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Raul's Victory |
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Disclaimer: I don’t own The Magnificent
Seven and I’m not making any profit from this story. You could sue me but any
percentage of nothing is still nothing. This is the second story in this AU. ***************************************** "Vin?" "What Ez?" "We need to head home." "In a minute. I want to show ya the chamber. It’s beautiful." "If we don’t head out now, we’ll be late for supper and have to explain what took so long. I for one do not want Chris or Josiah asking questions." "It’s just up ahead. Only take two minutes." The boys went through the cave and found the cavern that Vin was looking for. The inner chamber of this particular cave was lit with natural light that made the cave look bright as day. There was a small fisher in the far wall where a trickle of water flowed freely, cascading down the smooth rocks to a small pool of water. Ezra was rendered speechless. "Cool huh?" Vin smiled at Ezra’s open mouth. "It is most impressive. How did you find it?" "I found it while we were lookin’ fer JD after Pa died. I thought maybe he hid in here, but he didn’t. Chris had a fit ‘cause I didn’t wait fer him. Jeesh, you would’ve believed that I learned nuthin’ from living with my mama’s people." "I would love to spend some quiet time here, but not now. If we don’t get home, we will be dead." "Okay Ez. Wouldn’t do to get Chris’ britches in a twist." Vin moved out of the chamber with Ezra behind him. As they approached the entrance of the cave, Ezra lost his footing and fell. "Aw hell." "You okay Ez?" Ezra stood up and brushed his hands on his pants. He winced in pain as his left arm brushed his body. "I think so Vin. Let’s get home." "I wonder what happened in school today?" "We may never know since brother Nathan is home sick and can not report on our apparent absence." Ezra saw a confused look on Vin’s face. "Never mind." They walked out into the sunlight and realized they were going to be late getting home. Ezra looked at his arm and noticed a small scratch on his forearm running from his wrist to his elbow. He took his handkerchief and wrapped it around the scratch to stem the small flow of blood. Vin noticed and asked, "You okay Ez? That looks like a nasty scratch." "Nonsense. It’s just a scratch. However, I am more concerned with the condition of our rear flanks." Vin looked confused. "Huh?" Both boys mounted up. Ezra turned to Vin and smiled. "I said, we best
get home or Chris will know we didn’t go to school and will have our
hides." Their horses were spurred toward home with hopes to make it in time. ********************************** JD was hungry. Chris had dragged him into town to do some errands. JD wanted to be home where he could play. Ever time he tried to play with something in town, Chris told him ‘no’. Now they were in the general store and Chris was busy. "Chris?" JD tugged on Chris’ duster. "JD. I’m talking." "I’m sorry. I’s hungry." JD tried his biggest puppy dog look. The storekeeper caved. "JD, you like apples?" JD nodded. "Why don’t you go outside to the front stand and get an apple?" "Can I Chris?" Chris smiled at JD. "Sure Sprout. Just one and come right back in here with it." "Okay." JD ran outside to look at the apples. "That boy has a lot of energy." The storekeeper said. "More than you’ll ever know." ****** JD looked over all of the apples and decided on a small red apple. It was perfect. He was about to return to Chris when he was suddenly picked up. "Boy! You stealing that apple?" JD was face to face with a nasty looking man who was missing his front teeth. His breath smelled like whiskey. JD couldn’t talk he was so frightened. The man shook JD and he felt like his teeth were rattling. "I’m talking to ya boy. You stupid or something?" JD cried. "Maybe you’d like ta tell your story to the sheriff." JD started to kick and scream for the man to let go. "Mister, put him down." The smelly man turned to see a very angry Chris Larabee standing with his hand posed over his gun. "I said put him down now." "Who are you? I caught this boy stealin’ an apple." "He’s my brother and he wasn’t stealing it, now put him down." Chris had stepped closer to the man and glared at him. JD was released and ran sobbing to Chris. He hid behind Chris’ legs while Chris dealt with the stranger. "Mister, I don’t know who you are or why you felt it was your place, but this boy is my responsibility, not yours. You should learn to mind your own business." "I was just trying to help." The man backed away and left quickly. Chris turned and took JD into his arms and hugged him close. "You okay Sprout?" JD cried hard. That stranger had scared him and he was holding onto Chris like he would disappear. Chris spoke softly to him and rubbed his back as JD cried. "It’s okay Sprout. You’re safe now." Chris noticed the apple JD had picked out on the floor. He bent over to pick it up and handed it to JD. "This your apple JD?" JD turned his head and hiccupped then nodded. "Well, let’s rinse it off and you can eat it on the way home." Chris carried JD to the water pump and rinsed the apple. He then carried JD with him into the store and paid for his goods. They were about to leave when Miss Jones approached them. "Mr. Larabee. How are the boys?" Chris was confused. "Nathan’s good. He will probably be in school tomorrow." "And Kevin and Ezra?" "What about them? They aren’t sick?" "No? The note I received said they were all down with a cold." "All? Nathan’s the only one who was sick. Vin and Ezra are fine." "They haven’t been in school all week. I didn’t think anything of it since the note explained it." "I did write a note, but I gave it to Ezra to deliver and sent them both to school for the last three days." "Then they were skipping, because I haven’t seen them all week. Young Danny delivered the message." "Danny? So Ezra and Vin haven’t been in school the last three days?" "Correct." "Miss Jones, I’m sorry. Those two were suppose to be in school. Nathan was the only one I kept home sick. Rest assuredly; all three of them will be back tomorrow. Nathan is feeling better, but I think Vin and Ezra are gonna be feelin’ poorly. Ma’am." Chris tipped his hat and headed the buckboard toward home. JD didn’t say a thing. He knew Chris was mad ‘cause that vein was throbbing again. ******************************* Ezra and Vin raced their horses into the yard. They both knew that they would get yelled at for riding so fast but it was better than being late. As they dismounted, Buck came out of the barn. "You boys are late. Supper’s ready. Put your horses up and make it quick, Chris is in a foul mood." "Okay." They replied. Buck headed to the house and Ezra and Vin looked at each other. "You think he’s mad ‘cause we’re late or ‘cause we skipped school?" "Who knows Vin. He could be upset about anything. If he does know, we’re dead." "You could talk us out of trouble Ez." "I doubt it. Not without lying and you know I can’t lie to Chris." "Ya. He always sees through ya." Together, Vin and Ezra headed in to wash up and for supper. As they entered the main room, they could hear the rest of the family gathered around the table. As the door closed everyone went quiet and Chris looked up. "You boys are late. Come and eat. We’ll talk after supper." "We’re sorry ‘bout bein’ late." Vin said. "After supper boys, now sit down and eat." Supper was a somber affair, with Buck telling Chris how his day was. JD piped in and told everyone about the stranger in town and how scared he was. "You should’ve seen it Buck. Chris scared that fella silly. One look from Chris and he was runnin’ away." Chris blushed. He wasn’t trying to be scary, well, maybe a little bit. "Then we came home after Chris talked to the school teacher." Chris looked at Vin and Ezra, who had looked at each other. Chris knew and they were dead. "JD finish your supper." Chris said. "Yes sir." Buck looked at Josiah to see if he knew what was going on and Josiah just shrugged his shoulders. They would find out after supper. When Chris was finished eating, he stood up and said, "Vin. Ezra. When you’re finished, I want to see you in the den." Chris walked away. When he was gone, Buck asked, "Okay, what have you two gotten into this time?" "Nothin’. We were late is all." "Miss Jones told Chris they was skippin’ school." JD added. "You two have been skipping school?" Buck said. "For how long?" Josiah added. "Few days." Vin whispered. "Ezra?" Josiah said. Ezra looked at him and tried to smile. "We simply didn’t want Nathan to feel like he had fallen behind in school." "What?" Buck said. "Since Nate was going to miss some school, he felt it was his brotherly duty to miss some too. Correct?" Josiah said. "Precisely. We made the sacrifice for Nathan." "I doubt Chris will see it that way." "I don’t." Everyone turned to see Chris standing in the doorway. "Ezra and Vin go wait for me in the den. Josiah, why don’t you join us. Nate, I want you to go rest and Buck can take JD outside to run off some of his energy before bed." Ezra and Vin left with Josiah and Chris right behind them. ******* The lecture seemed to be dragging on forever. Ezra found it hard to concentrate and felt a little dizzy. He figured it was just exhaustion. He was brought back out of his thoughts when Josiah touched his left arm. The arm was sore and he jumped from the touch. "You boys are confined to the ranch for the next three weeks. You