Chris Larabee stepped up onto the jailhouse boardwalk. He didn't see a muscle move on his friend's body as he did so, though he knew that Vin Tanner was aware of precisely who was joining him in front of Four Corners' jail. The former gunslinger was known for announcing his presence by virtue of the omnipresent spurs he wore, but he wasn't wearing them on this day. The town had been peaceful to the point of dull, though neither of these two men would ever say that out loud. Their youngest law enforcer, J.D. Dunne, made that mistake once, but only once. The grief he suffered from his fellow lawmen from verbalizing such a thought was a lesson hard learned. They were moments in the sheriff's life the likes of which he no doubt never wished to repeat.
"How long's he been out there?" Chris asked as his eyes looked in the same direction that the tracker's eyes tracked, out beyond the church, southeast out of town. To any other eyes, the man in the buckskins would appear relaxed, his chair leaned back, one booted foot resting on the railing of the overhang, the other crossed at the ankle.
Vin Tanner was anything but relaxed.
"Least three hours," the long-haired man replied as he talked around the dried piece of grass he favored to suck on. There were many in town who wondered of Vin's predilection to stuff a piece of tall, aged turf into his mouth. Was it his attempt to keep from the temptation of tobacco? Did he like the taste? Did it keep him from eating too many treats during the day so that he could enjoy a good meal and some drinking with his peacekeeping fellows at night? Nobody asked the man himself, and the former bounty hunter didn't seem inclined to expose his secret.
"That's a long time," the leader of the seven men hired to protect their town said. Chris sat in the other chair and said, "He seem all right to you lately?"
Vin shook his head faintly. "Not hardly. Seemed a little pale before he lit out." Vin paused but knew what the next question would be. "I asked. Said he was fine."
Chris nodded. It was the same answer everyone got from their resident poker player anymore. They all knew that Ezra Standish was working hard at projecting that he was recovered. He was back to taking his turn at patrol, fewer now as the anniversary soon approached of the fourth year of their team of regulators being assigned ownership of protecting the people and the environs that all seven of them now considered their home. He seemed animated as he spent time instructing the children, a necessity due to the laughable inability of the town to lure a teacher with the sticktoitiveness to remain longer than the longest candidate had, a measly three months. Ezra was playing poker regularly, winning most of the time. He returned to doing the books of many businesses in town, his concentration returned after his recent, devastating loss. He seemed almost to relish this task the most, the quiet, solitary work kept him away from the concerned stares and excessive conversation. That Ezra Standish was still avoiding conversation was the prime indicator for all of his friends and others who cared for him that he was not remotely recovered from his dog, from Fred's passing.
That the dog was not his but belonged to the Merton family was known to all, but all also knew the truth of what the heart and soul said about the relationship between this man and that special little beast. Months had passed, but to Ezra, as all close to him knew, that loss still seemed fresh, the pain of an open, unhealing bullet wound could not have hurt Four Corners' professional poker player more.
"Surprised ya haven't gone after him," Chris said as he removed his hat and ran his hands through his blond locks. "Mary and Billy say hello," he added.
"Have a nice lunch?" Vin asked with a wry smile.
Chris glared at his friend, though the effort was wasted as Vin continued to look in the direction where his mourning friend had ridden out hours before. "Shut up," Chris said.
"You said you liked her food."
"I said I like her beef stew and that she could fry up an egg pretty good."
Vin nodded his head. "So, no beef stew or eggs for lunch today?"
"No." The two friends sat, looking down the avenue and out past the church.
"'m headin' out," Vin said.
"No. You have to wait for the sheriff from Rosita."
"You can't do that?" the long-haired lawman asked.
"Well, Vin, I could. But you volunteered."
"Yeah, but … "
"Hey, Chris, Vin. How ya doin'?" J.D. Dunne asked in greeting.
"Hey, J.D. How're Nettie and Casey?"
"Good. They said to say hello to you, Vin. To both of you," the young sheriff added, not wanting to leave the boss out of the greetings. "To all of you. Hey, Nate," he added, waving to the town's healer, Nathan Jackson.
"Afternoon, J.D." The former slave turned to Chris and Vin as he joined them under the overhang of the jailhouse. "Any of you seen Ezra?"
"He headed out 'bout three hours ago," Vin answered.
"Out where?" the black man asked worriedly.
"Over ta Fred's spot."
"Why're ya askin', Nate? 's there a problem?" Chris asked. He already knew there was a problem. There'd been a problem the day Buck and Ezra returned to town and found that Fred was terribly sick and suffering and nobody knew why. It had been over two and a half months of watching Ezra suffer through his own pain.
"Just spoke with Gloria. She said he stopped in and picked up some fruit, for him and his horse, and baked goods, candy for Chaucer. She said he looked ill. She asked him if he was feeling all right. He claimed he was, but Gloria doesn't think he was."
"Oh, no," J.D. said.
"Oh, no, what?" Chris asked as he stood from his seat. Vin joined him, all four of them now standing on the boardwalk, all four projecting worry for the gambler.
"I saw him early this morning, before I headed over to Casey and Nettie's. I asked him if he was feeling all right. He didn't look like he was feeling good at all. Real pale. He said he had a headache, couldn't sleep. He thought a walk, some fresh air might get rid of it enough that he could get back to sleep."
"What time was that?" Chris asked.
"'Bout six."
"Damn," Vin said softly.
"Sick headache?" Nathan asked.
"He said no."
"Nate, go have Tiny prepare a wagon. Get your bag. Seems to me three hours is too long." His friends all looked at him like he'd gone insane. "I know he's been out that long before, but I think we can conclude with some assurance - Jesus, I'm beginning to sound like him - that he might not be feeling too good today and that getting back might be hard for him."
"Chris … " Vin started, but Chris cut him off.
"I know, Vin. He ain't gonna like it if we get out there and he's not sick. Asked us not to pamper him, said he's fine. Well, he ain't fine, we all know that he ain't fine. Not fine and sick doesn't qualify as pampering."
"All right," Vin said. The short reply was an indication to those present that the tracker did not disagree. Vin headed in the direction of the livery, following in the direction the healer had just gone.
"Vin?"
"J.D. can meet Sheriff Simon … "
"Vin, you stay here, meet with the sheriff. J.D., you have the overnight shift to watch Kennedy. Go get some rest," Chris ordered.
"I can meet with the sheriff," J.D. insisted.
"No. No reason to leave the town more than two men short in order to check on Ezra. Go get some sleep." The leader of the lawmen knew that J.D. had done a long trip with Buck up to the mining town of Piermont to gather the findings of assorted ongoing silver claims for Judge Orin Travis, the man who took seven disparate men and asked them to stay on to protect the town where his young grandson and the widow of his only child lived, now four years ago. J.D. hadn't spent all of his time since returning from Piermont down and resting, not like his partner and best friend Buck Wilmington who, though it was well known where he was, had not been seen in those same two days.
"Stayin' here is a waste o' time," Vin said under his breath, though not such that Chris didn't hear it.
"Vin, I know you've helped Ezra these last few months, but he ain't really gotten that much better."
"I don't think that's true," J.D. said. Chris gave him the stare that made many a man turn and head away, as quickly as possible. J.D. knew that look, and knew he was on steady ground with his position on his southern friend. "Ezra's back doin' everything he did before Fred died. He's just still sad. I don't think anyone did more to help him since then than Vin. He's just sad, and there ain't no one that can help with that, not really. That's best fixed with time." J.D. held Chris' eyes, knowing that the former gunslinger understood the truth of what he was saying. "I still miss my ma like crazy, but I don't ache every day over it anymore. I know that was because of time and friends." He didn't add it, but having Casey Wells to help in his life was something he did not expect to find coming out west. Grateful did not begin to describe all of the gifts he received from leaving behind his Boston home and the pain of watching his mother die to come and find his way in the wild west.
"All right, I agree with that. But we all have commitments and responsibilities. You need to get some rest to be ready for your patrol. You go do what you have to do. Vin, you stay here and do what you have to do. Nathan and I will see to Ezra. We'll be back soon."
