"What do you mean she's gone?!" Mary said, her voice rising slightly.
Vin put his hand up. "Easy, Mary," he said. "Yosemite said she took off sometime last night, but left everything of hers here."
"Are you certain, Mr. Tanner?" Ezra questioned. "Maude has an uncanny knack for hiding in plain sight."
"I'll see what else I can find," Vin said. "Maybe she is hidin' nearby and just made Yosemite think she left."
Mary glanced at her brother, shaking her head. "Two days since she arrived and neither her nor Aunt Elizabeth has been spotted."
"You don't think Maude would have harmed her, do you?" Chris questioned.
"Maude's many things, but an abuser or a murderer isn't one of them," Ezra said.
"Though we shouldn't probably rule it out," Vin said. Mary looked at him sharply, her eyes wide.
"Mr. Tanner," Ezra admonished.
"I mean it, Ezra," Vin said. "People can do some pretty desperate things when cornered or not in their right minds. I reckon that's probably why Maude done stole you from yer real parents."
"He has a point," Chris said. "Since we've had no luck, I think it's time to fill in the rest of the boys on what's going on. They could help keep an eye out for them both."
"What about meeting here?" Mary suggested, glancing around the saloon.
"I'll go talk to Miss Recillos," Ezra said. "See if she minds us taking over this fine establishment to discuss things."
Chris chuckled at him. "Likely excuse," he said. "Anything for a chance to see her."
Mary blinked and looked between the men. Finally she focused on her brother. "Are you interested in her?" she asked.
"Is that an issue if I were?" Ezra asked, his eyebrow arching.
Mary was quiet a moment, then a slow smile began to spread across her face. It almost sent a shiver of worry up Ezra's spine. "Oh not at all," she said, all too sweetly. "I may just need to talk to her. See what her intentions are."
Ezra's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare," he drawled.
"Care to bet?" Mary said, grinning cheekily.
"Those are fighting words, my dear sister," Ezra said, grinning in turn.
"You two are having too much fun with this," Chris said. Ezra shook his head and turned away from the group, heading back towards Inez's office in the saloon. He could hear here shuffling papers around as she worked. He smiled a bit, imagining her gracefully moving around the office as she worked. He knocked gently and entered when he heard her call of admittance.
"Senorita," he said, tipping his hat as he entered before removing it. "Might I ask a question?"
"Why not ask Senora Travis?" Inez said, her usually warm tone much cooler than normal. Never one to miss a verbal change, having learned to pick up cues precisely, it piqued Ezra's curiosity.
"She does not run this establishment," he said, looking closely at Inez. Based on what Chris had said, it was no secret that the men knew of Ezra's interest in Inez and he had thought she shared the interest. Of the seven men, Inez tended to stand closer to Ezra, her body language often shifted in his direction more than the others. Now she was different. Almost impersonal. That caused him to frown.
"Well?" Inez prompted. "Ask what you need to."
Ezra blinked at her abrupt tone. "I... was simply curious if you would mind if my compatriots and I took some time away from your business so we can discuss something of importance," he said.
"Do what you want," Inez said, waving her hand. "It matters not to me, Senor." That prompted Ezra to move, making his way across the floor to stand in front of her desk. He didn't like how she seemed to shift slightly away even though the desk still stood between them.
"Inez, is something wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing is wrong, Senor," she said. "I have work I need to do."
"Senor?" Ezra asked, his frown deepening. "Normally when we are alone, you do not call me that."
Inez crossed her arms over her chest. "I think it best if we no long are alone, Senor. I do not think Senora Travis would appreciate that."
Of all the things that Inez could possibly say, he was not expecting that. "Mary?" he asked. "Why would she not appreciate it?"
"I think you know, Senor," Inez said, glaring at him. It was almost accusing as she looked at him. He'd seen that look before, but not on Inez's face.
"I've not seen you in two days outside of a few glimpses in the saloon," he said. "Why is that?"
"Does it matter?" Inez challenged.
"I think you need to be in on the meeting with the men and I," Ezra said. "It seems that there is a misconception over a few things that need clearing up."
"There is nothing that--," Inez started to say when there was a knock on the door before Chris poked his head in.
"You joinin' us, Ezra?" he asked. He nodded to Inez. "Inez."
"Yes, Inez is joining us as well," Ezra said. "It seems that she has the wrong impression over a few things much as you and Mr. Tanner did a couple days ago."
"Well everyone's waitin'," Chris said. He stepped away and headed back to the other men. Ezra turned to Inez, holding a hand out. She defiantly stood where she did, not moving.
"Inez, please," Ezra said. "Just listen to what has to be said. If you wish for me to leave you be after that, I shall respect your wishes."
She watched him a moment, arms still crossed over her chest. She sighed and nodded finally. "Fine, but I do not think things will change, Senor."
"I think they will," Ezra said quietly, waiting for her to pass him as they exited the office together. Buck Wilmington, the resident ladies man gave them a smirk and almost commented before he noticed that neither seemed happy. Inez looked angry and annoyed, Ezra looked sad. Mary noted the change in her brother and gave him a questioning look. He shook his head a bit and nodded to each of the other men.
"What's going on?" JD Dunne asked as he noted that Vin was ushering the last cowboy out of the saloon, stating that he could return once they were done.
"A bit of an emergency we are dealin' with," Chris said.
"Notice you and Vin have been lookin' awful hard for Ezra's Ma," Nathan said. "She have another telegraph come through sayin' she stole somethin'?"
"You are half correct," Ezra said, frowning some.
"Care to explain?" Josiah Sanchez asked as he glanced at the Southerner.
