Kiss of Death----21

Evan Rawlings made sure his two prisoners were locked in their cells before hurrying back to the saloon. Angela Tate-Wilmington's body remained on the floor, but most of the people had left. He spotted two boys peeking under the batwing doors and shooed them away before entering the saloon. He spotted Samuel Duff standing with Gerald Carlton and moved towards them.

"Cecil will be here in a few minutes to take care of her," Rawlings explained.

"Hell of a mess," Duff said.

"Yeah. I think it really shook the mayor up," Carlton observed.

"He'll get over it!" the sheriff said. "Duff, you saved Chris' life today and I'm indebted to you," the sheriff patted the older man on the shoulder as he spoke.

"Well, Sheriff, I figured even though he's a friend of yours he must have some redeeming qualities," Duff said with a grin. He'd known the sheriff since he'd taken the job, and they had a quiet respect for each other.

"Oh, that's one more I owe you," Rawlings said.

"Hell of a thing when a fine lookin' woman like that tries to kill a man," Carlton said softly.

"Yeah, it is, but at least she won't be hurting anyone else," Rawlings said as Cecil Leonard entered the saloon. The lawman took a deep breath and moved to help the man take care of the dead woman.

M7M7M7M7M7M7M7

Chris gritted his teeth as Morton worked on his side and silently cursed his own refusal of laudanum. He felt each tug of the needle as each stitch was put in place and clenched his fingers in the edge of the blanket.

"Last one," the physician assured him.

"Thank Christ!" Larabee ground out.

"He offered you the laudanum, Son," Sanchez tried as he held Larabee in place.

"I know…shit!"

"That's it. Now all you have to do is lie there and give yourself time to heal!" the physician warned him.

"He will, Doc," Wilmington vowed. Since returning to the room his mind kept replaying the instant in the courtroom when he'd drawn his weapon on a woman and pulled the trigger. It was something he thought he'd never do, but it had happened and although he knew he had no choice, it still weighed heavy on his heart.

Chris saw the look on his long time friend's face and waited for the doctor to finish with him. Once he was finished Chris motioned for Tanner to come close and waited until the younger man was close enough to hear him.

"Need to talk to Buck."

"All right," the Texan said and stood up. "Boys, think maybe Sheriff Rawlings could use our help."

"Yes, I'm sure he would be appreciative if we were to…"

"Jest say you agree, Ezra, no need of sermonizing it," Sanchez said.

"Chris, we'll be…"

"Buck," Tanner interrupted the ladies' man. "Someone needs ta sit on Chris ta make sure he stays put!"

"Doc's here…"

"Sorry, but I have a couple of other patients to check on."

"Guess you're stuck with me, Buck," Larabee said.

"Buck, I'm leaving the laudanum in case he needs it," Morton explained and placed the bottle on the bedside table.

"We'll bring ya back somethin' ta eat, Buck," Tanner said as the judge held the door open for them.

"Don't forget me, Tanner!" Larabee warned.

"Chris, I'll bring your lunch when I come back," Morton assured him.

"Anything but broth," the gunslinger said and heard soft snickers from his friends. It didn't take long for the room to empty out and Chris watched as his friend walked to the window. He knew he'd been right about the gentle rogue needing to talk and wanted to give him the time he needed together his composure.

"I killed her, Chris."

"You didn't have a choice, Buck," Larabee said, hating the sorrow and pain he heard in his friend's voice.

"Didn't I?" Wilmington turned toward the injured man with tears threatening to spill from the corners of his eyes.

"What choice did she give you?"

"I didn't have to shoot to kill!"

"Is that what you intended when you shot her?"

"I don't know. I just saw the gun and knew I couldn't let her hurt anyone else, especially you. She hurt you too much already," Wilmington swallowed the painful lump in his throat as he tried to keep the horror from his voice.

"I'm not the only one she hurt, Buck! She hurt you in the worst possible way. She hurt you through me…"

"Ya got that wrong, Chris. I wasn't hurt."

"Weren't you? I think Angela hurt you more than any bullet to the chest could, Buck. She took your heart and for the lack of better words, she broke it and that's something I'll never forgive her for. Tell me you're not hurting…"

"I wish I could, Chris, God help me I loved her and hated her at the same time. How is that possible?"

"Someone once told me there's a fine line between love and hate, Buck. What we have to do is know where we draw that line and why we step over it. I thought I loved Ella Gaines and was ready to marry her, but you know what a fucking mistake that was!"

