A/N: Hey guys, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and all of that :) I know it's been a million years, but this was a majorly hard semester even with the extra time off from lack of work. It paid off though-two A's and an A-. That has like never happened before in my entire life. If I got an A in something, you could bet I was getting a C in something else. Or dropping a class/switching to pass/no pass to save my GPA from something worse.
Luckily I still have three more weeks until the next semester, and so I'm hoping that the next chapter of RR will be done before Christmas as well. It's like half done, I'm just sort of stuck.
Everybody who voted on Ezra's car voted for the Porsche 911, it was unanimous! I went specifically for the 2011 Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet in green porsche-mania wp-content/ uploads /2011 /04 / 2011-Green-Porsche-911-Carrera-S-Cabriolet_Wallpaper_002 . jpg remove the spaces if you want to see it. It is a super pretty car.
Thank you guys for sticking with me! And shout out to the awesome sauce reviewers: MamaBear2Two, Wockerjabi, Sandy, Chrissysmiles, Guest, BHS, Guest, Lunez, Guest, Guest, Angie Jayne, Guest, Guest, Guest. Sorry for the long wait, I hope it hasn't scared anybody off :)
Buck swallowed the last bite of his roll as the kennel came into view, grinning in amusement as he saw JD plopped on his butt in front of it, not caring at all about the dirt even in his fancy clothes, and with two tired looking pups piled on his lap. Missy was laying behind him, keeping an eye on her pups-and Buck wouldn't be at all surprised if the intelligent dog knew JD was really just a 'pup' himself, and included him in her list-and Bogart wrestling around, excited yips and barks filling the air. The boston terrier was a bit on the small side for his breed Buck thought, even for not being full-grown, but he was still quite a bit bigger than the seven week old pups, who almost seemed to bounce off him in their eagerness to play. Bowser Jr. was off in the shade of a bush, panting, looking less watchful and more tired, probably having been part of the literal dog pile before he showed up. Figuring they weren't in any too big of a hurry, no point in heading back now just to wait for Nate to finish up, Buck ambled over, JD looking up and grinning at him. "Hey! The dogs get along great, see?"
"I do see. Looks like they're all gonna be best pals. Sure you want to be dirtying up them fancy trousers?" JD shrugged, his smile turning a little sheepish.
"I was running around with them at first and had to stop short to keep from tripping over Bowser Jr., fell on my butt. After that I figured they were already dirty."
"Makes sense to me." Buck sank down to his haunches as Tinkerbell, the smallest and calmest of the litter, and a loving little thing, saw him and crawled off JD's lap to say hello. "Hey, pretty thing, you tired yourself right out, didn't you?" Her 'answer' was to place a paw on the hand he'd stretched out to her, and then, after giving it a lick as well, look at him expectantly. With a chuckle Buck picked her up, cradling her in the crook of his arm, and gave the expected belly-rub. They'd kept Bowser Jr. out of Pepper and Bowser's last litter and were going to keep one of these little sweethearts. Buck was definitely leaning towards Tink, but JD seemed to favor either Nessie or Scamp, and he was thinking it would be a nice treat to let him pick.
"Buck?" JD's tone was a little cautious, one he hadn't heard from him before, and got Buck's attention quick. Eyes shifting to his brother's face, he gave him his ears. "What do you think happened to Ezra?" Buck blinked. He wouldn't have been surprised if JD had asked if he thought Ezra would be okay, or anything like that, but he wasn't sure where that had come from.
"What makes you think it wasn't what he said, he got mugged coming into town?" Buck felt an uneasy tightening in his gut as JD gave him a 'duh' look, wondering what he'd missed. A random mugger wasn't likely to cause troubles for Ezra in the future, but if it was something else...of course, JD was seventeen and plenty excitable, could be nothing.
"Well, for one thing, a mugger probably would have punched his face, not slapped it, especially since it looks like they did hit him in the ribs. I got mugged once," hearing that out of the baby's mouth, so matter of fact, chilled him, even as Buck had to admit he had a good point, "and trust me, the guy wasn't threatening to slap me if I didn't give him my wallet. Getting slapped, that's personal, humiliating even."
Buck chewed on his lip for a minute, brow furrowing as he found himself nodding reluctantly, "You ain't wrong, that's for sure." Shifting Tink, who was starting to squirm, down to his lap, he sighed, "So you're thinking it was somebody Ezra knew?" He ran a hand over his hair, not liking the tightening feeling in his gut at all as JD nodded at him. "And if it happened at a rest stop when he was most of the way here, that means they followed him." Buck cursed quietly, the hand that had ran over his hair moving to stroke his mustache.
"Not good, right?" JD said, eyes still trained on Buck even as he stroked Scamp's head, giving him the sensation that the kid thought if he explained it properly Buck would be able to fix it all, and wouldn't it be nice if things were that easy? "And second, that's not the only thing I noticed, he still has his wallet; I saw it in his back pocket earlier. Why would a mugger not have taken it?" JD paused for a second, as though something had just occurred to him, and then said, voice a little reluctant, "I guess Vin could have got it back for him, but still, why'd he beat him up so bad if all he wanted was his wallet?" JD started fidgeting with his hands and looked over at where the dogs were now resting, the puppies who hadn't wandered back to their mother snuggled up with Bogart, except for Scamp, still snuggling in his brother's lap, and Tink, who was climbing all over his.
"Well, some people are just plain nasty and like violence for it's own sake, but that doesn't mean you aren't convincing me." Shaking his head, Buck helped Tinkerbell complete the clumsy journey she'd started to the ground then pushed himself to his feet, "C'mon kid, I don't know about you, but I think better when I'm moving." He waited for JD to set Scamp down and stand up, the boy letting the dog lick him all over his face first, Buck grimacing a bit, but not saying anything. He walked towards the horse barn, JD falling into place next to him, and a second later he heard patting feet, telling him that Bowser Jr. had decided to get his lazy bones up and come with them, the dog walking at his side a second later. Neither of them said anything for a minute, though Buck got the feeling that JD had something else to add, just maybe wasn't sure how to say it, the kid kicking at the ground now and again and stirring up the dust. Turning his head so he could see the kid and the path at the same time Buck said, "So, you had a first thing, and a second thing, generally they come in threes, don't they?"
JD nodded, a little reluctantly, his eyes moving over to his brother and Buck raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. "Well...three, that weird thing with the CD-seriously creepy. I figure, whoever beat him up is the one who put the CD in his car."
Buck pursed his lips for a second, then let out a low whistle. "That kid, is why you have a college degree at 17, you're one smart cookie." JD gave him a look, obviously thinking he wasn't taking him seriously, but Buck, busy thinking over what he'd said, ignored it. "How bad that handprint is on his face, and how big it is, I ain't sure the CD would be part of that. Figured that had something to do with an ex, or an unwanted admirer-definitely creepy, but, unless she's an amazon, ain't many ladies that could do that kind of damage, and their hands definitely don't tend to be that big." His little brother's eyes were now trained on his feet, and if Buck didn't know any better he would say the kid looked guilty, which just plain didn't make any sense. "What are you seeing that I ain't?"
