See Chapter 1 for warnings and disclosures.

CHAPTER 4

"What's going on?"

J.D. looked from Chris to the two boys. "They were out at the old cabin on Alonzo Smith's farm and overheard some men making plans for someone who is supposed to be coming in on the stage."

He turned his gaze to the two boys. Neither Billy nor Kevin would look him in the eye. Instead, they studied the ground as they shifted from foot to foot. There was something more going on here than he was being lead to believe.

"Look at me," he directed.

Both boys reluctantly raised their eyes to his.

"Tell me what you know about this."

"We got bored at the pond, so we decided to go out to the cabin," Billy stated. Chris was pretty sure from the boys' manner that the cabin wasn't someplace they were supposed to be, but he would let that go. "When we got there, we saw the horses tied up outside. Joshua said he didn't think those men belonged there."

Kevin glanced at Billy, then back to Chris. He then picked up the story. "An' then these men came outta the cabin and started talkin' about watchin' for some guy who was supposed to be on the stage." He again glanced at Billy, who nodded in agreement.

"One of the men had a gun, and pointed it at the other man who left to come to town to make sure he was on the stage."

Chris was concerned. Those men at the cabin weren't looking for this other man for anything good. "Did you happen to hear anyone mention a name?"

"Nah," Kevin responded. "We got outta there as fast as we could. We knew it was time for J.D. to come, and we thought we oughtta tell somebody."

J.D. looked up at Chris. On their way into town they'd passed the stagecoach as it was heading out. If this mystery man had, in fact, been on the stage, they'd have a hell of a time finding him before those other men did. "I wonder who those men are looking for," he stated.

"That would probably be me," came a voice from the doorway of the jail.

J.D. and Chris turned as one to look at the stranger.

"Who're you?" J.D. demanded.

"Aaron Larabee."

Confused, J.D. turned to look at Chris. The two young boys also wore curious expressions.

"You boys get on home now and stay there," Chris directed. He knew he was probably inviting trouble by not giving Kevin and Billy an explanation regarding this stranger who claimed to be his brother, but he would take his chances.

Reluctantly, the boys began to move in the direction of the Clarion. A call from Chris stopped them.

"Kevin, you get back to the boarding house, and you'd best be there when I come looking for you." At the boy's confused look, he continued, "Don't think I haven't noticed you ain't wearin' that sling the way you're supposed to. We're gonna be having us a talk about that."

Kevin swallowed. He wasn't positive, but he thought he knew what Chris was implying. "Yes, sir."

Chris watched the boys for a moment before turning back to J.D. "Go round up Buck and Nathan. I'll get Ezra. We'll meet up here and get to the bottom of this." He glanced at Aaron. "You wait for us inside."

Aaron nodded. He didn't know the man his brother had become, but he knew the voice of authority when he heard it. He also knew from what he'd been told when he'd been looking for Chris that this was not a man to be disobeyed.

Later, when the five peacekeepers and Aaron Larabee were gathered in the jail, Chris got straight to the point. "Kevin, Billy, and Joshua Smith overheard three men making plans for someone who was supposed to have come in on the stage. Since only two passengers got off it when it came in today, and seeing as how one of them was Maude, it's pretty easy to narrow down who it might be."

"And who might that be, Chris. And while we're at it, who is this guy?" Buck asked, gesturing toward Aaron, who had taken up position in the corner.

Aaron stepped forward. "I'm Aaron Larabee . . ."

"My younger brother," Chris interrupted, sending a hard look at the younger man. Although he wasn't about to trust this stranger, he was going to take it on face value that he was who he claimed to be. The family resemblance was too strong to ignore.

"Your brother? I didn't know you had a brother," Nathan stated, straightening up in his chair.

Chris only shrugged. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

"As charming as this family reunion is," Ezra interrupted, "I do believe we have more pressing matters to which to attend."

"What makes you think those men are after you?" Buck asked.

"After our father died last year, I decided to sell the farm and come out west to look for Chris. I'd heard that he was down in this area, and I had made my way to Ridge City. I had a day or so to kill before the stage, so I decided to join a poker game at one of the saloons. One of my fellow players took exception to the fact that I was willing and accused me of cheating. It came to drawn guns – I was faster. Anyway, as his friends dragged him away, he shouted that it wasn't over between us." Aaron shrugged. "As you said, other than the lovely Maude, I was the only other passenger on the stagecoach. It stands to reason that I'm the one he's after."

Chris spared a glare for his younger brother. "If it's even the same man. You catch his name?"

"He introduced himself as Clint, and the other two as Levi and Seth. I got the impression that the three of them were friends."

"What did you win from Clint that made him so angry," Ezra asked, studying the young man. He judged Chris's brother to be in his early twenties – maybe only a year or two older than J.D. "While losing money in a poker game will make a man angry, it generally will not make one homicidal. Usually, it takes something more than that. What was it?"

