Chapter 22

Ezra rolled over, squinting at the bright sunlight that hit his eyes. He instinctively reached a hand over and kept reaching. His hand brushed against an empty pillow, sheets, and didn't find the warm body that was supposed to be there. The sunlight cooled and the cold crept into him. Kaylee wasn't there. His wife wasn't there.

Ezra pushed himself up to sitting, quickly looking to see the open bathroom door, the closed exterior door. No sign of Kaylee. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to slow the thoughts that were gaining momentum, without much luck. Kaylee was gone. She had realized their spontaneous wedding the night before was foolhardy. Or, worse and more likely, she had realized marriage to Ezra was a mistake.

He shouldn't have been surprised, but the harsh shock was almost as painful as the pain of the sudden loss. He had known this would happen, hadn't he? At some level he must have known. Someone like him didn't get happy endings. Not with someone like Kaylee.

He needed to find her, to reassure her that he hadn't changed his mind in the light of day and that he wouldn't let her down. He reached for his pants, abandoned on the floor in the heat of the moment last night and pulled them on. He pulled on his lightweight cotton shirt and had the buttons almost done up when he heard the click of the electronic lock on the motel door release. The door swung open and Kaylee nudged the door open with her shoulder, her arms full with a paper grocery bag and the motel key card.

His legs nearly buckled at the sight of her, the snowballing fear and self-recrimination not stopping as quickly as it had started. He covered by looking down at his shirt and finishing up the last buttons. Taking a breath, drawing on the lifetime of training that had taught him how to cover his feelings.

Ezra felt like a man on death row getting a reprieve for another day. Another day that Kaylee wouldn't find out how he didn't deserve her, another day to be with her. He covered the intense relief that flowed through him by going to her and taking the bag from her.

"You were up early," Ezra said.

Kaylee flashed him the grin that never failed to draw his smile in return, though his was slightly forced. "I went to get breakfast." She reached in the bag he had set on the small table and pulled out a carton of milk and a box of Lucky Charms.

The lingering specter of dread that he had felt upon realizing she was gone continued to fade as she turned and wrapped her arms around him. "I hope it's an ok breakfast."

She had gotten up early and gone to get his favorite cereal. The knot in his stomach started to loosen. "It's perfect," he said.

Kaylee kissed him soundly on the lips and turned from his arms to get the paper cups and spoons by the coffee maker in the corner of the room. Ezra shoved his fingers through his hair and took in a breath, trying to regain the rest of his equilibrium.

Pouring them each a makeshift bowl of cereal, she handed one to Ezra, then settled on the bed.

Ezra sat next to her, leaning back against the headboard, thankful his hands were steady as he held his cup of cereal. Kaylee curled up against his side and Ezra willed his heart to slow to a normal rate.

Ezra looked around the dated motel room, at the coffee cup of sugary kid's cereal in his hand, and the strawberry blonde tucked up against him. He had never imagined a second rate hotel in a nondescript town in southwest Texas could feel like heaven. He didn't want to lose it. He shoved aside thoughts of losing what he had found and set his cup aside, wrapping an arm around Kaylee's shoulder.

Kaylee stretched her legs out in front of her. Ezra looked over and saw she had eaten all the cereal bits and left the marshmallows for last. His lips twitched in a smile.

She looked up at him. "What?" she asked. Her eyes were guileless. Ezra had never met anyone with so little artifice. He wanted to give her the happiness she had brought to his life. He needed to make sure she knew how he felt.

"We don't have to be in Texas," he said.

"What?" she asked. "You want to go on to Howard City? Do you want to compete this week?"

Ezra shifted so he could see her face more directly. He hooked a loose strand of sun-kissed hair behind her ear. "You deserve a real honeymoon. The Bahamas, Mexico, Italy... We have time before Vegas. We should go somewhere special."

Kaylee blinked at him, her brow furrowing like Ezra wasn't making any sense. "This is special."

Ezra looked around the motel room again. "The Long Branch Motel is special?" he asked skeptically.

Kaylee moved so she was kneeling in front of him. She took his hands in hers and gave them a strong squeeze. "As long as I'm with you, it's special. I don't need a fancy trip. I just need you."

Her words pulled at his heart, went against everything Maude had taught him. There was no way he could be what she needed.

Kaylee leaned forward and kissed him. Her hands on his shoulders, her whispered words of affection, she did everything she could to show him he was exactly what she needed.

#

Vin looked down at his cellphone, frowning.

"Still haven't got a hold of Ezra?" Nathan asked.

Vin shook his head. Buck had found Kaylee's phone, along with all her possessions, in his camper. It had been five days and still no word from either of them.

They were in their usual spots in the medical trailer, Nathan taping up Chris' shoulder before that evening's rodeo.

