“I hate rain.”

Vin flashed a grin over at Chris’ complaint and got a grimace back in return. “Well, at least we’re mostly dry.”

Which was true. They were in a canyon cave and, though cold with the desert night, the rain didn’t reach all the way back to where they were. There wasn’t, unfortunately, enough tinder for a fire, so they were huddled under their coats for warmth.

“I guess,” Chris sighed.

Vin nudged Chris’ foot with his own and asked, “You think the others got back okay?”

Snorting, Chris replied dryly, “They’re fine. We’re the ones need worryin’ about.”

Also true. After a fairly bloody shoot-out trying to run down rustlers who were after the cattle of the smaller farms, the ones who couldn’t defend themselves, it had been Chris and Vin to draw the false trail and lead the rustlers after them. Burdened down with an injured and horseless Josiah, shot in the leg during the firefight, the others had high-tailed it back to Four Corners.

“You don’t think they’re still lookin’ for us, do you?” Vin questioned skeptically. “Don’t seem like they’d risk getting caught in a canyon flood.”

Chris shrugged. “Depends on how pissed they are. We got a good half of them, but there’s still a whole lot left.”

They fell silent after that, but it was a comfortable silence. It had always been comfortable between them, from the very first look across the street while those bastards had tried to hang Nathan. One look at Chris in the afternoon sun, standing so sure and easy with himself, and Vin had felt something stir inside that hadn’t in a very long time. Falling into step with the gunfighter hadn’t taken hardly any thought at all, neither had any move since then.

Sleep chased him but for some reason, Vin was reluctant to give in this time. Maybe it was the way Chris was leaning against him, providing some heat in the cold. Maybe it was the simple silence that always soothed a bitter place inside him. Whatever, he didn’t really want to go to sleep and then wake up to have it over.

“You look tired,” Chris observed quietly. “You should get some sleep. I’ll take first watch.”

Even though he wanted to deny it, Vin couldn’t. He also knew that Chris was right and that he should sleep, that the next day could be worse and more exhausting than this one. Sighing, Vin nodded and agreed, “I will, thanks.”

He moved away from Chris towards the horses, taking his bedroll from the saddle on the ground beside the animals. They’d been lucky to find a place big enough to hold all of them. There wasn’t any feed for the horses, but hopefully they’d be back in Four Corners the next day and it wouldn’t matter. For themselves, there was only hardtack and biscuits, near enough to no food at all, given the taste.

Rolling out his blanket, Vin settled on the ground with a sigh, then fidgeted over and around, unable to find a comfortable sleeping spot.

“You look like you’ve got ants in your pants.”

The amused statement made him grimace and he answered, “I think this place was especially designed to be uncomfortable for sleeping.”

“I don’t think it was designed at all,” Chris pointed out, grinning as he got to his feet. He crossed over to his saddlebag and continued, “Here, take this for some extra padding.”

The black duster hit Vin in the face when he turned to see what Chris was talking about. Making a face, he said, “Thanks.”

Chuckling, Chris replied, “You’re welcome.”

If Chris was feeling the cold through the poncho he wore, there was no sign of it. Vin took a few minutes to get settled again, but when he did, he knew that he’d be able to sleep.

*  *  *  *

It wasn’t often that Chris got to watch Vin unobserved, though it had grown to be his favorite pastime over the last couple of years. Sometimes they were out riding the trail alone together and he got the chance when it was his watch, like now, but usually there was at least one of their five friends with them.

The last few days hadn’t been kind to either of them, but Vin was showing the wear more. Exhaustion plagued the younger man, even as he slept, putting a pinched cast to his face. It was times like these that he wished he could give Vin an easier life, a better one. As fate would have it, though, all he could do was stay with Vin and protect him as best he could. That the solitary man allowed Chris to stay at his side and watch his back, even from the first, meant a lot to him.

If he took more from their time together than was perhaps meant to be given, well, hopefully God would forgive him. If there was a God.

Settling back into his spot a few inches from Vin’s head, Chris looked out the gaping hole that was the cave entrance and watched the rain fall. It was coming down harder than he liked. Flash floods were a real danger around here and if it kept up all night like it’d been doing, they’d have to hotfoot it out in the morning. With a sigh, Chris turned back to looking at Vin and wondered if he’d get the chance to watch his friend grow old. If either of them would be able to do that.

Nights like this, he really doubted it…nights like this made him think they’d be lucky to make it through another day.

*  *  *  *

“Would you hold still?”

Josiah grimaced and did his best to stay put, but the fire in his thigh was telling him to move around to escape the metal digging into his body. Even in the competent hands of his lover, scissors didn’t really belong inside a man.

“And what did I tell you about getting shot?” Nathan demanded, mouth set in a line of grim determination.

Sighing, Josiah answered, “Don’t get shot?”

“To not get shot. That’s right.”

“Do you think you could…lecture me later?” Josiah asked plaintively.

Moving the scissors sent a bolt of pain through Josiah that had him gritting his teeth, but all Nathan said was, “No, I think this is the perfect time to lecture you. Maybe next time, you’ll remember what I say and not get shot in the first place.”

“You know I love you, Nathan, but if you don’t stop talkin’ I’m gonna shit!”

Nathan snorted in dark amusement as he calmly tossed the bullet into a bowl, grabbed bandages and put pressure on the wound. “If you’re going to shit, I need to get another bowl.”

“Very funny,” Josiah gasped, sagging against the pillows.

JD came running in just as Nathan lifted the bandages to take a look. The young man paled a bit and quickly looked away as he asked, “You okay, Josiah?”

“Fine, JD,” Josiah said, holding out his hand.

Crossing to the bed, JD put a nearly full bottle of liquor in it, but Nathan grabbed it and said firmly, “Water, not alcohol.”

Horrified, Josiah exclaimed, “Nathan!”

Nathan set the bottle on the dresser and poured a big spoonful of laudanum, holding it up to Josiah’s mouth. He waited patiently, even though Josiah’s mouth was closed in a stubborn fashion. The ex-preacher’s choice of drug was a good whiskey and everyone knew it. Nathan, however, didn’t seem to care about what Josiah wanted.

Finally realizing that, Josiah restrained himself from snarling at the dark man, knowing that Nathan had his best interests at heart, and instead opened his mouth. It was only a few minutes later that he started feeling the effects, Nathan and JD’s voices coming through a tunnel and a lassitude coming over him. Something about stitches and infection, but he was too tired to care and he willingly went down into darkness.

*  *  *  *

JD swallowed uneasily as he watched Nathan stitch up Josiah. No matter how many times he watched this happen, it still made him a little queasy. Nathan seemed unusually quiet as his needle moved in and out of Josiah’s leg, quieter even than he usually was, and that was saying something. Finally, feeling like he had to fill the silence, JD asked, “But he’s going to be okay, right?”

“If we can keep him from getting out of bed for a few days, sure,” Nathan replied, his voice clearly showing what he thought the likelihood of that was.

“Oh, well, Chris’ll make sure of that once he gets back,” JD opined. “Not like Josiah would go against him, even if it did mean stayin’ in bed a few days.”

Nathan frowned, looking away from his work for a few seconds to give JD a worried glance. “Chris and Vin aren’t back yet?”

“Nope,” JD answered.

Fingers moving again, this time to knot and cut off the thread, Nathan said, “They should’ve been back by now.”

JD nodded and agreed, “I know. Buck’s going to give it ‘til morning, then we’re going to head back and look for them. No sense in going out in the rain when they’re probably just tucked away somewhere to stay dry.”

Nathan started and looked over at the window. “When did it start raining?”

Surprised, JD informed him, “Just after we got Josiah up here.”

“That explains it,” Nathan muttered, rubbing a tired hand over his face without actually touching it. If he had, he’d’ve smeared blood all over himself. Moving to the bowl of clean water, Nathan washed his hands good and continued, “Tell Buck I won’t be able to go with you. I need to keep an eye on Josiah.”

JD waved a hand at him as he headed for the door. “Oh he figured that already. We’re going to start out first light, even if it’s still raining. Just wanted to let you know. Well, that and to get Josiah his whiskey. Night, Nathan.”

