary packed a valise containing an evening dress which she was assured could be pressed when they reached their destination. They would not be gone all night because all four had commitments at home the next day, no matter how much they would have liked to have shirked them. Gloria Potter agreed to take Billy for the night who seemed a little more manageable after his conversation with Julia Pemberton. It was to Mary's amusement her son had developed a crush on the Emporium owner after her kindness to him.

Wondering what Chris would be getting up to while she was gone, Mary made her way to the livery once she finished packing. Obviously, Alex had planned a little foray out of town but it was anyone's guess what the doctor had in mind. She hoped it was less scandalous then what she was certain Buck had planned for Chris. Mary reminded herself she was not going to let her imagination run away with her at what the men would be indulging in tonight.

Besides, she was passed the point in their relationship where she was jealous of other women. Chris knew how to restrain himself in all things and so she had every confidence there was nothing Buck could tempt Chris with.

Otherwise, she was shooting him with his own gun.

Mary arrived at the stable and saw the others already present. They were waiting patiently for the stable hand on-premises to complete hitching a pair of horses to a buggy large enough to seat four. Apparently she was correct in her assertion this excursion was going to be out of Four Corners and looked forward to an interesting evening. It also helped the punch had put her in an extremely good mood where she was able to forget the more tedious aspects of the wedding.

"Are we going on a trip?" Mary asked.

"Yes but not a terribly long one. Just for the evening." Alex replied since none of the others had an idea of what was happening beyond their departure from town.

"Where are we going?" Mary inquired, hating mysteries. Journalistic curiosity was a terrible burden to bear she decided. It was the same excuse she employed when she used to sneak downstairs to Christmas presents before the morning.

"Not telling," Alex said adamantly. "Just get in the carriage."

"You realize of course," Inez responded with a smile from the backseat of the buggy. "We will not get a moment's peace until we arrive. She is going to drive you to madness until she knows."

"Did I really make you my maid of honour?" Mary threw her a dark look.

"Yes, so it's too late to change your mind now." Inez winked with a satisfied smirk.

"Come on Mary," Julia urged, eager to get going because unlike Mary she thrived on surprises. "Leave a little mystery in your life."

Mary sighed, deciding she was outnumbered on this point. It appeared she was just going to have to endure the mystery until they arrived at their destination. Still, she had to admit there was something intriguing about not knowing where they were going although the possibilities would narrow once they left town. After they were settled in the carriage, Alex took the reins and the quartet began their trip.

It did not take long into their journey before Mary guessed they were heading towards Sweetwater and knowing the kinds of entertainment existing in that larger town, Mary admitted it was a pleasant discovery. The weather held for most of the ride, with the temperature dropping slightly as the day progressed into the night. Autumn left a slight chill in the air but they wisely brought their shawls and coats with them to deal with it. Mary found the ride to Sweetwater far more enjoyable then the bridal shower she was forced to endure that morning.

It surprised Mary to realise how little she had in common with the wives of Four Corners. Her world involved crises on an almost daily basis and her life involved more than just raising a child and keeping house. On the eve of marrying again, Mary was far happier because she had the love of a good man and a job she loved doing. The three friends with her at this moment shared more of an understanding about the way she lived than anyone she met throughout her time in the Territory.

The sun started to set when they arrived in Sweetwater. After leaving the buggy at the local livery, the four women found themselves at the luxurious Sweetwater Hotel with its rooms of running water and room service. Although they would not be staying the night, Alex booked a room so they had somewhere to get dressed and cleaned up before they went out for a night out on the town. The hotel had in house entertainment as well as a gambling casino, none of which any of them had ever chanced to enjoy.

After checking into the room, the women proceeded to get refreshed and changed into their evening wear for the night ahead. The hotel boasted a five-star restaurant which provided them with dinner. Mary enjoyed the evening immensely, knowing she was probably courting danger when she partook of the bottle of wine Julia ordered. It was certainly a far cry from the stolid proceedings earlier that day, even though she understood why it was necessary for Alex to plan it that way.

After dinner, they proceeded to the Sweetwater Community Hall where a touring theatre company was performing a production of Henrik Ibsen's Doll House. The play which had been running in Sweetwater created controversy with its feminist leanings and all four women watching the show, found the production struck a chord, particularly with their independent natures.

At the end of the play, they returned to the hotel although the alcohol imbibed throughout the evening was well and truly having its effect on the bride.

"Oh my," Mary giggled as the wine went straight to her head and turned her cheeks pink with colour. "I think I'm going to suffer tomorrow." She laughed as she drained her glass.

"Well, you're supposed to sip it." Inez pointed out, feeling a little tipsy herself. "Just make sure she doesn't convince us to go investigate an old haunted house." The bartender remembered all too clearly what happened the last time they imbibed too much of the devil's water.

"Ah yes," Julia nodded. "The infamous Chesterton House. Ezra made some mention of that."

"I'll bet he did," Mary grumbled. "I had to put up with Chris wearing a smirk across his face for the next week."

"Don't get me started," Inez waved away the subject with distaste. She remembered how irritating Buck had been during that time, particularly after he tried to help her by giving her his hangover remedy. Fortunately, this time she was wise to him. "Buck would not let me live it down for just as long."

"Are you ever going to do anything about that man?" Alex asked, now that the alcohol was getting to all of them with the possible exception of Julia, who as always remained poised and in control of her faculties.

"Like what?" Inez looked at her.

"Sleep with him for God's sake." Mary blurted out and more or less confirmed she was on the heavy side of tipsy. "Put him out of his misery and yours."

"Never," Inez exclaimed, with great dignity. "I'm saving myself for marriage."

The three women looked at her.

"You are kidding, aren't you?" Julia asked, unable to even fathom such an archaic concept. Of course, it was never proper to be too free with one's affections at least as far as Mary and Alex were concerned.

"Of course I am kidding!" Inez burst out laughing, thinking how priceless the blank expressions on their faces were. "I don't take those cold showers for nothing you know."

"You're just doing it to torture Buck." Mary teased.

"Yes." The bartender said with complete sincerity. "If I have to suffer, so does he."

"So what now Alex?" Mary asked as they entered the premises of the hotel once more. She wondered what else Alex had planned for the evening.

"I thought we'd go to the hotel-casino," Alex suggested with a smile, pleased her friends were enjoying themselves immensely. The rest of the patrons in the hotel were casting odd looks at the four women who were obviously drunk and enjoying every minute of their scandalous behaviour. Alex who did not drink felt the alcohol affect her more than it should. while Julia seemed sober even though she drank considerably. It did not surprise Alex Julia could hold her liquor quite well.

"You gambler you." Mary pointed an unsteady finger in her direction. "You just want to get into a game."

"I do not!" Alex giggled in protest. "I thought we might have a look at the other people playing."

"Sure." Inez laughed. "Just as long as we don't have to steal horses and make a getaway."

"Or have to wear men's clothes," Julia added, wrinkling her nose.

"Or blow up a bank," Alex added, looking at Mary as she said that.

"I'll have you know that you ought to be grateful. I did that to rescue you!" Mary said haughtily. "Now let us see what else there is to do of this place. It's my last days as a free woman, I want to kick up my heels and live a little. I'm supposed to forget all that fun stuff when I'm married you know. You wait," she regarded all three of them. "Someday, you'll be married too and then you'll suffer."