"My mama would say Angela and Ella were both cut from the same cloth and should be burned until there's nothing left for the wind to blow away," Wilmington said sadly as he sat on the chair next to Larabee's bed. He studied the handsome face that still seemed to pale and knew Chris was the one man who could understand what he meant. They'd been through many of the same emotions and now it seemed as if it really was time to let go.

"Get your head up, Buck, and walk proudly. There are few men who know as much about me as you do and not another man I'd rather have at my side. I know we've had disagreements, but don't ever doubt that I'll be there if and when you ever need me."

"Thanks, Chris, I needed that," Wilmington said and reached for the bottle of laudanum. Now, it's 'bout time you took this and got some sleep."

"No way in hell!" Larabee spat as he saw the relief on his friend's face.

"Now, Pard, you and I both know you don't have the strength of a newborn calf and I'm a lot stronger than that. Open up!"

Larabee glared at the rogue and knew there was no choice in the matter as Buck held the spoon in front of his mouth. He swallowed the medicine and took the offered water, before closing his eyes and waiting for it to take effect.

M7M7M7M7M7M7M7

Chris smiled as Evan Rawlings and his new wife entered the room. He'd wanted to attend the wedding, but Morton refused to be cajoled into letting him out of bed. Three days had passed since the incident at the trial and during that time Chris had suffered through a mixture of fever and chills that succeeded in sapping what little energy he had. Now he was finally starting to come around, but it was too late to attend the wedding itself.

"Chris, you look a lot better than you did yesterday," Rawlings advised.

"Thanks, I think," Larabee said and tried to sit up straighter.

"Don't you mind him none, Mr. Larabee. You look fine."

"Thank you, Miss….Mrs. Rawlings."

"I thought we were past that, Mr…"

"Only when you agree to call me Chris," the blond told them as Wilmington and the others came into the room. He knew the ladies' man had stood for their friend and also knew the wedding present he was about to give the two would go far in making sure they had a comfortable future.

"I'll try, Mr…I mean Chris," the woman blushed and suddenly Chris saw the true beauty in this woman.

"Congratulations to you both and I hope you're both showered with riches that a man and woman can truly enjoy," Larabee told them.

"Thank you, Chris," Rawlings said.

"Evan, me and the boys decided to give you both a wedding present," Wilmington said, and shook his head as the others tried to protest. "I know it is rightfully mine, but it comes from all of us and I hope you won't refuse it because…well he…shoot, I wouldn't know what to do with it."

"Buck, stop blubbering and tell the newlyweds your news," Standish said impatiently.

"I'm getting to it!"

"By the time ya do they'll be complainin' about bein' grey," Tanner cut in.

"I'm getting there!"

"You are?" Sanchez asked.

"Damn, okay look, Evan, Martha," Wilmington reached for Martha's hand and held it in his own. "I want so much for you to have this and knowing how hard things can be on a lawman's wages I figured you'd have a hard time getting a place of your own."

"Buck…I…we," Rawlings interrupted.

"No, Evan, let me finish, okay? See I loved Angela Tate, but not the woman she became. When I first met her I thought God had seen fit to send me an angel, but that was not to be and like so many people who fall for the wrong person, I was hurt…not in the same way Chris was, but it hurt me still. I'm not getting this across very well, but what I'm trying to say is that I want you to have Angela's place. Now hold on and listen to what I'm saying. I won't ever live there and that means that beautiful home and all the stuff inside will just go to dust and what good is that. This way I'll know that someone I care about is living there and making it a home…a real home with kids and maybe even a dog…"

"Buck, I don't know what to say," Rawlings said as he watched his wife's face fill with sadness.

"Say yes, Evan, and all I ask is for you both to be happy," the rogue said.

"Oh, Buck," Martha cried and pulled him into a fierce hug. She knew this man wasn't being forward in his offer of the home and she turned to her new husband with tears in her eyes. "This feels right, Evan. I think God has shown us exactly what he wants us to do. By accepting this offer from Buck, we're releasing him from any bonds he had to that despicable woman and he's giving us the means to raise a family."

"Never argue with a woman, Evan, especially when she's your wife and smart as a whip," Sanchez explained.

"Looks like I'm outnumbered…"

"And outgunned," Standish said with a grin.

"Well, it seems like there should be some kind of toast," Larabee said and tried to sit up a little more.

"Doc always has a bottle handy," Rawlings said and moved to check the cupboards. He smiled as he reached for the unopened bottle of whiskey and several glasses that he quickly poured a measured dose into.

Chris reached for a glass, but was intercepted by a very wily female.

"Sorry, Chris, whiskey is not on Dr. Morton's list of things you should have," Martha scolded softly.

