"So have you seen your mother at all?" Alex inquired as she gave Inez a quick examination.
"No," Inez said sadly as she sat on the edge of the mattress, submitting complacently to Alex’s ministrations. After the last months of poking and prodding by the doctor, all for her benefit, of course, Inez no longer found the examinations as intrusive as she had believed when she had first started consulting the doctor. In many ways, having Alex as attending physician was quite comforting and despite herself a little less intimidating than having Nathan examine her. While she considered Nathan, a good friend, he was also male, and no matter what the town thought about her moral fibre, Inez did not wish her doctor to be a man. "But I don’t care."
Alex said nothing as she continued her exam but knew it was far from the truth. Inez very much wanted her mother to be a part of this, but circumstances had made it impossible. Alex wished it was not so not only for the health of her patient, but a child’s entry into the world was a reason for rejoicing not nitpicking at the morality of it. It was not as if Inez wasn't going to married soon enough, and Alex found Paloma’s attitude to be selfish and self-righteous. However, as a doctor, Alex could confess to being that way herself, particularly when her patients were concerned, so she was somewhat biased herself in regards to this issue.
"So, are you going to be inhabiting this place on your own with the baby, or do I detect the possibility of a male presence soon?" Alex asked instead of bringing up the subject of Paloma Recillos, especially after seeing the hurt expression in Inez’s eyes even though she claimed she cared not what her mother thought of her pregnancy and her impending marriage.
"You mean Buck." Inez brightened when Alex had finished the last of her tests and was packing up her medical instruments in her worn doctor’s bag.
"Unless there is some other man you have not told us about." Alex teased.
"Well we have not talked about the wedding yet, but I suppose when it does happen, he will be living here. It would be nice." She found herself admitting and was more surprised than anyone else she actually meant it.
"I sense warming in your relations with Buck," Alex remarked as she snapped her doctor’s bag close.
"It's very strange," Inez confessed. "When I agreed to marry him a few days ago, I was not sure about anything. I thought I was marrying him for all the wrong reasons because I wanted the baby to have a name and a father. However, since my mother has come to town, she had been more instrumental in bringing us together and making me see Buck differently than anything that has happened these past months."
Alex took a seat on the mattress next to her Inez and remarked. "Inez, I know Buck for a shorter time than you, and he’s always going to be the same. Kind-hearted, funny, not as dumb as he looks and possessing the mentality of a teenager, but I tell you," she paused and let an expression of fondness seep into her face. "He’s made a supreme effort to be responsible and to show you he can be everything you need in a husband, not simply as a provider or a father figure. He stood by you when it mattered the most and only you can say for certain whether or not you think it's out of obligation or love. From an outsider's point of view, I say the latter. I, for one, will be happy to see you both in this house."
Alex’s words drew a wealth of emotion from Inez, and she felt inordinately grateful to be blessed with the friendship of the doctor and those like her. "Gracias Alex," Inez said after she was able to compose herself. "I just want you to know I would not have been able to do this without you, Mary, Julia or all the others. I know it has not been easy standing by me during this time, but I am grateful.."
"Wait until you get my bill." Alex winked. "Will you be alright here on your own for a while?" Alex inquired after the moment had passed. She hated leaving Inez by herself, especially when she was close to her time, but she had to get back to take care of her paperwork. Being a consummate professional, Alex detested incomplete case files for her patient. "I think Rain was going to come up sometime this evening."
The women had been taking turns spending as much time with Inez as possible, worried all the pressure she had suffering, was taking its toll. At this critical stage in her pregnancy, Alex was not an alarmist when she demanded no further distress be afforded to Inez and her closest friends were ensuring it was not.
"You don’t have to babysit me, you know," Inez remarked, perfectly aware what all these visits were about.
"No, we don’t," Alex conceded. "But we are. Doctor’s orders."
"You're just overprotective." She pointed out.
"I’ll remember that when its time to give you the opium draught during labour," Alex smiled sweetly. "Now, you have had a long day, and at the risk of sounding overprotective, I think you should get some rest. Mary left dinner on the stove, so you don’t have to worry about feeding the men when they get back. I think it’s some of that great stew she makes."
"Oh good," Inez replied, hating to admit it, but Alex was right. She did felt drained and put her feet up when Alex stood up to leave. "Tell Mary thanks when you see her."
"I will." Alex nodded. "You’ll probably see her tomorrow anyway."
Inez appeared to look forward to it as she rested her head on the pillow, and Alex took the time to make a discreet departure. She knew from her experience with a dozen mothers and more since her arrival in Four Corners it was important for Inez to get some rest and approved when she saw the woman settling into her new bed to get some sleep. As Alex closed the door behind her, she could smell the faint aroma of Mary’s cooking emanating from the kitchen and headed there first to move the pot of stew she had on the stove. Alex had heated it for Buck and JD when they arrived and move it off the oven to the kitchen table for their nourishment when they were done with their patrol of the homestead.
Giving the place a quick glance as she slipped on her coat, Alex felt some semblance of pride in seeing what she, Mary and Rain had managed to accomplish during the past two days in getting this home ready for Inez. She gathered the last of her things and did not bother to let Inez know she was leaving lest the woman was already asleep and Alex did not want to wake her up unnecessarily. Pulling the front door close behind her, Alex looked out into the night sky and saw no signs of life.
It was a beautiful place, she had to admit as her eyes surveyed the land before her. While the garden was a little sparse, requiring attention before it became green and flowery again, the surrounding fauna was just as breathtaking with a wealth of trees that offered enough shade without becoming dense. Alex could understand what Mary said about the property being ideal for riding. Perhaps she might ask Inez permission for her and Vin to try the trails supposedly ran through the trails when things had settled down a bit. After a moment of reflection on this, Alex mounted her horse Phoebe and started the ride back to Four Corners before it became too much later in the evening.
Her departure did not go unnoticed.
Buck Wilmington knew something was wrong.
While he could not say for sure what had led to this belief other than the stray sound he had heard earlier, Buck could not shake this feeling that they were not alone in the darkness as they made the ride back to the house. JD was naturally oblivious to the possibility as they rode back since the young man was chattering away about the things he usually did, unmindful to the presence of danger. At the same time, very little of what he said had penetrated the fog of Buck’s suspicions all was far from right.
Perhaps it was just natural for him to be so suspicious because things were finally where he wanted it to be in his life. He stood on poise on the edge of having the family he always wanted and was understandably cautious about losing it again. With things between himself and Inez so improved he actually believed she truly wanted him beyond the requirements of a name for the baby, Buck was determined to let nothing happen to either mother or child. Still, despite all these concerns, Buck felt uneasy as he returned to the homestead. With a surprise, Buck realised if he and Inez married, chances are this place, once was home to Mary and Steven Travis, would become his home too. It was a sobering experience to recognise the full circle he had come when he had first drifted into Four Corners.
Buck had arrived here a few days before Chris Larabee had made his fateful entry into town and had as much intention of staying in town as the gunslinger. It was odd how things worked out for all of them, how Four Corners seemed to have some mystical quality that made it home to the seven men who had been outcast everywhere else. It went some way to explaining why none of the seven had made any attempts to move on. They were just as bound to Four Corners, as they were to the fellowship of the seven.
Suddenly, the quiet of the night and JD’s chatter was eclipsed by the sounds of galloping horses in the distance. It was loud enough for both men to hear, and they exchanged glances of realisation when they identified which direction the horses were going. They were heading towards the house, and Buck realised with horror, Inez. Judging by the thunder of hoofbeats, Buck estimated there were several riders and felt his heart sink knowing he had been right to be suspicious earlier because he had sensed someone watching them in the dark.
"Come on!" Buck called out as he dug his heels into the side of his horse and set the animal off on a quick gallop.
No sooner than he had given that order, there was the explosion of gunfire around them. The darkness and the process of riding forward blinded them to the direction of the bullets but Buck was knocked off his horse when he felt a burning, stinging pain against his cheek. The heat of the round was enough to dislodge him from his saddle, and he tumbled into the dirt. In the chaos, Buck heard JD scream after him.
"Buck!" The youth shouted as he pulled the reins of his horse and tried to circle back towards Buck, whom he could see shrinking behind him as his mount moved ahead and tried to obey the confusion of signals he was giving it.
Buck felt dirt in his mouth as he landed, and his body ached from the fall, but he had compensated for the landing before he hit the ground and did not serious injury to himself. Although his skin stung and he felt the warmth of blood on his cheek, he knew he was not seriously injured. Whoever had fired at him was intending to kill him, and Buck knew he had to get to his feet before they reached him. He could feel the tremor of horses nearing him and knew one of those was JD. Painfully, he pushed himself to his feet and saw the kid approaching him quickly when suddenly riders appeared out of the trees and converged upon him.
As Buck got to his feet and tried to help JD, he heard the scuffling and the flying of fists. He reached for his gun when a bullet whizzed past his ear from a completely different direction. Swinging around, Buck saw another rider coming up on him fast, firing shots he had little or no chance of avoiding unless he ran. As the gunfire drove him into the darkness, he felt a swell of anguish surfacing inside him at being unable to help JD, who was being overwhelmed by many attackers. Unfortunately, his would-be killer had no intention of allowing Buck a chance to escape, and Buck found himself running for cover within the trees as the enemy bore down on him.
The darkness made it difficult to see, and Buck was pushing branches and watching for the uneven protrusions on the ground as he tried to gain enough distance between himself and the rider to launch an attack of his own. His heart was pounding in fear, not for himself but for JD whom he had been unable to help and for Inez, whom these men would go after if he did not stop them here. Buck tried to look over his shoulder to see who it was bearing down on him, promising death if Buck allowed them to get close enough, but could see nothing through the darkness. All he could see was the man’s horse, nostrils flaring with its heavy breath as it thundered after him.
Buck did not know how far he ran, aware only after a while, he could feel his lungs starting to give up as his attempts to escape faltered. He came to a screeching halt when he reached the edge of an embankment leading into the creek running through the property. Buck paused, knowing if he went through the waterway, it was going to slow him down even further. He turned to change direction when he saw the rider break through the bushes. Buck raised his gun to fire and was about to pull the trigger when his pursuer spoke.
"Senor Wilmington," the voice spoke with a definitive Spanish accent that was of no surprise to Buck upon hearing it. "I have a message for you."
"Give it to me in hell." Buck retorted and pulled the trigger, taking a gamble on a desperate plan and hope he was alive to regret it if it failed.
The horse he was riding jerked back abruptly at the sound of Buck’s gun and pulled back just far enough to save its master from the bullet that would have otherwise killed him. Buck was unsurprised by the outcome and knew what was coming. The man did not waste his breath, attempting to give Buck his message and returned fire immediately.
At the sound of gunfire, Buck twisted, allowing the bullet to strike his shoulder instead of his heart as intended. He crumbled to his knees intentionally, allowing his body to spill over the edge of the embankment and tumble down the hill like a rolling stone. As Buck began his rough and turbulent descent, he could feel the white-hot agony of his shoulder mask the tearing of grit and pebbles against his skin as he reached the bottom of the hill. He came to a hard stop against the ground; taking a face full of dirt and biting down on his teeth to control the pain that came with the sudden impact. Fortunately, the injury though painful, was not intolerable and Buck hoped he could play the part required to create the illusion of death. Even as he lay against the groan, trying to recoup his bearings without giving his real state of health away, Buck could hear the uneven clopping of hoofbeats approaching.
Remaining absolutely still because his life depended on it, Buck made sure he landed on his back. He could feel the warmth of blood oozing out of the wound on his shoulder, soiling his clothes the most profusely he bled until the crimson stain of blood spread over his chest although, in the dark, it could only be seen as a glimmer of slickness on his clothes. He hoped it was enough to convince the enemy to withdraw or at least dismount his animal to make a closer investigation. With either case, it was Buck’s only way of getting the upper hand. Playing possum was not the most dignified way to handle things; he recognised the irony of it but decided he had little choice.
Just because he had heard no gunshots did not mean JD Dunne was not dead. Buck had been a lawman in Four Corners and other places in the Territory to know some men could kill just as effectively with their hands as their weapons. Chris Larabee was one of these. He held his breath and made no movement as he remained lying motionless in the crook between slope and land, feeling his heart pounding so loud Buck almost thought it might betray him to the man on the horse. He heard the horse approach the edge of the embankment because stray bits of earth slid down the slope as the weight of the animal loosened them. The horse made a slight whinny as its rider leaned over and spent a few seconds watching Buck’s unmoving form, attempting to discern if there was any life left remaining in his body.
Suddenly the man spoke once more, breaking the quiet of the night with his gravelly voice. "I was meant to give you this message while you still alive Senor Wilmington," he said. "I suppose this is not mean to be."
Buck did not react, wondering what was so damned important it had to be delivered even to a dead man.
"I think I prefer it this way," the man continued with his strange eulogy. "You are much less trouble this way." He paused a moment as if recounting accurately what needed to be said and then spoke once more. "I gave my word to Alejandro I would make this declaration to you Senor Wilmington, and a man of honour keeps his words."
Buck tried not to blanch at that statement, or the fact honour had very little to do with ambushing two men in the dark and terrorising a woman with child. Still, he kept silent because everything depended on his assailant, believing he was indeed dead. Besides, a part of him was curious about the message important enough to be delivered even in death.
"I am to tell you Senor your woman will join in the afterlife soon enough, and you will have the pleasure of knowing your child will be allowed to live in the house of Don Paulo and will come to call my patron father. You will be nothing to your child. It will not know only its mother has died and its father is Alejandro Paulo. You will not exist for it."
Buck could not see the smile on the man’s face as he made his final statement, but the lawman could well imagine it. "The Don considers this ample payment for the death of his only son."
It took a supreme effort for Buck to remain silent, knowing any reaction would serve no one even though the plan unveiled to him sounded monstrous in its intent. It could only have come from a mind twisted out of shape with so much anger Buck could hardly imagine it. He had thought Ella Gaines was insanity personified after what she had done to Sarah and Adam but the idea of using a child as an instrument of revenge every day of its life was something Buck could not fathom. If anything strengthened his resolve to remain still so he could escape, it was knowing this. Buck would endure anything to circumvent this terrible destiny for his child.
After what felt an eternity to Buck, the rider finally pulled away from the edge, freeing more dirt which eventually made its way downhill. Buck heard the horse moving away, straining to listen as its hoof beats grew more distant as it departed until the vibration no longer sounded in the earth. When Buck was certain the danger had passed for the moment at least, he got up shakily to his feet and peered to the top of the hill to make sure with his eyes what his ears had more or less confirmed with more accuracy. For the moment, it seemed he was alone, but somehow, it did not mean the situation was any better.
He could not see very well in the darkness but knew the bullet, which entered his shoulder so painfully, had passed straight through flesh and muscle. The pain was not excruciating, but he was not about to be pig-headed and claim it did not hurt at all because it did. His left side felt heavy and ached terribly, but Buck was grateful it was not his shooting arm that was injured because he was going to need it if he was to get to Inez. Nothing else mattered as Buck scrambled up the hill, biting down each time he felt waves of pain stabbing at him whenever he exerted any use of his arm. He knew he needed tending to immediately but could not bring himself to admit it because Buck clawed his way up the dirt, leaving a bloody trail in the earth as he struggled to reach the top of the embankment.
As he tried to gain a foothold in the sloping terrain, his nails tearing as he clawed dirt and hard rock, Buck fought the voice of reason whispering in his ears against the wail of impulse driving him to reach Inez before it was too late. Buck ignored it, carried away by his emotions even though he knew perfectly well he was injured and only one man against at least half a dozen, if his estimation of how many riders were correct when he saw them converge on JD. If Buck had any sense at all, he would be abandoning this idea of reaching Inez because the odds of being any help to her in his present condition were slim. Instead, he ought to be searching for his horse and riding into Four Corners, not only to get himself medical aid but also to rally Ezra, Nathan and Josiah to ride into the fray with him. It made sense, and it was the safest course of action.
Except he could not.
It might be a fool’s errand, but he was not going to simply abandon Inez to those men for his own safety. He loved her too much and was not about to leave her to languish not even for a minute. Buck was not going to et the monstrous revenge planned by Don Paulo come to pass, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.
***********
Inez heard a gunshot.
The sound woke her up immediately. She sat up in her bed, feeling her body protest at the sudden movement as she roused from her sleep, completely aware of everything around her. She strained to listen again for the noise and began to doubt hearing it when the sound did not repeat itself. There was a brief moment when she considered perhaps she had been dreaming and the noise, which had awoken her so abruptly, was nothing more than a residue of something in the dreamscape, dissolving into nothingness upon her return to the waking world. Yet the tension in her bones had not been dissipated, and she could not shake the feeling there was something amiss
She wondered then, where Buck and JD were. It was well past dark outside her window and thought they should have been here by now. The property was not small, but it was hardly large enough to warrant so much time in patrolling its boundaries. She followed the scent of stew Alex had warmed up in the kitchen and saw the pot sitting on the table. It was still warm but considerably less than what it was because Inez had remembered when Alex had heated it up for the boys. Inez wished she were not in such an awkward state of health. Being heavily pregnant was not making movement any easier, and it only increased her concern if there were danger, she would be in no position to do anything about it.
Inez left the kitchen and found herself next to the sofa had come to her compliments of Julia Pemberton. She sat on the soft cushioned chair, feeling a wave of warmth for the Emporium owner who presented her with the gift through Ezra as an apology for her absence of late. With its polished wooden finish and the soft fabric seemed to make Inez’s hand glide over it upon touch, it was a gift Inez would not have been able to afford for some time and made a note to thank Julia when Inez saw her next. Nestling comfortably into the chair, she watched the soft crackle of the fire in the fireplace, noticing she would have to add more wood or else it would burn out. She turned her attention to one of the boxes packed with her things left on the space beside her. Giving herself something to do so she would not worry, she rummaged through its contents with a mission to organising it.
She was no more into this endeavour for a few seconds when she heard horses coming to the house and realised after a moment there were more than two riders. Inez rose to her feet slowly, unable to discern whether or not she ought to go outside. On the one hand, it could be entirely feasible the others might have joined Buck and JD, but that would mean Josiah, Nathan and Ezra had left her mother and sister unguarded, which seemed unlikely. She supposed it could be Chris and Vin joining them and then recanted because she better than anyone, knew just how long it took to reach Val Verde and they would not have returned from the trip yet, even if they rode back to Four Corners like the wind. In the flurry of seconds that passed as these thoughts ran through her head, Inez finally came to the conclusion she ought to withdraw into the bedroom.
Returning to the dark bedroom, Inez hid behind the door as she strained to listen to the horses coming to a halt outside her home. While the animals were vocal, its riders were not and more or less confirmed there was danger. Inez felt her heart pounding as the fear snaked up her spine like white-hot tendrils. Never in her life had she felt so vulnerable, and she had no idea what to do. Drawing away from the door, Inez looked at the window and knew it was her only way of escape as the noises outside became footsteps at the door. She crossed the floor silently, mostly because she was so huge, speed was not possible. By the time she reached the window, she could hear them coming through the door.
Inez opened the window and was trying to climb through when she heard men entering her house and instructed by one voice, thick with an accent she knew all too well, to search the premises. Blind panic struck her as she pushed herself over the windowsill in a bid to flee when suddenly the voice spoke once again.
"Senorita Recillos," the male voice echoed throughout the house and Inez froze. They had not reached the bedroom yet but assumed they would in several seconds. Inez continued to escape when the speaker resumed. "If you do not come out, I will kill the boy."
Inez froze. The boy? Did he mean JD? Where was Buck?
"I have him here, Inez," the man continued. "I will put a bullet in the brain of this young sheriff if you do not show yourself."
Inez let out a soft cry of frustration knowing she could not leave, not if they had JD and somehow, it was too big a bluff for them to be lying. She debated what to do for the eternity of seconds following that announcement. Despite the danger to herself, Inez needed to know what had happened to Buck. He would not have let JD be taken for any reason and inched toward the unimaginable as she started to realise how something like that could happen.
"I promise you as a man of honour," he spoke further. "That if you show yourself neither your or this boy will be harmed."
Inez felt the spirit drain from her as her hand dropped to her swollen belly, and she made this decision not only for herself but for the child inside her. She hoped she was not condemning her little baby to death, but she could not sit by and let these men kill JD Dunne. JD was her friend, and Inez cared for him too deeply, to tolerate his death because of her. Taking a deep breath, she climbed back into the bedroom and made herself cross the floor towards the door.
