"Who's that walkin' with your sister?" Vin inquired, inclining his head towards the store across the dusty street, in front of which Sadie, and a man he did not recognize walked side by side, heads bent together in obvious conversation. Though he was not looking at Chris, directly, the tracker could feel the way the man tensed in response to the question, his weight shifting until Vin could practically sense when one hand moved to rest against the holster at his side. And although some sort of instinct had risen in his own mind, all but demanding he at least keep a close eye on Sadie Larabee, Vin found himself placing a hand on Chris' arm, his expression cautious as he regarded the other man with a speculative look for just a moment before speaking once again.

"Easy, cowboy. It's just a walk."

"Not the way he's lookin' at her," Chris disagreed, stepping down from the wooden boards they stood upon, and heading towards where Sadie and her companion had come to a stop, the latter stepping closer towards her to point at something in a nearby window. Keeping his focus entirely riveted upon his sister, Chris was hardly aware of Vin moving to follow him, jogging to keep up as his longer strides kicked up clouds of dust along the way. And as he watched Sadie turn towards him, her eyes widening as she took in his expression, and risked a glance to her companion as a result, the gunslinger found it was rather more difficult than he anticipated to keep his tone even as he spoke.

"You alright, Sadie?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine," The young woman assured, risking a glance at the man who had appeared at her brother's side, and gathering that he was eyeing Chris warily, as though sensing the tension that seemed to reverberate from him every bit as much as Sadie already had, herself, "This is Kit, Chris. He's a-well, he's a friend."

"Pleasure to meet you," Kit enthused, extending a hand towards Chris, only to find that the man did not bother to move to respond in kind. For a moment, he simply allowed his hand to remain there, his gaze meeting the taller man's in a silent dare to do something other than what was expected. But just as he had been prepared to relent, Kit found that the second man that had approached had moved to take his hand, instead, his blue eyes appraising to say the least as he spoke.

"Vin Tanner."

"Kit Eldridge."

"Where ya from, Kit?" Vin asked, risking a glance at Chris, and resisting the urge to shake his head in the wake of the obvious muscle twitching against the gunslinger's jawline, "Can't recall ever seein' you 'round before."

"Little town you've probably never heard of in Oklahoma," Kit informed, finally turning his attention towards the man that had spoken, despite remaining poignantly aware that he was under direct scrutiny of the taller man in black, "You?"

"Tascosa."

"A Texan. Never woulda guessed that."

"What would you have guessed?"

"Not a Texan."

Unsure of exactly what the appropriate response to the quip might be, Vin simply offered a nod, his attention turning towards Sadie instead so that he could offer the blonde a smile, and address her, instead.

"You alright?"

"Perfectly fine, thank you, Mr. Tanner."

"Vin."

"Vin," Sadie repeated, a genuine smile lighting her features as she looked towards Chris, instead, and shifted just a bit farther away from Kit as soon as she sensed that he was clearly far from pleased at the idea of their close proximity, "Is-is something wrong?"

"Nah, Chris just wanted to come over here to meet your friend," Vin assured, suppressing slight amusement at the sharp glare Chris sent his way in retaliation, and extending his arm towards Sadie in hopes of alleviating the tension that seemed to take up permanent residence between his companion, and the young man that seemed to be so enamored with the man's little sister, "Think I could talk ya into comin' with me for a bite to eat back at the hotel?"

"Of course. Chris?"

Turning towards her brother in tandem with the inquiry, and frowning as soon as she noted Chris was still seemingly intent upon regarding Kit with an expression that was almost nothing like the brother she had once known. For a moment, Sadie almost succumbed to the sudden desire she felt to step just a fraction of an inch closer to Vin's side, as she was not blind to how one of Chris' hands had shifted to hover over the weapon holstered at his hip. But one glance towards Kit seemed to steel her resolve, one hand reaching out to rest upon Chris' forearm, her eyes meeting his own whether she truly felt she was brave enough or not.

"Chris, come with us. Please."

Though she did not initially believe he would listen, Sadie caught herself breathing a shaky sigh of relief as she registered Chris taking a singular step back from where Kit still stood, his own expression indicating he had not intended to back down, should his adversary want a fight. It would have been a lie for Sadie to pretend she was not slightly apprehensive about that realization, though with the reality of her brother moving to stand at her side, she was able to force it to the back of her mind, at least for the time-being. And, just as she had turned to move towards the hotel with Chris and Vin on either side of her smaller frame, Sadie found herself only just holding back a wince as Kit's voice reached her ears, her hold tightening infinitesimally on Chris' arm in hopes that the gesture would be enough to keep him moving forward, rather than venturing back to confront the other man first-hand.

"I suppose I'll be seeing you around, Sadie."