"It's a rather complicated situation, gentleman," Ezra said. "One that seems a bit outrageous and we do not have all the answers to."
"What do you mean?" Buck questioned. Ezra glanced at Mary.
"Ezra and I discovered something that has changed things rather dramatically for us," Mary said, crossing her arms. "But we are trying to find Maude to get further information."
"And what changes do you mean?" Inez asked. She had promised she was going to keep her mouth shut and not get involved, but her jealousies got the best of her and she spoke up.
"We're brother and sister," Ezra said. Inez's jaw dropped and silence fell amongst the men. Finally it was broken when JD started to laugh.
"That's a good one, Ezra," the young man said. He sobered when he noticed how serious Mary and Ezra both looked. "You aren't kidding."
"Hardly a thing to joke about my young friend," Ezra said.
"How'd you find all this out?" Josiah asked.
"We haven't entirely," Mary said. "But it started with the arrival of my aunt and Maude... well it would seems aunts."
"Aunts?" Buck asked, frowning.
"Even if Mary and I are not siblings, we are cousins," Ezra said. "Mary's mother, and most likely my mother as well, is Maude's younger sister."
"So either way you are family," Nathan said. Ezra nodded.
"When Aunt Elizabeth saw Maude, she was shocked," Mary explained. "Then she saw Ezra and that's when things started to snowball. She explained to me later that Ezra was the spitting image of my father. Something I forgot about until she showed me one of the photographs she had. He looks just like our father, except he has our mother's eyes. And he was named for our father."
"Your Pa's name was Ezra?" Buck asked.
Mary nodded. "Though I did not know that. He went by Patrick, which is his middle name," she explained. "Aunt Elizabeth told me that Father named his son Ezra Patrick III."
"Ezra, how'd you find out?" Josiah asked.
"I knew that Moth-- Maude would most likely try to flee town in the middle of the night. She was not pleased to see Mrs. Lambros at all," Ezra said. "I waited for her to emerge. Apparently Mary's aunt knew her enough to do the same. I overheard them talking and Maude never really denied that I was Mary's brother or that she stole me from my real parents."
"So Maude kidnapped you?" Nathan asked.
"That seems to be the case," Ezra said.
"But we don't know the entire story or why Maude may have done what she did," Mary said. "We can't find her. Vin talked to Yosemite and he said that she took off sometime last night. And that was after Vin and Chris spent the past two days trying to find her too."
"So the first thing we need to do is find Maude," Josiah said simply. "Think we can do that."
"She could be hiding in plain sight," Ezra said. "She has a knack for that. And we need to find Mrs. Lambros as well. Mary said she's not seen her aunt since all this happened."
"You don't think Maude would do something, do you?" JD asked.
"Vin said before, people will do some pretty desperate things when trapped or backed into a corner," Mary said. "That could very well be what started this entire mess to begin with."
"We'll help you get to the bottom of this," Buck said, getting to his feet.
"Thank you, Buck," Mary said. He tipped his hat to her.
"First thing we need to do is find Maude and Mary's other aunt," Chris said. "Then we worry about finding the answers Mary and Ezra need."
"Reckon I'll head on out and do a longer scout outside of town," Vin said. "See if maybe Maude did take off and if I can pick up her trail."
"I'll come with ya, pard," Buck said.
"We'll take a look around town and keep our eyes peeled here," Nathan said. "Ain't too many places she can hide."
"I'll let the hotel know we're looking for her. In case she returns to her room there to gather things," Josiah said.
"Let's get going then," Chris said. The men got to their feet and began to make their way for the door when Ezra spoke.
"Gentlemen," he said. They turned to look at him. "Thank you."
"Yer family, Ezra," Buck said. "Even before ya found out about this. Family sticks together, no matter what."
The emotions hit Ezra hard and he found himself at a loss for words. He swallowed a bit, resting his hat on his head. He tapped his finger against the rim to them, thanking them further silently. Mary squeezed her brother's arm as the men left. She noted that Inez was looking at Ezra with an abashed look. She had a feeling she needed to speak to the man alone.
"I'll see you later, Ezra," Mary said. "I have to work on the paper." She smiled softly at the Mexican woman before heading out of the saloon.
Inez moved closer to Ezra, reaching up to remove his hat. He looked at her with an arched brow, surprise clearly evident on his face. She shifted to her toes and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.
"I am sorry," she said quietly. "I thought..."
"I know what you thought, my dear," Ezra said softly. "Mr. Tanner thought the same the other day. You must have overheard his accusations."
"Yes, but I should have stayed to listen," Inez said. "But I was hurt."
"Hurt?" Ezra asked, frowning. "I would never--."
"I know," she said. "But I thought... I don't know what I thought." She toyed with his hat in her hands, lifting dark eyes to him.
"You thought what I have thought many a time about your relationship with Mr. Wilmington," Ezra said.
"Senor Wilmington?" Inez asked, surprised. "No, I would never..."
"Nor would I with Mary, even before I knew of our familial relation," Ezra said.
Inez smiled softly. "It seems we have nothing but miscommunications, don't we?"
"So it would seem," Ezra said, grinning a little. "I only have feelings for you, Inez."
Inez brushed her fingers along Ezra's cheek. "And I for you." Ezra carefully extracted his hat from her hands and placed it on her head. She grinned, looking at him from beneath the brim. Lowering his head, Ezra pressed his lips to hers. Inez moved closer and slowly wrapped her arms around him as she returned the kiss. She had been waiting for a moment like this, waiting for the day she would feel his arms around her and his lips on hers. The miscommunication seemed almost worth it now.