With that, she wandered off without them.

"I think we better keep a close eye on her." Julia declared and then looked at the rest of her companions and made a mental note to keep them all under close supervision. Fortunately, being somewhat wild in her youth allowed Julia to develop the tolerance none of the others had.

"No problem," Inez hurried after Mary, just as inebriated. "That's what maids of honour are for!"

Julia watched Inez disappear out the lobby and turned to Alex. "On second thought, I think I'd better keep an eye on the lot of you."

While Alex settled the bill at the hotel, Julia took a moment in the powder room, intending to meet up with the others in the casino. However, when she reached that part of the hotel, her three friends were nowhere in sight. Julia scanned the vicinity, searching for the trio at the gaming tables where poker, roulette and blackjack were being played by both men and women. It was a tasteful atmosphere but the tension was still the same around the gambling tables were money was the only equalizer.

Julia searched the card tables first and saw no sign of her friends until she happened along the bar.

"Oh my God," Julia exclaimed at the sight she was seeing.

"Now see Senor," Inez held court, surrounded by four men who were very taken with the sultry beauty if the gleam in their eyes were anything to go by. On the counter next to her was a bottle of tequila, slices of lemon and some salt. "This is how you prove you're a man in Mexico."

Julia watched in mild fascination as Inez dusted some salt onto her forearm before sucking it into her mouth. Immediately following that action, she picked up the shot glass filled to the brim with tequila and tossed it back, imbibing the contents with one deep swallow. Without missing a beat, she picked up the lemon slice and bit into it. Inez winced as she removed the fruit from her lips, wiping away the juice with her arm before slamming the glass hard on the counter.

The men clapped as if she had performed some minor miracle and Julia had this terrible premonition she had better stay sober for the rest of the night as well as tracking down the others. By now Inez had refilled the glass and was reaching for another slice of lemon much to the amusement of the men around her.

Julia did not know if she should drag Inez away now or wait until the woman was comatose with tequila before making the attempt. Either way, at the rate she was going, Inez was not going to have to have any trouble worrying about cold showers with the men who were presently surrounding her.

"Inez." Julia broke through the group watching Inez like she was the tastiest thing on the counter. Inez uninhibited was even more alluring than Inez sober. She oozed sexuality with such force it was almost something tangible and almost every man who was offering to buy her a drink was a slave to it. Julia could only thank God that Buck was not here. This display from the object of his affections would probably send the man into a blubbery idiot.

"Julia!" Inez gushed and wrapped her arm around Julia's shoulder. "Everyone, this is my friend Julia. Julia say hello everyone!"

Oh boy, Julia thought to herself and made an obligatory greeting to the men present. "Inez, maybe you've had enough."

"Enough?" Inez looked at her with horror. "I am perfectly fine. Look!" She held out her hand to show Julia it was perfectly stationary even though she could barely remain seated on her stool. "Bartender! One more!" Inez laughed and then remembered something. "Never mind Senor, I can do it myself."

She leaned across the counter and retrieved the bottle of tequila before pouring herself another glass. Repeating the procedure with the salt, she drained its contents sharply and pressed the lemon slice to her lips before letting out a satisfied grin of accomplishment. "See Julia, I can not only run the bar, but I can also plan a wedding and drink tequila like a man. Mama Recillos would be so proud of me."

Julia rolled her eyes and deadpanned. "You're an inspiration to women everywhere."

Deciding that it was not safe to leave Inez alone, especially in her drunken state, Julia took her by the arm and helped her off the bench. "Gentlemen," Julia said politely. "I think my friend and I will call it a night."

There were mumbles of disappointment all around when she dragged Inez away from the bar and the bottle of tequila which the lady bartender made a grab for as they drew away. Julia was frankly quite grateful to all the deities, she had gotten to Inez before the woman did anything she would hate herself for in the morning. Julia kept a firm grip on Inez and began searching for Mary, hoping the widow was not in the same state as Inez or else this was going to be a very long night.

Actually, it did not take Julia very long to find Mary Travis and where she did find the bride to be made the Emporium owner's jaw drop in astonishment. Towing Inez behind her, Julia found Mary at the roulette table in the arms of a man.

The duo was exchanging extremely heated kisses, much to the outrage of the more respectable customers in the casino. Patrons were staring at Mary and her new friend with expressions of reproach and disapproval. As she neared Mary, Julia tried to snare a look at the man whom Mary was willing to behave so improperly with and found there was something familiar about him. However, it was somewhat difficult to see when neither he nor Mary was coming up for air very soon.

"Looks like Mary's having fun." Inez chuckled as Julia let go of her long enough to go retrieve the errant bride.

"Mary Travis," Julia said clutching the woman by the wrist and pulling her away from the man. Suddenly, she began to understand what all those relatives of hers had endured when she was in the worst of her wild and wanton days. "What in God's name are you doing?"

"Hey!" The man she was kissing grumbled in annoyance and looked at Julia. If she had thought seeing Mary kissing a complete stranger was shocking enough, it did not compare to the astonishment she felt when she looked into his face.

It was Chris!

At least she thought it was Chris Larabee at first glance. As she blinked, she could understand why Mary would make such a mistake in her state of inebriation. Only when she looked closer, could Julia see the differences and they were slight differences indeed. The most obvious was the moustache he wore and his eyes seemed darker and colder. He did not wear black but brown leather or suede, she could not be sure. His unruly hair hung over his eyes and he stared at her with the same intense gaze.

"It's alright Julia," Mary said and then hiccupped loudly. "Its Chris. He just grew a moustache, that's all."

"I apologize for my friend, Mr...?" Julia asked deciding she did not want to get into a situation with this man who wore a gun belt around his waist and looked like someone dangerous.

"Ringo," he said eyeing her as if she were as tasty as Mary. "Johnny Ringo."

He certainly was, Julia thought with a smile. The resemblance was uncanny down to the devastatingly handsome sneer on his face. If nothing else, Julia could not fault Mary's taste.

"Mr Ringo," Julia sighed, deciding she ought to be the responsible one for once in her life since Mary was in no mind to think for herself. "My friend here is engaged to be married in a day or two. She normally does not drink very much and you bear an amazing resemblance to her fiancee. Please understand she is not in full control of her faculties."

"I kinda guessed that." He broke into a faint smile, appearing not at all offended, more amused. "Kept calling me Chris and telling me how glad she was to see me out of black. What is this guy, an undertaker?"

Julia held a straight face. "Something like that." She replied. Well, technically it was not a lie. Chris had put enough men into the ground in his time. "I'd appreciate it if you would excuse her, she's not normally prone to behaving this way."

"I gathered," he grinned. "You won't begrudge me if I say goodbye to the lady now would you?" Ringo asked taking a step towards Mary, who was still smiling at him, her lips reddened from their passionate exchange.

"Of course not," Julia replied, not wanting any trouble.

Johnny Ringo approached Mary Travis and grabbed her roughly again, pulling her to his mouth as he gave her a bruising kiss. He would have like to have taken this woman but he saw no pleasure in enjoying her company and then having her call out someone else's name. He kissed her hard and passionately, wondering if this man to whom he so closely resembled had the same hunger for her. It was a waste if he did not. When he parted, he merely winked at Mary and responded in departure.