Aaron stared at the man who was obviously a gambler. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Chris snorted. He might not know his brother, but anyone could tell he had just lied through his teeth. The black-clad gunman moved to stand in front of his brother. Chris was a couple of inches taller, and used the height difference to his advantage. "If you want our help in this, you'd best start being straight with us. Otherwise, brother or not, you're on your own."

Aaron swallowed hard. He didn't know what he'd been expecting, but it hadn't been this show of temper. His brother was bit too much like their father in that regard for his liking. He looked into Chris's eyes and saw the older man was quickly running out of patience. Digging into the inside pocket of his jacket, he came out with a small envelope. Opening it, Aaron dumped a large red stone into the palm of his hand. Ignoring the curses that filed the room, he grinned. "It could be that this is what Clint is after."

Chris watched as Aaron returned the ruby to its envelope and tuck back into his jacket pocket. "You cheat to win that?" He hoped he knew what the answer would be.

"No," Aaron responded almost immediately. "I didn't have to. Clint and his friends couldn't play worth shit."

Chris nodded. He was willing to take Aaron on his word – at least for now. Turning back to his fellow peacekeepers he said, "anybody notice any strangers in town the last little bit?"

"There ain't no guarantee this guy even made it into town before the stage left." J.D. stated after everyone said they hadn't seen anyone. "I mean, the boys and I passed the stage headin' out as we were comin' into town. He couldn't have had that much of a head start on us."

"The kid's right," Buck said. "We don't know if any 'a those guys are even in town. Besides, how would we know if they were. I mean, we get strangers through here all the time."

"Buck's got a good point," Nathan interjected.

"Aaron is going to take a room over at the hotel, and if he sees one of these guys in town, he's gonna let one of us know." Chris looked first at his brother, then at the other peacekeepers. "Anybody got a problem with that?"

When no one expressed a problem, Chris picked his hat up off the desk and headed toward the door. "Good. Now, I've got unfinished business with Kevin."

Slightly curious, Aaron stopped J.D. on his way out the door. "Who's Kevin, and what unfinished business does Chris have with him?"

J.D. turned to study the other man. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about this new situation. He had grown to think of Chris Larabee as an older brother, and he had hoped Chris had felt the same way about him. But, this man had arrived claiming to be Chris's real younger brother, and J.D. couldn't help but feel threatened by it – even if he didn't or couldn't admit that to himself.

"Chris is watchin' over Kevin while Vin's out at the Reservation, and the way I figure it, their unfinished business ain't none 'a your concern." J.D. stepped through the door and walked off in the direction of the saloon.

Aaron went off in search of a room. Maybe he'd try to find one over one of the saloons rather than at a hotel, he thought. Sensing J.D.'s animosity, he wondered, not for the first time, whether his decision to come looking for his brother was one he would end up regretting.

XXOOXXOO

After Ezra had left her at the hotel, Maude had decided that a hot bath would be the perfect way to relax before spending the rest of her evening in the saloon. So she packed a bag with the items she would need and set off down the street, only to come to an abrupt halt as she passed the boarding house.

It was the music pouring out of the building that caught her attention. She had never heard a piano played in quite that way before. Maude had to know who was playing. All thoughts of her hot bath fled as she mounted the steps to the front porch. Instead, her thoughts were filled with all the money she could make by acting as the as yet unknown musician's agent through promotion and concert tours. Whoever it was would definitely become a star.

She was little surprised to walk in the parlor and find a teenage girl at the instrument. The girl was oblivious to everything but the music, which evoked anger and uncertainty. Maude stood in the doorway and listed for several moments, lost in the emotion of the music.

Suddenly, her attention was drawn to a young boy lying on his back on the floor in the corner of the room. "I don't like that one, Sammy. Play something happy."

Maude saw this as her chance. "Yes, please do. I'd love to hear you play something else."

Sammy had been about to tell Kevin that if he didn't like what she was playing he could leave, but at the sound of the stranger's voice she stopped playing completely.

"Oh, please don't stop," Maude stated, stepping further into the room. "I'm sorry I interrupted, please go on."

"Who are you?" Sammy asked, coming to her feet. Kevin had also come to his feet and was now standing beside Sammy, his good arm wrapped around her waist.

Maude smiled and laughed. "How rude of me, I'm Maude Standish," she said, stepping forward and extending her hand to Sammy. "I was walking by and heard you playing, I couldn't resist coming inside."

Sammy wasn't sure about this stranger, but her manners had her accepting Maude's handshake and introducing herself and Kevin. "I'm Sammy Browning and this here is Kevin Tanner." It finally dawned on Sammy that this was the woman she had seen get off the stagecoach and walk off with Ezra. "Standish? Are you any relation to Ezra?"

