Chapter One:
Travellers
"Suing me for what?" Mary Travis exclaimed as she stared at the round face of Barbara Darcy.
"You said my Alvin was a horse thief." Mrs Darcy, a rather rotund woman, painted in lurid colours, with a scandalous amount of breast showing over the too tight dress she wore, glared at Mary through the veil of her hat. Her volumptuous bulk filled almost the entire chair she was nestled in until her fleshy behind was starting to droop over the edge. Just looking at her made Mary feel the sudden urge to diet.
"He is a horse thief!" Mary said exasperated, the notice stating the intention for litigation stared at her from the desk with an accusatory eye. "The man was caught on Kurt Simpson's horse, riding out of town, with Patsy the new saloon girl and two hundred dollars he stole from Mrs Potter's till. If Chris Larabee and his men had not brought him home, the next time you would have heard from him would have been through a postcard from Mexico." Mary was trying not to lose her temper with this obnoxious and stupid woman. She realized with a sinking feeling as her fury continue to bubble, it was a battle she was not to going win.
"You ain't got no proof of that until he goes to trial." She said lifting her considerable posterior out of the chair to lean over Mary's desk and meet the widow's furious glare, eye to eye. "He ain't been proven to be no horse thief yet and until the judge finds him guilty, my Alvin is still innocent."
"I report the facts as I see them." Mary said slowly, keeping her voice in pace with the counting she was doing inside her mind. Ten. Nine.
"I'll bet you don't report half the things that get done by those seven lawmen of yours." She sneered.
Mary took another deep breath and resolving to not lose her temper in front of this foolish woman. The venerable Mrs Darcy seemed to be of the opinion suing Mary for the princely sum of $5000 for slandering her good name, might make up for the fact she married a criminal who probably stole horses to escape from her. She knew where the woman was going with her current line of remarks regarding the seven so Mary was not quite unprepared for the insults when they came.
"Especially that Larabee." The woman said with obvious derision. "Just because he's your beau, you don't write about half the things he's done. Just innocent folk like my Alvin."
Easy Mrs Travis, Mary told herself. Just keep counting. Eight. Seven. Six.
"Mr Larabee did not ride out of town with someone else's horse or a saloon girl." Mary stated with surprising amount of calm despite her extreme annoyance. For some reason, Mary could almost empathize why Alvin might have taken flight. No man could stay married to this creature before her without incurring some debilitating defect to their mental processes.
"I heard about some of the things Larabee has done. He's a no good gunslinger and they only reason that you ain't writing in your trashy little paper, is cause you're sweet on him." Mrs Darcy said snidely, defying Mary to deny her pointed allegation.
"What Mr Larabee may or may not have done before he came to Four Corners is no one's business except Mr Larabee's." Mary replied, having just about enough of this vile woman's presence in her office. Mary Travis was a newswoman and a community leader; she did not have to suffer this indignity.
"You would say that!" She hissed angrily, feeling impotent that her cruel barbs was not having the desired effect upon the spirited widow. "It don't matter anyway," she huffed, recovering with a fresh plan of attack. "I got me a lawyer who made me that writ." She gestured to the piece of paper Mary barely glanced at. "I'll take everything you own and then we'll see if that low life gunslinger still wants you when you ain't got a penny to your name. Maybe he'll just keep your around as his whore!"
Five…Four… Three… Two…One…
The counting was not working. Her temper was bubbling over and that final insult was the last straw. The lithe blond woman stepped from behind her desk and sank her grip into Mrs Darcy's doughy forearm before the woman could open her painted mouth to utter another vicious word.
"You have wasted enough of my time." Mary said through gritted teeth. "You are leaving."
"What are you doing?" Mrs. Darcy screeched as Mary grabbed her by the arm and fairly dragged her to the door. The woman had not expected a physical reaction from Mary and had no time to recover her composure until she was shoved out the front door. "How dare you put your hands on my person!" She screamed as she stumbled onto the boardwalk outside the office of the Clarion. Her high pitched voice stopped people in their tracks as they stared at this latest excitement. "I'll have you up for assault!" She shouted angrily.
Mary started to feel a little better and had now recovered from her earlier frustration at trying to take the civilized approach with a verbal attack of her own. "You are on my property and if I do not wish to have you here Mrs Darcy, I can throw your overgrown behind out on the street! As for this travesty you call a lawsuit, I can get a lawyer as well. Trust me, I'll have you buried in so many court injunctions and delays that by the time a case for slander does get to court, Alvin would have been tried, convicted, served his sentence and out to steal his next horse!"
