Day 3

Larabee Ranch

9:30 a.m. MDT

Saturday started with another quiet breakfast between the four staying at Chris' ranch. The brothers were subdued, unsure of what they would find once they started reading Rebecca Tanner's journals. Chris sensed their slight unease, so he let them be. Samantha too detected a tenseness that seemed almost foreign in present company. Once breakfast was finished, Chris told the brothers to go about their business, that he and Samantha would clean up.

Martin followed Vin to the latter's room, where he pulled out a box and set it on the bed. Martin sat on the opposite side of the box from Vin, and looked among the contents. Some pictures, a worn and slightly dog-eared Bible, a harmonica, a velvet box that Martin recognized instantly as a ring, and several aged journals were among the items enclosed in the box. With a delicate hand, Vin lifted the journals out.

"When I got out of the Rangers, I found one of Mama's friends back in Texas," he began. "She'd managed to save some of Mama's things that she thought we may want. If we don't find nothin' here, I can get in touch with her."

Martin opened one of the journals. The hand that had written the entries was decidedly feminine, the flowing script almost dancing across the page.

"We brought the boys home today. They're sleeping now, after almost no trouble. It's as if they know they're home. I know they'll probably be up again in a few hours—they're both voracious eaters—but for now, they're my little angles. Matt's telling me to go to bed and get what sleep I can, but I can't bring myself to leave them. This is a moment I don't want to miss."

Judged by that entry alone, Martin would have believed that his parents had had the best marriage in the world. Rebecca was more than candid in her journal, though, and there were more than a few pages detailing the sometimes vicious fights she'd had with her husband, but they always made up in the end. Neither were saints, but neither were they villains. They were simply a young couple trying to find their way in the world.

Martin flipped to earlier entries, tracing the dates back to around the time he supposed Vin and himself to have been conceived. Vin noticed his brother pale as he read the entry to himself.

"Martin? Find somethin'?"

"My father always told me I'd grow up to be a no good whore. I hated him for saying it, but I hate myself more for proving him right," Martin began in a low voice. "It was so stupid. It started with a stupid tree. I really didn't care where we put it. Matt was the one who insisted on getting a full-size Christmas tree. I was perfectly happy with the little one we'd used last year. It was just the two of us. Why did we need a big tree? He insisted, so we got one.

"It spiraled out of control. He said I wasn't involved enough, I said he was too controlling. It got worse, and I eventually left. I went to Carrie's and she took me to drink away the night's evils. It was getting late, and I told her to go, she had work the next day, I'd get a cab back to her place. That may have been the worst decision I ever made.

"He said he was in town on business, and that a lady as pretty as me shouldn't be left alone. One thing led to another, and the next thing I remember, I'm waking up in his hotel room at 5 a.m. My memory of the night before was hazy, but what I did remember horrified me. I left him and called a cab to take me back to Carrie's.

"She told me not to do anything I may regret. In other words, don't tell Matt. As soon as I was sober, I went home to find the 6-foot cedar that had taken up so much room in our small apartment gone, replaced by the 2-foot silk spruce that had been such a novelty, last year. Matt apologized profusely for everything that had been said. The only reason he had gotten the stupid tree was because he had thought I had wanted one. He was happy as long as I was happy. I put on a smile and decided to forget about the previous night. Matt didn't need to know.

"I made my best effort, and swiftly, he did make me forget. Several times. I will say this: one side effect of our fights is that it makes him an even better lover the he normally is. Maybe he really will make me forget that night. One day."

For several minutes, they were silent. Their fears were confirmed, their mother had had an affair, one that may have resulted in their conception.

"Carrie Morrison, she's the one who had Mama's things," Vin said quietly, still unable to believe what his mother's own hand had written. "She might be able to put this to rest."

"We still don' know who this guy is, or if he even is our father," Martin pointed out, mostly thinking out loud. "We might be freakin' out over nothin'. We need to get in touch with Carrie. She may know no more than we do, or she may have all the answers."

Vin agreed, and the journals were placed back in the box. Martin could tell his brother was more troubled by this revelation than he let on, but he didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. Finding out he was adopted had been one thing. Finding out he may be the result of a one-night stand was something else entirely.

Without saying a word, Vin walked out, heading outside for the barn. Martin followed behind, unsure of whether he should follow. He paused by Chris' office, where the other man was showing Samantha pictures of the seven. Chris looked up when he heard Vin walk past, giving Martin a quizzical look. Martin simply shook his head.

"In theory this was a good idea," he sighed.

Puzzled, Chris reached out to Vin, not receiving any response except a strong sense of confusion and anger. He didn't push, knowing that it would only cause Vin to completely shut down.

Sensing that whatever was going on was personal, Samantha excused herself. Though he said nothing, Martin was grateful. He and Vin may have been close, but there was still plenty of Vin Tanner he had not experienced that Chris had. He would welcome the other man's experience.

"What did you find?" Chris asked, knowing what was on Martin's mind.

Martin closed the door and entered the room farther, wanting privacy, even though he doubted Samantha would eavesdrop. He related the details of the journal entry that had shaken the brothers. When he was done, Chris nodded.

