Vin found himself staring up at the hotel in front of him. He leaned back again the wooden post behind him, as the cool breeze of the night ran across his cheek. Storm's passin',he noted to himself. Behind him, he could hear the tipsy cries of gamblers in surprise that once again Ezra had beaten them and normally he would have been smirking at the blatant robbery his friend was committing on these men from a dark quiet corner, but tonight he yearned for the calm silence that he found in the street. Time alone with his thoughts. He scratched his two days stubble as he reflected on the events of his day,
"You were right, tha' was delicious."
She had beamed at him so wide as she finished her meal, that Vin couldn't help but laugh, she had practically inhaled the food.
"Sure glad ya' liked it."
He had hoped the food would help to break the awkward silence that had fallen over them since his attempt at finding out more about their town guest earlier that day. He had sensed that she was slightly on edge, and from the short contributions she had been making in their conversation he had picked up the impression that she was worried that he would begin questioning her again. He had been concentrating so hard on trying to find a way ease some information out of her; he knew if he pushed her too far she'd close up completely, reminding him of one of his friends all too much, that he didn't notice that he was fiddling with his knife, pointing it with the tip down on his clean napkin and twisting it, until he dropped the knife with an almighty clang onto the floor.
"Dang it, sorry, didn' even realise I was doin' it,"
He had apologised to Amy as the noise drew him out of his thoughts, and he noticed her flinch at the noise. It was only then that he had realised that she had been inspecting him closely. She had tilted her head to one side slightly, the difficultness that she had been aiming at Vin draining away from her face as she did so.
"It's alright, you seemed miles away, you okay?"
A silent yelp of glee resounded in his head, she was presenting him with a way in. He shrugged his shoulders, acting coolly and fixing his gaze on his knife, which he was now twirling again in his fingers,
"Jus' thinkin'"
He had to bite the inside of his mouth to stop himself from smiling as he noticed Amy take a deep inhale of breath from his peripheral vision, so deep that it seemed like the sentence she was about to say was burning her throat,
"…You wanna talk about it?"
It was only then that he had allowed himself to stare up carefully at the woman in front of him. Although Amy wore an expression that looked as though the words she had just spoken had left a bitter taste in her mouth, there was a clear caring aspect to her look. He had watched as her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly, and her already wide blue eyes had enlarged with concern. She had leaned forwards in her chair, as if to signal to him that she was interested in what he was about to say, and he had known that his was his golden opportunity to try and implement his plan again,
"Was jus' wonderin' as ta' how Chris an' Buck migh' be gettin' on…"
He had trailed off, partly because it left the conversation open for her to contribute, but also because he was unsure of what to add at the end, unsure of how he was actually feeling.
"I'm sure they're gettin' on alright…"
She had paused, and he waited with baited breath, praying for her to carry on.
"An' I'm sure that he appreciates you staying here and lookin' after the town…"
Relief had flooded over his at her statement, she had taken the bite, and if he played his cards right she might tell him more about herself.
He kicked his leg out, watching as the dust he kicked up spiralled around in the breeze. He couldn't shake that sentence from his brain. He couldn't decide whether it was because he agreed with Amy's words or whether it was because he hadn't thought about it like that but something she had said struck a chord within him. He attempted to push the uneasy feeling away, and focused on the little information that he had finally managed to draw out from Amy.
"So ya' got family in Eagle Bend? Friends?"
A poignant smile had filled her face, but she didn't speak, leading him to continue,
"C'mon, there's gotta be some reason tha' you'd be riding out there…by yourself,"
He had added the last part in a slightly questioningly manner, hoping that if he was wrong she would be too stubborn to ignore it and have to correct his error, but also that if he was right he could ascertain more information about this stranger in front of him. Once again he hit the nail on the head, as Amy had seemed to fight answering for a moment, before shaking her head,
"No family. Guess you could say I was vistin' friends, and yeah, I'm alone. I always ride alone."
Vin smiled to himself as he remembered the way in which his tracking skills had helped him to try and read this girl, though it seemed that every time he believed he had her figured out, she would take some new action, leaving him baffled once again. She had said the words in such a defiant way, as if daring him to challenge her competency at riding by herself, but thinly masked melancholy was clear to him in her features.
"An' then ya' got shot….You an' your friends have a lil'…misunderstandin'….?"
The brief exposure of her sadness had disappeared as briefly as it had arrived, and he had studied carefully as she had attempted to pull as blank an expression as possible, but she couldn't hide the concoction of pain and rage pooling in her eyes,
"Not at all. I got caught in the crossfire of a gun fight…Just seem to be unlucky like that…"
He banged his head gently against the bar he was leaning against, trying to figure out this girl. She had been through something, either a part of it or a witness, he couldn't decide which, but whatever it was it had affected her pretty badly. Not that she would ever admit it, especially not to Vin or any of the seven. Except maybe Chris. He had noticed that the two were more similar than either would probably care to admit, and it made him consider carefully the way that Chris had seemed to perk up after Amy's arrival in town. Granted there had not been a huge change in Chris' behaviour, and to most he would still seem as withdrawn as before, but Vin could notice the shift, although it was tricky to understand whether Chris' change in behaviour was due to him acting out his revenge on Ella. Vin had also noticed that Amy seemed to ask about Chris more than the other members of the seven, and whilst this could also be attributed to other factors, such as her having had more interaction with Chris than anyone else, but he sensed it was more than that. And it worried him. He couldn't figure out whether Amy was trouble or not, and until he could, he wouldn't allow a woman the chance to hurt his friend. Not again.