Chapter 29

Vin groaned and rubbed a hand over his forehead, not sure why he felt like he had been run over by three of Ezra's bulls and asleep for a week. He forced his eyes open and saw…not his hotel room.

Vin scanned the modern and chic hotel room that lacked any sign of his belongings.

"You're awake."

Vin turned his head and saw Kaylee sitting cross legged at the foot of the bed, her green eyes wide with concern.

"You been sittin' there watchin' me sleep?" Vin asked, squinting at the light coming in from the window.

"Just for the last hour or so," Kaylee said, as if that was normal. "Mary was watching you all night. She went to get some sleep."

"Watchin' me," Vin repeated after her.

"How are you feeling?" Kaylee asked. She looked more concerned than Vin thought oversleeping merited and he tried again to figure out where he was and why Kaylee and Mary had been watching him sleep.

"Tired," he said. He pushed to sit up and Kaylee quickly hopped down from the foot of the huge bed and around to his side, ready to help him sit up.

"I got it," he assured her. She still hovered alongside him as he got to the edge of the bed, absently rubbing at the throbbing in his knee beneath the immobilizer. "Where am I?" he asked, looking around the room through still bleary eyes. "This ain't your and Ezra's room, is it?"

"It's Mary's," Kaylee said. Her brow knit. "Do you remember anything from last night?"

Vin shook his head. "Just…" What did he remember? He looked at her. "Did you and Chris get into it about something?"

Her cheeks tinged pink and she twisted her lips ruefully. "You and Ezra were right. Chris is a terrible nurse."

Vin grinned at her. "Is that why I don't remember anything?"

Before Kaylee could answer, there was a knock on the open bedroom door.

"Is he awake?" Ezra asked quietly.

"I think so," Vin said, feeling groggier than he should after sleeping until…he squinted at the clock. Ten am.
"Good morning, Mr. Tanner," Ezra said. "Are you interested in breakfast?"

Vin shook his head. Coffee was all he wanted. What he needed. "You two go on. I'm gonna head on down to my room, get cleaned up. You ready to ride tonight?" he asked Kaylee, changing the subject from him and whatever had happened last night.

He was relieved to see some of the desperation had left her face at the mention of the finals.

"I'm ready," she said.

"I'll be there, cheerin' louder than anyone," Vin promised.

Kaylee flung her arms around him without hesitation. "I'm so glad you're alright," she said, giving his neck a tight squeeze. Vin met Ezra's eyes over Kaylee's shoulder. He saw the lingering concern for Kaylee in Ezra's eyes and made a mental note to find out what happened last night.

He returned Kaylee's hug, glad to see a smile on her face when she pulled back. He watched her and Ezra go, saw Ezra reach over and link his fingers with Kaylee's on their way out the door and was glad his friend had found someone like Kaylee. Was glad Kaylee had Ezra. Neither one had ever shared their full history with Vin, but it was easy for anyone to see they both had hurts chasing them down. Vin hoped they could stop running now that they had found each other.

#

JD paced another lap across the concrete walk outside Casey and Nettie's motel room. He thought about what Chris had said, to stop being stupid. He nodded to himself. It was good advice. Then he turned over Ezra's advice. It was more to the point, a definite plan of action. Ezra had married Kaylee. It had fixed everything for them.

And that's what he wanted, wasn't it? To fix everything with Casey?

"JD?"

JD jumped at the sound of Nettie's voice. She stood in the doorway of her motel room.

"Yes, ma'am?" JD asked. He forced himself to stop pacing.

"JD, I've been watching you wear a hole in this sidewalk for the last ten minutes. Are you plannin' on knocking on my door sometime today?"

JD nodded. "Yes, ma'am," he assured her. That's why he was here, after all. To talk to Casey. To fix things. He nodded to himself. Fix things.

Nettie narrowed her eyes at him, but stepped outside. "I'll go check on her horse at the arena." She stopped next to JD, pursing her lips. "I hope you know I don't appreciate the young man who brought her home from the poker tournament last night. She was supposed to be there with you."

JD nodded again. "Yes, ma'am." He couldn't seem to find anything else to say in the face of Nettie's disapproving look.

Fix things.

Nettie made a small sound that didn't sound impressed and headed over to the pick up she and Casey traveled in.

JD rapped on the open motel door.

Casey was laying on her stomach on one of the beds, the TV on. She looked up and for a second looked pleased to see JD before she caught herself and looked bored, turning her attention back to the TV.

"What do you want, JD? I'm really tired. Duncan didn't bring me home until after two am."