"That's a fancy rig, Nate," Chris sniggered.
Nathan laughed. "Yeah. It's new. Well, it's restored. Yosemite got it from old Missus Oliver. She kept it in her barn after her husband died. Nobody ever remembered seeing it. It's a beauty."
"Sure is," Chris agreed as he sat astride Pony. "Ezra'll agree to come back just to get a chance to ride in that thing."
"He might pressure Yosemite into selling it to him."
"He might. You ready to go?"
"I think Mabel and I are ready for a leisurely jaunt out of town."
They started away from the livery but were stopped by Dottie Pike outside her store.
"Wow. Fancy."
Chris smiled. "That's what I said."
"Is Yosemite renting that out these days?" she asked. She walked up to Mabel, gave her a pet and a ready apple. "Here you go, Mabel. I might have to have Ben rent it so we can have a nice, child-free picnic date."
"Afternoon, Dottie. He didn't say how he planned to use it," Nathan answered.
Dottie kept petting Mabel when she asked, "Are you heading out to check on Ezra?" Nathan and Chris looked at each other. "He stopped in before he left, checking to see what I had ready, pie-wise and for snacks for himself and, well … I think he might be caring for an animal out there."
"Why do you say that?" Chris asked.
"He wanted to know if I had any of those baked bones I used to make for Fr … Fred." She turned away, her eyes blinking away sudden tears. "Oh, heavens. It just tears at my heart that he's still mourning that dog so. He was a special little guy. My little Jeremiah and Fred were the cutest little pair. Small in size but so big in personality."
"We know," the black man said. "He made a big impression on the whole town." Nathan looked to Chris and the blond nodded that he should go on. "How did he look to you?"
"Pretty terrible, and that's pretty hard for someone as handsome as Ezra."
"I heard that, wife!" they all three heard Ben yell from inside the store.
"Settle down, my love!" Dottie called back. "He was quite pale. I asked him if maybe he should consider heading out to spend time at Fred's spot on a day when he was feeling better." She shook her head and continued, "He admitted that he had no idea when that might happen."
"He's havin' a hard time," Nathan agreed. "But you think he looked physically sick?"
"No doubt. I had some green chile biscuits. Nobody loves them more than Ezra. But he chose to pass on them. Took a plain biscuit instead. There's no way that didn't say something about how he was feeling."
"Well, you aren't the first who has said that he might not be feeling great. We figure this nice carriage will lure him back to town where we can keep a better eye on him."
Ben joined the group outside. He put his hand at his wife's waist. "I don't know if we say it enough, but how you fellas treat each other is how we all feel with you protecting this town. We're real lucky to be here."
The Pikes moved to town a couple of years before and took over the old Bucklin's General Store, now called Pike's Grocery and General Store. The couple were encouraged regularly to add their name to the storefront, but that wasn't their way. And my, what they had done to improve that corner of the main thoroughfare through town! The back of their building was a veritable secret garden of fruit trees and bushes, herbs, some vegetables. Their recent purchase of the vacant building next door promised more wonderful things for the growing town of Four Corners.
"I think we all feel pretty lucky about what we've built here," Chris said. "You folks have done wonders with Bucklin's old place. Ezra might like all fruit pies, but your four-berry pie is just about the best thing I've ever tasted."
"Thank you!" Ben and Dottie replied in tandem. Ben continued, "I only have one worry about the town," Ben said.
"What's that? Do you need us to look into something?" the leader of the now famous Magnificent Seven asked.
"No. I don't really have much of a worry since I know Ezra really isn't my wife's taste in men." The men laughed, but when they finished, Dottie Pike set them straight. And she was still laughing.
"Oh, you men are just ridiculous. There is not a woman in Four Corners who doesn't consider Ezra Standish her taste in men. Mighty tasty."
"You see why I worry?" Ben asked as he grabbed his wife in tight and gave her a kiss that took her breath away.
"Seems like Ezra isn't a threat I need to look into," Chris said.
"Not yet," Dottie said.
"Come with me, woman," Dottie's husband said as he took her hand and the young couple bickered their way back into their store.
"I'm not sure you ain't the one who needed to be searched for. You all right?"
"Very funny, Josiah. I think you knew where I was, at least in general. And I am quite fine, thank you for asking. I definitely feel," the former Texas Ranger took a deep breath and then finished with the full body shiver of a satiated man, "invigorated."
"Glad to hear it. You must be hungry," Josiah noted calmly.
"I am. Very hungry … for food. Did you eat? Where is everyone?" Buck asked as he looked around for his comrades.
"I have not eaten. Inez has a special today. You can eat it regular or extra spicy," Josiah noted with a smile.
"Oh, no. I learned that lesson. I'll have it regular."
"She should be around soon."
"So, where is everyone?"
"You know, Buck, you're gonna miss some goings-on if you're going to spend so much of your time … occupied."
"I don't know, Josiah. You're comin' off a little green … with envy," Buck retorted.
"I ain't gonna deny that."
Inez Rocios stepped up to the table with a tray. "Your pitcher of beer, your mugs. And on the house, a new recipe. It is a green chile corn bread." The pretty Mexican looked at Buck and said, "Maybe you should let Josiah have both of them."
Buck's eyes opened wide and then turned to slices of blue as he grimaced and said, "Spicy, huh?"
"No, not especially." She smiled wickedly and twirled her skirt as she left.
"Now ya see, I don't know what to think now, Josiah. I think she's spent too much time with Ezra."
"Not lately," the man, whose life outside of law enforcement seemed to be the never-ending improvement of the town's house of worship, said sadly.
Buck nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "You gonna tell me where everybody is? What did you mean about bein' searched for? And do you think I should eat one of these?"
"Probably not."
"Now ya see? I don't know if you're serious or joking with me so that you can eat both of these."
"Can't help you, there, Buck."
Ezra was resting comfortably as he heard the carriage and the very familiar tread of Chris Larabee's trusted, and now, after instruction from the Southerner the previous year, much better-behaved horse, Pony.
"Mah mah. Am Ah to surmise that you have upgraded your transportation for house calls, Mistah Jackson?" Ezra asked as he stood from his seat and walked to greet his friends.
"That's funny," Nathan said. He didn't come off all that amused.
"Ah admit that Ah took advantage of a fairly easy punchline."
"You feelin' all right, Ezra?" Chris asked. "You're looking a little … "
"Handsome, debonair, dapper in mah haberdashery?"
"I know I'm no Vin Tanner," Chris started, "but you ain't gonna use misdirection to distract me from the tracks I've been followin' today, Ezra." The poker player seemed to pale even further than he already was. Other 'sign' that didn't require an accomplished tracker to read: squinty eyes, the tell-tale sign of a headache, a sweaty brow, and short bangs caught in the aforementioned sweat. It wasn't that warm out.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Nathan stepped down from the carriage, his bag in hand. "Ya left a bunch o' people back in town worried for ya. What're you doin' out here if you ain't feelin' good?" the former stretcher bearer during the war asked rather harshly, nearly yelling at his fellow lawman.
"Nate," Chris warned as he removed himself from his mount. Ezra turned away from his newly arrived companions and returned toward his seat.
"Whatever your purpose is out heah, your presence is not required. Ah am perfectly fine. Ah will return to town shortly."
Chris knew that Ezra would challenge being looked at closely now after Nathan's uncalled for dressing down. And for certain, his southern friend looked like he could use a going over by the healer. The former slave would be a doctor except for the color of his skin, a fact which was confirmed by several of the physicians who Nathan, Ezra and Vin met during their trip to Denver for the medical conference the previous year. The healer and the gambler had come through hell in their relationship and built a solid, enduring friendship. These words from Nathan were not the same scolding of the former con man as had happened so often in their fractious past. The black man's inability to leave behind Ezra's southern upbringing, to understand that the Southerner did not hold with slavery, that Ezra was nothing like the men with his accent that Nathan remembered from the plantation, that what Nathan's memory brought up from his time in bondage, that history was ancient history. Ezra and Nathan's bad feelings were also ancient history. What just happened here was more a combination of factors due to recent history. Chris understood the first part of this dynamic that had Nathan so angry. Like Nathan, he, too, was worried for his friend's health, both his physical health and his mental health. Months on now from Fred's death and Ezra was still depressed. He had moments when he was able to appear as his old self, moments where his humor and compassion shone through, despite his sorrow. There were many people in Four Corners who worried for him. Some wondered if one day they would wake up and Ezra Standish would be gone. Many parents in town were worried about that. Nathan's worry as a healer was palpable.