"If you ever get sick of this Chris guy, look me up."

"Where's Chris going?" Mary asked Julia in puzzlement as Ringo started to leave the gambling area.

Julia groaned as she realized Inez was off somewhere and she would have to find her again. "Listen to me very closely Mary," the redhead said slowly. "That was not Chris!"

"Of course it was." Mary scoffed. "You just didn't recognize him with the moustache."

Julia gave up.

"Alex!" Julia hissed as she found the doctor seated at one of the private gambling tables on the far end of the casino. In this part of the gaming floor, high stakes poker was being played if the pot in the middle of the table was any indication. The notes piled in the middle of the felt-covered table was a small fortune of hundred dollar bills and it appeared all eyes were on Alex.

"Excuse me, Miss," one of the players said. "Do you mind? We are currently engaged in some serious betting." He was an older man with a handlebar moustache, wearing a fancy suit and appeared to take his gambling very seriously. "Now Doctor Styles, are you still with us?"

"Certainly Doctor Andrews." Alex smiled back and then turned to Julia who moved behind her with Mary. "I'll be just a second, Julia."

Julia huffed impatiently, eager to get out of this place because Mary was becoming increasingly difficult to manage with the widow wanting to go off to seek Chris with his new moustache. She glanced at the cards Alex was holding and had to admit it was an impressive hand. Casting her mind back to Alex's infamous game with Ezra, Julia could not help but smile at thinking how mortified her lover had been at Alex letting him win again. He still demanded a rematch occasionally but his persistence had faded with Alex's constant refusal.

At the moment, however, the tension at the table was on a knife's edge as Alex pushed notes into towards the large pile, to add to the tension building with slow momentum. "I raise two hundred dollars. Anyone of you boys care to match that?" She met the eyes of the men around her, challenging them to keep up with her. Not wishing to be outdone by a woman, the man directly across her pushed more money towards the pot.

"I match your two and raise you three." The man stared at her, daring Alex to compete. A small crowd had gathered around the table, watching in anticipation at how much money was going to find its way into the centre of the table before a card was even seen.

"I'm out!" Someone said and his declaration was followed by his cards landing on the table as he pushed away from the edge in a show of defeat. The circle returned to Doctor Andrews who bit his lip in consideration as he weighed the notion of pulling out while he could or riding this game to its inevitable conclusion.

"Do we take IOU's?" The doctor inquired and drew sharp responses of nos from those seated, except Alex.

"I can cover you, Doctor Andrews," Alex offered. "Call it professional courtesy."

"Why thank you Doctor Styles." Andrews smiled, tipping his hat in her direction before remarking. "I'd like to match Mr Douglas's bet to stay in."

"For my esteemed colleague," Alex announced and pushed Andrews's notes forward. "And for myself, another hundred."

Mary leaned over her shoulder to see what cards she had when suddenly the widow exclaimed. "But you've only three eights and a pair of queens!"

A visible groan followed as Alex slapped a palm over her face in embarrassment not to mention defeat since the disclosure had more or less ended the game. The doctor winced in frustration as she looked up at her opponents and asked with a wry smile. "I guess no one's going to raise?"

The expression on their faces said enough and Julia whispered in Alex's ear. "Now can we go home?"

Unlike the sedate affair enjoyed initially by the women of Four Corners, the bachelor party was somewhat livelier as such things tended to be. The Standish Tavern had been closed for the evening, devoted exclusively to the use of the seven as they celebrated Chris Larabee's last days of freedom as a single man. With Buck Wilmington in charge of the festivities, there was naturally, plenty of alcohol and working girls in attendance, doing the rounds of the room, even though no one had taken up the offer to disappear upstairs for some feminine company.

Chris had to admit he was having a good time and glanced over at Vin who sat not far from him, with a woman in his lap trying to behave even though she was coming on very strong, he guessed the tracker was enjoying himself as well.

For once, Chris had to admit Buck's idea to bring forward this party was a good one for the tensions created by Charlotte's appearance in Four Corners was nowhere to be seen. Although he had yet to pick a best man, Chris had a candidate in mind and hoped neither Buck nor Vin would be too offended by his choice.

"Well Mr Larabee," Ezra said sitting next to him with a drink. "How does this compare to the last soiree Mr Wilmington threw in your honour?"

"A lot less trouble," Chris replied, downing his glass and reaching for the bottle on the table near him. "At least I'm not waking up with a bell around my neck."

"I would love to hear the story behind that conclusion." Ezra laughed. "Although I would not count the entertainment for the evening as being confined to this delightful gathering." The gambler gestured to the women before them. "I do believe he has something special planned."

"That's a worry." Chris drawled, feeling drunk already but not enough for it to be debilitating. "Buck never does anything conventional in that sense."

"Hey Ezra," Buck sang out. The tall man was presently holding a rather voluptuous working girl in one hand and a glass in another. "How about singing us a song? I told Trixie here you got the purdiest voice. Remember when you made your debut at Wickestown?"

"Yeah, Ezra!" Nathan laughed. "Maybe we can find you something to wear."

"That is not funny Mr Wilmington," Ezra grumbled with annoyance. "I'll have you know, that I only wore that costume in the line of duty."

"Well Ezra," Chris teased. "You had to admit you were quite the fetching young lady."

"You are an engaged man Mr Larabee," Ezra said darkly. "You are not meant to be noticing how fetching I am. Now if you excuse me, I need to go kill Mr Wilmington or at the very least shoot him in the mouth."

"Good luck with that," Chris replied. "Believe me, it's been tried before."

"Just one song and show a little leg!" Buck's voice sang out again and Ezra flashed him a look that was filled with daggers.

Chris laughed as he watched Ezra proceed forward to confront Buck and possibly Nathan who was enjoying this playful teasing as much as his oldest friend. Good ol' Buck, Chris shook his head in resignation. The man never changed and in some ways, Chris was almost glad for it. It was nice to know that at least something in his life remained constant.

So much had changed in the last two years since he arrived at Four Corners. It was quite a sobering thing to remember Sarah and Adam had been dead five years already. Where had the time gone? He never imagined the turn his life would take when he first felt his heart react at the sight of the woman standing down a bunch of drunks, with a shotgun she was having trouble just holding on to. Trembling as she raised the weapon to fire, the determination in her eyes and the set of her jaw as she prepared to stand firm, touched him more than anything had done since his wife and son died. Did he know then he loved her or was it just the knowledge of something being rekindled inside him?

Chris did not know for certain and perhaps he never would. When he first laid eyes on Mary Travis, everything had changed for him, not just the unbearable pain of his loss but also the loneliness he wore like a cloak for much of his life even when his family still lived. Mary made his life worth living again and along with her came the friends who were now working themselves into a proper state of intoxication.

He looked up and saw Ezra and Buck wrestling, with Nathan yelling something to Buck about keeping his hands off the lady and Chris, did not believe the healer was referring to Trixie. He tried to suppress a smile as both Buck and Ezra landed on the table, their collective weight crushing it beneath them, sending bottles and glasses full of drink in all direction. Nathan was holding his glass high, lest he did not spill anything while around the two men, laughter ensued.