With that Mary Travis turned around and retreated into the office once more, slamming the door loudly in the woman's face, hoping she would take the hint and go away. As she passed by the window to return to her desk, she saw Mrs Darcy face glowering in crimson rage before she spat coarsely and went on her way, a storm cloud that was almost visible over her head.
Of all the ridiculous garbage Mary Travis had been force to endure since assuming control of the Clarion, this had rank as one of the worst. She slumped into her chair, forcing herself to take deep breaths while she tried to calm down from that unpleasant encounter. Of course, the case was ludicrous and Mary had no doubt it would be thrown out of court because Judge Orin Travis was never a man who could swallow legal trickery in any shape or form. Still, it was going to inconvenience her because since this was a case of slander, even one without merit, she would be required to defend herself in court.
Which meant, she really had to get a lawyer.
She sighed and decided lingering on this unpleasant subject was only going to put her into a worst mood and she did not wish to be venomously tempered by the time Chris came over for dinner tonight. Besides, she was always required to have a sunny disposition because he could be so depressing when he was in one of his moods. Mary loved Chris Larabee more than anything in the world but sometimes she just wished she did not have to be so doggone perky to offset his cool, deliberate personality.
Realizing she still had a paper to get out, Mary sighed and emerged from her hiding place behind her desk and went to the printing press, she nicknamed Lucifer, at the other end of the room. She looked at the sheets of paper prepared for usage and loaded it into the mechanism. As she had done a thousand times since assuming sole ownership of the Clarion, following Stephen's death, Mary began the work to put out the latest edition of the town newspaper. She left her mind drift as Lucifer went to work, thinking back to those days when her dreams were far grander and less grounded on making one patch of earth in the Territory a safe place to live.
She was going to see the world and write great stories, at least that was what she had planned when she was 12 years old. Her mother had been mortified while her father just laughed, knowing it was one of those things young girls indulged in until they reached marriageable age. Stephen had been a godsend then just as Chris was now. He wanted a woman who could think, who could hold her own in any situation despite the limitations of gender. Mary always tried to be that for Stephen, even after he died and was left alone. In retrospect, she wondered if Stephen had possessed some premonition she might be forced to carry on without him. When he first died, she hadn't believed herself capable of surviving on her own but eventually things became easier and she thrived.
And then Chris Larabee strolled into her life and she knew a new page was turned over in her existence. Chris was the begining of something new and exciting and he beckoned her with that cool smile, sometimes bordering on a sneer she alone had the power to see through. Perhaps Four Corners was not meant to make her the intrepid globetrotting writer she dreamed of being, but she could live with it.
As that thought crossed her mind ,Mary looked down and saw the ugly smear of black across all her freshly printed pages. A slight leak in the ink well had turned half the already printed pages into an incomprehensible mess!
"No!" Mary grimaced as she tried to shut off Lucifer from continuing on its treacherous path but the printing press took several minutes before deciding to relent in its task. When the press stopped what it was doing, Mary was left with a stack of ruined pages and a machine that would probably require dismantling and cleaning before she could start work again. Mary groaned looking at those soiled sheets of paper and let out a frustrated cry.
Chris Larabee chose to walk in at this point and the words escaping from the lips of his normally, erudite and elegant fiancee made him freeze in his tracks. Pausing at the door, he stared at her with his hard blue eyes while she stood before a stack of ink sodden papers, swearing in language he had not heard since the last time he made a visit to Purgatory. Meeting her gaze, the black garbed gunslinger told himself smiling at this point was a very bad idea.
He made some mental calculations and was certain it was not quite one month since the last time she was furious like this. Chris had been married to Sarah long enough to remember that much about women. Mary did not get like this temperamental this often but when she did even Chris knew well enough to ride out the storm by not provoking it.
"I'm guessing you ain't having a good day."
She glared at him with a look that could easily kill him dead.
"No, I am not having a good day. Do you know why I am not having a good day?" She asked, her voice little more than a low whisper.
Chris glanced at the printer and could make a rather educated guess straight off. "That?"
"That and Mrs Darcy." She snarled, leaving the stack of ruined papers where it was in plain disgust.