"You have to promise you won't hate him." JD's voice was quiet, earnest, and kind of scared, and Buck, who couldn't understand what he'd done to make JD sound like that, let alone ask for that kind of promise, was shocked and a little hurt. Ezra and JD hadn't spent any time alone so far, it wasn't that Hoss had told him he was in some kind of trouble, and even if he was Buck wouldn't hate him for it. Stopping, he turned to face JD, grabbing his shoulder and turning him to face him, needing to make this point stick in the kid's head.
"Of course I ain't gonna hate him! Can't imagine any of you doing something so bad it would make me hate you, you don't have to worry about that, you hear?" JD shrugged, still not looking at him. "JD." He put a touch of command in the name, wanting to know what the boy was holding back.
"I think maybe Ezra's ex is a man." Huh. Hadn't really expected to hear that. Part of him wondered if JD just thought Ezra was gay because of his fancy clothes and talk, but it did put all the pieces together nicely.
Didn't explain why JD thought he would hate their brother.
"Do I look like a homophobe to you?" Buck said it plainly and pointedly, not mad, especially not when JD seemed upset, but wanting to be clear.
The question surprised the kid enough that his head jerked up, and he started spluttering as a blush came over his face, "No! I mean, I don't...I was just worried!"
Buck's face softened and he held up his hands in a placating gesture, "And I'm telling you you don't have to, that's all. The only thing that changes-if you're right-is that if the creepy son of a bitch comes near Ezra again I can beat the crap out of him myself, instead of seeing if I can get Inez to do it for me." He leaned forward a little and made sure to really capture JD's eyes with his own before his next words, "You understand?" JD nodded and swallowed, and Buck wondered just what all he'd seen in the picture of the rough, blue-collar neighborhood that was forming in his mind the more he heard of the boy's stories. Wondered if he'd seen someone hurt, and then Buck started thinking about some of the closed minds that lived in his own small town, and if any of them touched his brother, hell, said a cruel word to him, when he'd already been hurt...
"Buck?"
Feeling wiped out suddenly, the roller coaster of a day finally starting to catch up to him, Buck still did his best to sound encouraging with his, "Yeah kid?"
"What about the others? I mean, Josiah is supposed to be really religious, right?"
"Josiah also got defrocked, don't think he can talk." Buck's mouth was open to continue, to tell him that wouldn't be a problem, and if it was Buck would deal with it, but JD talked over him, horrified.
"Really? That's terrible, that means he can't even take communion, or anything. You shouldn't go around telling people, Buck." Buck blinked again, surprised at how defensive the kid sounded, and then he smiled a little sadly. He'd forgotten that Jenna was Catholic, and JD likely was too, probably had a better idea than the rest of them how much that had hurt Josiah.
"You're a really good brother for not having had any practice, you know that? Went from trying to protect Ezra to trying to protect Josiah without a beat. Making me proud, son." JD colored a little and he gave what Buck thought was supposed to be a casual shrug, but the way his back had straightened at his words, chest puffing just a little with badly hidden pride, more than gave him away.
"What you're supposed to do, right?-c'mon, I'm starving, let's go eat." JD veered off the path, running back towards the house, and with a chuckle Buck set off after him, it harder to catch up with him than he'd thought, kid was fast for having short legs. He cheered a bit when he beat Buck to the yard, turning around to watch as the older man came to a stumbling stop, panting a little as he put his hands on his knees. Damn, he hadn't realized he was out of shape until right then.
JD grinned at him, announcing, "I won," a little smugly.
"When the heck did we say it was a race?"
"When you started trying to beat me." He laughed out loud, shaking his head at his brother, then decided to concentrate on getting his breath back.
"Hey Buck?"
"Yeah kid?"
"Don't say anything to Ezra, yet, alright? At least not in front of everybody." JD was earnest again, and Buck waved him off.
"'Course not, don't worry." He'd see what Nathan had figured out before he said anything to anybody, anyway.
"Cool." JD smiled at him, blurting, "C'mon, let's get inside before half the food's gone," and reached out a hand to pull Buck up from his bent over position. Buck grabbed it and straightened with a groan, JD halfway up the porch about two seconds later, letting the screen door slam behind him.
Yep. That boy made him awful proud.
*.*.*.*.*.*
Shooting a quick dirty look at Vin, that Nathan assumed he was supposed to have missed, as he turned his head to face the doctor from where he was sitting on the side of the bed Ezra smiled a casual, 'don't worry about me' smile. It bothered Nathan more because he could see he would have fallen for it if he hadn't already known better than any other reason. "Vin is simply being a bit paranoid about the altercation Ah was involved in, but any type of examination Ah guarantee you is unnecessary."
"Hmm." Ezra might think that would work, but at this point there was no getting out of it. He was hurt, looked worn out compared to this morning and there was just no way that Nathan wasn't checking him out. "Well, better safe than sorry, you don't look so hot and it won't hurt anything for me to get a look at you. Most folks have to pay for a house call." He walked forward like the matter was already settled, dropping the first aid kit that he'd carried out to the bunkhouse earlier on the end of Ezra's bed and paying attention as the younger man processed that, but acting like he wasn't, just calmly unzipping his bag. Nathan could see he was getting testy now, but Nathan was used to that. He didn't have quite as much patience as he might have before the afternoon's mess, but he thought he had enough for this. Hell, long as he didn't try and bite him it would be better than his last shift at the clinic.
"Ah said Ah do not need a medical examination of any type nor do Ah desire one. As Ah am a grown adult and fully capable of assessing my own needs, Ah'd thank you not to question me."
"Jesus," Nathan shook his head as he spoke, "you might not use the same words but you still sound just like Chris when he's hurt." He looked Ezra right in the eyes with his next words, "Makes me wonder if you've got the same habit of saying you're fine when you're anything but?" For a second the younger man's resolve seemed to waver and Nathan thought he might actually give in. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind then Ezra did the opposite with a will, glaring fiercely at Nathan and pushing himself to his feet, his mouth opening to no doubt tell him to mind his own business. Instead, what came out was a groan of pain, his brother's arm reaching out blindly for support as he started to sink right back down where he had been. Nathan, a few steps closer than Vin, managed to get close enough to ease him down the last little bit, so at least he didn't hit the bed with a thump, and then sat down next to him. He waited a long moment, until Ezra seemed to have ridden out the worst of the pain, the eyes he'd squeezed shut opening reluctantly, and said, "See what being stubborn gets you? Any fool can see you're hurt, ain't no use in trying to lie about it."