“Good night, JD,” Nathan called, turning back to Josiah’s oblivious self.

Shutting the door behind him, JD ran through the rain to the saloon to join Buck. He was starving and the other man had promised to have hot food waiting by the time he got back.

*  *  *  *

It felt like only minutes later that his shoulder was being shook and Vin woke instantly. Blinking at Chris in the near complete darkness, he asked, “What?”

“Time to go,” Chris answered.

Rubbing his eyes clear, Vin demanded, “Why didn’t you wake me for a shift?”

“You looked like you could use the sleep.”

Typical high-handed Larabee behavior, Vin thought to himself in irritation. If Chris decided to mother-hen someone, he did it when they couldn’t argue, or didn’t know he was doing it. Stifling the thoughts, Vin took the hand offered him and stood, getting his bearings. It didn’t look like the rain had let up one bit, which meant… “It’s not morning yet, is it.”

“Nope,” Chris confirmed. “Can’t afford to wait any longer, though.”

Vin nodded. “Not in this.”

It was a matter of minutes to pack up his bedroll and toss Chris’ jacket back to him. They saddled the horses and took a minute to eat, washing it down with some water, in case they didn’t have the time later. Their scant preparations complete, both men led the horses out into the rain where there were plenty of complaining snorts and whinnies from the animals, which were ignored.

Mounting up, Vin nudged his palomino into place beside Chris’ chestnut gelding, both of them borrowed animals, thanks to a slipped horseshoe for his own horse and a cracked hoof for Chris’ big black. They started traveling slowly and carefully through the muddy canyon towards Four Corners. The rain made it impossible to talk, it was so loud on the rocks around them, so Vin was left with his thoughts and the occasional glance over at Chris to see what the other man might be thinking. It wasn’t as good as actual conversation, but there was no help for that.

It was about an hour later that Chris stiffened in his saddle, getting Vin’s attention without a word. Reining up the same time as Chris, Vin listened and realized what had caught the other man’s attention. They looked at each other in alarm and instantly dismounted. Grabbing their saddlebags, Chris drew his gun and fired, scaring the horses into running. Chris and Vin broke for the canyon walls and started climbing. The horses, unfortunately, would have to be on their own.

About halfway up, the expected flood arrived and it was all Vin could do to hang on to a rock outcropping as water slammed into him. The violence took his breath away and his saddlebag was long gone after the first hit. His hands felt melded to the rock, but Vin knew that his strength wasn’t nearly what it should be and his muscles shook as he clung like a burr.

It seemed an eternity before the water slowed to mere rapids, and it was about then that Chris’ voice penetrated the roar. Looking up, he saw that his friend had made it higher than he had and was safely above water level, sitting on a good-sized, solid looking ledge. It was times like these, seeing Chris safe and sound, that Vin believed in God.

Chris swung a lasso at him, the big circle looping around him on the first try and pulling tight. That tied him to the rock and let him pry his hands free to slide up under the rope. It was the work of a few minutes to get the rope around just him and not the rock, but it happened. Once he was all set, Vin took a breath and forced his aching body to start climbing.

With the water still eddying around him, the climb was more of a swim than anything else until he reached the decades’ old, maybe hundred years old, watermark. By then, he was within arms’ reach and strong hands gripped him under the shoulders and hauled him onto the ledge. For several minutes, Vin rested in his friend’s strength, panting and shaking from the cold and wet and near-death experience.

He thought he heard the words, “Thought I’d lost you,” but the rain and wind took the quiet words away before he could be sure, even spoken as close to his ear as they’d been, Chris wrapped all around him as he was. Still, even imagining it warmed him a little and helped strengthen him.

Forcing himself upright, he grinned at Chris and shouted over Nature’s noise, “Next time, Buck and JD get to play decoy!”

One of those rare, full-out smiles blossomed on Chris’ face as he nodded agreement and shouted back, “You okay?”

“I will be, soon as we get somewhere dry!”

“Good! Let’s start climbing!”

*  *  *  *

Nathan jerked awake at a groan of pain and grimaced as his back made its complaints known. Moving the scant distance from chair to bed, he sat on the edge of the mattress and put his hand on Josiah’s forehead. It was warm and dry, but not too warm, so no sign of fever, thankfully. Blue eyes opened, hazy and drugged, but aware, and Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. “Hey there, partner, how are you feeling?”

Josiah frowned, as if having to think of the words, and finally slurred, “Terrible. What’d you do to me?”

“You got shot, remember?” Nathan reminded.

The frown grew, but Josiah nodded after a time. “Yeah. Hey. Chris and Vin back?”

It figured that Josiah’s first thought would be for others. Smiling a bit, Nathan answered, “I don’t know. I don’t think so. JD said that they were going back out first light to look for them if they didn’t show up.”

Josiah started pushing up at that, clearly determined to go out with Buck and the rest.

Nathan was quicker and, at the moment, stronger. He pinned his lover firmly to the bed and ordered, “Stay put. You’re not going anywhere, Josiah. You can barely move, let alone ride.”

“‘at’s ‘cause you drugged me,” Josiah complained, glaring at him.

Nodding, Nathan said, “And you’re due for another dose if you’re active enough to think you can get out of bed.”

“Can’t keep me under forever.”

“I won’t, Josiah, I promise. Just the rest of today, okay? Then I’ll stop with the laudanum.”

After staring at him suspiciously another long moment, Josiah let go his reservations all at once and closed his eyes on a nod. “Sure. Do what you got to. Just remember one thing.”

“What’s that?” Nathan asked curiously as he reached for the spoon and bottle.

Peering at Nathan with one eye, Josiah stated, “He who pisses off his lover, sleeps alone in a cold, cold bed, my brother.”

A soft laugh escaped Nathan as he poured the opiate and fed it to Josiah. Combing his fingers through the short, soft hair, Nathan murmured, “I’ll remember, Josiah, I’ll remember.”

*  *  *  *

A few miles out from the canyon, it finally stopped raining. By then, they were soaked through and Chris was mostly supporting Vin’s weight as they walked. He was all for stopping, but there was no shelter nearby. There was an abandoned cabin a few more miles east that he remembered, so he was steering them that way.

Vin’s hands were scraped so raw and bloody that it hurt to even look at them. He was sure from the way his friend was walking that there were bruised, maybe cracked, ribs from where the water had slammed him into the rock. It was entirely likely that there were various cuts, bruises, and gashes over the rest of the tired man’s body as well. Still, with all of that, Vin didn’t complain when Chris said no stopping. He just put one foot in front of the other and kept going wherever Chris led.

That kind of trust took his breath away and Chris was determined not to fail his friend. The sky was growing lighter and the air warmed just a little with the ceasing of the downpour. He was hoping the wind would die out altogether, but knew it wasn’t all that likely. Time seemed to stand still during that silent march, but at last, they reached the run down cabin.

More of a shack, really, Chris realized, seeing that it had come down a couple notches since he’d been this way last.

It was better than nothing, though, and Chris brought Vin inside. The younger man collapsed the moment his feet touched wood and it was all Chris could do to cushion the fall. What he wanted to do was start a fire, but he couldn’t risk it in case those bastards were still hunting for them.

Going to his saddlebag, which had dropped to the floor the same time Vin had, Chris pulled out the canteen and moved to his friend’s side. Taking one of the injured hands in his, he hissed in fury at how bad off it was. Skin had been torn from the palms so that it was open and dirty and bleeding sluggishly. Grimacing, he said, “Brace yourself partner, this is gonna hurt.”

Vin met his gaze and nodded, jaw setting firm against the anticipated pain.

Chris unscrewed the cap and poured water over the palm, wincing in sympathy as Vin grunted, trying not to cry out. “Sorry, Vin.”

“‘S okay, just clean it out. Can’t afford to lose my hands,” Vin gritted through clenched teeth.

Taking a relatively clean handkerchief out of the bag, Chris set about cleaning off the hands as best he could. He picked out slivers of rock and washed clear the dirt and grit mashed into the skin. Even the calluses had been scraped away and that had to be the worst. Vin was going to have to rebuild those and shooting, until he did, was not going to be fun in the least.