She emerged into the main room of the house to see at least six men in her home, two of which holding an unconscious JD Dunne in their arms. Thre was dark bruise above JD's eye, and there was a rivulet of blood created a line of red from under his hair down his cheek. There was no sign of Buck, and that tightened Inez’s heart inside her chest with its implication. She found herself on the edge of some dark and terrible news to which she did not want to know but felt compelled to hear.
"I am here." Inez declared as she appeared in the open. "Let him go, and I will go with you wherever you wish." She said softly, trying to hide just how frightened she was by a false front of bravado.
"I’m afraid that will be impossible," the man replied and whom she recognised to be Ramirez one of Don Alejandro Paulo’s most devoted servants. "The boy comes with us as insurance, lest you decide to make any foolish attempts at escape during our return to Val Verde."
Inez swallowed and more or less expected it would not be simple, but there was one other question she simply had to ask. "Where is Buck?" She inquired, her voice trembling because she already knew, and the knowledge was threatening to break her into a thousand pieces if she heard it out loud.
"He’s dead," Ramirez said without emotion.
"No," Inez whispered, refusing to believe it even though everything that transpired in the last few minutes would indicate so. "I don’t believe you."
"I shot him myself," Ramirez retorted, motioning his men to surround Inez because it was time to leave. "I left his body lying in the dirt. If it makes you feel any better, he did not suffer."
Buck dead? Inez felt the air emptying out of the room, and she was suffocating. Inez mind could not accept it, and her heart was breaking where she stood. Inez tried to picture him in her head and could only see a terrible image of his body in the dirt, broken and bloody, looking nothing like the man she loved for so long. The sounds coming from the depth of her and escaped her lips in a wail of anguish seemed distant and Inez did not know she had dropped to her knees, weeping out loud until hands wrapped themselves around her arms and pulled her to her feet.
She was crying harder now, almost incoherent in her grief but not at all hysterical. Ramirez watched the sorrow in his eyes and felt affected by it despite his attempts to harden his heart. It was a relief she went limp in the arms of his men, fainting from the shock.
"It’s just as well," he told the men holding the unconscious woman. "Tell Esteban to bring the wagon around and put them both in. We should get out of here as soon as possible."
***********
Alexandra Styles told herself this was foolishness as she rode back to the Travis homestead. She was on her way home when she heard the sound of what she was sure were gunshots. When there was no sound of return fire and unknown to her, the same question plaguing Inez Recillos, did their worst upon her as she tried to discern whether or not what she had heard was worth returning to investigate. Finally, her curious nature got the better of her, and she forced Phoebe around and started riding towards the property once again.
She had not gotten very far down the track when suddenly she heard the rumble of horses coming in her direction. Alex did not know what compelled her to her next action, but it was borne out of a sixth sense she had used to save many lives, sometimes her own and decided not to argue with it. Driving Phoebe off the road, Alex and her horse took refuge within the thick leaves and foliage flanking the path and waited as the thunder of riders hurried towards them at juggernaut pace. She wondered if she was paranoid, but then Vin had told her a dozen times the Territory was not a place for a woman, especially alone and at night. It was probably prudent she conceal herself until she was sure there was no danger.
Alex held her breath as the riders came past her. She could see little of them in the cover of leaves and branches and was glad the same held sway for them as well. There were at least six of them, and she heard the familiar rumble of a wagon moving past at full gallop as they roared past her. Dust and grit flew in all directions as they raced past and Alex was glad when they were finally far enough away for her to be able to breathe again. If she was sure their intentions had been ominous before, she was almost sure of it now and nudged her horse out of her hiding place once she was confident it was safe. The road bore the signs of their convoy, but of the riders themselves, she saw no signs and guessed their speed had taken them far enough away to keep from being a threat to her.
Upon making this evaluation, Alex dug her heels into Phoebe’s sides and sent the horse galloping forward towards the direction of Inez’s new home. Uncertain what motivated her, Alex could feel a deep sense of urgency pressing against the walls of her heart as she rode back as fast as she could to the homestead. Alex wasn't a strong rider, so she hung on tight to keep from taking a nasty spill during the journey, but her worry for her patient had escalated into fear for her friend. Suddenly, Alex could no longer dismiss the gunshot she had heard as being anything but related to the group of riders or their hasty departure.
She reached the homestead a short time later and saw no signs of life as she dismounted Phoebe when the animal arrived at the house. The front door was wide open and strengthened Alex’s fear as she hurried up the walk. Somehow she knew whatever had taken place, violent or not had already concluded and there was no remaining danger to give her pause. She entered the house and went immediately to Inez’s bedroom and was unsurprised to find the lady absent. Emerging from the bedroom after that initial discovery, she saw no signs of violence other than the open door, but it was enough.
Suddenly she heard footsteps outside and wondered if it was those men coming back. Alex fought the compulsion to run and then told herself it was not logical, she had seen them leave. At least she thought it was them who had caused this. Besides, the footsteps beyond the doorway did not seem numerous, and Alex might still be able to get away if she was smart. Of course, if things did end badly, then she had the solace of being dead and not hearing Vin being most upset at her for not hightailing it out of there when she should have.
Taking ginger steps towards the front door and to the source of the footsteps, Alex peered past the doorway cautiously, poised to slam the door in someone’s face if he proved to be a danger to her. The figure moving in the dark finally shed its cloak of mystery when the illumination from the lamps cast its glow on him.
"Buck!" Alex exclaimed and burst through the door once she saw the familiar sight of the tall man coming towards the house. He did not answer her, and she was almost upon him when she saw the glimmer of wet on his shirt and realised from sheer experience what that moisture was. "You’re hurt!"
"It’s not bad," he groaned as she narrowed the space between them in a second, her physician senses taking over immediately. "Where’s Inez?" He asked.
"Gone," Alex answered as she saw the wound in his shoulder and the state he was in. Covered in dirt, his face had scratches and cuts while his clothes were similarly dishevelled. However, it was the injury that held most of her attention as she tried to explain what had happened to prompt her return. "I heard a gunshot, and I headed back." She told him as she tried to look under his shirt at the wound. "As I was coming down the track, I heard these horses, and I guess it sounded suspicious to me for some reason because I got off the road."
"Good call," Buck grimaced as he felt her lift the soiled fabric of his shirt from the wound in her examination. "They ambushed me and JD," Buck explained his side of things as they reached the house. "I think they took JD alive, but the fella who came after me was aiming to kill. I manage to trick him into believing he did just that and played possum until he had gone."
Alex nodded in understanding and decided that action had most likely saved the man’s life. They entered the house, and Alex led Buck to a chair and forced him to sit even though he was more determined to seek out Inez himself as if Alex’s words were not enough confirmation at his future wife’s absence. "I saw at least six riders," Alex informed him as she pulled his coat off his shoulders and started working on the buttons. "There was also a wagon. If those were the same men that took Inez than I’d say that’s what they moved her in. Once they were past me, I got back here and found Inez was gone. I haven’t been here that long until you turned up."
"I’ve got to get going after her," Buck said, rising to his feet when Alex pushed him down on the chair in protest.
"Buck, you’re in no shape to do anything!" Alex protested. Although her preliminary examinations revealed the bullet had passed straight through his shoulder, it did not mean he was out of danger. He had lost a lot of blood, and there was a gaping hole in his skin needing mending, not further aggravating. "You go after Inez in this condition, and you will be no help to her."
"You know what that son of a bitch has planned!" Buck shouted. "He’s going to kill her and take our child for his own!"
Alex felt her stomach hollow at the monstrosity of the plot but found no surprise in just how heinous some men could be when properly motivated. "Buck thinks this through," Alex replied as she stepped away from him. She could do nothing more for him without her medical bag, which was securely fastened to Phoebe and needed retrieving before she could do anything else. However, she did not want him running off while she went to get it. "There are six of them and one of you and as passionate as you are on the subject, you cannot take those men on your own. You know where they’re going, so an hour for me to fix you up and ride into town to get the others won’t make much difference, will it?" She looked at him critically, demanding him to say it out loud before she knew he would obey her on this.
"No," he said reluctantly. She was right. As much as he loathed to admit it, none of her arguments was new to him. These were all notions he had considered before and ignore because he was so determined to reach Inez. Finally, he conceded. "Do what you have to do," he glanced at his shoulder. "Patch me up because as soon as you’re done, I’m going to get her back."
***********
"Glad you could join us," Josiah said to Ezra as the three men sat around playing cards inside the church. Although it was somewhat sacrilegious to gamble in the house of the Lord, the preacher was inclined to believe the Lord would not be too offended by the action, since they needed something to pass the time while protecting one of his flock. His comment was not at all laced with criticism since he understood Ezra had excellent reasons for his absence of late.
"Well, an interlude had presented itself in the course of the undertaking occupying my attention most recently." Ezra drawled smoothly as he threw his discards down on the table they were all seated around.
"How is Miss Julia?" Nathan inquired since they were all privy to Mr Clemens’s purpose in town. While Ezra had not told the others about the money Julia had stolen from her father, he did reveal Julia was running from the trappings of a past life and did not wish to be found. While they did not know the specifics, every member of the seven knew what it was like to have secrets in their past, they did not wish unearthed and thus respected Ezra’s desire not to go into detail.
"Edgy," Ezra replied honestly. "However, I have convinced her to remain in town for the moment. Mr Clemens leaves in three days when the stage arrives, and I am hoping he will see his way to keeping her whereabouts a secret following his departure."
Somehow, Josiah did not believe the man would do that unless Ezra could impart to him a most compelling argument. However, if Josiah knew Ezra at all after all this time of their association, he knew the gambler could be extremely creative when the mood took him. He was sure Clemens would be convinced to forget all about Julia, but he would be induced to do so under the sway of a very unorthodox method of persuasion.
"Can’t see why she just don’t tell her father she’s got a life here," Nathan remarked as he motioned to Ezra who was playing the dealer as always, to give him to more cards in replacement for the ones he had just thrown on the pile gathering in the centre of the table.
"Some fathers do not take no for an answer," Josiah replied, utterly aware of what it was like to a father who imposed his own ambitions on to their children.
"Just as some mothers do not forgive when it goes wrong," Ezra remarked, unconsciously glancing in the direction of the room currently occupied by Paloma and Calla.
The lady had remained out of their way after the visit from Audrey King. Josiah suspected Audrey had given Paloma food for thought while at the same time creating a rift between herself and her daughter Calla. The young woman no longer blithely followed her mother’s wishes, determined to see Inez when time permitted as she had declared most strenuously to Josiah when Paloma had been hiding inside the rooms he usually resided.
"Yeah, it’s a damn shame, that’s what it is." Nathan found himself in agreement, wishing the situation between Inez and her mother was better than what it was. Inez had enough to worry about without having the entire weight of her mother’s moral fortitude bearing down on her for what happened. It was not as if the woman had not endured enough insults and hardships since news of her pregnancy spread around town. Having no remaining family himself, Nathan could not fathom the mentality placing ideology above kin.
The three men continued with their game, paying little attention to the sound of a horse galloping hard through town and growing louder as it neared the building because the approach was nothing new. Numerous riders had to pass the building, en route to some other place. None of the lawmen detracted from the card game until they realised the animal was not riding past the church but was instead coming towards it. They tensed inwardly, showing no signs of interest even though they were all listening carefully until they heard speech following the dismount by not one but two riders from the same animal and realised that and one of those belonged to Alex.
It was Josiah who reacted first, the bear-like hulk of a man placing his cards face down before he stood up and seemed to tower over Ezra and Nathan with his shadow as he waited for the two to enter the room. While it was Alex’s voice they heard first, it was Buck who burst into the room ahead of the lady doctor. He was still wearing the blood-stained shirt immediately captured the attention of the friends who forgot all about their game as they hurried to meet him halfway across the room. Trailing Buck closely was Alex, who was carrying her medical bag.
"We’ve got to get going!" Buck exclaimed as he entered the building and saw the trio.
"Buck takes it easy," Alex warned, not wishing him to aggravate his injury any more than it already was. The ride back to town had been hair raising enough as it was without Buck’s anxiousness to rescue Inez driving him to further acts of recklessness. "You’re wounded."
"What’s happened?" Josiah asked, even though it was self-evident.
"Six of those bastards ambushed me and JD while we were patrolling the place." Buck declared, feeling almost ashamed of what had happened and feeling especially guilty because he had to play possum to save his own skin. "They got the kid, but I managed to get away even though one of them tried really hard to see to it that it didn’t happen." He only had to glance at his shoulder for them to understand what he meant by that. "By the time I got to the house Inez was gone and so was JD."
"I was on my way back to town when I heard the gunshot," Alex piped in, filling in the blanks for the rest of the story. "I saw six men and a wagon heading away from the homestead in a hurry. I think its safe to say that was how they moved Inez. If they wanted her alive, it was the only way she could travel safely." She pointed out.
"They wanted her alive all right," Buck grumbled. "That bastard who shot me said Paulo wanted the baby."
"Wanted the baby?" Nathan exclaimed, unable to fathom for what reason. "Why?" He stared at Buck in confusion.
"Revenge." Ezra caught on faster than the healer did because he knew men and the evil machinations at work in some minds. "He wants your child as retribution for the one he lost." Ezra was guessing, but when he saw Buck’s expression and the cold look in his eyes, he knew he was right.
"My god." Josiah found himself declaring in disgust. When it did not seem possible for men to slip further into the darkness, there always seemed to be one who would prove him wrong. He had heard of some awful things, but this one shook him to the core, and he knew with utter certainty it had to be stopped.
"That’s what he told me." Buck nodded. "I was meant to die only after I knew Paulo intends to kill Inez as soon as our child was born so he could raise it with no idea who its parents really were."
"There’s one other thing…" Alex did not dare to bring it up before, but the thought was gnawing at her since learning what the Don planned for Inez. It was too horrible to even think of it, and she had not wanted to entertain the possibility, but since time was a factor here, she thought it best to bring up the idea no matter how obscene it was. At least Buck had people around him now that would keep him from doing anything foolish once she imparted her information to them. "Inez is very late in the term. The child could be ready to be born at any minute. Whether now or two weeks really makes no difference."
"Oh Jesus Christ," Nathan exclaimed because as the only other healer here, he understood what Alex was implying. He met Alex’s gaze, and the look of dread existed in her eyes soon filtered into his own. "He wouldn’t."
"There is no reason for us to believe otherwise," Alex said quietly.
"What?" Buck looked at them both, requiring an answer and knowing from the hollow sound of their voices whatever they suspected was terrible indeed.
There were furious glances exchanged between Alex and Nathan as they searched the words to answer while deciding which of them would speak. Finally, it was Alex who responded. "He may not wait for the baby to be born." She answered reluctantly, her voice nothing more than a low whisper. "The baby at this stage of pregnancy is fully developed." She swallowed.
"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!" Buck finally roared, unable to see what Alex was trying so hard to say.
"She’s saying if the Don is crazy enough, he may just cut her open and take the baby." Nathan blurted out, sparing Alex from trying to explain further, the unthinkable.
Buck’s face drained of colour. For a moment, he could not speak because the picture forming in his mind at that possibility was so horrifying he could not find the words to adequately describe it. Even Ezra who wore a perennial poker face had shed its facade of indifference and was similarly stunned while Josiah’s expression darkened to the colour of night. No one spoke as the words hung in the air, like a pregnant drop of blood awaiting impact as it stood poised to fall.
"He could not do that! Its madness!" Paloma Recillos cried out, her voice filled with panic as she stood at the doorway between the back room and the main floor of the church. She had been attracted to the commotion and had emerged from her room long enough to hear the disturbing possibility of what Don Paulo had in store for her daughter.
Buck, who had not met the woman before this, turned on her. "What do you care?" He asked as he glared at her. "She’s dead to you remember?" His voice was an angry hiss, and it surprised everyone present to see the rage bubbling behind his eyes. They were all accustomed to seeing Buck as the eternal optimist who felt malice towards no one who did not richly deserve it. Still, his reaction surpassed anything they had ever witnessed from him previously.
"Mrs Recillos," Ezra said, clearing this throat, thinking of nothing else to do on occasion like this but make a belated introduction. "Buck Wilmington, your future son in law."
"You have no right to speak to me that way!" Paloma retorted, feeling somewhat taken back by Buck’s angry response. "She is my daughter. I would not wish her any harm!"
"You’ve done enough harm!" Buck fairly screamed at her. "You and all those other sanctimonious, self-righteous hypocrites calling yourselves god-fearing folk! You make me sick to my stomach! You don’t stand beside her when it counts the most, and now she’s about to be ripped open like a gourd, now you feel something!"
"Buck…"Josiah tried to intercede, knowing he was especially harsh on the woman who seemed almost as ashen as he did upon learning the possible fate Inez had waiting for her. "This ain’t the time."
"Stay out of it, Josiah," Buck warned, turning a menacing glare at the preacher that made Josiah withdraw immediately. "She’s got this coming." His voice was brittle like jagged glass as he turned his gaze back towards Paloma who could not speak because there was no denying her actions.
"What she did was wrong." Paloma recouped enough to respond after a moment.
"To who?" Buck demanded. "Was anyone hurt by the coming of a child?" He snapped. "The only one who suffered at all was your daughter because everyone felt the need to judge her. I expect that kind of thinking from strangers who don’t know better but from you? You’re her mother! You know as well as I do she’s the bravest woman that ever lived! She came here on her own, running from that bastard who killed anyone who gave a damn about her. She survived him, and she made a life for herself here,. You call her a whore because for one night, one single night…." His voice started to waver as her emotions crept up and choked the sound from his throat threatened to overwhelm him completely.
Buck cleared his throat and began again after composing himself. "For one night, she showed me I could be loved by someone like her, and every day since then has been an awakening I have waited all my life to feel. I won’t lose her." He finally faltered. "I can’t lose her. Not even for a baby."
"You won’t Buck," Ezra said firmly, knowing precisely how Buck felt because his feelings corresponded in some way with what he was feeling for Julia and her own dilemma at present. The gambler squeezed Buck’s uninjured shoulder in support to convey none of them would allow such a horrible fate to fall upon Inez. Each one of them would die before letting that happen. "We know where these men are going," he announced to Nathan and Josiah, taking the initiative because Buck was too close to this to think straight. "If we ride out immediately, we may be able to catch up to them. If not, Mr Larabee and Mr Tanner should already be in Val Verde, and they will stop whatever nefarious plan Don Paulo has in store for Inez by the time we arrive."
"Right," Nathan nodded in agreement because Buck really needed to believe this right now. "You okay to ride with that shoulder?" He looked at his wounded friend even though he knew there was no way Buck would be staying behind.
"I’m fine." He nodded. "Let’s get going."
"Alex, can you let everyone know what’s happening?" Josiah asked, not clarifying that by everyone he meant the women who were often left behind when they departed town. There was little time to waste and certainly none allocated for long goodbyes.
"Of course." Alex nodded and then remarked. "Do you think Mrs Recillos and her daughter are still in danger?" She glanced at the woman who was lost in thought wearing the same look of desolation on her face after Buck’s rather incendiary words of accusation. In truth, she did not feel sorry for the woman and had inwardly applauded Buck for telling Paloma what he had. In the doctor’s opinion, Paloma Recillos deserved every sharp barb Buck had delivered upon her.
"They have what they want," Buck said abruptly, not looking at her as he spoke. "They got Inez, they don’t need anything else."
"I think Buck’s right," Josiah agreed and turned back to the woman, feeling some measure of compassion towards her because it was in his nature as a preacher to do so. "You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like ma’am, but we have to go."
Paloma met his gaze and nodded. She did not look at Buck because she simply could not. His words had been brutal, but unfortunately, she could not refute anything he had said, and it was apparent by the emotion in his voice how much he loved Inez. "Gracias." She said quietly.
In the meantime, Alex had taken Nathan aside long enough to offer the healer some instructions of her own. "Nathan, I want you to take this." She handed the leather case to him.
"Miss Alex, I can't take that. It’s your medical bag!" He insisted.
"Yes but you don’t have time to go get your stuff, and you have to go straight away," Alex declared, accepting already she could not accompany them on this venture as much as she wished she could. Although Alex was worried about Inez, she would be more a hindrance to the seven rather than an asset in their attempts to rescue Inez. If by definition, saving Inez’s life meant for her to stand down, then she was just as compelled to do as she would if her medical skills were required. "If she does go into labour and we both know it is entirely possible, then you’re going to have to deliver the baby. Everything you need, including the opiate draught is in my bag. You’ll need it if she goes into labour."
