JD Dunne bounded up the stairs of his house and grabbed Casey around the waist, making her squeal. He bent her backwards slightly and kissed her deeply, enjoying the rich, sweet flavor of her lips. He might have taken the kiss further if a voice hadn't shattered the moment.
"Oh, gross, Pa! Do ya have to do that?" The heavily disgusted voice of BJ, his oldest boy, made him smile against Casey's mouth and he pulled back. He noticed that his beautiful wife was breathless and wished fervently that they were alone. He couldn't believe that there had been a time when he thought Casey wasn't even a girl!
"Just you wait, Son," he said, glancing down at the eight year old standing in the corner of the porch. "There'll come a time when I catch you kissing a girl. In fact, didn't I just see you carrying young Amelia Jenkins books home for her yesterday? Seems to me you're already sparking her." JD stepped away from Casey
"No! Oh, no. Girls are yucky! Besides, Amelia's not a girl! She likes horses and riding and frogs! So there!" BJ glared at his Pa then stomped inside, the idea of even thinking of girls like was enjoying a evening bath. Only adults were dumb enough to do that.
JD couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing, earning himself a swat from his wife.
"You, hush, you laughing fool. Wasn't that long ago you felt the same way about me." Casey said, smiling at her laughing fool of a husband. JD straightened and grabbed her around her waist again, planting another kiss on her laughing mouth. When he would have lingered, she pulled back and pushed him away.
"Enough of this, John Dunne. I got supper on the stove and hungry children to feed. You go wash up and come to the table. The boys need help with math." She turned and head inside, making sure to add a little extra sway to her hips, causing JD to smile. Oh, yeah, she was definitely a girl! Those trousers made that fact perfectly clear.
Late that night, after supper had been eaten, math had been done and the little ones tucked in, JD and Casey finally had a chance to finish on the promises that he had started on the porch. When Casey and he had both been satisfied, JD just lay in the dark, his arms wrapped around the woman he considered the most important person in the world, and counted his blessings.
Counting his blessings in bed, instead of sheep, was a trick his Mama had taught him, when he was barely little Josiah's age. Each night, no matter how little they had, his Mama would give him a list of all the good things in his life. She always ended the list with "and a wonderful family to love you."
There family had been just the two of them, but that had been all he needed. When his Mama had died, he had been lost and adrift. She had wanted him to go to college, make something of himself, but there hadn't been enough money left for that dream. So he spent nearly all he had and came here, to Four Corners.
He had sometimes wondered if his Mama would have been proud of the man he'd become. One night, right after BJ had been born, he had been lost, wondering how he would fare as a father. He had no example to follow, no father to copy. Josiah had found him in the church and simply sat next to him, asking no questions.
He had found himself blurting out his fears, including wondering if his Mama would have been proud of him, of what he had done. He hadn't gone to college and become a doctor, which had been her dream for him. Josiah had sat that, quietly, for what had seemed forever, and then, in that deep, rich voice of his, gave JD the answer he needed.
"Brother JD, from what you told me, your Mama wanted you to be happy and wise. And to do the best at everything you do. To be a good man, who does the right things for the right reasons, and who helps those in need. Seems to me, a man who came West and became the Sheriff of a two-bit town like Four Corners and not only kept it safe but helped it grow, well that's a man to be proud of. A man I am proud to ride with, and to call friend, and brother."
"As for raising your new boy, well, you had the best example you needed. Your Mama. Just give him the love and understanding she gave you, and if he turns out to be even half the man you are, you will have done an excellent job." Josiah had then clapped him on the shoulder, rose from the pew, and left him to his thoughts. Which had been a good thing cuz JD had started crying and, no matter how good a friend Josiah was, no man wanted to cry like a baby in front of another.
That had been nearly nine years, and six children ago. JD glanced over at Casey and sighed softly. He knew each child was a blessing and he loved them all. Little Josiah, born 18 months after BJ, followed by Lily and then Julia. Then came David and then baby Inez. And now Casey was expecting again. This was the last one.
They had fought over the idea but he had put his foot down. Seven children were more than enough. Each time she went through the birth, he had nightmares, nightmares of losing Casey like Buck had lost Inez. It didn't matter that Casey came through each birth like it was easier then making biscuits. Awful things happened to woman during birthings. Just last month, Mrs. Jenkins had died during labor, and so had the babe.
JD slipped silently from Casey's side, to restless to stay in bed. He didn't want to disturb her, so he headed outside to the porch, stopping only to grab his guns from where they hung beside the bed.
He shut the door behind him, careful not to let it creak, and then sank into the rocking chair that sat to one side. After slowly setting it rocking, he closed his eyes and let his mind drift.
He hated thinking about that awful time, when Inez had died. Everyone in town had been so surprised, especially him, when Inez had finally agreed to accept Buck's courtship. Maybe it had been seeing Buck with Chris' new boys, or the fact that the big man had finally stopped spending nearly every night with a different woman, but something had changed.
Buck had loved with Inez with everything he had, just like JD imagined Chris had loved Sarah. He had courted the lovely woman with vengeance, but not using any of the techniques he had used on the other woman in town. He had asked Ezra for help and soon, Inez was treated to fancy dinners, bouquets of Daisies, poetry readings and just a heavy dose of Bucklin love. When they got married, Buck had been the happiest man in the world. And the best husband, loving and faithful.