"Alvin's wife?" Chris asked, familiar with the woman in question (he hesitated to call her lady) and could sympathize with Mary if she was forced to endure an encounter with that pain in the ass. Her husband had been trying to skip town ever since Chris had arrived in Four Corners. Not long after meeting Alvin, Chris had the man pegged. There were men who stole horses because they needed the money, others who did it simply because they were thieving varmints and then there was Alvin, who did it to get away from his wife.
"That's her." Mary grumbled. "She's suing me."
Chris stared. "What for?" He would have laughed at the ludicrousness of it except it did not appear as if Mary found the whole situation very amusing.
Barbara Darcy never ceased to amaze him with her antics. She was one of those women who contributed nothing to the community and delighted in causing as much chaos as she could with her scheming and gossiping ways. He was almost curious to imagine the exchange that must have been between his spirited Mary and the screeching harping that seemed to exude from Mrs Darcy's lips. No wonder, Alvin needed a horse so badly.
"Slander." Mary replied having no wish to go into the details and stormed over to her desk where she found the writ that Mrs Darcy has served her so proudly.
Handing it to Chris, she folded her arms impatiently while he read it.
Chris studied the contents and met her eyes after a moment, seeing that Mary was taking this very seriously indeed. "The Judge will throw it out of court," Chris reassured her and if not, he saw no reason why he could not have a little talk to Mrs Darcy and convince her to forgo this entire farce of a lawsuit.
"Chris." She said firmly with a perfectly straight voice. "What if I sold the paper and the house, packed up and moved into your shack out of town? I can handle being a housewife again. We can live on a dollar a day. You can go hunting and I'll grow things in the garden. I've seen people do it and churning butter isn't that hard. I understand all you need is a cow."
He had no idea what was more frightening, the fact she wanted to grow things or churn butter.
"Come on," Chris went to her and took her gently by the arm, as he guided her towards the door.
"Where are we going?" Mary asked as she followed him out, feeling in no mood to protest any more.
"Out of here, you're starting to get strange." Chris retorted and then added as they left the Clarion behind them. "All we need is a cow...?"
Inez decided the best thing to do was not say a word because she had been listening to it all day already.
Inez stood at her customary place behind the counter in the saloon, trying not to let the talk bother her. After all, this was Buck Wilmington they were talking about and she should not be surprised by his behaviour, let alone be bothered by his many dalliances. How many times had she heard about the gossip and the rumours about his latest conquest? Most of the time from his very own lips. Inez knew from the very beginning Buck had an insatiable appetite for women which was why she stayed away from him, having no wish to be just another conquest. However, it was fairly obvious to both to herself and Buck theirs was a relationship far deeper than his normal acquaintances with the fairer sex.
Inez knew in his way, he loved her and could probably love her as loyally and devotedly as she wanted, if she would only allow him the chance. Yet every time she turned around, it appeared he was going off with yet another woman and no matter how vehemently she may deny it to others or herself, Inez burned with jealousy. How could she love someone when it was so easy for him to switch his affections from woman to woman?
How could she trust him?
Today was no different than any other woman that had breezed through his life. Rancher's daughter, 20 years old, very beautiful and apparently very accommodating as well. The girl was virginal until Buck came along and her father was vivid at his daughter's sudden change of status.
"That Wilmington sure knows how to live dangerously." Inez heard a group of men talking against the counter. She recognized them as regulars and forced herself not to listen to their lurid bar room tales about Buck's latest fling.
Lately, Inez had began to question why she spent her nights alone when Buck was something spending his nights bed hopping. She was an attractive woman, not spectacular, at least in her opinion but pretty. If she wanted a suitor or a lover, it would not be a difficult matter to satisfy the need. Did she abstain out of some twisted desire to not betray Buck? How could she be betray him when she had not been near a man since she'd seen him? Once she had entertained ideas about Ezra because she worked so closely with the gambler, not to mention Vin Tanner who was so good to her during that whole Don Paulo situation. Of course, those two men had loves of their own now and she was waiting for Buck to stop whoring, to go on the straight and narrow before she would allow herself to love him.
She was dreaming.
"Afternoon Inez." Buck Wilmington greeted, tipping his hat in her direction as he stepped up to the counter. Inez looked at him slightly startled at his having entered the saloon floor with J.D. Dunne ever at his side as always while she was day dreaming. Inez had not even noticed him enter the building. The rest of the seven were nowhere in sight. Nathan was probably at his infirmary, while Josiah Sanchez was no doubt continuing with the restoration work on the church. Ezra Standish had ambled off earlier, making some remark about having a luncheon date with Julia Pemberton.