Whether she knew Chris would hardly sanction such an event or not, Sadie would have been a fool to deny the slight flutter in her chest at the thought of Kit's promise coming to fruition, a faint smile tugging at her lips as she allowed Chris and Vin to lead her towards the hotel, while her thoughts remained behind her with her newfound acquaintance, instead.

…

Seated at a table with Vin at her side while Chris stood a few feet away, speaking with a blonde woman Sadie did not recognize, the young woman was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her attention fixed upon the food that had been placed before her, her fingers fiddling idly with the cup of tea she had been nursing as she watched her brother with avid interest. Although she could not say for certain, she thought she could gather a relatively certain suspicion about exactly what it was they might have been discussing, her brow furrowing as she took another sip of tea, only to find that her attention was soon diverted by the sound of Vin's voice coming from immediately to her left.

"That man hasslin' you earlier?"

"No! No, he-he was no trouble at all," Sadie explained, aware of the lingering skepticism that appeared in Vin's expression, and hurrying to add to her words before he gathered the wrong idea, "I-I had decided to go for a walk, and I ran into him because I was hardly paying attention to where I was going."

"An' he swooped right in and saved ya."

"I-well I am not entirely certain it can be described like that."

"Seems to me that it can."

"What makes you say that?"

"He just seemed rather taken with ya is all," Vin supplied, chuckling softly at the astonished expression that passed across Sadie's features, and shaking his head a bit as he endeavored to find some means of explanation that would not only enlighten her, but keep him out of trouble with Chris as well, "An' that sorta thing can make a man not think straight."

"Not-not think straight?"

"Yeah."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, he seemed pretty ready to take Chris on, for starters."

"Oh," Sadie murmured, her expression downcast as she realized Vin was, in all likelihood, right, regardless of whether she truly understood how he could know of such a thing or not, "So he-I made him that way?"

"Ya might've had somethin' to do with it."

"Oh dear. I should-I should apologize."

"Wait-wait, that's not what I meant!" Vin exclaimed, standing with the sound of chair legs scraping against the wooden floor, and reaching for Sadie's arm before she could depart, and hurry off to find wherever Kit may have gotten off to since they had seen him last, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"But you said-"

"What I meant was, when a fella is caught off guard by a pretty lady, sometimes his head ain't always thinkin' straight. But it's got nothin' to do with bein' the lady's fault at all."

"You-you're certain?"

"Positive."

"Okay," Sadie acknowledged, suddenly aware of how her apparently rash decision to rise from her seat had garnered Chris' attention, and resuming her seat not long after she realized he was headed their way, with the blonde woman he had been speaking with following not far behind. As they approached, Sadie was able to notice the woman's features more closely, the warmth that was so apparent in her expression putting the younger girl at ease before they had even been introduced. And though she could still sense some lingering tension in Chris' stance as he came to a stop beside the table, Sadie found her concern to be rather short-lived, her gaze flicking towards her brother's as he took the opportunity presented by her silence to speak, himself.

"Mary's gonna take ya 'round this afternoon, if ya need to pick up anythin' for your stay," He informed, his gaze flicking towards Vin for only a moment, the look that passed between them anything but insignificant, though Sadie could not entirely fathom exactly what it might mean, "Vin an' I need to ride out to meet the Judge."

"I thought-I thought Buck and JD were already doing that," Sadie began, her mouth twisting in a frown as she glanced between Vin and her brother, and noted the very real concern on the former's features before going on, "Did-did something happen?"

"Nothin' you need to be worryin' about."

"Chris-"

"Stay with Mary," The gunslinger cut in, only waiting for long enough for Vin to stand and prepare to depart as well before he was turning on a heel, and heading towards the door. It would have been a lie to pretend he was entirely comfortable leaving Sadie in town, whether or not he had every reason to believe Mary was more than trustworthy as it pertained to keeping her safe. But in light of what had just transpired, with one of the coachmen riding bareback into town to find anyone he could to help with the robbery underway, he had little choice.

He had informed Mary as best he could about Kit Eldridge, and he would simply have to hope that would be enough.

…

"Chris tells me you were in boarding school over in Philadelphia," Mary began, glancing towards Sadie as the two of them moved past the shelves housing bolts of cloth, and headed towards the portion of the general store that held canned goods instead, "Sounds fancy."

"It was lovely," Sadie enthused, eyeing the shelves as they passed by, her arms folded across her chest as she considered what Chris might be likely to need at the place he had built outside of town, "The couple I stayed with were-they were so kind, from the moment I first arrived."

"Did Chris ever meet them?"

"No, he-he never came to Philadelphia, but I wrote to him all the time."