Vin groaned, but that was the only concession he made to the pain. Chris, for himself, thought he might pass out just from having to inflict the pain to clean out the wounds. He didn’t have a clue how Nathan dealt with this sort of thing on a regular basis, especially when Josiah got hurt.

Finally deeming the hands as good as he could make them, Chris tore up his spare shirt and wrapped the cloth around Vin’s hands. Meeting his friend’s gaze, he asked somewhat dryly, “How’s the rest of you?”

Vin half-grinned and answered, “Better than my hands, but that ain’t sayin’ much.”

“Come on. Let’s get your shirt up so I can see your ribs,” Chris ordered.

Shaking his head, Vin pointed out, “Nothing you can do about them anyhow. I’ll just try not to breathe too deep.”

Resisting the urge to rub the exhaustion and pain from the other man’s forehead, Chris said, “Good plan. You hungry?”

Vin thought about it a minute then nodded. “Yeah.”

Reaching into the saddlebag a final time, Chris brought out the rest of their supplies and realized that he was going to have to feed Vin.

It seemed like Vin figured that out at the same time because his eyes twinkled as they met Chris’ and he said lightly, “And Ezra not even here to watch your manners.”

Grinning a bit, Chris replied, “I think I can manage.”

He moved the saddlebag so that it supported Vin at least a little, making it easier for the injured man to eat. Going slow, he waited patiently until Vin swallowed before offering another bite. When Vin had had his fill, though he didn’t think Vin had eaten enough, Chris finished off the rest. Seeing that Vin had drifted off to sleep, Chris got quietly to his feet and walked outside.

The sun had warmed things up considerably, but it was still chill out. Looking around the barren land filled only with cacti and scrub brush, Chris sighed. At this point, being early afternoon, it was better just to stay put. Vin could rest and they’d just start out early the next morning. They had a full day’s walk ahead of them to get to Four Corners, maybe a little more than that since they’d be taking it slow.

Movement off to the east caught his attention and Chris wish that he had Vin’s spyglass to see if it was friend or enemy. He was sure that Buck would be looking for them by now, but it was a big desert. He knew that Nathan would stick by Josiah, so it would be Buck, JD and Ezra to come looking for them. Buck was good, but he was no Vin when it came to tracking. He’d probably go all the way back to where they’d split up the day before and go from there, which would eat into a lot of time. Well, and that was if Buck could find any sign of them, after all that rain.

All of which meant that it was too early for the men riding towards them to be friends.

Cursing softly, Chris headed back inside and woke Vin with a brief shake of the shoulder and, “We’ve got company.”

Vin grimaced and sat up, holding his side. “How many?”

“Can’t tell yet,” Chris answered. “Too many, probably.”

“Well, at least we’ve got this well-built fortress to hide out in,” Vin observed wryly.

Chris pulled out one of his guns and gave it to Vin, who took up a window on the opposite side of the small shack. Peering out the east window, Chris saw ten men riding up and announced tersely, “Ten.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

If they’d had Vin’s rifle, or even a couple more spare pistols, they’d have a lot better chance. As it was, with only two revolvers and not a lot of extra bullets, the odds were definitely not good that they’d make it out of there alive. Glancing over at Vin, he was surprised by the hesitant expression on the other man’s face and prompted, “What?”

“Nothing,” Vin replied.

Frowning, Chris asked, “You sure? ‘Cause now’s the time for talking.”

Vin opened his mouth, closed it again, then said, “It’ll keep. I’ll tell you when we get back home.”

Seeing that the rustlers were getting into range, Chris shrugged and replied, “Okay,” and took aim. He picked two off before the group realized where they were being shot at from. The men scattered and rode back out of range to regroup.

“Larabee! You come out now, we’ll make it quick!” one of them shouted.

Chris snorted and met Vin’s amused look with one of his own, then shouted, “No thanks!”

“It’s the last offer you’ll get!”

“Tell you what,” Chris called back. “You leave now, and we won’t hunt you down and kill you later.”

“You’re such a liar,” Vin teased.

Chris shrugged, smirking. “What they don’t know…”

Peering back out the corner of the window, Chris saw the group milling around, just out of shot. Vin hissed sharply, getting his attention, and said, “Three more around back here.”

“Damn,” Chris muttered. “How’s your hands?”

In answer, Vin took careful aim and shot twice out the window. With a grimace of pain that somehow held more than a glimmer of self-satisfaction, Vin announced. “Only one out back now.”

“Wish I hadn’t wasted that bullet spookin’ the horses last night,” Chris said, looking back out the window at the eight men left.

Vin shrugged fatalistically and took a more comfortable position.

*  *  *  *

Ezra tried not to let Buck’s nervousness seep into him, but it was difficult. To add to the unease that had grown with the dawning light, Buck hadn’t hardly said a word, which was very unlike the big man. He’d simply walked out of the saloon and headed for the livery, JD trailing at his heels like an overgrown, but fairly deadly, puppy. Ezra had finished his very necessary morning coffee in a blistering hot gulp and followed.

And now, three hours later, they were headed God knew where because Buck surely wasn’t sharing. It wasn’t back towards where they’d split off from Vin and Chris the night before, it was south westerly.

Thankfully, JD’s curiosity overcame his good sense and he pulled up his mount. When Buck and Ezra stopped as well, he demanded, “Where the hell we goin’ Buck?”

Though Buck never really, truly, got angry with JD, he was as liable to snap at the youngest member of their team as anyone else. More so, really, when one considered how quicksilver his moods were. So it was rather a surprise to Ezra that all Buck did was run a hand through his dark hair and answer, “Chris probably went to Magneson’s shack to hole up if they was being chased and couldn’t get clear. It’s the only real spot to go for cover.”

“Magneson’s shack?” Ezra questioned.

Buck shrugged. “Some crazy miner thought there were gold around here somewhere. Liked to dig holes in the ground but since he didn’t bother no one, well, no one bothered him. Problem is that there’s no cover anywhere around that place, so they’ll see us coming a mile away.”

Lips pursed, Ezra asked, “And how do you plan to rectify that?”

“No idea just yet. I’m open to suggestions,” Buck admitted, clearly pained to do so.

JD piped up with, “No cover at all?”

“Nope.”

Ezra sighed and complained, “Where’s the cavalry when you need it?”

Buck froze in place and then smiled. It wasn’t the most pleasant of smiles and Ezra usually only saw it before leaping at death.

He sighed.

*  *  *  *

“How many you got left?”

Vin didn’t even have to check to answer, “Four. You?”

“Seven,” Chris replied, scowling. “All they have to do is wait us out and they know it.”

“Oh I don’t know. You gave a pretty good bluff about us having our horses here to eat,” Vin observed, unable to stop the flash of humor, even with the deadly circumstances. The tight smile he got in return was worth playing the clown, at least to him. “And they don’t know how much ammo we got.”

“Still,” Chris muttered, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

There wasn’t anything Vin wanted more than to get Chris out of this. He wanted nothing more than to keep the gunslinger safe, which was what he’d been trying to do since they’d met. Unsuccessfully, of course, but he’d tried. The throbbing in his hands and ribs had grown so familiar that the stab of pain in his spine when he tried to stand and go to his friend sent him to his knees, and then the rocky ground, unexpectedly.

“Vin!” Chris exclaimed, rushing to him.

Blinking up at Chris in surprise, Vin said in surprise, “Ow.”

The scowl had deepened and Chris demanded tersely, “What’s wrong?”

Vin swallowed a gasp of pain and answered, “I don’t know. My back...something’s wrong.”

Chris uttered a muffled curse and set his gun down within reach. He carefully lifted Vin and helped the get the duster off and cursed again.

Worried from the tightness of Chris’ jaw, Vin asked, “What is it?”

“Your back’s all bruised and cut up. I’m surprised you didn’t fall over before now,” Chris explained bluntly. The harsh words were at odds with the gentle way he set Vin back down on the floor.

Vin grimaced, knowing that his normal back problems had been aggravated by the abuse suffered in the canyon, and said, “Help me back up.”

“No.”

“Chris, we ain’t got no choice and you know it. Help me back into position and I won’t try to budge from it again. I was okay sitting up,” Vin stated.