"Ah merely stood up too hastily, and-"
"Ezra," Vin didn't sound angry, or even frustrated, but there was a cord of resolve in his voice that Nathan noticed had Ezra shutting his mouth and listening, though he didn't look very happy about it, "let Nathan look ya over."
"Vin-"
"I'll worry if ya don't." That actually seemed to get somewhere, Ezra sagging a little and considering what their brother had said. Deciding to make things easier on him, or at least point out that he wasn't going to get his way, and was really just dragging things out, Nathan put his oar in again, voice firm.
"The second I leave the room I'm gonna have all of our older brothers, and probably JD too, wanting to know how bad you're hurt. I tell them I don't know, you wouldn't let me look at you, we're just going to wind up back in here, probably with Chris standing in the doorway to make sure it gets done." Ezra looked slightly horrified at that, before his face smoothed to something mostly blank, though Nathan was pretty sure it meant he was about to give in. Good. The boy might be plenty stubborn, but Nathan could be just as much so-and he knew he didn't have a damn thing on Chris, and doubted Ezra did either.
"If nothing Ah say can convince you, Ah suppose there is no harm in allowing a brief examination to take place, though there is little more that can be done for bruised ribs than for bruised cheeks."
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that. I'm gonna need your shirt off to take a look at you." Nathan waited as Ezra, after giving him a long measuring look that he returned relatively patiently, began unbuttoning his shirt, his fingers moving nimbly enough that Nathan wasn't worried about his circulation. His mouth tightened a little as the top of an ace bandage, wrapped tight enough it couldn't be good for the boy's breathing, came into sight. Nobody wrapped ribs anymore, anyway, it caused far more complications than it eased. Bruising become visible above the top of the bandage as more buttons opened and Nathan's brow furrowed as he noted the mottled colors, pretty sure just from looking that those weren't all from the night before. In fact, he would guarantee that at least some of them had had a few days to heal. Pulling the shirt down over his shoulders had Ezra hissing, and Nathan moved to help him ease it off, when the boy pulled away from him as best he could, even though Nathan could see it hurt him.
"Ah can do it mah self." It was snapped, but there was more exhaustion in it than anger, and even if there hadn't been Nathan was suddenly back to being eleven years old again, trying to get his two-year-old brother to let him help him with his shoes.
Of course back than he hadn't had the accent, and he'd been missing a few words, but he might as well have said, "I do self!" A phrase that Nathan thought they'd all heard about ten times a day once Ezra had really started talking, a phrase Nathan had wished more than once he wouldn't have to hear Ezra say again.
Then he hadn't. For a good seventeen years he hadn't. Didn't sound half bad now. Seeing that Ezra had succeeded in getting his shirt off, Nathan swallowed the lump in his throat and said quietly, "I'm gonna need to unwrap that bandage," pausing for a second as he saw what looked like another hand shaped bruise on his brother's shoulder, underneath a scrape and healed enough that it had to have been at least a week old. Ezra nodded at his implied request, muttering something under his breath that Nathan purposely ignored and holding his arms slightly away from his sides to give him access. Noting that the finger print bruises and nail marks on the inside of his wrist looked like they were somewhere in between the slap mark on his face and the bruise on his shoulder as he began unwrapping the bandage, Nathan was starting to come to a conclusion that he really didn't like. His newest injuries weren't from a random mugging, anymore than the older ones were, or at least it wasn't likely. Someone had been hurting Ezra, not some stranger, but someone he knew. Judging from the lack of bruising on Ezra's knuckles he wasn't just getting into fights, he was being attacked, beaten.
Since Vin had no reason to lie about stopping Ezra's attacker last night, that meant whoever it was had followed his brother to that gas station. Ezra was going to have to tell them what was going on, why the hell he was being targeted like that, whether he liked it or not.
Not right now, though. When he was fixed up, then they could start figuring that out. Nathan took a deep breath, not surprised as he uncovered what looked to be bruises from Ezra's sides being kicked as he got the bandage most of the way unwrapped. There was deeper bruising on his right side, it looking like he'd taken a punch there, probably the night before. Shifting back a bit on the bed he saw that there were was more vivid bruising on the back of the shoulder with the scrape, and a smaller amount on the opposite one. It looked, Nathan thought grimly, like he'd been thrown or slammed against something solid. Eyes trailing down from Ezra's shoulders, he stopped, taken aback, then swallowed. Christ. His eyes cast about the room for a second and latched onto Vin's. The lack of surprise there, the fact that he obviously knew what caused those sorts of scars without having to think just made it worse.
Well, there wasn't anything he could about something that looked like it had to have happened a decade ago, and with another swallow, he forced himself to move forward. Luckily, the only bruising close to his kidneys was what wrapped around from where he'd been kicked, and it wasn't close enough that he thought there would be problems. Still had to ask, though. "You had any problems passing urine?" He said it bluntly, hoping that would minimize any embarrassment, but the scandalized look Ezra shot him let him know that hadn't worked.
"No, Mr. Jackson, Ah have not."
"It's Jackson-Larabee if you're saying mister, Mama kept her last name so they hyphenated mine. Decided when I started practicing it would be easier for my patients if I only used one, and since Mama was in medicine I went with Jackson." Nathan looked more carefully at the scrape on Ezra's shoulder. It wasn't deep, but it was a little red and puffy and he turned back to the first aid kit to grab a small tube of antibiotic ointment and a band-aid.
"Seems like that woulda made kindergarten hard work." Vin said dryly, and Nathan chuckled a little as he smeared ointment over the scrape.
"Well, I still remember not being able to fit my whole name on the paper for our first art project even after three tries, if that's what you mean. It was traumatizing." Nathan grinned a little as he over-enunciated the last word, getting the laugh he expected out of Vin, but a frown from Ezra.
"Surely you could have been provided with a largah papah."
Nathan shrugged, surprised, saying, "I got over it a long time ago, don't worry. Did you hit your head when you got slammed into whatever you got slammed into?" He noticed Ezra shooting a look at Vin, as though trying to see if the other man would rat on him if he said no, and deciding to forgo that complication altogether, slowly started to run his hand over Ezra's head, noting, but not reacting to the flinch. "Yep, you've got a bump on the back of your head, nice little goose egg. Did you get dizzy at all?" Ezra hesitated again and Nathan snorted, deciding his lack of answer was the same thing as a yes. "How long did it last?" Still nothing, and, a little more insistently, Nathan said, "It's important, now."
"A few houahs on and off, but nevah fah more than a minute at a time. Ah was bettah when ah awoke." Ezra's accent was getting noticeably thicker than it had been at the meeting and judging by the drawn look on his face, Nathan had a feeling he was going to start fading fast, and he wanted him to have some food in him first. He'd do his best to be quick.