Nathan nodded, having been a veteran of several deliveries to understand, even in the most routine birth, there could be complications. If Inez went into labour prematurely as it was likely to happen in light of everything she was going through, then he had to be ready. He took the handle of Alex’s bag and stated after a moment. "I know what this means to you." The healer said to her. The bag had been the same one carried by Alex’s father for almost a lifetime of globe-trotting from one end of the world to another and Nathan knew it was the most precious memento she had left of him. Nathan also knew what it meant for her to trust it to him, and he was not about to disappoint her. "I’ll bring this back to you." He stated firmly and meant it.
"I know that," Alex offered him a smile of confidence because there was no one else she would entrust with this precious offering. "You take care of our patient." Alex reminded.
"I will." Nathan smiled faintly and looked at the others who were impatient to leave, notably Buck.
As the lawmen started towards the door, Paloma Recillos found her voice. "Senor Wilmington!" She called out and halted their progress as they were about to leave the church.
Buck paused even though he did not wish to. In fact, he was still angry with her, even though it was motivated by the fear of the terrible fate in store for Inez if he did not reach her in time. Slowly, he turned around to face the woman who had given Inez so much pain since her arrival in town. His eyes were still glaring at her as she approached although the haughty expression of self-righteous defiance had faded from her face completely.
"Good luck," she said, coming to Buck and surprised him when she placed a hand on his shoulder. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and Buck felt guilty he was so cross with her, especially when recognised saw the intense regret rising on her face. "Bring my daughter to home," she whispered. "Bring her back for both of us."
JD felt like he had a hangover, only this was much worse.
Aside from the pain beating against the walls of his skull, JD felt the rumble beneath him. He opened his eyes to see the world swirling above his head in a canvas of glittering stars. He tried to recount with concentrated effort as he lay on his side on an unfamiliar surface, what was the last conscious memory in his keeping before the blackness had taken him. It crowded on him in flashes, in snippets of images that made little sense at first until the pain dwindled into a pulsing and the memory drained into his head from some unknown part of his mind where such things were kept.
He remembered hearing gunfire and saw Buck falling off his horse. JD had tried to reach his friend, but the enemy had come out of nowhere, converging upon him like a murder of crows preparing to feed. They had not used weapons, and it was very evident as their fists came flying at him; they were determined to take him alive. He felt incensed he had not even managed to draw before they overwhelmed him and knocked him senseless. Everything after that was a drop into a black pool where he was robbed of both memory and consciousness.
Now as awareness returned to him with sharpening clarity, JD realised he was moving, or rather the floor upon which he lay was in motion. Glancing at the sky above, he realised he was in the back of an open wagon moving forward at high speed. He could hear the rumble of horses around him as if they were providing him escort in his journey. JD tried to move his hands and found they were bound. Somehow this did not surprise him. Understanding he had been captured went a long way to curtailing his expectations of how much freedom he possessed. When he attempted to move his legs, he found himself similarly bound around his ankles and let out a groan of frustration at being trussed up like a fatted calf.
He experimented with trying to wriggle out of the ropes behind his back and found to his annoyance, the knots were tied well because he couldn't even loosen them. JD wondered what happened to Buck and prayed his friend had managed to escape and get help. Being helpless like this made JD remember just how young he was because more than ever, he needed the experience to cope with his unfortunate situation instead of feeling the fear he now did.
The constant motion of the buckboard was hurting his head, which he knew to be the reason he had blacked out because the pain was not like a regular headache but thick and pulsing, unlike the usual pounding following a night of libations. Shifting position, he swung his body so he would be lying flat on his back when suddenly, JD realised he was not alone. Startled at the sight of another person next to him, his eyes widened as he saw it was Inez. She was not unconscious because her eyes were open, and she was staring into the sky, paying no attention to him.
"Inez," JD whispered.
She did not answer.
"Inez," JD tried again, wondering if they had done something awful to her kept her from speaking.
She blinked, and a tear rolled down the corners of her eyes and disappeared into her dark hair. She did not look at JD even then.
"Inez, what’s wrong?" JD demanded, more unnerved by her manner than he was by the whole idea of their captivity.
"Buck’s dead." She whispered.
"What?" He exclaimed feeling as if he was being choked to death on her words. He could not imagine it, let alone believe such a thing but what he saw in her face told him it had to be true. "He can’t be." He responded out of sheer defiance.
"He’s gone." She repeated in her toneless voice that frightened JD to no end because she sounded as if her mind had disappeared down a dark pit from which there was no return. "They killed him." She turned her head just enough to meet his gaze, and more tears spilled down her face as she did.
"Inez, you don’t know that." JD insisted because she was slipping further and further away from him and what he said now would decide whether or not she could be brought back. There was a part of him that felt with more fortitude than he could ever explain, Buck was alive and because youth made death harder to accept, and he was grateful for that. For once he did not care, he would cling to the hope, and JD would make her hold to it too because she needed to believe even more than he did. Already, he could see the cloud in her eyes as she started the rapid descent into her sorrow.
"They saw his body." She answered, closing her eyes as she fought the urge to cry once again. "They saw him die."
"You didn’t see it did you?" JD countered, refusing to believe anything until he saw it with his own eyes because it was the only thing keeping his hope alive. JD needed that right now if he was going to get them out of this mess because there was one other thing that made it imperative for him to believe. If Buck was dead, then no one knew they were here then he only had himself to rely upon to get them to safety. If Buck was killed, then that was the least JD could do for his friend.
"No." She shook her head, but her concession to that one point was half-hearted. She may be saying the words, but she did not believe it. "I didn’t see his body."
"Inez," JD said firmly. "I know he’s alive because nothing is going to make Buck Wilmington miss being around to seeing his baby born. You’ve got to believe that."
She did not answer until she faced forward again, using the same listless tone when she spoke. "JD, you have to promise me something."
"Sure Inez," JD asked, feeling his heart strangle in his breast each time he heard her speak. There was something awful about her manner at this moment, and he wished he had the words to make things right. He was starting to believe if Buck were really dead, then nothing would ever reach her again.
"Whatever happens to me, you’ve got to make sure the baby is safe." She said with the first semblance of emotion entering her voice since JD had realised she was lying next to him.
"I’d do that anyway." JD retorted. "I wouldn’t let anything happen to either of you."
"That’s not what I asked." She shook her head in response. "You have to make sure the baby is safe. I don’t want you to think about me at all."
"Inez…" JD started to say when Inez interrupted.
"JD," she looked sideways and met his eyes. "He told me what the Don intends to do when we get to Val Verde. They’re going to cut me open and take my baby. He’s going to raise Buck’s child and mine to replace the son we took from him." As the revulsion seeped into JD’s face, Inez forced herself to continue. "I don’t care if I live or die, but you cannot let that happen."
JD nodded because he did not know what else to do. "I promise you, Inez," he whispered, understanding why she was like this now. "I promise you he will never get his hands on your baby."
Inez offered him something of a smile because that was enough. If JD made the promise, then she would believe him because the youth was noble and honest enough to give his life to fulfil a vow like this. "Gracias." She replied and faced front again.
JD watched her and prayed to God, he found a way to escape before he was required to make good on that promise.
Despite the pall of gloom falling over the village with the deteriorating health of the Don who was patron to most people in the community, Val Verde was generally prospering. The growing season was excellent, and the harvest kept everyone fed with much to spare. Unlike most border towns that seemed to run rife with bandits and others outlaws from across the US, Val Verde appeared to experience a minimum of such incursions. The bad element was confined to a cantina on the outskirts of the town, away from the community.
Upon their discreet entry into Val Verde, Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner kept their movements to the cantina in question, aware at least one resident of the town who had spent enough time in Four Corners to know who they were. Their inquiries were restricted mostly to what they could glean s from conversations with the locals and their unnoticed eavesdropping of gossips. Chris, who understood Spanish better than he spoke it, relied upon Vin to do most of the conversing, since the tracker was quite adept at the language and several others, including numerous Indian dialects.
What they had managed to ascertain from this meagre source of information was enough to concern both men to continue their stay in Val Verde. Two gringos as the locals referred to them, were not unusual inhabitants of the dingy rooms above the cantina since many outlaws from the States tended to use these Mexican towns as a refuge until they were able to cross the border once again. Chris and Vin were naturally assumed to be one of those and therefore were left alone by most of the cantina’s patrons.
From this obscure vantage point, they had learnt Don Alejandro Paulo, father to Stefano who had made his fateful arrival in Four Corners nearly two years ago, was ailing. In his day, Paulo had been a fair man, forthright but tough as all men in positions of power tended to become over the years. People respected him, a large number held him in some reverence although most were saddened by the man’s rapid decline since the death of his only son. The younger Don Paulo was not held in the same esteem as his father and what Chris and Vin had managed to learn about the man indicated no one was particularly upset at the news of his death except his father.
There was also talk about how Paloma Recillos, long-time resident had fled and speculation ran rife about where she and her daughter Calla had disappeared. Chris and Vin listened without comment as drunken villagers who owed the finance of their inebriation to the lawmen, revealed the talk the Don was responsible for the hasty departure of the Recillos women. Always cursed with beautiful women and bad luck, one of them was none to say, starting with the oldest girl Inez. However, it was how vocal the Don was about taking vengeance that captured Chris and Vin’s attention the most.
Although everyone knew otherwise, the Don now believed it was Inez who had shed first blood when she attacked Stefano for no good reason and fled the town, stealing a horse. With this illusion firmly in place, the villagers were aware the Don’s trusted men were sent out of town almost a week ago which escalated the two lawmen’s alarm to no end. It appeared the man had an obvious strategy in place and may have sent his henchman to Four Corners. Still, it disturbed Chris if those men were in Four Corners for nearly a week, why had no action been taken against Inez? While Chris was glad it had not, that piece of information nagged at him because it implied the evidence of a plan he could not decipher or guard against.
Vin had taken permanent position around the Don’s sprawling residence following the news his men had left Val Verde for some days. The villa and its grounds were surrounded by high canyon walls and probably chosen for his defensible position. While the walls were too high to be of a practical range to a sharpshooter, they did provide an adequate lookout point as to what was transpiring inside the stone walls of the Don’s estate. Vin saw at least five men with guns, while the rest of the residents seemed to be household staff and groundskeepers. He assumed the frail old man who emerged on occasion to throw orders around those under his employment to be Don Alejandro Paulo. He was a tall man with good stature once, but his dark hair had become wholly grey, and his face had withered to indicate he had seen too much of hardship and been twisted out of shape from it. He did not look slight like his son, nor was he preened with as much ornate clothing. Seeing him made Vin realise just how much losing a child could change a person because he could well imagine the man before him to be the fair and honest patron the village still wished him to be.
Vin did not know how much longer they ought to remain here because Chris was torn between getting back to Four Corners and still trying to learn more about the Don’s plans. With several Alejandro’s men in Four Corners, laying in wait for the opportune moment to strike, the leader of the seven was naturally anxious, caught between the dilemma of trusting his friends to handle themselves and needing to take charge personally. Until Chris made that decision, Vin opted to remain in quiet surveillance. So far, no one had even detected his presence, yet although for Vin, this was nothing new.
Tracking animals and men had taught him how to fade into the background, and he knew this need not to be noticed seeped into his relationships with people as well. Vin had trouble relating to men and women alike and tended to shy away from people. He liked being ignored and could only seem comfortable in a crowd when no one noticed him. Before Alex, the most horrifying word in his vocabulary was the word dance. Only the women he cared for deeply could incite him to emerge from his cocoon to take part in the ritual. He had danced once for Charlotte and taken Alex to one during that first night they spent together. By then, Vin was so in love with the doctor he was willing to endure anything to win her. With a secret smile, he knew she would understand all too well, that night he had done that and more.
Snapping his attention to the moment because thinking about Alex in a situation like this was the surest way to get himself killed, Vin continued his observations well into the late morning. Vin was about to head back to Chris, to figure out what came next when he saw a group of riders and a wagon rumbling up the path leading to the gates. Out of sheer curiosity for what lay beneath the canvas covering the wagon, Vin lingered to see if it would be removed. If not for the fact the cart was escorted by men who did not look like they farmed for a living, Vin would not have bothered. However, the men appeared to have ridden some distance and the weapons they were carrying indicated they were definitely professional gunmen.
Instead of taking the wagon to the stable, the transport was sent directly to the main house and any household or ground staff presented at the time was banished elsewhere in the sprawling estate, adding to Vin’s growing apprehension something ominous was looming in the horizon. Following the exile of his staff from the immediate vicinity, the Don emerged to greet his men, barking orders Vin could barely make out as instructions to remove the canvas concealing the contents of the wagon. When they had carried out the request, Vin’s breath caught because he hated it when his instincts proved right about trouble.
The familiar face he spied was that of JD Dunne, bound hand and foot as he was pulled to the edge of the wagon by his captors. His legs were freed before being taken off the carriage, and his appearance made Vin's jaw clench when he saw the line of red running down the side of the young man’s head as well as an ugly bruise beneath his eye. The kid was holding up pretty well, considering he was surrounded on all sides and did seem apparent as if help was going to come any time soon. As he was forced towards the house, Vin noticed JD kept glancing anxiously over his shoulder at the back tray of the wagon until he was shoved rather forcefully to keep his eyes ahead. Vin wondered what JD was so fixated upon until he saw the rest of the Don’s men approaching the rear of the wagon to remove their second prisoner and understood entirely what had worried JD so much.
Inez.
While she was not tied up, she was probably in more danger than JD if what Chris suspected about the Don’s intentions were right. The idea was so repellent to the gunslinger he had made light of his conclusion to no one except Vin who was present at the time of his rumination. Chris had hoped he was wrong, but the act of bringing back Inez all this way seemed to confirm his speculation. However, something else caught the tracker’s notice, and his puzzlement over this was not easily answered.
Even from this distance, there was something about Inez’s manner as she was led into the house a few steps behind JD, giving Vin concern. He knew her well enough to know she was the most spirited creature he had ever met, even more than Alex who only went volcanic on him after extreme provocation. On the other hand, Inez was so fiery and did not require much to stab her temper into a full vent. However, at this moment, she seemed devoid of her usual spark as she was being escorted by the Don’s men. If Vin did not know better, he would say she had given up but knew there was no way the Inez he knew, would do that willingly.
Whatever had her caused to become so defeated was a question Vin would have to save for later because he had seen enough. With a dozen men guarding the prisoners, not to mention the ground keepers who could probably manage a gun if the situation called for it, the two lawmen were looking at a sizeable force if they were even considering the idea of going after Inez and JD on their own. Vin had to assume Buck and the others were on their way by now but who knew how long Inez and JD had before the Don carried out his revenge? Chris would be unwilling to wait for their arrival even though it was the prudent course of action. Deciding he could do no more here at present, Vin had no choice but to head back to the cantina and hoped Chris had some kind of plan because Vin sure did not.
***********
Buck Wilmington said nothing as he and the remaining members of the seven narrowed the gap between themselves and their quarry. While slightly hindered by the absence of Vin Tanner’s tracking skill, there was no real delay in their progress across the border because it was a forgone conclusion where the men who had kidnapped Inez and JD were going. The village of Val Verde was less than an hours ride away since the lawmen having made good time because they were not held back by a wagon and had ridden hard throughout most of the night to keep pace with the kidnappers. As the sun continued its gradual ascent across the sky towards noon, Buck estimated they would arrive shortly after or before that time of the day.
Ezra, Josiah and Nathan made no attempt to speak to the man because their earlier efforts were rewarded with a monosyllabic response that deterred further conversation. Of course, they all understood the reason for the silence even if they were somewhat taken back by it. Buck could always be counted upon to make any trip lively, no matter how dire the situation. Seeing him so focussed and sullen gave rise to their concern for him over how his mind would take it if they were too late to save Inez.
During the journey when they had stopped to rest the horses, Ezra had approached Nathan and discussed the situation with Julia. Knowing Nathan could be relied upon to keep the strictest confidence; Ezra took the opportunity to speak to the healer about the subject when they were alone. The animals were driven hard during the ride to Val Verde and needed a short period of rest before they could be expected to continue the trip. Deciding Buck needed some space to breathe, Ezra and Nathan had volunteered to feed the horses while Josiah kept a close watch on Buck by taking him into the eatery at the small way station at which they chose to stop. A sound mind needed a sound body, Josiah had stated in his argument when he led Buck away.
"Mr Jackson, I have a highly delicate question to ask for you." Ezra finally brought himself to ask after deliberating upon whether or not he would bring up this subject with the healer.
"What sort of question?" Nathan looked at the gambler because there was very little in Ezra’s nature that did not have to do with money and was a subject he had more expertise than Nathan ever would.
"Consider it a medical query." Ezra cleared his throat as he placed the feedbag over Chaucer’s neck and let the animal indulge himself.
"I’m a doctor in training," Nathan said with a smile. "As Miss Alex always says, everything in the strictest confidence. It’s an oath." Besides, he could this tell this was difficult for Ezra to broach with him and did not want to make the man any more uncomfortable.
"That is good to know because what I am about to bring forward, I do so only because I know nothing about the subject and I feel I should make myself aware in light of certain revelations made to me recently. Fortunately, it has never happened to me, so I do not know how to proceed."
Now Nathan was not only burning with curiosity but actually quite concerned Ezra was trying to deal with some terrible medical condition on behalf of someone who should be seeking help themselves. "Go on, Ezra, let me help."
Ezra wondered whether Nathan knew how far those words went to comforting his patients. It had even more weight than his proven skill. When spoken by Nathan, it did not seem obligatory or trite, and Ezra suddenly felt a great deal of comfort, knowing he could turn to Nathan for help in this matter. "What do you know about child molestation?" He asked quietly, feeling dirty, just referring to that term.
Nathan’s expression darkened upon hearing that, and he stared at Ezra for a moment, trying to decide whether or not the gambler was asking for himself. Finally, he responded, unable to make the determination. "I’ve read some about it." He admitted. "There ain’t much documented though. It’s not something folks like bringing up and the few cases that are reported are usually done on the quiet where the law and the family could forget about it. Of course, we know some whoremaster’s trade in children, but no peacekeeper would put up with such a practice in their town. It's one thing to have a cathouse with consenting adults but with children?" The disgust in his face showed. "Back when we were slaves, it happened a lot, but then nobody gave a damn."
Ezra nodded and then remarked. "But these nefarious acts not always perpetrated by a stranger. I assume it is sometimes committed by a family member?"
"Most of the time, that is exactly how it happens," Nathan confirmed Ezra’s worst suspicions. When Julia had alluded to it, he had not dared to come out and ask even though there was no doubt in his mind the experience she could not bring herself to say was the one he was discussing with the healer right now. "It sounds sick, but that's how it begins," Nathan continued, snapping Ezra back to the present discussion.
"The molester is usually a father or an uncle, showing a facade of loving affection to the outside world while behind closed doors in the dark, they prey on the childlike a monster feeding."
Ezra felt sick. Hearing Nathan described it almost made him physically ill. How could any parent do that to a child? He remembered what Julia said until she was a woman, she had not even believed it to be wrong assuming as all children did it was just another one of those rules that made sense only to adults. The thought of what she must have suffered appalled him to no end and reinforced his determination to see to it such terror never be revisited upon her.
"I am guessing it ain’t you, we’re talking about." Nathan ventured a guess.
"No," Ezra shook his head, putting to rest that question immediately. "Its Julia." He finally revealed, still holding the same belief Nathan would keep their discussion discreet.
Nathan nodded, unsurprised by the revelation. "Is that why she’s so stubborn about her pa not finding her?"
"She has not exactly been forthcoming with her experiences in regards to her father, but I am assuming as much," Ezra said quietly, unable to shake the inner turmoil he felt over this entire issue. He wished he had not been forced to leave Four Corners so abruptly and understood now with even more depth why the need to flee was so ingrained inside of her. Hopefully, she could manage her fear long enough for him to return to Four Corners and deal with Mr Clemens.
"You can’t push her to talk about it, Ezra," Nathan warned. "It has to come only if she’s willing and she may not ever be able to face him."