Jaw flexing, Chris finally nodded and helped Vin back onto his makeshift seat of a large rock by the window. He put the gun back into Vin’s hand, saying, “I don’t think it’ll be long.”

Meeting those piercing blue eyes, seeing the angry acceptance of their situation, Vin almost spoke up about how he really felt. He kept his tongue, though, knowing it would only upset Chris further, which was the last thing he wanted to do. All he did was nod and smile, replying, “See you in hell, Partner.”

Chris gripped his shoulder tight, seeming wanting to say something, but only nodding grimly in return and taking his place again at the other window. The sight of him there stole Vin’s breath. He was so calm and strong, facing death like it was just one more job to do. The ricochet of a bullet off his wall got Vin’s attention right quick and he looked to see one of the men out back had gotten closer during his spill to the floor.

“You going to do something about that?”

Chris’ mildly amused question prompted Vin to smile as he answered, “Maybe. Why? You in a hurry or something?”

Shrugging, hazel eyes twinkling, Chris replied, “Just makin’ sure you don’t fall down on the job again.”

“Again? I’ll show you again,” Vin retorted. He glanced back out the window to see the rustler had gotten within range, but wasn’t giving him a clear shot. Waiting patiently brought the man closer, but still not clear enough to risk wasting a bullet, so he ignored the pain in his body to keep the gun in place and ready to go.

“I’m waiting.”

“Fuck off, Chris.”

A soft laugh echoed through the shack, but was cut off by gunfire. Knowing it was from Chris’ gun, Vin didn’t even flinch or look over at his friend. Finally, the rustler grew careless just enough to give Chris a good shot and he took it. Blood exploded from the man’s chest and he dropped like a stone. Smirking over at Chris, Vin stated, “Done.”

“Took you long enough,” Chris teased, flashing another grin.

Shaking his head, Vin observed, “I love what certain death does to your sense of humor.”

A curious frown edged onto Chris’ face as he asked, “What do you mean?”

“It gives you one,” Vin insulted.

Eyes rolling, Chris turned back to his watch and Vin did the same. He had three bullets left and he planned to make them count before they were overrun and shot to death. Well, if they were lucky. Those rustlers were sure to be more than pissed at losing so many of their own by the time they got to the regulators.

*  *  *  *

Buck knew it was crazy, but there was no help for it. Ezra assured him that he’d played steeper odds for less reward and won, but Buck was guessing that it hadn’t been life or death at the time. Still, if it worked, they’d run off the rustlers and get Chris and Vin back, hopefully not much worse for wear.

Waving the enlarged group forward, Buck kicked his own horse into action. The soldiers were courtesy of Judge Travis’ name and their regulator position in Four Corners. It was only a platoon of six, but hopefully enough to even the odds against them

There was that word again. Hopefully. Buck hated relying on luck. He preferred to rely on his guns, charm and good looks, it brought better results every time. Unfortunately, none of those would come into play for this one, so it would have to be luck and timing. Neither of which had really favored him over the years, so he was due.

Hopefully.

They were about a half mile out when Buck saw the shack and the horses picketed around it, out of range of the men inside the tiny shelter. There were a couple of gunshots from the rustlers, but no return fire from the shack and he prayed that only meant that Chris and Vin were being careful with their ammo and nothing worse. Glancing over at the corporal beside him, he ordered, “Sound that horn.”

The young man, boy really, nodded and brought up the bugle to deliver the traditional notes alerting the enemy to the Union presence. He grinned fiercely as he saw the rustlers scramble for their horses and shouted, “Let’s go!”

Kicking his horse into action, incredibly happy that the bastards were cowards on top of everything else, Buck pulled his gun free, hoping to get a couple of the men now on the run. Just for putting his best friend into this kind of situation and who knew what sort of condition. Taking careful aim, Buck was able to get two of them, but six rode out of range before he pulled up to a stop at the shack. The army men kept going.

The door opened and Chris stepped out, shouting, “Nathan with you?”

Hopping down off his horse, Buck shook his head and strode to Chris. “What’s wrong with Vin?”

“He’s not in great shape,” Chris answered, jaw so tight it looked able to crack walnuts. “He won’t be able to ride back. We need a travois.”

Buck nodded and assured him, “I’ll get it started.”

“Good. And thanks, Buck, we were down to three bullets between the two of us,” Chris said softly.

Swallowing at how close he’d come to losing Chris, Buck nodded and gripped his shoulder briefly before heading over to get the travois put together. JD crowded him and Ezra went inside to check on Chris and Vin for himself.

“We need to get a travois set up for Vin,” Buck ordered.

JD paled at that, but nodded and silently started pulling down the extra poles and fabric they brought with them on potential rescue trips. Proud of the way the young man did as he was told without the nonstop questions that had marked his first year or so with them, Buck helped put it together.

*  *  *  *

Ezra was shocked at how bad Vin looked, but managed to keep his best poker mask in place as he stood near the former Buffalo hunter, who sat on a large rock and looked as if he couldn’t move if he’d wanted to do so. “If you wanted a break, all you had to do was ask. We’d have made sure Mr. Larabee was looking elsewhere while you made your escape.”

Vin smiled weakly and answered, “I’ll keep that in mind next time.”

“You do that,” Ezra ordered, glancing over at Chris. The gunslinger leaned against the wall, as silent and brooding as he ever was when one of them was badly hurt. Getting no comment from their leader, Ezra returned to his perusal of Vin and found bloodied rags around his hands, bruises and exhaustion marring the handsome face and who knew what injuries beneath his clothing. Forcing a smile, he repeated, “You do that, Mr. Tanner.”

Walking over to Chris, he asked quietly, “How much blood has he lost?”

Chris shrugged and replied, “No idea. We got caught in a flash flood and he was battered around pretty good, almost washed away completely.”

And you couldn’t do anything about it, could you? Ezra wondered silently. He knew this particular, hard cast to Chris’ face and it meant that he thought he’d failed one of them. The fact that Vin was there and still alive wouldn’t factor into it at all. Chris would blame himself for everything that had happened, regardless of the fact that Vin would follow the older man into hellfire and not think twice. A flash flood wasn’t anything, in comparison.

Before he could try and distract the other man, though, JD and Buck arrived with the stretcher. JD hissed in surprised anger at seeing Vin, but Buck merely tightened his jaw in a good imitation of Chris. Buck and JD helped Vin onto the stretcher and the lack of protest told them all just how bad off the tracker was.

The ride back to Four Corners was silent, each man lost in thought, and Ezra didn’t miss how Chris rode point, all but ignoring the injured man in the stretcher attached to Buck’s big horse. He also didn’t miss how their leader couldn’t help himself from drifting back to take a look at Vin and make sure he was okay, even though Chris didn’t say a word before spurring his horse forward again.

They made it back to town just after sunset and thankfully, the streets were quiet enough that their return was unremarked upon by the townsfolk. He took one end of the stretcher, while Buck took the other. He was disturbed to find that Vin had either lost consciousness or fallen so deeply asleep that his exhaustion wouldn’t allow him to wake. Chris preceded them up to Nathan’s place and JD brought up the rear.

“Damn,” Nathan muttered on seeing the stretcher. He motioned JD to help him drag out the cot on the side and that was where they set the stretcher down. “All right. Everyone out while I check him out.”

Chris looked like he might mutiny for a moment, but then turned sharply on his heel and stalked out of the room. Buck and JD were right behind him, but Ezra stuck around to ask, “You need any help?”

Nathan shook his head, already engrossed in preparing to treat Vin, and answered absently, “I’ll be fine.”

Taking the colored man at his word, Ezra nodded and went after the others. There was a time that he’d have felt more than uncomfortable about leaving a white man in a colored man’s care, but that time was past. While he and Nathan would never be confidants, they had a solid friendship and he knew that the healer would die before hurting anyone, let alone one of the six of them.

He found his friends in the saloon, not surprising, where Chris had a plate of food in front of him that he wasn’t touching, and a bottle of whiskey that he’d poured into a glass and took a big gulp from. Sighing to himself, Ezra met Buck’s worried gaze and shrugged indicating that the next course of action was entirely up to him. Buck had known Chris longest, after all, and was best able to deal with the gunslinger’s moods.