know I don’t approve of skipping school. I’m sure I can find something to keep you both busy for that period of time. You will come straight home from school everyday. I don’t want to hear about any trouble at school either. Is that clear?" "Yes sir." Both boys replied. Chris turned to Josiah. "He’s all yours." "Ezra, go wait for me in your room." "But…you already confined us." Ezra said. "Yes I did. And when Josiah is done with your tanning and I’m done with Vin’s we will move on." Chris turned to Vin. "You can wait for me in your room Vin." "But…" Vin began. Chris pointed toward the stairs and both boys went to their rooms. ************************* Ezra was not a morning person. When he was with his mother, Ezra would stay up late, usually in a saloon, and was allowed to sleep as late as he wanted. Living on a ranch took some getting use to. When he first came to the ranch with his father, he was allowed to sleep in. It wasn’t long before his father insisted he join everyone for breakfast. Breakfast was at 6am, not 11am. When his father died, Chris and Josiah made sure he didn’t go back to his old habits. Habits are hard to break. "Ezra! Get up or you will be late for school!" Chris yelled through the door as he walked by. "NOW!" "I’m up!" Ezra yelled back. //God I hate mornings// Ezra rolled over onto his back and immediately rolled back to his stomach as the pain registered in his backside. //I must remember not to skip school again// Ezra got up slowly and dressed. It took a little bit longer because he ached all over. When finished, he looked at his reflection and noticed he was sweating. He wiped his forehead and wondered when the headache had started. //God I’m tired// Ezra absently rubbed his left arm as he went downstairs. //It was going to be a long day// ****** Vin gingerly finished his and Ezra’s chores. He felt guilty, because it had been his idea to skip school. He didn’t have to try hard to convince Ezra, but he still felt bad. He finished pitching the hay down to the stalls and took hold of the block and tackle and jumped from the loft. He had discovered that the tackle would release at a good rate when a boy of his weight pulled on it. Of course it was quite a rush. As he got heavier, the faster the tackle would move. Ezra could get the tackle to fly. "You better not let Chris see you do that or you won’t leave this ranch until you’re Buck’s age." "Hey Ez. How ya feelin’?" "Sore." Vin rubbed his backside and smiled. "Yeah. I can relate." Ezra smiled. "You learn that in school?" "What?" "Relate." "Nah. I been hangin’ with you so long, it’s startin’ ta rub off on me." "God help us." Buck said from the door. "You two can find more trouble together. Chris could save that vein on his head if he would just keep you two apart." "What fun would your life be brother Buck, if we didn’t stir things up once in a while." "I would have more time for the ladies." "You’re incorrigible Buck." "Incora…what?" Vin asked. "Never mind." Ezra wiped his brow again and sat down on a bail of hay. "I hate mornings. I hate chores. And I hate heat." "It ain’t hot Ez. Besides, I finished yer chores." "Why?" "Felt bad bout yesterday." "I skipped school because I wanted to, not because you talked me into it." "I know but I still feel bad." "Nonsense Vin. I am the older brother," Ezra noticed Vin start to blush. "Thank you Vin." "Let’s go eat. Miss Jones will probably make us skip recess to punish us fer skippin’ her classes." "You go ahead. I’m not hungry." Ezra closed his eyes and leaned back against the stall. "Nope. If you don’t show up at the table, Chris will come out here and drag you inside. Come on." Buck helped Ezra stand. "I’m not hungry." Ezra staggered in front of Buck as he pushed Ezra toward the house. Vin followed. ******** Breakfast was quickly over. Ezra only ate a couple of bites because Chris forced him to eat. All the rest of his meal ended up in his napkin. "Okay boys, go get your books and get in the buck board." Chris said as he got up. "Buckboard?" Vin asked. "I am personally escorting you two to school. Nate’s not up to riding yet and I doubt either of you can sit a horse." Chris took Nathan, Ezra, and Vin to school and returned to the ranch to work. It was Buck’s day to watch JD and Chris was looking forward to a few days of hard work, away from brothers. *********************************** Ezra woke with a start. //Where am I?// "Mr. Standish! Since you can not stay awake for the lesson, you can stay after school to get what you missed." "Ma’am?" Ezra was hot and he felt awful. "You heard me. You would think that you were in enough trouble already." Miss Jones walked back to the front of the class. Ezra just stared at her and tried to think straight, but the headache from this morning had become worse and he couldn’t stay focused. Vin noticed Ezra didn’t have any snappy comeback and actually looked pale. //Couldn’t anyone see that Ez was sick?// He leaned over to his brother and whispered, "Ez? You okay?" Ezra looked at Vin and nodded. He was afraid if he opened his mouth he would loose what little food he had eaten today. "Ez. You don’t look so good." "Mr. Tanner! Do you have a problem?" Miss Jones asked with disgust. "Ma’am, I think Ezra’s sick. He don’t look so good." "Nonsense. He would be fine if he stayed awake. Maybe I will suggest to Chris that he needs an earlier bed time." "We was to bed early last night." Vin said petulantly. "He’s sick." "I will not argue with you young man. I want you both to pay attention with no more sleeping or talking." "But he’s sick. I think he needs a doctor." "I will not tell you again Kevin." "Don’t call me Kevin! My name’s VIN!" "Enough! You can go stand in the corner and when your brother gets here we will all sit down and discuss your attitude." "But Ezra’s sick." Vin whined. Miss Jones took Vin by the arm and led him to the corner. "Stand there and I don’t want to hear a word out of you until Chris gets here. Understood?" Vin wiped away a stray tear as he looked at Ezra. "You okay Ez?" Ezra tried to smile to reassure his brother but he only had the energy to nod. "Turn around and face the wall Kevin." Vin mumbled something against the wall. "What was that young man?" "I said yes ma’am." "Good. Not another peep out of you." Vin was tempted to make a chick noise just to prove his point, but decided he didn’t need to be caned on top of last night’s tanning. He put his head against the corner and tried to stop the tears from becoming sobs. ******** As Chris drove into the schoolyard he knew something was wrong. All of the other children were heading home and there was no sign of Ezra or Vin. Chris headed toward the schoolhouse and saw Nathan waiting on the steps. When he saw Chris he jumped up. "Chris." "What’s wrong Nate? Where are your brothers?" "Inside. There was a little trouble about an hour ago. Ezra fell asleep and Miss Jones got mad. Then Vin told her that Ezra was sick and she wouldn’t listen and they argued and now Vin is standing in the corner crying and Ezra looks terrible. I think he is sick." "Trouble follows them every minute. Go get in the buck board and I will deal with your brothers." "Should I go get the doc?" "Let me see if Ezra really needs one or if he’s just conning us." Chris entered the schoolroom and saw Ezra sitting at a desk with his head down resting on his arms, which were crossed on the desk. He looked asleep. Miss Jones saw him enter and motioned for him to come forward. Chris saw Vin standing in the corner near the front. "Mr. Larabee. I’m sorry to say, we didn’t have a good day." "What happened? Nathan said Ezra looked sick?" "I woke Ezra up during our last lesson today. When I turned my back, Vin started talking to him. When I asked him to stop talking, he insisted that Ezra was sick. Now Ezra looked tired, but I had just awakened him. Vin proceeded to yell at me and was quite rude. I finally sent him to the corner, but even then he kept up with the smart comments. I was real close to taking a ruler to his backside." Chris looked at Vin and then at Ezra. Ezra didn’t look good. He turned back to Miss Jones, "Is he asleep?" Motioning to Ezra. "No. He’s probably afraid to face you." Miss Jones looked smug. "Hmm." Chris walked over to Vin and turned him around. He could see that Vin had been crying. "What do you have to say for your actions Vin?" "I’m sorry I was rude, but Ez don’t look good. He was sweatin’ this morning and I could tell he had a headache. He ain’t hardly ate no lunch." Vin wiped his eyes again. Chris smiled at his young brother. Vin was a quiet boy and hardly said two words together unless he was mad or defending his brothers. "Let me go check Ezra. He could just be conning us." "No he couldn’t!" Vin said. "Watch your tone young man. I won’t put up with an attitude." "Sorry. Chris, Ezra ain’t connin’ us, he didn’t tell no one about him feeling yucky. I jest can tell." Chris walked over to Ezra and noticed he hadn’t moved since he came in. Not even a nervous twitch. He placed his hand on Ezra’s shoulder and gently shook. "Ezra! Wake up boy." Chris shook a little harder and when he did Ezra’s arm fell limply along side of his desk. "Ezra?" Chris started to become concerned. He gently took Ezra’s face between his hands to bring his head up and noticed how hot he felt. "He’s burning up." Miss Jones looked shocked. "I thought he was just faking it." "You didn’t even check!" Vin yelled. "Vin, don’t be rude." Chris rebuked. "Sorry ma’am. I’m