Sorry for the delay, wasn't my fault, honestly!:)
Chapter 7
Follows the events of Chapter 6
The boys were coming home today, and Robert Turner felt very ill at ease. He knew from the wires Chris had dutifully sent that Anderson had been taken care of, and, though the boys had had some extra adventures along the way, they were all okay, and should be there soon. That meant that tonight, or at the latest tomorrow, the truth must be revealed. And Robert Turner was honest enough to admit to himself that he was afraid. Afraid of Chris's and the others's reactions.
Twenty years of silence, half-truths, and lies; for twenty years 'the adults' were choosing for 'the kids', denying them their legacy, even if said legacy consisted only of grief and revenge. Chris was a forthright honest man, and, most likely, so was Vin; would they understand the motives behind the deception? Would they accept them and forgive the con?
Robert sighed, staring at his cane with disgust. Years ago he believed he would follow Chris to Four Corners Valley when the time came; now it was impossible, he would only be a liability. Of course, he could and would offer his money, and his advice after when it comes to restoring the Valley, Chris already knew more than him about battles. That is, if Chris accepted his help at all after everything, and Robert wasn't all that sure about that…
Robert was lost in thought, trying to figure out how to even begin telling the tragic story, when he heard the clatter of hooves. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and made his way down from the porch. To his surprise, he saw seven riders instead of six; the seventh rode to the right, between Buck and JD, and his bright red coat sure singled him out from the others. But nevertheless, he looked like he belonged there anyway, and Robert found himself wondering who he might be if all the Larabees and family friends were accounted for already.
Minutes later, the men arrived at the yard and dismounted; Chris, as usual, came forward and gave his dad a short man-hug.
"Dad."
"Chris," Robert nodded, taking stock of his son; Chris looked fine, and though tired, he did look more alive than he had been for the last three years. Relived, Robert shifted his gaze to the rest, appraising their conditions and waiting for someone to introduce the new man.
It was Buck, who slapped the newcomer on his shoulder and said loudly:
"Well, Ez, let me introduce you to Mr. Robert Turner, the owner and founder of this beauty," Buck gestured with his other hand at the land around. "Sir, this is Ezra Standish, he helped us with Anderson. A good shot and absolutely dangerous at poker."
"It doesn't take much skill to beat you there, Buck," Robert joked automatically, his mind reeling from hearing the words 'Standish' and 'poker' in the same sentence. Could it be? No, it just couldn't, that man was simply someone Chris had recruited for a job and who'd stuck with him after wards, and it doesn't matter that he seems hardly older than Vin…
"Welcome to the Turner Ranch, Mr. Standish," silencing his paranoid thoughts with an effort, Robert outstretched his hand.
"Sir," the young man met his gaze with a polite, but blank expression, then quickly ended the handshake and retreated to take care of his horse, while Robert was shaking hands with the other men. (JD and Buck got hugs, but they didn't complain.)
As the day went by the seven men took care of their horses and themselves, taking turns telling Robert about their adventures, both on the road and in the Village. What Robert realized from everything he heard was, without a doubt, that the seven men became a remarkable force - when working together. That was good to know, considering what waited for them in the near future.
It was already dark outside, and the men were sitting in the main room after dinner, relaxing, smoking and sipping whiskey, or, in JD's case, milk. The group discussion slowly broke up into smaller ones; Ezra extracted a deck of cards from his vest pocket and began shuffling them professionally, though he kept silent and wasn't in a hurry to invite anyone to a game of chance.
Robert, seating nearby, was enchanted by the familiar motion and couldn't ignore his suspicions any longer; before he realized what he was doing he heard himself speaking:
"Ezra, can I ask you a question?" Seeing he had the man's attention, he continued: "How old are you?"
Ezra was startled. He, of course, expected some questions from the head of the house, him being a new man here and his occupation somewhat questionable. But age wasn't a thing people cared about here. There was only one reason for Robert Turner asking him that - the man recognized his last name and was suspecting Ezra for who he was. Actually, before arriving here Ezra had decided to let sleeping dogs lie and not bring up the subject of his parentage while here; after all, he wanted nothing from Robert Turner, but he owed Chris after what had happened at the clearing. Not to mention he actually liked and respected his brother and felt there was a chance for a friendship he didn't want to risk for the sake of, figuratively speaking, spitting in Robert's face. But if the man was asking for that himself….
"I turned 19 in June, Mr. Turner," he drawled, seeing with satisfaction the man pale. "At the end of the month."
Nineteen in June… and Robert had left Maude in October. Oh Lord. Was this young man, seated in the chair next to him, Maude's and his son? And, judging by the way he'd answered the question, he was very well aware of his lineage.
Meanwhile, Ezra put the deck back in one pocket, and extracted something small from the other one. He stretched the object out to Robert and said, in the same nonchalant tone:
"I believe it's yours, sir."