But it hadn't lasted. Inez had gotten pregnant and, nearly two months early, she went into labor. The babe was born, little Rosa Sarah, but Inez kept bleeding. Nathan had been gone, at the reservation with his wife Raine. By the time Vin had gone and gotten him back, the damage had been done. That quack of a doctor had been the one to kill her, though, according to Nathan. He had packed her full of mud and grease, a "western remedy" he said. Infection set in, and no matter what Nathan did, he couldn't save Inez.
Shamefully, JD had been glad that BJ had already been born when Inez had died. The stress of worrying about Casey would have killed him. As it was, it had taken all of them to keep Buck from following Inez into the grave. But Chris, well Chris, he managed it. He reminded Buck that he had a daughter to raise, a precious gift that Inez had given him. Buck had pulled himself together and gone on with the job of living. Surprisingly, he never returned to his tomcatting ways, despite the fact it had been over seven years since Inez died. JD couldn't recall a single time since where he had seen Buck with a lady, not even a trip to Purgatorio.
As for the damn doctor that had killed Inez, he stilled lived and worked in Four Corners. Buck had wanted to shoot the man, or string him up for murder. All of them had. Unfortunately, as Ezra had reminded them, stupidity was not a crime. If it were, half the townsfolk would be sitting in the jail waiting trail. But word had quickly spread through town and the doctor's business fell. Those folks that had switched from Nathan to the quack started searching out Nathan's help again. Of course, they had to go to the Indian Village to get it, most days.
But, as the town grew, more Easterners came and the damn Doc stayed in business. It seemed a piece of paper meant more to folks back East then common sense did.
Not to the Seven, though. Nathan had been there for all of Casey's births and, thanks to the herbs he had given her, this would be the last babe. JD smiled as he thought of his family, sleeping safely under the roof that he, along with his six brothers, had built. He had gone from a family of two to more relatives that he could count.
It had started with six brothers, a strange band of men who banded together to save dying town from outlaws. The truth was better than any of those dime store novels he had loved back then, better than that damn Jock Steele novel. Each one of the men he rode with had taught him what it took to be a man.
Chris, who had lost his family to the worst thing imaginable, fire and jealousy, taught him what it meant to keep going when the world looked bleak. And now, Chris had himself a new family, a stepson and two rambunctious boys that he claimed "would be the death of him." JD snorted at the thought. Chris still said the same thing about the rest of them, too.
Then there was Buck. Buck, his first, and best big brother. JD loved the man and wished he could have shielded him from all the sorrow of the last seven years, like Buck had tried to shield him from the harsh realities of life in the West. But what don't kill a man makes him stronger. At least that was what Buck had always told him. And it was true. Despite losing Inez, Buck's fun-loving, happy go lucky smile had never disappeared. Dimmed for awhile, yeah, but never gone. He still laughed and was a wonderful father and terrific uncle.
Then there was Nathan. Part of JD had been surprised that Nathan had stayed in Four Corners after the doctor arrived, but it had been a good thing. The dang quack refused to work on the people of the Indian Village, and he expected payment up front for his services. A lot of people would have died if Nathan hadn't stayed. Mostly, only the rich citizens, the newly arrived, or the idiots went to the town "Doctor."
As Sheriff of Four Corners, JD heard the whispers from the newcomers, those that talked bad about the "Darky" that married the "Savage" and practice bad medicine. Let them talk. If they wanted to trust their health to a quack, well, they deserved what they got. Nathan had been patching up the Seven for the last fifteen years, pulling off miracle after miracle. Not too long ago, some idiot outlaw decided he want to see who was faster, him or Chris. The idiot died but his buddies fought back, shooting Vin in the chest. JD had thought this time Vin was done for sure. But Nathan had pulled him through.
It had been a good thing, cuz losing Vin would have killed Ezra. JD leaned further back in the rocker and smiled. He knew some of the townsfolk, and others, thought it wrong, but Ezra and Vin were a pair, like him and Casey. If they weren't he thought the two of them would have left Four Corners long ago. Instead, Vin had him a house out at Chris' ranch and Ezra owned half the dang town.
The one that surprised him the most, though, was Josiah. Not long after Chris's boys were born, Josiah married Gloria Potter. When Buck teased him about it, pointing out the white hair on Josiah's head, Josiah had responded with a sly smile. He told Buck, "There may be snow on the top, but there is fire down below." JD had nearly choked on the milk he had been drinking.
The couple still ran the General Mercantile, while raising their two new little ones. Baby Ezra and Baby Hannah. Josiah had helped Olivia and Seth Potter grow to be, good strong people. In fact, Seth now helped Josiah preach at the church, while working as JD's deputy. And Olivia, well, she had finally married young Billy Travis. They were expecting a baby around the same time Casey was due.
Ez loved teasing Josiah about being a Grandpa while still having a babe in diapers And Josiah still called Ezra 'son,' despite having little ones of his own now. Some things never change and JD hoped they never would.
Behind him, the door creaked open and JD turned to see Casey standing there, her body outline gently by her nightgown.
"What are ya doing, JD?"
He stood up and strode over to her, wrapping his arms around her gently rounded body.
"Just counting my blessings, Casey."
"Well, come to bed. It's cold and I need you to warm me up." She grabbed his hand and gently pulled him into the house.
Yep, he hoped some things never changed.