Sprawling with apparent carelessness in a seat at the round table his friends occupied, Ezra waited for the coming explosion and hoped the others in the saloon would have enough self-preservation not to provoke Chris.

*  *  *  *

Josiah woke to the sound of a pained groan that wasn’t his. It sent a bolt of alarm through him on thinking that Nathan had somehow hurt himself, and that alarm didn’t relax when he saw that Vin was lying in the narrow cot Nathan reserved for sleeping while his patients did the same. Pushing himself onto his elbows, he asked, “What happened?”

Nathan shrugged his ignorance of the circumstances and poured something over Vin’s hand that caused the tracker to gasp and swear colorfully. In a soft voice, he said, “I need to do the other one now, Vin.”

“Do it,” Vin gasped, holding the first hand up in the air.

Josiah watched as Nathan moved the bowl under the second hand and again poured alcohol over Vin’s hand. Josiah could smell, now, that that was what the liquid was, and grimaced in sympathy for the pain that Vin had to be going through. He didn’t know what had happened, but he saw the bloody water in the bowl that Nathan put on the bedstand between them and anger flared through him.

Vin, fortunately, passed out from the pain. Nathan made a soft exclamation and grabbed both arms before the hands could land on the dirty floor. Shaking his head, Nathan muttered, “And I’m not half done, either.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Josiah asked quietly.

Sighing, Nathan’s dark eyes met his and he answered, “What isn’t? Broken ribs, hands torn to ribbons, spine’s bruised up something fierce, cuts and gashes all over, some of them with cloth stuck in them from his shirt and pants even. It’s gonna be a long haul this time.”

Josiah pushed himself into a sitting position and would have gotten up to help, but stayed where he was at a single, quelling look from his lover. Clearly, he wasn’t out of the woods yet, himself, in Nathan’s book. Holding up his hands in surrender, Josiah assured him, “I’m staying here.”

“Good,” Nathan muttered. “Don’t need to be dealing with you both right now.”

Smiling briefly at the other man’s utterance, Josiah settled back down on the bed, knowing the action would let Nathan concentrate on his patient. It was a long time of silence before Nathan finally sat back and exhaled deeply. Fortunately, Josiah was well practiced in the waiting game and simply dozed until he recognized that his lover was done with his work. Pulling himself up  from the light sleep, he looked over at the exhausted healer and rubbed his eyes. “How’d it go?”

“He’ll live, he just won’t be moving so good for a while,” Nathan answered, moving to sit on the edge of the bed Josiah occupied. “Busted ribs, skinned hands, I think he bruised something inside, kidney probably, and his back’s a mess. He’ll be a while recovering.”

“You’d best give the good news to everyone else,” Josiah hated to say, knowing how tired Nathan was. He reached up and cupped Nathan’s face, tugging him down for a brief kiss.

When Nathan pulled back, there was a soft smile on his face and he said, “I suppose I should. Lord knows that Chris’ll be kickin’ himself until he hears Vin’ll be okay.”

“Probably after, too,” Josiah observed.

Nathan left out a sharp breath and nodded. “Probably so. Don’t you move from this bed, now, you hear me?”

Josiah gave a small salute, replying, “I won’t move.”

Giving him a suspicious look, Nathan nonetheless stood and headed for the door. Josiah waited patiently for a good five minutes before pushing into a sitting position and slowly, carefully, hobbling over to Vin’s cot. The other man was unconscious still, or maybe put under by laudanum that Nathan had managed to get down his gullet, and looked terribly young like that. It wasn’t often that he saw Vin without that emotional shield he carried tighter than his rifle in a pinch and when he did, he always remembered that Vin was only in his twenties. Barely more than a boy, in comparison to his own age.

“Get your ass back in that bed!”

Josiah winced at his lover’s angry command and instantly moved back to his own sickbed. He’d been so absorbed with checking over Vin, that he hadn’t heard the door swing open silently. Josiah was fairly sure that Nathan oiled it just so he could catch them out doing things they shouldn’t when they were injured and stuck in the clinic.

This time when Nathan stalked off, Josiah stayed where he was supposed to stay.

*  *  *  *

After Nathan had given them the news that Vin would be all right with rest and time to heal, Chris knew he should just eat and go to bed. Unfortunately, the thought of going to his bed sent a cold dread through him, knowing as he did that he’d relive the past couple of days in his nightmares. It wasn’t a pleasant thought, so he just drank steadily, slowly lowering the level in the bottle of whiskey Inez had brought him on arrival.

Buck and Ezra stayed with him, but JD wandered off to bed, assured, no doubt, that the other two would do their best to keep him out of trouble. And not that he didn’t appreciate everyone’s concern, he just didn’t fucking want to deal with it. No one could tell him that it was right or fair that Vin was out cold in Nathan’s clinic while he himself only had a few bruises to show for the latest escapade.

“I do believe that I shall retire,” Ezra announced suddenly, into the quiet of the late-night. “It is getting even beyond my bedtime.”

“Night, Ez,” Buck replied, flashing a brief smile.

Chris grunted acknowledgement, but that was it. The room was a comfortable blur and he didn’t really want to disturb that. Once Ezra was gone, it was just him and Buck, and that was just fine by him.

Or it was until Buck asked quietly, “What bee’s up your ass tonight?”

Sighing, Chris answered, “None.”

“Bullshit,” Buck stated, leaning towards him. “You heard Nathan. Vin’s going to be fine, but here you are. Actin’ like he’s on his deathbed or something.”

“Leave it alone, Buck.”

Normally, Buck would have obeyed that tone. Chris figured this must not have been a normal night from the way Buck stood up to his full height, reminding Chris that he was actually smaller than the other man, and loomed over him.

“Come on, pard, let’s get you to bed,” was all Buck said, holding out a big hand.

Chris stared up at him for a long moment, then sighed and took the hand. He didn’t really need the steadying hand on his back, he was never that drunk, but he appreciated the gesture. Knowing that it gave Buck some comfort to think he was helping, Chris didn’t slap him down for the action. The walk to the Buck’s room was fairly short and, thankfully, silent. The last thing he really wanted was for Buck to try and cheer him up.

It wasn’t until they’d both collapsed in Buck’s big bed that any words were spoken and they shocked the hell out of Chris.

“Sarah’d be happy for you, you know.”

Freezing in place, Chris didn’t even turn his head to look at Buck, not sure what he’d find if he did. He sure couldn’t think of anything to say to that.

“She loved you more than life and wanted you to be happy. She’d want you to be happy, Chris, and if it’s Vin that does it, well hell, none of us are goin’ to run the two of you out of town for it. Happiness is rare and love even more so. Kinda wish I had a little of both in my own life, you know?”

“Buck, I don’t...”

“He don’t know,” Buck interrupted. “For all the fact the two of you got eyes for no one else, Vin don’t have no idea that you love him. You’re a hard-faced son of a bitch, no doubt about it, and I doubt anyone, ‘cept maybe Josiah and Nathan, done noticed the two of you aside from me. You’re gonna have to spell it out for him, Chris. Don’t know if he’s ever known what love is, from what little bit I know about his past. He probably wouldn’t know it if you up and planted a big one on him in the middle of the street. You’d best be careful how you go about letting him know, too, because he’s easy to spook, and you know it. Be real careful and not to hurt him. He’s a friend of mine, too, and I don’t want to have to beat your ass in for breakin’ his heart. And that’s all I got to say on the matter. Night, Chris.”

Stunned at the words, Chris couldn’t think of a damned thing to say until after Buck had turned over and his breathing evened out into that of sleep. An absurd smile surfaced on Chris’ face as he whispered in the dark, “Thanks, Buck.”

*  *  *  *

The days after their return to Four Corners proved to be pretty damn painful and boring in equal parts. If he so much as twitched in a way that Nathan didn’t like in that big bed that he’d made Josiah give up, the colored man was on him in an instant. And if it wasn’t him, it was one of the others, Josiah included.