Vin stepped out of the line of fire, holding his own glass carefully not to spill it in the midst of all the excitement as he came to take Ezra's seat next to Chris. The tracker seemed in good spirits which was quite a change considering his encounter with Charlotte had been only a day or so ago. Like Chris, Vin preferred to stay out of the hard carousing the others indulged in, although the tracker was known to have a playful side when the mood took him.

"How are you enjoying your bachelor party, pard?" Vin asked, his gaze still fixed on Ezra and Buck. By now, the gambler had impossibly managed to get Buck in a neck lock and was proceeding to empty a bottle of whisky over the man's head while the rest of the room was cheering him on. Buck who was unrepentant was crying out, 'Don't hurt me, ma'am!' Which only succeeded in infuriating Ezra even more

"I'm enjoying it pretty good." Chris had to admit. "I think I like staying out of the line of fire more than anything else."

"I don't blame you." Vin laughed. "Come on Ezra, show the man what it's like to take on a lady!" The tracker hollered in the direction of the main group.

"Duck!" Chris warned and the two men moved out of the way as a bottle flew in their direction and impacted on the floor behind them, spraying them with fluid as it shattered.

"I wouldn't rest too easy," Vin said after they were back in their original positions again. "I hear Buck's got something else planned this evening. He had it brought in special from Bitter Creek."

"Really?" Chris frowned, hating surprises of any kind. In particular, those that had its origins from Buck Wilmington. He remembered the last such surprise Buck had sprung on him and recalled it ended up with him having to sneak into town without a stitch of clothing other than the boots on his feet.

"He's been whispering about nothing else. Said it was something special sure to knock our socks off."

Chris did not want his socks knocked off, or anything else for that matter. However, it did not look like anything was going to happen just yet, with Ezra finally releasing Buck who was soaked from his alcohol bath. Ezra had now turned his attention to his other tormentor and was running after Nathan with another full bottle of whisky. Almost everyone in the room was suitably inebriated by this point and so Ezra was being cheered on in this endeavour.

In the meantime, J.D. and Josiah were engaged in a drinking contest. Josiah seemed as stoic as always, his tally of empty glasses, not all reflected in his seemingly sober mask. J.D., on the other hand, was on a fast track to being completely shit faced before the hour was up. To his credit, J.D. was hanging on quite well as he tried to keep pace with Josiah who was clearly offering the young man a challenge to stay upright. Knowing J.D. as well as he did, Chris knew the youngster was stubborn enough to drink himself into oblivion just to prove he could keep up with the older man.

"Kid's going to be sick to the stomach tomorrow," Vin said with a wry smile.

"Tomorrow?" Chris looked at him. "I'd give him another twenty minutes."

Suddenly Chris remembered he had something to discuss with the tracker and figured now was as good a time as any to bring it up. "Listen pard," Chris said taking a sip of his drink and looking at the younger man. "After me and Mary are hitched, chances are I won't be spending too much time at the shack. I was wondering whether you'd like to take up the place. I need someone to keep an eye on it."

"Are you sure?" Vin asked somewhat overwhelmed by the offer. "I mean, I thought you were pretty attached to the property."

"I ain't giving it to you or nothing," Chris joked, amused by Vin's reaction. "I just want someone to be there if I ain't going to be. I'll be staying at Mary's place although I reserve the right to turn up now and then when I need some peace and quiet. Besides, I'll still take Billy fishing up at the creek."

"Thanks, Chris," Vin said softly, feeling the emotion well up inside him at the gesture. Vin had never really been anywhere long enough to call it home before coming to Four Corners and what Chris was offering, was a place of his own where he could escape the quiet without needing to disappear into the wilderness for solitude.

"Okay, Chris. Its time for the entertainment." The tall man reeked of liquor as he made the announcement, running his fingers through his dark hair. He dashed up the stairs to the upper floor of the saloon and called out. "Come on out Darlin'!"

No sooner than he had captured everyone's attention, they heard the scratchy sound of a phonograph starting to blare.

The music playing from some undisclosed room in the corridor was loud and heavy with percussion. It was the kind of music one heard in music halls and steamy theatre shows in the big city. Buck hurried down the stairs back to Chris and Vin before announcing. "Everybody give a hand for the lovely Miss Salome and the dance of the Seven Veils!"

She emerged from one of the rooms, tall, lithe and clad in a colourful assortment of strategically placed scarves over parts of her body. Her long red hair was tied into a ponytail that hung over back and swayed tantalizingly when she moved. A veil hung over her face and through the sheer fabric, they could almost see her full round lips.

The woman who went by the pseudonym Salome, sauntered down the stairs, dancing to an exotic beat that reminded everyone present of faraway places known to them only in books and stories. The dance could only be described by those witnessing it as pure sex.

It showed in the slow movement of her hands, the way her hips swung from side to side, making her skin ripple with such fluidity of movement there was not one man present who unaffected by the display. Even Chris started to feel a little dry in the throat as she regarded the men present with deep green eyes, in her seductive but painfully slow movements. The music seemed to be almost as intoxicating as the dancer before them, forcing each man to be aware of her as she stepped onto the floor, wearing soft slippers that made it seem she was gliding across the floor.

No one spoke as she drew closer and even Josiah and J.D. had abandoned their drinking contest in light of the vision before them. The woman moved gracefully to the centre floor of the saloon. She was dressed in a harem girl's costume which was little more than wisps of gossamer-like material clinging to her white skin and bounced lightly with each movement.

"Mr Wilmington, you've outdone yourself." Ezra's voice managed to say in a quiet whisper as he watched with the same mesmerized expression as his companions. It was impossible to be unaffected by the seductive movements of the woman before him when the heathen dance she was performing made all of them thank God they were men. The six had all chipped in their money for Chris's party and at this moment, were extremely pleased with Buck's efforts.

"Why thank you, Ezra," Buck said with a smile. "Of course, she ain't as pretty as you in a dress but we can't all be that blessed."

A small titter of laughter was followed by Ezra throwing a bowl of nuts in Buck's direction.

Salome of the veils approached Chris. The gunslinger found himself swallowing as she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his through the silk of the veil, affording him an extremely healthy view of her breasts, barely concealed in the top she was wearing. The scarves that were tucked neatly in a sequined belt around her hip, kept her bare thighs from being exposed and brushed against Chris as she danced before him. Her hand snaked down the length of her naked stomach and she unhooked one of the lengths of material from its place before tossing it in Chris's direction. She offered him an alluring smile and then withdrew to lavish her attention on Vin.

Chris let out a sigh of relief as Salome made the rounds of the room, thinking to himself he had not been this tempted in quite some time. He realized much of it had to do with being drunk but it was difficult not to react to the sight of a half-naked woman gyrating sinfully before him. He looked over his shoulder at Buck and stared at his old friend with narrowed eyes.

"You're an evil man Buck," Chris said with a devilish sneer.

"Well Chris, I just wanted you to know what you'd be giving up." Buck patted him on the back as they both watched Vin get bright red as the woman lowered herself on the tracker and performed a highly tantalizing lap dance. Chris could see Vin's Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he too, was forced to remind himself that he had prior commitments elsewhere. Like before, she removed another veil as a calling card before departing from the tracker to continue her journey through the rest of the room.

"This ain't reminding me," Chris glared at him with mock anger. "This is torture. Where did you find her?" He asked over the sound of the music playing from the phonograph.