"Hi Inez." J.D. smiled, agog with typical youthful enthusiasm. She wondered how he managed to keep that sunny disposition in the face of everything he had seen since arriving in Four Corners.
"Hello J.D." She answered, ignoring Buck. "What can I get you?"
"Maybe some of your wonderful home cooking." Buck smiled his most charming, deciding she was being so aloof because she was busy. The afternoon crowd was already in force with voices rumbling softly in the background as men gathered to drink, play poker or just to get out of making an honest day's living.
"I'll see." She said coldly with none of the usual warmth she reserved for him. "What about you J.D., can I bring you some lunch?"
"Much obliged ma'am." J.D. said removing his hat and placing it on the counter. He sensed the tension between Buck and Inez but like Buck could not imagine what was the cause of it. J.D. knew Inez felt for Buck more than she let on and for all his big talk, Buck Wilmington felt something similar. He watched her draw away into the kitchen as she disappeared into the kitchen.
"What did you do to Inez?" J.D. turned an accusatory eye in Buck's direction.
The big man shook his head in puzzlement. "I haven't done anything to Inez." He said with perfect innocence. "She never lets me." He added with a grin and drew a groan of sarcasm from J.D.
However, the kid was right, she did seemed awful ornery at him and for once it did not seem like the good-natured sparring they usually engaged. Whatever was bothering Inez, it was real and serious. Buck did not like the idea Inez could be angry with him over anything. He loved the woman for God sakes, if she ever consented to be with him, Buck could imagine the heat they would generate with their lovemaking. He knew instinctively she was a passionate woman. The thought of her dusky skin against his with its exotic aroma just made him twitch with the idea he ought to find him some female company.
He was getting off the point here.
Buck shook such thoughts from his head and decided he was unwilling to let the situation remained unresolved. Striding towards the kitchen, he saw Inez busily preparing J.D.'s and hopefully his lunch as well. She was slicing some carrots with her knife and Buck wondered if it was all that wise risking an argument with her when she was armed. She glanced at him with that same stormy look and then returned to her vegetables. Buck was becoming more confused by the moment.
Leaning up against the counter before her, Buck opted for the quiet, sensitive approach. "Inez, darling is there something wrong?"
She met his eyes with a look he could only describe as venomous. "Not at all, Buck." She replied tautly.
"Now it don't look like it to me." Buck responded in his always-husky voice. "It looked like you were kind mad."
"Maybe I am." She said scooping the cut pieces on the chopping board and turned away from him as she dropped them into a pot steaming with savoury aromas on the stove.
"Well tell me about it." He urged, wanting her to confide in him. After all, they had been through a great deal together. When she was raped, Buck was so terrified he was going to lose her, he had not dared let her out of his sight. No matter how she denied her feelings about him Buck was perceptive enough to see know she did care for him a great deal.
Inez paused in front of the stove for a moment, trying to decide whether or not it was time to move on or establish the future. After a moment, she whirled around and faced him. "Do you love me?"
The question took him by complete surprise but the answer did not. It tumbled from his lips without any hesitation or doubt that Buck was secretly astonished at the certainty in his own heart. "Of course I do."
"Good," she nodded. "I think I love you."
Buck started to smile that wide grin which infuriated her to no end and usually precipitated some dumb comment.
"Well," he said inching closer to her until she had to look up to see his face. "How about we go somewhere and discuss it." His fingertip grazed her bare shoulder.
And there it was.
"I may love you Buck but I don't trust you."
Buck looked at her. "Don't trust me?" He said holding his hand to his heart like he was physically wounded. "Darling, I would never hurt you." He continued, stroking her skin with his fingers and Inez found herself responding, against the will of her mind.
"I do not doubt that." She said becoming lost in his touch, wondering how he could be so compelling and so damn infuriating at the same time. "Except I think you will, even if you don't mean to."
Buck was enjoying her response to him that the statement almost startled him when she spoke the words. "What?"
Inez stepped away and broke the moment. "I love you Buck, perhaps I always have but you love women too much to ever stay faithful to one and I will not share you."
"That ain't true." He protested but knew it sounded weak. By his own actions, he proved to her she was right because he enjoyed the company of many women and while he could be loyal to Inez, he also knew he could not be certain about that promise. "I can try."
"There is no try with me Buck," she shook her head quickly. "I want to know that for sure. I want to know when you are not with me, you are not carrying on with some other woman. I am not even sure I can even wait for you to grow up. Its time to move on."