Robert automatically took the thing and recognized the pendant he'd given Maude shortly before his leaving. So… so it was true and Ezra knew. But if he had the pendant, did this mean that Maude was dead?
"Is Maude…" he couldn't bring himself to finish the question, but Ezra understood him anyway.
"No, sir, my Mother is in excellent health, at least as far as I know. She gave me that when she decided to leave this area."
"Why didn't she…"
"You know, sir, the ability to read others is a very important skill for people in our – I mean mine and Mother's – profession. My Mother is too proud – as a professional – to openly admit she had been deceived even once, and contacting you would be doing just that."
Bewildered, Robert stared at the pendant. He might have broken a promise he'd given to Maude, but he'd never lied to her… and then realization dawned, leaving him breathless. Maude had, apparently, found him after wards, and, whenever she'd done that, she'd found his cover story, too. A story about him being a recent widower with a son. She'd had no reasons to doubt it, so she must have believed that he'd been married during their time together, that he'd just used her and dumped her after wards. That's why she hadn't contacted him, that's why the young man sitting here looked at him with such contempt… Good Lord. Robert had always known that the web of lies and half-truths he created to protect Chris could backfire one day, he'd just never suspected it would be this way, never thought it would cost him the woman he almost loved and the son of his blood…
"Dad," he heard Chris's voice, in its quiet, but most dangerous tone. "What's going on?"
Robert lifted his gaze from the pendant and realized that not only Chris, but everyone in the room, was watching and listening to his exchange with Ezra. And, most likely, they had guessed its meaning. Well, at least he didn't have to choose the correct moment for finally telling the truth…
"Chris. It's not what you think."
Ezra snorted, but Chris asked calmly: "Then what is it?"
"It's a much more complicated story." Robert felt his throat go dry, and sipped from his glass, forcing himself to swallow, while surveying the men around him. Josiah looked pensive, he must be preparing himself for telling his part of the story; Buck looked sad and JD stunned, and Vin and Nathan were rising from their chairs.
"I think we should leave," Nathan said for them both.
"Stay," Robert said tonelessly. "It concerns all of you."
"All of us?" Vin asked incredulously. To his further surprise, he was answered by Josiah.
"Yes. All of us."
"You know what this is about?" Vin glared accusingly at his uncle.
"Partially," Josiah looked at Robert, returning the lead to him.
"As I said, boys, it's a long and complicated story. I ask you to hear us out before jumping to conclusions, and then we'll answer all your questions, if we can."
Chris, JD and Buck exchanged glances and nodded; Nathan and Vin sat back down and Ezra shrugged. Taking it as an agreement, Robert said:
"JD, please tell Rachel we are not to be disturbed and close the door and the window." Generally, Robert trusted his servants, but no one besides the Seven should hear what would be told now.
When JD had done what he'd been told and sat back in his chair, Robert took a deep breath and addressed Standish.
"Ezra, you grew up far from here. What do you know about Four Corners Valley?"
Now that was a strange question. What did the Valley, which was a good weeks ride from the ranch, have to do with him being Turner's bastard? Come to think of it, what did the rest of the men, besides Chris, have to do with it… But he'd agreed to listen; maybe it all would make sense in the end. As for the question, Ezra happened to know enough about the area and its history, he'd spent several months there last year, but he would refrain from revealing that particular detail, until he knew for sure what was going on.
"Four Corners Valley," he began with an intonation of a storyteller. "A rich and once thriving area west from here. It had belonged to the Larabee family since its foundation until Benjamin Davidson took it illegally by force twenty years ago or so. The men of the family were killed, the women and children disappeared."
"The folks in Four Corners put a hell of hope in those missing children," Vin added. "They believe the boys will come back any minute now, and kick Davidson out of the Valley."
Seeing inquiring looks, Vin explained: "Was there a couple of times, have some friends in outer ranches. Never been to town, though. They have lots of rumors about what happened to them boys…"
"And what are those rumors?" Robert asked in a carefully neutral tone.
Vin shrugged, but Ezra, anxious to see what all this was getting at, spoke with a trace of irritation in his voice:
"It is believed that the son of the oldest brother, the rightful heir, so to say, was kidnapped by the Indians. The Larabee sister and her son, according to the most popular rumor, were saved by some famous gunslinger, her lover and the boy's father. The widow of a middle brother, and her baby, ran off to some rich relatives of hers. And it is also believed, that the youngest Larabee brother had survived the battle and was saved by some healers or shamans, who later got him out of the Valley."
"Well," again it was Josiah who picked up the conversation. "At least the last one is true. I honestly don't know how, but I made it to the Jacksons after the battle."
