Please see Chapter 1 for warnings and disclaimers.
A/N: Once again, a great big thanks to Wolfpyre for all of her help and feedback. I could have not made the progress on the last two chapters without it.
Chapter 12
Later that afternoon, Nettie and Vin found themselves in the kitchen at the boarding house. Mrs. Whittaker had come down with a cold and Nettie had put the woman to bed insisting she'd stay and care for things until the other woman was feeling better. Nettie was in her element and was currently kneading dough to replenish the household bread supply.
"What ya have ta understand, Vin, is thet ALL parents make mistakes. It's harder fer ya, bein' young as ya are an' responsible fer a ten-year-old girl. Hard fer enyone called ta raise a younger sibling. Yer gonna have ta find it in ya ta fergive yerself an' move on."
"Thet's easier said then done."
"Yeah, I know it is," the older woman nodded. They heard someone at the door and Buck entered with Naomi.
"Well, hiya, Nettie, yer home early," Buck said affably, moving forward to kiss the gray-haired woman on the cheek.
"Afternoon, Buck," she answered wiping her hands on a towel and turning to the girl whose dark eyes were studying her warily.
"And this must be, Naomi," Nettie observed. Naomi swallowed at the woman's rather intense appraisal. This old gal was nearly as intimidating as Chris.
"Yes Ma'am."
"Heard yer responsible for a whole mess o' trouble whilst I been away." The girl didn't exactly know what to say to that. "Best ya know right up front I'm not one ta put up with any nonsense. Ya hear?"
"Yes Ma'am," Naomi replied, her eyes darting from Nettie to Buck, not certain what was expected of her.
"Right, then. Yer lookin' a mite peeked. Ya have lunch?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"Then head on up ta yer room an' rest a spell then ya kin help me in the kitchen."
"Yes, Ma'am." Naomi was too surprised by the woman's abrupt and familiar manner to offer any complaint. She headed up to the room that she now shared with Rhianna.
Buck smiled and gave a shake of his head. Looked like he was going to have a bit of time to himself after all. Good ole Nettie.
"Not so fast, mister," Nettie snapped as Buck tried to make his retreat. "Ya do understand what kind o' responsibility ya have now, right? Yer gonna have ta change some things, Buck, an' yer gonna have ta provide thet little girl with some consistency as well as some carin'."
"Yes Ma'am," Buck replied dutifully.
"You best, cuz if'n I need ta give ya a talkin' to 'bout this ya ain't gonna enjoy it one bit."
"Yes Ma'am," Buck answered casting a worried glance at Vin who just grinned at his friend's discomfiture. "Maybe I'll just head on upstairs myself. Gonna halfta take Naomi over ta the school 'fore too long to meet Lauren."
"Thet's a good idea," Nettie agreed with a satisfied nod of her head.
M7***M7***M7***M7***M7
When Buck came down later Nettie and Vin were both still in the kitchen. Appalled at the edge on Mrs. Whittaker's paring knife, Nettie had set the young tracker the task of sharpening all of the kitchen knives while she continued with her baking. The mustached peacekeeper's mouth watered at the delightful aromas now filling the room and he offered his friend a grin knowing they would eat well tonight.
"You were sure right about Naomi, Nettie. She was plum tuckered out. She was already asleep when I went up and I just now woke her from as deep a sleep as I've seen a body in. 'Bout time for us ta head over to the school, though."
Nettie gave a nod. "She might a caused a whole passel of trouble, but she's still a young'un and she's been through a lot. Now sit yerself down and have some coffee and a cookie."
"Yes Ma'am," Buck answered eagerly.
Just as he bit into the heavenly morsel, the back door crashed open and two kids practically fell through with gales of laughter.
"I win," True crowed triumphantly.
"Only cuz ya cheated," Creed replied breathlessly, but his voice held no malice.
"What on earth are ya children thinkin' bustin' in here like thet!" Nettie chided. "Ya march right back out there and wipe yer feet."
"Nettie!" True exclaimed running to throw her arms around the grandmotherly woman, completely ignoring the reproof. "You're back!"
"I am, and none too soon it seems, if that's how ya think ya enter a room," Nettie scolded, though she warmly returned the hug. "Now wipe yer feet an' wash yer hands an' ya kin have a cookie." Nettie aimed a light swat at True's backside to get her moving.
"Welcome home, Nettie," Rhianna offered coming through the door, having dutifully wiped her feet.
