Josiah sifted in his seat, groaning as the muscles in his legs, butt, and back protested. He had been sitting on the hard buckboard for nearly four hours and he felt every one of them. He glanced over to where Sean was riding ahead, his horse dancing slightly, and wished that he could be sitting in the saddle instead. But the boy had won the round of poker, letting him ride and making Josiah drive the wagon. Josiah stifled a grin, thinking that he never should have let Ezra teach the boy cards.
The wagon he was driving rattled as it bounced over loose stones in the trail, the load in back sifting slightly. Josiah turned his head, making sure that he hadn't lost any of his precious cargo. The load in the back was headed for Nathan and his clinic, about a mile outside the Seminole Village. As he turned his head back, he caught a glimpse of the ruins of the old monastery that he had been working on that day, so long ago, when Nathan had first approached him about the trouble in the Indian Village.
Every time he made this journey, he thought about that day and the changes that had come into his life since then. Lord, how long ago that seemed. Fifteen years ago and yet, sometimes, it seemed just like yesterday.
He had seen the crows that day and knew death was coming. It had come, just not for him. So many had died that day. Good men and some, not so good men. Captain Anderson, Imala, Sergeant Darcy. Too many to remember, but Josiah wished he hadn't forgotten their names.
The crows had been wrong about his death but they hadn't been wrong about others. Josiah glanced ahead and saw Sean, his much loved stepson. Backlit by the sun, for just a moment, he looked like so much like George Potter, from the wedding picture that Gloria had shown him.
Josiah didn't begrudge his wife her memories of her first husband. He had his own memories of lost loves and he knew how much Gloria loved him. It saddened Josiah, even now, how death had come so soon for George Potter, leaving behind a widow and two frightened children.
Amazingly, though, just like the Bible always says, the Lord works in mysterious ways. Out of so much death had come life. A new life for Josiah, and for the six men he called brothers. Well, five he called brothers and one he called son.
Josiah glanced back at the pile of rocks that stood at the side of the trail and smiled, thinking about how he had told those six men their destinies were bound together. It had become the truth.
Chris, the 'bad element,' had become their leader, despite his lack of desire to lead. He had stood by them through all their ups and downs, making them all better men. And they had done the same. Josiah smiled as he thought about the shack Chris had been living in when Mary announced her pregnancy and how it had been transformed into a three bedroom house by their merry band, almost against Chris' wishes. Even Ezra had pitched in and performed menial labor.
Josiah smiled, shifting slightly in his seat. He would have thought that taking orders from a man ten years his junior would have been a problem but the man was a born leader. Sure, they had butted heads over the years but Josiah enjoyed their matches, just as he enjoyed his battles with Ezra.
Josiah's grin widened as he though of the man he viewed as a son. When he first met the man, he hadn't been sure what to think of the flashy gambler. The man had run out on them and insulted Nathan, who was Josiah's friends. But it hadn't taken Josiah long to learn the reasons behind Ezra's actions.
The conman's mother had taught him nothing ever came without a price and money was more important than people, even your own child. He and Ezra butted heads, quite often, but it wasn't until after Mary Travis was nearly killed that Josiah really understood what was behind Ezra's heart.
Josiah flushed slightly, still feeling shame after all these years for how he treated Ezra that day. He had all but shoved the money at Ezra, taunting him, telling him to take the money and run. But his boy hadn't. Instead, Ezra had turned back and nearly gotten killed for it. He had still hid his heart though, afraid of rejection.
Turns out, Ezra had fallen for Vin. Josiah only found out because he had sat beside Ezra after he was shot by the man who wanted to kill Mary. During the long days and nights, Ezra had cried out for Vin, telling him of his love. Nathan heard, too, but Josiah swore him to secrecy. A man, in love with another could be killed. Ezra figured Vin would shoot him if he found out how Ezra felt. Not to mention Chris and all the others. So Ezra hid behind his flashy clothes and conman ways, afraid to let anyone close. But the birth of Chris' boys changed that.
Ezra loved children and they loved him. Ezra had been the first to realize Mary didn't want the boys and he helped Chris care for them. Knowing Chris wouldn't listen to him, Ezra had swallowed his feelings and his pride and gone to Vin
Vin, Chris' spiritual brother, worked and lived on the ranch. Thanks to Ezra, he no longer had a bounty on his head and could have left for parts unknown long ago. As the town grew, Josiah had worried the man would leave, but he was as bound to Four Corners as the rest were.
