By Any Other Name
J.D. Dunne was lounging on the chair in front of the sheriff's office, admiring the sunset and appreciating the quiet. Heck, Buck hadn't even lectured him all day. 'Course, Buck had just got back to town a few hours ago. But still. The breeze was coming in. All in all, it had been a really good day. He hoped that nothing would come along to spoil it.
He noticed a small dust rising in the east, heading towards the town. Just one person. But he watched the rider carefully. Although he didn't know it, he was watching a paradox ride into town.
J.D. could see, even from a distance that the rider was female, even though she dressed more like Vin than anyone else he'd ever met. Underneath her hat, he could see a wild mane of red hair fighting with the band that kept it tied back. And even in that getup, she was the most feminine-looking creature he'd ever seen.
She rode in to the town and stopped right in front of him. He rose slowly, trying his best to appear calm, even though he wasn't. He was never really calm around a pretty face.
"Evening, ma'am. The name's J.D. J.D. Dunne. Can I help you?"
She looked at him cautiously, but confidently, which was a strange sensation. Then she hopped down off her horse and approached him.
"You the law?" she asked him, almost as a challenge.
"Part of it. Who're you?"
"Edwena. Most folks call me Ed." J.D. blinked. She was very brusque and didn't even give a last name. "I'm a bounty hunter. And I got word that someone I was trackin' was in this area. I don't need any help bringing him in, but I thought you might need to be aware that he is here."
J.D. nodded his head. "Do you have a picture of the guy?"
"Yeah. Just a moment." She walked over to her horse. "One other thing," she started.
J.D. looked at her, encouraging her to continue.
"This is Four Corners, ain't it?" She asked as she was rifling through her saddlebag.
"Yes, ma'am. That it is." J.D. responded.
"You know where I might find Buck Wilmington?" She asked calmly, as if it meant nothing to her.
J.D.'s expression dropped. "Saloon." Why was it they always wanted Buck, or Vin?
"Thanks." She said simply, as she pulled a folded piece of paper out of the bag. She walked up to J.D. and handed him the paper. "I'll be at the saloon."
Before he could respond, or even look at the paper, she was walking off toward the saloon. J.D. wasn't quite sure what to make of her. He had never met anyone quite like her, 'cept maybe Buck. He stared after her for a bit, and watched her walk in the saloon.
Only then did he remember the piece of paper in his hand. And when he opened it to look at it, the blood drained out of his face.
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Ed walked confidently into the saloon and headed straight to the bar, causing all of the other patrons to stop what they were doing. Buck Wilmington stared at her hard, because he was sure he knew her. The getup didn't look quite right, but he knew her.
"Wena?" He called out gleefully, and rushed over to where she stood. "Wena, it has been too long." Buck enfolded her in a bear hug, picking her up off the ground and spinning her in circles.
Ezra watched with interest as Buck went over to the woman. Obviously, he had forgotten about the card game they were engaged in.
When Buck finally put her down, she gazed at him cautiously. "Wena's dead. I go by Ed now."
He didn't even hear what she said, he was so happy to see her. "Come on, let's get you out of here. This is no place for a lady." He took her arm and tried to steer her toward the door. His face was beaming.
"Buck, you know I ain't no lady."
He turned to face her. "Now Wena . . ."
"I told you, I go by Ed now." She put in quickly.
"All right," he paused, "Ed. A saloon is no place for a woman like you." Then he started to realize what she had first said to him. Wena's dead. I go by Ed now.
"Just what do you know about me, Buck? I ain't seen you for eight years, and now here you're presuming to tell me what kind of a woman I am."
Buck's eyes took on a hurt look. He was so thrilled to see her that it hadn't even crossed his mind that she wouldn't be thrilled to see him.
"Okay, Ed." The name felt somehow wrong for her. "What kind of a woman are you?" He asked. And it wasn't condescending.
"The kind that has had to work very hard to survive, alone. And I am very tired of being treated like I am fragile."
The tone in her voice made him really look at her. She had changed a lot since he had last seen her. Not just in age; her eyes spoke volumes. She had been through hell. No, she wasn't fragile; she was brittle.
And she looked to him like she was about to break.
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Vin walked across the street, heading toward the saloon. J.D. noticed him first and ran to intercept him.
"Vin, you can't go in there right now," he said immediately.
Vin looked at J.D. with his cool eyes and raised his eyebrows. "You wanna tell me why?"
For an answer, J.D. handed him the paper Ed had given him. "There's a bounty hunter in the saloon."
Vin looked over at J.D. "Thanks, J.D."