"Shit, Ezra, I shouldn'ta let ya drive like that." Vin sounded very guilty and Ezra rolled his eyes at him, Nathan hiding a smirk.
"Considering you were a veritable strangah at the time, Ah do not know what you perceive you could have done about it. Ah would have been unlikely to accept a ride from you, even befah Ah saw that monstrosity you call a vehicle."
"Hey," Vin protested, the word almost a laugh, "Don't go makin' fun of my baby now."
Nathan, rolling his eyes himself, said "Sounds like you had a mild concussion, but you seem fine now. Eyes are fine, pupils are even and dilating like they should. You'll let me know if you have any more dizzy spells." It wasn't a question and to his surprise Ezra merely nodded without any argument. Taking another deep breath, he smiled a little at Ezra, voice apologetic, "I need to check and see if any of your ribs are broken. I'll do my best to be gentle, but there is no way it isn't going to hurt."
"Contrary to what is clearly the general opinion Ah am no milksop, and can withstand a little pain." Nathan blinked, confused as Ezra clearly took his words as an insult, and then wondered, a little annoyed, if he was still trying to avoid Nathan giving him a proper check-up. If that's what he was doing, it wasn't going to work.
"Hell, Ezra, I don' have t' know what a milksop is t' know no one thinks that. Ya already withstood plenty, jus' getting here."
"Vin's right." Nathan said seriously, "I wasn't trying to call you a coward." A long, appraising look and then a nod, Ezra speaking quietly and a bit stiffly as Nathan prepared to start looking over his ribs.
"Ah beg pardon for mah outburst, Ah am afraid Ah'm not quite myself today."
"Don't think any of us are." Nathan said quietly, and slowly began to lightly press around Ezra's rib cage. This was less to see if any of them were cracked, as the pain and stiffness with which Ezra moved made that obvious, and more to make sure none were badly broken, that no internal damage had been done that would require more than Nathan had here on the ranch. He listened for changes in Ezra's breathing as he moved his hands, and not surprisingly, when he touched where the bruising was the deepest, on his right side, the younger man gasped, even paling some. Nathan had saved that for last, knowing it would be the most painful, and pulled his hands away as soon as he was done. "You've got two cracked ribs right there, but nothing broken bad as far as I can tell. Here," Nathan twisted around so he could reach into his medical bag and pulled out a small bottle, flipping the top off as he turned back to Ezra and shaking two pills out into his hand, "you aren't allergic to codeine are you?"
"To mah knowledge, Ah have no medical allergies at all." Ezra was trying to sound casual, but the strain in his voice was obvious and Nathan noticed he was eyeing the pills with a hint of distaste he couldn't quite hide. Hopefully he wouldn't give him trouble about taking them. He hadn't wanted his reactions dulled while he checked him over, but a big risk of broken ribs was developing pneumonia or other lung problems from not being able to breath properly due to pain.
"Good. This is just extra strength Tylenol with codeine, it'll help with the pain." Nathan tried to hand them to Ezra but he didn't move his hand to take them, and Nathan frowned a little. "I can see you're hurting, and you're breathing shallowly because of it, which ain't good for you at all. You need to take the pills."
Ezra's face was still polite, but his eyes shown with pure stubbornness. "Ah have already taken ibuprofen several times today, and that is quite strong enough for me."
"That why you had your ribs wrapped so tight? Because the ibuprofen was strong enough? Doctors don't even wrap ribs anymore, you know, if they'd been broken instead of just cracked you could've punctured an organ doing that." Nathan heard the scolding slide into his tone at the end, and knew he should probably dial it back a bit, but, dammit, this was serious.
"Ah knew the injury was not that severe, and the wrap has only been on for the duration of the morning. Ah appreciate your concern, but am quite capable of determining the amount of pain relief Ah acquire." The stubbornness was starting to look like plain obstinance, and Nathan fought a sigh. If the kid would just let him get some pain killers in him he'd let him alone, long as he rested, but he was going to get him to take them.
"Ordinarily I'd say you were right, you'd know best how much pain you can handle. But this isn't just about pain, this is about how breathing shallowly can make you sick. Have you ever had pneumonia?"
The hand that started to move towards his breastbone in memory let him know before the answer left Ezra's lips, slightly grudgingly, "Ah am not entirely unfamiliar with the affliction."
"Well, imagine pneumonia and all that coughing along with the nasty set of bruises and cracked ribs you already got going. That's what not taking pain killers, wrapping your ribs like that, will get you." He kept the pills held out towards Ezra expectantly, who finally took them from his hand with a disgruntled sigh, popping them in his mouth and swallowing them dry.
"Happy?"
"Yeah. Thank you." Nathan smiled, satisfied. Ezra nodded at him, though Nathan thought he was a bit surprised that that really was all he'd wanted. Reaching over into his bag, he pulled out a small tub and said, "This is bruise cream, my own recipe, so it's all natural, if that's part of what bothered you with the pills. You don't have to use it, but it'll help if you do." Ezra tried to wave it away, and Nathan set it down on the bed, "Keep it for a couple days, you still don't want it you can give it back."
"Thank you."
"That's what I'm here for." He considered patting Ezra's knee, but decided against it from the stiffness he was pretty sure didn't come entirely from being sore, and slowly pushed himself to his feet, turning to gather his bag. Nathan almost left the room then, almost didn't say anything, but in the end, he needed to know. At least needed to ask. "Looks like the jerk who beat you up at the gas station had gotten you a couple of times before. Followed you a long way. Is he gonna be a problem?" He stood at an angle to Ezra as he asked, not wanting to box him in, and doing his best to sound as calm and matter of fact as he could, even though he was worried. Nathan saw Vin moving over so he was standing by the night table and Ezra start to look over at him, but he stopped himself before it was much more than a twitch. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"
Ezra seemed at a loss for a moment, then gathered himself with a will that told Nathan he wasn't going to learn anything Ezra didn't want him to know, at least not without it being like pulling teeth. "There is no need to concern yourself, it's nothing that will effect anyone here. Merely some unpleasantness from the past."
Nathan frowned, not liking that answer, not at all, and letting it show. "If you could get hurt again, that concerns me, and last night ain't too far in the past. I can't make you tell me, but I really think you should." The fact that Ezra hadn't said he wasn't in trouble spoke volumes to him.
The boy looked like he rather wished everyone else in the room would just disappear, or at least give up and leave him alone, when Vin spoke up, voice quiet, but carrying, "Don't think ya have t' worry about Nathan bein' hateful to ya, or nothin' like that." Nathan wasn't sure whether or not to be offended when a steely look was tossed his way, Vin clearly letting him know he'd have something to say if he were hateful about whatever this was, but was leaning that way. He hadn't done anything to be looked at like that. Though...he supposed Vin had some reason to feel overprotective, the thought settling him a bit.