JD tried to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach. "Casey, just listen, ok?" he started.

Casey at least looked at him, but when he saw the hurt in her eyes, he felt even worse. "What? So you can tell me I'm not a real girl again?"
JD hurried to her side. He had to make this right, he couldn't handle the look on her face and know he had put it there. "Casey, I didn't mean…that's not what…" he stumbled over his words, especially when she turned her attention back to some daytime talk show.

"Casey," he said, trying to catch her attention long enough to tell her how he really felt. To tell her she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen and the only girl who made him this tongue-tied.

JD moved to stand in front of the TV. Casey ignored him.

"Marry me!" he blurted out.

It got Casey's full attention.

JD stared at her, not daring to move. He didn't know if he should try to backtrack or show some bravado and plow on.

"JD, you really are an idiot, you know that?" Casey said. She stood from the bed. "What are you thinkin', asking me to marry you?"

JD shook his head. "I don't…Ezra said…" his voice trailed off.

"Ezra?" Casey asked incredulously. She rolled her eyes. "That's the life coach you chose to help you?"

He had wanted Buck's help to fix this, JD thought miserably. But Buck had been holed up in their camper all week with that waitress.

"I need to get ready for my run. You should go." Casey frowned at him.

JD nodded. He was out of words to try to mend fences with Casey. He hadn't fixed a darn thing.

#

Kaylee looked for Ezra. She saw Buck and waved to him. He grinned and waved back, but hurried on past her toward the woman Kaylee had met at his trailer the day before. She continued to lead Alcott back towards the stalls available to the competitors and saw Casey ignore JD, JD's shoulders slump in defeat, and they both headed in different directions looking miserable. She had already seen Vin. He had given her a warm congratulations for her second place ride, but his face had been drawn in pain and he was heading back to the hotel. Josiah was out in the arena, cleaning up from the night before he went to see the singer he was watching perform nightly. Nathan was busy with the aches and pains of competitors now that the night had wound down.

Chris came her direction and Kaylee hesitated. They hadn't been on the best terms the night before. Chris gave her a nod and kept walking. Kaylee tried for a wave, but it was half-hearted. He disappeared around a corner and Kaylee kept on going with Alcott.

She had Alcott brushed down and secured in her stall before she heard the familiar voice behind her.

"You look rather disheartened for a second place run."

Kaylee felt her dragging spirits lift slightly at the sound of Ezra. She closed the stall and leaned into his waiting arms.

"What's wrong?" Ezra asked.

Kaylee didn't answer right away, wrapping her arms around Ezra, closing her eyes and feeling how solid he was next to her.

"The season's almost over," Kaylee said.

"You don't want to go back to Colorado?" Ezra ventured quietly. With me came the unspoken question.

Kaylee squeezed her arms as hard as she could around his waist. "I don't want to lose everyone," she said. "I found…" She winced, knowing how naïve she would sound to Ezra. "I found a family with you and Vin and Buck and everyone. I just…I'm not ready to lose that yet."

Ezra tightened his hold on Kaylee and she took a breath, closing her eyes and memorizing how it felt to be with him.

"I don't understand how you'll lose that," he said. "I told you, we all live near one another."

"Doesn't it seem like Vegas is pulling everyone apart?" she asked. She pulled back enough to look up at Ezra, knowing he would see the worry on her face, but not trying to hide that from him. "We all were together all season. Traveling and training and competing. And then…" she thought about her sharp words to Chris the night before, his distance since then. "Vin's hurt, I don't think JD and Casey are speaking to each other, Buck and Josiah have been missing most the week, just turning up for the events and taking off again." Her heart felt heavier with every person in the unconventional family she listed.

Ezra was quiet and she rested her head against his chest again, feeling his warmth, knowing she had him.

"We should go out tonight," Ezra said, finally breaking the heavy silence.

Kaylee started to shake her head, but Ezra gave her another firm squeeze. "We're going out tonight," he said firmly.

Kaylee nodded, not feeling like she wanted to, but willing to agree with Ezra anyway.

"You get Alcott fresh water and I'll be right back," Ezra said.

Kaylee went to unroll a hose and run it down to her mare's stall. She saw Ezra pull his phone from the pocket of his jeans and text someone. It didn't take long to get her horse watered and drag the hose back towards the faucet. She went towards Ezra as he put his phone away. Before she reached him, a sharp call echoed down the corridor of the stable.

"Ezra Standish!"

Kaylee looked up at Ezra and saw his brief look of confusion as Nettie Wells strode toward them. But then it was gone and he frowned slightly as his only show of reaction.