Chris understood that first part. The other part Chris could do little about. Nathan felt that he had failed his friend, that somehow, as a healer, he should have been able to do something to get Ezra farther along. Nathan and Chris had talked about the same thing they understood some citizens of their small town gossiped about, whispers that Ezra might one day just leave because of his inability to get over what happened to the little hound dog. Worse in their conversations was the possibility that Ezra would decide that he might never get over this melancholy, as he preferred to call it, and discover that maybe he would never find it possible to live a happy life.
Ezra's despair was real, and it did not matter that what caused it was the loss of a dog. He felt that loss as intensely as Chris did, back when his wife and son were killed. Chris Larabee understood despair, and he knew how closely he came to ending his life over it. He made a pact with Vin, early on after the loss of Ezra's orange and white hound dog. That pact? Their most important job was to see to Ezra. They were not alone in wanting to do this, and there were others as keenly qualified to watch for signs and do what needed to be done. Like Buck did with Chris, Josiah with his sister. And there were others in the town who were next in line, who were watching the poker player. Inez, the rest of The Seven. Others. But those people, they had lives to live, businesses to mind, work to get done. Children to watch and raise. But the pact, Chris and Vin's pact, said that one or the other of the pair would always have their eyes on Ezra, always have his back. Right now, part of having Ezra's back meant encouraging him to allow Nathan to look him over.
"Do me a favor, Ez? Let Nate get a look at ya."
"Mistah Jackson can see me just fine from his current position."
"No, Ezra, come on now, let me take a look at you," Nathan pleaded, regret in his tone.
"What's that?" Chris asked, his brow furrowed as he looked at what was, indeed, new in the area. Ezra was currently leaned up against it, but he'd obviously been sitting up against it on a small blanket. "It's new, isn't it? And how did you get it here?"
The Southerner grabbed an apple from his saddlebags, stepped up to Chris and placed his hand on the tall blond's forehead. "Ah do believe you might require our fine healer's assistance more than Ah do if you do not recognize this as the boulder that it is."
"Knock it off," Chris said as he grabbed Ezra's arm and removed the hand from his forehead. "I know it's a boulder, a decent-sized one. How'd you get it here?"
"Ah mentioned to our young sheriff that Ah wished to have somethin' to lean up against while Ah visited with Fr … Fred such that Ah might have a view of the tree, the desert in the distance as well the mountains, the bosque that Fred so loved to explore and, well, his final resting place."
"And J.D. helped you figure out how to do that?" Nathan asked as he made a cursory inspection of his friend … from a safe distance.
"He enlisted some gentlemen from the mining company and their fortified wagon and we went to the boulder field out beyond the Wells place and selected one."
"So, you supervised as J.D. and those fellas placed your rock for you?" Chris asked with a smile.
Tears came immediately to Ezra's eyes. He made a valiant effort to blink them away, but he knew that these two men, these friends, had watched him shed tears any number of times over these last months. He no longer felt embarrassed to show this weakness before his brothers. Nathan stepped up, placed his right hand on his friend's shoulder, put his other on Ezra's chest, and then moved his hand into the jacket pocket to feel for the always-present handkerchief. He handed it to Ezra, and then stepped away. Ezra nodded his head in gratitude and walked away, wiping the tears from his eyes and cheeks. He headed to the horse who was made extra-pretty this day by the very pretty carriage.
"Good day, Mabel." His voice was tight, likely not really ready to speak to his human friends; he always had a kind word for a child. Or a horse.
Or a dog.
"You must be pleased to have such a light carriage to tow for a change," Ezra continued as he cut the apple in half. He gave the larger piece to the big horse. He petted her in her favorite spot, just under her mane, just above the withers … either side would do. She leaned her neck toward the gambler. "You are welcome, mah dear." Ezra took his handkerchief, did a final clean-up to his face, stepped over and gave Pony the other piece of apple, then turned to face his friends.
"Nathan, Ah feel it may have been simply a nervous stomach. You might have seen evidence of such along the road not too far from here, if you had been looking, which Ah feel certain you were not. Ah am feelin' tired, which is not new these days, and Ah do have a slight headache. That could be because Ah have not eaten today."
"You haven't eaten? Today at all?" the black man asked.
"No. Well, except for what Ah left out on the road." Ezra looked down at the ground and then back up into his friend's eyes. "Ah have struggled to complete meals, Ah know you are aware of this."
"I know. We gotta figure this out, Ezra."
"Ah know."
"Figure it's a good thing he likes pie," Chris said.
"And anything any of the ladies makes for breakfast," Nathan added.
"But not cake?"
"Ah would eat cake, Chris. Ah just prefer pie," Ezra said with a smile.
"You know he's not gonna let you ride Chaucer back."
"Ah know. But then Ah will have the opportunity to ride back in this beautiful pony runabout. Ah assume Yosemite had to make adjustments for Mabel to fit this carriage."
Chris and Nathan looked to each other, shrugged, then the tall blond said, "You're probably right." To Nathan he said, "He's doing a pretty good job of stalling an examination." Ezra shot daggers at the former gunslinger. "Don't get mad. It's a nice day. I don't blame anyone for wanting to stay out here longer."
"Based on what you say, it don't sound like you hurt yourself or are suffering from anything that you won't recover from. You only been sick that once?"
"Twice. Ah made a pot of coffee in Inez' kitchen, quite early. That cup of coffee lasted all of fifteen minutes in my stomach." Nathan chose to keep his mouth shut. Ezra noted, "It was delicious while it went down." Chris snorted a laugh, Nathan was, again, not amused. "Why don't you gentlemen come and sit with me. You will understand why Ah wished for this boulder in this position, especially on a nice spring day."
The card sharp pulled another blanket out of his saddlebags and set it down for his fellows.
"This is familiar," Nathan said.
"It's Fred's," Chris said.
"It is," Ezra said with a sad smile. Once Fred finished playing with a stick or one of his favorite toys, a toss-up between a ratty ball or a ratty sock, he would settle down next to his favorite person either on Ezra's lap or, if Ezra was sitting outside healing from one sickness or injury or another – or was holding court on one topic or another or playing nickel poker with his friends on the boardwalk in front of the jail or the saloon – Fred could be found comfortably lounging in a basket atop a crate, not far from the hand of someone petting him, this blanket or the one he was buried in cushioning his rest. At first it was just Ezra who obliged the hound's desire to be massaged, then it was Ezra and J.D. But charmer that he was, Fred enlisted each of the lawmen to satisfy his hedonistic ways. Even Chris. Nobody had a greater stranglehold on hedonism than Fred, not even Buck Wilmington in one of his ladies' lairs. Or one Ezra P. Standish. Well, maybe not Ezra Standish today, but Ezra Standish before. And hopefully Ezra Standish again.
"I never knew what it was like out here," Chris said.
"Me, either."
"You both need to get out of town more," Ezra said. Chris and Nathan nodded their heads in agreement. "We have some incredibly beautiful areas outside of town. Ah know you are both aware of this, though single-minded determination to reach your favored destinations might blind you each of you to much of the beauty along the way."
"I've been by here any number of times to visit folks on house calls and I never remember it looking like this."
"The spring is special," Ezra told them. "If we stayed long enough, we would be gifted with the most spectacular sunset." Ezra looked to his fellow from the South and said, "We will not be staying long enough for that today, will we?"
"Depends. What did you do with all of that food you brought out here?" Nathan asked.
"Ah've been found out, Ah see."
"You've got people in town who are worried for you, Ez," Chris said. "And they clearly didn't think what they told us was supposed to be a secret.
"No. And Ah do appreciate their concern."