Ezra and JD distracted him with card games, their youngest friend holding his cards and ‘helping’ him into near bankruptcy. Or, it would’ve been if they’d been playing for money and not matchsticks. Buck came up with town gossip and lunch every day. Josiah was filled with stories for any occasion and, since he was Vin’s roommate the first three days, it was rarely quiet enough to suit Vin.

Once Josiah moved back downstairs and into the church, under Nathan’s close watch, Vin breathed a sigh of relief. He loved the big man like a brother, but it got on his nerves, sometimes, how Josiah felt the need to try and fill the silence. Not that Josiah couldn’t be quiet, the ex-preacher was reserved by nature, but in this case, he seemed to think that Vin needed constant attention.

It wasn’t until he’d been alone in the room about an hour that he got his first visit from Chris. The other man had been out at Ft. Henry to testify to Judge Travis as to what the rustlers, what was left of them, done to him and Vin, as well as the farms. Chris looked at him a long moment, a strange look on his face that prompted Vin to ask, “What?”

Chris’ lips twitched and he took Nathan’s customary chair to drag it over to the bed, sitting easily and answering, “Nothing. You just look a damn sight better than the last time I saw you.”

“Don’t feel it much.”

“Really?”

“Not much.”

“Sorry.”

Vin had the feeling that Chris was saying he was sorry for a lot more than the fact that he was in pain, but wasn’t sure how to tell him it wasn’t his fault. That he’d rather be in a world of hurt and with Chris, than perfectly healthy and alone. Changing the subject seemed the best thing to do, so he asked, “What happened at Ft. Henry?”

Grim, Chris answered, “They’d still be alive if they hadn’t killed that corporal. He was just a boy on his first real job.”

“Judge Travis had himself a group hangin,’ huh?” Vin said, more than asked. He knew firsthand just how hard the older man could be. Something like Chris could turn into, if he wasn’t careful. Well, and not that it was a bad way to be, exactly, but it wasn’t a thing he wanted to see for his friend.

“Yep,” Chris agreed, rubbing a palm into his eye.

Vin offered a sympathetic smile and observed, “Hard ride. You didn’t have to rush back.”

“Just wanted to get back,” Chris said. “Needed to make sure Buck didn’t set the town on fire with Ezra takin’ bets on how long it’d take to put it out while I was gone.”

Grinning outright at that, Vin replied, “Too much work.”

Chris snorted. “True.”

“You should get some sleep,” Vin told him quietly, not liking the dark circles under Chris’ eyes. It spoke more of sleepless nights than hard rides, because he knew something of Chris’ nightmares and how they sometimes got the better of him. Being back in Four Corners would help that, at least a little. “You look done in.”

Sighing, Chris agreed, “I am, and I think I will. You’re not going to up and die on me before tomorrow, are you?”

Vin grinned again and replied, “Nope. I wouldn’t dare. Nathan’d do something real bad to my corpse for ruinin’ his record of keeping us alive.”

With a nod, Chris stood and walked to the door. He paused there and canted his head back towards Vin with a soft but firm, “Glad you’re on the mend, Vin. I missed havin’ you with me.”

Pure astonishment kept Vin silent long after the door closed behind Chris.

*  *  *  *

“You ain’t settlin’ back in that damned wagon of yours to die of exposure in this weather,” Nathan insisted stubbornly. “You either stay here or find someone to bunk with. I don’t want you on your own or goin’ up and down stairs a lot, let alone climbing in and out of that wagon.”

Chris nearly grinned at the way Vin’s jaw set at that information. He knew that Vin wouldn’t openly defy the healer, but also knew Vin wanted as far from town as possible. As far from people as possible. The younger man had been more than edgy the last week, he’d been downright scary, casting an evil eye on those who stayed too long in the clinic, friend or not. The only one he seemed not to care about takin’ time with him, was Chris, which made Chris happier than he’d been in a long time.

“He’ll stay with me,” Chris announced easily.

Healer and tracker both looked at him like he’d lost his mind and spoke at the same time.

“He ain’t ridin’ all the way out to your place and back here every day!”

“I can’t impose on you like that, Chris.”

Holding up a hand, Chris stated, “It’s the best of both worlds. I don’t have any stairs, there aren’t any people to bother him while he’s recovering, and I’ll keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t overdo.”

Nathan tossed a suspicious look at him, the man did have a knack for knowing when any of them were just going to cover for another to get out from under his eyes, but finally nodded. “All right, then. And I’ll stop by every couple of days to check on him. He gets any fevers or coughs, or that pissin’ blood gets heavier, you come get me.”

Chris nodded seriously, taking the advice to heart. “I will.”

“Chris, I couldn’t ask you to...”

“You didn’t,” Chris interrupted, meeting the confused blue eyes steadily. “I’m offering.”

For a long moment, Vin didn’t say anything, then he just sighed and agreed, “Okay.”

Pleased that his plan was coming off without a hitch, at least so far, Chris nodded and held out his hand. Vin stepped forward with a wince and accepted the guiding hold, despite the mutinous cast to his face at being helped at all. Nathan was right behind them, and once on the ground, went to get their horses for the ride to Chris’ cabin.

“Vin!” JD shouted happily.

They turned towards the young man and Chris wasn’t surprised that, now that his freedom was at hand, Vin turned out to be in a much better mood. He hid a grin as he went to meet Buck and Ezra, who followed JD more sedately. Ezra continued on to the other two, but Buck stayed with Chris and asked, “You sure you want to do this? A cornered Vin isn’t exactly pleasant company.”

Flashing his friend a grin, Chris nodded. “It’ll be fine. Can I trust you not to wreck the town while we’re gone?”

“I think you might be able to,” Buck drawled in a good imitation of Ezra.

Eyes rolling, Chris was going to give a sharp retort when Vin’s smiling gaze caught his eye and he lost track of what he was going to say. Buck’s chuckle regained his attention and he snapped, “What?”

Still grinning, Buck teased, “You got it bad, pard.”

Nathan and Josiah came out with the horses then, forestalling any cutting response he would have made. Josiah leaned on the cane he’d reluctantly submitted to under penalty of, well, none of them had really had the nerve to ask. Taking the reins, Chris brought both horses over to Vin and mounted while Nathan helped Vin to do the same. They set out at a slow pace, and it took double the time to get there, but Vin was still sweating and thin-lipped with pain by the time they reined up in front of the cabin.

Chris hopped down and tossed the reins over the coral before hurrying over to Vin, who stayed still on his own horse. It took some doing, but finally, Vin slid down to the ground and Chris caught him, holding him steady until he could stand properly.

Breathing deeply, Vin gritted out, “Wish my back was all healed up.”

“Me too, partner,” Chris sympathized. “Come on. Let’s get you horizontal again.”

“Oh like that’ll help.”

Chris grinned at the muttered comment and they headed inside.

*  *  *  *

Things settled into a routine pretty quick. A nice, quiet, near-solitary routine that Vin really appreciated. They’d get up of a morning, have some coffee, then go outside so Chris could tend the horses. Vin watched from the cushioned chair that Chris had to have bought just for this as his friend fed and brushed out the animals in the coral.

When Chris went into town to check up on things, Vin dozed in the hammock also set up for this. It was lined with soft bedding, which made it just as comfortable to him as a bed, and more soothing, being outside and rocking slow when he wanted it to be. More often than not, he woke up with a blanket covering him around lunchtime, telling him that Chris had come back from town.

They’d have a quiet lunch brought back with Chris and then just talk about little things for a couple of hours. There were lots of comfortable silences during those conversations and Vin generally got to look his fill at Chris, as well. Sitting on the new porch chair gave him a nice side view of his friend, who inevitably was leaning back with his eyes closed, puffing on a cheroot, or whittling out something in wood.

By the time a real chill caught the air, it was time for Chris to head in for a late afternoon check of the town. Nathan and one of the others usually showed up around that time, keeping him company until Chris got back. The first day out, Nathan had given both the hammock and the chair an approving look. JD had spun over the other side of the hammock to fall hard on the ground, giving Vin and Nathan a laugh.

A few days into his stay at Chris,’ he stopped pissing blood and breathed a long sigh of relief. Whatever had been wrong inside him had worked itself out and he was really on the mend. Chris looked to be just as relieved as he’d been when he made the announcement and that caused a flash of warmth to run through him.