Josiah looked pointedly at Nathan and continued: "Obediah had to dig three bullets out of me, guess I got lucky… We were hiding at one of the small ranches for a while, and then they managed to get us all out of the Valley."
Nathan nodded in recognition; he'd seen Josiah's old scars while tending to him, he'd just never thought in was his father who'd worked on them wounds at the time… but some things made more sense now.
"So you are the youngest Larabee brother," Vin stated.
"Yes. Nate's parents were long-time friends and sort of our family doctors."
"Does it mean that me…" Vin began to ask, but Josiah shook his head. "Not exactly."
"What?"
"Vin, you are indeed my nephew, but Cherry wasn't my sister, she was my sister-in-law. Your father was James Larabee, the second of us brothers, and he was killed in the Four Corners battle."
Vin gasped, feeling like the earth was moving out from under his feet. 'Remember, boy, you are a Tanner' were the last words his mother told him; he'd always thought it had been a way to honor his father. He'd known his father was treacherously killed, but that was all; and now it seemed that Josiah had known all along what had happened, and…
"Then where the hell did the name Tanner came from?" He demanded angrily.
"Tanner was Cherry's maiden name, Vin," Robert answered. It was a little more complicated that that, but the details of Cherry's relationship with her father could wait. "The name she wore walking down the aisle."
"And how do you know that?"
Robert met the blue-eyed glare, and tried to keep his voice steady. "Cherry was my step-sister, Vin. I gave her away at the wedding. I should have been that relative she could run to, but I was traveling at the time and didn't have a permanent home. I hurried to the Valley as soon as I heard about Davidson, but it was too late by then. I couldn't find a single trace of her; I looked for years but to no avail."
For several long moments the two men looked into each other's eyes, then Vin nodded, accepting what had been said.
Wishing to ease the tension a little, Josiah went for what he thought would be a safer revelation and looked at Buck and JD.
"My sister's name was Joanne," he said softly.
Buck smiled sadly at that. "Then I think 'the famous gunslinger' was never in the picture, was he?"
The grey-haired man shrugged. "Not that we knew of." Then a distant look appeared in his face, one that showed he was going to share a happy memory. "When it became obvious that Joanne was expecting," he began, "we confronted her, and Adam, as the head of the family, asked whom we should pay a visit. She laughed in his face and answered, that, if she ever wanted a shotgun wedding, then she knew how to handle the shotgun herself."
Buck chuckled, recognizing his mother in that, and Josiah continued:
"While Adam was thinking of a suitable answer, Teresa stepped in, stating, that, with four of us around, the child would have enough father figures to drive him crazy, and that she, for once, heartily approved Joanne's timing. Adam had never been able to out argue the girls when they teamed up, and, considering that Teresa was due any day herself… "
"Teresa?" Chris whispered, shattering the illusion of the light mood. Josiah looked at Robert guiltily – it was his place to tell Chris his part of the story.
"Yes. Teresa," Robert stated and waited for the man who'd been his son for twenty years to look at him.
"Chris, your real name is Christopher Adam Larabee, you are the only son of Adam and Teresa Larabee, the current head of the Larabee family and the legitimate owner of Four Corners Valley."
Chris's eyes jumped to Josiah for a second as he breathed: "That true?"
"Yes," his new uncle replied. "You're the spitting image of Adam, Chris. Joanne and myself recognized you on sight."
Robert swallowed dry, unable to gage his son's reaction, and continued, ignoring the growing ache in his heart. "You were five during the invasion of Four Corners, and you witnessed the deaths of your parents."
With everyone being focused on Chris and Robert, no one noticed Ezra paling visibly at that. The execution of Adam Larabee was still the subject of horror tales in Four Corners, and Ezra had heard enough of them to wish he had a less vivid imagination. To think that Adam's child had seen it… How the hell had Chris managed to grow up in a sane person? Robert must be a wizard if it was his doing.
Meanwhile, Robert was continuing. "I managed to kidnap you afterwards, and started the rumor about Indians, to direct Davidson's goons elsewhere. It was nearly six months before you started talking again, and by that time you didn't remember much."
A deafening silence fell after that; it looked like everyone forgot to breathe for a while. Then suddenly Chris stood up abruptly, nearly knocking his chair over, and fled from the room. A moment later they heard the slamming of the front door and Robert made a move to stand up, too, when Buck shook his head.
"Leave him be, Robert. He'll come around and you'll sort this out, but for now leave him be."
Robert nodded, finished his drink and turned to face the son of his blood.
"I didn't lie to your mother, Ezra," he said tiredly. "I wasn't married when we were together; in fact I was never married. But I had a sister and I couldn't stay away once I knew she was in danger, though I didn't think back then it was that serious… When we got out of the Valley and were far enough away to be safe, I wrote to Maude, to the city where we'd met, but she'd left already. I didn't look for her afterward, and I should have. I didn't know she was pregnant and never thought about that possibility…and I should have."