"So, the food?" Nathan asked.
"Mabel ate the last of it. Ah came out here with a couple of apples and a couple of carrots for Chaucer. It is not like him to say no to his treats."
"Dottie said you picked up a biscuit on your way out of town," Chris said.
"And you got 'baked goods' from Gloria," Nathan added.
"Mah business remains, as evah, not mah own."
"That happens when people care about ya," the man from Indiana said.
"Yes, well … " Ezra said in the hopes that maybe he could get out of answering.
"Yes, well … answer the question." Chris Larabee could be a rabid dog when he wanted to be.
"Well, Missus Pike's delicious biscuit is the mess Ah left on the side of the road. Ah thought Ah was hungry."
"I'm sure you were and are. Maybe we can get Inez to make you something that'll be easy on your stomach," Nathan said.
"No. Ah believe we should eat at the restaurant where Ah can get Herr Heiddeger's lovely wife to make me some spaetzle with brown butter and herbs and a sunny side up egg."
"Didn't you make that for us once?" Chris asked.
"Ah did. Ah made the spaetzle and the sauerkraut from recipes from Missus Heidegger. Herr Heidegger made the bratwurst. And Gloria made the glorious apple strudel, from an old family recipe."
"Inez doesn't know you ain't eating?" Nathan asked, refusing to allow Ezra to gloss over not wanting her to make him something special for supper.
"Ah do eat. But no, and she does not need to know."
"Does Lisette make that for you often?" Chris asked. He chose to leave the questions of how and why Inez should not make him the scrambled eggs that both he and Ezra liked so much for another time.
"Ah highly recommend it. They always have spaetzle on the menu, and it is most delicious with their bratwurst, especially the spicier Thuringer Rostbratwurst. All of their sausages are delicious, but the Thuringer is quite sublime." Ezra rubbed his stomach and said, "Ah will not be up to it, but you should not allow mah troubles to stop you from enjoying the delicacies of Germany. Missus Heidegger makes the Thuringer and others of the more nuanced flavors. Herr Heidegger makes the ones most routinely available." Ezra looked from Chris to Nathan. He shook his head and said, "You are aware of the fact that there is more than beef offered at the restaurants in town, are you not?"
Chris and Nathan looked to each other. "Who knew?" they both said.
"Barbarians," Ezra said.
"We know there's things other than beef, Ez, because there ain't beef very often," Chris countered.
"I saw you rub your stomach," Nathan said with a frown. "Are you feeling sore or got stomach upset now?"
"Ah feel it is a little of both. Sore because Ah am hungry, upset because, well, Ah wish Ah knew. Ah do not feel especially poorly at the moment, just generally uncomfortable. Ah feel fortunate that Ah do not feel nauseated, which was true for the earliest part of mah day, up until Ah left a puddle down the road."
"All right. I guess that's why so many people came to tell us you didn't look so good this morning. Vin said he thought you were looking peaked."
"Of course he did."
Chris shrugged his shoulder. "Like I said, people care, especially Vin."
"Ah know."
"Why don't we spend a little more time in this shockingly tranquil and beautiful spot? Then we can get you home and have an early supper," Chris said.
"Ah would be amenable to that," Ezra said as he looked over to the visible section of the bosque. Chris and Nathan looked at their friend. He was so clearly thinking of Fred. The face he projected was so sad, even though the two friends knew that all of the professional poker player's time with Fred was filled with fun and joy and love. What could they do to change how this man was feeling? There must be something they could do. A goodly amount of time had passed. Ezra's friends were starting to think that time heals all wounds was as empty a thought as Ezra's healing remained distant.
"Hey, Ez, what happened to the other food you picked up on your way out of town?"
"Other food?"
"Dottie said you picked up a dog biscuit," Chris said.
"And what did you get at Gloria's?" Nathan asked.
"Ah," Ezra said as he rested his head back against the boulder. "Ah actually picked up several of the biscuits. And no, Chris, they were not good enough to eat, though Ah suspect that they truly are. Ah have seen a family of fox recently. Ah was concerned that they might not be able to get all that they needed, what with other wildlife about." Mountain lions had been a persistent problem not far outside town. Robert Merton lost a cow to one and now posted additional men to his herds, at least until the cougar could be caught. "Ah suppose you could say that Ah adopted them."
Like he adopted Fred.
"You sure that's a good idea? They may not bother going out to hunt, the kits might not learn how to."
"No, Ah believe it will be fine. Ah leave them a piece here and there throughout the bosque. Ah have buried some. Gloria's two-day-old crumpets and scones are especially good for this, they cannot be sold or eaten after two days in our dry environment, but they are good for the wildlife, well, at least the ones that she hasn't enhanced too much. Ah believe that when the offerings cease, which they must, the fox and her pups will know to move on to greener pastures." Ezra looked out to the edge of the mesa that opened to a broad expanse of high desert. It was a beautiful vista, but that wasn't what Chris or Nathan thought Ezra was contemplating.
"You thinking about Fred?" Nathan asked.
"Ah am. Ah do, so very often." He wouldn't say 'all of the time', though his friends knew the truth of what their eyes had been seeing these nearly three months. "This is where Ah started young Fred's education, once we found that his original family, the Stouts, had perished."
"And once you recovered from saving him from those boys running their horses roughshod through town," Nathan amended Ezra's reminiscence.
"Nathan, Ah feel we need to call things as they are. Those brothers … " Ezra did not finish as Chris cleaned up the healer's verbiage.
"Not boys. Brothers, yes. But men, not boys. Ezra's right."
"Thank you. But yes, Nathan, though Ah had Fred under mah tutelage when Ah would visit the family and assist young Gunther and his sister Miss Elsbeth, Fred and Ah did not begin our advanced training until after Ah recovered from the brothers wreaking havoc just before Christmas. Ah," Ezra continued but choked on the word as he remembered that those events only happened a couple of short years ago. He reached for his handkerchief again and tears pooled in his eyes. His voice sounded odd as he made the attempt to continue. Ezra so wanted his every day to be more like it was, but every time he thought of the dog still brought more sadness that he was gone rather than memories of grand days and adventures with the hound dog. "Ah wish Ah had more time with him." He breathed in slowly to calm himself and added, "Ah miss him so."
"We know, Ez. I'm so damned sorry," Chris said.
"Ah know, and Ah thank you for those sentiments. It means everything." He finished with his handkerchief and replaced it inside his coat and continued, "Mah first lesson for young Fred was to go out to the edge of the mesa. Ah wished for him to understand that running and exploring, just charging through the desert was fine but that he needed to understand the dangers. Cliffs, both rocky and like this one on the rim of the mesa, wildlife, only nibbling on grass and nothing else. Many lessons. Ah wished for him to be with us a good long time, for the Mertons … "
"For you," Nathan said.
"Indeed," Ezra said as tears formed again. He grabbed his handkerchief. "For all of us," he said as he again wiped his tears away. He rubbed his forehead. Chris and Nathan shared a look. It was time to go.
"We should head back," the healer said. "You need to eat, and we need to make sure there is room for pie," Nathan added with a smile, "then I want to get a good look at ya and then I want to give you a tea that Doc Wharton suggested might help you sleep better."
"So, you have been so concerned for mah well-being that you sought guidance from the good doctor from Durango?" Ezra asked as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back on his boulder.
"I hope you don't mind," the black man said.
"Ah do not."
"Good. Actually, Doc Wharton consulted with Dr. Adams and Dr. Rutherford. They came up with a combination of herbs and a tea," Nathan elbowed Ezra, who looked toward the former slave as he continued, "an actual tea, with herbs and other … things, said they thought this would help you get some healing sleep, sleep through the nights."
"Things, eh? This 'tea' will be weak with herbs and sticks and things? Ah may beg off. Ah admit to a weak stomach these days."
"No, this is going to be something you will be able to tolerate. Dr. Rutherford insisted that I do certain things to make the tea more, um, palatable."
Ezra stared at his friend. "We are nearing four years in our long association and how many times have Ah suggested ways to make your teas more like actual tea?"
