A/N: I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this, but then I figured you guys needed a bigger taste of this world :) I hope you enjoy it, and thank you to those who reviewed the first chapter :) You rock!
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Josiah listened, slightly amused, as Nathan returned to his favorite topic for the day. The only difference was this time he was starting his rant in the church, reminded by the sight of the window he supposed. "It just ain't right, that boy running around doing whatever he wants, not giving any mind to who he hurts or is dragging along with him."
Not looking up from his task of coating the pews with a new layer of linseed oil-he never could seem to get the roof to quit leaking, one section would be done and the next would start, and figured it was best to protect what he could in the meantime-Josiah grunted thoughtfully, then commented, "Wasn't too many months ago you had a similar opinion of Ezra."
The offense thick in his voice, despite the complete honesty of what Josiah had just said, Nathan sputtered out, "That ain't true!" Josiah's skeptical glance, one eyebrow raising, got an insistent, "It ain't. Didn't like a lot of how he acted, still don't sometimes. But Ezra ain't the type to be cruel just because he can. Tricky, sneaky even, but not mean. Everyone knows it was the Raley boy who chased off Lyle Binkley's pet rooster. Only thing that crazy old man had, and even if the boy didn't know, being that mean to a dumb creature ain't right." Nathan snorted a little, shaking his head, "Don't get me wrong, I know Ezra ain't no saint. Boy's pulled his share of tricks and schemes. I still ain't sure that traveling peddler was lying when he said the boy swindled him, either, but the man had gold buttons on his jacket, ain't like he was hurtin'."
Climbing down to his knees in order to give the underside of the pew its share of the waterproofing, Josiah had to admit he honestly wasn't sure if Ezra had 'swindled' the salesman or not, either, though the man's litany had been loud enough once he'd gone through half a bottle of Inez's worst. Certainly, he had convinced the man to part with a variety of goods for less money than expected, but, though he wouldn't say it to Nathan, he'd rather wondered if blackmail were involved somewhere. Josiah had had a good look at the man's face when Ezra had approached him, and for just a second there had been recognition before the boy had oh so innocently requested to know what goods he had for sale. It had seemed clear that something was going on when the boy hadn't had to do much negotiating to get the man to practically give away what he had wanted. Questioning had been met with a far too guileless stare and an injured query of whether he thought Ezra's bartering skills had not been up to such a task. Then the boy had seized on a brief moment of distraction to break away and the next time Josiah had seen him he'd been handing out his likely ill-gotten gains; a rubber ball to Billy, a puzzle to the twins, a new dime book for JD...consternation and possibly ill-placed pride had filled him then, and-
"Josiah? Are you even listening to me?"
Hearing Nathan's frustration had Josiah shaking himself out of his thoughts apologetically. Looking up at the man who was equally busy with a can of linseed oil he offered a sheepish smile, "'Fraid I got a bit distracted there, brother. Always wondered how our silver tongued little entrepreneur pulled that one off." Not able to help the rueful snort, Josiah continued, "I watched him do it and I'm still not sure I understand."
Frowning, Nathan shook his head, "Ain't sure I want to know. But he's been doing good, mostly," Josiah could see as the memories of the times that he'd been farther away from 'mostly' than not crossed Nathan's mind, the man amending his statement with, "trying, anyway. But that Raley kid-hell, half the time I think he is doing just whatever pops into his head, like Buck said this morning, other times I'm pretty sure that he's pushing to see if he can come up with something Ezra won't do. Was bad enough when it was just stupid stuff-don't care how good either of them is at walking fences, scared the heck out of me to ride up and see Ezra on that seven foot thing widow Harris had her boys build around her vegetable garden." Subsiding a little, Nathan muttered, "Don't know where all these deer she's worrying about are, in the desert," then shook his head. Josiah smirked, knowing Nathan had been both scared and livid, and had considered that fence a potential enemy ever since, whatever he said. Though, he was fairly certain it was closer to five or six feet at the most than seven.
"The stakes do seem to be rising in the game of one upmanship they're playing." Remembering the boys' last escapade, Josiah shook his head, jaw setting slightly. It had been bad enough for the disruption of the service and the chaos those boys had caused. The symbolism of them releasing snakes in his church had been more than grating, particularly with the way certain members of the town had reacted.