jest worried about Ez." "I’m sorry too Vin. I should have listened to you." Vin smiled at Miss Jones. "Vin?" "Yeah Chris?" "Go tell Nathan to run for the doc." "I can do it." "No! Send Nathan." Vin pouted. He was old enough to run for the doc. Chris saw the beginnings of a tantrum and decided to nip it immediately. "Vin. I need you to send Nathan and then I need your help here. Okay?" "Okay." Vin reluctantly went to tell Nate to fetch the doc. After he left the room, Miss Jones asked, "Sometime you’ll have to tell me the secret to head off one of his tantrums." "No secret." Chris said as he helped lay Ezra on the floor. He appeared to be unconscious. "Vin and I have always had this unspoken connection. I seem to know what he’s thinking before he says or does something." They were interrupted by Vin returning. "I sent Nate. Now what?" "Go find a bucket and fill it with water from the pump. Make sure it’s cold." "Okay." Vin ran out at Chris’ command. As he was returning, Nate came running back. "Chris. The doc is out at the James Ranch. I sent someone out after him and told them to meet us at home. It’s closer." "Good thinking Nate. Let’s get Ezra home." Chris reached to pick Ezra up and when he took his left arm, Ezra screamed. "Easy Ez." Chris calmed Ezra down and gently rolled up his sleeve to reveal a very red and angry looking scratch. "I wonder how he got this?" Vin spoke up. "He scratched it yesterday when we were out…" he stopped and blushed. "Skipping school? Why didn’t he say anything?" Chris was angry. "It was just a scratch. Didn’t hardly bleed even." "No, not even. Well it looks infected." Chris held back any further fears to keep from scaring Vin, but he had seen grown men die from ‘just a scratch’. Chris carried Ezra to the buckboard and made him comfortable. Ezra was in and out of it and mumbling. Chris had Vin and Nathan use the water and rags to cool Ezra’s face and chest while he drove as quickly as possible back to the ranch, hoping the doc wouldn’t be too late. ***************************************** Chris couldn’t sit still. When he had returned to the ranch with Ezra, they made him comfortable in his room. When Miss Nettie saw how sick he was, she took control. She shooed Chris out and then took care of Ezra. At first Chris didn’t leave the hallway, but he couldn’t sit still so he went outside and sent a ranch hand out to bring Josiah back. He paced in front of the fireplace for what seemed like hours and was answering the door for the doctor even before the man had the chance to knock. Now he found himself waiting again for word about Ezra. He was lost in thought when the front door opened. "How is he?" Josiah asked as he hung up his hat and gun belt. "The doc’s with him now. I haven’t heard anything yet." Chris answered. Just then a bone-chilling scream was heard from upstairs. Chris and Josiah took the stairs two at a time and stopped at Ezra’s bedroom door as the doctor came out, wiping his hands. "Doc? Is he…?" Chris asked. "I drained the infection. What ever he scratched it on was filthy. I gave him something to help him sleep and Miss Nettie is keeping cool compresses on him. We need to bring his fever down fast. It’s dangerously high." "Will he recover?" Josiah asked. "The next 24 hours will be the key. If we can get the fever down and keep the scratch clean, he will be fine. If the fever burns to high for too long he could die. With a fever that high, if he did live, the chances of brain damage are high. But that’s only if we can’t get the fever down." Chris squared his shoulders, "What do we need to do?" "Miss Nettie is using cold compresses now. If that doesn’t help, we will need to bring in some ice and pack him in it." Josiah chuckled. "Ezra would love that. He can’t stand the cold." "He won’t even notice." The doc handed Chris some medicine. "Because of his age, I don’t want you to give him much of this, and only if he’s so restless that he won’t sleep. What he needs now is rest, plenty of fluids, and the comfort of his family." "Count on it doc." Chris smiled for the first time since he walked into that schoolroom. "Well," the doc stood, "I will check back tomorrow morning. If he gets worse, send for me." "Thanks doc." Chris shook the man’s hand and walked him out. Josiah went in to see Ezra. ********** When he entered the room, he saw Miss Nettie bathing Ezra with a cool cloth. She turned and smiled at Josiah. "He’s gonna be fine Josiah. This boy is too stubborn to die yet." Josiah smiled and sat down next to Ezra on the bed. He noticed the sheets were a little damp and made a mental note to change them. He put his hand on Ezra’s forehead and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Boy needs a haircut." "He hasn’t had a chance to get to town since he’s been grounded for what seems like forever." Miss Nettie said. "Well, he does know how to find trouble." Miss Nettie noticed the single tear running down Josiah’s cheek. She patted his shoulder and said, "He’s tough Josiah. He’ll be fine." Josiah wiped his cheek and smiled. "What would we do without you Nettie? Thanks." "I’m going to go make supper." "Go ahead. I’m not going anywhere." After Nettie left, Josiah knelt by the bed and prayed. He was so exhausted that he fell asleep. ********** Chris entered the room to find Josiah sleeping with his head on the mattress and his hand holding onto Ezra’s. He smiled despite the situation. Josiah had a special place for Ezra and although Ezra would deny it, he had a special place for Josiah too. Ezra moaned and tried to move. The movement woke Josiah. Chris moved to the other side of the bed and noticed the sheets were wet. Josiah looked up and smiled at Chris. "Guess I was tired." "It’s okay. It’s gonna be a long night anyway." Chris put his hand on Ezra’s forehead. "Seems a little better." Josiah simply nodded. Chris noticed how upset Josiah was. "He’s gonna be fine Josiah." "I know. I don’t know what I would do if we lost him." Josiah put his head down to hide the tears. Chris moved over to his big brother and put his arm around his broad shoulders. "Hey big brother. You ain’t getting soft on me now are you? You of all people know that Ezra’s a survivor. We all are." Josiah managed a smile. "Ok ‘little brother’." Josiah stood and stretched. "Help me change the sheets and then we can try to get some broth into him." "Sounds like a plan. Then you can go downstairs and have some supper." "What about you?" "I’ll sit with Ezra." "Five bucks says Miss Nettie makes you eat." Chris laughed. "You’re starting to sound like Ezra. Besides, I never bet against Miss Nettie." Chris and Josiah lifted Ezra and while Josiah held him, Chris changed the sheets. After the bed was dry, they dried Ezra and put him back to bed. As Josiah set him down and covered him up, they noticed Ezra’s eyes were open. "Hey there Ez. You decided to wake up." Chris smiled. "Where…?" Ezra had a glass of water at his lips immediately and he drank eagerly. "Slowly, Ezra. I don’t want you throwing it up. You need all the fluids you can get to get better." "What…hap…pened?" "You passed out in school because of an infection in your arm." Josiah answered. "Infection?" Ezra was confused. "That little scratch you didn’t tell us about became infected. The doctor drained it and wrapped it." "I’m hot." "That’s the fever. Ezra?" Chris answered. "Yeah?" "Why didn’t you tell someone about scratching your arm." "It didn’t seem serious at the time." Ezra closed his eyes. "I’m tired." Josiah stood. "Well, don’t go to sleep yet. I want you to eat something. I’ll go get it." "Not hungry." Ezra tried to roll over but Chris stopped him. He tried to glare at his brother but it didn’t come out too convincing. "Glare at me all you want Ez, but you’re gonna eat something. Then you can go back to sleep." Chris laughed at the half-hearted attempt to scowl. His laughter was cut short by the arrival of Miss Nettie with some broth. "What happened to Josiah?" "He’s eating. I’ll feed Ezra and you can go eat." "I can do it Nettie. I’m not very hungry anyway." "I will not take no for an answer young man. You leave Ezra to me and you get downstairs and eat." "But…" Chris turned at the laughter coming from the bed. "What is so funny?" "You." Ezra said. Chris smiled at the joke. He could force Ezra to eat but Miss Nettie could get all of them to tow the line, including Chris. "Fine. I’m going but Ezra you better eat all that broth." "Yes dad." Chris glared at Ezra and then left to the sound of more laughter. However it was cut short by Nettie’s declaration to eat and Ezra moaning. Chris laughed and went downstairs to eat. ************ It was a long night for everyone, but in the early hours of the morning they all thanked God when Ezra’s fever broke. Ezra was resting peacefully and everyone, except Josiah, slept through the morning. ********************************** "EZRA PATRICK STANDISH! Get back into that bed." "Ah Chris. I’m not tired and I feel fine." Ezra had been gazing out the window trying to think of a way to get out of this room. He felt fine after his fever broke yesterday and he wanted out. He was a little weak but he would never admit it to anyone. "The doctor wants you to rest for a few days." Chris took Ezra by the right arm and led him back to his bed. He covered him up and said, "I would think you would enjoy the extra sleep." "I’ve been sleeping for almost three days now. I’m sick of these four walls. Can’t I at least come downstairs and lay on the