"Well don't just stand there, get on over here and give me a hug," the gray haired woman ordered, never one to allow the more reserved girl to opt out of the physical expressions of affection that she knew all children needed. Rhianna obeyed and soon all of the children were seated at the small kitchen table with cookies and milk or in Rhianna's case cider. The cider was a testament to Nettie's good mood because she generally insisted the girl have at least a half glass of milk, despite her distaste for it.
"So when we're done here, we should go check out them new horses Yosemite just got in," True said to Creed talking around a mouth full of cookie.
"Ya ain't got homework?" Vin queried.
"Yeah, I do, but so what?" True answered rebelliously. "I kin get it done after."
There were a few moments of awkward silence which was finally broken when True turned back to Creed. "So whatdya say?" She asked, taking a swallow of milk.
"True Tanner ya ain't goin' nowhere 'til yer homework is done," Nettie snapped crossly, having recovered from her surprise at Vin's lack of response. "Ya understand me?"
True looked up to meet Nettie's steely gaze and was quick to reply with the obligatory "Yes Ma'am."
"Right then, finish up yer snack."
Quiet reigned for a few minutes, but eventually conversation started up again. Before long True was enthusiastically sharing the details of the recess ball game. A bleary eyed Naomi entered the kitchen with a yawn, wondering why Buck had considered it so important to wake her from her nap. Bringing her story to an abrupt halt, True glowered at the other girl who stumbled and nearly fell, barking her shins painfully on the wood bin.
With a smirk, True teased, "What's the matter, guppy, ain't got yer land legs yet?"
Naomi flushed in embarrassment. She knew True had used her powers to trip her, but she didn't figure anyone in the room really cared overly much about that particular truth. She just gritted her teeth and accepted Buck's hand when he reached out to steady her.
Vin cast a suspicious glance toward True, which she completely ignored.
"Sit yerself down and have a snack 'fore ya head on over to the school," Nettie said brusquely with a frown at True for her teasing. Buck stood to give Naomi his seat at the small kitchen table which didn't have near the space as the large dining room table. Nettie handed the girl a cookie and then walked across the kitchen to pour her a cup of milk.
Naomi nibbled on the cookie, without so much as looking up and the silence in the room seemed to crackle with tension. She readily accepted the milk. The uncomfortable situation left her with a dry mouth and it was a bit difficult to swallow. As Nettie turned away, however, the entire glass splashed into Naomi's face.
"Good, Lord, guppy can't you walk OR drink?" True laughed.
Naomi sprang to her feet ready to lunge across the table at True. "I've had it True!"
Buck caught Naomi around the waist offering True an irritated frown. "You know what darlin'? I think it's time you an me mosey over to the school to meet Ms. Willis. Let's get ya washed up and head on out."
Nettie was standing stock still, intently studying Vin, who sat, whetstone in hand, his jaw clenched.
True just smiled broadly. Rhianna maintained a poker face, hiding her exasperation with her younger cousin's antics. She knew True was still furious with Naomi but the girl also seemed to be testing Vin. One thing was certain, True was going to land herself in big trouble and as usual she didn't seem to care one lick.
Uncomfortable with the tension, Creed got to his feet. "My Pa will be expectin' me," he explained. "Thank ya fer the cookie Ma'am." The boy hurried out, hoping his best friend came to her senses before Vin came to his because he could see this was all leading to one very painful ending for True.
Naomi shook Buck off irritably. "I'm fine. I can make my own way," she insisted with another glare for True. She knew she couldn't avoid Buck's reach to get at the other girl and took some small solace in the fact that neither Vin nor Nettie looked all too pleased with True at the moment. Casting her shoulder's back, Naomi stood straight with her head held high, determined not to be cowed as she started in the direction of the back door. She would wash at the pump outside.
True just couldn't resist one more little push. Unfortunately, Naomi over corrected and tumbled right into the cook stove. She squealed as her hands came into contact with the scorching black surface. Buck was there and had her in his arms in seconds and Rhianna wasn't far behind.
"Take her into the parlor, Buck, I will tend to her," Rhianna said briskly, knowing that she could easily heal the burns before the pain became too significant.
"What in the HELL do ya think yer doin'?" Vin demanded, already on his feet, blue eyes blazing.
"WHAT?" True yelled back. "Yer blamin' me fer HER clumsy ass?"
"True," Vin growled.
"What? Ya are, ain't ya?"
Vin breathed out heavily, and looked down at his boots. He knew she'd done it, but hadn't he thought he'd known before? And he'd been wrong.
The pause was too much for Nettie who stepped forward to grab True's ear in a firm grasp.
"YEOWCH!"