"In Bitter Creek. She's one of the acts at the new burlesque parlour at the seamier side of town." Buck replied, his eyes moving in perfect rhythm with Salome's firm round derriere.

That explained why Buck had been so eager to take any duty that required him going to Bitter Creek the past few weeks. During these forays, Buck seldom came home until the next day and Chris now had an idea what the man had been up to. With a smile, he wondered just how well Buck knew Salome. If Chris all knew Buck Wilmington's habit, he would have no doubt attempted to familiarize his relationship with the young lady in the biblical sense.

J.D. was staring at the woman before him with wide eyes as Salome turned her attentions to him. The youngster was in an even worse state than Vin because J.D. could not even bring himself to drop his gaze from her face even though he very much wanted to look. Even Salome was finding some amusement in his shyness and she slipped a veil behind his neck and caressed his skin as she tugged on either end. J.D. was trying to say something but only managed a lopsided grin as he felt Salome's long hair brushing against his cheek.

"I think he's about to pop." Buck laughed and Chris could hardly disagree. He was in better control of his urges than most and he was having a difficult time wrestling with the temptation to even think what J.D. must be going through at the moment. It did not help the situation that with the removal of each scarf, more of Salome's shapely legs were being exposed for all to see. At this point, her long slender legs were almost as tantalizing as everything else she was doing.

"Come on Chris," Buck grinned, filling Chris's glass with more liquor since he had more plans for the groom that would require Chris being in a state of further intoxication.

Chris would probably kill him and his co-conspirators, namely Vin and Ezra but then no one lived forever.

By the time Salome discarded her last veil, Chris was so drunk that he could barely stand. Thanks to Buck filling his glass every time he emptied it, the gunslinger was almost comatose when the music and the entertainment came to an end. J.D. was forced to excuse himself after the stimulating display and none of the older men wanted to know exactly where he was going, even though they all had a pretty good idea. Fortunately, Buck, Vin and Ezra had other preoccupations in mind, so the lust they had felt over the sumptuous Miss Salome was fleeting.

Nathan helped Josiah back to his lodgings since apparently J.D. had belatedly won their drinking contest when the preacher had collapsed in a drunken heap, clutching a silk scarf while wearing an inexplicable smile on his face that Nathan did not want explained to him. As Chris was more or less out cold, the party had come to an end with most of the guests choosing to depart and Ezra deciding it was as good a time as any to close the tavern for the night.

"Buck," Vin said as he helped the tall man carry Chris upstairs. "I hope we don't get shot for this. I ain't lived long enough to want to go out so soon."

"I'm telling you, Vin," Buck grinned as they made their way up the stairs, with Vin holding Chris's legs and Buck keeping a firm grip of his head and arms. "It will be worth it just to see the look on his face."

"I must admit," Ezra remarked as he picked up Chris's black hat from the floor. "I do feel some trepidation with this."

"It’s his last few days as a bachelor!" Buck exclaimed, unable to believe that two of the bravest men he knew could be so yellow over such a harmless little joke. "He’s allowed to have some fun, ain't he?"

"I am uncertain if Mr Larabee would consider this fun." Ezra pointed out. "However, I do reserve the right to point the finger in your direction if he chooses to take revenge."

"Me too." Vin agreed as they backed up slowly onto the steps that would take them to the room awaiting Chris upstairs. "I'll take my licks if I gotta but I'm going Ezra's way and saying it’s your fault." The tracker said with a wicked grin.

"Nice to know that I'm riding with men of character." Buck frowned.

Chapter Four
After Hours

Julia had no idea what time it was when she finally drove the buggy back into Four Corners. It was obviously the small hours of the morning because there was no one on the darkened street when she and her companions returned to town. Although she was tempted to stay in Sweetwater, considering the state of Inez and Mary, Julia and Alex opted to return home. Besides, if they were to let Mary out of their sight even for a moment, there was no telling where the woman would end up. As it was, no amount of convincing by either Julia or Alex was able to convince Mary she was not kissing Chris but some stranger named Johnny Ringo.

No doubt she would remember when the alcohol wore off but for the moment, Mary was so inebriated Julia had no intention leaving the woman alone. It had strained both Alex and Julia's patience to breaking point to keep Inez and Mary from wandering off and doing something they would regret in the morning. Julia let out a sigh of relief when the buggy finally rolled into town. She decided to take Mary home first since the widow had passed her craving for wanderlust and had now turned a decidedly uncomfortable shade of green. Alex who was tipsy herself still had the presence of mind to know Mary was not far from being violently ill and decided that getting her home was the best thing at the moment.

"Come on Mary," Alex said as she and Julia helped Mary out of the buggy in front of the Clarion. Across the street, the lights to the saloon were still on although the sounds of revelry were absent.

"Didn't you think Chris was just dreamy with that moustache?" Mary asked with a dazed smile when Julia took her arm as she stepped shakily out of the carriage.

Upon touching the ground, her foot gave way on her and the trio struggled to maintain on their feet, while Inez giggled at the sight of them all.

"Inez," Julia looked at the lady bartender sternly. "Stay where you are. You've drunk enough tequila to choke a horse."

"I'm staying right here," Inez replied, showing Julia she was a damn sight better condition than Mary whom Alex was having to prop up while she was escorting the widow to her door.

Julia glanced at the saloon as she and Alex helped Mary to the door. "I wonder if the boys are having as much fun as we are?"

"We were having a pretty good time," Alex replied, refusing to let the whole night be a waste. "So our bride has a little difficulty with alcohol. If I had to marry Chris Larabee, I'd need a stiff drink too."

They got Mary through the front door when Julia cast a glance at the buggy and noticed Inez was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, where did she go?" Julia asked as Alex was fumbling with Mary's keys to open the door in the unlikely event some local scandalmonger saw the pillar of the community in this state.

"Who?" Alex asked looking up.

"Inez!" Julia exclaimed frantically, knowing what state Inez was in at this time.

"Well, she probably went home," Alex said finally opening the door with one hand while the other was holding onto Mary who was draped over her shoulder. "We'll look for her later. Besides, how much trouble could she get into?"

*********

WARNING: Adult scene

With the party more or less over and Chris tucked away for the night, Buck decided it was time to call it a night. Vin had already left and Ezra asked him to lock up on his way out of the place once the gambler departed for his lodgings. The preparations for tomorrow's little amusement at Chris's expense was taken care of and all that was required now was for Buck to be present when the gunslinger woke the next morning. Chris was probably going to trash the hell out of him when he sobered up but Buck could not help himself.

He was halfway down the steps when he saw Inez walk through the doors. She was dressed in one those nice cotton dresses Mexicans tended to favour and made her look especially lovely. Buck wondered what mischief she and the ladies had been up to tonight. It must have been interesting if the late hour was any indication of it. Inez walked across the saloon and noticed him only when she was nearing the steps.

"Hey Inez." Buck greeted as he continued down the stairs. "How was the bridal shower?"

"Terrific." Inez smiled, staring at him in a manner that made Buck uncomfortable although he could not understand why. "I drank tequila in Sweetwater and Mary saw Chris grow a moustache."

At this point, he worked out she was drunk.

"I think its time we got you to bed young lady," Buck chuckled, amused by her inebriation. He would have to remind her of all the embarrassing details tomorrow. Gently, he wrapped his hand around her arm to escort her to her bedroom upstairs.

