"LARABEE'S LADY" – CHAPTER SIX

Title: "Larabee's Lady"

Author: Michelle Heath

Rating: MA for adult language and situations

Summary: Mary's best friend causes Chris to re-think his future.

Date Written: September 14, 2010

Disclaimer: Chris Larabee, Vin Tanner, J.D. Dunne, Buck Wilmington, Josiah Sanchez, Ezra Standish, Nathan Jackson, Casey Wells, Mary Travis, Nettie Wells, Inez, and The Magnificent Seven are the property of TM CBS, The Mirisch Group, MGM and Triology Entertainment. Other characters, i.e., Catherine Stewart, Jonathan Stewart, Eloise Stewart, Miles Kettering, etc. are the sole property of the author. The author makes no profit from this work of fan fiction and no copyright infringement is intended.

(Chris stays at his cabin for several days, and, when he returns, he finds that Catherine's parents have returned to Washington, and Catherine has moved in with Mary until her house is completed. He is still determined to avoid Catherine at all costs, but finds that he really doesn't have to put forth much effort. Catherine is going out of her way to stay away from him. Although neither of them says anything, Chris sees the accusation and something akin to regret in Vin's and Buck's eyes every time he looks at them. After several days of unspoken censure from two of the best friends he has, Chris has had enough and confronts Vin and Buck one night in the Saloon.)

Chris: "You two wanna tell me what's stuck in you craw?"

Buck: "I think you damn well know."

Vin: "Ought to, anyway."

Chris: "Well I don't so maybe you'd better tell me why you've been lookin' at me like you want to tear me apart."

Buck: "Your gol-darned hard-headedness, that's what! Sarah and Adam have been gone for three years now, Chris. They're not coming back – ever. You've got to let them go and move on."

Chris: "Don't you dare talk to me about Sarah and Adam, Buck! They're no concern of yours!"

Buck: "The Hell they're not! I loved 'em, too, Chris. Don't you think I've been through Hell about the night they died? Have you forgotten that we were together, in Purgatory drinking and gambling while whoever it was murdered them? Don't you think I've felt just a guilty as you have; maybe even more so 'cause I'm the one who wanted to stay another night when you wanted to go home?"

Chris: "I could've left without you, Buck. I chose to stay. Sarah and Adam died because of me! It had nothing to do with you!

Buck: "Yes it did, Chris! You weren't there because I wanted to go to Purgatory. If I hadn't of goaded you into going, . . ."

Vin: "He'd probably have died, too. Took more than one man to set that fire and make sure Sarah and Adam didn't make it out of the house. What could you have done if you'd been there, Chris? Got yourself shot and killed? Died in the fire? What happened to your wife and son was a mighty bad thing, but neither one of you should blame yourselves. Some things are just meant to be. Time both of you moved on."

(Both Chris and Buck are startled by Vin's observation, and both of them take a moment to ponder his words before speaking. When they do, all of the anger has left them; replaced by a deep grief.)

Chris: "Guess we'll never know what might have happened that night if I'd been there. One thing I do know is that Sarah and Adam were my life. After they died, well, things just don't matter much anymore.

Vin: "There's where you're wrong. You honestly think Sarah would want you to mourn her and Adam for the rest of your life? You think she'd want you to be alone?"

Chris: "I loved her; loved them both more than my life! A love like that comes along only once in a lifetime. I'll never be able to love anyone else again. And you know what, Vin? I don't even want to try. I like being alone. Can't get hurt that way!"

Vin: "Never took you for a coward, Chris!"

(Neither Vin nor Buck has time to do more than jump out of their chairs as Chris pushes the table over and assumes a fighting stance. The look of outrage in his eyes would make most men think twice about provoking him, but Vin just stares him down.)

Vin: "I ain't gonna fight you, Chris. You're already hurtin' enough as it is.

(Vin walks out of the Saloon and into the night. His anger leaving him in a rush, Chris sets the table upright, plops back down in his chair, and asks Inez to bring him a bottle of Whiskey and a shot glass. Buck watches as Chris downs three shot in rapid succession and shakes his head.)

Buck: "Vin's right. You're hurtin'. You've been hurtin' since the day Sarah and Adam died. I understand that, Chris. Hell, I'd be worried if you didn't hurt, but you can't just give up on life. He was also right when he said Sarah wouldn't want you to mourn them forever."

Chris: "Let it go, Buck."

Buck: "See, Pardner, that's the problem. I can't let it go. I owe it to Sarah to see that you move on with your life."

Chris: "I don't have a life! It ended the night Sarah and Adam died!"

Buck: "You could. If you'd just open your eyes and see what's right in front of you."

Chris: "You mean Catherine Stewart."

Buck: "Vin and Mary weren't the only ones who saw the way you two looked at each other the day she got here. Like you were the only two people in the world. And I know for a fact that she felt something that day, too."

(In spite of his determination to ignore what Buck's saying, Chris' eyes dart up to meet Buck's. Seeing that maybe, just maybe, he's actually getting through, Buck presses his point.)

Buck: "She admitted as much to me and Vin. She came looking for us the day you rode off to your cabin. Wanted to know why you were avoiding her."

Chris: "What'd you tell her?"

Buck: "The truth. That you couldn't let go of the past so you could have a future."

Chris: "You told her about Sarah and Adam?"

Buck: "She had a right to know. But don't worry. She's gonna stay far away from you. Said she can't compete with a dead woman. See, your refusal to move on with your life isn't hurtin' only you. It's hurtin' other people, too."

(Buck walks out of the Saloon leaving Chris alone with the bottle of whiskey and a heavy heart. . . .