couch? Please?" "No Ezra." "Give me one good reason why." "I’ll give you more than one. Firstly, the doc wants you to get sleep and you can’t do that downstairs. JD alone would keep you from getting any rest. Secondly, I know that the second I turned my back you would be outside. We don’t need you catching a chill." "I said one GOOD reason." Ezra mumbled under his breath. "What was that?" "Nothing. I’m bored. There’s nothing to do up here." Ezra pouted. "Go back to sleep." "Not tired." "Fine." Chris stood up to leave. He looked down at his brother and could tell it was going to get harder to keep him resting as the day progressed. "Are you hungry? I could have Miss Nettie bring you a snack." "No thanks." Ezra replied sarcastically. "She would bring some vile tasting concoction that is suppose to be good for me. Yuck." Chris laughed at the face Ezra was making. "Suit yourself." Chris was almost to the door when Ezra called him back. "Chris?" "What?" "Maybe you could let JD come up and keep me company." "JD’s taking a nap." "A nap? How come?" "It’s been a long couple of days for all of us Ez. JD hasn’t been sleeping well, so I put him down for a nap. It was either that or I was going to shoot him for whining me to death. Now if you don’t want a snack, then I suggest you rest. If you behave yourself, I’ll see about letting you rest downstairs tomorrow." "Tomorrow?" Ezra whined. "Tomorrow and not before. Understand?" Ezra nodded. "I mean it Ezra. Stay in bed." Ezra just nodded again and rolled over with his back to Chris. Chris decided to go and check on JD and then he could finish working on the ranch paperwork. After he left, Ezra rolled back over and kicked off the blankets. He lay there with his arms crossed trying to think of something to do. Suddenly he remembered that his mother had given him a deck of cards on her last visit. She had said they weren’t a present but ‘tools for the trade’. He retrieved the cards and sat back on the bed. He pushed all the covers out of the way and began to shuffle the deck. After about fifteen minutes of shuffling he started to play solitaire. ********* JD woke from his nap feeling rested and ready to go. He put his boots on and headed out to find Chris or Buck. When he walked by Ezra’s room he heard a funny sound. He opened the door and peeked in to see Ezra playing with cards on his bed. Ezra noticed JD and smiled at his baby brother. "Come on in JD." JD ran and bounced on the bed, messing up Ezra’s current game of solitaire. JD stopped and looked at Ezra waiting to get yelled at and was surprised to see Ezra smiling. "Don’t worry about it JD. I wasn’t going to win anyway." "Okay. How ya fellin’ Ez?" "I’m fine JD. However, our over protective big brother won’t let me up." "Chris?" "Chris." Ezra though maybe he could get JD to help him ease the boredom. "Hey JD?" "Huh?" "Could you do me a big favor?" "What? I’m big I can help." "I’m kind of hungry. Could you go downstairs and get us some cookies." "Miss Nettie don’t like us to eat cookies in bed." "I can sit in the rocker. Chris won’t let me go downstairs or I would do it. Please JD." "Okay. I’ll have Chris get them." "No JD. I’m afraid if you tell Chris he won’t let you eat any because it would spoil your dinner." "Okay. I’ll try." JD bounced off the bed and headed down the back stairs toward the kitchen. JD managed to sneak into the kitchen and climb up to the cookie jar and got two cookies before he bumped into a plate on the counter and it crashed into the sink. JD stuffed the cookies into his pockets and started to climb down. He got back to the chair, when Chris entered the kitchen to see what the noise was. "JD what are you doing?" He noticed the broken plate in the sink and the guilty look on JD’s face. "It was an accident." JD said as his bottom lip began to quiver. "What were you doing climbing on the counter JD? You could have been hurt." Chris lifted JD off the chair and set him on his feet. "Well?" JD shrugged his shoulders. Chris looked on the shelf where JD was and noticed the cookie jar. "Were you trying to get a cookie JD?" JD just nodded. "If you had asked me, I would have gotten it for you." "Really?" "Yeah. Really." Chris opened the cookie jar and handed JD two cookies and then grabbed one for him self. "How about some milk?" JD nodded in between bites of cookie. Chris went into the pantry and brought out a glass of milk and set it on the table. He then lifted JD into a chair in front of the snack. "When you’re done Sprout, just leave the glass on the table and come get me, okay?" JD nodded. Chris ruffled his hair and went back to his paperwork. As soon as Chris left the room, JD guzzled his milk with the last cookie and headed upstairs. He entered Ezra’s room and smiled. "I done it." He pulled out both cookies and handed them to Ezra. "I don’t need both of them JD. You have one." "It’s okay. I had two downstairs. Chris caught me gettin’ the cookies but he didn’t see these two in my pocket so’s he gave me two more and a glass of milk. I’m sorry ‘bout the milk Ez." "No problem JD, I don’t like milk." Ezra moved to the rocker and ate his cookies while JD bounced on the bed. ********************************* "Want to play a game Ez?" "What game were you thinking of?" "I don’t know. How ‘bout hide an seek." "I don’t know JD. The last time you played hide and seek, you were ‘lost’ all day. You fell asleep in your hiding place and no one could find you." "But I’m not sleepy now. I had a nap." "I’ll play with one stipulation." "What’s a stip…i…lation?" "A condition. A rule." "Oh. Okay." "That I get to hide, and you have to count while covered up in my bed." "But I can’t count very high." "You don’t have too. I will set my alarm clock to go off in five minutes, and when it rings you have to come find me. Okay?" "Okay." JD scrambled under the blankets and tried not to giggle. Ezra set the clock and quickly made his escape down the back stairs. He knew that Chris would be checking on him soon and this may give him a few extra minutes of freedom. *********** Chris returned to the kitchen to check on JD and noticed the empty milk glass but no JD. He decided that he would check and see if JD was upstairs with Ezra before he checked outside. Upon entering Ezra’s room he noticed ‘Ezra’ curled up asleep with the blankets over his head. He smiled as he remembered Ezra’s words about not being tired. He was slowly leaving the room when he heard a small giggle. He looked around the room to see if JD was hiding in here. Then it occurred to him that the lump in the bed was a little too small to be Ezra. Going on a hunch, he pulled the blankets back to reveal a giggling JD. "Hey Sprout. What are you doing in Ezra’s bed? And where is Ezra?" "Shhh Chris. I don’t know where Ez is. We’s playing hide and seek. He’s hidin’ and I’m ‘posta wait til the clock rings to go find him." Chris looked at the alarm clock and noticed that Ezra never pushed the button to start the timer. "Well JD, I think you’ve waited long enough. Why don’t I help you look?" "Okay, but the stiplation was I wait for the ring." "You mean the stipulation?" "That’s what I said, stiplation." Chris had to laugh at the serious face JD was giving him. "Well let’s go find that lost brother of yours and then I’m gonna have a very necessary little talk with him about obedience." JD was only five, but he heard his pa say ‘a necessary little talk’ before and it only lead to one thing. "Chris?" "What Sprout?" "You’re not gonna necessary little talk me are ya?" It took Chris a minute to realize what JD was talking about and then he smiled. "No Sprout. You didn’t do anything that would make me ‘talk’ to you like I’m gonna Ezra." "Good." Chris laughed and finished searching the entire house. Not finding him anywhere, Chris figured Ezra was outside and it wasn’t going to go easy for him, if he was. ********** Ezra spent about fifteen minutes with his horse and then decided he had better hide better. He went out to the side yard where Nathan’s work shed was. The shed was locked with a padlock because Chris and Josiah were letting Nate practice with some harmless chemicals. Nathan was working with the doctor after school on Friday’s and after chores on Saturday’s. Ezra had picked the lock many times to get away from Chris or Josiah. Sometimes he just went in there to get away from everyone for some peace and quiet. Ezra picked the lock and went inside. Nathan was a very tidy young man and he liked to know where everything was. Ezra on the other hand, liked to mess with Nathan’s head. During his little visits to the work shed, he would move things around. Nothing to dramatic, but enough to drive Nate crazy. This time he decided to switch the ingredients in two of the bottles to see what would happen. As he was doing this, he heard JD hollering for him. Time to leave and be found, before Chris sees him. Ezra exited the shed and made it to the back door before he was grabbed and spun around. He looked up into the very angry face of Chris Larabee. "Hi Chris. I was just getting some fresh air." "I remember telling you to stay in your room and get some rest, didn’t I?" "Yes, but…" "No buts Ezra. Why do you feel it necessary to disregard everything I tell you? You were close to death only two days ago." "I feel fine now." "I think it’s time for the two of us to have a very long and necessary little talk." "Now? You said I was suppose to rest. How am I suppose to rest after one of your little talks." Chris led Ezra back