"He never visited?" Mary pressed, astonishment coloring her tone as she came to a stop beside Sadie as the younger girl reached for a jar of apricot preserves, investigating the contents of the jar with a critical eye, and simultaneously shaking her head as she replied.

"No. But he was so busy after everything that happened with-"

"With Sarah and his boy."

"I don't-please don't say anything about it to him, Mary," Sadie pleaded, the jar of preserves still held in one hand while the other reached on instinct for Mary's arm, her fingers curled against the fabric of her sleeve, "He doesn't-he'll never talk about it."

"Believe it or not, I think I know a little bit about that," Mary assured, her free hand moving to rest atop Sadie's, and giving it a small squeeze in hopes of providing encouragement, "I may have already tried, and failed."

"You-you did?"

"I did. He won't know you said anything about it from me."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Mary said, offering Sadie's hand another squeeze, and giving her a smile as she directed the young woman's attention back towards the preserves in her hand, leaning just a bit closer to Sadie's shoulder to read the label first-hand, "Those look wonderful."

"Think Chris would like them?"

"Only one way to find out."

"I suppose you might be right," Sadie mused, depositing the preserves in the basket balanced on Mary's arm, and turning back to continue the act of perusing the shelves, a small frown marring her features as she chewed her lip for only a moment before going on, "To tell you the truth I hardly know what Chris does enjoy, anymore."

"Well I think you may know more than you believe," Mary assured, moving to reach for Sadie's arm, and guiding her towards the next row of shelves, "And regardless, I think we both know one thing for sure, whether it takes you a while to get used to Chris and his habits or not."

"What might that be?"

"We know that he is absolutely thrilled to have you home. Even if he can't find the right way to show you, Sadie, he is."

If Mary knew one thing about Chris Larabee, it was that he would never be able to show his sister exactly what it did to have her back in his life once more, and so she had somehow resolved to take matters into her own hands and show Sadie what he could not.

Even just meeting the young woman, Mary knew that Sadie Larabee deserved absolutely nothing less.

…

Following behind the two women at a safe enough distance to avoid being noticed, Kit Eldridge moved alongside the man that had been keeping tabs on him ever since he met the young woman that had just arrived in town, his hands shoved inside jacket pockets while he kept track of every single move Sadie made. He would have been blind to pretend she was not beautiful, no matter how vividly he could picture what would happen to him should he allow that very fact to get in his way. He had a job to do, after all. The woman that had brought him on had given explicit instructions, and informed him of precisely what stood to happen to him if he failed to carry them through. And she had also promised him a reward if he managed to fulfill her wishes, as soon as she had everything she wanted on her end of the bargain.

She had promised him Sadie, and that was a reward he was not willing to risk over a simple mistake.

"You sure she's the one?"

"Of course I'm sure," Kit replied, relinquishing one of his hands from a pocket, and dragging the fingers of that hand through his hair before going on, "Kind of found proof of that first-hand when I saw Larabee practically ready to shoot me for lookin' at her."

"She ain't gonna be easy to get to with him and the rest of his friends hangin' around," The other man countered, aware of the obvious scoff Kit gave in response, and yet choosing to press on, regardless, "Might wanna consider that before you go off, half-cocked and get yourself killed."

"I'm not going to get myself killed. Not even close."

"Right. 'Cause you're the untouchable Kit Eldridge. I'd half-forgotten about that."

"No need to be that way, Landon. I'm the one that's gonna get burned if this goes wrong."

"But you don't think you're gonna get burned at all, do you?"

"No. No, I don't," Kit confirmed, flinging a hand out to stop his companion in his tracks just as Sadie and her apparent friend paused for only a moment to peer in the window of a nearby store, "Because I've got more than Chris Larabee will ever have, just between you an' me."

The man in question may have six companions that would put up a fight, when push came to shove, but that did not mean that his employer would not double those numbers to their advantage whenever the moment was right.

…

Well hello there, angels! And welcome to a brand new chapter in Sadie and Buck's tale! I know, I know, I'm hinting at getting her involved with another man, when Buck is *right there* and clearly interested. But I wouldn't be me if I didn't have a surprise or two up my sleeve, and I really hope that you can all forgive me if there's a brief delay and/or an opportunity or two for some jealous/protective Buck before those two become official. I promise, there really is a method to my madness whether it seems like it right now or not!

As always, my heartfelt thanks go out to each and every one of you that has taken the time to read, follow, favorite and review this story so far (and special thanks to last chapter's reviewers: Guest, millie2077, lottie2910, sibylla29, ChiTown4ever, larafrank, Hollie733, heilwig2002yahoo . de, and Terry for such wonderful feedback the last time around!) I really do appreciate all of the support, and I cannot wait to hear what you think of this latest installment!

Until next time, loves…

MOMM