"Of course I'm not going to be hateful." He kept his gaze steady as he looked at the teenager, but deliberately softened the tone of his voice. If Ezra had gotten himself mixed up in something stupid, something he shouldn't have, Nathan wouldn't be happy, but well, he was just a kid, really. As long as he didn't keep getting mixed up, let them help him out and then stayed away from...well, whatever sort of trouble a fancy dressed kid who talked like he'd gone to prep school could get into, Nathan would just be happy he was okay.
If he didn't keep his nose clean...well, they'd burn that bridge when they got to it.
"I mean it. Whatever's going on, it'll be okay." Something shifted in Ezra's face, he looked almost amused, but in a way that said nothing was actually funny. Still, Nathan kept looking at him, waiting him out, and finally, probably more to do with Ezra wanting this over with than actually wanting to tell him, but right now he'd take what he could get, he spoke.
"The injuries are the result of an altercation with a former paramour, who was not willing to simply take mah word that our relationship had come to a screeching halt." Ezra sounded tired, sounded older than his nineteen years, but most of all he sounded wary, and as angry as Nathan was when the reality of those words really hit him he did his best to sound calm, to keep his hands from clenching into the fists that a primal part of his brain was telling him to form.
"Your boyfriend was beating on you? He's the one who jumped you, because you left him?" Ezra was opening his mouth to say something when his eyes became transfixed on something over Nathan's shoulder, suddenly three shades paler, the bruises standing out even more against his pallid skin. Nathan turned quickly, not sure what he'd expected to find, but a Chris who was rapidly approaching boiling point, a dish towel being strangled to death as he twisted it in his hands, wasn't it.
"What's his name?" It came out a hiss, tight and deadly, and Nathan took a step forward, knowing this was the last thing Ezra needed, but Chris just stepped to the side, keeping his eyes on Ezra. "Where's he live? 'Cause I'm gonna kill him!"
To Nathan's surprise Ezra spoke up, clearly doing his best to sound collected, but there was a note of fear there that meant if Chris didn't knock this crap off Nathan was going to be doing something about it, such as shoving him right out of the room. "Ah do not believe that divulging that information to you at this time could lead to anything but disastrous consequences for a variety of people."
"Yep. Very disastrous. For him." Chris was snarling it as he took another step, the dish towel twisted into so tight a knot the fabric started to give, and Nathan felt Ezra shying behind him, Chris more than intimidating looking now, and that was enough. Vin must have had the same thought, because he moved before Nathan could, inserting himself between Chris and them, though he was being calmer about it than Nathan thought he might have been, and apparently wasn't intimidated by Chris at all. Didn't mean Chris was going to listen to him, not one little bit, as he told Vin in no uncertain terms that he was not going anywhere.
Oh hell, had Nathan just heard him call Chris 'cowboy'? Nathan decided it was his turn to run interference, before things exploded, and spoke up using his best doctor voice.
"Chris, this ain't helping. Ezra thinks you're mad at him." Nathan kept his voice firm and no nonsense, raising an eyebrow when Chris swung his glare around to land on him, not letting his own nerves show. "Go on outside with Vin. He knows what the bastard looks like. Ezra doesn't need this right now." Chris hesitated, looking both angry and guilty as hell as his gaze swung to Ezra, but still not moving, and Nathan scowled. "I said go outside."
"No. I need to know what the hell is going on, just as much as you. What if this creep comes back?"
"You will, just not now, not until you've calmed your ass down." Pointing towards the door, he growled, "Go," close to the end of his rope, now.
Chris glared at Nathan, but nodded, though he didn't move towards the door until he'd said, "Ain't you I'm mad at, Ezra." Since his voice still came out a growl Nathan wasn't sure how reassuring it was, but better than nothing.
Nathan pretended he didn't hear Vin's slightly over earnest, "If'n it makes ya feel any better I left 'im knocked out behind a dumpster," as he followed Chris out. Technically the doctor was supposed to disapprove of things like that-he was the "responsible" one. Right now, he utterly identified with the pleased sounding grunt Chris had let out when he heard Vin, hoped he'd hit him hard enough it took him a good long while to wake up. Still, he had more important things to handle, and he turned his attention back to Ezra, who had collected himself but was still a bit pale, and valiantly trying to pretend he hadn't been bothered by that at all.
"Chris isn't one you want to rile, but he has a protective streak like a bear. It wasn't you he was mad at, you know that, right?" Nathan moved a hand to Ezra's uninjured shoulder. Ezra nodded, but was clearly uncomfortable, looking at the bridge of Nathan's nose instead of making eye contact.
"Ah find mahself growing weary. Would it be alright if Ah were to retire?" Nathan sighed. He was gonna tear Chris a new one.
"Should probably eat something first. I don't know about you, but I was too nervous to eat much this morning." A bit of an exaggeration, but there had been food left on his plate when he was done, which, except for when he was sick, probably hadn't happened more than a dozen times since he hit twelve.
"Ah have the feeling that if Ah were to declare that should is not the same as must, your interpretation of the necessity would suddenly shift to the latter," Ezra grumbled as he said it and Nathan nodded.
"Smart man."
When he went to help him up off the bed, the teenager declared, voice peevish, "Ah can do it mahself," again, and this time Nathan couldn't hold back his chuckle.
"Sorry," he said to the annoyed look Ezra directed his way at the sound, "But once you started talking I heard that all the time-your first sentence." Ezra looked at him, utterly confused, then closed his eyes, sinking back down onto the bad he'd just gotten off of, a muffled grunt he seemed almost not to notice himself leaving him from the movement.
"Ah lived here that long? Until Ah was old enough to be talking?" Nathan had just assumed he knew that, but now he wasn't sure why. He wasn't sure what else to do, so he just nodded, then realized Ezra couldn't see him.
"Until a few months after your second birthday. You talked early, sentences by the time you were 18 months."
Ezra just sat there, so still it was like he was frozen. Nathan wanted to reach out to him, but wasn't sure if he should-with his eyes closed his brother's face became much more difficult to read. "What happened?" He hesitated-knowing Ezra had a right to know, but he didn't know where to start. He'd only been eleven and most of what he knew had been pieced together over the years. That his brother had been taken, kidnapped by his own mother was something that he wasn't sure how to explain. Nathan kind of figured Ezra didn't need to know everything either-like that Maude had cleaned out the house when she'd left, of money, deeds and other papers, and anything else of value she could get her hands on-hell, she'd taken his mother's wedding ring, though the police had found that in a pawn shop a county over-but left her son behind. Left him alone in an empty house, where anything might have happened to him, when he wasn't even a year old, and then just come and taken him when she decided she wanted him. Slowly, Ezra seemed almost to pry his eyes open, and pinned him with them, ell,and a"Judge Travis told me our father had custody, yet Ah obviously did not spend mah childhood with him."