He did not like the sound of that at all.
"Move on?" He said suspiciously. "You mean leave?"
"No," Inez sighed. "I mean its time to put us in the past."
"I will not accept that." He stepped closer to her again. "I got feelings for you like I have no other woman. I know you have the same for me. Maybe I can't stay faithful to you but then again maybe I can. It's a chance like all things are a chance."
"I don't believe in chances," she said abruptly stepping away from him and proceeding out towards the bar. "And I am not waiting for you any more."
With that momentous statement, she swept out of the kitchen, leaving him feeling like a fool because nothing she said was wrong and yet all of it was.
Julia Pemberton had a very strange notion of what lunch was meant to entail.
This much Ezra Standish had ascertained but for obvious reasons he was not about to complain. After so many weeks in her company, he had learned what Julia's idea of a luncheon was and found no reason to argue with her interpretation. They were both presently in her bedroom, with the blinds drawn, feasting on pate and other delectable culinary delights, with a bottle of Chardonnay within arms reach. Ezra decided he could certainly live with her idea of a lunch. Of course the meal proceeded a most exciting hour of hot steamy lovemaking which left him drained and completely sated, even before they reached for the food.
As Julia lay naked beside him, completely uninhibited by her nudity while feeding him liver pate on a cracker, life did not appear to get much better than this. For a moment, Ezra felt like a Roman Caesar of ancient times and wondered if it would be too indulgent to make the lady a request of a peeled grape. Ezra decided pate would serve just as adequately. Never let it be said he did not know how to rough it.
"Miss Pemberton," he stretched languidly on the not so crisp white sheets of her bed, quite pleased with himself. "I certainly enjoy your concept of lunch." He leaned forward from the pillows when Julia held out a morsel of food to his mouth. He took a bite and she smiled, licking the salt of the crackers form her finger tips with those perfect pink lips. Ezra found himself watching her for a moment, feeling another erection starting to make itself felt.
"I aim to please," she smiled before lowering her head on his bare chest and laving his nipple with the same technique she used on her fingers.
Ezra closed his eyes and let out a slight shudder but looked at her a moment later. Every time there was a break in the sex and there were not many such interludes, for she was an insatiable partner, Ezra noticed unwillingness on her part to engage in any form of conversation. He had come to learn her habits over the course of time they shared together and knew one thing about her. She did not hold things back and she definitely liked to talk after sex. Her silence now convinced him something was wrong.
"Is there something wrong?" He asked seriously, ignoring the stirrings he felt, for a much important subject.
"Nothing." She shrugged and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling and losing all interest in pleasuring him since he was more concerned about her emotional health. She should be grateful for his sensitivity but she could not help feeling a little awkward discussing what was on her mind.
"Come on now," he slid an arm around her and stared into those amazing green eyes that held such power over him. "My dear, I know all your little peculiarities, every vicious thought crossing your mind. Trust me, there is nothing you have done that would possibly shock me. If it makes you feel better, I promise there will be no retribution or judgements if you reveal your latest conundrum."
Julia looked at him, wondering how he managed to keep a straight face when he talked that way. "When you put it so succinctly, how am I to refuse?" She rolled back to her side and faced him again.
"I don't think the other women like me too much."
Always the consummate actor, Ezra was able to hide his reaction form her. That was the understatement of the year but Ezra kept it to himself. "Well, you did start off on the wrong foot with Alexandra." He pointed out diplomatically.
Julia winced at the memory. How could she forget? Both of them were rolling around on the floor of her hotel room, like brawling children, when Chris Larabee walked into the room and forced them apart. Not to mention what she had actually said to Alex Styles to prompt that violent display. She supposed it was understandable she would be viewed with such distaste with that kind of history between them. After all, she did steal Ezra from Alex and was less than gentle when she imparted the news to the good doctor.
Naturally, Mary and Inez would rally around Alex in support and it still remained that way even now. At gatherings, Julia felt like the outsider. In the beginning, it did not matter because she had little feeling for them. As she got to know them, she saw the fellowship of the seven and slowly began to understand the need to belong even Ezra Standish could not escape. The bond between the seven was clear, even to her, and she knew while they remained the seven, they would always ride home together. Ezra was a part of something special and she envied how Alexandra Styles, Mary Travis and Inez Recillos had become apart of it. Julia was also utterly aware she was not included in this circle. Her presence was tolerated because of Ezra and nothing else.