Ezra laughed shortly, but there was no humour in it, just a bitterness that seemed to sadden his sea coloured eyes even more. "Well you need not worry about me pressing Julia into making any startling confessions, we are both if anything, adept at keeping our secrets."
Of that, Nathan had no doubt.
***********
After so long envisioning this day, Don Alejandro Paulo was uncertain what he expected when he finally had the person responsible for his son’s demise before him. He expected to feel satisfaction and anger as he faced Inez Recillos who was brought into his study with her youthful companion, he even imagined a tirade of rage that would see him kill her with his bare hands. In his more fanciful visions of grand revenge, he had pictured her begging at his feet for her life, demanding, no begging to be set free. She would cry apology after apology for her part the slaying of his beautiful son, Stefano.
However, as Ramirez presented her before him, all swollen with the child that would be the instrument of his eventual vindication, he found himself visited with an entirely new emotion. One he never thought he would feel when the moment of his triumph was finally at hand. She was not the firebrand Paulo had imagined at all, nor was she broken and spiritless. Instead, she did not look at him even though he had Ramirez force her to her knees, so when she did meet his eyes, she could not help but look up at him. Even the youth with her offered more sport than the lady herself, who seemed to be residing in a place with walls not even he; Don Alejandro Paulo could breach.
He felt disappointed.
Even worse than that, he felt cheated and robbed of the satisfaction should have come from this achievement. However, as he stared hard at Inezfrom across his desk, she displayed nothing that would allow him to believe he was a victor in all this. It felt like she had taken something else from him and the idea she had bested him once again was enough to fuel his insanity to new heights of rage and mania.
"You will look at me!" He roared and engendered not even the slightest hint of reaction from her.
His men jumped, startled by the sharp edge of his voice. Even the boy imprisoned next to Inez shuddered slightly by his outburst, but Inez herself did not even blink.
"What is the matter with her?" Paulo demanded, turning an accusatory eye at Ramirez. "Why does she not speak?"
Ramirez opened his mouth to answer, but Inez spoke instead.
"I do not speak because you have nothing to say to me I care to hear."
Her tone was cold, like brittle glass and JD next to her, felt a chill run down his spine hearing the dull monotone of her voice when held against the memory of its soft melody when it crooned him to sleep whenever he was ill or injured. Her gaze was fixed on the view outside the window of Paulo’s study, taking in the familiar sight of the hills she had seen most of her life until Paulo’s son had chased her out of her home and everything she had known.
"You murdered my son." Paulo roared, exultant by the notion she had deigned to speak, and his words would finally draw a response.
"I murdered no one and your son was a coward." Inez lifted her eyes for the first time and returned his hard stare with a look of venom that made his pale in comparison. "He challenged everyone who helped me to a duel, and like a coward, he would not abide by the rules of conduct when he lost. He was prepared to gun down the man who defeated him fairly even after that man gave his leave to go. That is your son." She said quietly.
"You are lying!" Paulo rounded the table and felled her with a backhanded blow.
"Leave her alone, you bastard!" JD cried out as he saw Inez drop to the stone floor of the room. His reaction was rewarded with the hard butt of a gun rifle hitting in the centre of his back and making collapse as quickly as Inez had fallen. The young man uttered a cry of pain as he felt his head flare in pain, but he shook it off as best he could because he was more concerned about Inez.
Paulo stormed up to Inez, grabbing a fistful of hair and holding her face near his. "You and your lover murdered my son! I will have my justice."
"You have nothing," Inez replied her teeth red with blood as she glared at him. "You can take my baby from my body, but you will only have possession temporarily. Men are coming as surely as Ramirez killed my baby’s father. They are hardly men of honour or of good moral fibre, but they know loyalty, and they know what real justice is. You may have my child for a time, but you will never be able to keep it. If I die never seeing my child grown, I will do so with the pleasure, Don Alejandro Paulo, of knowing neither will you."
Paulo hissed at her and rose his hand to strike but could no more manage to beat her again because he could not stomach seeing that cold defiance or the look of resignation in her eyes said doom for all of them was ordained before this day. Instead, he released her hair and let her fall onto her hands once again. Paulo walked away from her, angry his victory felt sour in his mouth. She was not behaving like a man beaten because even grieving, what remained in its place was almost as formidable.
"Get Cuervo." He glared at Ramirez and his men who were standing around, trying not to be affected by the growing mania of their patron. "I want her child in my hands within the hour." He said viciously and threw her another look of black hatred.
"Si Don Paulo." Ramirez swallowed, disliking this part of the Don’s revenge but aware there was no avoiding it. The man desired his vengeance, and he would have it.
"Get them out of my sight until then. I do not care where," Paulo said, turning away from all the players in his carefully constructed drama, both the willing and unwilling participants alike. "Inform me only when Cuervo arrives."
He did not turn around until Inez was gone from his sight.
***********
"Inez, are you okay?" JD asked as they were led from the room.
"Yes," Inez nodded, seemingly oblivious to the stain of blood on her lips or the large bruise forming on her skin. "I am fine." She replied, looking at him sympathetically because she knew he was hurt when trying to come to her defence.
"How can you do this?" JD turned on Ramirez who was leading them down the corridor to the rest of the house and the room they were to be held captive for the time being.
"Shut up," Ramirez warned and threw him a dark look of menace to be quiet. As it was, he could see the pained expressions on the men around him. Until the Don had revealed his plans for Inez, none of them was aware of the lady’s fate. It was a paradox they could accept her being killed but felt anxiety about being party to her body being gutted so her child could be stolen at the moment of its birth. There was something obscene in which even Ramirez could not find conscionable and yet he knew he could not betray his patron, after so many years of service.
JD would not be silent. "You guys talk about honour and nobility, are those just words or do they mean something to you?" He demanded, unwilling to let this go because he took could see the dissatisfaction in their eyes when he asked the question of Ramirez. "It was a fair fight!" JD cried out. "I was there when his son was killed. Buck gave him a chance to walk away. Paulo had cut him to ribbons, but Buck didn’t want to take a man’s life in cold blood. He told Paulo to leave, and the yellow coward grabbed a gun and tried to shoot him!"
"Be silent!" Ramirez whirled around and grabbed JD by the collar, his gun was drawn and thoroughly prepared to shoot him if necessary to silence his conflicting words.
"JD," Inez said abruptly, the first trace of emotion entering her voice since he had awoken next to her hours before. "You cannot sway these men." She said sadly. "They were bound to their patron from before you were even born. Some have followed their fathers into loyal service. It is not their fault Don Paulo is insane. They are trying to be men of honour because duty requires them to perform their service to their patron, no matter what the consequences to themselves."
Her words had more impact upon them than she knew, Ramirez cursed slightly because they were professional gunmen not hired killers even though the line blurred between the two distinctions at times. It was their honour keeping them one thing instead of the other, and from the very onset of this expedition, their actions reeked of dishonour and immorality. Even though he projected a picture of unswerving faith in his Don, the others around him were not so certain. Ramirez finally understood why Raphael, one of his best and most loyal men, had suddenly chosen to abandon his patron in the town of Four Corners.
They finally reached a room on the other side of the house well away from the Don’s study and Ramirez found himself looking forward to when this was all over. The architecture of Spanish styled villas was very open plan with much space in the rooms as wells as large windows. As a jail it was inadequate, and when Inez and her youthful companion were finally ushered inside the room, Ramirez posted a guard to keep watch on them. While he would like this whole matter to simply dissolve and never again trouble him, Ramirez had a duty to perform, and he intended to do so whatever the consequences.
Inez was right about that much at least.
***********
"Getting in ain’t going to be easy," Chris stated the obvious as he surveyed the lay of the Don’s estate through the eyepiece of Vin’s telescope. There were men stationed at every juncture indicating Paulo expected trouble. Considering what he had just done, Chris could not fault the man for being cautious. However, it did not make things any easier for him.
"We can’t wait much longer," Vin said grimly as he searched for a possible point of entry along the long wall of the perimeter. "Lord only knows what he’s has got planned for Inez and the kid."
"We can’t just go in there guns blazing," Chris lowered the telescope and met Vin’s gaze. "If the man’s mind is gone, he may just turn around and kill them while we’re fighting it out."
Despite Vin’s eagerness to do something, he could not fault Chris for his reasoning. It was true; a full-frontal assault was only going to get someone killed. What they needed was a distraction, but with only the two of them presently in Val Verde with little hope of assistance from the locals who looked upon their Don with reverence, the sharpshooter had no idea how they were to achieve this minor miracle.
"What we need is a distraction," Chris remarked, mirroring his own thoughts.
"Can’t see much chance of that happening," Vin replied until suddenly something caught his eye at the edge of his peripheral vision. Four riders were making their way down the path meandering through the heart of Val Verde and eventually emptied at the gates of Don Paulo’s estate. Although Chris had taken up his observation of the grounds once more, Vin’s attention remained firmly fixated on the approaching riders, sure the familiarity he was seeing was not mere coincidence.
"Hey pard," Vin mused as the riders reached the outskirts of town and started edging towards the villa. "I think you better have a look at this." He replied as the deep red of Ezra’s jacket confirmed his suspicions on who was making a fast approach towards the villa.
"What?" Chris asked as he swung the telescope to where Vin was gesturing. The gunslinger said nothing for a moment, showing no signs of reaction other than a tightening in his jaw so slight only Vin, other than Mary or perhaps Buck, could notice it.
"At least we’re all here," Vin said with a wry smile although judging by the dark look forming on Chris’ face the leader of the seven lawmen of Four Corners appeared hardly amused.
"Look at those idiots." Chris let out a sigh of resignation. "They’re just going in there, no plan, nothing. They’re going to get themselves killed."
"Or give us our distraction." Vin reminded, trying to alleviate Chris’s annoyance although he knew it was borne out of concern for his comrades rather than anything else. "The others know how to keep themselves out of trouble, maybe even long enough for us to get inside and find Inez and JD."
"True." Chris agreed somewhat begrudgingly and knew if Vin was right about them taking advantage of the chaos that would be created the minute Buck and the others reached the gates, and the shooting started, they would have to get going now. He glanced over the edge of the canyon and tried to find a way down that did not require them taking the long trail they had used to reach this point. Chris would prefer finding a way down the canyon that would offer just enough danger the Don would never suspect its existence. After a few seconds, he saw a protrusion of rocks and footholds providing enough space to be called a ledge even though he would not live to regret it if he made a false step and fell.
"That way." He gestured to their way down the canyon as he handed Vin back his telescope. He glanced at the progress Buck and the others were making in their advance towards the Don and would be soon reaching the point where they would be sighted by the enemy. There was no way Chris and Vin could contact them in time to stop them from laying siege to the villa until a more decisive plan could be envisioned. The only thing the gunslinger could think to do to help them was to take advantage of the situation by getting inside the grounds and taking up the position at the rear of the enemy after they had removed Inez from the immediate vicinity.
"That’s going to be interesting," Vin replied, studying the way down and knew while tricky, the terrain was passable. Like the gunslinger, he tended to agree with the assertion they should penetrate the perimeter of Paulo’s estate as soon as possible.
As Chris made his way across the rocky peak of the canyon, he brushed aside his concern for Buck’s state of mind at this time and reminded himself the best way to help his friend at this time was to concentrate on the plan he and Vin had outlined. Buck’s usual demeanour was that of the happy go lucky rogue who was seldom perturbed about anything. Among the seven, only Chris had known the man long enough to be aware of a dark side to Buck’s personality was rarely seen by anyone. It took quite a bit to provoke his rage into being, and this situation could very well be one of those breaking points. At the moment, Buck was riding high on adrenalin and emotion, so blind with worry for Inez he was a locomotive none of the others could halt in his determination to reach her. Chris was certain.
It was a sure-fire way to get himself killed.
They had just begun their dangerous descent down the canyon wall when Chris and Vin were alerted by the sound of excited voices, chattering loudly from below. At the same time, the distant rumble of approaching horses was now a thundering echo signalling their time had run out. The lawmen were not long into their steep climb when they froze momentarily as a new sound that ripped through the air, one both men recognised immediately.
Gunfire.
***********
JD sat up the minute he heard the first gunshot.
Both he and his guard exchanged the same look as the sound dissipated to be followed by another eruption of gunfire. Instinctively, without even seeing it, JD knew it was Chris and the others. A tiny part of him still clung to the hope his friend was still alive and Ramirez lied to Inez, wondered if perhaps Buck Wilmington was there too. The guard barked at him in Spanish to sit down, and while JD did not understand the language itself, he knew enough to put himself back in his chair for the moment. The man glanced at him with steely eyes while withdrawing to the door, his gun still aimed at JD as he pulled open the door.
"Inez." JD turned to the lady who was taking a moment to rest on the bed inside their confinement. She had said nothing since they were deposited in this room and the momentary surge of fire she had displayed earlier in the Don’s study appeared to be only for the man’s benefit because she was silent and listless ever since. JD’s voice engendered little more than a glance from her, but it was enough to let him know that she was listening, no matter how disinterested in her welfare, her grief had made her.
"Inez, are you alright?" He asked, a little louder this time as the guard took his eyes off them long enough to be appraised of the situation from a comrade running down the corridor, apparently to meet the threat. JD did not pay much attention to their conversation, able to estimate the guard would be kept in place to keep watch over them, while the others went off to face whatever peril was creating such chaos outside. While JD had a fair idea, the pandemonium was a direct result of the rest of the seven’s timely arrival, the youth intended to give them as much help in their rescue as he could muster.
"I’m fine, JD." She replied, still as dispassionately as before.
"You don’t look fine." He repeated himself, determined she comprehend what he was trying to do. "You sort look a little off colour, like the day when it looked like the baby was coming."
Inez’s brow wrinkled in confusion as she turned to him and suddenly, it came over her what he was attempting to do. Their guard’s command of English was rudimentary at best, and at present, the man seemed more concerned with what was transpiring outside than his duties keeping watch over them. JD hoped he was able to convey to Inez what he was planning and nodded slightly at her before the sentry returned his attention to them once again.
"JD!" She cried out, hands moving to her stomach in pain as she pulled her legs against her swollen belly in a mock imitation of pain.
"Inez, what it is?" JD asked jumped up from his chair, demanding anxiously with a performance so superb, Ezra Standish would be proud.
"I don’t know," she gasped, her face contorting with pain as her hands continued to clutch her stomach in an expression of increasing anxiety. The action had the desired effect for the guard immediately looked anxious at the unfolding events. "Oh!" She let out another strangled cry, adding more urgency to her voice as she continued her performance with devastating potency.
JD took a step forward but not kept a suitable distance between himself and Inez, nearing just enough to show his concern. Positioning and timing were critical here, and JD was not about to misjudge the situation or the play when this appeared to be their one chance of getting out of here. "Inez, it's not the baby is it?"
Inez’s response was another cry, and he turned sharply to their jailer and declared. "We need a doctor!" JD exclaimed, uncertain whether or not the Mexican understood him but hoped the fear in his voice would do all the translation necessary. "She’s having the baby!"
"Bambino?" The man stammered blinking furiously at the sight of Inez who was playing her part to near perfection with a series of well-timed and well-acted cries of pain.
"Si!" Inez switched to Spanish. She threw her head back following that declaration and screamed, not loudly but enough to make the man jump and drive him further along the edge of panic she guided him so expertly towards.
JD held back and watched as the guard stepped towards Inez. The young sheriff’s eyes were fixed on the gun, waiting for the moment when it lowered enough for him to act. Inez was groaning and straining in pain, emitting sounds that would have scared JD to all hell if he had not known it was an act. He could see the guard debating what to do with each agonised cry she was uttering, and JD knew the man was inching closer to the place JD needed him to be. As it was, the man appeared on the verge of a full-blown anxiety attack and was trying to restrain himself even though he flinched as if it lashed him with a physical sensation every time Inez begged for help.
Even though this woman had earned his Don’s severest displeasure, Paulo did want her alive, and that made his conundrum all the more confusing. If he did not seek out help for her and she was harmed in any way, then it would be his fault, but on the other hand, he could not leave the prisoners to seek aid while there was no one to replace him on sentry duty. With the commotion taking place outside, it was a foregone conclusion his comrades had troubles of their own.
The gunfire had become more intense, and JD could only imagine what was taking place beyond the walls of their room. The youth was painfully aware if things did not go the way of Don Paulo’s liking, the man might be vindictive enough to order them killed anyway. The son was vicious enough when defeated, and JD saw no reason to believe the father was any different. A man who conspired to take a woman’s baby out of her body was capable of anything, and JD felt he owed it to Buck, even if his friend was dead, to ensure nothing happened to either mother or child.
"Please Senor," Inez stared at the guard with tear-filled eyes, sobbing in pretend agony, begging him to help her with such wretchedness the man could not help become overwhelmed by it until he completely forgot about JD.
It was what the youth was waiting for. No sooner than the gun barrel had lowered to the point of acceptability, JD rushed forward, putting all the weight behind his shoulder as he slammed hard into the guard. Caught completely by surprise, the Mexican dropped the weapon in his hands onto the stone floor a millisecond before JD smashed the man up against the opposing wall with all the strength he could muster. As the gun clattered to the floor, Inez immediately ceased her performance and jumped off the bed, retrieving it as she heard the loud whack of the man’s skull against the wall.
He was not yet unconscious, but JD did not give him time to recover. The blow to his head had knocked him senseless, and he dropped onto all fours before JD attacked with his feet. JD did not know how many kicks he had delivered to the man before the guard stopped struggling but when it was all said and done JD found himself out of breath and looked down to see his victim covered in a litany of bruises. It was hardly the fairest way to get out of a tight situation, the young man thought with a hint of guilt as he saw the guard lying unconscious of the floor, but then neither was what they intended to do to Inez.
"Inez, you okay?" He asked quickly even though she was the one with the gun.
"Yes," she nodded breathlessly as she lumbered to him, still somewhat restricted by her bulk. "How about you?"
"I’m great," he grinned, feeling euphoric by the thought freedom might be at hand. "Untie me, would you?" Inez was already ahead of him, reaching immediately for the ropes keeping his wrist bound together and working quickly to untie the knots.
"That must be Chris," Inez replied, coming to the same conclusion as JD as to the rescue mission being mounted to retrieve them. Although freedom would be welcomed, she did not feel the same desire for it, knowing Buck was dead. Until JD’s plan, Inez was prepared to die with him because the idea of going on without Buck was more than Inez could stand, but the young man was right. She needed to live. not only for the child inside her but also the friends willing to risk their lives to save her. "We need to get out of here." She said. "If Paulo has not remembered us yet, he soon will."
"You ain’t kidding." JD wholeheartedly agreed as soon as his hands were freed. He rubbed his wrists, massaging the stiffness out of his joints before taking the gun from her. "You were great Inez, you almost had me believing the baby was coming."
"Well," Inez said with a small smile of affection. "You have a good introduction." Leaning over, she kissed him gently on the cheek and found amusement in the blush on his cheeks when she withdrew.
"What did you do that for?" He asked stuttering a little. Her breath against his cheek made his skin tingle, and he felt himself sigh inwardly because it only reinforced the secret infatuation he always had for Inez. It was impossible not to be a little in love with her even though his affections for Inez were very different from his feelings for Casey Wells.
"To thank you." She replied. "For not giving up on me."
He blushed slightly and reminded Inez how young he was even though he was capable of much wisdom when the need arose. "We better get out of here." He declared brushing past her and grabbing the chair he was sitting on earlier. Leaning it on its back against the door handle, he jammed the door from the inside and ensured no one would be barging in on them for a while at least. He knew if anyone was determined to break into the room, the chair would offer little deterrent. In any case, JD intended taking advantage of the large windows in the room to break its confines.
"Do you think you can make it out that window?" He asked as he went to the opening and peered out. As expected, nobody was paying much attention to this room with the gun battle taking place outside. While he could see none of his comrades from Four Corners, JD was sure if he could just get Inez out of the high walls of the estate, they could reach Chris and the others.
"I will try." She nodded, filled with a new determination not to fail him when he was trying so hard to fulfil his promise to keep her and the baby safe.
JD climbed over the window, sill and landed onto the soft grass outside the house. Taking Inez’s hand, he reached through the window and helped her to do the same. Although awkward, Inez managed to make the emergence in good time, and they soon found themselves in the gardens at the rear of the house. Judging by the gunfire, most of the shooting was taking place on the other side of the villa. JD took Inez’s hand in his and led her away from the house, wanting to put as much distance between Inez and Don Paulo as possible. Although he did not bring it up with Inez, he was listening when Don Paulo had ordered Ramirez to summon the man called Cuervo.