"Ya march yerself straight to that corner, little miss," Nettie ordered giving True four sound swats to the seat of her overalls with her weathered hand.
"Why the hell should I?" True replied petulantly. The swats stung but not too badly. Right now her anger took precedence. Naomi deserved a hell of a lot more than a push or two and some milk in the face. As for the burn, well she hadn't meant for that to happen, but it wasn't like Rhianna wasn't in the other room healing her right now.
"True ya do what Nettie says. I won't have ya talkin' back ta her."
"So I'm just gonna get blamed agin? With no proof atal ta back it up?"
"OW! GOD DAMN!" True turned to face an irate Nettie yielding a HUGE wooden spoon.
Nettie grabbed True's arm and turned her sideways giving the girl another few swats. "Ya watch yer mouth! An' I stood right here an' saw the whole thing so don't ya dare try ta play innocent!"
True was in tears. That wooden spoon HURT!
"What in the HELL is going on here?" a low voice demanded.
All eyes turned to the black-clad gunman now standing at the back door.
Not surprisingly, Nettie was the first to respond. "Well, True here decided ta try some o' her Tom-foolery with thet new little gal ya'll brung home while I was away. Like usually happens with foolin' around, someone got hurt. An' now this here little girl's taken it in her head ta get sassy an' say she had nuthin' ta do with it."
"Well what if I didn't?" True demanded backing away from the imposing gunman who was advancing toward her with a look of hardened resolve. "Ya know it's possible she's jest clumsy."
Chris stopped just short of the girl and his eyes turned to Vin. He hadn't missed the fact that it was Nettie that was getting after True and not the sharpshooter. As he looked into his friend's blue eyes he could see everything he needed to about Vin's inner turmoil regarding taking True to task. Vin averted his gaze and Chris sighed, his jaw clenching in frustration. Well, one problem at a time. He turned back to True.
"Did you?"
"Huh?"
"Did-you-use-your-abilities-to-DO-anything-to-Naom i?" Chris ground out, saying each word distinctly and boring holes into True with menacing green eyes.
True bit her lip, fidgeting under the blond man's intense glare. Damn if it wasn't nearly impossible to answer coherently when he was looking at her like that. Chris's words from last night came to mind and she knew that to admit the truth would be like putting the noose around her own neck.
"It ain't like she's really hurt bad," True hedged.
"Answer my question," Chris ordered, his voice low and threatening.
True's big blue eyes grew wide as she looked up at the man and shook her head. "No, I-"
Chris raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. The lie stuck in her throat. If there was one thing Chris wouldn't tolerate it was lying and she knew she couldn't pull off a believable fib with him looking at her like that.
"Well, I, ah, might a splashed some milk in her face and gave her just a little push or two."
"One thet tumbled her right inta the cook stove," Nettie explained.
"I didn't mean for enythin' like thet ta happen. That really was jest her own clumsiness," True insisted, her eyes darting from one adult to another before she dropped her gaze down to the floor wondering exactly how this pleasant afternoon had taken this horrible descent into hell.
Chris cleared the remaining distance between them and grabbed her chin forcing her to meet his eyes. "What did I tell you just last night?"
"Well, ah, there was lots a talkin' goin' on yesterday. Maybe ya could be more specific?" True extemporized. When Chris's look darkened, her shoulders slumped. "To leave her alone," she mumbled.
"What did I say would happen if you didn't?"
"Really?" This had to be some new kind of torture method making her tell him what she had coming. Well, she wasn't playing this game. She shook her head. "If you don't remember what ya said, then I don't reckon it's in my best interests to remind ya," she answered stubbornly.
Chris's eyes narrowed and he dropped his grasp on her chin only to take hold of her arm and pull her over to a kitchen chair where he took a seat and pulled her over his lap. "Maybe I better jog both of our memories," he noted grimly.
"No! I remember, I remember!" True squeaked as his hand connected firmly with the seat of her overalls several times. Chris wasn't messing around and the heavy swats burned like the dickens after Nettie's impromptu paddling with that horrid spoon.
"What did I say?"
"That you'd take yer belt to me," True replied in rush as his hand crashed down again.
Chris stood the girl between his legs.
"No more sass or attitude. Now go on up to your room, put your nose in a corner, and wait for me," Chris instructed sternly. "And I better find you right where I told you to be or you'll be gettin' a lickin' every night this week."
True wiped at her tears and with a sniff turned to do what she was told, rubbing at the sting in her rear as she did so.
Chris sighed heavily and turned back to Nettie and Vin, who still wouldn't look him in the eye. "Okay, so what exactly went on here this afternoon?"
TBC...