"Mrs. Wells," he greeted her. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your always delightful company?" He sounded anything but delighted.

"Young man, are you stupid or just completely ignorant?" Nettie demanded, coming to a stop in front of Ezra.

"I suppose it would depend on the subject we're discussing," Ezra answered.

"JD," Nettie said, a frown pulling at her lined face.

Ezra shook his head. "Whatever that young man has done, I can assure you I had no part in it."

Kaylee felt her eyes getting bigger as she watched Nettie face off against Ezra and Ezra look completely unimpressed by her bluster.

"Really?" Nettie asked, folding her arms across her chest. "You had no part in telling JD to propose to Casey?"

Ezra reared back. "Most definitely not," he declared without hesitation. "I would never tell young JD to take such a foolhardy step."

Nettie raised an eyebrow and waited.

Kaylee could see the wheels turning, Ezra thinking back over past conversations with JD. And then she saw it. The flash of recognition.

"Mmm-hmmm," Nettie said, seeing the strike of memory.

"I'll talk to him," Ezra said.

Nettie held up a hand. "You've done enough." She looked at Ezra and shook her head. "And just when I started to think there was hope for you." With that, she turned and walked away.

Kaylee watched Nettie go before turning back to Ezra. "You told JD to propose to Casey?" she asked. It didn't seem like the type of advice Ezra would give. Him telling JD to enter into a sketchy business venture and use the money to impress Casey would have been more believable.

"I told him marrying you was the best decision I ever made," Ezra clarified.

Kaylee felt her flagging spirits buoyed slightly by the comment. "The best decision?" she asked.

"One of the best," Ezra amended, teasing in his voice. "I once purchased a grand champion bull at a steal."

Kaylee laughed and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss Ezra soundly.

"Come on," Ezra said. "There's a horrible dive bar on the outskirts of town. The type of place you'll love."

Kaylee let him wrap his hand around hers and walked with him.

#

"What's wrong, kid?" Buck asked. He settled his hat back on his head and jogged slightly to catch up to JD. He looked back over his shoulder to see Inez heading out of the arena. He watched her go. She had promised to meet up with him later, after she went home to get some of her things. With a small smile at the thought of later with Inez, Buck turned back to JD.

JD didn't look up. The kid had been off all night. He had pulled it together enough for their competition, but had hardly spoken. Buck couldn't remember the last time the younger man had been so despondent.

"Nothin'," JD said. He kept walking.

Buck fell into step alongside him. "There must be somethin' to make you mope like this."

"I ain't mopin'," JD snapped. He stopped walking and looked up at Buck. "Why don't you go find your waitress and leave me alone?"

"Hey now," Buck said, recoiling slightly at the harsh words. "What does Inez have to do with any of this?"

"Nothing," JD muttered. He kicked the toe of his boot in the gravel outside the arena and started walking again.

"Then what's wrong?" Buck asked.

JD let out a long sigh. "Casey," he finally said.

"Ah," Buck nodded. He should've guessed it was a woman. Ninety percent of a man's troubles came from a woman. But so did ninety percent of a man's pleasures, so Buck figured it all evened out. "A little spat between the two of you?" he asked sympathetically.

"I asked her to marry me."

"What?" Whatever Buck had expected, it wasn't that. He took in JD's expression of misery. "Well, what'd she say?" he asked.

"What d'ya think?" JD mumbled, his shoulders drooping.

Buck clapped a hand on JD's shoulder. "Kid, what on earth possessed you to do something like that?"

JD shook his head. "I just wanted to make things right." He looked up at Buck from under the brim of his hat and Buck didn't know how he had missed the melancholy in his roping partner's eyes until now.

"So you proposed?" Buck asked, still not quite sure how JD had made the leap to that.

"Ezra said it worked for him."

Buck snorted. "Well of course it worked for him. Kaylee has more forgiveness in her pinky than most women have in their whole body. You think anyone else would have married Ezra on a whim in the middle of a fight?"

"I suppose not."

"Of course not!" Buck reiterated.

"It's just that when I asked Chris, he told me to fix it and I didn't know how to do that."

Buck stared at JD. "You asked Larabee for advice on women?"

"I didn't know what else to do. You were busy with your lady friend and I needed to ask someone. Buck, if you had seen how much I hurt Casey when she was all dressed up, and I just wanted her to know she looked real pretty, but…" a long, mournful sigh escaped. "I really messed things up worse."

Buck felt a needle of guilt in his gut, hearing how he had left the kid he looked at like a little brother without any help when he needed it. He placed his hands on JD's shoulders. "We're gonna fix this," he said confidently.