Chris grunted at the pain as Nathan moved his shoulder. He scowled at Vin and Buck. "If the two of you hadn't been such idiots to think locking them in Buck's camper would fix things, they'd be here." He let out a curse when Nathan moved his shoulder again before focusing on Buck and Vin again. "Knowing the two of them, they decided to head for the Mexican border and bought a couple roosters to become professional cock fighters."

Vin couldn't argue with that. He had tried to follow Josiah's advice and give them space, but he had expected Kaylee to turn up for the rodeo.

"Or they headed to Vegas," JD chimed in. He was studying the row of colored kinesiology tape Nathan had stacked in a cabinet. He pulled one out and the entire shelf of colors tumbled down. JD scrambled to catch them as the rolls dropped to the counter. "Everyone knows Ezra loves Vegas," he said.

The trailer grew quiet at the thought of Ezra and Kaylee in Vegas together.

"I'm sure they're fine," Buck said, trying to regain some of the bravado he had after the initial thought that Kaylee and Ezra were on good terms again after his stunt of locking them in together. "If ol' Ezra showed us anything, it's that he ain't going to do anything that would hurt Kaylee."

Slow nods met his statement. Vin met Chris' eyes. Ezra wouldn't do anything to purposely hurt Kaylee. But that didn't mean the gambler knew the first thing about having a normal relationship. And they had all seen how his careful logic fled any time Kaylee was involved.

"You need a hazer?" Buck asked Vin.

Vin stuck his phone in his pocket, accepting for now that they weren't going to get any word from Ezra. "You up for it?" he asked Buck. Buck was a good enough hazer, though he didn't read Vin's movements as instinctively as Kaylee, but Vin had a guaranteed spot in Vegas next week for the finals.

Buck grinned. "Of course I am."

Vin nodded. "I'll see you later then." He left the rest of them in the trailer, listening to Chris' cussing out Nathan and Nathan telling him to man up as he closed the door.

Vin set out towards his truck, intending to check on his horses, get Barney out of Buck and JD's camper and take the dog for a walk. He saw Josiah at the edge of the arena, setting up the bullriding chutes and headed toward him.

Josiah acknowledged Vin with a glance when he approached, but kept working on the chute. Vin took the other end of the metal panel and helped him put it into place.

Josiah had been quiet ever since they left Long Branch. Vin didn't pry, giving Josiah space, but he also didn't walk away.

Josiah finally finished his job and turned to Vin.

"You're worried that Ezra and Kaylee haven't turned up," Josiah said, more a statement than a question.

"I think we all are."

Josiah nodded, then looked out over the open fields that stretched past the rodeo grounds to the horizon. "Sometimes, Brother, you just have to do your best and trust the rest to the Almighty."

Vin waited to see if Josiah was going to offer anything more than that. When it didn't seem that he was, Vin leaned back against the metal panels now secured in place. "You want to tell me what that means?"

Josiah looked at Vin then. He clapped a hand on Vin's shoulder. "Kaylee's mighty fortunate to have a friend like you."

"Do you ever talk in anything that ain't a riddle?" Vin asked.

Josiah's wide face split into a grin then. "It's only a riddle if the one hearing it can't puzzle it out."

Vin couldn't help but return the smile. "Can you at least tell me why you're so sure Ezra and Kaylee aren't goin' to be at each other's throats again?"

Josiah sobered, and met Vin's eyes unwaveringly. "Because Ezra is committed to taking care of her. He's a trustworthy man."

Vin knew that no one outside of their group of seven, and probably even a couple within the group, wouldn't describe Ezra as trustworthy. But he had seen the way Ezra had tried to shove Kaylee aside even when it nearly broke him because he thought it was best for Kaylee. He mulled over what Josiah had said. With a sigh he thanked his friend.

"Keep the faith," Josiah said.

Vin nodded, giving him a half wave as he walked away to go check on Kaylee's horse and dog.

#

Kaylee laughed at Ezra's look.

"You just don't want me to beat you in front of everyone," she said.

His look of concern grew. "I'm more concerned with angering a bar full of bikers. Large, violent bikers."

"You gambled with them before," Kaylee reminded him.

"And had to leave the game to get you out of there," he responded. "With a gun."

That gave her pause. "You had to use a gun?"

Ezra reached out and pulled her close to him. "You were apparently very appealing to them. They weren't inclined to let you leave with me."

Kaylee grinned up at him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Well now they won't have a choice. You're my husband." The words gave her a thrill every time she said them. Five days and she was happier than she'd ever been. She knew her phone was probably blowing up with messages, demands from Cletus back in Nebraska, but for now she didn't have to think about that.

She kissed Ezra's cheek, his jaw, moving toward his lips and could feel his resolve wavering.