It might be hard for him to hear, but Nathan couldn't leave him wondering either, the unspoken 'why?' heavy in the air. "She came and took you. Your mother. Climbed in your window, and...you were just gone." Ezra stared at him for a moment, eyes switching between emotions rapidly as his face stayed still.
"She kidnapped me?" He laughed then, a tight, jagged sound to it, full of disbelief, yet Nathan found himself sure he didn't actually doubt it at all, his head sinking into his hands at the end of it. "She actually went through a window and absconded with me? Was it in the dead of the night as well?"
Nathan frowned, not liking that Ezra almost seemed to be joking, sarcasm more than tinging his last sentence. At the same time, he sort of got where the kid was coming from. Being kidnapped by your own parent sounded like something out of a made for TV movie, no matter that it was probably the most common form. "Yeah. We thought a stranger took you at first."
"Good Lord..." With a shake of his head, another small, disbelieving laugh left his brother. If Nathan had thought he didn't know what to say before, he really didn't know now. "Could Ah perhaps have some time to mahself? Ah will come out and join in the repast shortly."
"Of course." He went to pat at the stiff shoulder again, but stopped himself at the slight shift back, Ezra making it clear that he didn't want to be touched right now. "I'll head into the kitchen. You come join us when you're ready." Ezra only nodded, not lifting his head, and the doctor turned to leave the room, not knowing what else he could do.
Nathan would give him twenty minutes, and then check on him.
*.*.*.*.*.*
Chris stormed towards the front room, his heart pounding in his ears. Vin padded softly behind him, silent since they'd left the room.
Ezra's torso had looked like a painters pallet if the only colors on it were shades of black, blue and purple...he'd looked small, sitting on the bed, young, even less than his 19 was one thing for him to have been mugged, it was another for it to have been someone who he should have been able to trust beating him. He quickly flipped the lock and yanked open the front door as he reached it, hinges almost squealing on the seldom used door. Chris stepped onto the porch, the dry air hitting him, his hand going to his jeans pocket and grabbing for his lighter and pack of cheroots, lighting one as quick as he could get it in his mouth. It didn't help much, he was too het up for that, but it was enough for him to notice Vin off to the side of him, looking at him appraisingly. Not quite warily, but almost. Chris took another few drags, letting the nicotine calm him down a little more before he quite trusted himself to speak. "Didn't mean to scare him."
"Didn't expect ya did." Vin shifted a little, leaning back against the post on his side, but didn't say anything more. Chris stared out over the yard at the fields, part of his brain absently calculating how long it would be before they needed to start harvesting, while the rest continued to steam. Out of all the things he'd thought he might have to deal with with his brothers this was not one of them. Hell, he hadn't ever expected any of his brothers to be gay, though he didn't much care about that. Didn't understand it, but then he didn't much understand Buck's constant string of ever changing girlfriends either, and didn't suppose he had to. That whoever Ezra was with was good to him, that he found he cared about a lot. A whole hell of a lot. Vin was still looking at him, like he was waiting, and eventually Chris had his thoughts in order enough to give him something.
"Worried a lot. After Ezra's mother took him. Whether he was hungry, was being hurt. Police couldn't find nothing, P.I's found a few traces, enough we knew he was alive. Didn't realize how bad it would feel to see that he'd been being hurt." A glance at Vin as he snubbed out the end of his smoke on the post closest to him, and he realized that Vin didn't know any of that history, didn't know that Ezra had been kidnapped or any of what went with it.
There was a question in his eyes too, so plain he might as well have said it out loud-'Why didn't he look for me?' Chris didn't know how to answer it.
"Weren't his Ma hurtin' him now."
"No. But she nearly killed him once." Vin looked horrified, and Chris figured he had to clarify. "Didn't beat him. We were off camping on the far side of the ranch, miles away and his ma just left him. Was another full day before we got back."
"Jesus..." Vin would have accepted that as enough, Chris could see that, but he could also see the question was still in his eyes. He understood the search for Ezra, but he still didn't understand why their father hadn't even tried to check on him.
"Your mother-she was good to you, right?" Vin stiffened a little, nodding fiercely.
"My ma loved me more'n anything." Chris smiled a little because he could see the truth in it, the way Vin still held that knowledge close to him, before he grew serious again.
"Even...even without her abandoning and then taking him, there was something wrong about that woman. I knew, even as a kid. She had Daddy wrapped around her finger, but I think he knew deep down, and if he hadn't, after...when she left Ezra she cleaned us out, money more important to her than him. Turns out she had a history as a con woman, wasn't the first time she'd tried to take somebody for their last dollar. You don't leave a kid with a woman like that." Vin seemed to consider this, straightening up from the post, as he looked first at Chris then out over the yard and fields beyond, thoughtful, but disappointed too.
"An' I had a good mama who loved me. 'Til she died."
"I know it doesn't make it right."
"No. It don't." Vin took a step forward, starting to turn like he was going to walk off, but he stopped. "I know it ain't nothin' t' do with ya." Chris nodded, and tilted his head towards the yard, asking Vin if he wanted him to come with him, a hint of a smile telling him yes.
*.*.*.*.*.*
Josiah saw Ezra take a step back, the activity of people washing up, and awkwardly deciding who would sit by who a little too much by the expression on his face and called out to him before he could retreat all the way with a cheerful, "Sink's free now, no need to head down the hall to wash up." Josiah wasn't stupid, and ordinarily he'd let the boy have his alone time, but it had been a long day for all of them and everyone needed to eat. It had taken long enough to get everybody in here as it was. Besides, if Ezra did escape back to his room, Nathan would probably go and get him, wanting to make sure his patient kept his strength up. He waited to head to the table until after Ezra had started slowly making his way from the sink to the nearest seat, and cringed when he saw the only one left besides it was his father's place at the head of the table. They'd managed to avoid having anyone sit in it until now, but with all seven of them someone would have to. Josiah swallowed and headed that way, settling down and breathing through the memories of seeing his father in that chair.
All the meals where his father was at the head of the table, the days he'd spent sitting beside him when it was raining, learning all sorts of knots or how to tie fish lures, or a million other things. He'd been young enough the first few years, that missing his Mama or waking from a nightmare, he'd run from his bed down to the kitchen where his Daddy would be, working over the books for the ranch and sipping on whiskey, plenty of times. One thing you could say for Lincoln Larabee, he had never been one to tell his boys they couldn't cry. Never made Josiah feel ashamed or weak, like Abuelo had. He'd just scoop Josiah into his arms and rock him, kiss his head, and when the word baby had passed that man's lips it had been an endearment. Josiah hadn't known men could be gentle before his father, hadn't known it wasn't shameful to be gentle. A hand nudged his and Josiah looked up to see Nathan looking at him, understanding in his eyes. "You want to switch?" If he didn't see the touch of trepidation in Nathan's eyes he would be tempted. Instead he shook his head, flipping his hand over to squeeze the top of Nathan's for a moment.