Ezra had quietly suggested to Vin that Chris raise horses, not cattle. After all, cattle ranches were a dime a dozen but everyone needed well bred horses. Chris had listened to Vin and, amazing enough, to Ezra. He had allowed Ezra to invest in the ranch, along with all the men, and now, it was one of the best known horse breeding ranches in the West. Most of that had to do with Vin's skill with horses, not to mention Ezra's.
Josiah sifted again, cursing as another rock bumped his well bruised butt against the hard seat. He let his thoughts drift back to his brothers, figuring his memories would ease the pain.
Vin, the quietest of his brothers, never ceased to amaze Josiah with his insight. He could whisper the most skittish horse down to a well trained mount fit for a child. And he had, with timing Josiah figured ordained by the Great Spirit Vin believed in, let Ezra know his feelings were returned.
Not long after Mary left for back East, anyone caring to look could see Ezra was getting restless. Nathan had found Raine and was starting to drift towards moving to the Village and settle down. Buck and Inez were heading towards marriage, JD and Casey were together and he and Gloria were courting. Ezra seemed to think it was only a matter of time before Vin settled down and he was left alone.
One weekend, Ezra headed towards Eagle's Bend and Vin had followed. The pair had been gone for nearly a week and the other five were starting to get worried when they finally returned. Josiah had no idea what had been said or done but Ezra had settled down, a grin on his face. Even Vin seemed less restless, happier. They had been that way ever since.
"How you doing, Pa?" The question pulled Josiah from his thoughts and he glanced up, seeing the face of his step son.
"Fine," Josiah rumbled, shifting again. His bones were getting too old for these damn seats. Sean said nothing, just noted Josiah's movements with a twinkle in his eye and nodded his head.
"We'll be there in bout an hour, I reckon."
"Sounds good." Sean nodded again and rode ahead, keeping an eye out for trouble. Truthfully, there was little in the way of lawbreakers to be found in these parts nowadays but it didn't hurt to be watchful.
Josiah watched as Sean rode ahead, trying not to puff up at the fine figure his son made on horseback. It was hard not to when he realized just how much of a hand he had in the making of Sean into a man.
That was another part of the life that came out of the death of George Potter. He, Josiah Sanchez, a man who had always been destined to be alone, was married to a beautiful woman and had a family. A wonderful son to be proud of, a daughter he had a hand in marrying to a good man, and two young ones at home.
Josiah nearly laughed out loud when he remembered JD's face when he responded to Buck's teasing. "There may be snow on the top but there's fire down below." The only reason he didn't was because he had no intention of telling Sean about the bedroom antics he and Gloria got up to. Somehow, he didn't think the boy would appreciate hearing about his mother as a woman.
And what a woman!
The first time he had seen Gloria Potter, he had been struck by how small and fragile she looked in her widow's weeds. But Gloria was anything but fragile, a fact she proved again and again as she fought to raise to children and run a store in a frontier town. Most women would have given up and headed back East, but not his Gloria. She stuck it out, asking Ezra to show her how to do the books.
That alone would have made him fall for her, the fact that Gloria saw beyond Ezra's conman reputation and trusted him with her money. She trusted all of the seven, simply because they had brought her husband's killers to justice, when no one else would.
When Josiah found himself falling for her, he had wondered if it was simply gratitude that made Gloria responded. After all, he wasn't good looking, or rich, and all he could offer was a broken down church. She had responded by wacking him upside the head (after stepping onto a church pew) and telling him that it was his good heart she loved. That and his amazing body and kisses.
Just thinking of those kisses had Josiah squirming in seat, this time for a different reason. Lord, that woman was a firecracker!
"We're here, Pa!" Sean rode up and Josiah almost groaned. A few moments ago he would have been thrilled to be stopping and getting out of this torture ride called a buckboard. Now, though, standing up might not be such a good idea.
He looked around as he drew up to Nathan's house and waved as he saw his old friend standing on the porch. The man had more grey in his hair then Josiah remembered being there last week and he wondered which one of the kids had given it to him. Or maybe it was Raine.
Yes. Snow on the roof, he thought as he pulled up and stepped out of the buckboard, but no matter how many years pass, we all still got fire down below!