He did not know what it was Cuervo did for Don Paulo, but JD had a feeling for Inez’s sake, they had better not find out.
***********
Buck was starting to become impatient.
He checked his gun and saw he would need to reload soon and while they were making some progress at storming the gates of Don Paulo’s villa, it was not, in his opinion fast enough. The Don’s men though decreasing gradually in numbers the more prolonged the firing continued, were still halting their progress through the gates of the estate. Buck took refuge behind a wagon and could see Ezra not trying to make it across the space between the outer homes in the village to the wall marked the grounds of Don Paulo’s villa.
The gambler was clearing himself attempting to pick off as many sentries returning fire along the top of the wall and to some extent was succeeding, but it would take time and Buck could not afford to wait. In retrospect, he supposed perhaps they had rushed in blindly, and he wondered where Chris and Vin were. If they were in town, they would be here already, and the lawman had a bad feeling the gunslinger and the tracker might be already on their way back to Four Corners, with no idea they were here, inching to a possible stalemate.
Buck had yet to see any signs of the Don himself although, by all accounts, he was meant to be old and would probably leave the fighting to his men if he were as weak and ill as he was thought to be. He prayed Inez was safe and JD was taken alive as a hostage and not some dark purpose they had yet to ascertain. The locals stayed huddled indoors, unwilling to become involved with so much shooting going on and Buck occasionally saw frightened faces peering through windows to assess the progress of the melee taking place. From the corner of his eye, he saw Josiah making his way laboriously from cover to cover, inching closer each time he ran forward under cover of protection Nathan provided with a hail of bullets towards the wall. Buck knew as well as those who were attempting to halt his crossing if he made it, he would have created himself a blind spot from which they would be helpless to attack.
The preacher ducked behind a water trough as one of Paulo’s men realised his intention and Buck watched him scramble behind the safety of the thick wooden structure as the bullets impacted the ground close behind him, sending small clouds of dust and dirt into the air. With a man of his bulk, Josiah moved with surprising speed, and Buck aimed his own gun at the hired gun who was attempting to stop the preacher for reaching his goal. With the concentrated fire from both Nathan and Buck, the walls of bullets finally penetrated the man’s efforts to avoid them, and Buck watched dispassionately as he tumbled to the ground, a crimson stain marking the killing wound on his chest.
Josiah saw the cessation of fire from that quarter and immediately bolted forward even though the others soon saw he was wide in the open. The preacher ran as if the devil himself was nipping at his heels and Nathan continued laying the suppressing fire allowed him to breach the gulf before reaching the cover of the wall. Once he reached the edifice, Josiah pressed himself against the concrete and skimmed along the edge, confident Nathan would still be covering him as he followed the wall until he found an unguarded part of it he could safely climb over. The high walls only seemed to occupy the frontage of the village and Buck had no doubt Josiah would find a way inside the grounds, once he had passed the formidable barrier.
He looked over and saw Ezra withdrawing behind the wall of the house he was using for cover to reload his weapon. The gambler’s hands moved deftly as he slid the bullets into the chamber with as much fluidic skill he displayed when he was shuffling cards. Ezra tipped his hat in Buck’s direction when he saw Buck glancing his way before he realised something. Josiah was nowhere in sight.
"Nathan!" Buck called to the healer who had been conducting most of his attack from inside the confines of an empty wagon, stationed not too far from him next to someone’s home. "Where’s Josiah?"
The healer did not answer for a few moments, taking careful aim with his rifle and firing at the men stationed on top of the wall frontage. While not as good as Vin Tanner with the weapon, Nathan was still quite a formidable shot and proved it when he downed two men with two bullets. He aimed carefully and knew exactly where to shoot to cause the most damage. As Buck saw another blind spot open up with their demise, the healer took the time to reload.
"He’s rounded the fence line!" Nathan replied as Buck took up his slack.
No sooner than he had spoken, Buck caught sight of the preacher. He was on the top of the wall, firing at the men who were holding the gate hostage. Seeing his presence there, immediately shifted the strategy of their attack and Buck turned his guns on the men who might take that advantage from him. Nathan and Ezra followed suit, giving Josiah as more protection as they were able as he began his assault behind enemies lines so to speak. Bodies began falling off the wall or slumped over its edge, but in every case, the threat they posed was being quickly neutralised. When Buck saw them turn tail and run, he knew he was never going to get a better chance of getting into the place.
Jumping out from behind his hiding place, he ran at breakneck speed towards the gate, mindful of any stragglers that might choose to stop him before he reached it. However, Buck was confident Nathan and Ezra would keep that from happening, and he could not leave Josiah up there alone. While the preacher was doing an admirable job of holding his own, Buck was not about to let him languished now that he had created an opening for them to proceed. Buck crossed the space with guns blazing, driving anyone back who might still be close enough to a threat. He saw one or two of Paulo’s men withdrawing past the gate, retreating into the estate seeking refuge.
Reaching the gate, he saw the enemy re-establishing a line of defence inside the grounds of the estate and knew the others did not have a lot of time. Waving them forward, he needed not to make any verbalisation as he saw Ezra and Nathan emerged from their hiding places now that it was relatively safe to make the crossing without being cut to ribbons. When Buck had reached the bottom of the wall, he had lost sight of Josiah but knew the preacher could take care of himself and would turn up eventually. Besides, they had to redeploy themselves before Don Paulo’s line of defence barred them from the house where Buck was certain Inez was being held, prisoner.
He saw the Don’s men preparing to hold them off and bolted forward, making a dash for the stables situated at the rear of the house. If he could reach that point, he would be effectively behind whatever line of defence they were attempting to mount, and he could reach the house without too much trouble. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Ezra reaching the other side of the gate and gestured to the gambler which way he was going. Ezra nodded, understanding it was likely the Don’s men would attempt to stop him in his journey there and conveyed to Buck he could proceed because Ezra would be covering his back. Buck ran out the same time Ezra began shooting at the hired guns attempting to consolidate themselves into a firing line.
Ezra watched Buck running into the open and maintain a steady series of shots at anyone who might try to harm him. The Mexicans were taking up position behind strategic locations to hold them off from moving any deeper into the grounds of the estate now the lawmen had stormed the gates so to speak. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Josiah had positioned himself with the same intention, using the top of the high wall as his vantage point as he kept any shooters away from Buck.
Buck made good time and soon disappeared from the line of fire of everyone until Ezra could no longer see him. Turning his attention back to the rest of the fighting, Ezra hoped Buck was able to find Inez and JD soon. With the tide of the battle balanced so precariously at the moment, the Don might be spiteful enough to harm the lady and her baby to exact his revenge even in defeat.
***********
As expected, no one had anticipated incursions onto the estate by the perilous face of the canyon walls surrounding the rear of the estate. Although it was not an experience neither man would like to repeat in future, Chris and Vin made it down from the height in one piece and were relatively unnoticed when they entered the grounds of Don Paulo’s villa. With the explosion of gunfire erupting in the not too far distance, they were able to move towards the house quickly, deciding it was the best place to start their search for Inez and JD.
The entire place was in disarray with the main concentration of effort on repelling Buck and the others who had managed to break through the obstacle of high walls to penetrate the interior of the grounds. Even as they crossed the terrain towards the house, evidence of the Don’s defeat was apparent in the bodies scattered along walls where they were attempting to hold off the lawmen. Chris sincerely hoped the Don did not believe the gun battle was lost because there was no telling what the man would do in vengeance. With Inez so vulnerable and JD trussed up and unarmed, the man could still deliver a significant blow to their victory, if he killed the object of their rescue mission. A man crazy enough with grief was liable to do that.
"How do you think we’re doing?" Vin asked as they approached the main house stealthily. Most of the Don’s men were focussed on keeping Buck and the others from getting any farther into the grounds. Vin could see Josiah perched on the top of the walled fence, while Ezra and Nathan were flanking the gates.
"Okay, I think," Chris replied, although he would feel better about the whole situation if he knew what was going on. Even though he had not voiced it, he was concerned why Buck was not among their number and entertained for a brief moment the notion there might be a more sinister reason for his absence. "We’ll get Inez and JD," Chris said, dismissing the thought for the moment, "and head towards the stable. We’ll need to get her in a wagon. No way is she fit to ride in her condition."
They entered the doors at the back of the house and found themselves in the kitchen. Some of the women were huddling in the pantry area for fear of the shooting and uttered frightened cries of distress upon seeing them. Chris saw no reason to make them think any different and told Vin to order them into silence if they wanted to survive the day. The tracker did so reluctantly and was pleased when the threat was more than enough to cloak their fear with a veil of enforced quiet. Further questioning revealed they knew nothing about Inez or any prisoners but housekeeper, who had replaced Paloma incidentally, did offer they were ushered out of the house a short time ago.
The house was virtually unattended with most of the household personnel having left the sprawling home in favour of safer pastures until the gun battle was over. Those who were still in the house fled at the sign of them, which further hastened their determination to find Inez and get out of the place before the commotion they caused attracted unwanted attention. Getting Inez away from here safely was going to be problematic at best without having to do so with everyone who could carry a gun or a pitchfork for that matter, coming after them in pursuit, even if the others and hopefully Buck to was out there.
Finally, they had little choice but to follow the process of elimination and due moved through the house searching rooms for any signs of Inez and JD. They were poor guarded since all of Don Paulo’s men were required outside, defending the villa against the lawmen from across the border. Which suited Chris fine since Inez would be in no condition to move fast if they were discovered after finding her. After searching through most of the house, they finally arrived upon a door whose handle did not indicate it was locked but would not move when they attempted to open it.
"You think?" Vin looked at Chris in expectation, taking a gamble perhaps this door somehow barricaded from the other side might be the present location of Inez Recillos and JD Dunne.
"Only one way to find out," Chris replied as he kicked the door in and heard the audible snap of wood breaking. Splinters flew in directions from the shards of flying wood when the lock and its mechanism were nearly ripped off the framework of the doorway. The legs of the chair used to hold the door close snapped under the strength of Chris’ forceful entry, and the two men entered with guns drawn to find the room empty except for one gunman lying unconscious on the floor. Evidence of escape was all around the place, from the ropes on the floor to the open window and the Don’s hired hand lying with a mess of bruises.
"Looks like we’re running a little behind," Chris remarked, surveying the situation and wondering whether or not if it was entirely a good thing for Inez and JD to be wandering about on their own when it was a free for all outside.
"We better go after them," Vin grumbled. "With all that shooting out there, someone could get trigger happy and just decide to kill and be done with it," Vin responded with typical Tanner optimism.
"Well," Chris frowned unhappily at this latest turn of events. "You’re the tracker, lead the way."
Vin threw him a look and edged towards the window. "I think they went this way."
Chris rolled his eyes and replied with a hint of sarcasm. "I would never have guessed."
***********
They were making good progress even though she was moving so slowly Inez was frankly surprised they had not been killed yet. Despite the well of grief inside of her threatening to burst free each time she even thought about Buck Wilmington, Inez managed to keep it under control for the moment. Although it would have been easier to give up on herself and let it overwhelm her, Inez had decided she would not jeopardise JD’s life by wallowing in her sorrow. It was one thing to condemn herself to her fate, but JD was another matter entirely, to say nothing about the baby she carried inside her. JD was tireless in his efforts to keep her safe, and he had nursed her through every step of this escape, ensuring anyone who would be a threat to them was silenced forever.
It was easy to forget he was a boy when she saw him gun down any of Paulo’s henchmen who happened upon them while they fled towards the stable. JD knew as well as she did riding a horse out of here would be damn near impossible. She needed a wagon or a carriage, anything but a saddle. The youth’s plan was simple. Head to the stable and steal a carriage before getting out of this place. Like him, Inez was fairly certain Ezra and the rest of the seven were on the other side of the battlefield and safety would be ensured once she and JD joined them.
Until now, JD was d hiding his fear even though she could see it in his eyes. His determination to maintain his calm for her sake overwhelmed Inez with warm affection. She felt swept away with it as her own desire to protect Buck’s child found renewal because of JD’s desire to see her delivered from the threat of Don Paulo’s vengeance. JD hid all signs of concern from his face, despite his fears of failing her and Inez was equally determined not to let him down by allowing herself to become a slave of her own self-pity. She still lived, and so did her child, and for JD’s efforts, she was not going to be any more of a hindrance to him.
Of course, amid this revelation, Inez made a discovery that eclipsed all other considerations.
Inez paused in mid-step. They had rounded the house and could see the stable in the distance, having avoided the gunfire and chaos wrought in the battle still raging between Don Paulo’s men and the seven. She swallowed hard, feeling it come over her and found herself wondering how these things could be so damn inconvenient. The sensation warmed her skin, followed by the familiar stickiness, that came with moisture drying rapidly. For a moment, she did not dare to move, wanting to be absolutely sure it was indeed happening and not some symptom engendered of stress as Alex had warned. After a moment, Inez came to the firm realisation it was she who was in denial because the moment was happening.
And it was happening right now.
"Come on Inez," JD turned around and looked at her, wondering why she had stopped. "We’re almost there." He tried to urge her to keep moving.
"JD," she said, uncertain how to tell him. "We have a problem."
"No, we don’t," he said confidently. "It will be a rough ride back to Four Corners, but we’ll have you there in no time. All we gotta do is get to a wagon first and get out of here."
Oh, dear, Inez frowned. She suddenly had this premonition he was not going to take this well.
"It’s not that JD," she swallowed. "My water just broke."
He looked at her blankly, not understanding and Inez groaned inwardly, wondering after a second why she would expect him to understand. He was, despite his amazing calm under pressure right now, a young man who was in all likelihood virginal and while not wholly uninformed about the differences between man and woman, had to be afforded some measure of ignorance.
"What?" He asked in typical JD fashion.
"The baby is coming." She repeated herself. "My water just broke."
His eyes flared up in nothing less than astonishment, and if she had thought he was displaying fear before, it was nothing in comparison to the expression crossing his face at the revelation of that news.
"Now?" He exclaimed. "You mean, right now? The baby is coming now! It can’t!" He erupted in verbose ejecta and was soon reduced to incomprehensible babbling to which the only thing coherent thing she was capable of understanding from were the words ‘can’t’, ‘now’ and finally ‘faint’.
"JD, calm down!" Inez cried out, trying to allay his panic, which was quickly getting out of hand.
"Calm down!" He looked at her, almost wild. "I don’t know what to do! I mean you have to lie down and rest, and then there is the whole hot water thing!"
Inez rolled her eyes and finally felt her own calm, starting to erode. "JD, you are not helping." Inez looked at him sternly. "My water just broke, there are people around this place ready to kill us and to top it all off, Alex is in Four Corners! You going to pieces on me is not the way I want to have this baby!"
JD started to hyperventilate, and Inez let out an exasperated groan as she saw the boy doubling over trying to keep his panic under control. "Madre mois!" Inez swore as she waddled up to him and made sure he was all right. "Just breathe easily," she instructed as she attempted to calm him down. "You are panicking."
"Of course, I’m panicking!" JD stared at her, gesturing to her abdomen in frantic movements of his hands. "I don’t know anything about birthing babies!"
"Who said you had to?" A familiar voice drawled.
Both Inez and JD snapped their heads towards the speaker in unison and found themselves greeted by a familiar face. Buck Wilmington was standing before them, larger than life, hiding the intense relief at discovering them behind a cocky smile.
"Buck!" Inez gasped out loud, almost fainting with joy as she saw him there.
He was alive! The words repeated itself in her head deliriously as she ran into his arms and amazed herself with how fast she was able to cross the space between. Buck caught her in his arms the moment she reached him, and for a few seconds, nothing else existed in the world but each other. When their mouths met, it was a kiss promising a lifetime of devotion, finally hurdling all the foolishness of the past. Inez held onto Buck so hard she did not dare let go and told herself she would never do so again or be foolish enough to make him believe she did not feel anything but utter delight at having him in her life.
Buck hid how much he felt as he held her, feeling similar emotions as equally intense. When he had stumbled upon her and JD, the sheer gratitude of finding her alive and well was like receiving communion from God himself. If anything destroyed the doubt she was the only woman Buck could ever love in this life and any other, it was that moment when he saw her standing there, trying to do whatever she was doing to JD. BUck fought hard to contain the tears of relief threatening to escape his eyes because it would not do for her to see it when this occasion, though perilous still, seemed to have lost its teeth now they were together again.
"He said he killed you." She whispered when they pulled away enough for her to look up at him. Her eyes were filled with the same tears of gratitude Buck had not shed but nonetheless understood completely. "I thought he killed you and it felt like he killed me too."
"He winged me," Buck said with a smile, wiping the tears off her cheek with his finger. "But he couldn’t kill me." He replied. "Ain’t nothing keeping me away from you or our baby." A smile stole across his face as he kissed her again and that kiss dissolved into another warm embrace.
JD watched Buck and Inez and found himself grinned ear to ear even though there was gunfire still exploding in the background and elsewhere, people were trying to kill each other. For the moment, at least in this tiny corner of it, all was right with the world as far as JD Dunne was concerned. He too was happy to see Buck and had to confess a part of him that refused to believe the man would do anything so terrible as to get himself killed before he had taught JD everything he knew.
"I just knew it, Buck," JD said exuberantly as he hurried to his friend. "I knew you were too big and dumb to kill."
Buck turned to the young man and broke away from Inez to ruffle JD’s hair in a gesture the kid usually hated but didn’t seem to mind as he repeated the same brotherly embrace with JD and pulled away a second later. "You did good kid," Buck said, genuinely meaning. "I owe you for this."
"I’m just glad you got here," JD said with a relieved expression as he glanced at Inez. "She’s having the baby now!"
"Now?" Buck gaped at her, understanding JD's panic now. "You can’t have the baby now!" Buck’s voice raised an octave and almost became a squeak.
"If I wasn’t so happy to see you, I’d slap you!" She groaned exasperated wondering if this reaction was going to be universal. "I can’t exactly tell the baby to wait, you know, my water’s broke!"
"Aw hell!" Buck looked at her stricken with just as much panic, but to his credit, he calmed down because she needed him to think straight. "We got to get out of here!"
"I think not," Don Paulo stepped out, having taken advantage of their reunion to sneak upon them. With him, was Ramirez and a gun aimed at all of them. "In fact, I think this will work out even better than what I planned before."
It was raining hard that day.
He remembered how quiet they all were as they stood out in the open, rain drizzling down their hats as they watched the body being lowered into its final resting place in the earth, trying to decide why they were even here at all. The man who was being buried was nothing to them. Less than nothing actually, considering the turmoil he had left in his wake and the unpleasant ramifications his death had meant to one of them. It was days after the event, and the frown etched in Vin Tanner’s face during that time had not faded away and seemed to deepen like the weight of the bounty hanging over his head, like an axe ready to fall.
With the death of Ely Joe, Vin Tanner had lost any chance of proving his innocence and Buck could empathise with his unhappiness. Although he did not look it, Vin was a young man not much older than JD even though they were poles apart in wisdom. Chris had offered words of comfort to try and assuage Vin’s depression things were not as bad as they looked, but Chris was never good at such things. Following the first clump of dirt hitting the pine box of Ely Joe’s coffin, there seemed no further reason to remain although all were still at a loss to explain why they were here until Buck remembered no one wanted Vin to be alone. The tracker had a strange sense of honour insisting on being present when they lowered Ely Joe into the earth, perhaps needing the sense of closure that came with seeing the man buried. Whatever the reason, the rest of the seven were unwilling to let him face the day alone. He was solitary enough as it was.
He could not recall who had made the suggestion they get a drink, but it was something they all agreed with. Four Corners was battening down the hatches for a hell of a thunderstorm and this teaming rain coming down around their ears was only the first act. They needed to get indoors anyway, and it was JD who suggested going to the Standish Tavern. Predictably, Ezra Standish had groaned in distaste and disillusionment, having recently been engaged in a price war with the hotel during his brief ownership of the saloon in question. Maude Standish had not merely run him into the ground but to add insult to injury, she had bought out the mortgage on the place and wrestled ownership away from Ezra. The gambler was still stinging from the defeat and the fact Maude did not even give him the dignity of leaving the management of the business in his stead, finding a complete stranger to hand the responsibility instead.