If only the rest of him would stop hurting, things would be perfect. He loved living with Chris, the easy way they had with each other. Vin loved that Chris knew what he wanted or needed before the words completely passed his lips. And he loved seeing how relaxed the other man was with him, like it was something that happened special because of him.

“You awake?”

Smiling at the soft question, Vin cracked open an eye to find Chris standing beside the hammock. “Yep.”

Chris smiled in return and said, “I’m heading into town. You need anything?”

“A new back?” Vin suggested.

“I’ll see what I can rustle up,” Chris replied with a wink. “Anything else?”

Shaking his head, Vin answered, “Nope. I’m good.”

Vin was surprised when Chris’ hand reached out towards him, then jerked back like it’d been burned. The other man didn’t mention it, just turned and walked away like it had never happened. Heart beating a little fast, Vin wondered where that hand had been going to land that Chris had felt it inappropriate. They’d never been shy about touching each other, after all.

Thinking about it, Vin realized that ever since coming to live with Chris, his friend had barely touched him, outside helping him around. No hand on his shoulder, no light touch to his waist or arm. Frowning, Vin turned his head to catch Chris mounting his horse and riding away at a faster than necessary pace.

If Chris did have, well, feelings for me, Vin thought slowly. He’d think it taking advantage if he did something while I was still all busted up. But, does he? How could he? White men don’t go that way, from what I know. Well, I guess just ‘cause I never seen it doesn’t mean it don’t happen. I’m white and I go that way. So’s Josiah, so it makes sense there’d be others, I suppose.

Thoughts in a whirl, Vin closed his eyes and wondered if maybe he should take a fresh look at his friend.

*  *  *  *

Chris hadn’t meant to do that. He really hadn’t meant to reach out to untangle the curls caught in the hammock ropes. And jerking back like that had only brought attention to it. He should’ve just rested his hand on the hammock instead of snatching his hand back. He’d seen the surprise on Vin’s face and done his best to walk away casual, but was sure that’d fallen flat.

Sighing as he reined up and dismounted in front of the saloon, Chris nodded to JD who was striding his way purposefully down the street, and then headed inside. Buck was in the back with Ezra, so Chris ambled on over that way, sitting with his back to the wall, as he liked to do.

“How’s Vin?” Buck asked.

Chris shrugged a bit. “Lazin’ away on the hammock, when I left.”

“When he’s all done getting better, I want that hammock.”

Ezra arched an eyebrow at Buck and pointed out, “You don’t have anywhere to put it.”

Grinning, Buck stated, “I’ll find a spot. And nobody best use it, or they’ll find the hammock’s not the only thing with holes in it.”

JD arrived just then and sat next to Buck, poking him in the side with two fingers.

“Ow! What was that for?” Buck demanded, affronted.

Crossing his arms over his chest, JD demanded, “Did you tell Casey I was goin’ to take her to the social next week?”

“Well hell, JD, the girl’s gonna be too old to marry, by the time you get around to even kissin’ her,” Buck exclaimed.

JD poked him again and exclaimed, “I was gonna ask her! Now I can’t, ‘cause you already did!”

Rubbing his side, Buck said, “I did not. You did. You were just too shy to ask her face to face. And you’re picking her up at six, by the way.”

“Buck!” JD wailed. “Stop messin’ in my love life!”

“You ain’t got one yet for me to mess with.”

“I see everyone’s in fine spirits this morning,” Josiah rumbled as he and Nathan joined them.

“Mr. Wilmington has decided that young Mr. Dunne here, isn’t moving fast enough for poor Miss. Casey’s well-being,” Ezra explained while the other two took a seat.

Nathan chuckled and said, “I think I’d rightly have to agree with Buck on this one.”

“Hey!” JD exclaimed, indignant.

A warmth filled Chris as he listened to his friends bantering back and forth. The teasing of JD was a group sport, and one that never went too far. None of them ever wanted to see the boy truly hurt or lose that enthusiasm and innocence that he had. Seeing him settled with Casey and a passel of kids that they could be ‘uncles’ to, would suit everyone just perfect.

This is my family, he realized suddenly. His heart stuttered and skipped as the thought ripped through him, causing a mild panic. He’d sworn to himself never to let himself feel so much for anyone else again, and then Vin had just slipped under his defenses with his quiet, steady trust. That had been the first thing to breach his shield. Then, one by one, these men had taken up a place in his heart. All so different from each other, they were still drawn together through honor and friendship and trust.

“Chris? You okay?” Nathan asked quietly.

Shaking himself out of the whirl of thoughts, Chris nodded and managed, “Fine.”

Skeptical, Nathan nonetheless didn’t question him further, instead joining in on the continued teasing that had swapped from JD’s slow moves, to Buck’s need to meddle.

A smile hit him from nowhere and it took a lot to beat it back down and keep his face in his usual serious expression. When Buck shot him a questioning look, Chris knew he wasn’t doing nearly as well as he should on keeping his face straight and just shrugged in answer. Standing up, he said, “I’m going to pick up some supplies and head back.”

Buck winked at him, but otherwise, no one did much aside from wave goodbye. They were too involved in ganging up on Buck, who took it all with a good nature.

Going to the store after, he had a few friendly minutes of conversation with Mrs. Potter, Josiah and Nathan’s influence, before taking the sack out with him and walking to the restaurant. He picked up a cooked chicken and biscuits, along with a bottle of milk and headed back to his horse. By the time he got back there, the others were walking out of the saloon. Josiah and Nathan headed back towards the church and clinic, while Buck and Ezra wandered down to the jail.

Buck leaned on the hitching post to ask, “Everything going all right, out there?”

Tying the sack to his saddlebag, Chris nodded. “Everything’s fine.”

“You sure?” Buck pressed. “Because you looked like you saw a ghost, back there.”

Chris’ lips twisted briefly as he explained, “Just comin’ to some conclusions is all.”

“Anything you want to share?”

“Not really.”

Buck nodded slowly and asked, “Do I need to come out there and mess with your love life?”

Snorting, Chris replied, “You do and I’ll shoot you. Besides, I might’ve accidentally speeded things up this morning before I came into town.”

“Accidentally?” Buck prompted.

But that was all Chris was planning to tell him. Smirking a little at keeping him in the dark, Chris mounted up and said, “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

“Chris!”

Ignoring the irritated call, Chris turned his horse around and headed home.

*  *  *  *

Vin ate slowly, enjoying the spiced chicken and washing it down with a drink of milk now and again. The biscuits were buttery and a little crisp, just like he liked them. And the view while he ate…

Chris kept cleaning his fingers of the grease the simplest way…by licking them and then wiping them on his pants.

Grinning to himself, Vin lowered his eyes to spear another piece of chicken with his knife just before Chris turned to look at him. Chris had been a little quieter than usual on his return from town, but just said that everything was fine, so Vin had left him alone.

“I been thinking,” Chris announced out of the blue.

Vin’s eyebrows rose curiously and asked, “Yeah?”

“Yeah. How’d you like to make this permanent?”

Vin paused with the chicken halfway to his mouth, then carefully set the knife on the tin plate. “How do you mean?”

Shifting around to face him, an unreadable expression in place, Chris explained, “You living here. Not like you got somewhere to really call home. And one of these days, you’re going to freeze to death in that wagon of yours.”

“You don’t think maybe people might find it funny? Me living here?”

“Don’t care.”

Vin knew that was true. Chris Larabee cared less about ‘appearances’ than any other man he knew, save for maybe Buck. And it wasn’t like someone was going to call him on it, not seriously. Finally, Vin asked, “Why?”

Taking his time, Chris answered, “Because it’s home now, with you here. I don’t…I don’t want to give that up. Give you up.”

Vin swallowed against a too-dry throat, seeing something more than friendship in the other man’s eyes. The expression didn’t change, but those eyes…jade fire, that’s what they were and Vin felt the prickle of sweat against the back of his neck in answer to that look alone. Chris was a man of few words, just like himself, and it might be never that he heard what he wanted to hear, given Chris’ past.