Acceptance had never been important to her life before because other women were always seen as competition to her. She treated Alex the same way because she wanted Ezra and had not the faith in him at the time to believe he would love her enough to leave the beautiful doctor for her. However, now that Alex had given her heart to Vin Tanner, there was no reason for the enmity to continue and every reason to attempt some reconciliation. The days when she felt the compulsion to view every man as conquest was broken upon realization the man she wanted was hers already. With Ezra in her life, not all the old instincts were banished but some were forgotten.
Still, she felt strangely envious of the camaraderie shared by the seven and moreover by Inez, Mary and Alex. She should be apart of that friendship but she was not. Of course it was entirely her fault. She burned her bridges with Alexandra Styles because of Ezra and Mary Travis had more or less held her to ransom with her unsavoury past. The only one who seemed to view her with any form of civility was Inez and this had only resulted after their kidnapping experience some time ago. What friendship had formed then was achieved through a life and death experience. Since then, Inez was warm but still kept her distance and it bothered Julia more than she would like to admit.
"Yes," Julia sighed. "I supposed that was my fault."
That too was an understatement Ezra chose to let slide. He wish he could help her with this problem but as responsible as he was for Alex's hurt, it was Julia's cruelty that was hardest to forget. He loved her but did not absolve her from her misdeeds. The situation she had created with Alex Styles was her own doing and only Julia could end the tension between them if she wanted to be accepted.
"I'm sure Alexandra will come around." He said although he did not believe it for a moment. From what Chris told him about their quarrel, both women had gone to blows with their fists. This, to Ezra did not appear to be a salvageable situation. Still, Alex did forgive him and perhaps with Vin in her life and their relationship in the past, she might extend the same courtesy to Julia. He did not hold out much hope for such an outcome but could not deny Julia the possibility, however remote it might be.
"I do not have patience to wait for it. I must take care of this now."
Ezra did not doubt it. He did not doubt she would make every effort to win Alex's forgiveness because Julia had proved how determined she could be when her mind was made up. Ezra almost felt sorry for Alex and all the grief she was going to endure when Julia embarked on this quest to win her friendship. "Well my dear I wish you the best of luck but you are attempting a most serious undertaking."
"I will think of a way." She smiled defiantly, tossing her red hair back as she offered him an alluring smile. The fire of determination was in her eyes now and Ezra knew personally how fierce it could burn when properly provoked.
Julia would deal with Alexandra Styles later and perhaps there might be some measure of success in her attempts. For now however, she still had a lunch hour to finish and desert to serve. Leaning over to him, she met Ezra's mouth with a searing kiss, which forced him to return in kind. She savoured his tongue in her mouth as her hands stroked his bare chest and moved down the muscle of his taut stomach.
"Dessert, Mr. Standish?" She smiled letting her hands drift further down his belly and enclosed her fingers on a most sensitive place.
Ezra let out a soft groan as she moved over him and could only smile as the onrush of pleasure. "I never say no to a full course meal."
Alex was making a pot of tea for herself and Inez when Mary Travis walked through her kitchen door. It was an hour after her appointment with Mr Baker, whose case of poison oak was instead a malady ensuring he could not be allowed relations with his wife until his ailment cleared. Inez arrived earlier, having turned the saloon over to Ezra once the gambler returned from his lunch time engagement with Julia Pemberton with a smile on his face that gave no doubt food was not the only thing on the menu. Like Inez, Mary appeared just as harassed and Alex wondered if she were the only person having a trouble free day.
"So I take its been a trying day?" Alex inquired as she poured her companions cups of tea around her kitchen table, taking note of the frowns both were wearing on their faces. Alex wondered what could possibly ruffle the feathers of both these women when Mary Travis was the mercurial newspaper woman who through will alone, forged a peace in Four Corners when the seven arrived in town. Inez was no less formidable. Any woman who could survive working with Ezra while at the same time being able to handle herself in a saloon was not normally beaten by the mundane trivialities of life.
Mary gave her a quick run down of the situation with Mrs Darcy followed by the almost predictable foul up by Lucifer as the usual staple of a bad day. She also mentioned with affection how Chris had dragged her out of the Clarion and took her on a ride out of town, in an effort to pacify her trouble temperament.
"I can never figure that man out." Alex said with a smile, wondering how someone who seemed so ruthless and aloof could be so warm and tender at the same time. Still, Mary was one of those people who brought out the best in people.
Alex guessed not even Chris Larabee was immune that power. "Most of the time he looks to be a complete pain and then he does something really sweet."