up to his room. "You should have thought of that before you conned JD into playing hide and seek." "I didn’t con him. Hide and seek was his idea." "And who decided on the ‘stipulations’, huh?" Ezra groaned. JD must have been found out. He didn’t fault his baby brother. The boy just couldn’t keep a secret to save his life. It was worth a try though. "Would it help if I told you I wasn’t bored anymore and I would like to rest now?" "You can rest when we are finished." "Please Chris. You know I get into trouble when I’m bored, and I did warn you." "I don’t think so Ezra. You’re not talking your way out of this. You have two choices." "What choices?" Ezra sat on his bed and waited for Chris to give him a way out. "You and I can have this talk now, or I can leave the talking up to Josiah when he gets home. So what will it be?" "Some choices." Ezra crossed his arms in front of his chest. Ezra had to think fast. He didn’t want a spanking at all, but he didn’t have a lot of choices. Normally he would go with waiting for Josiah, but Josiah wasn’t such an easy touch anymore. However, if he waited he had a better chance of there being some sort of distraction later. Besides, Chris was angry and he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of an angry Chris wielding a belt. "I’ll wait for Josiah, please." "Really? What are you up to Ez?" "Nothing. I would just like to be able to sit until dinner." "Have it your way, but if you leave this room again, WE will be having that talk before Josiah does. Understood?" "Yes." "Good." Chris left the room and headed out to round up JD. Ezra lay back on his bed dreading the next couple of hours. Maybe he should have gotten it over with. The waiting may kill him. **************************************** Nathan was excited as he entered the yard. The doctor had given him a new compound to experiment with and he couldn’t wait to try out a few things. He quickly dismounted and put the new compound in the shed and locked it up. He took care of his horse and hurried through his chores. He knew he could be in a little trouble rushing through his chores, but it was worth the risk. Besides, Nathan was the ‘good’ brother who hardly ever caused any problems. Nathan was finishing up when Buck and Josiah came in off the range. "How was school today, Nate?" "Good. I got something new from the doc. I can’t wait to see what kind of things it will do." "Just be careful. We don’t need you blowing yourself up." "I will. Jeesh. Sometimes you guys treat me like a kid. I’m old enough to get married if I wanted." "Ha. Old enough by other’s standards, but I’d like to see you use that theory on Chris. Hell, I’m 19 and he still treats me like the kid brother." Buck said. "Yeah Buck, but he doesn’t have to worry about you ever getting married. It won’t happen." Josiah jeered. "Ha Ha. Laugh it up Josiah, but why would I want to deprive all those lovely ladies of my animal magnetism." "Don’t you mean ‘maggot-tism, Bucklin." Everyone turned to see Vin lead his horse in. "Hey, you watch it there little brother or I’ll have to tickle ya." Buck lunged at Vin, but Vin avoided him and giggled as he hid behind the barn door. "Hey Vin? What took you so long to get home from school? Nathan beat you home." Josiah asked. "He beat me ‘cause he was ridin’ fast the whole way. I weren’t in no hurry to get home ta chores and bein’ grounded." Vin took his pony and started to remove the saddle. "Hey Vin, I didn’t mean to upset ya, I just wanted to make sure you don’t get into anymore trouble." "I’m sorry Josiah. I just had a rough day at school. I’m glad it’s Friday, but I’m not lookin’ forward to all the chores Chris has picked out. Ez lucked out by getting’ sick. He ain’t got to worry ‘bout being grounded fer another few days." "Don’t worry Vin. Being cooped up in his room is worse than being grounded. Don’t ya think?" "Yeah probly." Vin finished with his pony and Buck and Josiah headed to the house. Nathan went to his work shed. Buck wasn’t even half way to the door when it flew open and JD ran to him. Buck swept him into his arms and hugged him. "Hey Little Britches. How was your day?" "Good. I played over near the water trough in da mornin’ and made mud pies." "Mud pies? Did you save any for old Buck?" "Ya can’t eat mud Buck." "Oh." Buck smiled. "What else?" They walked through the door and Chris met them as JD finished his day. "Then Chris washed all the mud off and made me take a nap." JD scowled and Buck laughed. He looked toward Chris and asked, "How’d you get him to take a nap?" "It was a nap or I was gonna shoot him. He chose the nap." "Smart boy." Buck tickled JD. "Buck! Stop I’s tellin’ ya somethin’" "Sorry." Buck put JD down and took off his gun and hat. Chris caught Josiah’s eye and motioned for him to join him out on the porch. JD filled Buck in on the game of hide and seek, while Chris talked to Josiah. ********* "He really chose to wait for me?" "Yep. I think he was hoping that there would be enough distractions with everyone home, that he could get lost in the shuffle." Josiah sighed and sat down. "I don’t know Chris. He shouldn’t ignore what you tell him, but does a tanning make an impact? I was thinking of a different punishment." "Like what? Confining him to his room just makes him think of new ways to get out without getting caught. Grounding him doesn’t affect him much, because he doesn’t like to wander off like Vin does. You could make him do ‘menial labor’ but not right now, with his recovering from that infection." "I know." "Josiah, I have no problem dealing with him if you want. I’m actually glad he didn’t choose me at the time because I was so angry I probably would have hurt him." "I’ll think about it. Is he joining us for supper?" "He shouldn’t, but since he was out playing hide and seek all afternoon, he can join the rest of the family at the table." "Sounds good to me. I’ll go deal with him, then we’ll come down for supper." "Sounds good. I’ll check on Vin." *********** Chris found Vin in the barn sitting with one of his schoolbooks. He smiled when he saw Vin sitting concentrating on what he was reading. His tongue was out and he looked like every word was a struggle, which it was. The teacher had discovered that Vin wasn’t learning as well as the other children. At first she thought he was too dumb to learn but quickly realized that Vin was a very smart little boy. If you read the story to him, he could answer all of your questions. For some reason he couldn’t comprehend the written word, which made his handwriting horrible also. The teacher spent extra time with Vin to help him with his letters and reading. It was taking a while but Vin was starting to learn with the help of his teacher and family. Chris cleared his throat to get Vin’s attention. "Hey Chris. I’s jest readin’." Chris sat down next to Vin and smiled. "This one of those special books she sent for?" "Yeah. The letterin’ is different. It’s different colors and I can read them better. They don’t swim all over da page no more." "That’s great. You hungry? Supper’s almost ready." "Yeah a little." As they both stood up, a great explosion was heard. Chris and Vin ran out of the barn and saw Nathan brushing himself off in front of what was left of the work shed. The shed had collapsed and was completely flat and smoking. Josiah, Buck, Ezra, and JD ran to Nathan to make sure he was okay. "Nate You okay?" Chris asked. "Yeah. I don’t know what happened. Nothing I mixed should have caused this." He motioned toward the ruined shed. "I’m just glad you’re okay." "Yeah. I’m fine. I realized something was wrong as soon as they chemicals mixed. I simply ran as quick as I could." "I’m starting to think that you aren’t ready for this kind of experimenting if this is what happens." Nathan was shocked. "But Chris, it was an accident. I didn’t mean to blow up the shed." "No Nate. From now on you’ll have to do these experiments in town with the doctor supervising." "Chris. I can’t do that. The doctor is always busy. He only lets me work with him on Fridays and Saturdays. Please Chris." "No Nathan. What if it had been JD or Vin who got in there and messed with something? They wouldn’t know enough to run like you did. I’m sorry but it’s too dangerous." Chris headed into the house. "Supper’s ready. Let’s get washed up and eat. We’ll clean this mess up after supper." "Josiah? Could you talk to him please? It was just an accident. Those two chemicals shouldn’t have reacted that way." "I’ll discuss it with him Nate, but I doubt he will change his mind. I’ve seen that look." "Thanks." Nathan headed upstairs quickly so that no one would see his tears. He felt foolish for reacting like a baby, but he was disappointed. ********* Outside Josiah was about to go inside when a hand stopped him. Josiah turned to see Ezra swallow hard. He was about to say something when Josiah stopped him. "Forget it Ezra. We still need to have our discussion about obeying Chris." "That’s not what I was going to say." Ezra said indignantly. "What then?" "Is Chris really going to keep Nathan from doing his experiments?" "You heard him. Those chemicals were not supposed to be this explosive." Ezra chewed his bottom lip. "They weren’t." "What do you mean?" "Well, Chris told you I snuck out today." "Yeah?" "Well, I snuck into Nate’s work shed and switched a couple of the
things in the bottles. I didn’t think they could do this." He motioned
toward the ruined shed. "I didn’t mean for Nate to almost get hurt."