"You won't drink too much?" he finally said against her lips. "Your judgment tends to…deteriorate from what I've seen."

"I'll be stone cold sober," she promised.

"You'll stay near me?"

"By your side all night."

Ezra still didn't give in and she pulled back just enough so she could really look at him, let him see why this was so important to her. "I want to know your world, Ezra. You love playing poker and I want to do that with you."

"We could always stay here and play our own game of poker." His smile promised more.

Kaylee laughed. "We've done that and I thought you were sick of losing."

"I don't know that I would call that a loss," he answered, his eyes twinkling. He thought for a moment, then sighed and finally relented. "Ok. I'll take you to the high stakes game at the biker bar. But we leave if there's any hint of trouble."

Kaylee pressed a kiss to his lips firmly. "There won't be any trouble," she promised. Then kissed him again, this time lingering. Ezra's hands slid over her hips, pulling her closer.

The poker game would still be there in an hour, Kaylee thought to herself before Ezra's kisses blurred her thoughts.

#

Ezra had known this was a terrible idea. Kaylee laughed at something one of the larger of the leather clad men said. If her strategy was to charm them all so they weren't focused on their cards, it was working. At least with the largest of the men. The red headed one didn't look amused and shoved another hundred dollars into the pot.

Ezra quickly matched the man's bet, trying to keep the man's focus on the game and not Kaylee.

Kaylee turned her attention from her new friend and looked at her cards. It took everything in Ezra to not let a pained expression cross his face at her look of concern that she did very little to conceal. Then she looked at him, studying him, reading the color of his eyes as she had once said she could do. Whatever she saw had her frowning, but sliding money into the middle of the table.

Ezra felt like he was playing for his life, trying to make sure he was the one who fleeced the men so their ire wouldn't be turned on Kaylee if she made away with their money in spite of her clearly terrible gambling skills. There was no way this group of men would believe Kaylee had won honestly, simply by reading the color shifts of Ezra's eyes.

Ezra won the pot again and Kaylee looked at him with unmasked pride in her eyes. He was momentarily distracted, the look not one he had ever seen directed at him by anyone in his life.

The red haired man gathered up the cards to shuffle. His eyes started to burn as he looked at Kaylee.

Ezra shuffled his money into a neat pile, working to keep his pace slow, unconcerned. "I believe I'm going to call it a night," he said. If Maude had taught him anything, it was to know when to get out.

Kaylee looked surprised, but didn't argue. She gathered her own surprisingly large pile of money and looked like she was about to slide it over to Ezra. Thankfully she read the warning in his eyes and stuffed it in her own pocket. The last thing they needed was her handing the money to him as if they had been working in tandem to take the other players' money.

"It's still early," Red said. He narrowed his eyes at Ezra. "You going to clean us out, then leave?"

Ezra didn't let concern show. He slipped his winnings into his pocket and stood. "I played all I intend to tonight."

Kaylee looked concerned and stood as well, coming around the table to stand next to Ezra. The relief at having her in arm's reach flooded Ezra. If things got out of hand, he could at least shield her now.

One of Red's friends shoved his chair back and stood. "You two really expect us to believe you took all our money honestly?"

Red was on his feet, stepping toward Ezra. Ezra kept one hand behind him on Kaylee.

Before Red got too close, the man Kaylee had been laughing with was on his feet, planting himself between Red and Ezra. The man towered over everyone else.

"They beat you fair," the giant said, his voice rumbling out of his chest. His friend, nearly as big as he was, also stood, a silent threat if Red didn't back down.

Red hesitated, eyes flashing at Ezra.

The giant and his friend, the ogre, both shifted a shade closer. Red let out a stream of spit that landed near Ezra's feet, but then took a step back. "You're not worth it. Let's go," he said to his friend.

Ezra didn't move until he was sure they were out the door, then looked to the two men.

Kaylee stayed behind Ezra, but wrapped her arms around him and he felt her rest her head on his shoulder, felt her let out a breath of relief.

The giant grunted. "Fool shouldn't be ruining your honeymoon."

Ezra could feel Kaylee smiling behind him. "Thanks, Archie," she said.

A surprisingly large smile showed in the midst of the man's overgrown beard. "You take care, Kaylee. Good luck in Vegas."

The two men lumbered off and Ezra turned to face Kaylee.

She looked up at Ezra, pursing her lips. "I didn't drink," she said.

Ezra lifted an eyebrow.

"And I stayed right by your side," she said.

He stared at her.

"And," she pointed out, "they were mad at you for winning, not me." She gave him a triumphant look, certain she had made her point.

"Trouble," was all Ezra could say. But he had already determined Kaylee was the best kind of trouble he would ever find.

#