"Chris is like that." Mary nodded sipping her tea, with a bittersweet smile on her face as she remembered just how tender he could be. Riding with him had calmed her nerves considerably and lifted her spirits although he was still very confused by her desire to churn butter. "Still waters run deep they say."
"Very deep." Inez agreed. "And then are some men who are exactly what they appear to be. Drunken, hard living, skirt chasing buffoons."
Mary and Alex exchanged a glance and said in unison. "Buck?"
Inez let out a huffed breath. "Buck.I love that man. I do not for the life of me know why! He is such an unmitigated pig when it comes to women but I love him! I knew when he decided to defend me against Don Paulo I was making a bad deal."
"He's just one of those men, Inez." Mary tried to defend Buck. "He loves women. He loves them so much he just has no will power."
Wait, Mary said to herself, perhaps this was not the best tact to take.
"I know that." Inez sighed, propping her cheek against her hand on top of the table. "I told him I would wait for him no more. I cannot spend my whole life waiting for him to grow up."
"Hear, hear." Alex and Mary cheered her on. "You're a beautiful woman Inez. You can do better and have a great deal more security knowing whoever he is, will not be chasing half the ladies in town."
"Exactly." Alex laughed and then remembered something. "Reminds me, I got a letter today." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the white envelope that she had forgotten about until this point. "Vin brought it to me a while ago."
"I thought he didn't come to the clinic during the day?" Mary commented.
"Why?" Inez looked at Alex puzzled as the young doctor started to tear into the crisp white paper of the envelope.
"Oh," Alex looked up as she realized a question was aimed at her and replied distractedly. "He walked into the clinic the day I had to lance a boil off Mrs Harrington's rear end. Vin never got over the shock and we agreed he'd not come into the clinic during office hours. He comes through the upstairs kitchen when he visits during the day."
"What?" Inez started laughing loudly, trying to picture the look on the tracker's face as that discovery. Mrs Harrington was almost 200 hundred pounds of blubber in works boots. Mary joined in and they both giggled like silly schoolgirls for the next few minutes. Meanwhile, Alex who unfolded her letter and was reading it with careful interest.
"What did Mrs. Harrington do?" Inez had to ask.
"Not much." Alex replied. "I had a scalpel to her rear end, she was not about to make a fuss." The doctor answered, still focused on her letter but did pause long enough to add with a slight smile. "Although I almost had to give Vin a shot of morphia."
This only succeeded in drawing out another bout of even more riotous laughter as the two women giggled so hard, they were almost giddy by the time they paused to catch their breaths.
"I don't think I can ever look at Vin with a straight face again." Inez snorted, trying to speak through her giggles.
"Funny," Alex mused. "Vin said the same thing about Mrs Harrington."
She barely heard the explosion of laughter that followed because she was too surprised by what she was reading.
"What is that?" Mary asked finally, feeling a little disappointed Alex was not joining in their laughter at the situation.
"Sorry," Alex apologized as she looked up at her friends. "I have been invited to give a talk at a luncheon for the Society of Woman's Studies in Denver."
"You're kidding!" Mary exclaimed. "How exciting!"
"Apparently, some of your columns regarding my work has reached them and they want me to give a talk about being a professional woman and a physician in the frontier." Alex said with some astonishment. She knew Mary occasionally mentioned her name as well as Nathan's in the Clarion News, when she was forced to perform some untried medical treatment. There were also occasions when Mary needed quotes on the status of victims or criminals that made the news.
"See," Inez beamed. "She made you famous."
"Hardly famous," Alex remarked but could not help feeling some measure of pride because it felt good to be recognized by an organization of note as a doctor, even in this fashion. "Still," she was unable to suppress a smile. "It's a nice to be appreciated."
"So, when do you have to be there?" Mary pressed, happy for Alex.
"A week from today judging by the date." She frowned. Obviously, mail travelled slow in these parts and Alex wished she had more time to make such a trip. Denver was almost 500 miles away. She would need to get there by train and then there were her patients. "I can't just leave."
"Yes, you can." Inez said without question. "Alex are you mad? This is a great honour. You have to go."
"But Denver is so far away." She said with hesitation. "I don't even know my way around the city."
"You're a world class traveller who's crossed the Gobi Desert. You can survive in Denver." Mary glared at her impatiently. "Stop making excuses." Suddenly an idea came to her and she liked it as soon as it popped into her head. Four Corners was driving her crazy, that much was obvious after today. Perhaps a little trip away might be just the thing she needed to revitalize her frustrated state of mind lately. "I'll go with you."