Somehow they had managed to convince Ezra to accompany them to the Standish Tavern, even though it wrought a series of erudite complaints from the man for most of the journey to the establishment. Buck had expected nothing out of the ordinary on this particular day, expecting to see the same dusty surroundings reeking of liquor and smoke, filled with the lively noises of drunken patrons and lusty saloon girls working the room. It was a comfortable place of sights and sounds to which they had grown accustomed to over the years of living the lives they did. When Buck entered the Standish Tavern, there was no reason to think today would be any different from any other visit to the saloon.
Until he saw her.
It was impossible not to have noticed the new bartender when they walked into the establishment. Men had come from all over town to have the chance to be served by the latest resident of Four Corners. Buck recalled Ezra saying something about being usurped by a lady of Latin American extraction and had not given much else thought to the subject until he entered the place and saw her. She was holding court behind her bar that afternoon, working hard as always but brandishing a smile with as much lethal intensity as some man carried a gun.
Buck could not say if he knew what lay in store for him after his first glimpse of jet coloured hair bouncing off her dusky skin or the eyes full of warmth, yet was sharp and knowing. Everything about her was so different from the women he lusted after, the fact she was not his for the taking and her love had to be earned. Everything after that day was done in his determination to be the man she wanted. Although it would take much resistance and a lot of soul searching to admit, Buck had fallen in love with Inez Recillos from the first moment he first gazed upon her earthy smile.
He stood by her now, his eyes taking in the sight of her swollen body, filled with the child they had created in an expression of their love and knew he would allow nothing to harm either of them. Even though both Alejandro Paulo and Ramirez had their guns upon him, Buck found he did not care, and if they made one move towards his family and that included JD, he was going to kill them both with his bare hands or die trying. His hand slipped into Inez’s, and he took a step forward to ensure any gunfire would have to come through him to reach her.
"Don’t move," Ramirez ordered when he made a move.
"Then you’re going to have to shoot me again," Buck said firmly, glaring at both men with a new hatred and fast reaching a point of no return within himself. He could not know there instincts churning within him, perhaps only Chris and this unfortunate creature would wish to take his world away in vengeance, could possibly understand. "You ain’t taking my child."
"Kill him!" Alejandro ordered.
"No!" Inez cried out in despair, horrified by the possibility Buck had only come back to her so she could see him murdered.
Her outburst distracted Ramirez only momentarily, but it was more than enough. Buck rushed forward, hoping the margin of time between his attention shifting from Inez to Buck’s attack would be wide enough. At this point, he had nothing to lose. Buck slammed into Ramirez who was much smaller in stature than himself and practically bowled the man over, knocking his would-be assassin off his feet and sending him into the dirt. He still managed to maintain his grip on the weapon he was carrying and as he and Buck wrestled on the ground, tried to take aim. Buck grabbed the wrist, holding the gun and kept the man pinned under him precariously as they struggled.
"Buck!" Inez called out as her heart stopped beating in her chest at the sight of the two men fighting.
Paulo who had retrieved JD’s weapon earlier was holding Inez and JD at bay even though they wanted to intervene and help Buck. Unwilling to wait to see who would emerge victorious, Paulo decided to take matters into his own hands. Clearly, things had not progressed as he anticipated, but so long as he had Inez, there was still a chance to salvage his plan as well as have his revenge.
"You are coming with me!" He stepped forward and grabbed Inez by the arm, twisting her so hard that he could feel muscles aching with pain as she forced her back to him. She grunted in pain as he forced her to start walking, leaving Buck and Ramirez behind her. She tried to turn around and see Buck but Paulo only jabbed her gun deeper into skin until the metal met the obstruction of her ribs and had no choice but to comply with his demand to start walking.
"Leave her alone!" JD bellowed, taking only a few steps before he realised he was unarmed and Paulo had a gun on both of them. If he had not paused first, he would have been forced to do so anyway because Paulo’s order to him to stand aside was met with the warning that came with a gun cocking in his face. Swearing under his breath, he felt helpless watching Paulo take Inez and was almost willing to take his chances by rushing the man until Paulo did the one thing JD did not expect and did not dare act against.
"Interfere with me boy, and I will kill them both." He made his threat all the more chilling by pressing the barrel of the gun against her swollen belly and saw the boy falter immediately at the very idea he was willing to shoot the child inside her.
"You bastard." JD found himself declaring in a voice sounding not all like JD. The disgust he felt by the tactics used by this man showed but JD could not do anything with him holding Inez under threat like this. What kind of a human being threatened a child while it still slumbered away in the womb. JD glanced at Buck who was still fighting Ramirez and could see why Don Paulo was leaving, it was apparent in a few seconds the outcome would be decided, and it would not be in favour of his servant.
"Don Paulo," Inez implored as he pushed her forward to get her moving. "I cannot walk far." She confessed and did not lie when she said it. "My water has broken, the baby is coming now." She tried to look at him but was convinced otherwise when the cold steel jabbed deeper into the turgid side. "I’m going into labour." She groaned a little as she felt the first contractions making itself felt inside of her.
"Your inconveniences do not concern me," he said viciously. "What does, is the baby belongs to me. Your survival is not important."
"Do not do this!" She begged once again, not only because she knew this plan of his had no way of working now the others were here but also there was a deep sadness at knowing the man they had all looked up to in Val Verde had come to this. "Don Paulo, you were always a fair man, and we respected you. You treated us well, and there was not one person in Val Verde who had reason to think ill of you. I can never tell you how sorry I am Stefano was taken from you because of me, but you cannot let his death be the cause of yours. You know as well as I do, you will never leave this place without my child, and if you kill me in the process, I cannot say you will live to see the end of this day."
"Shut up!" He roared and made her face him because he would have her look at him when he told her what he thought of her words. How dare she presume to tell him how to feel!
Inez fell to her feet and glared at him when she felt fresh pain course her body. She could feel the contractions growing in intensity and knew she could not keep this up much longer. She needed a doctor, and she needed one now. However, it appeared her more immediate problem was becoming more unhinged with the growing awareness his demand for vengeance was going to fail.
"Inez!" JD called out seeing the pain in her face and wishing to do something when saw something moving at the corner of the far wall and recognised the sawn-off Winchester slowly moving into position. JD did not need to see who was wielding the weapon to know he ought to hold his ground. Paulo was so lost in his tirade of anger at Inez and had missed the barrel targeting him with expert skill. The youth dropped to his knees to avoid being in the line of fire. Somehow, he had to give the same instruction to Inez who was lying on her back, only a few feet away from him. Her gaze was fixed on the Don, standing over her with nothing less than maniacal rage in his eyes.
"You do not know anything about what I am!" Paulo was raging. "He was a good boy. He tried to do the best he could!"
"He was a misery to everyone he met!" Inez shouted. "The only reason any of us tolerated him in the village was because he was your son!" Her own anger was starting to burn out of control. For three years, she had lived with the guilt; perhaps, she could have done something to keep things from turning out how they had with regards to Don Stefano Paulo. Now, she questioned why she should feel guilty about anything. She was the victim, not he! It was not her choice to become the object of his unwanted attentions, neither was it her fault he broke into her mother’s house and tried to force her like some common thug.
"You want to feel anger, Don Paulo?" She glowered at him, her rage stoked into an uncontrollable fury matching his for intensity. "Feel anger for the one who allowed him to behave the way he had? Blame the person who cleaned the wounds of those he hurt but did nothing to prevent it from happening again. I was not the first, we both know that! How many daughters had he raped and degraded in the night? How many cries of mercy did he ignore and you disregarded when he did his worst? I was lucky! I ran, and I escaped that humiliation, but your son spared me nothing else!"
"You are lying!" He returned. "Stefano was young and foolish! He did not mean anything that he did!"
"He was a SADISTIC MURDERER!" She screamed enraged.
Paulo pulled the trigger of his gun, and the bullet smashed into the ground next to her. Inez flinched at the sound but did not move and saw him cock the gun again. This time he aimed it at her and Inez realised he had reached a place where not even reason was going to help him or her if he fired. Behind him, JD’s eyes were staring frantically at her, and the youth was gesturing for her to remain where she was. Suddenly Inez realised the situation had changed even though she did not understand why.
However, her understanding was not required as she remained frozen in place, praying JD knew what he was doing or they would all have reason to regret it.
***********
In the meantime, Buck had finally managed to tear the gun from Ramirez’s fingers and toss it aside harmlessly. In the background, he had heard the gunfire, and the shot had given him the extra edge he needed to put the man he was fighting down for good. Usually, Buck would have already dispatched him but the injury Ramirez had given him the day before had hindered his efforts. There was not as much power in his blows as he liked his movements was restricted by the pain. Hearing Inez’s voice becoming silent filled Buck with such a dread he was pounding at the man with nothing more than adrenalin coursing through his veins.
Ramirez was not yet beaten though, and despite the severe pummeling he was receiving at the hands of the ghost he thought he killed earlier, he launched a formidable counter-attack by jamming his fingers into the bandaged area of his shoulder. Buck screamed in pain, feeling the sharp pressure against the tender and broken flesh left in the wake of the bullet. He pushed himself off Ramirez to escape it and felt his entire body shuddering from the effects of the intense agony. However, Buck recovered when he saw the man scrambling towards the gun and launched himself after the Mexican without even thinking.
Wrapping his fist around the booted ankle of his enemy, Buck pulled back sharply with all the power he could muster and saw Ramirez’s legs give way as he slammed hard into the dirt face first. As he tried to claw away from Buck, he kicked hard, trying to land his heel in the lawman’s wounded shoulder once again. Buck avoided this best he could but, Ramirez was strong, and Buck was injured. When his free ankle struck Buck’s fist, Buck was forced to release him, and Ramirez wasted no time as he raced for the weapon. Buck, in turn, hurried after him to stop him. The two men’s eyes were fixed on the same prize when suddenly a black boot came down on the weapon and ended any further competition.
"Its about time." Buck Wilmington looked up at Chris Larabee and complained as the gunslinger stood calmly before him, hand poised over the gun in his holster. Ramirez did not to be told to know the match was over because this black-garbed stranger had usurped them both.
"Sorry pard," Chris said with a faint smile, which was about as much emotion as he was going to show he was glad to see Buck alive and well. "We were trying to find Inez and JD."
"Inez!" Buck immediately got to his feet and started towards the direction Paulo had gone when he took Inez. Buck could not see JD but assumed the kid was close to the lady.
"Stand down, Buck," Chris ordered immediately. "Vin’s taking care of it but the man’s armed and about to go over the edge." He and Vin had finally caught up to all three of their friends after Buck had rushed Ramirez. They had seen Inez being led away by Paulo with JD following closely even though he could do nothing to help the lady. Obviously, JD’s sense of obligation would not allow him to abandon Inez. Combined with his sense of survival and his need for vengeance, the man had not seen Vin Tanner taking up position with his Winchester, preparing to end this once and for all.
"Don’t kill him!" Ramirez pleaded. "He’s sick in the head." The henchman tried to do one final service for his patron. With the plan crumbling before him, Ramirez knew it was time to clean up the mess and save Paulo if they could do. This whole idea of vengeance was ill-conceived from the very beginning, but if they could come away from this with the Don’s life, then he was willing to concede defeat before there was any more bloodshed.
"That may be," Buck replied coldly. "But if we let him go, he ain’t never gonna leave Inez and me alone. I ain’t letting him come at us in a couple of years, I won’t." He looked at Chris firmly.
"The Don is sick," Ramirez continued to implore. "He is not long for this world, and if you leave here without his vengeance, his spirit will be broken. I swear to you on my word as a man of honour, I will not allow him to bring to you or Inez again."
"You were willing to kill me," Buck hissed as he walked up to the man and stared at him with unbridled disbelief. "You were willing to gut the woman I love and take her baby from her dead body? What the hell use is your word?"
Ramirez swallowed hard, hating to be in this position but he had crossed a line, and he knew it. Since the very beginning, he had reservations about what the Don was attempting to achieve and with the plan lying in ruins, it seemed even more fruitless to continue this destructive course would only lead to more of his men dying as well as his patron. "Would you rather kill a sick old man when you could have the chance to let him live and still be rid of him?"
"Buck…." Chris started to say.
"Chris, you know as well as I do what kind of hate that anger can bring. He ain’t gonna let this go." Buck said firmly. "Throw me the gun." He said firmly, with a tone of voice Chris seldom heard from the happy go lucky rogue. Retrieving the gun from under his boot, he flung it at Buck who caught it with his good arm before the man strode away, every intention of stopping Paulo once and for all.
Chris did know what Paulo felt even though he was more justified in his need for vengeance than the old man. Sarah and Adam had not deserved what had happened to them, the younger Paolo did and had every chance to save his own skin but squandered it for revenge. While he empathised with the man’s father for suffering the pain of losing a child, he could not blame Buck for wanting to protect his own family from the senior Don Paulo’s wrath. Buck was right, if he left this undone now, there was no telling when Don Paulo might choose to exact his revenge and looking over one’s shoulder was no way to live.
"It’s his family," Chris looked at Ramirez as he motioned the man too started walking. "It’s his decision."
"He’s a sick man," Ramirez continued to protest, unwilling to give up on trying to convince these men his patron could be saved. "Why would you kill a sick old man when you could let him live?"
"Because he’s a sick old man with a lot of power in this town." Chris retorted. "You telling me you know for sure he ain’t gonna turn around when you’re not looking and have some hired gun go after Inez and the kid?"
Ramirez could not answer because he was unable to offer that guarantee.
***********
When Buck found Inez and JD, he immediately sighted Vin Tanner behind the far corner of the house wall in the nearby distant, aiming directly at Paulo. The only reason he had not fired yet was because Inez was standing between him and the target and was presently staring down the barrel of the Don’s gun aimed at her face.
"Buck!" JD sighed with gratitude as he saw his friend emerge.
Paulo immediately swung away from Inez and turned to her lover. He lingered for a moment, confused by Inez’ incendiary words, wanting nothing more than to put a bullet through her body and silencing her once and for all. The more she had spoken, the more addled he became, trying to separate the fact from the fiction inside his mind. As angry as he was, he still remembered the unpleasant facts she spoke off, in particular about his son’s behaviour towards the girls in the village. Faces flashed before him as he thought about them, faces not of the girls themselves but of their families as he tried to make reparations for the crimes committed by his son so he could escape punishment.
"You killed him." Don accused Buck, his mind starting to shift from moment to moment. He was grasping at straws in his head, unable to keep his focus on what he was doing a moment ago, as Inez became forgotten in his memory as he dealt with Buck’s arrival. "You took my son from me."
"I did not want to," Buck replied. A second ago he was all fired to kill this man and end the threat of him from Inez and his baby forever. Yet now, as Buck looked at this frail old man, diminished in more ways than anyone should be by grief, he could not bring himself to do put an end to Don Alejandro Paulo. If he were to take the life of this feeble old Mexican, he would be no better than the men who had gunned down Chris’ father in law, Hank Connelly when he had come to Four Corners. "Mister, I can’t bring your son back to you but I ain’t gonna let you harm Inez or our baby. Don’t make me kill you." Buck replied, brandishing the gun in a clear indication of what would happen if he made on threatening step towards Inez. Buck did not take his gaze off the Don even though he was very aware of Inez at the moment and was fighting to keep from running to her side.
"Listen to him, Alejandro." Ramirez stepped forward, trying to be the voice of reason now it looked as if Buck might spare the old man’s life. "We both knew what Stefano was like and though we both loved him, you as his father and I as a one who watched him grow up, we both know he brought his fate upon himself."
"No…" The Don started to weep, the gun in his hand trembling.
Chris saw Vin emerged from his place of concealment, trying to gauge whether or not the situation was diffused. He had lowered his gun and was staring at Chris across the space between them, hoping to get some idea of whether or not he ought to stand down from optimum firing range. Vin was of the firm belief a man had the right to see his killer and did not like firing unless he had to. If Chris and Buck had found a solution to avoid that, no would be more grateful than he was. However, Chris stared back at him with that imperceptible look in his ice-cold eyes and shook his head. Vin nodded slightly and even though he did not answer, because he enough faith in Chris’s judgement not to question the order. Once again, he withdrew back into his position, raising the Winchester to put the target in his crosshairs again.
Chris did not leave anything to chance, and the Don was just unstable enough to warrant the caution. As he started to weep, his mind descended deeper into the abyss of madness, Chris knew until he was disarmed, there was no guarantee of anything. With Inez still close enough to bear the brunt of his insanity should the Don choose to attack, Chris was not gambling with the lives of his friends on the possibility of Ramirez convincing Paulo to stand down. They did not have much time, but Chris would allow Ramirez his chance to resolve this amicably because Buck did not look as if he wanted to kill the man when his mind had become feeble.
However, as he inched closer to Inez, Chris realised time was a factor here and quite a big one because she was no longer paying much attention to any of the proceedings taking place around her. Instead, Inez was struggling to contain the pain wracking her body as her time drew closer and closer. Her attempts to hide her pain was becoming harder and harder to achieve, and he saw how her fingers were starting to clench into fists, very soon the contractions would become unbearable. She needed help, and she needed it now.
Suddenly, Paulo noticed he was moving towards Inez and screeched like a man possessed. "Stay away from her!" He shouted, the gun in his hand immediately raised to fire in Chris’s direction.
"Alejandro, no!" Ramirez cried out, taking a step towards Paulo as he tried to keep him from doing anything foolish because Ramirez knew about Vin Tanner while the Don did not.
"You are now siding against me too!" Paulo turned an accusatory eye at the servant who had served him faithfully for two decades and then fired. "Traitor!" He screamed as the bullet penetrated Ramirez’s chest.
In the background, Chris heard Inez as things slowed to a crawl as the events unfolded like they were mired in amber even though the time passed was only seconds long. Ramirez flew backwards from the force of the gunshot, his chest spilling open with red as he tumbled back. His eyes displayed shock at first and then as the realisation of the dying to come dawned on him, his expression disintegrated into one of sadness as he understood it was too late to save Don Paulo, perhaps it had always been. The Don was dead from the moment he embarked upon this destructive course, just as he soon would be. He died before he could hit the ground. "Buck get down!" Chris shouted a split second later as Don Paulo turned towards Inez and prepared to fire. Chris continued the advance towards her and skidded to the ground beside Inez as Paulo took aim. He saw Buck drag JD to his knees, keeping the youth out of the range of any accidental fire. The last thing Chris managed to do before the inevitable came to its conclusion was to cover Inez’s body with his. Chris knew somewhere not far away, Vin Tanner was about to end this once and for all.
The sharpshooter fired his weapon the moment he saw the Don kill one of his own men and was preparing to do the same to Inez. The entire drama unfolded in seconds, but Vin was patient, and he was ready for the possibility ever since Chris had signalled for him to hold position and Chris was seldom wrong about such things. Vin would have pulled the trigger already but chose to wait until his friends had taken cover. When he saw Buck pull JD down to safety, Vin fired.
The loud discharge sent a single bullet flying out of the barrel of his Winchester rifle, crossing the space between him and the target in a blink of an eye. He saw the man jerk back as the hot lead struck the Don n the centre of his forehead. It tore through the man’s skin, creating a fissure of broken flesh before continuing on the journey tp destroy everything the man was or ever would be before the back of his skull erupted outwards. Blood, bone and grey matter sprayed over the immediate area and turned the ground crimson with splatter.
Inez let out a horrified scream as she saw Don Paulo die. There was not even enough time for him to register surprise or cry out when he finally tumbled to the ground, his eyes were wide open. His gun clutched in his lifeless hand in a death grip. She watched him in death, blood expanding from his shattered skull and creating a crimson crown around his head and felt the same remorse most of Val Verde would feel when they learnt of his death. The Don was once a great man, and like everyone else in the village, Inez looked up to him. It did not sit well with Inez, she was the cause of father as well as the son.
When the shock dissipated a few seconds later, they realised the danger was over for now. When it did, Buck immediately scrambled towards Inez and captured her in his arms as they engaged in a warm embrace that was part joy, part gratitude but mostly relief they were still alive and had a good chance of coming out of this entire affair the same way.