As though a boy had to be 'devil possessed' to play a trick. Not that Ezra on his own, let alone with a more than willing partner, couldn't be a lot more creative than most boys. Not that Josiah hadn't been itching to tan his hide when slithering serpents in various shades had come pouring in from a window on either side of the church and, already knowing, but needing proof-the boy would make one fine lawyer-he had craned his head in time to get a glimpse of that week's favorite jacket, wine colored, disappearing.
"Now, I know those were all garter snakes same as you, Josiah. But it don't change the fact that with people panicking and running every which way-"
"Miss Clara Bell shouting about the devil coming to get her," Josiah had to interrupt, still not sure if he was more amused or annoyed that it had been one of the more dignified, and he'd thought sensible, townspeople who'd helped stir the panic.
"Somebody could've gotten hurt, pretty sure there was more than one bruised foot the way people were stomping around trying to get out." Nathan was coating the top of his pew with slightly more enthusiasm than necessary, and taking a moment to stretch his cramping back, Josiah regarded his friend with a keen eye. "It ain't right doing something like that in a church anyway, ain't right at all."
His lips lifting wryly against his better judgment, Josiah thought that Nathan at times took the idea of the church as a sacred place more seriously than he did. Of course, living in a building made a man familiar with it. "Now, Nathan, the rod wasn't spared in that circumstance, and I'd think that you would keep that in mind. The young sinner has repented and should be forgiven."
"Ezra was, not that brat." Ah. Josiah felt as though his mind was suddenly a little lighter. Though he probably should discourage Nathan from such anger towards a boy of fourteen, the solidness he heard in Nathan's voice that he had forgiven Ezra settled something in him.
"I don't believe his mother's failure to bring him to task can really be considered the boy's fault, do you?" His quiet question seemed to throw Nathan for a minute, the man pausing with his brush in mid stroke as he thought.
"No," Nathan said quietly, and just a bit shamefacedly, "He's just a boy and it ain't right that no one's trying to teach him better." Then he rallied, "But that doesn't mean him dragging Ezra into trouble isn't a problem and you know it, Josiah."
That couldn't be argued with either, though Josiah didn't think Eli was likely to be the only one doing the dragging, or that Ezra wasn't sometimes leaping forward headfirst at the other boy's suggestions. "I wonder if Widow Raley might say the same thing." Nathan scowled at that, his expression tight, but he didn't argue, instead turning back to the pew he was finishing. Josiah sighed a little to himself, but did the same. Nathan was stubborn, sometimes to a fault, but he was also a compassionate man. A little time, a little thought, and Josiah figured he'd come around some.
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Buck Wilmington strolled down the street, sun streaming down on his head, keeping an eye out for either of his two charges. He grinned, imagining JD's reaction to being lumped in with Ezra at nineteen-'nearly twenty, Buck!' Might have to find an excuse to say it just to see him glaring and griping. He paused to dip his hat to Miss Caroline, grinning wider and following after her with his eyes as she twirled her pretty parasol and trilled a sweet sounding good afternoon to his hello.
Continuing up the boardwalk, Buck saw Chris sitting, half slumped in a chair in front of the saloon. Making his way towards his oldest friend, the rogue wondered how many people would make the mistake of assuming the man was as relaxed and unwatchful as he looked. Buck knew Chris had an eye on everyone within eyesight, for all the man didn't do more than barely nod his head when Buck came to a stop, leaning himself up against the hitching rail and nodding back at Chris. "Hey, Pard. You seen either of the boys around?" Chris shook his head lazily.
"Nope. Why?" Lazy as his words had been, one eye was focusing on Buck, ready to move if there was reason for it.
"'Cause I've gone half a day without one of them interrupting me talking with a lady or getting into some kind of scrape. Ain't natural."
Chris snorted softly, though his soft, "Talking?" showed it was more at Buck than either JD or Ezra's penchant for getting into trouble.
