Title: "The Lord's Work"
Author: Kat Lee
Rating: Soft R/M
Summary: Doing the Lord's work always has its rewards.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: It didn't come out as well as I liked. I couldn't write the idea when it first came, and it's been way too long since I last wrote for these boys! I've got to find some inspiration to do more Mag. 7 soon!
A total of twelve heads whipped immediately to the dusty ground when the rattling sound started. Horses began to buck while their riders tried to hold them steady. JD and Nathan were thrown; only Vin managed to stay astride his steed with seeming ease. Quickly grabbing his shotgun, the tracker called to his horse while simultaneously firing. The rattling stopped, and the remaining horses eased.
"Reckon they'll be all right?"
Nathan was quick to assure the others, as well as himself, that his horse would be waiting for him at the post before his room while JD seethed, "I don't care if she is! She knows better'n that! She could've thrown me right on that snake!"
"Speakin' of which," Nathan counseled, making a face, "JD, don't look at it."
Vin and Buck both shook their heads, knowing that those words would make the Kid look more than anything else. JD quit dusting off his breeches and did exactly that. His brown eyes grew almost as round as his bowler hat as he gawked at the sight before him. "The - The snake didn't do that, did it?"
"Nah," Vin drawled, knowing no other way to tell the Kid but the truth.
"You know, the Indians eat fried lizard," Buck spoke as he offered his hand down to JD.
"But what fried it?" the Kid puzzled.
"Sun," Chris spoke so the others wouldn't have to.
"Damn heat," Nathan remarked. "This is the longest drought this area's ever seen."
JD was still shuddering as Buck pulled him up behind him. "I wish it would rain." It was bad enough that his hair and skin were sticky with sweat, but now, he had no horse and his stomach was churning. He should have listened to Nathan's advice, but he couldn't tell the others how the sight made him feel. He was supposed to be a man, and they didn't seem to have any trouble with it.
Nathan kicked some dirt over the rattlesnake and the blackened lizard it had half swallowed. Then he took Vin's silent offer and mounted Peso behind him. Vin's blue eyes were trained on the sky. "Don't look like we gettin' any relief soon," he murmured.
"Josiah's been working on it. So have the Indians," Nathan shook his head, "but they don't seem to be having any luck."
JD didn't ponder his statement, but he was quick to complain again, the heat and other upsets having made him irritable, "Don't know why we gotta go after Josiah any way. Shouldn't we be heading out to stop that gang before they can reach town?"
"Done told ya, Kid." Buck's mustache bristled. He was as tired, hot, and ornery as the rest of them, but anger would get them nowhere and only slow them down. "Josiah knows 'em. He's rode with them before."
"Josiah rode with a gang?" He knew their burly friend hadn't always been a saint, and still wasn't, but he couldn't imagine the Preacher riding with such a ruthless gang.
"Sometimes, you gotta take the church to the sinners."
JD looked at Nathan in disbelief. "He tried to save the Hendersons?"
"Josiah tries to save every one, kid," Chris spoke. "Now let's get to him so we can get this done and get back home."
That was one idea with which everybody could agree. They rode on the rest of the way in silence. JD resumed his puzzled gawking when they reached Josiah's second home, the place he went to when he felt like he needed the kind of redemption he could only earn through punishment. "What the Hell's he doing?!"
Vin grinned and, unlike the Kid, didn't bother to avert his eyes from the naked, dancing Preacher. Josiah's deep voice rumbled over the desert. The words he spoke were a native tongue, JD knew that much for he sounded just like the Indians in the nearby village, but the Kid still had trouble understanding why the Preacher would choose to be out dancing almost violently underneath the blistering, noon day sun. He was hot enough, but the one glimpse he'd seen of Josiah made him look like he had practically taken a bath in sweat!
"Don't that beat all!" Buck whistled. "He's still rain dancing! How long's he been out here now?"
"Two weeks," Vin drawled, dismounting.
Chris' keen eyes surveyed the sky. "Don't look like his God's answering."
"He won't give up. He might not even come with us," Nathan advised, dismounting and starting to walk toward their friend. "Josiah!"
"He better come with us after we rode all this way!" Buck finally complained. Then, he had to hold on to his hat as a sudden gust of wind almost blew it off of his head. JD leaned back into the gust, keeping his arms around Buck's waist for balance, and smiled. "Air." He sighed happily.
Nathan's broad grin lit up his face. He'd been calling to Josiah, who'd refused to answer him and continued on with his dance and song, but now, he hushed, watched, and waited knowingly.
Vin tilted his head back and sniffed. "Won't be long now," he murmured, smiling from ear to ear.
Chris scowled, but a wry grin even tugged at the corners of his dry mouth. "What makes you so sure?" His answer came, not in any of his friends' voices, but rather in the roar of thunder filling the sky with sudden, dark clouds.
Josiah stopped dancing, smiled, and threw his gray head back. He smiled up at Heaven and was rewarded, at last, with rain pelting his face. "Doing the Lord's work," he called to Chris, "has its rewards."
Chris grinned down at the Preacher as Buck, JD, and Vin now whooped, hollered, and danced their joy in the rain. Still smiling, Nathan clasped Josiah's shoulder. "So you gonna ride with us?"
The Preacher wanted to say, "Always", but knew he couldn't. He nodded, though, and said what he could, "Until the Lord has other plans for me." He'd learned his lessons the hard way. He'd ridden many dangerous paths in his youth and even in more recent years, but all along, he'd tried to do the Lord's work, rather it meant attempting to save those who didn't want to be saved or putting a bullet in the heart of the unsaveable. He slung an arm around Nathan's shoulders and laughed gaily before calling to his horse. "Let's ride!"
There were no more arguments for a while. Every one was simply too happy to finally be cool again.
The End