"I'm alright."
"So, why are you two ladies over there holding hands?" Buck grinned, "Having a Kodak moment?" Chris whapped Buck on the back of the head without looking up from his plate, only making him laugh. Josiah looked serenely back, but he was actually a little annoyed at how quickly Nathan had pulled his hand away at Buck's comment.
"Just because you are not secure in your masculinity, Buck-"
"Hey, I'm plenty secure!" Buck was laughing, and Josiah found himself grinning back. "Heck, I'll hold JD's hand right now."
JD quickly yanked his hand away, laughing too, he and Buck horsing around until Buck knocked into Chris's chair and with a sharp, "Quit it," they stopped, both still laughing. Josiah looked around the table, suddenly pleased to be sitting at the head of it. Things weren't perfect, the fact that Vin was just watching the rest with a slightly wistful expression on his face, and that the inscrutable look Ezra had been wearing for most of the day was cemented firmly back in place, definitely proved that. He thought though, that his father would be pleased. 'It's progress.' Then he got a glimpse of Ezra's eyes as he looked away from where JD is still stifling his giggles.
He did not think he had ever seen such intense longing in someone's eyes, especially when the rest of the face was so blank. So carefully blank. To look like that over just a bit of horseplay, what did that say? What all had the boy been deprived of? 'A lot,' Josiah found himself concluding grimly, 'A whole hell of a lot.'
'We'll work on it, Daddy.' His eyes wandered to where Vin was stabbing his fork into his pasta salad with a little too much force to just be hunger, and JD was all but soaking in Buck's presence. 'With all of them. The lost lambs have returned to the fold. They will not be abandoned again.'
And if his promise ended on a slightly bitter note...Daddy would have to understand.
*.*.*.*.*.*
Chris looked out the den window, coffee mug in his hand, at the almost impossible to see man tucked up into one of the tall scraggly pine trees that grew in a cluster off to the side of the front porch. Daddy had been going to cut them down years ago, but Mama had liked them and so he kept putting it off. Once Mama Clara had died…while, there had been no way anyone was going near them. Chris had spent many a lonely afternoon under those trees, missing his stepmother, and could understand Vin being drawn to them too. Still, while Daddy's warnings had only kept him from climbing them when the man was around, his own common sense had kept him from climbing as high as his brother had. Damn trees started to bend under a high wind up at the top where he was. Yet, he'd seen Vin climb up with a seeming effortless grace and sure footedness that Chris found he couldn't argue with. Didn't mean he hadn't been tempted.
Sore from the work he'd thrown himself into after lunch, he walked away from the window and did his best to relax, settling into an overstuffed armchair to read a few chapters in his book. Didn't even realize he'd fallen asleep until he woke up as his thankfully empty coffee mug tumbled to the carpet. Empty and sturdy, he thought as he saw it wasn't broken, bending to scoop it up. He was turning into-Chris cut that thought off before it could form all the way, standing with a curse.
Coffee. Clearly he needed more coffee. Stretching and letting out a groan as he stood Chris made his way down the hallway to reheat another mug. Going back into the den to read some more, a little surprised that he still had it to himself, Chris meandered over to the window again and frowned when he saw Vin was still up in the tree. It was starting to grow dark, and it could surprise you at the beginning of fall, one second plenty of light to see by and the next you couldn't see your own fingers in front of your face. Chris figured he'd better see about getting the man to come down from his perch, and setting his mug down on the windowsill, started the trek to the front door.
*.*.*.*.*.*
Vin noticed the eyes on him right away, knew who they belonged to, but didn't move. He was not used to so many people anymore, and was starting to feel suffocated. Vin knew that compared to where he grew up, those years getting tossed around foster care, there was far more space here and certainly less people. Didn't change the fact that after first moving to the tiny town of Tascosa the year after Ko'Je had adopted him, then when things had gone wrong there, the wilds of Alaska, the sprawling 5,000 people ranch town seemed huge. After about five minutes of those eyes on him steady Vin would have figured he'd be crawling out of his skin, but for some reason he felt himself settling. Relaxing. "Getting dark." Chris called it up to him, but didn't say anything else, just waiting, and after another minute Vin started back down, stiffer and slower than he had been, after sitting in the crook of a branch for hours. 'Nothing to do with your brace still being packed' said a voice in his head that sounds a little too much like Ko'Je's.
As he lowered himself from the last branch to the ground, slowly, he could see from Chris's face that he noticed, was watching his movements, and Vin was going to have to say something. "Scoliosis is a bitch." Vin kept his voice quiet, trying not to let the pain show-it wasn't bad, not really-but Chris narrowed his eyes at him, hearing it anyway.
"Aren't you supposed to wear a brace for that?"
"Yep. Few hours every other day, but I've been busy." How the man could tell he hadn't been wearing it Vin was damned if he knew.
Chris just looked at him, and after a moment Vin nodded. Yeah. He'd get the damned thing on tomorrow.
*.*.*.*.*.*
Nathan took a deep breath, and rattled off Ezra's injuries, going into details in a way he hadn't felt able to last night, when JD had been listening as intently as the rest, "Two cracked ribs on his right side, and just about all the rest of them are bruised, most from being kicked and about three days old, but the cracked ones are new, from a punch in the front, and from being slammed into a wall in the back. It's not bad enough that we have to worry about any kind of internal injuries, but it's going to be damn painful for a couple weeks or more. More bruising and a scrape on the back of his shoulders, and a knot on his head from the wall as well, and a handprint on the top of his left shoulder that's about a week old. Finger bruises on his left wrist, some with nail marks, that are inbetween the other bruises in age." He stopped as he came to the end of the list, not sure what to say now.
"Do we know the name? Or where he lives?" Josiah was stiff, hands clenched into fists at his sides, and his voice so low and rumbly you could almost hear rocks grinding in his throat. Buck gave him a grin with no humor in it.
"Sounds like you're a man after my own heart, Josiah."
"Some justice should not be left to the Lord, brother."
Chris was silent for now, eyes laser sharp as he stared hard at nothing, but the truth is they all knew that no real plans would be made until he had his input.
"As much as I'd like to make his rib cage match Ezra's, I think the best thing to do right now is make sure Ezra feels safe. Boy's jumpy as hell, I got him to talk to me a little, but then," Nathan leveled a glare at Chris, "he got spooked."
Chris moved his laser eyes over to Nathan, who was immune to it after twenty-seven years, and just kept glaring steadily back, "How the hell was I supposed to react to hearing something like that?"
"By not flying into a temper right in front of a traumatized nineteen-year-old kid?" Nathan's words were straight forward and just a bit forceful, and Chris scowled back at him. Finally, to everyone's surprise, he nodded.
"Fine. What are we gonna do about it now?"