For a moment Robert stared into the green eyes, identical to those he saw in the mirror everyday, and then looked elsewhere. Ezra cleared his throat.
"I'm afraid I'm in need of some fresh air," he stood up gracefully and headed for the door. "Gentlemen."
He left the room quietly and slowly, a contrast to Chris's hasty retreat; Robert followed him with his eyes, wondering if there was any chance that he'd acquired the younger son today, and not lost the older one.
"Why?" Vin asked quietly, looking first at his uncle and then at Robert, who, as it seemed now, also was his uncle. "Why so many lies?"
It was obvious that Robert's mind was with his boys outside, and anyway, it was Josiah's task to set thing right with Vin. So he took a deep breath and tried to formulate what had been their reasons for concealing the truth.
"To protect you all. Not only from Davidson, but from hatred and bitterness. To let you grow up without constant grieving, hating and seeking revenge."
Vin looked at his uncle, the man whom he'd always remembered as grey-haired and considered old, and realized suddenly that Josiah must be only in his mid thirties now… and he knew what he was talking about; knew from experience what was it like, to constantly remember that your home had been shattered and the men responsible were still alive, their crimes unpunished, and the deaths of your loved ones unavenged. Vin nodded, silently saying he understood.
"So," JD spoke the first time since the talk had begun. "Does this all mean that we are all a family?"
Trust the kid to focus on the bright spot. But then, he didn't loss anything in today's revelations, only gained… Vin started to feel a little closed in, maybe Ezra's idea about fresh air had some sense in it… But he didn't want to distress the kid.
"Yes, JD, it means exactly that. We're all family, and that's good news," he stood up, came close and ruffled the boy's hair, knowing full well that the gesture irritated him. "Bad news is that you're still the youngest."
JD laughed, shaking Vin's hand away, and asked: "Where are you going?"
"Out. Need myself a little space, too. See y'all tomorrow." He caught Nathan's and then Buck's eyes for a second, and left.
Buck looked at the door, hoping Vin would find Chris out there. If anyone was able to help Chris to come to terms with the shocking truth, it would be Tanner, in all this they had more in common than anyone else. Buck himself was still sorting out his own feelings, trying to decide if he was angry at his mother for hiding the truth from him and Chris, for deciding to play along with Robert's story. Because it had been her decision, Robert couldn't make her do anything… And the oldest son of Joanne Larabee decided that no, he wasn't angry at his mother. Josiah had a point; had Buck known he should have grown up not in a brothel, but in a big family, with a bunch of uncles, aunts and cousins, had he known he shouldn't have been the only one protecting his mother for years, that he should have had 'enough father figures to drive him crazy'… Had he known all that, he might have turned out bitter and full of hatred and self-pity, he might have ended up envying Chris instead of being his friend… He didn't want that.
Now, with things happening the way they had, nothing could sway their friendship. If it had survived the aftermath of Sarah's death, then no amount of family secrets could damage it. As for the rest of the boys… well, the bond uniting them was created in the Seminole Village, and everything else might only strengthen it. At least, Buck was firm set to believe [-] that, and was going to do his best to make the others believe it, too.
Buck looked at his uncles (he'd come to consider Robert as such, in the years he'd been living on the ranch, and now he had Josiah for one, too…that was good); both men wore the same forlorn look. All this truth telling must have been hard on them; Buck wanted to tell them both it'd be okay, but then he came up with a better idea.
"Josiah," he called softly. "Tell us about them."
"Huh?"
"Tell us about them," Buck repeated. "About you, about us."
"What?"
Buck shrugged. "Everything. Did you give much grief to Uncle Adam? Did Nate's parents have as much trouble with you all as Nate with us? Did Mom and Aunt Teresa always have their way with you boys? Who was more trouble as a baby, me or Chris? As I said, everything."
Josiah laughed in spite of himself.
Later that evening, Robert left Buck, JD and Nathan listening to Josiah's tales and went outside. One day, he might want to hear them, too, but not today. Today he had to make sure his sons and nephew were okay. He had an idea where Chris might be; ever since the founding of the ranch, the boy had had a favorite place to hide when hurt or just when he needed to think – a fallen tree behind the barn. The tree had half gone into the ground over the years, but Chris still went to sit there every now and then, and now Robert was carefully making his way there, using moonlight to guide him.
As soon as the tree came into view, Robert noticed three silhouettes sitting on it, in arm's reach of each other; a bottle was passing between them. He stopped, not willing to disturb them, but the long-haired one must have already heard; Vin turned his head to look at Robert and nodded slightly, implying he would keep an eye on the other two. Robert returned the nod, and slowly went back into the house.
To be continued…