But J.D. had not stopped Vin far enough a way, and Buck came out of the saloon, a protesting Ed in tow. But when she saw Vin, she stopped struggling with Buck and charged forward. At some point, she'd drawn her gun.
"Tanner!" She called out. "I'm takin you in."
Vin narrowed his eyes. "J.D., this the bounty hunter you were talking about?" he said under his breath, just to be certain. The woman certainly looked like a bounty hunter.
"Yeah."
Buck stepped between Ed and Vin. "Wena, I don't know what you think you are doing, but I am sure he isn't the person you are lookin for."
Ezra had heard the Ed call Tanner and stepped outside the saloon. Sensing trouble, he went to find Chris.
"Step aside Buck."
"I know you ain't gonna shoot me." He said.
"Mr. Dunne, would you kindly show him that piece of paper I gave you?" she indicated Buck.
J.D. took the paper from Vin and handed it to Buck, who was completely astounded.
"Wena . . ." he started.
"I told you to call me Ed." She snapped.
"Ed, I know there's been some sort of mistake. He's innocent." He wasn't surprised about Vin; he was surprised that this girl before him was a bounty hunter.
"I'll let a judge decide that."
"Why are you doin' this, Ed?" Buck asked.
"A girl has to make a livin' somehow."
Buck looked in amazement at the woman before him. She was nothing like the open and warm girl he'd known. And he wanted to know what happened.
"Ed, look, Vin ain't goin' anywhere right now. J.D. will take care of him" He looked over to Vin and J.D, silently asking them to go along with this.
"That's right." J.D. said. Ed looked at him disbelievingly. Vin only raised an eyebrow.
"So, why don't you and I go catch up. And let J.D. watch Vin for a while."
She was considering his request when Chris Larabee, wearing all black, and looking angry as a hornet after his nest has been struck, stormed toward them. Ezra Standish was practically running to keep up with him.
She took one look at Larabee, and started shaking. Her whole body went into a scream that only ceased when she started to fall. Buck caught her before she hit the ground. Her gun dropped to the ground unnoticed.
"Interesting effect you have on the gentler sex, Mr. Larabee." Ezra said.
Buck was kneeling on the ground, brushing her hair out of her face and softly calling her name.
Chris narrowed his eyes and asked Vin, "Why was she pointing a gun at you?" He indicated the girl with his head.
"Bounty hunter." Vin said.
"Well, best make yourself scarce before she wakes up." Vin nodded, and headed toward the stable. "J.D., you go with him."
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Buck picked Ed up and headed toward his room. He was holding her protectively, daring any of the others to do anything about the bounty hunter that had just ruined their peace. Ezra followed him. He wasn't about to leave Buck unchaperoned with a helpless female, regardless of her rather dubious past with him.
"So, Buck, are you going to tell me about your rather charming companion, or shall I guess."
"Ezra, leave me alone." He growled.
"I don't believe that would be wise."
Buck looked at him, rage warring with concern on his face. "Ezra, this is my sister. And I don't know what happened to the sunny little Wena I knew eight years ago, but I am going to find out."
Chris came up. "Buck, what's going on?"
Buck's face transformed at Chris's voice. "I want to know what you did to my sister." There was an edge to his voice that Chris had never heard before.
"I never saw her before."
Buck glared at him.
"Really." Chris insisted.
"Then why'd she react that way to you?"
"Don't know." Chris shrugged. "Why don't you ask her?" Although he wasn't letting on, he was upset by the reaction she had had to him, especially after hearing about her a long time ago, back when he and Buck still talked about their families. This wasn't the Wena he was hoping to one day meet.
"You keep away from her, do you hear me." Buck started towards him. But Ezra put a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"Buck, why don't I assist you in getting your sister settled. Chris can ask Nathan to come take a look at her."
Grateful for an exit, and surprised that it came from Ezra, Chris said, "Good idea." And walked off.
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When Ed opened her eyes, there were three men standing around her. Buck, she recognized. He didn't look good. Another she thought she recognized, he had been with . . . with Hank.
She tried to sit up quickly, only to have the third man place a restraining hand across her.
"Whoa, there. You aren't going anywhere just yet." He said calmly.
Ed tried to break free. "I have to get out of here. NOW." She struggled against him, panicking.
Buck rushed over and held on to her. "Why don't you tell me what you're runnin' from, okay, Wen- Ed?"
"He found me. And I am not going back."
"Who found you?"
She still struggled. "Hank. I'll kill him before I go back. I swear I will. Let me go!" But Buck held on.