"We got to get moving." Chris interrupted the tender exchange because they were not out of trouble yet. Predictably, it was the gunslinger who took stock of their situation in the past few seconds and decided action was needed now. While she might be happy to see Buck, Chris knew she would soon be in a terrible way and none of them here equipped to deal with her condition. Inez needed a doctor, and she needed one right now. Besides, Chris wanted to be away from Val Verde as quickly as possible. Even though Inez needed a place to deliver her baby, Chris did not think she was going to get luxury. If the villagers held the Don in such high esteem, it was likely they would take great exception to those who were responsible for the man’s death. They needed to leave Val Verde before the entire town came after them with pitchforks.
"JD," Chris glanced at the young man who was smiling happily at Buck and Inez being together. While Chris shared the sentiment, he needed JD focussed right now. "Go find us a wagon and bring here right now, we’re moving out. Meet up with Vin and take him with you to cover your back."
"Sure, Chris," JD answered purposefully, glad they were finally getting out of this place. Less than a second later, JD was on his feet and was hurrying towards the tracker who was approaching to join them. As he heard in the distance, JD relating to Vin what was happening, Chris turned to Buck and Inez who were still holding each other. Chris found a faint smile crossing his lips as he decided for the moment anyway, there was no reason for him to interrupt them.
After everything they had both been through today, Chris figured they had earned a quiet moment.
***********
The wagon rolled up to them a few minutes later with Vin at the reins and JD riding shotgun. The gunbattle where Josiah, Nathan and Ezra were occupying the remainder of Don Paulo’s men was starting to become sporadic, and Chris knew the time was not better for a hasty departure. They could get their horses as soon as the others were retrieved. By this time, Inez was well and truly into labour being unable to move with the fierce contractions were forcing small cries of pain from her lips each time she exerted any physical action. Buck and Chris had to carry her into the back of the wagon before he could give Vin the signal to get them out away from here.
As the wagon thundered towards the main gate where the others were presently situated, Chris gave last instructions to everyone about what was to be done when they got there. Buck was in the back tray of the wagon next to Inez, who was struggling to control the contractions were no longer allowing her a period of respite.
"Okay, Buck, you let us take care of things," Chris instructed one last time as he saw the gates coming closer in front of the wagon. "You and Inez keep your heads down, its gonna get a little rough from here on."
"I hear you." Buck nodded in understanding and gave Chris a look that said without any doubt, he trusted Chris to get them away safely.
Chris nodded slightly and gave Inez a reassuring smile. "Hang on just a little longer," he said with more warmth than was customary for him. "We’ll get you help."
"Thank you, Chris." She replied her voice little more than a strained whisper. She tightened her hold of Buck and was glad he was here with her because she was a little afraid of what was coming even though she told herself these past nine months when the moment arrived, she would face it fearlessly. It was strange how the reality was nothing the good intentions preceding it.
Chris straightened himself onto his knees and caught sight of Josiah on the top of the stone gate, preparing to reload. Ezra and Nathan were still pinned behind the gate, and it appeared a stalemate was in order with no signs of either side being driven back or advancing. It suited Chris just fine; they were not here to win anything, to retrieve their lost friends. With that done, there was no reason to continue fighting, and besides, there were more urgent issues pending at the moment. As the wagon rumbled towards the gate, he saw Josiah lower his gun long enough to see their approach.
"Ready, JD!" Chris yelled as he pulled out his gun and prepared to lay down a little suppressing fire while Josiah and the others climbed into the wagon.
"As I’ll ever be!" JD responded, never more alive when he was standing up in a fight next to Chris Larabee, whom he idolised. Steeling himself for what awaited, he raised his gun and prepared for the onslaught of gunfire would come the moment they started drawing fire away from Ezra, Nathan and Josiah for the precious seconds it would take for them to climb aboard the wagon.
"Let’s do it!" Chris said almost euphorically, as he tended to be when his adrenalin was pumping, and he was ready to launch himself into another life-threatening situation.
The wagon rumbled into the thick of fire, and JD let loose a murderous hail of bullets to protect himself and Vin who was needed at the reins to make a hasty departure when the time was right. Chris did the same as Buck leaned over and shouted as loud as he could to the others, which was quite impressive considering all the gunfire exploding around him almost as deafeningly as artillery shells on a battlefield. As they offered cover, Nathan and Ezra emerged from their vantage points. They started running forward, hearing bullets rush past them when the shield of ammunition Chris and JD were attempting to provide did not manage to quell all the gunfire coming in their direction.
"Come on!" Buck shouted as he saw Nathan and JD keeping their heads down as they ran straight for the wagon and dove in. Josiah, who was still on top of the stone fence, took a little longer, having to come down from his lofty position before he could reach them. The preacher hurried down the steps leading from the walkway and jumped the rest of the way. Keeping less than a hair’s breadth from the reach of the murderous artillery, Josiah moved surprisingly quickly for a man of his bulk and soon joined the others in the back tray of the wagon.
"Glad you could join us, Preacher." Buck grinned as he pulled Josiah over the buckboard. No sooner than the last of them were safely inside the wagon, the father to be turned to Vin at the reins. "Let’s go!" He shouted.
Vin snapped the reins hard, and the horses at the head of the wagon surged forward, happy to depart this place with its exploding noises and hot lead. The cart rumbled across the edge of the estate and kept going, with JD and Chris covering their escape with more gunfire until they had let the stone fence and massive gates well behind them. They paused long enough to retrieve their horse before JD took the reins of the wagon when Vin climbed onto Peso. Behind them, there were no signs of pursuit as they left the town of Val Verde. Inez, who knew something of the terrain, had managed enough focus to direct them to an obscure route across the border seldom travelled. She had discovered it herself during the night she had fled from Val Verde when she had stolen a horse, and Don Paulo was riding hard in pursuit.
As the sun began to set into the evening sky, there was still no signs of any of the Don’s men behind them, and for the moment, it appeared perhaps Val Verde was finally in Inez Recillos’s past.
"It ain’t wise to stop," Chris said, looking at Nathan hard.
***********
"I ain’t asking Chris," the healer returned the gunslinger’s gaze with as much intensity as Chris was giving him. Nathan rarely liked to impose himself upon anyone, but when it came to the health of his friends, he would face down God himself if he thought it would make any difference. "I’m telling you, we need to stop this wagon now. We got away far enough, and I can’t do what I need to if we’re tumbling about back here."
"Listen," Buck cut in. "If Nathan says we ain’t gotta a choice, we ain’t gotta a choice! I don’t care how if it’s dangerous. Hell, I’ll stand guard if I got to, but we're stopping!" Buck was riding the raw edge of panic. For the last few hours, they put as much space between themselves and the town of Val Verde and each mile of the distance achieved was one of pure agony for Inez. Her labour was progressing slowly; not aided by the fact the journey back to Four Corners was slow and arduous. No longer caring about restraint, she was openly gasping in pain, driving to distraction every man who was close enough to hear it, to say nothing about the father of her child.
Chris did not like the idea of stopping, but he conceded there was little choice in the matter. "All right," he surrendered the point and looked around the flat stretch of land they were presently traversing. The spot was good for them to make camp and get ample warning if they had any company in the form of the Don’s men seeking vengeance. "We’ll camp here for now."
"You hear that, honey?" Buck hurried back to Inez’s side on the wagon to deliver the news. "We’re stopping."
"Oh great," she said with a sarcastic smile, needing to bite down hard. "I'm having my baby in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of men and Alex is Four Corners with my draught!" She roared. Her skin was starting to glisten with sweat, and her hair was sodden with perspiration as her body geared for release. The contractions were coming so rapidly Inez could no longer distinguish where one began, and one ended. All that made any sense to her was this overwhelming sensation to push.
"Come on Miss Recillos," Ezra said unable to stand her pain any more and joined them at the wagon, although the gambler was only brave enough to come no closer than the edge of the buckboard. Even though he wore a facade of utter calm as always and was a stark contrast to Buck’s anxious manner, Ezra was just as panicked under the skin as the father to be. "You don’t need to have noxious substances for the pain, I seemed to recall Alexandra having some useful breathing exercises you needed to perform at moments like this. Remember?" He then went on to demonstrate.
"Ezra you sound like a wounded heifer." Buck stared at him with distaste and unable to discern what the gambler was trying to do.
"I am merely trying to help," Ezra remarked somewhat offended, feeling ludicrous enough as it was at performing a birthing tool for a pregnant woman. "It's not as if you are any great measure of assistance, telling the poor lady you are going through this ordeal with her. I do not see you screaming in pain or spread out like a gourd about to erupt."
Between them, Inez winced at the visual imagery.
"Hey, it’s just as hard for me to watch this, you know!" Buck protested angrily, feeling inadequate and guilty at all the agony Inez was experiencing while he was forced to sit and watch helplessly, without having Ezra to point it out.
Inez stared at both men as she listened to them trading insults back and forth and wondered if she had enough strength in her body to borrow Vin’s gun to shoot them. "HEY!" She fairly roared and stopped them speaking. "Will you two idiots knock it off! I don’t need you to start with each other when I’m about to kill both of you!" She capped that sentence with another gasp of pain descending into an icy glare at the duo immediately silenced both.
For 3.2 seconds.
"Just try the breathing again," Ezra suggested.
"I’m going to kill him!" She tried to lunge at him to wrap her fingers around his throat, but her condition made that impossible. Returning to her original position with a low snarl coming from her throat and wet strands of hair dangling in front of her eyes, it had the effect of making Inez look most fearsome indeed.
Ezra stepped back out of her reach and decided assistance was probably best administered to her by Nathan. Glancing at the healer, Ezra cleared his throat, turning to Nathan who was trying to get the necessary instruments ready for the birth shortly reaching climax, especially the preparation of the mild opiate draught Alex had prepared for this occasion. "Nathan, perhaps you should give the lady a little something."
"I’m working on it," Nathan remarked, offering an obligatory answer to the gambler because he was more focused on doing just that instead of carrying on a conversation.
"Now Darlin, Ezra was only trying to help. Maybe you ought to try the breathing Alex told you to do." Buck said, trying to calm her down because he had never seen her so enraged before despite being able to reach some spectacular heights when she was around him. He assumed much of this had to do with the pain. Buck believed as long as he offered her support and a strong shoulder, he could get her through this. "It could help."
"How would you know?!" She turned on him. "Its all your fault I’m in this stupid mess in the first place!" Then her mood shifted again as suddenly as the pain playing havoc with her body, and she forgot that line of debate as another contraction arrived and tore her insides out. She groaned and suppressed it a moment later, her skin becoming slick with sweat each time she was forced to exert that much restraint. Even though she sounded as if she was listening to nobody, Inez did remember what Alex told her about pushing prematurely. She knew she had to wait until given permission by her doctor.
"I mean I’m going to have a baby in the middle of..a..a....where the hell are we are, anyway?" She demanded angrily, grabbing Buck by the collar and pulling his face within inches of her.
"A prairie?" He managed to answer, not knowing what else to answer.
"A prairie!" She snorted in derision. "I am having my baby in the middle of a prairie, and I’m not even married!" She started to sobs in frustration, escalating Buck’s stress levels through the roof and beyond.
"Aw come on now, that ain’t gonna be for long," Buck tried to comfort her, wishing she would let go of his shirt because she was starting to unsettle him by the savage gleam in her eyes. "We’ll do it as soon as we get back to Four Corners."
"NO!" She barked and pulled him even closer so she could see the whites of his eyes when she imparted to him his next words. "I want to get married right now! Immediately! JOSIAH!" Her voice flew over the top of Buck’s head and was clearly heard over the entire prairie.
Josiah, who was trying to pacify JD's panic at being this close to the birthing process, followed the sound of his name and approached the wagon.
"Be on your guard Mr Sanchez," Ezra warned as Josiah went towards the wagon. "The lady is quite distressed and violent."
"You would be too if you had to pass a cannonball." The preacher said coolly and continued walking towards the wagon with no signs of apprehension and leaving Ezra behind to wince at the visual imagery.
"Do something for you, ma’am?" Josiah asked gently, extending his hand towards her and was not surprised when Inez took it firmly in hers and squeezed it tighter when she felt pain.
"Oh Josiah," Inez said with a smile, finding his voice more comforting than anyone else's at the moment. She could understand why so many people went to his church to confide in this gentle hulk of a man. "I want to get married right now." She spoke through gritted teeth because the pain was threatening to make her scream and Inez was fighting that indignity for as long as she was able.
Even Josiah had to blink at that. "Right this moment?" He looked at Buck blankly and saw the groom shrugging helplessly.
"Well," she said with a neutral expression. "I was going to wait until the daisies were in bloom, you know with how they smell so good, so I could have a nice garden wedding, but then I thought what the hell, why don’t I do it now SINCE THIS KID IS ABOUT TO SHOW UP ANY MINUTE!"
"Okay....." Josiah nodded, not foolish enough to argue with a lady in this state of mind. She may appear incapacitated, but Josiah was taking no chances in finding out otherwise. "I’ve got a bible in my saddlebag, you think you can wait that long?"
"I’m not impatient." She smiled sweetly, though her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "My social calendar is quite limited at the moment, so I won’t be going anywhere."
Josiah rolled his eyes and withdrew to his horse.
"We need a best man and a maid of honour," Inez whispered, trying to focus on this little detail so she would not be forced to push.
"I don’t think we need to get that formal Darlin....." Buck countered until the look she was giving him silenced his argument immediately. "JD!" Buck shouted at the youth who was pacing some distance away from the wagon, trying not to glance this way. "Get over here, I need a best man!"
"Mary should be here," Inez mumbled as she squinted sweat out of her eyes and her voice had become a hoarse whisper. "I wanted her to be my maid of honour."
"I know, but I guess we can do this right when we get back to town," Buck said sympathetically, brushing a strand of wet hair from her face and dabbing her forehead with a handkerchief he had soaked in water to cool her brow. Suddenly a thought came to him. "Hey Vin, you too."
Vin looked almost as apprehensive about approaching the wagon as JD, until another cry by Inez dragged them forward, as they tried to spare her the aggravation. JD looked almost ashen when he finally reached them, and Buck had never seen the boy so reluctant to be anywhere. He supposed it was to be expected. JD had no business being around a woman in Inez’s condition and did not dare show fear even though it was quite apparent to anyone present. JD avoided looking any further below Inez’s neck when he finally reached them and noticed much to his surprise though he did not voice it at the time, Vin was doing the same.
"Inez and I are going to get married right now," Buck explained as Inez was gasping out even louder with pain. Her fingers were clenched white at her sides as she groaned softly. "Vin I need you to stand in for Mary as a bridesmaid."
The sharpshooter’s eyes widened. "Why me? Ezra plays the girl better than I do."
From behind him, the gambler’s voice snapped sharply. "Because I do not have your hair!"
Inez swore under her breath and put the matter to rest once and for all. "Because you’re here!"
"Oh," Vin nodded in understanding.
"And your hair is mighty purdy." Buck could not resist the adding with a grin.
Anything Vin was about to say was cut short abruptly by Inez flinging her head back and letting out a guttural scream as the latest contraction ripped through her. She dug her nails into Buck’s hand so hard for a minute it felt like blood was being drawn. Her other hand grabbed Vin’s jacket as she used them both to brace herself as the agony shuddered through her.
"Nathan, do something!" JD cried horrified by the absolute agony on Inez’s face.
"All right Inez," Nathan responded as he flung a blanket over her legs and was the picture of calm while everyone else was wearing an expression of near panic. "Move your legs into place like Alex showed you." He instructed.
"Oh, God!" JD gasped as he saw her flopping her legs apart. While she was modestly covered by the blanket, just the idea of the what was transpiring beneath that layer of material was more than he could handle and he went down like a ton of bricks.
"JD!" Buck exclaimed aghast as the kid fainted next to him. "Christ!" JD was out cold, and after a moment, Buck decided that was probably the best thing for him.
"Nathan," Inez looked at her doctor, who she wished more than anything was Alex but at this moment had little choice but to entrust herself to him, hissed loudly. "Do you think I could have that draught now?"
"Are you sure you want it?" Nathan looked at her concerned after making his brief examination. "You’ve only got a little ways to go."
"Nathan," she swallowed and exhaled loudly. "GIVE IT TO ME NOW!!!"
"Goddamn, it Nathan!" Buck added his voice to that demand. "Will you give her something before she kills us all!" Inez capped her request with another scream of pain, pulling Buck’s shirt and Vin’s coat and dragging forward the men wearing them against her as she tried to brace herself for the contraction.
Nathan shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay." He reached for the prepared bottle and handed it to her. Alex had advised against using it if possible, but Inez's reaction told him otherwise.
"I got the Bible!" Josiah said, jogging back to the wagon and holding up the book for all to see.
"Thank God!" Buck sighed in relief. "Get on with it!" He ordered as he saw Inez’s lips pull back and another scream of pain cut through the night air like a banshee wailing in the dark.
"And make it fast!" Vin barked, caught up in the moment as much as his other comrades.
Josiah nodded and quickly began reciting the words he was not even sure Inez was aware of and wondered whether or not if this was the most insane duty he had ever been called on to perform since becoming a preacher. Well, that was that time, Albee Gordon wanted to marry his horse, but then the man had been living alone in the wilderness for a while.
"Wait!" Buck suddenly realised and stopped Josiah before the preacher could get any further. "I don’t have a ring!"
"I believe the one who sounds like a wounded heifer may be able to assist in that regard," Ezra remarked smoothly and produced the jewelled ring he held in keeping for the future Mrs Standish.
"Ain’t you given that to Julia yet?" Vin found himself asking.
"Leave Ezra alone," Inez said with a whimsical smile. "It’s a beautiful ring." She was no longer screaming and was instead wearing a look of serenity on her face surprising them all except for Nathan. Considering what her demeanour had been like a short time ago, this was something of a radical change. "Ezra, I’d love to wear that ring." She flashed the gambler a smile of pure contentment.
"It’s the draught," Nathan explained for the benefit of those who were wearing expressions of astonishment on their faces around him.
"Inez, you feeling okay?" Buck asked, his brow furrowing as he tried to accustom himself to this sudden change in her mood. While he glad she was no longer in pain, he was still somewhat dazed at how pleasant she now appeared to be.
"Oh, I’m just fine, thank you." She said dreamily. "We really should get on with the ceremony." She said, looking at ease and completely relaxed as she smiled at Buck radiantly and only confused him even more.
"Whatever is in that bottle, I want a quart of it for Julia," Ezra said to Nathan with a perfectly straight face.
"Give me that ring!" Buck burst out exasperated, not wishing to waste the moment since Inez was so accommodating. He caught it with one hand as Ezra tossed it at him.
"Just remember that is a loan." Ezra reminded in typical Ezra pose, having plans of his own for that particular trinket, someday.
"Thanks, Ez," the groom smiled and then returned his attention to Josiah. "Okay let’s wrap this up."
"And quickly," Nathan retorted, disliking this farcical turn of events to a simple delivery. "Inez, you’re ready. I want you to push."
Taking at that as a perfect cue to conclude the ceremony, Josiah looked at Buck. "Buck, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" He decided to skip the rest of the words, the specifics and fine print could be dealt with later, and he was sure at this point, there was no need to be particular.
"I do," Buck said with a smile as Inez squeezed his hand and started pushing. Even though the draught dulled some of her pain, it could not wholly remove it as Inez reached the final leg of her labour.
"Inez, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Josiah asked, feeling incredibly ridiculous for asking the question since the woman was about to deliver the man’s child at any minute.
Inez let out a gasp as she took a moment to rest and answered in a ragged whisper. "Yes, I do." She replied as Ezra’s ring was slipped over her fingers, which had unclenched long enough to allow the gesture, before resuming her labour once again. Inez started to cry from the sheer strain of what she was enduring and clutched Buck’s hand even tighter and pulling harder on Vin’s buckskins until the tracker was sure she had the strength to rip through the hide. "God, it hurts!" She squealed.
"Just a little more!" Nathan prompted in the calm voice he used to administer so much aid to those in need and comforted Inez unknowingly by its soothing resonance.
"I do believe this would be a good time to make that pronouncement, Mr Sanchez," Ezra said dutifully, garnering a look of pure Josiah Sanchez reproach as the preacher bristled at being told the obvious.
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. Amen." Josiah said quickly and crossed them both before he and Ezra retreated to a safe distance as Inez screamed out louder and louder. Her face was contorted into an unrecognisable grimace of pain she was forced to perform the miracle coming at them with the pace of a locomotive.
"I can see the head!" Nathan exclaimed with excitement, and they all held their breaths collectively with one statement. "Another push!" He insisted once again, his hands poised and ready to help the child complete its momentous journey.