"Why, yes I am," Maude was delighted. The fact that this child was familiar with Ezra could only help. "I am his mother." She glanced around the parlor and returned her gaze to the girl.

"I don't believe I've seen you in town during my prior visits. Are you living here with your parents?"

"No, my parents are dead," Sammy stated. She wasn't sure she was comfortable with the direction of this conversation. Her gut was telling her to be wary of this woman. "I'm livin' here because Chris Larabee is my guardian."

"Oh," Maude was suddenly taken aback. That put a whole new spin on her plans. It would be extremely difficult to convince Mr. Larabee to agree to allow Sammy to go on a concert tour. Still, she wasn't known for giving up easily when she wanted something. She decided to turn the topic of conversation in that direction. "My dear, you play simply wonderfully. Have you performed anywhere?"

The front door opening caught Sammy's attention and she watched as Chris and Vin walked in. She nearly grinned when she saw Chris's expression change when he caught sight of Maude. She answered Maude's question as though nothing had changed. "Only over at the saloon a time or two," she said, straight faced.

Chris suspected he knew exactly what Sammy was up to. He glanced over at Vin, who nodded and grinned.

The thought that this might be easier than she expected crossed Maude's mind. If Chris Larabee had allowed this child to perform in a saloon full of men, surely he would have no objection to her going on a concert tour – supervised by Maude, of course. "Well, I'm surprised Mr. Larabee would allow such a thing, or was it before he became your guardian."

Sammy grinned. "Oh, he was already my guardian. Ezra and Buck were there also." She decided not to mention that it had been during the day, when the number of patrons was much lower than at night, or the fact that Chris had been appointed her guardian only a few minutes before.

"I see. Well, perhaps we could sit down one day and discuss whether or not you would like to perform elsewhere. Say, like on a concert tour?"

Sammy could barely keep from grinning. Maude Standish had been so obvious about her interest that Sammy had known exactly where the conversation was heading. "I don't think that's such a good idea. Besides," she continued, looking past Maude to meet Chris's gaze, "I don't think Chris likes that idea very much."

"You're right," he said, stepping into the room. "I don't like the idea very much. And, as I've already told Ezra, I ain't gonna let you make money off 'a her."

Maude tried not to let Chris see that he had startled her. "But you've allowed her to play in a saloon. I can assure you, what I have in mind would be much more appropriate venues for a young lady."

"Her performance in the saloon was under special circumstances that ain't likely to be repeated. Now, if you would excuse us," Chris stated, "we have some family business to take care of."

Insulted at the dismissal, Maude turned back to Sammy. "It was a pleasure to hear you play. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to enjoy your music again in the near future." Turning, she brushed pass Chris and nearly bumped into Vin on her way out the door.

"Well, don't that beat all," Vin stated as he walked into the parlor.

Kevin detached himself from Sammy and ran across the room. "Vin, you're home!"

Vin stooped and swept the boy up into his arms for a hug. He didn't miss Kevin's wince of pain from his sore shoulder. Setting the boy on his feet, Vin crouched in front of him. "I ran inta Chris outside, and he told me you ain't been wearin' your sling like you're supposed ta'. Is that why your shoulder's hurting?"

Kevin started to say that his shoulder wasn't hurting, but the looks on Chris's and Vin's faces quickly convinced him that lying about it would only make things worse. He nodded.

Vin stood. "Well, Chris, whatta you think? You're the one he disobeyed, what do you think his punishment should be?" He and Chris had already discussed this very topic and had decided that the best punishment would be to allow Kevin to suffer the consequences of his actions – the pain in his shoulder and a trip to see Nathan to make sure he hadn't done any real damage to it, which would involve the inevitable lecture from the healer.

Kevin looked worriedly from Vin to Chris. "It won't happen again. I'll wear it from now on, I promise."

Chris nodded and moved to take Vin's place, crouching down in front of the boy. "You knew you were to wear that sling, didn't you?'

"Yes, sir," Kevin stated, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"And your shoulder is hurting now because you didn't wear it."

Kevin nodded.

"What have you learned from this?" Chris asked, studying Kevin's face.

"That I gotta wear the sling so my shoulder don't hurt."

Chris grinned and stood. "I think he's learned his lesson. A sore shoulder serves as just as good a teacher as a sore backside would." Turning back to Kevin, he continued, "But, I think Nathan oughtta take a look at that to make sure you didn't do any damage."

Kevin paled slightly. He liked Nathan, but he didn't like the idea of the vile tasting concoctions the healer might force on him. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, you have to," Vin answered, not bothering to hide his grin.

"Ah, man," Kevin said. "I shoulda worn the sling, even though it go in my way. It just ain't worth it."

"I think that's the point," Chris responded, grinning.

TBC