"Ezra, I know you have said that and as I have said, I don't always have the time to make these healing teas taste better." Nathan's voice rose as he replied. Chris was not having any of it.
"Nathan, let's say that maybe now would be a good time to just do this. Or we get the ingredients and give it all to Inez to put the tea together. I am sure you don't have to be the one to make it. I know Mary would be happy to help. She likes Ezra for some reason." Chris finished and then offered an amused smile to the professional poker player.
"Thank you so kindly," the Southerner said.
"You're welcome." Chris looked at Nathan who seemed pretty put out. "Nate, he's going to be taking this tea regularly for a while, right?"
"I would assume so."
"All right. Then we get the ingredients and the amounts of each. Inez, Mary and I'm sure Gloria Potter and Abigail Merton will all be able to take time from their day to get the tea ready for Ezra."
"The ladies love me," Ezra said as he again had his eyes closed and his head resting on his boulder.
"Whatever you say, Buck," Chris returned. Ezra snorted a laugh, Nathan laughed as well.
"All right."
"Good for you, Nathan," Ezra said.
"Shut up."
"The beauty of this spot and bein' out on a beautiful spring day does not seem to have helped your bedside manner this fine day."
"You ain't in a bed."
"A brilliant observation."
"If you don't like my observations, you could head to Eagle Bend when you need doctorin'."
"Ah did not say … "
"Sounded like you did," Nathan challenged, angrily.
"That's enough! What the hell is wrong with you two?"
Ezra rubbed his forehead again. "Ah believe Ah have an excuse today."
Nathan looked at his friend and nodded, then tapped his hand on Ezra's forearm. "You do." Ezra opened his eyes and smiled sadly, turned his hand up and the two men clasped hands in friendship.
"That's sweet. You ready to head back to town?" Chris asked his still healing partner in law enforcement.
"Ah am. Ah am looking forward to riding in this beautiful pony runabout." They stood, Nathan and Chris helped to gather all of the accoutrements of Ezra's long stay in this spot, the place that had become known to all as Fred's Spot. They placed everything back in saddlebags and rolled up the card sharp's fancy blanket and tied it to the back of Chaucer's saddle. Ezra tied his horse to the back of the runabout. "Be good," he said to his cherished steed and then said, "This carriage is in excellent condition."
"Yep, it's a beauty," Nathan agreed.
"Shall we head home?" Ezra asked as he stepped into the carriage and sat in the passenger's seat.
"Let's do that," Nathan agreed. Chris remained in the rear and watched his friends talk, and watched their backs as they headed back into town.
Chris, Nathan and Ezra returned to the livery and turned Pony, Chaucer, Mabel and the pony runabout over to Tiny. Ezra and Nathan talked animatedly for most of the slow ride home, though Ezra seemed to lose steam, from Chris' perspective riding behind them. The former con man was leaning more into Nathan's shoulder in the small carriage. Once they settled at the livery, Nathan had to shake the resting card sharp awake.
"Sorry, Nathan. Ah fell asleep."
"Yes, you did. How 'bout we get supper done and then get you up to your room for a rest?" the healer suggested.
"Yes. Ah am lookin' forward to mah meal."
"Glad to hear it, Ez," Chris said. "How was the ride?"
"Smooth," Ezra said. "It is a lovely method of transportation."
"Nice." Chris looked at his friend. "You look tired, Ezra. Maybe instead of just for a rest, you should just get to bed early."
"Ah may do just that. Ah would want to come back and spend some extra time with Chaucer should Ah choose to do that."
"Hey, fellas. You're back," Buck said, especially gregarious. "Everybody all right?"
"Fine, Buck. You seem pleasantly … pleased," Ezra said with a knowing smile. "Have you enjoyed a restful afternoon?" Chris lowered his head to hide his smile. Nathan shook his back and forth for the same reason.
"Oh, I ain't been resting," Buck replied, a lascivious smile and a wink offered as embellishment to his reply.
"Ah see." The three returning lawmen headed up the avenue.
"I'll walk ya to the saloon."
"We aren't headin' there, Buck," Chris said.
"Where ya headin'?"
"Ezra has a hankerin' for some German food."
"You're eatin' this early?" the ladies' man asked.
"Ah would be heading to mah featherbed in the hopes that Nathan's newest rendition of a soothing tea might work. Ah have, as you know, not been sleepin' well." That Ezra would discuss his troubles sleeping through the night so openly was testament to the bonds, the trust that he felt with his fellow lawmen. Buck put his hand on his friend's back and rubbed it affectionately.
"I know, Ez. Figure even if it tastes like skunk piss, it's worth a try."
"Well, that is easy for the one not partaking in the curative to say," Ezra responded as he looked to Nathan with a smile while they approached the restaurant at Herr Heidegger's hotel.
"Nate says this new stuff is supposed to taste pretty good," Chris said.
Buck looked to the healer with a frown. "Well, hell, Nate, couldn't that have happened long ago?"
"Do not chastise the man Ah rely on to retain mah good health, such that it is these days. The fact that mah health is not as Ah would hope right now has nothing to do with Nathan. He has been a virtual rock standing by me as Ah have struggled with mah … difficulties this last while."
Buck smiled. "Nate's a good man. Well, since I had somethin' tasty earlier, and I ate a late lunch," he added with a wink to his friends, all three of whom rolled their eyes, he said, "I'll see you fellas later."
'Good day', 'See you at the saloon' and 'Bye, Buck' were all said by the three men heading to their early supper.
The following morning, Ezra Standish was up at a far more decent hour, a more regular hour of the morning for Ezra to show up in the saloon: at about a quarter past twelve, post meridiem.
"Gentlemen," he said as he greeted his fellow lawmen who were all settling in for their noontime meal.
"Ezra, good afternoon, son," Josiah Sanchez said in greeting. His other friends called his name in varying ways. The Southerner sat down in the last remaining seat, between Chris and Nathan, his normal seat, one that he had rarely been seen in these last nearly three months. Ezra's eyes went to the town's de facto man of the cloth with a wary eye.
"Ah feel certain that mah absence from our regular meals has not taken your memory. You do recall that Ah am not your son?" he asked as he took the napkin before his place at the table, fanned it open dramatically, and placed it on his lap.
"No, I did not forget. I will remember. Nice to see you here," the preacher said.
"Thank you. It is nice to be here," he said with a smile. Ezra looked to the kitchen and saw Inez looking straight at him. He smiled, so did she, and then he asked, "Do we know what the special is today?"
"'nez said it was chile relleno," Vin said as he watched his friend look better than he had since before Fred died. Seemed like his time away from town the day before did him some good.
"Really? Mah, mah, we are in for a treat, then. Ah wonder where our lovely proprietress was able to find chiles in the middle of May." Inez showed up by his side to tell him exactly where.
"I have distant family in Mexico who have a large barn that they have covered with glass, like the conservatories that are popular in England, where they grow foods for the family's consumption. I was offered some of this crop of produce and this is the result. It is not all chile that we will be having today." She set the tray on the table. Buck took the pitcher of beer and replaced it with the empty one.
"Thank you, Buck." The bottle from Kentucky and the clean shot glasses were placed in the center of the table by the pretty Mexican woman. She took her hand and placed it on her man's shoulder. "Ezra and I have spoken about doing something similar here, but it would be much work and likely not yield as much as what they can do farther south."
"It is called 'forcing' a crop. Ah agree that the chances here of success are limited, but Ah am looking forward to what you have been able to receive from your family," Ezra said.
Inez' hand brushed ever-so-subtly against her lover's cheek as she continued, "The platter will include one each of a jalapeno pepper and a poblano, both fresh from Mexico, and a dried pasilla from there as well. They are three different preparations, one with shredded pork, raisins and nuts, one with ground beef and onions and the pasilla chopped and mixed with seasonings and cheese. There will be beans and rice, corn tortillas. There is also red chile for those who appreciate the spice." Inez turned to Buck. "I would refrain from eating it if I were you." She smiled, clearly pleased with herself, turned, her skirt swirling in a circle and headed for the kitchen.