Nathan tapped Ezra on the shoulder and indicated they should leave. He agreed, it was getting a little too tense in there, and Buck wouldn't hurt his sister. Course, she might hurt him, he thought absently.
"Why don't you tell me about Hank?" Buck asked. He figured this might be the key to her personality change, why she was now called Ed.
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She had been a young girl of 15 when her mother died. Buck, her older brother by a good bit, had been often around before that, but not always. He had his own life, but she loved it when he came to visit. But he came there for her shortly after the funeral. He hadn't been able to get there in time for that.
He had been really upset by it.
She had begged him to take her with him, but he felt that a life on the road was no place for a young girl. She would be better off, he said, staying with someone here, so she could finish her education and make something of herself. He always thought she had the gumption to go do that and had encouraged her at it.
Course, that didn't mean he didn't want his little sister to be defenseless, so he taught her how to use a gun and ride. And he taught her well.
One of Ma's friends had offered to let her stay with her. Nancy was a good woman. And Buck had always respected her. So had Wena. So when Buck asked her to stay with Nancy, she readily did.
It was about a year later that Hank rode into town, looking like a gentleman. He had courted Nancy, and seemed wonderful. Wena had noticed that Nancy loved him, so she encouraged her to accept his offer of marriage; afterall, not many men would want to marry a former working girl. Hank seemed different.
After the wedding, he packed them all up and headed west to a small town just starting to grow. Then his true colors began to show. He forbade her to contact Buck and let him know where she'd gone. First came the beatings. Then he insisted Nancy start "working" again. And he forced her to as well. She hated him; she hated who she became. And no one would help her because no one knew who she was, or wasn't.
Hank killed Nancy one afternoon, and Wena had had to watch it. It was slow and brutal, and it turned her dead inside. She tried to report him to the sheriff, but was told, "He can do what he wants, she is his wife." And that was when Wena died.
Shortly after that, she ran. She had no money. But she did run across a bit of luck. She found a "Wanted" poster and found the man on it-already dead. So she took him in and collected her reward. Most of the money she put in a bank, the rest she used to equip herself.
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Buck listened to this story in silent rage, blaming himself for not taking her with him. Sure, he had gone looking for her when her letters stopped coming and when his were returned unopened. But no one had known where she went, and he figured she didn't want any contact with him, or she would have told him. He never thought she might need help.
"Don't you see, Buck? That's why you have to let me go. Hank's here. He found me." She pleaded with him.
"That wasn't Hank, and if it was, he would be dead right now. I would kill him myself." Buck stated harshly, realizing that Chris looked like Hank, or enough like him to scare Ed out of her wits. "No one is going to hurt my sister like that again. You hear me? No one." And the way he looked at her made her shudder. "You get some rest. I'll be back." He told her. Then he gave her a quick hug, stood up and left the room.
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Nathan went downstairs, but Ezra lingered in the hall. He had recognized that fear on Ed's face almost as soon as he had seen it. He had seen it before, on the face of one of his favorite cousins. He knew he would never understand Ed's side, how she felt. Or rather, he could understand the reasons for it and that she would be upset and hurting, but the pain that she felt he could not imaging. On the other hand, he knew what Buck was about to go through. He'd been there before. He'd lived this particular nightmare.
When he shut the door, he let anguish show on his face for an instant, not realizing that Ezra was still standing there, looking at him with extreme concern.
"I do not know what your sister revealed to you, Buck," he said simply. "But I take it it was not good news. Anything I can help with?"
"I failed my sister. Can you help me live with that?" he asked, the words barely able to come up. He didn't really expect an answer. And Ezra didn't really have one for him.
Ezra had never seen Buck this shook up before, and was quite unsure how to handle it. But he was determined to handle it. "Would you care to join me for a drink, Buck?" He sure looked like he could use it.
Nathan was outside watching sky when Ezra and Buck came out. "She gonna be okay, Buck?" he asked. Then he saw the expression on Buck's face, and changed his question, "You gonna be okay, Buck?"
"I've gotta find Chris," he said.
"Last I saw him, he was headin' for the saloon," Nathan offered.
"That is quite fortuitous, Mr. Jackson, as Mr. Wilmington and I were on our way over there." Ezra had decided that Buck needed watching. Buck was probably too worried about his sister to notice anything else. Besides, although he would never admit it to them, he felt very protective of the six other men; they were almost his family.
"I suggest that someone spend some time with that rather troubled young lady upstairs. Perhaps Josiah or yourself, Nathan. I think she needs someone to talk to, someone who will not react to what she says personally." Ezra said quietly to Nathan.
Nathan nodded his head and went upstairs. "You might be right."
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