Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story. Keep your comments coming, I love getting reviews in my inbox.
Warning: This chapter contains referenced to disciplinary spanking. If that's not your thing, hit the back button now.
CHAPTER 4
Vin's temper was still on a slow burn when they finally rode out with Nancy and Sammy out in front, where he could keep an eye on them. Vin was doing that more for show than anything. He knew neither of them would attempt to run away. They both were way too smart to pull something like that.
The ride passed in tense silence until Vin heard the sound of hoof beats coming their direction. He moved forward so that he was between Sammy and Nancy and the oncoming rider. When the horse appeared over the rise, Vin recognized the rider immediately, and from the way Sammy tensed behind him, she did too.
"What are you going here?" Vin demanded when the rider pulled up only a few feet away.
"I could ask you the same thing, Tanner." Michael Langdon's gaze settled on Sammy. He nearly smiled when she stiffened at the moment she realized where his gaze had settled.
Vin, too, noticed the direction of the other man's gaze, and like Sammy, he wasn't too happy about it. His hand slid to the butt of his gun in warning. "You ain't answered my question."
Michael didn't miss Vin's action. Pulling his gaze from Sammy, he eyed the other man for a moment before responding. "It's a free country. There's no law I know of that says I can't be on this road." Seeing that his flippant response wasn't kindly received, he quickly continued. "I'm just passing through."
Satisfied that he had received an answer that was at least partially truthful, Vin sat back in his saddle. "Well, keep on riding then." He waited until Michael had reined his horse around the small group and continued on his way before urging Sammy and Nancy forward.
Nancy hadn't missed the exchange between her friend and Michael Langdon and knew there was more to Sammy's response than Michael's insulting look. However, given the situation, she was more than willing to hold her questions until later.
When they reached Four Corners the small group rode directly to the livery stable. Vin waited until Nancy and Sammy had unsaddled and brushed down their horses before he escorted them to the jail. He planned to turn Sammy over to Chris then escort Nancy to her boarding house, where they would have a serious discussion about her safety.
After seeing to his own horse Vin waited impatiently for Sammy and Nancy to finish with theirs. It didn't take a genius to see that they were deliberately moving slowly, hoping to delay the inevitable march over to the jail. Finally, he'd waited long enough. "Get a move on, girls. You ain't doin' yourselves any favors."
The two young women glanced at each other. Neither of them were looking forward to the confrontation to come, but they didn't want to make matters worse. Sighing, Nancy nodded to Sammy, silently telling her friend that it was time to face the music. Almost in unison they gave their mounts one last pat and exited the stalls.
Vin gestured for them to proceed him and instructed them to head over to the jail. As they approached the building, Vin spotted J.D. and Kevin sitting on steps to the front porch. They were reading one of J.D.'s dime novels. J.D. seemed to be enjoying it as much as Kevin. Next to Vin and Chris, Kevin was probably closest to the youngest peacekeeper. J.D. tended to view and treat the boy as a younger brother.
"Where's Chris?" Vin asked as he came to a stop at the porch steps.
"Last I saw him he was heading over to the newspaper to talk to Mary."
Vin nodded. "Kevin, go over to the newspaper and tell Chris I need him to come here to the jail."
With a curious look at Sammy and Nancy, Kevin jumped up and ran in the direction of the Clarion. He knew just looking at Vin that he was upset about something. Kevin couldn't help but wonder if whatever had Vin unhappy had something to do with Sammy and his school teacher. But, he couldn't think what they could have done to get into so much trouble.
He slowed to a walk once he reached his destination. Vin may have sent him over here, but he knew Chris wouldn't be too happy if he caught him running down the boardwalk. Kevin pushed open the door to the newspaper office and looked around for Chris. It took him a minute to spot him standing with Mary in a shadowy corner in the far side of the room. In fact, it was Chris's voice that drew Kevin's attention to his location.
"You need something?" Chris asked as he stepped out of the shadows and into the room.
Kevin nodded. "Vin sent me to get you. He needs you over at the jail. Sammy and Miss Bishop are with him."
Chris glanced over at Mary, who had joined him in the center of the room. "Did he say what it was about?" The concern was evidence in both Chris's facial expression and his voice.
"No, sir," Kevin replied. "He just sent me to get you."
A look passed between the two adults that clearly communicated their concern. Mary stepped forward and held her hand out to Kevin. "You must be hungry. I think I've got some cookies left over from the batch I made the other day. Would you like one?"