"Ha! She got you, Buck!" J.D. Dunne said. Chris laughed at his old friend. Josiah nodded with a smile, Nathan held a huge grin.
"Shur did," Vin agreed.
"Oh, you all think you're funny," Buck complained.
"They are, but apparently not as full of humor as Inez Rocios." Ezra's eyes kept Inez in his sight as he said, "She is absolutely scrumptious." Ezra's friends just looked at him after he said that. He finally noticed the silence. He turned to his friends and asked, "Did Ah say that out loud?"
"You did do that," Josiah said with a wry smirk.
Nathan leaned over and asked, "You're feelin' better?" He spoke softly, not a question intended for everyone at the table to hear. It was loud enough with the noontime crowd that he likely succeeded in making the question private. Ezra replied in a subdued manner, vocally, but not in any other way.
"The most restful sleep Ah have had since … well, you know. Thank you, Nathan."
"Hey, Ez, does Inez know that you find her, what did he say, J.D., scrumptious?" Buck asked.
"No, I think it was delicious," the man from Boston replied.
"Delectable," Vin said as he tapped Ezra's booted foot with his own, sending his friend a smile that forced joy-filled crow's feet beside the tracker's eyes. Ezra's smile was similarly pleased.
Chris watched this transformation in Ezra. It had been so long, a torturous, long weeks moving into months when they all wondered if their friend would ever make it back. Fred was such a wonderful additional to the gambler's life and, in turn, to so many in this town that all of the lawmen were so lucky to call home. The romance, indeed the saga of Ezra and Inez had not yet begun when Fred came into Ezra's life and stole his heart. Chris wasn't convinced that Ezra was over getting over Fred's passing, he was really just at the beginning of that healing phase. And Ezra's on-again, off-again relationship with Inez could well bring on further pain when they were in a downtime in their love affair. And he wasn't convinced that some of what they saw in Ezra today wasn't putting on an act; he didn't believe an overnight cure had come upon Ezra after months of mourning. But it was obvious that a line had been crossed, that his friend had reached a point where, though he would miss Fred for all of his days, his days maybe didn't need to feel like he would never live a happy life again. It was a first step. A good step.
Ezra leaned close to Nathan again. "Would Ah be able to walk you back to the clinic after we dine?" he asked.
"Sure," Nathan answered with a frown. "Are you feelin' all right."
"Yes. Ah … Ah just have something Ah would wish to discuss with you in private."
"All right. Sure." Inez returned to the saloon with the first of what would be at least two trays.
"Well, lookee-here. Don't that just look tasty," Buck said, his eyes bright with humor as he winked at Ezra.
Ezra stared at Buck in friendly warning as he asked the beautiful woman who joined them, "¿Puedo ayudar con el resto, señorita?"
"Si, señor."
"So, you slept all right last night?"
"Ah did. Ah know Ah said this last night, but Ah was amazed at the truly delicious flavor of the tea."
"Scrumptious, was it?" Nathan asked with a sly grin.
"Ah am nevah going to be allowed to forget that, am Ah?"
"Probably not."
"Well, once Inez hears that Ah said that about her before all of you, that may well be the end forever of we two as a couple."
"I doubt it. There is way too much love there for that."
"Ah truly hope you are right, Nathan."
"I usually am," the healer said.
"And that is mah line," Ezra said nonchalantly.
"I'm borrowing it just this once."
Ezra turned to face Nathan as he countered, "And Ah will allow it, just this once."
The friendly camaraderie continued as the healer asked, "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Well, Ah am certain that Ah have many things to catch up on with you and our comrades."
"Lookin' forward to catching up with my good friend, Ezra," Nathan said as he patted the Southerner on the back. And then something unexpected happened: Nathan pulled his friend into a hug, stopping their forward momentum, a strong hug, overdue … the rarest of hugs. So rare, in fact, that it may well have only happened one or two other times in their acquaintance. Ezra placed both of his arms around his friend. Certainly, more of this never hurt anybody.
"Mebbe you two should get a room." Vin figured he would follow the men to make sure everything was all right with these two who, despite time and the issues between them resolved long ago, could still worry each other's last nerve.
"Very funny, Vin," Ezra said. He wiped a lone tear from one eye. "Ah! Ah see you have brought Chris along to make certain that Nathan and Ah did not kill one another."
"Didn't expect that," Chris said. "Figured Nate would've killed you before you were ever in the game."
They all knew that comment for the joke that it was. None of the rest of The Magnificent Seven ever wanted to be left to go one-on-one with Ezra Standish. No cheating Ezra ever did in a game of poker or a con could ever compare to the cheating the scrappy Southerner could do in a fight.
"Oh, mah, mah, there are just so many funny people in our dusty little burg. Ah had forgotten." That comment shut Ezra up right quick because of the terrible truth of it. Almost three months where Ezra found hardly anything fun, let alone funny.
Chris stepped up to his worrying friend. "Don't fret about it, Ez. We were never gonna give up on you. Never. Just like you won't ever forget Fred." Ezra looked at the leader of their law enforcement troupe. He blinked as tears came unbidden. Chris made sure their eyes remained focused on each other's, Ezra's pooled with tears. "Never." Ezra nodded, some tears falling down his cheeks. He grabbed for his handkerchief, shook his head with an embarrassed smile, raised the embroidered cloth for his friends to see, needing a moment before he could speak again, and wiped his eyes.
"Well, gentlemen, Nathan and Ah are out here for a reason," he said as he pocketed his handkerchief. "Let us proceed."
"Where're we goin'?" the former slave asked.
"Come along," Ezra replied.
"Can we come, too?" Vin asked.
"Of course."
They all followed Ezra into the livery. "Tiny, we will be out back," the poker player called to the man who took such good care of their horses.
"That is fine," the kind man called.
"Is there something wrong with Chaucer?" Nathan asked.
"No."
"Is it a secret, Ezra?" Vin asked. Chris punched the former bounty hunter on the arm. "What? Seems like a secret. And that hurt, damn it."
"It is not a secret. Ah just have not yet disseminated the information to anyone yet."
"Sounds like a secret, Ezra," Chris said.
"See?" Vin grumbled.
"It is much like havin' Buck and J.D. with us, is it not, Nathan?"
"One might say it's just like that," Ezra's fellow from the South agreed.
In the back of the livery were several of the smaller carriages for rent, plus the pony runabout that Nathan used the previous day to fetch Ezra from Fred's spot out of town. It was nicely cleaned up as were all of the carriages, though the runabout seemed especially shiny clean. Ezra turned to face the former slave.
"Ah know that you spend a goodly amount of time back and forth to visit citizens who make their homes on the outskirts of town. Ah know that your fine horse has done you in good stead these last years." Nathan had finally retired his trusted horse Jordan for a new mount, Honey Pie, thus named by the children of the town in a contest initiated by the gamester, poker and other betting not the only gaming the accomplished gamester would happily arrange. He and Nettie Wells also arranged for Jordan to live a fine retirement at the old rancher's place. "Ah also know that there is occasion when you have more to carry than it is appropriate to ask a horse to manage."
"That's all part of the job, Ezra."
"Ah disagree. Therefore, Ah have purchased this lovely carriage for you. Well, Ah have purchased it for our town's healer. That person happens to be you."
"Which carriage?"
"This carriage, the one that you so kindly allowed me to ride in with you yesterday."
"No."
"No?" Ezra asked.
"No. I don't want it. I don't need it."
"I think you need it, Nate," Chris said.
"No!" the former stretcher bearer during the war, the accomplished and sympathetic black healer who should have his own practice as a doctor by now except for his race and the persistent discrimination against men like him in this country, yelled as he walked back the way they came and left the building, turning right as he exited, toward the stairs.
"What the hell?" Vin demanded. The tracker didn't understand the reaction, and he was clearly offended on behalf of his good friend by the healer's response to the generous gift. "He was just sayin' the other week how much his afternoons headin' out to check on folks would be easier with a wagon." Vin looked to Ezra, who seemed stunned by Nathan's reaction, his head down, looking at the ground. "Chris, you remember what he said."
