It's crazy, Chris thinks, stealing a look at the long, lean Texan by his side, but then he's never been a man to truly value sanity, despite settling down for his family. What he does value is love and his few connections shared with others. He'd thought he'd lost all of that when he buried his family, but for the first time since their murders, he's beginning to feel something else he'd believed lost to him forever. He's going off into a battle with impossible odds. Buck thinks he's out to get himself killed.
Maybe that's still true in a small way, but something happened back in that dusty, little town, Four Corners. He made a new connection. He felt a spark deep in his soul that he'd thought too dark and ornery to ever feel any light again. For a moment, he stopped thinking of his family. He locked eyes with a stranger and felt something in him burn.
That something made running that posse off of Nathan one of the most enjoyable times of his life. He's beginning to feel alive again, no longer trapped back in that grave where his wife lays, and actually starting to hope for something better than existing until he can exact vengeance. He can't explain it quite yet, but he knows it's because of that Texan and that gaze they shared before.
Feeling Chris' look, Vin looks over and meets his eyes again. He gives him a half-smile and tips his hat. Chris grins - actually grins for the first time in over a year. He can't wait to see where his life is going to go now and quickens his horse's pace to match Peso's. Vin Tanner is one man who won't be getting out of his life any time soon.
The End