"Try and keep him comfortable, and entertained, give him space if he seems to needs it, talk to him. Let him talk if he needs it, of course. Problem is, we don't really know him, so it's hard to tell what he needs. Even if he weren't in a brand new place, with strangers, it would take him a while to feel safe. Seems like he feels pretty relaxed around Vin."
"Well hell, if someone saved my ass and I found out later they were my brother I'd be pretty happy." said Buck. "Make him feel a little safer right there, I'd say."
"The hand of Providence." Josiah declared solemnly.
Buck grinned, a bit sadly, "Bet ya Daddy had something to do with it."
"There a reason we ain't talking about filing a police report?" Chris ignored the other two talking nonsense to focus on Nathan.
"Other than the part where Vin beat the shit out of the guy and in his own words, 'left him knocked out behind a dumpster'?" Nathan shook his head despairingly at this even as Buck nodded approvingly.
"It would count as self-defense, surely?" Josiah asked, brow furrowing in concern.
"Not necessarily," Chris said, shaking his head and biting back a string of cuss words, having realized what Nathan meant, "If he hurt him worse than the piece of shit hurt Ezra, they could both go to jail instead of just the piece of shit. For a long time, too."
"Well, that ain't gonna happen," Buck said, scowl growing deep on his face, "no way in hell."
"So, for now, no police. We handle this ourselves. I'll talk to Uncle Orin, see what he has to say. A restraining order wouldn't be a bad idea. Tonight, we need to see if Ezra has a picture we can see, so we can all keep an eye out for this guy. Ezra doesn't go anywhere by himself 'til he's healed up and at least has a shot at defending himself. I'd like to say Vin probably scared this creep off, but after he followed Ezra almost all the way to Four Corners I don't think we can count on that at all." Chris's voice was resolute, no question in his mind that what he stated would be what happened.
"Kid ain't gonna like that," Buck mused, but it was an observation not an argument and Chris just nodded.
"Don't expect he will. With what Nate said, he don't need to be doing much but resting anyway, so it doesn't matter." He turned to Nathan then, "Would Ezra be up for sitting in the back of the pick-up, sorting nails?"
"I suppose so, long as you watch to see if he's getting worn out. Not anything more than that though. Why?" Nathan's face was a bit suspicious. He hadn't quite forgiven Chris for the fright he'd given Ezra, even if his brother had given about as close to an apology as he got.
"You've got work, Vin and JD are going for a ride, and didn't you say you were going into town with Buck later, Josiah?"
Josiah nodded his head, looking solemn, "When we were in the Saloon I didn't get the proper chance to pay my respects to Aunt Rosie." Buck clamped a hand on his brother's shoulder, knowing that whatever he felt about Josiah not having been around when his mother died didn't meant it wasn't hard on Josiah too.
"I've got fence to fix in the south pasture. It's the closest to the house, but I still don't want to leave him alone." Chris didn't say it, but, to the ex-cop, the fact that this guy had followed Ezra set off all kinds of alarm bells. The ranch was isolated and if he were in the house alone...
Nathan considered this, "I went him to be rested, so if you can wait until he gets up on his own, that sounds like a good plan to me. He's gonna need help getting in and out of the truck too, and he ain't likely to admit it. And the south pasture might only be a little more than a five minute drive, but that'll be plenty with those ribs, no further."
Chris nodded, "Don't worry. I got plenty to keep me busy until he does get up. See if I can get get Vin and JD to help me feed the yearlings we cut out from the herd after their ride, have Vin drive the truck and JD help with throwing out the hay-" He held up a hand to cut off Buck's protest, "I ain't gonna have him cutting the bales, don't worry, not the first time. Now, Nate has to eat and get to work and the rest of us have chores to get started on." He made for the barn doors, and perhaps because he assumed they would, Buck and Josiah started after him without questioning the order. None of them saw that Nathan was hanging back, wrestling with some decision.
"Guys?" They turned back, Nathan's voice quiet enough to be concerning. Josiah sucked in a breath at the look on his face, and Buck took a step forward.
"Nate? Buddy?"
"He's got scars on his back, from a belt probably. Old, at least nine or ten years. Not a lot, three or four lines, but enough they're obvious." He took a deep breath, running a hand over his head, "and when Vin saw-he was pissed, but not shocked, not confused. He knew exactly what they were, from the look on his face. Which probably means he's seen scars like that before. I'm thinking in the mirror." Then Nathan was rushing around them, gone before anyone else could say anything. Chris cussed and tore after him, but Nathan had gone straight to his truck, backing out by the time he got there.
*.*.*.*.*
JD bounced in front of a bemused, half-asleep Vin Tanner, "Hey Vin! I'm glad you're up, did you sleep good? Are you excited to go riding? I can't wait, it's been so long. Three years, since Mam got too sick to work for the Utley's, it was too far for me to go by myself. I was their stable boy during the summer, did I tell you that? Favorite job I ever had, even with all the mucking out. When did you learn to ride Vin? Do you think Chris would be mad if we just went and looked at the horses?" Vin blinked, tempted to just steer around the walking, talking, whirlwind in aim of the coffee pot he could see on the counter behind him, but the kid looked so damned excited and hopeful he knew he couldn't risk hurting his feelings.
"Um, don' really remember a time I couldn't ride. My Momma and Uncle Vin traded 'em for a livin'. It's been a few years, though. Too expensive fer us t' keep horses in Alaska." Vin couldn't imagine Chris would care if they looked at the horses, but he also wanted coffee and started to edge around JD, figuring that now he'd answered him it was okay.
"Yeah, it would be really cold for them, wouldn't it? I never thought about people keeping horses in Alaska. Do you have to have heated barns? How the heck do you exercise a horse when it's below zero?"
"JD?"
"Yeah?
"How much a that coffee did ya drink?" Vin tried not to sound too long suffering, but wasn't sure he succeeded.
"Oh, I don't drink coffee, never liked it. This is just milk, see?" He held out his mug, the one Vin had been staring at enviously during his dialogue, and true enough, it was full of milk. Vin looked from the cup to JD, and blinked. Vin had always been an early riser, but it took him a cup or two to get started. JD was like this naturally. With no coffee, no sugar even. Bouncing on his feet at six-thirty in the morning.
He couldn't help it, he groaned.
*.*.*.*.*.*
If you guys are interested in knowing what the adorable Border Collie puppies look like check out these links
i . ytimg vi / 11nHZuCdlyA / maxresdefault . jpg From left to right are Tinkerbell, Nessie, Colt Narnia, and Scamp
i . pinimg originals /dd / ea / 14 / ddea14e2618c693085557c50923ad9ed . jpg Ninja and Gypsy
I've decided Casey helped name them, and since a lot of the owners will rename them, they let her go a little crazy :)
Hope you enjoyed it!