"Yeah, let me go talk to him."
"No, Chris. Let him go. Ah … Ah … " Ezra looked up to his two friends, a confused, even wounded grimace on his face. He rubbed his hand down his face. "Ah cannot be burdened over this just now. Excuse me." The gambler walked in between his two partners in fighting crime and followed behind Nathan, taking a left, toward the saloon.
"Ezra," Vin called.
"Let him go." The two friends heard the door upstairs slam shut. They knew which direction Nathan had gone.
"What just happened here ain't right, Chris."
"I agree. Let's let them cool off."
"I'm not leavin' Ezra to how he's feelin' right now. You know what he's gonna think?"
"Yeah, he's feeling that now that he's showing that he might be feeling better, Nathan's reverting to some of his old ways."
"Ezra said he can't be burdened by what jest happened. He's real fragile, still. How could Nate not know what his words could do to him? How can he not know he mighta crossed a line? How many times does Nate have to fall back on the progress they've both made on their friendship? Does Ez keep takin' it or does he say he's better than that and not accept Nate crossin' that line one more time? We could lose him." Vin's eyes were full of emotion, his jaw hard when he said, "I won't stay if he goes. He's earned the right to call all of us friend, somethin' he hardly ever had since he lost his brother. I won't let 'im be without a friend, Chris."
Chris looked up to the ceiling and said, "You're right." The former gunslinger looked at Vin and said, "Whatever's goin' on, we can't let it fester," changing his mind on intervening just that fast. "You go ahead, check on Ez. I'm headin' up to talk to Nate."
"That sounds good, just don't hurt 'im."
"I'll do my best not to. We'll be over soon." Chris headed up while Vin walked with determination to the former Standish Tavern. Once Vin entered the saloon, Inez stopped him from going up the stairs.
"What happened to him?" she demanded.
"Nathan, well, they had a disagreement." Vin couldn't hide the truth of the matter from his face.
"No, it is worse than that. Nathan said something to upset Ezra. What was it?" the angry Mexican beauty asked.
"Inez, I think it's just a disagreement. Chris is talking to Nate, I'm headin' up to see if Ezra's all right."
Inez folded her arms over her bosom. "Why would he not be all right?"
"It ain't fer me to say." Vin stepped up to the distraught saloon manager. "Look, he's upset, I'm sure he feels Nate, well, like I said, it's not for me to say. But we'll fix it, I promise."
Inez's big, brown eyes pooled with tears. "Buck said he seemed better. He had a good day?" she asked. Vin nodded his head. "Why did this have to happen?"
The tracker grabbed the hand of the woman his friend loved so much, a woman who had become a friend to all of The Seven. He leaned down and looked Inez in those beautiful, sad eyes. "We'll fix this, I swear." Inez nodded her head, wiped the tears from her eyes, and returned to behind the bar.
Chris didn't bother to knock as he reached the clinic door. He opened it and said, "Don't get comfortable. We're heading to see Ezra."
"I can't … "
"What the hell is wrong with you? Is this the way a good man, a kind, caring man treats someone who offered him a generous gift? Someone who lost something so dear to him that we nearly lost him? Someone who just, finally, after nearly three months came out of a depression so deep that some of us weren't sure he was long for this town, for this world! Your embarrassment that you can't buy that rig yourself does not trump treating your friend," Chris said as he poked Nathan in the chest on the last two words, "and more important, my friend, with simple decency. Fuck, Nathan, you know better than this, I know you do. And he knows a better you than this," Chris yelled, pointing angrily in the direction of the saloon, above which Ezra had spent far too much time of late. "He cherishes that you, not this one."
"I don't … "
"I'm not done. You should have seen him after you left. Vin called him fragile. He's devastated at being treated that way by you. Hell, he's probably suffering like he's been lashed by a whip." Nathan looked to him with extreme anger. "Oh, you don't like my choice of words? Too bad. He could be thinking right now about folding, again. And he only just opened himself back up, knowing that participating in life again runs the risk of pain, pain the likes of which shut him down for three goddamned months. No, I don't care about what you can't or don't want or that you don't like how you're being talked to. Let's go."
"What can I say to him? I knew as soon as I said it that it was wrong, that I'd hurt him." Nathan looked to the leader of the seven lawmen of this town, a group to which the former slave was so proud to be known as a member. "Chris, what do I say?"
"You can start with tellin' him you're sorry. But he'll expect more. He deserves more." Chris stared at his friend. "This is getting very, very old, Nate. Ya gotta stop this." Nathan blinked, near to tears. He knew the truth of Chris' words.
Back at the saloon, Vin was readily let into Ezra's room, but the gambler had closed up once he told the Texan, "Ah was wrong, presumptuous, about the carriage. Ah will apologize." Vin never recalled seeing the card sharp so unsure of himself, because that was plain as day to the former bounty hunter. Vin walked over and sat beside his confused friend.
"Ez, ya didn't do nothin' wrong. Nathan was wrong. So damned wrong. You'll see. Chris is gettin' 'im and we'll get this all figured out."
"Vin," Ezra said as he rubbed his fingers between his eyes, "Ah am tired." As refreshed as Ezra appeared when he joined their table earlier, he seemed the direct opposite now. "Would you mind checkin' with Inez to see if she could have Nathan provide the ingredients and directions to prepare the tea that he prepared last evening?"
"It's somethin' new?"
"Yes, from the doctors from Durango. They seem to think it might help with mah … restlessness. Ah feel it worked last night."
"You mean sleeplessness," Vin corrected.
"He means insomnia," Nathan said from the door. He came bearing a mug, which he set on the bedside table.
"Ah was not aware that you officially diagnosed that, Mistah Jackson."
"Don't do that, Ez. I'm Nathan, you're Ezra. We're friends, and I am so sorry."
"Yes, well. Ah apologize for presuming something Ah had no place doin'. Ah should have asked … "
"Hold on a minute. Chris, can you give him that tea?"
"Sure."
"This is Doc Wharton's recipe?"
"You should see all of the good stuff that Inez was allowed to put in it," Chris said. He took a whiff. "Smells good, anyway."
"Ezra, I was wrong, how I acted. I don't want you to think you did anything wrong," the healer said. Ezra took a sip of the tea, his eyes opening wide again at the surprising good taste he remembered from the previous night. He was so tired by the time he went to bed yesterday that he wasn't sure if the good taste was real or a dream. "The base is … "
"Black tea with orange essence and hints of clove." He took another sip and asked, "And there are ingredients in here that are supposed to help with mah restl … rather, mah insomnia?"
"Yes. Do you mind undressing so that I can take a look at you?"
Ezra looked to Chris and Vin. "Must the voyeurs remain?"
"Yep," Vin said.
"Just do it and we can let you finish your tea and get to sleep," Chris said, in no manner a request.
"Fine." It said so much about how tired Ezra remained after what he had considered good rest overnight that he would agree to head back to bed after only just finishing his midday meal, after only having been up and about a couple of hours. He began with removing all of his weapons and then started on his clothing.
"Ez, I was wrong in refusing your gift, and mean in how I did it. I ain't used to and I don't expect such kindnesses."
"You should receive more of them, Nathan. There is no possibility that Ah or anyone in this town could ever properly repay you for what you do for all of us," Ezra said as he allowed the black man to help him remove his jacket. His tie, cufflinks and pocket watch were already removed. Nathan continued with the buttons on the vest while Ezra drank more of the tea. "This tea is delicious."
"Doc Wharton said we might need to change the measurements if it doesn't do what it's supposed to. You don't remember having it last night?"
"Firstly, Ah would wish that it remain as-is, if possible. Ah feel as though Ah slept well last night. Ah thought Ah might have dreamed the good flavor in last night's medicinal offering."
The vest was removed, the buttons un-done on the shirt with the frilled cuffs.
"I think I'd like to keep the carriage," Nathan said as he felt Ezra's chest and abdomen. "I'd understand if you changed your mind, I was terrible about it. I don't know what I was thinking, Ez. I hope you know that you didn't do anything to make me act like that. I just … " Nathan paused, then looked up from his slow brief examination of his too-thin friend and patient. He looked Ezra in the eyes and said, "I never had much, never figured I would. Still wear thread-bare clothes, can't get this clinic down to the ground level."