"One thing you have to understand about Vin," he began, "there are two things he holds dearer than anything: his family and his name. He sees your mother having an affair as an affront to both. He has a sense of loyalty and honor that you don't find very often."

"So what if our DNA came from somewhere other'n Matthew Tanner?" Martin asked, mostly for his own sake. "He was the one who raised us, not this other guy."

"And that's what you need to remind Vin," Chris pointed out. "He'll come around when he realizes that."

Recognizing the prompt, Martin nodded and left, following Vin's previous path to the barn. There he found Vin vigorously brushing Peso with enough force to make the horse shuffle in frustration.

"You don't let up, he's liable to bite ya to get ya to stop," Martin said with a smile, grabbing another brush and going to Jake's stall.

Getting no response from his brother, other than the anger that simmered dangerously below the surface, Martin considered his options as he brushed the paint's smooth coat. He finally decided on a course of action that he knew could very well backfire dangerously on him.

He set the brush on the bench outside Jake's stall and went to Peso's stall. In one swift action, he turned Vin to face him before landing a punch squarely against his brother's jaw, causing him to fall to the ground. Stunned, Vin simply stared at him.

"You done sulkin', or do I have to hit ya again?" Martin asked, holding out his hand to pull Vin up.

With a sigh, Vin accepted the hand and stood, brushing the shavings off his jeans. He lacked the barely restrained anger but still retained the hurt and confusion.

"You think you're the only one upset?" Martin asked. "Six months ago, I didn't even know I had a brother. Now I find out that the man I recently found out was my father might not be my father. If anyone's got a right to be mad, it's me! I should be the one out here wonderin' who to believe, not you."

He could tell Vin was considering this, and he continued, "I once told you I wasn't sure how I felt about the woman who raised me not bein' my mother. You told me that it didn't take being related by blood to make her family. Shoot, look at the seven of you. Ya'll have become each other's family, and there ain't a drop of blood in common."

Vin's barriers continued to drop, so Martin repeated what he'd told Chris, "It doesn't matter that Matthew Tanner wasn't there when we were conceived. He was there when we were born, and that's what matters."

"Dad was the reason I joined the Army," Vin said softly. "Findin' out he may not be my dad's kinda like knockin' a knight off his horse."

"Welcome to my world," Martin replied, with a rueful grin. "Finding out Katherine Fitzgerald didn't give birth to me didn't make me love her any less. You shouldn't either."

Vin acquiesced, and the two began to saddle the horses. It was Martin's last day in Denver before he and Samantha had to return to New York. Martin felt a brief twinge of regret for leaving her alone for much of the trip, but that was how things had played out.

"Why don't we bring her alone, this time?" Vin suggested, having picked up on Martin's thoughts. "I'll pull Pony and Dancer out while you head back to the house and get 'em."

Surprised he didn't think of it himself, Martin smiled and made his way up to the house. Chris was in the kitchen and heard Martin come in.

"Everything squared away?" he asked.

"For now," Martin replied. "He wanted me to ask if you and Sam wanted to come out with us."

"It's a nice day," Chris noted. "And Nettie just dropped this off," he stepped back to reveal a cooler bag that knowing Nettie was filled with enough food for several people.

Martin laughed, "I'll go get Sam and meet ya'll down there."

He made his way to Ezra's room, where Samantha had been staying. He found her curled up on the bed with a book in hand. Gently, he knocked on the frame to announce his presence.

"Hey, everything okay?" she asked, setting the book aside.

"Better," he said. "I came to ask if you cared to join us for a ride."

"Oh, ah, I don't know," she replied uneasily. "I don't want to get in the way or anything," she gave for an excuse.

"You won't be," Martin assured her. "Chris is coming, too, and Nettie packed us a lunch. Come on."

Her resolve crumbled, and in short order, she was following him to the barn. When they got there, they found that Vin and Chris had finished saddling the horses. Martin took Jake's reigns from Vin and Chris handed Dancer to Samantha. Martin tried not to laugh at her helpless expression.

"Don't worry, she's JD's horse, so she's not too high strung," Chris told her. "Just put your left foot in the stirrup and swing up."

"Sure, that's all you do," she replied, surveying the situation for a moment before Martin came up behind her.

"Pick up your left foot," he directed. "On three."

He laced his hands under her knee and hoisted her up after a three-count. It took her a moment to situate herself, but once she was settled, she relaxed.

"You okay?" Martin asked from the ground.

"Yeah, it's not as high as I expected," she said.

Martin laughed and mounted Jake. He stayed close to Samantha as they rode out, ready to intervene in case anything happened, but the mare apparently sensed her rider's unease, and took extra care when stepping. The four rode out to the lake Vin and Martin had stopped at the previous morning, stopping to delve into the lunch Nettie had packed.

Samantha found she enjoyed herself immensely. One had a different perspective on things when on a horse than when on the ground. The other three were totally different when around the horses. She had to admit that she liked this side to Martin.

The early part of the afternoon was spent in leisurely riding across the south pasture. Samantha hung back with Chris while the twins raced ahead. She glanced at her watch and was shocked to learn how much time had passed. All too soon it would be time to head back to the house. The rest of the seven were making one more appearance before Martin left in the morning. She spared one more thought that she was glad she'd decided to join Martin this weekend.