Ella arose the next morning feeling as if she'd had a fight with a bear with a sore head. Her entire body ached and protested as she uncurled herself. She quickly pulled her skirt up past her thigh and saw a large bruise already blooming purple and angry across her skin in the place she had fallen the night before. She touched it gingerly and then she felt that same feeling trickle down her spine, unnerving her, she was being watched.

She hurriedly pulled her skirts back down and got to her feet, cringing a little as her body once again gave small disapproving twinges as she moved. She went to the stove and started a small fire, preparing for when Maria and the children awoke, trying to ignore the feeling of eyes upon her. She glanced out of the window and saw that it was only a few hours past dawn but Ella knew Maria would soon be joining her; she wasn't the sort to stay in bed too long.

Not being able to resist taking a quick peek, she looked over her shoulder towards the curtain, but the room beyond was cloaked in darkness and she could not make out any figure. She shrugged, deciding perhaps she was being a little overly jumpy. She let her mind wander as she worked; she wondered if Doc had noticed her absence and if he was worried… she wondered distractedly if the man she had seen upon the horse the night before had been the eldest Garza boy returning home. It was possible, but so many men rode through the town it could have been anyone, even a Texan looking for somewhere to bed down.

It was not long before she heard movement and Maria appeared, yawning and loosely tying her hair out of her face.

"Buenos Dias Ella, you are up early."

"Mornin' Maria, yeah I couldn't sleep too well, how'd you sleep?"

"Iah, not so well either, too many things on my mind." Maria took out an old frying pan and began to prepare a small breakfast.

Ella looked back towards the curtain before leaning towards Maria. "You mean your eldest son?" she whispered.

"Si, Joey…" She paused, her expression becoming pained. "He will not listen, all we do is argue, we can never see things in the same way." She glanced at Ella, "I worry for him… but he will not listen."

Ella nodded. "Well, I don't rightly know what to say to calm your fears Maria… but if he's your son he's gotta have a good heart in him somewhere." Ella picked up a handful of eggs, passing them to Maria to break into the pan. "Teresa and Rafael are good children cause you're a good mother so Joey gotta have good somewhere in him." She trailed off, knowing she was beginning to ramble.

Maria gave a sad nod. "I wish it were as easy and true as that." She broke the eggs and began to fry them. "Truth is Joey is bad, I know it, he knows it, whole village knows it… last news I heard was he was robbing trains."

"Robbing trains?!" Ella said, her eyes widening, "He'll have a posse after him if he ain't careful."

"Oh he is careful" Maria said with a huffed laugh.

"You want me to go wake up the children?" Ella said, sensing that a change in subject was called for.

"Si, breakfast will not be long, I think Joey is gone… I am glad of it Ella, I would rather you did not meet him."

"Alright" Ella said with a warm smile and walked towards the curtain, pushing it aside. Teresa and Rafael were still curled up asleep in the large bed. Ella gave a smile as she watched them slumber; they looked so peaceful that for a moment she regretted having to wake them at all.

Slowly she bent down towards Teresa and planted a small kiss upon her cheek.

"Hey Tessy," she whispered, "time to wake up, your mama's making us all some breakfast."

Teresa's eyes flickered open, staring unseeingly as they always did, but she smiled at the sound of Ella's voice.

"Ella!"

"Mornin' Tessy" Ella said with a smile as Teresa felt her face, checking it was indeed her. "I stayed on last night, thought I'd eat with you all."

Suddenly Teresa's eyes widened, her look becoming slightly distressed. "Is Joey still here?!" Her voice trembled with fear.

"No, your ma thinks he left a while ago Honey, I guess you don't like him much." She stroked the young girl's cheek, comforting her.

"I'm glad – he is bad, I wish he would stay away for good."

"Ah now, I don't think your ma would be happy if he did." She kissed the top of Teresa's head. "Come on now, get dressed and wake Rafael, don't take too long or your food'll go cold."

"Okay Ella" Teresa said, a smile once more appearing upon her lips.

Ella walked back out to where Maria was now setting the table; Ella picked up a few plates and began to help in the task.

"They're just getting' dressed, Tessy don't seem to think much of Joey either, she's such a good girl and likes everyone, seems strange."

"Joey always teases her, hits her sometimes too" Maria replied with a sigh.

"Oh," was all Ella could manage. "I was thinkin' I'd stay on here a little while if that's okay Maria, I don't much feel like goin' home."

"Of course it is okay, as long as you help me with some chores, I have a pile of wood that needs chopping." She smiled.

"Sure I can do that" Ella laughed warmly.

"You have a good long think about that husband of yours, took me four husbands and many admirers before I saw what was good for me and what was not, don't make my mistakes."

"I promise I'll think" Ella said, filling four glasses with buttermilk.

A knock upon the door captured both of the women's attentions. Maria gave a sideways glance at Ella, her look clearly stating she feared Joey was back, but upon opening the door relief flooded them both as Billy Williams, a gnarled kindly Texan who lived in the town greeted Maria warmly.

"Mornin' Mary!" he smiled, using the name he always seemed to call Maria by. He tugged his hat at Ella after seeing she too was in the house. "Mornin' Miss Stella."

"Mornin' Billy" Ella called back with a grin. Billy had always been kind to her and Maria, in fact it was a widely known fact that Billy was very much in love with Maria and wanted to marry her but Maria did not seem to share his affections, despite this fact the two remained good friends and Billy would gladly have gone to the ends of the earth if Maria had bidden him to. Still it was also not unknown that Billy was a damn good shot and could be ruthless if he so desired.

"What are you doing here so early Billy?" Maria asked. "If you want food I can offer you bread."

"No, no Mary, I've already eaten, just thought I'd stop by, check you are alright." He paused as Maria motioned for him to come inside, which he did, removing his hat in the process. "I heard Joey was back in town."