God, he smelled so good, Inez thought as Buck moved next to her. Inez felt the familiar stirring inside her whenever he was close to her. How much he affected her would have surprised him if he had any idea of it. She stayed away from him because she feared getting hurt. Inez knew he loved her, she just never knew whether or not Buck loved her enough. Suddenly, what Alex asked her earlier that evening returned to haunt her and Inez questioned what was the purpose in curbing her own desires for him when it was obvious how she felt. She was a grown woman who knew how to handle her feelings about Buck Wilmington.

If she wanted to indulge her desires for him, Inez could not see what was so wrong with that. Especially when he was here right now and looking as handsome as always with that intoxicating scent that pushed her closer and closer to the edge of caution.

Finally, Inez found she no longer cared any more.

Buck became more and more aware of Inez pressing up against him as he steered her towards the steps, how her breath was moving closer to his ear until he could feel its warmth tickling his ear. Buck was just about to turn around and question what was happening when suddenly, he took note at how she was looking at him. There was only one word to describe what he saw in her eyes.

Hunger.

When it started, Buck Wilmington was stunned with disbelief. His mind was still reeling when he felt her arms around his neck before she pulled him to her. After so many refusals despite the most heavily mounted campaign Buck Wilmington had ever launched to win affections of any lady, this sudden surrender left him momentarily discombobulated. Inez crushed her luxurious lips against his but there was nothing tender about it. The hunger burning inside her was so fierce he could feel he heat against his skin. Her tongue slid past his teeth, finding his own before engaging in an ancient ritual of taste that all but left him breathless.

He was still too astonished by this sudden show of lust to make any suitable response when he felt her nails raking through his hair, a satisfied groan escaping her lips from the bottom of her throat. Her mouth devoured his with such ruthless intensity, Buck who was accustomed to being in control during every sexual encounter was spellbound by the demand in those silky lips. She slammed him against the wall of the empty saloon, oblivious to the fact anyone could walk in here and catch them. Somehow, the danger wrapped up with the attainment of the previously unattainable sent a surge of excitement through him that broke whatever will he had to question this sudden turn of events.

Inez felt Buck harden behind the fabric of his pants, heightening her arousal as the length of him pressed insistently against her belly through the cotton of her dress. She shuddered at its hard ridge and leaned deeper into him because close was not enough. Meeting his gaze, Inez smiled, never wanting him more than at that moment.

To Buck, Inez never looked more beautiful or sultry. He could smell the alcohol on her breath and knew she was drunk. A part of him knew he should stop this because she was not entirely in her right mind. However, as she pulled apart his shirt and buried those perfect lips on the soft skin of his neck, the nobility was driven completely from his mind and he stopped thinking altogether.

It took a few minutes of sweet torture as her mouth did its worst against his neck for Buck to regain some measure of composure to do more than just stand there helplessly against this hard wooden surface and be taken by her. Although the idea made him so aroused, he could barely think. His hands started tugging at the dress she was wearing, needing to feel skin as she tasted his neck with her tongue, alternating between kisses and gentle nips. His erection was straining against his pants with such need Buck could only close his eyes and wallow in the exquisite sensations she was making him endure.

God, he had known she could be passionate and fiery but he had never imagined this. Not once.

Inez let her lips slid down his exposed chest, delighting in the hard muscle so many women had enjoyed before her. She did not care who had been there before her only that at this moment, she needed him to pleasure her and all other considerations were secondary. She ripped the shirt further apart, popping buttons across the floor as she exposed more skin. She was conscious of him pulling her dress above her legs and his large hands cupping her bottom, kneading into fiery conflagration, the heat between her legs already past control or sense. Running her tongue across his skin, Inez explored every curve of taut flesh, from the hollow of his neck to the small depression in the centre of his chest. She licked and tasted until she was aware he was groaning and calling her name.

His nipples lay before her, elliptical shapes that begged her mouth for stimulation even though he had not spoken a word but screamed it in his reactions. Her lips glided over the rough skin and Inez heard the sharp intake of breath following the heat of her mouth enclosing them.

"Christ, Inez." He whispered incoherently as she began to tease him with his tongue. Like before she was not gentle and God, he did not want her to be. He wanted her to take what she wanted from him, to make love to him instead of the other way around. She was making him so hard with her initiative he had more or less decided he wanted nothing but to let her satisfy her own desires as long as he could enjoy the ride with her. He pulled the dress over her and groaned in disappointment as her mouth left his nipples even for the slightest moment when he slipped it over her head and tossed it aside.

As always imagined, she wore very little underneath. Just a slip here and easily discarded pantalets there. Inez was hardly concerned over her nakedness as she moved to his other nipple and repeated the same torture. Buck was running his hands over her smooth back, delighting in the curves and the feel of her silky skin against his. She smelled like cinnamon and in her hair, Buck thought he scented wildflowers and everything exotic and free. He closed his eyes as he felt her teeth digging into his skin, wondering how such pleasure could be derived from pain.

Her hands slid his suspenders and shirt off his broad shoulders. Despite her feverish need, Inez took time to appreciate the beauty of the man and he was beautiful. He was able to charm so many with that boyish smile even though the face that beheld it was, without doubt, a man. Inez loved hearing his voice, how husky it sounded even when it was not meant to be heard that way. It always sent tingles down her skin even when they argued. Her lips continued their descent, making Buck shudder with anticipation by the time she reached the soft velvet skin of his stomach. She covered him with lusty kisses, making his insides knot because she finished each tiny kiss with the tip of her tongue making contact against his skin. Her hands dropped to his hips and she began working the buttons of his pants free as she feasted on the skin pulled tight across his belly. Buck could hardly believe this attention she was lavishing on him, gaping in feral desire when she dropped to her knees.

"Inez," He looked into her eyes as she loosened all the buttons of his pants and dropped the fabric around his ankles.

Inez met his gaze with a smile, her lips wet with his taste as she remained poised over his cock, aware it was simply bursting with anticipation for her mouth. Buck knew in that instant she wanted to do this to him as much as he wanted to feel her take him into her mouth.

"I love you." He whispered and she smiled even wider as if she already knew and it would change nothing.

Inez engulfed him within her lips in one deep swallow. He was big, that much was not an exaggeration. She loved how he tasted as she slowly glided over his shaft, taking specific delight in laving the swollen head when she reached it. His fingers tightened their grip in her hair and Inez knew he was fighting hard to keep himself from thrusting his hips forward. Inez did not care. She wanted him to pound into her throat until she was close to gagging; she wanted his ecstasy to be absolute and his manhood to swell with such pleasure that when she finally took him, he would fill every inch of her.

"Oh, Jesus Christ!" Buck cried out as he felt her pulling his hips forward until he had no choice but to follow the rhythm she had set as he pushed into the tight, wet heat of her mouth. Her nails dug into his rump as she forced him forward until all he could see was her dark hair bobbing up and down his cock. The pleasure was reaching crescendo, the pressure building until all he could feel was her mouth carrying him on a wave of ecstasy the likes of which he had never known or would ever want again.