"Gotta be some talking first, Pard, the ladies like that, you know." That got him a flash of a grin, and ordinarily Buck would have settled in for a while, enjoying the quiet company. But while JD could mostly take care of himself, however Buck liked to tease him, he got a bit twitchy when Hoss was out of sight for more than a few hours.
And wasn't that something? Somehow, Buck Wilmington, ladies man and confirmed bachelor, had found himself raising a boy. Keeping JD from getting himself killed and making sure the kid learned the ropes for the last couple of years wasn't quite the same as looking after a boy of thirteen. 'Course he'd had a lot of help, from the preacher especially, but once old Chris had figured out Buck was gonna keep him he'd been keeping an eye out too. Ezra couldn't seem to decide whether he was in awe of the gunslinger or intimidated by him, and, as little did seem to awe or intimidate the cocksure youngster, it could be amusing to watch.
"Well, you see Ezra let him know I'm looking for him."
Buck pushed himself up, but before he got more than a step away from Chris the man said, "Think he's been for his lunch yet?" Grinning and reaching out to lightly slap Chris on the shoulder, Buck thought that was a mighty fine idea.
"Bet you he's at Miss Virginia's now, tucking into something good." Buck's own neglected stomach gave a rumble, and while he'd been planning on a plate of Inez's enchiladas, a big serving of the shepherd's pie Miss Virginia made on Wednesdays didn't sound half bad. Course, Ezra preferred to get his meals in the saloon or the restaurant when he could, but Chris would've seen him if he'd gone into either building. Not that he was supposed to be in the saloon without one of them, but, the thought bringing a wry grin he was glad the kid wasn't there to see, Hoss wasn't much of one for doing what he was supposed to. Setting off again, the desert grit scraping between the boardwalk and his boots as he walked, Buck plunged his hands into his pockets and wondered what he might do with the rest of his afternoon. He'd already done his patrol, and he had a date with Miss Millie to look forward to later. Might see if Ezra wanted to get up to a little fishing, maybe take a ride, JD too if he wasn't off somewhere with Casey.
Only, Ezra wasn't at the boarding house when he got there, Miss Virginia saying she hadn't seen the boy since that morning. Buck wasn't worried enough yet to not get himself a plate of food and sit for awhile, but he was starting to wonder if anybody had seen the boy since around breakfast. Lord alone knew what he was up to. Still, no point in getting het up about it until he knew he had reason for it...and that sweet Miss Dora who'd gotten off the stage was smiling at him, and only going to be in town for another day…
Making his way over with his tray, Buck hardly had to ask if he could sit down before Miss Dora was blushing and sliding back her tray to make room.
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Ezra, allowing himself a show of sullenness that never would have been acceptable to show in town, unless perhaps it were aimed at achieving some item or goal, kicked angrily at the sandy colored clumps of earth that dotted the trail, turned up by equine and human traffic. He'd even gone so far as to jam his hands in his pockets, presenting a figure that would have given his mother fits, though he avoided the indignity of slouching.
It was a fine day for the beginning of fall, sunny and bright, with none of the looming threat of sudden rain storms he'd been assured would occur as the end of September set in. He wondered where his resting place would be by then. Mother would be unreachable, the allowance she sent him having come from a different location every time, and none of her missives containing a forwarding address. Cousin Buck was an actual relative, but fairly distantly. The only living relation besides Mother that Ezra knew they shared was Cousin Miriam, whose wrinkled visage had made her appear at least 100 the one time he had seen her, several years before. He kicked at a dirt clod hard enough to send it sailing down the pathway, exploding in a cloud of dust and dirt chunks as it landed, a scowl growing on his face as the knot in his stomach continued to tighten. There were no orphanages nearby that he was aware of, but he supposed there was nothing that would prevent Buck from placing him on the stage in the direction of the nearest one. Ezra swallowed hard.
He wouldn't go. Whether it was to Cousin Miriam or an orphanage, Ezra would simply find a chance to slip away. It wasn't as though he'd never traveled on his own in the past, and it would allow him the chance to possibly make some lucrative gains before he reunited with Mother.
Hearing the sound of horse hooves from off the side of the trail had Ezra straightening both his stance and his hat, affixing a neutral smile on his face. He kept walking, however, hoping that whoever it was would angle their mount further towards town and come out on the trail behind him, possibly not even noticing his presence.