"Come on, darling," Buck said confidently. "You can do it."
She met his gaze, and at that moment, Buck could see their entire lives together flash before his eyes. It started from this moment and would culminate in some distant future with the two of them growing old together and passing into history anonymously. Everything he ever wanted, love, family and friendship twinkled in her eyes as she neared the end of this exhausting journey, beginning when he saw her across the floor of a crowded barroom.
Without speaking, Inez turned towards Nathan and began pushing harder towards a singularity of focus, which eclipsed all others in her life until this point. Her body pulsed with tension and relaxation as instincts as old as time took hold of her body and the symphony of birth played once again. Nathan watched anxiously, feeling the familiar swell of pride that came when watching through blood and fluid, the first signs of new life struggling to enter the world. He had no idea he was holding his breath as the infant began to emerge. After all the death he saw in his lifetime, Nathan always felt renewed with hope and faith when he witnessed the pure beauty of a child arriving into the world, filled with limitless possibility.
"The head is out!" Nathan cried as the slick form of the child’s head slipped past the walls of its mother’s womb without any resistance before pausing when the force propelling it forward had exhausted itself. "One more, Miss Inez!" Nathan urged as he let out his held breath and took another deep one before he gave what was he was sure to be his final order in this delivery. "Push really hard! Give it all you got!"
Inez let out a frustrated groan of exhaustion and then bit down on her teeth so hard the injury caused by Paulo earlier, started weeping and her teeth were soon stained with blood. She screamed as she launched herself into one final Herculean effort, her hands balling into fists in Buck’s grip and around the skin of Vin’s coat. She could not feel anything except this intense pain tearing her inside until her mind was filled with nothing else. There was only a haze of red driving the sound from her ears and the sight from her eyes, making her oblivious to the pressure of the muscles pushing her child outward, allowing the whimpering babe to slid wetly into Nathan’s waiting hands.
Inez let out an exhausted groan as all the strength left her body after that monumental effort and she went limp as if all the bones had disappeared from her body and she slumped into Buck’s arms, covered in sweat while straining for breath. Buck immediately caught her body, supporting it with his own strength, unconcerned as to what came next as he wiped the moisture from her face. Vin stepped away as Inez’s grip of his coat finally slackened, and he went to join Ezra and Josiah, believing this moment should be shared between Buck and Inez only. The air was charged with expectation in the long seconds, followed until Nathan looked up Inez and announced with the broadest grin they had ever seen on his face, "its a girl!"
"It’s a girl!" Buck exploded with happiness as he turned to Inez again. "Did you hear that Inez! We made a girl!" In the distance, he could hear Ezra and Vin making whooping sounds followed with hoots and whistles of congratulations.
"We?" She looked at him with a bemused but undoubtedly exhausted smile.
"Well, I helped." He grinned sheepishly.
Suddenly, the soft, plaintive cry of a baby sang through the air like a siren song immediately captured the attention of all. Nathan approached them, still wearing the smile on his face as he carried the child forward and lowered it into Inez’s waiting arms. The babe had made its initial protest as the fresh night air chilled its newborn skin but had lapsed into silence once Nathan had wrapped a blanket around its tiny form.
Inez looked at her little daughter in her arms and saw a tuft of dark, mahogany hair still wet with moisture against her tiny scalp. It was Buck’s colour; Inez realised with a slight gasp of emotion moving through her like a shudder and threatened to spill out of her eyes like a deluge. Small and wrinkly, with perfect skin a little tanned, and eyes closed for the moment, possibly because she was just as exhausted if not more than Inez, the baby was everything Inez imagined, perhaps even more. Inez did not realise she was crying until the tears ran down her cheek.
"She’s beautiful." Inez heard Buck whisper as he looked upon the face of his daughter. He felt his entire world shift the moment he stared into that little face, full of unknowing innocence, relying upon him to protect her. At that instant, Buck realised there was nothing he would not do for this child or its mother.
"Hello." Inez cooed softly at the baby even though it appeared to be asleep. "Oh Buck," Inez swallowed as her voice quivered with emotion. "She’s so small, so pretty."
Buck smiled as he drew Inez close enough to plant a small kiss in her hair as he held his wife and their new daughter in his arms. With a slight smile, Buck knew without a doubt, there was nothing more beautiful than this moment when he knew his world was at last complete.
Although the words being by her grateful and slightly teary parents were meaningless to a mind minutes old from the womb, Baby Wilmington did react to the auditory stimuli and opened her new eyes to gaze upon her parents, much to their delight. She looked around her surroundings and took note of the world at large, which made no sense to her whatsoever before coming to the conclusion it could wait until later to unravel.
For now, she would sleep.
***********
For Chris Larabee who was absent for most of this debacle, he was quite happy to remain a suitable distance from all the commotion, warming his hands around the campfire he had made. By the time the high pitch wail of Baby Wilmington was heard across the empty plains and the prairie which they presently occupied, he had worked his way through half a flask of whiskey with no repentance whatsoever at staying out of the line of fire.
Besides, it was too much fun listening to all of them, and as he heard the shouting, the sarcasm and glib remarks, Chris was inordinately glad he chose to make the decision to stay put right where he was. As far as pregnancy and labour were concerned, he had been there and done that. It was hard enough when he was pacing the floor outside the room, let alone imagine the horror of what it was like to be inside it.
As he took another swig of his whiskey, hearing the bickering produced by his six friends as they had tried to deal with Inez’s pregnancy, Chris had only one thing to say on the entire subject;
Amateurs.
Julia would have preferred it if Ezra were still town when she made her final meeting with Mr Clements. As per his hasty instructions when he departed Four Corners to rescue Inez and JD from the men who had dark plans in store for both of them, Julia now found herself facing the moment of truth. Waiting at her desk, her fingers drummed a steady rhythm against the polished wood in anticipation of the man's arrival. She allowed herself to feel fear to control it and carry out the ruse necessary for her anonymity to be ensured. Inwardly, even Julia knew her days of running were over if this man could find her once, then the one who came after her would have little difficulty repeating the same discovery.
As much as she loathed admitting it, Ezra was right; she could not keep running. She had a life here, and friends who might be willing to stand up for her if the need ever arose and such friendship was too precious to Julia to discard it, to say nothing of the life she had forged herself here. Unimaginable as it appeared to be at this time, Julia knew one day she would have to look upon her father and tell him she was done with him. The idea not only horrified her, but it shook her self-assured core to its foundations. She had a persona of strong will and independence, which she had worn around herself like a magic cloak had the power to drive the nightmares and the revulsion of her childhood away like a bad dream.
Julia had told herself she would never play the victim for anyone ever again and had lived her life that way. She had become the user, the manipulator, the one who caused the hurt and it felt good being so empowered. It was only during the nights, in the darkness where no one could see did Julia feel the remorse and the fear no one knew existed. Even if Clemens agreed to what she would propose to him shortly, it was no guarantee her secret life here would not be exposed to her father. However, in the last few days, she had seen how determined Ezra was to protect her and knew with him at her side she might be able to withstand the storm that would come if Donald Avery made his arrival in Four Corners.
There were also other things she could do to protect herself, and along with her preparations to deal with Mr Clemens, Julia made secondary provisions for herself. If it came down to it, her fortune would be protected just as would her Emporium which unbeknownst to anyone but her lawyer in Eagle Bend, that entire business now belonged unconditionally to one William Travis. Since the boy was not of legal age, naturally, the property would be held in trust and executed by his mother. Of course, she ensured she still held controlling interest even though the proprietor of the Pemberton Emporium, at least on paper, was Billy. There was no need for Mary to know unless Julia suddenly needed to vanish. There were other preparations in waiting which Julia prayed she would never have to use but felt secure knowing they were in place.
Perhaps she might even tell Ezra about them.
Julia practically jumped out of her chair when she heard the subtle knocking on her door, and she swallowed visibly, driving this intense fear from her being because the negotiations about to transpire, hinged on how well she could play out the charade. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, the knocked a second time before Julia finally responded.
"Please come in."
The doorknob twisted and Clemens came into the room, wearing a long travelling coat and appeared to be ready for his journey in an hour or so when the stage finally made its arrival in Four Corners to spirit him away back to the East. Clemens seemed somewhat surprised to see she was still here and Julia ventured a guess he had believed she would have fled rather than face him.
"Miss Aver...I mean, Miss Pemberton." He corrected himself when he saw her stiffening upon mention of her old name.
"Mr Clemens," Julia pulled back her lips in a smile. "Please sit."
"I do not have a great deal of time, Miss Pemberton." The man remarked as he removed his hat and sat down. "I hope our business can be concluded quickly and amicably." His gaze shifted across the room, searching it for a few seconds before returning to her. "I take it, Mr Standish won't be joining us."
"Mr Standish is away on business in a law enforcement capacity," Julia replied casually as if it did not make the slightest bit of difference Ezra was absent. In truth, she wished he were here more than anything in the world but understood his reasons completely. "It will just be us."
"That serves me well enough," Clemens answered, glad the gambler with the shrewd wit would not be present. "Now, you wanted me to return some money back to Philadelphia?" He looked at her.
"Yes," Julia nodded and opened up the account book on her desk to the appropriate page. When she arrived where she needed to be, she retrieved a single slip of paper and handed it to him. "Here you are, the receipt proves I have deposited the sum of $50, 000 to a bank account in Philadelphia in your name. I am assuming you live there."
"Yes," Clemens brow furrowed, not like this at all. "I do, but I thought I was taking a cheque made out to your father." A bank account in his name not only placed him in a compromising position but was also highly irregular and made him inordinately uncomfortable.
Julia returned his trouble expression with one of complete calm. "I realise, but the situation has changed. I would like to remain in Four Corner, but I find I can accept the possibility my father might find me and so I came to a different arrangement with Mr Standish."
Clemens swallowed hard; suddenly realising he might be in a great deal of trouble. "What kind of arrangement?" He asked reluctantly, filled with a sixth sense he was not going to be happy with her answer.
"I have two letters in my hand. There are you copies of course. Julia produced the sealed envelopes and held it up for him to see them both. "One is addressed to the Pinkerton Agency, and another is addressed to my father."
He did not show any signs of anxiety, but beads of sweat were starting to form on his skin. He did not speak because the envelopes Julia was holding in her hand was addressed to Pinkerton and Donald Avery. "What do you intend to do?" He asked after a moment, licking his lips as he found himself in a most untenable situation.
"The question is, what would you have me do?" She looked at him with a brow raised with almost glacial indifference to his fear. "If you go back to Philadelphia with reports of my whereabouts, I guarantee you before the day is out, both Pinkertons and my father will have a copy of these letters. A lawyer in Philadelphia has already been procured to hand-deliver them to both parties. In my correspondence to my father and your employer, I will reveal to them I was forced to flee Four Corners penniless because you tracked me down and offered me a stay of execution if I would turn the money over to you. I will make a most convincing argument you allowed me a head start and had every intention of returning to Philadelphia and telling them both your attempts to find me had failed. If that does not convince them, I am certain the fifty thousand dollars they will find in your new account will."
"You wouldn't..." Clements stammered.
"Try me, Sir," Julia said coldly. "At the very least, Pinkertons will fire you, at the most, they'll have you charged with blackmail and coercion." She leaned closer, making each word imprint itself on his mind like venom in the veins. "It will be mild in comparison to what my father would do to you. By the time he is done with you, I doubt you will be able to find employment as a stable boy. Donald Avery will destroy you."
Clemens found himself shuddering, aware her words were true. Pinkertons were extremely mindful about the morality of its agents, and even if the charge could not be proven, the stain would remain, and he would still be discharged. He could not imagine life outside the agency and her threat Donald Avery would take him apart for such a deception was not idle either. He had much to lose. Thanks to his naivete, she had taken advantage of his underestimation of her abilities and used it quite spectacularly.
"You have a wife and three children, don't you?" Julia persisted, feeling intense guilt inside but brushed the emotion away because this was a matter of survival, hers. "It will be most hard on them."
Bringing up his family had the desired effect, and she could see the worry lines etched in his face as he considered the ramifications of what his disgrace would wreak upon them. Aside from being penniless, the children would be branded the sire of a thief and a blackmailer. He could not even imagine trying to explain this to them. Finally, he looked up at the face of the woman he had underestimated a great deal. He had expected her to use her feminine wiles to coax him into forgetting about her; Clemens had not counted on her mental acumen. His family meant too much to him, more than the prestige of bringing this woman home to her father.
"What do you want?" He asked with a resigned sigh of defeat.
Julia did not smile, having no wish to lord her victory over him when all she wanted was to be forgotten and left alone with the life she had made for herself in Four Corners. "I want you to go home and tell him you found me in Four Corners where you confronted me about coming home, to which I refused most profusely. You will tell them I fled town and sold my interests in town and you do not know where I went. Accomplish that, and I will see to it the bank account is emptied and the letters never surface."
"What is to stop me from telling your father everything?" Clemens demanded.
"Nothing at all." Julia retorted, "but there will be an investigation, and it will be your word against mine with the money in the bank to prove there was some impropriety. Can you honestly say Pinkerton would not discharge you rather than wrestle with the possibility one of their own might be tainted? My father would crush you just to be sure."
"I could wait until you clear me to reveal what I know." He pointed out.
"The letter will not surface as long as I say, and my lawyers are creative, they can make money appear miraculously again. Do not make the mistake of thinking for a moment I will not have someone taking stock of my interests. By the time you make your allegations, I will know about it and have disappeared from here. All will be left is your reputation in ruins. I am hardly worth that much to you."
She was right, she was not. Clemens swallowed thickly and rose to his feet after a moment. He put his hat back on his head and stared at her. "My compliments Miss Pemberton, a perfect checkmate."
"Thank you," she said quietly. "I do not wish it this way, but I have my reasons. I pray you do not test me in the matter, Sir, I do this because I must, not because I like it."
"He won't stop searching for you," Clemens stated as he started walking towards his door. "You must know that."
"I do," Julia nodded sombrely. "I can't stop him from trying, but I can slow him down."
Despite the unfortunate circumstances she had placed him, Clemens felt no real malice towards her and wondered what motivated such a fierce desire to remain hidden. He had met many women in his time and during his line of work to know she was unique, and she had played their game well. While he always sorry to lose, he did not wish her ill. "I bid you farewell Miss Pemberton," Clemens replied. "Your father will not learn from me your whereabouts, and I hope you are kinder to the one who comes after me."
"I hope the one who comes after you is as much a gentleman." She answered, having to admit he was that even in defeat.
Pity, she had not been a lady in achieving her victory.
***********
A week following the birth of Inez and Buck Wilmington's daughter, whom both parents had agreed to name Elena Rose Wilmington, a belated wedding reception of sorts was held at the newlywed's residence with only their close friends in attendance and a few exceptions. Paloma Recillos had been so thrilled to have her daughter back safe and sound, not to mention married she managed to forgive Inez for her indiscretion. She was delighted at her new grandchild and less than impressed by her new son-in-law and took charge of Inez's convalescence at home with the dedication of a general on the battlefield. Naturally, this led to all sorts of arguments between Buck and Paloma until Inez was forced to intercede occasionally by sending them to their respective corners to think about what they had done.
"I can understand Elena," Mary replied as she and Inez looked on while Alex conducted a short examination of the child's state of health inside the nursery. "But why, Rose?"
"Rose is Buck's mother's name," Inez said with a smile as she watched her newborn cooing gently in her crib as Alex continued her ministrations. The little girl did not seem to mind and stared at the doctor with her big brown eyes, drawing a smile even through Alex's usual professional detachment. "I thought it would be nice."
"It is a great name, isn't it, Elena?" Alex remarked looking at Elena with a smile. "You do look like a little rose." With that, she swaddled Elena in her blanket and handed her back to her mother. "Perfect down to her little toes which I can never figure out how since she came from Buck."
"Leave him alone," Inez said, coming to his defence because she knew what he suffered the past week. "He's been going through enough hell with my mother as it is."
"So when is Paloma leaving?" Mary inquired as they left the nursery to join the other guests at the reception.
"The day after tomorrow," Inez replied as she rocked little Elena gently in her arms. "She is going to live with her sister in Ciudad Juarez. My aunt Dominica has a big house and her husband is gone. I hear there is work there so mama will be going with Calla."
"Speaking of Calla," Alex said with a grin. "You might want to tell her about the situation between Casey and JD before it gets ugly." She gestured to the trio in question at the far end of the room.
Calla was staring adoringly at JD, batting her lashes at the youth in the age-old ritual of seduction that could not be mistaken for anything else. JD, whose experience with women, was as limited as his ability to cope with pregnant ones, was rather taken by the attention. Unfortunately, Casey was standing at his side, was pointing daggers at them both, and the three women estimated it would not be long before the entire situation decayed into a screaming match.
"Uh, Oh." Mary declared, raising a brow.
Inez was about to speak when she heard Buck's voice exploding, followed by the shrill sound of her mother spewing colourful Mexican expletives for all to hear. This was hardly a novel situation, and Inez rolled her eyes in resignation, wondering if there was any way she could escape being caught between them.
"Goddamn it woman, quit dogging me or I'll put a bullet into you." Buck bellowed as he came into the house, searching for Inez, with Paloma following closely behind. "Inez, would you kindly tell your mother I am not some kind of a drunk because I decide to have a drink with my friends!" Buck implored when he crossed the floor and reached her.
"How could you marry this stupid, big oaf!" Paloma cried out. "He has no responsibility, drinking when his daughter is only a week old!"
"Well I was going to wait until she was older before I offered her something, but she seems to only like milk and straight from the tap!" Buck growled, glaring at the woman.
Inez, Mary and Alex could only watch opened mouth as the two of them descended into another fierce bout of arguing and completely forgot they had come to Inez for mediation. Shaking her head, Inez took her child and her friends away from the carnage, towards the kitchen.
"I think cake is in order," Inez remarked, deciding she was not stepping into the middle of their altercation until blood was spilled.
"Oh, I say that was for sure." Alex agreed, trying to hide the snigger threatening to steal across her face.
"Not for me," Mary confessed, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "I have not been feeling well lately."
"Oh?" Alex turned to her, always concerned when one of her friends made such statements.
"It's nothing," Mary shrugged. "I'm just off my food. It's probably a stomach bug."
"Well," Alex said sceptically, never inclined to dismiss anything when it came to someone's health. "Come see me if it gets worse. As it is, I'm inclined to think that it is serious."
"Why?" Mary looked at her strangely. "It's just a stomach bug."
"I know," Alex nodded and said with a teasing smile. "But you never say no to cake."
Mary started groaning about how overly cautious Alex was being about her ailment while the doctor returned with just how rare it was that Mary refused cake, citing, in particular, the time Mary had a cold and still manage to Billy out to get confectionary. Inez strolled away from the scene of yet another heated conversation, cradling Elena in her arms relatively unconcerned; Alex could readily take care of any blood spilled if necessary.
She walked to the front door of the house and saw her friends enjoying the sunshine in the garden outside. Josiah was leading Lilith around on his horse not too far away with Audrey calling out to her daughter to be careful despite the preacher's assurances she was perfectly safe. Audrey was one of the few people Inez had invited today and seeing how wonderfully she and Josiah got along made Inez doubly pleased.
Meanwhile, Ezra was trying to convince Billy Travis it was probably best if he went to play with Lilith for awhile. The young boy had been following the gambler and Julia, more specifically Julia, all day since Chris and Mary's arrival. Rain waved at her from the table outside, motioning Inez to come and join them, although Inez was happy where she was for the moment. Rain was at the table of food, picking selections onto her plate and frowning at Nathan when he came up behind her and stole a piece of chicken with his fingers.
Under the shade of a nearby tree, Chris Larabee sat with whatever he was drinking, looking utterly relaxed as he enjoyed the delicious heat on his face and appeared nothing like the hardened gunslinger they had all come to know. She saw Vin picking up Billy and putting the kid over his shoulders, to rescue him from Ezra before the southerner got it in his mind to challenge the kid to a duel over Julia's time this afternoon. Inez watched their craziness, a smile of contentment on her lips as she looked down at her baby.
"You know something, my little Rose?" Inez spoke to the child who had since fallen asleep in her arms. "We have a strange family." She gazed affectionately at the people in her life who made Elena's arrival so memorable with their friendship and support. "But I think you'll like them very much."