Chris sent her a silent nod of thanks. His gut was telling him that whatever was going on over at the jail was something Kevin didn't need to be involved in. "I'm sure it's nothing serious," he stated as he moved toward the door. "Kevin, why don't you have a snack then head over to the church."
Kevin readily agreed. He liked Mary's cookies, and Josiah had promised to let him help work on the door frames if he came by one afternoon this week. Kevin had found he really enjoyed doing the simple carpentry work that Josiah allowed him to assist with. He decided that would be a great way to spend the afternoon.
When Chris approached the jail, he spotted J.D. sitting out front. The young man was trying, unsuccessfully, to pretend more interest in his book than what was going on inside. "What's going on?" Chris asked.
"Don't know," J.D. replied, straightening up from his slouch. "Vin hauled Sammy and Miss Bishop in there and sent Kevin to get you. I ain't heard much coming from inside."
Chris nodded and moved past J.D. to enter the building. The moment he entered he immediately spotted Vin leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and an angry expression on his face. Sammy and Nancy were sitting side by side in chairs set in front of the desk. The tension in the room was palpable. "What's going on?" Chris repeated his question from earlier, sure he wasn't going to like the answer. "Kevin just said you needed me here."
Vin straightened and walked over to stand beside Chris, who had closed the door. "I found these two in Windy Canyon. They had those," he said, pointing to the two guns lying on the desk.
Chris glanced at the two young women and moved over to the desk. He didn't recognize one of the guns. To his experienced eye, it looked nearly brand new – like it had only been purchased recently. The other gun, however, looked familiar. He picked it up and carried it to the gun cabinet located on the far wall. Opening the cabinet, he placed the gun back on its brackets, confirming his suspicion. He knew without a doubt which of the two young women had taken it. Turning back to the two young women, he simply stated, "start talking."
Nancy wasn't sure what Chris meant, but Sammy knew. She glanced at her friend, then turned back to face him. Knowing it would be best for her to come clean rather than attempt to talk her way out of trouble, she shrugged. "We decided that we wanted to do some target practice. So, I borrowed the gun and we rode out to the canyon." Just the basic facts, she thought. No need to go into details.
Chris nodded and turned to Nancy. "What about you?"
Feeling a bit like a small child under the glare of a disapproving parent, she squirmed a little under his hard stare. She had heard about how intimidating Chris Larabee could be. Until now, she had thought the rumors to be exaggerated.
"I'm not sure what you mean?"
Vin started to move forward, but Chris held up his hand. The slight shake of his head clearly told Vin that he would take care of the interrogation. Any repercussions Nancy was to face afterwards would be Vin's responsibility.
"You're a smart young woman, Miss Bishop. I think you know exactly what I mean. Where did you get the gun?"
"I purchased it this morning from the gun and saddle shop. As I told Vin earlier, Mr. Larabee, I would like to have it back."
Sammy inwardly groaned. That was exactly the wrong thing to say to Chris.
Chris moved forward to brace his hands on the arms of Nancy's chair. "And just why did you do that?"
"I wanted one," she responded. "I decided that I might need one for protection. Once I purchased it, I thought I would ride out of town to practice with it. It had been a while since I handled a gun, and I decided I had best familiarize myself with the weapon." She paused, hoping she sounded calm and confident rather than as intimidated as she felt.
Apparently, her response was good enough. Chris took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. "I know Sammy knew that we didn't want anyone riding out this morning. How about you, Miss Bishop?"
"I had heard something along those lines."
"But you decided to ride out anyway?" Vin asked, coming to stand beside Chris.
Nancy looked at the angry expression on Vin's face. "Yes, I did."
Vin started to move forward with the intention of hauling Nancy to her feet and escorting her to the boarding house where she had a room. However, Chris stopped him.
"We need to talk," Chris stated, looking Vin directly in the eye. He didn't wait to see if the younger man followed him, but stepped out onto the porch. Sammy and Nancy clearly heard him instruct J.D. to make sure they didn't go anywhere.
Several seconds passed in tense silence before Nancy turned to Sammy. "He's not going to . . . ?" She couldn't bring herself to say it. The black-clad man was intimidating at the best of times, and in a temper he was downright scary. Nancy wasn't sure whether or not to be concerned about her friend's safety.
Sammy glanced at the door before replying. "Blister my ass? Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure that's going to happen." She nearly smiled at the look of horror that passed over her friend's face.