"Iah! The whole village must know already" Maria said in annoyance.

"Yep, they sure do, he was seen ridin' in last night… but the talk is that if he keeps his nose clean they'll leave him be."

"I am glad to hear that, besides he is not here, I have not checked for his horse but he was gone when awoke" Maria said, her attention back upon the cooking meal.

"Maybe he was just passing through, I sure hope so, he's caused you enough trouble Mary."

Maria gave a frown. "He is my son; he will always have a home here." She wiped her hands absently upon her apron. "I will go and see what the children are doing." She bustled out of the room.

Ella turned back to Billy offering him her own cup of buttermilk.

"Joey sure has caused a stir" she said a little slyly, planning to sweeten Billy up into telling her more.

"Yeah, he always does." He gave a wink as thanks for the drink. "His ma can't see he's bad to his core."

"What made him so bad? I mean he can't have been born that way."

Billy took a long drink, the liquid trickled a little down his white beard and he quickly wiped it away. "No, not born that way, Joey was a good boy once, good to his mother and polite, just like little Tessy and Rafael but when Mary married her second husband, nasty piece of work he was..." He paused, checking the curtain to see if Maria was coming back, when he was convinced she was still busy with the children he continued. "He sold Joey to the Apaches, he was only still a small boy then, no older than six I reckon, I tried my darn hardest to buy him back but damn Apaches wouldn't let me, they thought he was lucky, given that he was güero."

Ella gave him a confused look, stating that she did not understand.

"Blonde haired, blue eyed Mexican" Billy clarified. "Well, Joey escaped when he was about thirteen, ran for his damn life, out ran and evaded all the Apache trackers, boy was runnin' scared if you ask me, devil at his heels." Billy again paused, taking another gulp of buttermilk. "He came back to Mary, but by then he was changed, the Joey we all knew was long dead and gone, somethin' had happened to him over those many years, somethin' real bad, somethin' that had tainted his soul… He was silent, hardly talked to no one and seemed to enjoy killin' too much, he gave the butcher Gordo a hand in slaughterin' pigs and goats but he threw Joey out after only two weeks, said he was likin' causing pain too much, I never asked what he meant." He glanced nervously at the curtain again. "Then he started stealin'… first people in the village, then going into Texas, becoming more reckless and one day, he must have been about fifteen, he came back with a new horse and a new rifle. He'd always had a rifle since he got back from the Apaches, but this new one had a good long range, practiced with that damn deadly thing every day; he was near natural at usin' it, lethal as any trained shooter, more so… He can kill someone from a mile away they say, gives me the shivers, way he looks at me all dead-eyed."

Ella went to fill another cup of buttermilk for herself, her brow furrowed in deep thought.

"That poor boy," she whispered, "I wonder what the Apaches did t' him."

"Poor boy!" Billy said, spluttering out a laugh. "You listen here Missy, that boy don't deserve any pity! He's a killer and cruel to boot! You start givin' someone like that pity they'll soon as stab you in the back than smile at you for it." He eyed her almost suspiciously. "I'm just glad you didn't meet him, best to stay clear of his sort, though Mary can't help it, him bein' her son an' all, I'd advise you to stay well clear."

Ella laughed, seeing his face had become red from the effort of his little rant. "Okay, okay I hear ya Billy."

Maria soon appeared with both children in tow.

"Sorry I took so long, Rafael had an accident while he slept, I think Joey coming home scared him a little."

The young boy hung his head and mumbled inaudible words to himself, plucking at his fresh clothes, guilt clouding his eyes.

"Aw Rafael, come sit by me Sweetpea, we'll go find your baby goat after we eat" Ella said, reaching her hand out to the boy.

Rafael gave a lopsided grin and nodded, taking the seat beside her; Ella rubbed his arm reassuring him.

"You want some help washin' the bedclothes after we eat?" she asked, addressing Maria as the older woman helped Teresa to her seat and then began to serve out the now lukewarm food.

"I would be grateful for the help" Maria replied with a smile.

Ella smiled in reply and then joined the family as they began their meal.

---

Ella helped Maria clean the bedclothes and a few shirts in the river that ran through the village.

"You goin' dancin' with Billy again soon? I hear that Laredo holds dances every month now" Ella asked as she pulled a large sheet out of the water and wrung it out, placing it in a woven basket.

"Yes, maybe," Maria said, smiling, "I would like to go with him; we always laugh so much when we dance."

Ella smiled, seeing the woman's face light up at the prospect of a little fun. "I don't know why you don't just marry him."

"I have been married too many times; I do not feel like being married again." She paused in her scrubbing and looked out across the village.

"All your husbands been bad sorts? I mean I don't mean t' pry…"

"No, no it is okay Chica. No, not all of them, there was one that was good… good to me and to my children, he was my third husband, a kind man although he was very lazy." She smiled in memory of better times

"Then… what happened?" Ella asked, almost fearing the answer.

"He was found dead, murdered" Maria said resuming her work with renewed vigor.

"Murdered… I'm sorry Maria… I don't know what t' say."

"He probably had gambling debts or someone after him… I never found out who did it, men always seem to hide who they are, so I was not so surprised."

Ella reached out and touched the older woman's arm in a gesture of solace. "Why don't you go see to the children, I can hang this up for dryin'" she said, seeing that the talk had affected Maria a little.

Maria smiled, "Gracias Ella, I would like that, I feel tired today."

Ella nodded in understanding, "You go on back in and rest, I'll see to this."

Maria smiled once more, her eyes showing how tired she felt. She patted Ella upon the leg before pushing herself to her feet and heading back towards her house.

Ella watched her for a moment, admiring just how strong Maria was after all she had been through, was still going through, she hoped that she could one day have the same mindset.