He was getting close. She could taste it in her mouth and knew if she continued this way for much longer, he would be spent before she could even begin. There was no need for her own arousal because making him a quivering mound of gasping flesh had made her so wet with desire she felt her sex swelling with need. He was gasping openly, oblivious to where they were or who could walk in. Inez knew she had him completely in her power but it was not quite enough. She wanted him inside her, she wanted to feel him explode inside her in a rush of orgasmic fire.

Suddenly, she withdrew. Buck looked down and saw her mouth receding from the length of his shaft and almost sobbed in disappointment. He looked at her with question and saw another slow smile steal across her face as she rose to her feet and pressed her mouth against his. Her tongue diving in deep again her naked body stroked the tip of his swollen cock. The rosy head making contact with her skin forced another groan from him and Buck saw she thrilled at the sound of his arousal.

Taking him by the hand, she led him to a nearby table and more or less swept everything on it aside with enough force to send it scattering a suitable distance away where it would cause no harm. Inez made him lie down against the hardwood surface and Buck understood what she wanted of him. It was no more of a surprise than anything else that happened to him tonight and he lay back on the surface almost compliantly, his hard cock extending upward awaiting attention.

"Show me." He whispered lustily.

"I will show you everything Buck." She replied, kissing the head of his cock with a gentle kiss before she climbed on top of him.

His hands reached for her but no sooner than he tried to touch her, Inez wrapped her hands around his wrists and forced them against the table on either side of his head. Pinning him down helplessly, she pressed her mouth against his again, delivering another searing kiss that left Buck gasping as he felt the heat of her sex rubbing up and down his belly. Her juices coated his skin and the raw desire in her eyes was reflected in her movements as she ground herself against him mercilessly.

She was so wet there was little or no resistance when she mounted him. Buck closed his eyes shut, feeling the intense pressure of tight muscles gripping him as he was sheathed in her heat. Every inch of the journey inside her was pure pleasure and Buck looked at her with a smile, daring her to do her worst because he liked her being in control. Inez smiled at him and kissed him again, allowing him to become accustomed to being inside her. Buck was grateful for the chance because she felt truly wonderful and the need to start thrusting into her was overwhelming. He was not exactly a novice at this but even he was amazed at how much she eclipsed his normal sexual experience.

"Make me scream Buck." She whispered, her lips wet with raw hunger as she started rocking back and forth.

Buck started to groan as he felt her moving over him. She was so hot and tight he could barely breathe and each movement she made, teased his cock with such delicious pressure all he could do was groan softly. He had decided to let her take him as if he had any choice in the matter. Keeping his hands in place, Inez rode him like a stallion, making him groan incoherently with every stroke of pleasure she was making him endure. He felt helpless in her grip and wanted nothing more than to have her do this to him forever.

Jesus, he loved her.

All those rumours and whispers she had heard about Buck Wilmington was answered for Inez as she rocked back and forth on the hard muscle currently impaled inside her. He was so far inside her she could feel him pressing hard against the barrier of flesh that allowed him to go no further. Each time Inez felt his swollen head making contact with that ending, she moaned at how perfect he felt. He filled her up so completely, she wondered what she could have been thinking of staying away from his so long.

Buck felt her pushing harder and harder against him until her momentum forced his hips into a sensual rhythm with hers. Her breasts bounced lightly against his stomach, her face contorting into a mask of beatific pleasure each time he felt her bottom slap his hips when he slammed into her. After a while, she had stopped moving, allowing him to take control as he brutally forced his cock as hard as he could into her repeatedly until the clenching of her screamingly taut inner muscles threatened to drive all sense from his mind. Buck knew he could bear it no more and he felt himself nearing the edge of his control.

Inez was even closer than that but Buck was not to know. He could only feel her muscles crushing him into submission until she could no longer maintain a grip on his hands and had released them to brace herself against his chest. Buck's fingers dug into her thighs when he saw her throw her head back in ecstasy as her mane of dark hair cascaded down her back while a sheen of sweat glistened off her magnificent body. God, she was so incredibly beautiful. Seeing her reaching her peak allowed him to keep from his for a few precious seconds because he wanted to revel in the sight of it, knowing it was he who brought her there. He held her hips firmly as he kept thrusting upwards until she was the one moaning mindlessly at what he was doing to her.

"Oh, Buck!" She whimpered and Buck felt her stiffen, her back straightening in his grip as her body arched sensuously. He watched it come over her and was smiling in satisfaction at her release. Impossibly, her muscles clenched even tighter around him and forced him over the abyss with her.

"God, Inez!" He sang out her name as he felt himself go, his entire soul emptying into her in one final gush of orgasmic pleasure. His back arched, grinding his cock so deep into her she had more or less slumped forward from the overload of sensation. Buck kept pushing and pushing until he had allowed every surge of passion to become trapped deep inside her. They warmed each other with hot fluids and melded together in a tangle of sweaty and panting flesh.

Buck closed his eyes and let his heart stop pounding in his chest as his hands stroked her dark hair, drawing such intense pleasure from just feeling the strands under his palm he wished nothing more than to make her happy for the rest of his life. God, he loved this woman. From the first moment, he laid eyes on her, he had known his heart was lost. She lay nuzzled against his chest, rubbing her cheek against his skin as if she would purr if she was able.

"Maybe we ought to continue this upstairs." He said softly, not wanting to move because her weight on top of him felt so good but Buck was painfully aware of where they were and discovery may cause him embarrassment but it would severely damage her reputation.

"You think you're up to it Senor?" She teased as she slid off him languidly like a sleek cat. He watched her graceful movements as she collected her clothes and slipped her dress over her head, her undergarments still in her hand.

Buck was getting another erection just thinking about an entire night. "I'm always up to it Darlin." He grinned and followed her upstairs without question.

*********

THE NEXT MORNING

The first thing that Inez realized when she woke up the next morning was she had possibly the worst hangover of her life. As soon as she opened her eyes, it attacked her in clanging waves of white sound that echoed in every corner of her mind. Consciousness turned her brain into a belfry and some madman was ringing the bell-like it was time for Sunday mass. Inez groaned and buried her head in her pillow, trying to remember what it was she had done last night and had a vague recollection of tequila and a moustache.

The second thing she realized was she was not alone in her bed.

She realized it because she found her foot gently caressing a leg that was not hers and was in severe need of good waxing. Inez froze, trying to remember how she had come to be in her own bed and turned around slowly, her eyes widened as some memories started coming back. What she remembered made her wince even though judging by the satisfied feeling she felt through her body, the experience was not entirely bad if not for one thing.

Please God, let it be anyone else but who I think it is!

She peeked over the tangle of sheets and saw him sleeping contentedly on the side of the bed that had until last night had not been occupied by anyone else, except the stray pillow she tended to toss aside during her sleep. Buck Wilmington wore a smile on his face that screamed nothing but pure contentment as Inez's memories of the past evening became clear in her mind.

Inez blushed furiously, recalling everything that transpired from the moment she walked through the doors of the saloon and found him alone to the point where she had gotten down on her knees...

Oh God. Inez dropped her head back on the pillow again, shaking her head in disbelief, unable to accept after all the resistance she put up, she could come undone by one night of inebriation. Of course, the experience was perfect. She had always known it would be. In fact drunk or not, this pleasant contentment in her bones and the smile sneaking across her face at how wonderful he had made her feel was not the result of a less than satisfactory encounter. Their coupling was as fiery and exciting as she always imagined it would be. It was just that she had not been ready to bring their relationship to this point for quite some time. Now it appeared the choice had been taken out of her hands because of her own foolish behaviour.