Ezra wiped away a stray tear. "I was bored. I didn’t mean any harm Josiah. I’m sorry." Josiah gathered Ezra into his arms and let him cry. When he stopped crying, Josiah spoke. "You need to tell Nathan and Chris what you did. Then you need to face what ever they decide as proper, how do you like to say, remuneration?" Ezra smiled. "Okay. You believe me that I never meant to hurt Nathan?" "Yes Ezra. It was an accident, but it never should have happened. After supper we will be having a long talk, but right now I want you to go up and apologize to Nate and tell Chris. Understood?" "Yes sir." "Good." ****************************************** The sun shone brightly through the curtains in Chris’ bedroom. Saturday’s were a more relaxed day from ranch work. The work still needed to get done, but they could leave most of the work to the hands for the weekend. Chris rolled over and bumped into someone. For a fraction of a second, he wondered where he could be if there was another person in his bed, but he dismissed it when he recognized who it was. He propped his head on his hand, leaned on his elbow and stared at his brother. It was rare for Vin to wake at night and crawl into bed with him. It was usually JD. The special connection they had was working as Vin began to wake up feeling like someone was watching him. He opened his eyes slowly and saw Chris looking at him. He smiled and said, "Mornin’ cowboy." Chris raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Cowboy! You always did have a death wish little brother." Vin giggled and rolled over onto his back and stretched like a cat. "What brings you to my warm bed in the middle of the night?" Chris moved to get up and stopped when he saw a serious look on Vin’s face. Vin didn’t answer right away. "What’s wrong Vin?" "Bad dream." Was all Vin said as he got up and headed back to his own room. "Vin? You want to talk about it?" Chris stood to follow Vin. When Vin stopped and turned to look at Chris, there were tears in his eyes. Chris immediately embraced him and held him close. It was then that Chris smelled the faint odor of urine. He noted that Vin was dry, but probably changed before he came in last night. "That must have been some dream. Why don’t you tell me about it?" Vin just nodded and looked at Chris. He saw acceptance of what happened and slowly started to tell Chris about the dream. "I’s at the grave where papa was buried and I heard all these noises all around me and then I was cryin’ for papa and when I’s near the grave a hand…" Vin paused to swallow back his tears. "It’s okay Vin. It was just a dream." Vin took a deep breath and continued. "A hand came up and grabbed me. I screamed and …" Vin looked at Chris, "I wet the bed." He whispered and let the tears fall again. Chris held him close. "It’s okay Vin. It happens to all of us." "Even to you?" "When I was a little boy, like you, it happened sometimes and Pa was always there telling me it was okay. I could even tell you about Buck wetting the bed only a couple of years ago. He was 17 at the time." "Really? Was he upset?" "Yep. But Pa still told him it was okay. Accidents happen." "Ya think you could help me change the sheets ‘fore Miz Nettie sees ‘em?" "No problem. I think you need a bath too though." "Yuck. I’m dry now." "Yes you are dry, but you still have the stink on ya." Vin smelled his nightshirt and frowned. "I hate baths." "All little boys do." "I bet Ez didn’t." Vin giggled. "I wouldn’t make that bet. Let’s get you washed up." Chris lead Vin down to the bath house and set him up in a small tub of warm water. With instructions to use soap, Chris left Vin to deal with the wet bed. JD was up running down the hall when Miss Nettie stopped him as she came out of Vin’s room. She had the soiled sheets rolled with some others to hide the ‘accident’ from the rest of the family. Chris smiled and kissed Miss Nettie on the cheek. The simple ‘Thank you’ from Chris held all of the understanding either of them needed. Chris got himself dressed and retrieved clothing for Vin. After checking on Ezra, who was still sleeping, and sending JD out to pester Buck in the barn, he returned to Vin. Dried and dressed, both Vin and Chris sat at the breakfast table minutes before Buck, JD, and Josiah came inside. "Ezra still asleep?" Josiah asked as he sat down. "Yep. I’m letting him sleep because he will need the rest to go see the doctor this afternoon. Where’s Nate?" Chris said. "Outside trying to salvage something from the shed." Chris simply nodded and resumed his breakfast. "Chris?" "No, Josiah." "I think we need to discuss what happened last night." "Not here." "In the Den then." Josiah stood up and walked toward the Den expecting Chris to follow. Chris sighed and followed Josiah out. ******* "I won’t change my mind Josiah. I keep thinking about what could have happened if Vin or JD had picked that lock or figured some other way in. It’s too dangerous." "There has to be a better solution then punishing Nathan. It wasn’t his fault." "I know it wasn’t his fault and I’m not punishing Nathan." Chris said with irritation. "But he feels like you are. Do you realize that he cried himself to sleep last night?" "What?" "He was so upset, that he fell asleep sobbing. How many times has Nathan sat in his room and suffered through some injustice because of something that wasn’t his fault? He tries to be the strong older brother, but I think we sometimes forget he’s still a boy too." Chris sat down and sighed. "I didn’t know Josiah." "Do you still trust him?" "Of course I do? What kind of question is that?" "You trusted him to keep the little ones out of the shed before, and he did. Ezra is old enough to know better. So do you still trust Nathan to keep JD and Vin out?" "Yes." As soon as he said it, he knew Josiah had won this argument. Josiah just smiled. "Fine! If he wants to rebuild the shed…" "With Ezra’s help." Josiah added. "With Ezra’s help, then he can keep doing his experimenting, I’m telling you now Josiah, if this happens again…" He left the threat open. "Thanks Chris. I know Nathan will be happy." "Hurumph. And I called you the softy." Josiah laughed. "Well, brother. We all have our strengths and weaknesses." "Sure Josiah. Lets go finish breakfast before I change my mind again." ********** When Josiah and Chris returned to the table, Ezra had joined them. Chris smiled and sat down. "Morning Ezra. How are you feeling?" "I’m fine." Ezra groused. "I’ll be taking you to town after lunch to see the doctor." "Ah Chris. I’m fine. What do I have to go to the doctor for?" "Ezra." Josiah warned. "Ezra. I will not argue with you. You will be going with me after lunch and if you don’t behave I’ll just shoot you." JD piped it. "Better jest go Ez, he was gonna shoot me yesterday." Everyone at the table laughed; everyone but Chris. "I get no respect around here." Everyone laughed again. After they resumed eating, Chris turned to Nathan, who looked sadder than usual. "Nate?" "Yeah Chris?" "I’ve changed my mind about your experiments. If you want to continue them, you will have to rebuild the shed and put a new lock on it. Ezra will help you." "What? Why?" Ezra exclaimed. "Ezra. You are the reason the shed blew up. You will help Nate rebuild and you will not go in the shed again without permission. Am I clear?" Josiah said. "But…" "I said, am I clear?" "Crystal." Ezra pouted. "May I be excused?" Josiah looked at Ezra’s plate and noticed he hadn’t eaten much. "No you may not. I want you to finish your breakfast." "I’m not hungry." "Did I ask you if you were hungry? Eat!" Ezra picked up his fork and tried to will the tears to not fall in front of everybody. ******** "Well, Chris. That arm looks much better. Has he been resting?" "Sure Doc. When I tied him to his bed." "That bad huh." The doctor laughed. "Excuse me, but I’m still in the room." Both men looked at Ezra and smiled. The doctor patted Ezra’s knee and said, "Sorry Ezra. It’s just a habit. You’ll just tell me you’re fine." "I am fine." "Yes Ezra, you are, but you would say you were fine if someone tore off your arm." Ezra scowled at the doctor and turned to Chris. "Can we go now?" "All set Doc?" Chris asked. "Yep. He’s all yours until the next time he’s ‘fine’." "Thanks Doc." Chris and Ezra headed out of the building and walked toward the buckboard. As they pasted the saloon, Ezra heard a familiar voice. //Mother?// Chris heard the same thing and groaned inwardly. //Just what we need, Maude.// "Ezra. Stay here." "Chris. I was raised in saloons." "No you were dragged through them for selfish reasons. You are still too young to be in saloons. Besides, Josiah would shoot me if I let you." "And the bad side of that would be…?" Ezra said sarcastically. "Keep it up young man. Stay here." Chris entered the saloon and was soon exiting with Maude behind him. "My baby boy! How are you Ezra darling?" "Mother. What brings you to Four Corners?" "Why you my dear. I was planning on heading out to see you as soon as I was finished here." "Did you leave anyone with any money?" Ezra said with a sneer. "Ezra." Chris warned. He didn’t like Maude either, but she was his mother. "I’m sorry Chris." "Certainly Ezra dear." "Maude. We were just heading back to the ranch, would you like to join us?" "That sounds wonderful." They gathered her luggage. "How are you Ezra dear?" "I’m fine Mother." //Sure Ezra. Sure.