"Ah, hel…heck, Martha, wasn't gonna drink it, just make the toast," Larabee told her.

"Sure you were…"

"Really I was…"

"Then water will do just fine," the woman said and handed him a glass of clear water.

"Damn," Larabee said.

"Feel sorry for you, Chris, I surely do," Rawlings said with a hint of a grin on his face.

"Just remember this when you're laid up sick or hurting, Evan, and she hands you a glass of horse piss," the blond said and heard the others laugh.

"A toast," Wilmington said and they held their glasses high. "To a lifetime of happiness and a houseful of children underfoot."

"Thanks, Buck," Rawlings said as they completed the toast.

Chris nodded at his friend who seemed so much more at ease now that he'd handed over the Tate ranch to the loving couple. He knew Evan and Martha would have many years of happiness under the roof and erase the memories left over from Tate's ownership. He closed his eyes and listened to the others talking and knew Wilmington was beginning to rid himself of the guilt he felt. Chris knew it would not go away overnight, but at least it was a beginning and Chris knew all about beginnings. His own world had crashed in on him nearly four years ago when Ella Gaines had hired Fowler to kill his family, but he'd managed to pull himself back from the brink and had found a new family. One made up of six other men who relied on each other and were there to help each other when the deck was stacked against them. These men were his family and Four Corners was his home he though and drifted towards an easy sleep.

M7M7M7M7M7M7M7

"Nathan, I see 'em coming!" Dunne shouted as he raced up the stairs to the healer's clinic. Two weeks had passed since the wire from Josiah stating that Chris and Buck were healing and that Angela Tate was dead. Ethan Turner was sentenced to Yuma while Rosemary Clark had been sent to a sanatorium to live out her life. Since finding out that Angela Tate was dead he woman had become quiet and withdrawn. She wouldn't eat or drink and never spoke a word. Morton had said she was probably in deep shock and might never be the same again. Either way she faced a lifetime of seclusion.

Nathan hurried out and met the kid at the top of the stairs and glanced toward the street as five men rode up. He gave them all a quick once over until his expert gaze came to rest on Chris Larabee. The stitches had been removed from above his eye, but he couldn't see the wound, because a familiar hat covered it. The blond's arm was still immobilized and he could tell Larabee was favoring his injured side. Nathan hurried down the stairs and reached the bottom at the same time the group drew to a stop before the clinic.

"Chris, come up to the clinic and let me take a look at you," Jackson ordered.

"I don't think so, Nate. I need a drink!"

"Chris…"

"Mr. Jackson, might I remind you that it has been a long dry road we've traveled and perhaps Mr. Larabee would be more willing to submit to your examination if he is feeling slightly tipsy," Standish suggested.

"It'd take more than me feeling a little tipsy," Larabee told him, dismounting and wincing as his feet hit the ground.

"It won't take long," Jackson tried.

"Nate, let the man have a drink and I promise I'll personally hogtie him and carry him up to your clinic," Wilmington said.

"Try it and I'll…"

"Shoot me?" the gentle rogue laughed, contented now that they were finally home. 'Home,' he thought as he gazed at the weather-beaten buildings and felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders.

"Buck, are you okay?" Dunne asked as the others walked towards the saloon. He'd been watching the older man closely and could still see the evidence of what he'd been forced to do. This man was a lover of women and he'd been forced to shoot someone who he thought he loved.

"No, Kid, not really, but I'm getting there," the ladies man said, removing the younger man's hat and hitting him with it and laughing as dust billowed up from the youth's clothing. They made it to the saloon and entered through the batwing doors. Once inside they hurried to their usual table and sat down as Inez delivered the drinks.

"Ez, not sure if I said this, but even if I did, I'll say it again," Wilmington said as he looked at the gambler. "You saved my life that day and I'm beholding to you."

"I believe that debt has been paid many times over," Standish said simply.

"That may be, Ez, but we're all grateful that you're quick with that little hide-away of yours," Larabee said and lifted his glass.

"Mothah always said to be prepared," Standish told them.

"Time for a toast," Larabee said as he looked at each man before returning his attention to the liquor in his glass.

"Whatcha got in mind, Cowboy?" Tanner asked.

"To family and the strange places we find them," the blond said and knew the others understood what he was telling them. They lifted their glasses and relaxed, yet each man knew that at any time their lives could be put on the line without a moment's notice. Theirs was a family of misfits, but the design was perfect. Chris sat back and his eyes met Buck's and a silent vow passed between them, a vow that no one, man or woman, could ever break.

The End!!!!!!!!!!

TBC