"How?" JD asked, little to no hope in his voice.

"We're gonna go find her and you're gonna tell her she's the prettiest girl you've ever seen. That her eyes are…that they sparkle like the stars in the sky and bring just as much light to your life."

"They do!" JD agreed, perking up for the first time.

Buck's phone buzzed the same time as JD's. He looked at the text from Ezra. JD looked up from his phone and raised his eyebrows.

Buck smiled. "Let's go find Casey. You have somewhere you can bring her as soon as she forgives you."

#

Chris pushed open the door to the dimly lit bar on the edge of Vegas. He hadn't planned on coming, but Ezra also didn't usually text to make plans. Ezra had said it was important they all come for the mental well-being of Kaylee and the tenuous bonds of family they all had forged. Whatever that meant.

Kaylee and Ezra were at a table in the back of the bar with Vin and Josiah just settling down into seats at the table. Josiah was telling Ezra he'd be seeing Emma Dubonnet's later show. Nathan was just approaching them and Chris saw Kaylee's bright smile of greeting for the athletic trainer. He didn't figure he'd be getting the same welcome.

Chris heard Kaylee ask Nathan and the other men what they were doing there.

"Ezra told us to come," Nathan said, pulling up a chair. "Said we were…"

"Tearing at a fraying thread with the way we're all behaving," Chris filled in.

Kaylee looked up at him, her smile fading.

Chris didn't appreciate the wary look she had for him. Chris looked over at Vin. "You doin' better?" he asked.

Vin gave a nod. "All sobered up," he said humor in his voice, even as he shifted uncomfortably in pain.

Chris looked at Ezra, not sure if the hard to read man was holding a grudge.

"Have a seat, Mr. Larabee. I'm glad you could make it."

Chris didn't sit. He looked at Kaylee again, saw the uncertainty in her eyes, but also the unwillingness to apologize in the stubborn set of her jaw. How someone who wore her heart on her sleeve so freely had ended up with Ezra would forever be a mystery to Chris.

"It's good Vin had you around last night," Chris said.

And just like that, Kaylee's animosity eased and she gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

Chris pulled out a chair and sat. He heard a commotion by the door and saw Casey come in with JD trailing after her.

"Just listen to me, Casey!" he said.

Casey turned and waited for JD to speak, her arms crossed and mouth pressed into a thin line.

"I shouldn't have said anything that I did," JD said. "I was stupid. I just got overwhelmed with how pretty you were."

Casey's posture softened slightly.

"You were so dressed up and I had never seen you looking like that before."

"Like a girl?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, exactly," JD said. Then quickly continued when Casey crossed her arms again and gave him a scowl. "That's not what I meant!"

Chris watched with amusement as Buck came through the door with little fanfare and positioned himself behind Casey. He saw Buck gesture towards his eyes and mouth some words to JD.

"Your eyes," JD started, looking to Buck. Buck mouthed the words again. "They shine like the stars…"

The kid went on, waxing poetic about Casey's eyes and smile. Whatever lines Buck was giving to JD worked because Casey eventually gave JD a kiss and let him put his arm around her on the way to the table.

"You want to tell us why we're here?" Buck asked.

Chris saw the smile Kaylee gave Ezra. "Because the season is almost over and I'm going to miss you all."

"Ezra told you we all live near each other," JD said.

Buck let out a snort. "Near each other? We live practically on top of each other."

Kaylee looked at Buck with interest. "You live close to Ezra?"

Buck grinned. "As close as he'll let us."

Ezra gave Buck an unimpressed look. "Mr. Wilmington and Mr. Tanner live in the bunkhouse at Mr. Larabee's," he said. "It borders my property."

"And Josiah has a cottage out on the back of Chris' land," Buck added.

"So it's like a commune?" Kaylee asked Chris.

Ezra covered his laughter with a cough and Chris fixed him with a look.

"Just like a commune," Buck said cheerfully. "You gonna start doin' yoga in the mornings on the commune, Chris?"

Chris turned his glare on Buck, but his life-long friend just grinned back at him.

"It's not a commune," Chris said.

"It's kind of a commune," JD said.

The kid shrank back when Chris turned his look on him.

Casey leaned around JD to see Kaylee. "And you'll be living with Ezra," she smiled brightly. "I'm so glad you'll be close by."

"Me too," Kaylee said, looking around the group gathered around the table. She leaned over to Ezra and Chris heard her quiet thank you to him for getting them all together tonight.

Chris felt some of his tension ease. As much as the group of men, and now Kaylee, could aggravate him, they were his family.

#