"Nathan … "
"Nah, let me finish." Ezra nodded and chose to finish the tea. "You're more generous than I deserve. For so long I knew, I knew that you deserved the hell I gave you. You were a liar, a cheat. You cheated families out of their hard-earned money by sittin' all night, cheating at cards. You cheated in all those bets. You showed that you didn't care if people lost all that they had. Hell, you cheated in a horse race."
"Nate," Vin said, interrupting because he didn't want Nathan lopping his terrible behavior with Ezra about a stupid horse race they had a couple of years ago with Nathan's today, and on and off for far too long.
"Let him finish, Vin," Ezra said. He looked to his good friend, smiled and winked at him, letting the tracker know that though there were hard feelings back then, the gambler certainly did not now hold any ill will toward the man who called him a cheater about the poker player's win at a horse race with his amazing horse and then spent long weeks after he recognized the truth, refusing to take the label back.
Nathan saw the interaction between his two friends. Ezra showed over and over his willingness to forgive all of the slights he suffered over the years from people who were supposed to be his friends. Several of them had done it when his mother, Maude Standish, challenged him when she bought the hotel across the avenue from the gambler's short-lived Standish Tavern. Chris did it for over a year before he finally saw the error of his ways, and the wrong of threatening to shoot him, many times the threat not coming off as a joke at all. Their treatment of him during the territorial governor's visit was as much an indictment of them as it was of Ezra's decision to take the money and leave town, the threat to Mary Travis' life the only thing that prevented that action from becoming reality. But he walked in front of a gun and saved the newspaper publisher's life and in doing so, changed all of their lives. Chris Larabee was here for the duration; he would marry Mary one day. The former gunslinger remaining in this town and making it his home had a ripple effect on all of them, Ezra Standish the most surprising of their lot to decide to stay. Nathan's behavior today was just one more in a long line of bad behavior when it came to the former con man.
"My daddy, he liked you," Nathan went on, his eyes looking into Ezra's. But he couldn't hold the intimate contact. He averted his eyes to the floor and continued, "I told him how you were, the liar and the cheat that you were. I told him that Chris said he agreed to have you in our group to go help at the Seminole village because sometimes we might need a liar and a cheat." Ezra looked at Chris, the sad grin offered by the tall blond proving that the quote was a truth about which the Southerner was unaware. "Daddy said I was readin' you all wrong." Nathan raised his eyes back to his friend. "He never said why, just that he knew. Daddy always knew. He knew so much. He knew he had to let me go for me to be free. It was the worst thing to know that one of the reasons I couldn't have him was because he needed me to be free." Nathan's eyes couldn't hold the tears, they fell to his shirt and they fell to the floor. "But the next worst thing was that I didn't listen to him, about you. It took me a lot longer to get that. I hurt you, denied the truth about you. I didn't listen to him, I didn't listen to Vin," he went on, looking over to the tracker. The look on Vin's face told the healer that he had some healing to do with their relationship, too. "I didn't listen to a lot of people about you. I was wrong. I know I've told you that, more or less, as we've gotten closer. Friendlier. Become friends. I don't want to be this person who forgets so easily what I've got. I don't want to be the person who takes all of the bad things that happen out on you." Nathan looked over to Chris and added, "You've suffered enough of that." Chris nodded his head, knowing his own culpability in that regard. Nathan looked back at Ezra. "I'm sorry."
Ezra held on to the mug as Nathan continued speaking. He nodded his head, slightly, as he handed it over to Vin, who set it on the dresser. Ezra remained half undressed as he allowed Nathan to have his say. He combed his fingers through his hair and then placed his hands on the edge of the bed on either side of his legs.
"Are you through?" he asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, I think I am, except to say, I will make you know how much you mean to me. I know it's easy to say, but it is what will happen. I need it to be that way. I felt, you know, these last months that we might lose you. That you would decide that you couldn't stay, that it was too painful. And what I just said to you, earlier? Jesus, Ezra, I could be the reason, the final straw, in you deciding to do that. Who could blame you? But … see, I care about you. I don't know … I know it ain't somethin' we say … "
"Mary says we should, that if we feel it, what's wrong with sayin' it," Chris said.
"Nettie's said the same," Vin added.
"So has Inez, many, many times, in more than one language," Ezra countered with a put-upon expression on his face.
"Rain, too."
Silence held the room, for a surprising long moment … and then longer. Finally, Ezra spoke once more.
"Are you through?" he asked. Again.
"Yeah, except … you're too skinny," the healer said.
Ezra cocked his head, and then nodded. "Somewhat, but as you can tell, Ah am not unhealthily so."
"No, ya ain't. That's kind of annoying," Nathan answered.
"How do you stay fit?" Chris asked.
"Ah used to exercise with Fr … Fred. And with Chaucer."
"Whaddya mean?" Vin asked.
"Out at Fred's spot. Ah would perform mah calisthenics."
"That's not exactly exercising with them, Ez," Chris said.
"No," the professional poker player said, followed by a yawn. "Mah apologies. Ah am tired."
"That tea will probably work pretty fast," Nathan offered.
"That would be a wonder," Ezra said. "What Ah meant was that Chaucer and Fred … Fred would keep me company. Chaucer would graze on the sweet grass nearest the bosque, Fred would run around. Ah would call to him, practicing his commands. Ah would … exercise. And then Fr … Fred would enjoy a siesta while Ah cooled down."
"You would both take a siesta," Chris said.
"For as often and as long as we possibly could," Ezra said with a sad smile.
"And sometimes you would work Chaucer," Vin said.
"Reinforcing known practices is always wise," the tired gambler said. "Ah doubt that Ah will be awake much longer. Nathan, did you want to continue an examination, or are you sufficiently satisfied that Ah have not damaged mah constitution irrevocably?"
Nathan placed his hand on Ezra's shoulder. "You're fine. But we'll have a nice, hearty supper this evening. You ate well just now."
"Though I've never seen a bigger piece of dessert than that strudel he ate last night," Chris joked.
"As though yours was not similarly sizable."
"It was good." Ezra blinked, hardly able to keep his eyes open.
"Let's let the man sleep," Chris said.
"Wiser than he looks," Ezra said as he practically dove for his pillow.
"Nah, let's get ya undressed," Nathan said. A snore returned told him how that would turn out.
"He's slept with more haberdashery than that," Chris assured the healer. "Don't worry about him, he'll be comfortable enough."
Nathan shook his head. "Think I'll stay for a while, make sure of that. Just want … I just need to watch him for a while." The former slave knew that he owed Ezra more of an apology than what he gave this day. That conversation wouldn't happen today, but being there for his friend when he woke to make sure he tolerated the tea and wasn't disoriented by what he wore to bed was the least he could do for the damage that he might have done to their relationship, hopefully salvaged by his painfully honest explanation. Like Ezra said, 'Reinforcing known practices is always wise.' That was as true for relations between people as it was true for spoiled-though-amazing horses and well-loved and still so-very-missed hound dogs.
Nathan had been strangely silent for long periods during these last months as they all hoped and prayed for Ezra to get better. The healer's inability to heal someone so close to him had been eating at him, they all knew it. Chris and Vin were sure they hadn't heard sweeter words come from the healer regarding the gambler in a good, long time. The two friends headed to the door. "Think Nate'll let me borrow that runabout to take Mary on a picnic?" Chris asked, looking at Nathan with a smile as he headed to the door.
"Rent," Ezra offered.
"I thought you were sleepin'," Chris said, a crooked grin adorning his face.
Ezra returned another snore. Nathan smiled as he took his seat in Ezra's comfortable rocking chair, held his index finger up to his mouth to keep his departing friends quiet, and pointed to the door to show them the way out.
The End.
This is my 80th Magnificent Seven story. I've said it more than once: I don't see myself ever growing tired of writing about these men in the Old West. More time to write would be nice. One day I will be retired. What a happy day that will be.