// Chris thought. It was going to be a long weekend. **************************************** Saturday afternoon could only be described as organized chaos. When Chris and Ezra returned with Maude, Josiah and JD were the only two people happy to see her. Josiah had always found Maude quite attractive, and enjoyed some harmless flattery to keep her appeased. He was cautious around Maude since their father died. Maude was the only person who could cause problems for him if she ever contested custody of Ezra. Josiah believed that Ezra needed this family to grow into the man their father had hoped for. Maude had other plans. Maude only did things for one person; Maude. She had actually only planned on staying one night. She had a con she wanted to try in Colorado and was hoping she could convince Ezra to join her. In the past, she had no problem leaving him with relatives and only hesitated for a moment when Lincoln wanted custody. She saw it as freedom from a ‘mistake’. With Lincoln dead, she had been scheming for the last 8 months to figure out how to get Ezra back. No easy task with six very protective brothers watching her every move. "Ezra darling. Why don’t you come back on the road with me? We could be living the life of luxury in 6 months." Ezra had been dreading this talk with his mother. He may sometimes feel that he isn’t treated fairly here, but he loved his brothers with everything he had. He didn’t want to leave. Even if Chris made him live in the storm cellar in the dead of winter, he wouldn’t want to go back to the life Maude offered. His father had given him the most precious give he could; the love of a family. "Mother. I love you, but I have no desire to travel with you and be your pawn in your cons." "Not a pawn, Ezra, but my partner. You are a man now and you should have more than a piece of this dusty little territory." "This ‘dusty little territory’ is my home Mother and I like it." "Like it! I taught you better than this." She gestured toward the ranch with disgust. "I raised you for greatness." "Raised me? The barn cat takes care of her young better than you! You dropped me off with any relative that you could find unless you needed me for a con." Ezra spun to walk away from his mother and ran into Josiah’s chest. "Ezra. You shouldn’t talk to your mother that way." Ezra was too angry to hear the warning in Josiah’s statement. "What way is that Josiah? The truth?" "You should still show the proper respect. Please apologize." "I will NOT apologize." Ezra tried to move away from Josiah but Josiah took a firm hold on his shoulders. "Ezra." Josiah warned. "No Josiah. You can whip me to one inch of my life and I still won’t apologize." Josiah wasn’t prepared for such and outburst and Ezra ran to his room. Josiah was speechless. He looked toward Maude who still wore a mask of indifference. "I’m sorry Maude. He shouldn’t talk to you that way." "No Josiah. It was my fault. I obviously failed as a mother. I was only raising him the only way I knew. If that was wrong, then I’m glad I left him with Lincoln all those years ago." She tried to smile as she stood. "I’ll be leaving on tomorrows stage Josiah. I never should have come." "Nonsense. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, Ezra needs to see you. You’re his mother." "What kind of mother does all the things Ezra just accused me of?" "He was upset and he will apologize." "My boy is stubborn Josiah, as I’m sure you already know. He may never apologize and I’m not sure he should have to. You all have taught him to be honest and forthright. Something I couldn’t teach him. He’s turning into a fine young man." "Why don’t you tell him that Maude? It could go a long way in building bridges that have been burned in the past." "I don’t think he would listen." Maude stood and walked to her room. After the door was closed, Josiah headed to have a serious talk with Ezra. No one should talk to their mother the way Ezra did and he was going to make sure Ezra understood that. He approached the bedroom door and stopped at the sounds of sobbing coming from within. Josiah felt his heart break with every anguished cry from Ezra. He softened his approach and opened the door. Inside, Ezra was face down on his bed, screaming into his pillow. Josiah could see his back heaving with the sobs that tore through Ezra’s slight build. Ezra was in pain. Not a physical wound, but an emotional one. He sat on the bed next to Ezra and gently rubbed his back. "Shhh. I’m sorry Ezra. Just let it all out." Ezra tried to compose himself and thought he had succeeded until he turned and saw nothing but understanding in Josiah’s eyes. The tears were renewed and Josiah gathered Ezra into his strong arms. Ezra held on for all he was worth and cried. Josiah continued to rub his back and speak encouraging words to him. After about 10 minutes, Chris came in quietly to see what was going on. He saw Josiah sitting on Ezra’s bed rocking with Ezra crying on his shoulder. Chris simply came in and sat on the other side of the bed and rubbed Ezra’s back also. He smiled at Josiah, but no one spoke. Ezra’s sobs died down to hitching breaths and then evened out in sleep. Chris smiled. "He’s exhausted." He whispered. "What happened?" "Maude." One word. No other explanation needed. "I hate what she does to him. No boy should dislike his mother. Doesn’t she care what these visits do to him?" "In her own way? I suppose she does." Josiah gently lay Ezra down and covered him up. He tucked the blankets up to his chin and brushed the hair from his face. "He needs a haircut." Chris said. Josiah laughed. "I said that while he was sick. I think maybe Monday after school I’ll take him for that haircut. "Sounds good to me. That way I can work out on the range and YOU can watch the Sprout." "I thought is was Buck's turn on Monday?" Josiah said with a smile. "Actually it is. You take Ezra for that haircut, and Buck can watch baby brother." "Sounds like a plan." Josiah said as they left Ezra’s room and shut the door. "What sounds like a plan?" Buck boomed. "Shhhhh!" Josiah and Chris shushed. "What?" Buck whispered. "Ezra’s having a nap." Chris said. "A nap? You threaten to shoot him too?" Buck smiled. "No. He got into it with Maude and he cried himself to sleep." "Oh. So what is this plan?" Josiah smiled. "We decided brother Buck, that on Monday, you can watch JD and pick Nate and Vin up at school." "What about Ezra?" "Josiah is going to get him from school and get him a hair cut." "He’ll like that. He’s been complaining about being grounded for so long that his hair is starting to get as long as Vin’s." Buck smiled. "What about Vin?" JD said from behind his brothers. They all turned around and saw JD rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Hey Sprout. Did you have a good nap?" Chris picked JD up and they all headed downstairs. "Speaking of Vin. Where is he? If JD was napping and Ezra is now, where’s Vin?" "He’s outside helping Nathan rebuild." Chris said. "I thought Ezra was suppose to be doing that?" Buck asked as he set JD down. "Go ask Miss Nettie for a snack JD." Buck gave JD a playful swat on the backside as he ran into the kitchen. "Well, I needed something to keep him busy and helping Nate will keep him out of trouble." "Famous last words." Buck laughed. Chris and Josiah went out to finish chores and Buck entertained JD until supper. *********** Ezra woke for supper and was polite to his mother but didn’t go out of his way to talk to her. After the meal, he tried to escape to his room but Josiah suggested he go sit outside and talk to his mother because she would be leaving in the morning. There was strained silence until Maude broke into Ezra’s thoughts. "Ezra dear, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you this afternoon. I just miss you." "Do you miss me or what I can do for you?" Maude didn’t answer. "That’s what I thought." "Ezra, I am who I am. That’s the way things are." "And I am who I am. I like having a stable home with my brothers. I still miss father, but they make it easier. If I left, I would miss them all too much and I fear I wouldn’t be any good to you." "I could teach you how to hide those emotions Ezra. We had started that before you came here." "Yes you had. And father taught me that it’s okay to show your emotions. It doesn’t make you weak mother. They make you stronger because you share yourself with the bigger picture." "And that is?" "Family mother. I like being part of this big family. And for me, that’s the way things are." Maude decided to change the subject. "I will be leaving tomorrow morning. I have asked Josiah if he could bring me in when he heads to the church early. I would like you to come too, so I can say good-bye before I leave." "Does the stage leave before church?" "I do believe it leaves about the same time service starts, but Josiah said you could go a little late to say good-bye. That is if you would like." "Yes mother. I would." Maude stood and started back to the house. She turned and said, "I am proud of you Ezra. You are my son and I love you, even if I don’t always tell you." She walked away and entered the house. Ezra sat stunned for several minutes and was brought out of his shock by Josiah’s voice calling him in for bed. Ezra slept well with the knowledge that his mother did indeed love him. ************************************* Early Sunday morning found Josiah up preparing for his sermon and trying to get Ezra out of bed early enough so he could eat before they left. "Ezra. Time to get up if you’re going into town with me to see your ma off." Josiah stuck his head into Ezra’s room and found the bed empty. When he came in further, he found Ezra straightening his shirt and vest. Josiah smiled at him and Ezra smiled back. "Good morning Ezra." "Josiah. You should really say ‘early morning’ because there is nothing ‘good’ about mornings." Josiah laughed. "This is the day the Lord has made Ezra. And all things made by God are ‘good’. Miss Nettie has our breakfast ready so let’s go." "Very well." Ezra headed out of the room. "Don’t you want your suit jacket?" "I suppose, since mother always says ‘appearances are everything’." "Not everything little brother." Josiah hugged Ezra close, which made Ezra scowl. "You are wrinkling my shirt Josiah." "Many pardons Ez." Josiah laughed as Ezra brushed himself off as if he was suddenly very dirty. Josiah and Ezra joined Maude for breakfast and were about to leave when Chris came down the stairs. "Boys. Maude it was nice to see you again. Don’t be a stranger." Chris was screaming ‘don’t ever come back’, as he was being polite. "Mr. Larabee. Please take good care of my boy and I will write to you my new location when I get there." "Sounds good." Chris turned to Ezra and Josiah. "I will see you two in church. Josiah, do you know when the stage is suppose to leave?" "If