The impossibility of such luck falling upon him on this dreadful day was something Ezra should have expected, and as the last person he wanted to see appeared over the rise of land just in front of him he allowed the smile to drop right off his face.
"Hi, Ezra!" Eli, grinning with slightly sweaty hair hanging around his hatless head, reigned his bay roan Tucker to a stop on the side of Ezra.
"Hello, Mistah Raley." He did his best to sound neutral, primarily because he wanted Eli to leave him be, despite the anger he felt building up inside him. He'd told Eli that after the incident with the eggs that he needed to avoid making waves with or causing discontent with the peacekeepers, and yet somehow, not even three weeks later Ezra had found himself participating in unleashing a plague of snakes upon the occupants of Josiah's church.
"Whatcha doing? Do you wanna go swimming?" Eli patted the energetic Tucker's neck, "Tuck sure does, don't ya Tucker?" As the horse snorted in response to hearing his name, Ezra wished very dearly that he'd taken Chaucer for a ride instead of walking.
What had possessed him to simply pass by the horse when he had no idea how much longer he'd be able to enjoy the noble creature's company? Eli was still grinning at him broadly, simply happy to see him, and, as furious as he was that it was their joint escapades that had apparently been the straw that broke his cousin's back, he was suddenly aware of just how painful parting from his friend would be.
Eli's declaration of Ezra as his 'best friend' was a so far singular experience in his life, and he had little doubt that it would remain such. Forcing his facade to stay pleasant and relaxed, he declared, "Ah have a solitary pursuit that Ah must confine mahself to this afternoon, Eli. Ah apologize for being unable to join you." Eli was looking at him in disappointment and curiosity now, and unsure if he would be able to keep his face steady if they maintained eye contact, Ezra switched his view to Tucker's friendly visage. "Though seeing Tucker play in the water is always delightful." To his horror Ezra heard his voice break on the last word, and he sincerely wished that the earth would open its maw and swallow him whole.
"Ezra, are you alright?" Eli was leaning back in his saddle, looking as though he may be considering swinging off. That was the last thing Ezra wanted-he was still mad at Eli, for reneging on their plan to merely hide the eggs in unfortunate spots, and instead lobbing one at JD when he was talking to Miss Casey, for having taken Ezra's joke about unleashing a plague of serpents so seriously that he found himself unable to back down, for the fact that Buck and Josiah and Nathan, none of them, wanted him around now.
"Ah'm fine, Ah must go or Ah'll not have time." He moved to step around Tucker, but now Eli was swinging down, feet landing hard enough to stir the desert dust around their legs. Ezra glared at him, vexed that he was blocking his way. He'd informed Eli he was fine, and there was no reason for him to doubt it. None.
"Did something happen? If it was Conklin I got something real good we can do to get back at him-he always gets his stuff back from the laundry today, and they just leave it on his back porch." Eli's voice was earnest, and he grinned just a bit devilishly at Ezra at the end.
Suddenly lonely, Ezra wished dearly that he could go wreak havoc on the crotchety old humbug's wash, that he could push away, unhear what he had heard, unlearn what he now knew. But he couldn't.
Even knowing Cousin Buck no longer wished for him to remain with him, Ezra still had no desire to further disappoint him. "Ah told you Ah can't socialize with you this afternoon. Ah'm going." With another glare at a thoroughly confused Eli, who stepped back towards Tucker a little, Ezra started forward again. He was nearly past both the boy and horse when Eli's hand reached out to land on his shoulder.
"C'mon, Ezra. Tell me." Jerking his shoulder out from under Eli's hand, Ezra told himself to maintain his dignity, but it was no good, and he found himself whirling back to confront his friend.
"Fine-soon Ah will no longer be able to socialize with you at all, because my cousin's opinion of me has dropped so low it resides in the netherworld and Ah will be sent away. And," Ezra heard his voice start to waver and fought to at least maintain control of that, "it's all your fault." Eli's expression, already gaping, started to crumble, and eyes blurring, knowing he had been cruel and despising himself even more for that that, Ezra turned and ran.