"Aren't you a little too old for that?"
Sammy shrugged. "With Chris, I'd say it wouldn't matter if I was sixteen or thirty-six. If I break one of his rules or do something else he doesn't approve of, he's going to tan my hide." She paused, sensing that she might be giving Nancy the wrong idea. "Chris is strict, but he's not unreasonable. He expects me to obey the rules and not put myself in danger. I knew exactly what the consequences would be if I got caught today, and I decided it was worth the risk. I could have said no and tried to talk you out of going." Shrugging, Sammy continued, knowing that the offenses she just named were the very ones that Chris would find objectionable. " I also didn't have to take the gun out of the cabinet."
Nancy wasn't sure what to say to that. She had never been physically chastised. Her parents were rather indulgent, and the few times she had been punished, they had confined her to her room for a day or two. "I can't believe you aren't scared about it. I'd be shaking in my shoes if it were me."
Sammy shrugged again. She was a bit nervous, and she definitely hoped Chris used his hand instead of his belt. "It's not the first, and probably won't be the last." She decided to try and lighten the mood. "Besides, I think J.D. is the only one of the peacekeepers who hasn't at least given me a swat or two."
A very unpleasant thought suddenly occurred to Nancy. She remembered a conversation they'd had in which he'd promised her she wouldn't like the consequences if he ever caught her out riding by herself. She supposed she was about to find out what Vin had been talking about. She didn't suppose Vin would consider Sammy to be adequate company for a ride out of town. "You don't think Vin will . . .?" Again, she couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence.
"Spank you?" This time Sammy did smile at the stricken expression on her friend's face. "I'd be willing to bet that's what he and Chris are talkin' about." She paused, debating telling Nancy about her own trip over Vin's knee. Seeing that her friend really was distressed at the thought, she decided it might help. "I can tell you from experience that it really isn't that bad. I mean, it's not the nicest experience in the world, but it's certainly not the worst."
Nancy's curiosity overrode her concern. "What happened?"
Sammy told her an edited version of how she'd come to live in Four Corners, stating only that she had been in the company of a group of outlaws against her will. "When they wouldn't just let me leave like I wanted, I threw a temper tantrum - made a real mess of Nathan's clinic. Vin walked in on the middle of it. He turned me over his knee and let me have it, after which he made me apologize to Nathan and clean up the mess I'd made. Then he hauled me over to the bathhouse, where Nettie and Casey were waiting to help me get cleaned up." Sammy laughed slightly at the memory, more in embarrassment than amusement. "There was no way I could hide what had happened, especially since my backside was still bright red. I was so embarrassed, especially when Vin announced that he had caused it."
"Vin was in the bathhouse with you?" Nancy was taken back at what was a serious breach of privacy. She wouldn't have thought that of him. He seemed too considerate for something like that. Obviously, she thought, there was more to this story.
Sammy laughed. "It's not what you're thinking. He sat at the other end of the room, with his back to me. I was behind a curtained partition. He wasn't willing to leave me alone in there because I was determined I was going to take off."
"What happened?"
"Well, Chris, Vin, and the other peacekeepers took care of the outlaw gang, and Judge Travis named Chris my legal guardian. The rest, as they say, is history."
While Nancy and Sammy carried on their conversation, Vin followed Chris into the alley beside the jail. "What are you plannin' on doin' about Nancy Bishop?" Chris asked the moment they were out of earshot.
"I guess I'm gonna handle this the same way you would if it were Mary," Vin stated, taking his hat off and smacking it against his thigh in frustration. He was thinking back to what had happened when Mary had intentionally tried to take part in a gun battle, despite Chris's explicit instructions to stay inside and away from danger. Vin was sure Mary would be mortified if she knew.
Chris briefly studied the man who had become one of his closest friends then nodded. "I'm going to give you the same advice Judge Travis gave me. Think about why you want to tan her. If this is just your temper talking, let it go. Especially if this is about what's goin' on between the two of you."
"It ain't about that," Vin stated, starting to pace in an effort to work off some of his temper. "Who knows what coulda happened to them out there. Anybody coulda come along. In fact, we crossed paths with Michael Langdon on the way back." Vin paused and turned back to Chris. "Besides, how are you gonna handle it with Sammy?"
"Oh, I think you know that. But, Sammy and me are a lot different than you and Nancy."
"Yeah, I know, but it ain't right that one gets tanned and the other don't."
TBC