it’s on time, it will pull out about 10 minutes after service is suppose to start. Ezra will join the rest of the family at that time." "And if it’s late?" "Ezra?" Josiah prompted. "If the stage is late I will say good bye to mother and be at the church before you are all finished the first hymn. Acceptable?" Ezra said with irritation. "Good. Then we will all see you there." Chris said. ******** The ride into town was pleasant. The weather was clear and bright. Summer was still a few weeks away, but the days seemed longer and milder. Ezra never enjoyed the wintertime. Being from the south, he didn’t adjust to the cold very well. Josiah dropped Ezra and Maude off at the stage depot. After reminding Ezra to watch the time, he headed to the church. "Ezra dear. Why don’t we head over to the saloon and wait there?" "I’m not allowed in the saloon mother. The stage will be here soon." "Nonsense. The stage still has 45 minutes before it’s scheduled to arrive, and I’m thirsty." "We can go over to the hotel and get some lemonade." "I want to go to the saloon and I want you to accompany me." "Mother. I told you I am not allowed in the saloon." "Well, what Chris doesn’t know won’t hurt him." Maude took Ezra’s hand and started to lead him toward the saloon. "Mother." Ezra pulled his hand away from Maude. "Even if you could guarantee that no one would find out, which you can’t, I still wouldn’t go. I respect Chris and Josiah more than that. They have good reasons for the restriction." "Good reasons! Huh. I let you stay with me in the saloons when you were younger." "Only when it was to your benefit Mother." They were in front of the saloon and Maude pushed Ezra through the doors. He hollered, "Mother. I cannot be in here." Jake the bartender saw the commotion and saw Ezra struggle to get away from the women that he was with. Jake knew that Ezra wasn’t allowed in here, but he also didn’t allow anyone under 16 into the bar. As he approached the two, he could here Ezra telling his ‘mother’ that he needed to leave. //Chris will be happy to hear Ezra listens// "Ma’am. Ezra isn’t allowed in here. I must ask you to leave." "Nonsense. I’m his mother and I still have some say in the matter. I am waiting for the stage, this is where I choose to wait, and I want my son with me." "Ma’am. Josiah and Chris would have my head if I let him stay in here." "I will take the responsibility." "Mother. I don’t want to stay in here. You stay. I’ll just go to the church. I can say my good byes now." Ezra tried to leave but Maude stopped him by grabbing his sore arm. She got real close and said something to him that Jake couldn’t hear. Ezra paled slightly and sat down. "Ma’am?" Jake said. "I will take responsibility." Maude then dismissed the bartender by turning away from him. "I’m sorry Jake." Ezra said quickly. "Ezra. I expect you to sit there and be the perfect gentleman. No more of this nonsense about saloons being off limits." "Yes Mother." Ezra tried to look comfortable, but he knew if Josiah saw him he wouldn’t be able to sit until his next birthday and he wouldn’t ever see the town again. Maude pulled out a deck of cards and started to shuffle. "Let’s see if you still have any of the skills I taught you before you came to this dusty town." Maude dealt the cards and Ezra reluctantly played, and lost every hand. Maude was appalled. They played for close to an hour before they heard the stage come into town. They exited the saloon and walked across to the stage depot. Ezra kissed his mother good-bye and watched the stage leave. He turned around and ran directly into Chris. He had his fists on his hips and looked angry. It was at that point that Ezra realized he was late getting to the church. "Hey Chris. I was just on my way. I didn’t realize it was so late." Ezra tried to smile. "Maybe you didn’t realize it was so late because you were sitting in the saloon the whole time." "I can explain that too. I didn’t want to go in but mother dragged me in." "And how hard did you fight?" "Honest Chris. I told her I wasn’t allowed and if you don’t believe me, ask Jake." Chris looked at Ezra. "Okay. Let’s go talk to Jake." Chris took Ezra by the arm and led him to the saloon. They both entered and went up to Jake. "Hey Chris." Jake said nervously. "Jake. I would like to know why Ezra was allowed to remain in the saloon when both of you know Josiah and my wishes on the subject?" "Nothing I could do Chris. That woman forced Ezra in here and when he kept protesting, she whispered something into his ear and then he settled down. She kept saying that she was his ma and she had the right." "I see. And Ezra told her he wasn’t allowed?" "Yep. He probably would have ran out but she had a good grip on the boys arm. I don’t know what she said to make him stop fighting, but he did try. Weren’t Ezra’s fault. He even said that he respected your wishes about him no bein’ allowed in a saloon." "Really?" Chris looked at Ezra who was blushing and looking at his feet. He turned back to Jake and smiled. "Thanks Jake. I’ll see ya later." He turned and led Ezra outside. Chris could tell by the way Ezra was walking that he was mad. Mad that Chris hadn’t believed him. He stopped in front of Ezra and said, "Ez. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, but I am very proud of you. You tried to stand by what I wanted and that took courage." Ezra kept his head down. His anger slowly became shame and he didn’t want Chris to see the tears glistening in his eyes. Chris lifted Ezra’s chin and say the tears. He embraced Ezra and held him close. "I am so sorry Ezra. I’ll try to do better next time, okay?" Ezra wiped his eyes and smiled at Chris. "Okay, but I hope mother doesn’t listen to you." "What? I don’t know what you mean?" "You told her to come back soon and to not be a stranger. Well I could do without another visit from her for a long time." Chris laughed. "I agree. What you don’t know is I was screaming on the inside for her to never come back." Chris sobered. "I don’t like what her visits do to you. We love you very much Ezra, just remember that." "I love you all also." "Well, we had better get back to the church before Josiah blows his top. He’s probably preaching the worse sermon ever because he’s wondering where you are." "Just make sure he knows I wasn’t in the saloon because I wanted to be. I’m tired of tannings." Chris laughed. "Can’t blame you there." They walked back to the church in time to see the congregation leaving. Chris thought Josiah preached a real short message this morning. As the thought occurred to him, a very angry Josiah exited the church and zeroed in on Ezra and Chris. Ezra noticed the look first and quickly hid behind Chris. Chris saw him a second before he reached for Ezra. Chris put his hands up to stop Josiah. "Easy Josiah. He had a good reason for being late." "Late!" Josiah roared. "Try never showed up." "We were on our way. How come the message was so short?" Josiah took a couple of deep breaths to calm him self down. "How could I concentrate not knowing what Maude was doing? I half expected her to kidnap him. I was worried." Ezra came out from behind Chris. "I tried to get here on time, but I got held up." "And where were you held up?" Ezra looked at Chris and Chris said, "The saloon." "WHAT! EZRA PATRICK STANDISH I’ll have yer hide." Ezra hid behind Chris again. All they both heard was, "I didn’t want to be." Chris smiled. "Take it easy Josiah. Would I be this calm if Ezra was in the wrong here? No. I checked with Jake and Ezra had no choice." Chris looked around and saw people watching them. "Why don’t we move this explanation inside?" "Fine. That’s where everyone else is. I ordered them not to move. I probably scared them to death." "Well, let’s go see." *********** When Chris, Josiah and Ezra entered the church, Buck, Nathan, Vin and JD were all sitting quietly talking. They hadn’t moved. "Boys. I’m sorry I hollered earlier. I was just concerned about Ezra." "It’s okay Josiah. We have been having a very good talk." Buck smiled. "Hey Ez. What happened?" Vin asked. "Mother happened." Ezra sat and closed his eyes with a sigh. He just wanted to go home and to forget the last week existed. Chris told Josiah what Jake had said and everyone was quiet for the whole story. When the story was out, Chris suggested they head home for lunch. Chris drove the buggy with everyone but Josiah and Ezra. They followed in the buckboard. Halfway home, Josiah broke through the silence. "Hey Ezra?" Ezra opened his eyes. "What?" "Jake said you fought Maude until she whispered something into your ear. What was it?" Ezra looked ashamed. "If I tell you, you’ll just get mad. I want to forget about mother’s visit." "How about if I promise not to get mad?" Ezra thought about it. Josiah always kept his promises. "Very well. Mother told me if I didn’t stop struggling, that I would find it necessary to pack my bags, because she would hire the best lawyer to have me removed from your custody." Josiah was mad. Furious actually, but he hid it. "Oh Ezra. You should know that we would have fought her. Judge Travis is on our side and her life style is hardly the type any child should have to grow up in." "I know all that Josiah, but I have seen good intentions and love beaten by greed and money. Mother may or may not have won such a battle, but she would have hurt this family in the process. I figured it was worth the trouble I would be in to keep that from happening." "I’m very proud of you Ezra and I love you very much. I would fight to the death to keep you. I vow to you right now that I will never let you go." Ezra could see the love shining in Josiah’s eyes. The feeling of love and acceptance were overwhelming. "I love you too Josiah. I never want to be any other place but with you and the others. I have finally found what it means to be family, and I would fight to the death to keep it also. Thank you Josiah." Josiah put his arm around Ezra’s shoulders as then rode the rest of the way home secure in the bond of family. The End Feedback: phantomfaye@yahoo.com
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