All she could think of as she stared at the ceiling, feeling her dilemma unfold which each returning memory, was how she could get out of this particular predicament.

*********

"I've gotta go honey." A set of soft lips brushed against Chris Larabee's cheek and immediately awoke the gunslinger. He heard the rustle of movement over him and sat up just as the figure moved away from him.

Chris sat up bolt upright, suddenly realizing the female voice speaking to him so tenderly was not Mary's. Wide-eyed, he found himself staring at Salome, getting dressed in an outfit that looked infinitely more respectable than the one she was wearing the night before. She was putting up her hair in pins and regarded him warmly as he watched her, trying to remember how the hell he had come to be in a bedroom with her while she was looking at him as if he...as if he...

God, he could not even let himself think it.

"I just want you to know," she looked at him with those amazing eyes. "I had the most wonderful time last night. You were..." she paused to think of the word. "Wonderful. Your bride is one lucky woman."

And I'm one dead son of a bitch when she gets her hands on me. Chris thought frantically as he searched around for his clothes, trying to remember how the hell he could have ended up in this position. The last thing he remembered was sitting next to Buck watching Salome perform her dance for them all. Yet he must have done something because he was here with her, with his clothes strewn over a chair and she looking at him like he had indeed spent the night with her.

Oh Christ, was he in trouble!

"Thanks." He managed to mumble as he staggered out of bed, slipping out of the sheets before he realized he was not entirely dressed. With less aplomb that he was normally accustomed to displaying, Chris practically snatched the sheet off the bed to cover his nudity. "I'm sorry..." he stammered. "This has to be a mistake..." He said trying to convince himself more than her.

Suddenly the door slammed open with Buck and Vin bursting into the room. Both men surveyed the scene before expressions of horror drained into their faces as they regarded the situation before them.

"Jesus Chris!" Buck exclaimed. "What the hell did you do?"

"Nothing!" Chris declared helplessly. "I just woke up!"

"In her bed?" Vin replied with similar shock and dismay. "You're getting married in less than a week!"

"I know that!" Chris barked, unable to fathom how he had allowed himself to fall into such a terrible situation.

"Don't worry Chris," Buck said magnanimously. "We'll think of something to tell Mary."

"Think of something? Nothing happened!" Chris declared, adamant in this fact no matter how bad things looked at the moment. He could not have done anything! He had never been that out of control in his whole life.

"Well I wouldn't say that honey," Salome smiled at him. "A little something happened."

"Will you please stop calling me that!" Chris roared, his temper finally getting the better of him. "I ain't your honey!"

"That's not what you said last night."

Chris stopped short and looked horrified in Buck and Vin's direction when suddenly he noticed his two friends were not quite as shocked and dismayed as they were a minute ago. In fact, they were looking at him, trying their hardest to stifle their sniggers. Vin, in particular, was fighting the urge to laugh as Chris saw his jaw tightening with each attempt to restrain himself. Buck, however, was not that practised at hiding his emotions. Chris saw the sparkle in his eyes as his old friend tried not to burst out into laughter.

Glancing at Salome, he saw the woman's previous distress having dissolved into amusement. His eyes narrowed at the possibility he was the victim of a practical joke and the responsible party for his being in this ridiculous state of affairs were the two men before him. Realizing the scam was up, Salome shrugged her shoulders and gave up the ruse first.

"Don't worry honey," she smiled as she made her exit. "You were perfect gentlemen."

"That's good to know," Chris frowned as Vin and Buck's attempt at restraint finally gave way and the two men started to laugh loudly as Chris smouldered.

"Now Chris," Buck managed to say through his loud guffaws. "You should have seen your face!"

"Pard, I ain't never seen you that scared;" Vin agreed, wearing the same look of mischief as he tried to control his own laughter.

Chris nodded slowly as he heard Ezra's laughter further down the hallway, where the gambler had obviously been listening to the proceedings inside the room.

"Okay," Chris turned to his clothes but did not reach for his pants. Instead, he reached for his gun belt and removed the peacemaker sitting in its holster, after undoing the flap.

"Now come on Chris," Buck said seeing him retrieve his gun and then cocking it for effect before taking aim. "This was a joke!"

Vin was already taking two steps backwards for a hasty retreat, knowing Chris well enough to guess if the man wanted revenge, he would get it. The last Chris saw of the tracker was when Vin ran out of the room yelling at Ezra, "You better run Ezra! He's armed!"

"Don't worry Buck," Chris smiled sweetly. "I'll just graze you"

"Oh shit!" Buck replied as Chris aimed the gun directly at him and fired. The bullet smashed into the doorway, whizzing past Buck's ears close enough to send the tall man running.

Chris chased after him, still clutching his sheet as he hurried down the hallway after his friends.

*********

Mary Travis did not sleep well. She did not sleep well because she woke up several times during the night. She woke up several times during the night because she was so drunk all she could do from dying was to throw up endlessly. She spent much of the night doubled over her washbasin, retching from a severe bout of alcohol poisoning and when she did not think she could throw up any more, she invariably found the reserves for a renewed bout of regurgitation.

She had no idea what time it was when she staggered out of bed and decided she needed something to soothe her stomach before she started vomiting her organs too. If there was some consolation to be had in all this, it was the fact Billy was not here and neither was Chris. She vaguely remembered kissing some strange man and was mortified beyond belief at how she had become drunk enough to think he was Chris. Thank God, Julia was there.

As she stepped out into the sunshine, wearing a sunhat because it was the only way she could handle seeing any bright light, Mary made her mind up to go see Alex who she prayed had a remedy for her present situation. She had not gotten very far across the street when suddenly; she heard gunshots and froze. They were coming from the direction of the saloon. Mary turned just in time to see Buck, Ezra and Vin trailing laughter as they ran for dear life.

Then she saw Chris.

Chris Larabee was running after them with nothing more than a thin sheet of cotton around his waist and a gun. "Come back here you bastards!" He shouted and then stopped short in his tracks when he saw Mary staring at him in astonishment.

Bride and groom regarded each other for a moment.

"I can explain," Chris said when he neared her enough to speak. His face was crimson with embarrassment while her expression was one of stunned amazement.

After everything that happened to her last night, Mary suddenly realized if they were to hold each other accountable, it would be hard to say who was more guilty of inappropriate behaviour.

"You know something, Chris," she said after thinking about it. "I've got a proposition for you."

Chris looked at her; surprised she was not having his guts for garters. "I'm listening."

"If you never ask me what I did last night, I won't ask you what this is about."

Chris considered her words and found he was hardly in a position to argue, considering he was standing before her almost naked in the middle of the street.

"Done." He said firmly.

"Good," Mary nodded and stepped away. "I'll see you at dinner tonight."

"Okay." Chris agreed and with that both went their separate ways.

NEXT CHAPTER

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

Prologue Two Kinds of Passion

Chapter One Homecoming

Chapter Two Encounters

Chapter Three Bachelors and Brides

Chapter Four After Hours

Prologue
Two Kinds of Passion

Chapter One
Homecoming

Chapter Two
Encounters

Chapter Three
Bachelors and Brides

Chapter Four
After Hours