"What?" Alex looked at her. "All the way to Denver?"
"Yes," Mary nodded, liking the idea the more she thought about it. She would not mind a trip to the city, with its hotels, theatres and shopping, she reminded herself mentally. A few days away, pampered by the temptations of the big city was something Mary could endure. "I can cover the luncheon for the Clarion. You know, local doctor makes good in big city."
"That's a great idea." Inez sighed, wishing she could go. "I'll miss you two but it's a wonderful opportunity."
"What are you talking about?" Alex stared at her. "If Mary and I are going, so are you. They sent me an extra ticket for a travelling companion." IWomen were not meant to make such an arduous journey alone. No matter how forward thinking the society might be, they could not break the bounds of that convention.
"I couldn't!" Inez protested. "Who would take care of the bar?"
Mary rolled her eyes. "If I can leave the paper and Alex can leave the practice, you can certainly leave the saloon in Ezra's hands for a few days."
"Besides," Alex added her voice to Mary's persuasive argument. "It will be fun. Think about it room service, running hot water bath?"
"And room service." Mary repeated "Let not forget that."
Inez bit her lip and considered their idea. It was certainly inviting and she had more than enough money saved to indulge in such a trip. She supposed she could leave the saloon in the hands of Josiah who would take care of the place and ensure it was still standing when she returned. In any case, Alex was right, it would be fun. Furthermore, with all the emotional confusion of her relationship with Buck Wilmington at present, Inez would certainly enjoy the time away, if only to clear her head.
"Alright," she nodded decisively. "Let's go."
"Wonderful!" Mary giggled, feeling more enthusiastic about this forthcoming trip than anything else that had happened lately. "Now," she eased back into her chair and let out a sigh. "I've just got to figure out how to break it to Chris."
"And Vin." Alex agreed, seeing the fly in the ointment. She would miss him terribly but there was no way in hell she was taking him to a ladies' luncheon in Denver. After seeing Mrs Harrington's naked posterior, that would probably send him over the edge once and for all.
"Ah," Inez gloated with some measure of satisfaction. "I now see the advantageous of being unattached. I am free spirit able requiring to make no explanation to any man. I can tell you now with absolute certainty they are going to hate this idea."
"Of course not!" Mary protested, knowing Chris was not that stubborn. After all, she was going away with two women to Denver for a few days. What could be more harmless than that? She resented Inez for implying she had to explain herself to Chris and answered with indignant outrage. "I'll have you know Chris will have no problem with this."
"Mary this ain't a good idea." Chris Larabee replied when Mary told him of her plans later that evening.
How does Inez do that?
Mary swore under her breath while she tellling herself she was not going to be upset by his negative view of her trip to Denver. After all, he was just being Chris, a trifle too protective for his own good. He was just being a little overly concerned about her welfare and she could not fault him that. Besides, they were courting now and so she had to afford him some small say in how she conducted herself.
"Why?" Mary looked at him as she stood by the stove, preparing their dinner to serve. She put down both plates and stared at him, hands on her hips full of defiance.
Chris knew the stance well. It was one usually indicating she had made her mind up and he could either go along with it or shut up. He was about to give her a dozen good reasons why she should not go when Chris remembered how she looked this morning when he walked into the Clarion. He noticed the exhaustion in her eyes, not just in a physical sense but the evidence of mental weariness was very prominent. Suddenly Chris realized perhaps he was wrong. Maybe she did need to get away and do things normal women do, like taking walks in manicured parks and going shopping with other women. Mary always did strike him as being out of place in the rugged town that was Four Corners. She should have been going to society teas and knitting things in a parlour somewhere in the east.
"You're right." He conceded defeat because it occurred to him she did need the time away from this place, to just be a woman and not the paragon of the community and the defender of Four Corners. Besides, Chris knew if he said no, she was just going to go without his blessing anyway. That is what came of falling in love with a strong-willed woman who was capable of being just as stubborn and ornery as he could be. "You should go."
"Really?" She said with a hint of surprise he had given in so easily after his initial distaste to the idea. Mary joined him at the table and sat down on his lap, meeting his lips in a deep searching kiss to which Chris reacted to immediately.
"Just don't get into any trouble." He growled as their kisses intensified.
"Do I ever get into trouble?"
Chris did not even dignify that with an answer.