The chance to have Chris, to be with him, was more than he’d ever hoped for, but fear ran through him. The last time he’d trusted someone with his heart, it had gone so badly. Every time, come to think on it, he thought. Never had anyone want me to stick around for good, before. Always too quiet, too watchful, too much. I need too much, is the gist. And Chris…it ain’t like him to just up and decide something like this. Maybe he’s just lonely and needing companionship and this ain’t love at all, not like I’m thinking.

“No need to answer right away. You think on it,” Chris said, standing and walking over to Vin’s chair. “But you should have all the facts while you do your thinking.”

“What else do I need to know?” Vin asked, looking up at him.

A faint smile curved Chris’ lips and he bent down to touch them to Vin’s mouth. It was a soft, brief kiss and gone before Vin could even start to savor it. And then Chris was gone, walking off to the coral and calling his horse over.

Stunned, Vin almost dropped his plate off his lap, catching it at the last second.

*  *  *  *

It was Nathan and Buck to come visit him later in the day. Chris had ridden off directly after dropping his news in Vin’s lap and hadn’t been back since. He sat patiently as Nathan slowly unwound the dressings on his hands. The skin underneath was newly pink and healed in places, but still raw in others, and his right hand was better than his left.

“It’s lookin’ real good, Vin,” Nathan approved with a smile. “I think another week or so and you can let the air get to it, start getting the skin back to normal. Sooner, if you get a whole covering of skin going.”

Relieved, Vin said, “Good. It’s starting to itch, so that’s a good sign.”

Nathan nodded. “Yeah, it is. I got some oil I want you to use once you take off the bandages. That should help speed it up, get you back to normal. Now, let me look at the rest of you.”

Vin was almost used to letting Nathan take off his shirt, but it wasn’t near as nice or comfortable as when Chris did it. Strong, but gentle hands squeezed his ribs, and he couldn’t help a wince.

“Ribs take too long to heal up,” Buck commiserated. “But they are better some. Last time I was here and he did that, you just about jumped out of your skin.”

Snorting, Vin didn’t answer, meeting Nathan’s amused gaze with his own. The rest of the exam passed quickly, since it was just a look over the cuts and gashes to make sure none of them were infected. Most of the stitches were taken out and by the time Nathan was done, Vin was restraining himself from cursing the healer out from the pain.

He sagged down on the bed on his side, released from Nathan’s big hands, and caught his breath. Hating the fact that he was so weak, Vin didn’t move for a few minutes. When he finally did push himself up into sitting, Nathan was gone and it was only Buck who remained.

“Nathan went to check out your water supply,” Buck announced, sitting in Chris’ chair. “Or, he said he was going to on the ride out, least ways. Thought I’d ask you something while he was gone.”

Wiping the sweat off his forehead and onto his bandages, Vin prompted, “What’s that?”

“When’re you going to put Chris out of his misery?”

Vin blinked at him a few moments, then asked, “Come again?”

“Chris loves you. And I know you love him right back. Just tell him so and put the poor bastard out of his misery,” Buck repeated.

For a long moment, Vin couldn’t think of anything to say. Not that he had nothing to say, just that he didn’t really think that Chris would appreciate spreading the news just yet. He grinned and asked, “JD finally tell you to butt out so you’re looking for other people to play matchmaker?”

Buck scowled and said, “Damn it, Vin, I’m bein’ serious here!”

Holding up a hand, keeping the straight face that no one ever suspected him of yanking their chain, Vin replied, “I know, and thanks, Buck, but it ain’t your business. If me and Chris get together, you’ll know it. If we don’t, well, I expect you’ll know that, too. Until then, we ain’t JD and Casey, so I’ll appreciate you not steppin’ in.”

“All right, fine. Just don’t say I didn’t never try to do nothin’ for you,” Buck muttered, standing up.

“I won’t,” Vin promised.

Buck stepped close to help him up, and Vin accepted the help, tired enough from Nathan’s poking and prodding not to protest. God, but he couldn’t wait until his body was his own again. When walking and sitting and riding didn’t hurt unless he overdid it. They moved slowly outside to the hammock, which Buck held steady for him. Once he was settled, Vin grinned briefly at Buck and said, “I understand you got designs on my hammock.”

“Well, once you’re better,” Buck agreed, echoing the grin.

Vin smirked and said, “I ain’t givin’ it up.”

Setting his hat back on his head, Buck pointed out, “You got to get better sometime.”

Nodding, Vin replied comfortably, “Still not givin’ it up. I’m gonna be usin’ this hammock a long time to come.”

The words gave Buck pause, and then a delighted grin practically exploded onto his face as he exclaimed, “You old dog! All this time you were messin’ with me! Why I’m gonna…”

“You’re gonna do what, exactly, to an injured man?” Nathan asked from behind. “Just ‘cause he ain’t going to let you have the hammock?”

“Nathan, come on, I wasn’t really going to do anything,” Buck protested, backing away from Vin.

Arms over his chest, Nathan said sternly, “You’d best not even be thinkin’ it, the amount of time I just spent patching him up.”

Chuckling to himself, Vin assumed an innocent expression when Nathan looked his way.

“We’re going to get now, before Buck does something I’ll have to fix him for,” Nathan continued. “You tell Chris that his water’s got too much metal and to haul from the stream. I thought your color looked off, last time I was here.”

Vin held back the comment that his color was off because Nathan had been prodding his wounds and just agreed complacently, “I’ll tell him.”

“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow without this joker,” Nathan promised.

Vin waved to Buck, who flashed him a still-irritated look, and closed his eyes on a pleased grin. First Chris says that he wants Vin around permanently, then he gets Buck in trouble with Nathan.

It was a good day.

*  *  *  *

It was dusk before Chris forced himself to ride back towards the cabin. He’d gone on an extended patrol around the area, after checking with JD to let the kid know he didn’t have to worry about it, and used the time to think. Vin wasn’t the sort to make instant declarations, and Chris probably wouldn’t have trusted any made, but it was still something of a disappointment to find so much uncertainty and hesitation on Vin’s face at his words.

But then he thought back to Buck’s words about Vin’s past and maybe not really knowing what love was and had to agree. In the last couple of years that they’d been friends, Chris didn’t really know a whole lot about Vin’s distant past. It was like Vin’s life hadn’t really started until he’d been set up by Eli Joe. He knew about the time with the Comanches and Kiowa, but only in passing. He didn’t really know what Vin had done in his time with the tribes.

And as for past hurts, well, all anyone had to do was take a look at Vin to know that something had hurt him real bad. His shyness around people was close to skittishness on occasion and it always prompted a veil of red to descend on Chris when he saw the younger man flinch away from someone. It didn’t happen often, but it did happen.

They were sure going to have plenty to talk about over the next thirty or forty years. Or less, if one of them wound up in a scrape they couldn’t get out of. The thought of life without Vin caused his whole chest to tighten and his heart to beat unnaturally fast, but he knew it could happen. It had happened to him once already and Chris’ luck just wasn’t the best to start with. He’d been a good man, a decent one, when Sarah and Adam had been taken from him. The way he was now, how he’d lived in the years after their deaths, God taking Vin from him would be a punishment worse than any hellfire.

When he arrived at the cabin it was full dark, but the small structure was lit up against the night and looked warm, beckoning him. He brought his horse to the coral, brushed him down and fed him, then ambled slowly inside, not sure what his welcome would be. Funny to think that about his own home, but he’d meant what he’d said to Vin earlier that day. It was only home now that Vin was there to share it.

Opening the door, he stepped in to the smell of chicken and potatoes, and smiled at the sight of Vin asleep on the bed. The light shirt was pulled tight, outlining his lean frame, but his jeans were loose, hiding the muscles that Chris knew lay beneath. Taking off his hat and poncho, he tossed both on the chair at the table and moved to the small stove. Raising the soup lid, he stirred the stew and took a sip, surprised at how good it was.

A half-sigh from behind alerted him to Vin’s waking and he turned in time to see the other man rubbing his eyes. With a grin, he observed, “I know who’s going to be doing the cooking around here.”

Vin snorted and pushed slowly into a sitting position. “Unless you want stew seven days a week, you’ll rethink that.”

Which was tacit agreement that Vin was staying, and Chris’ heart just about leapt out of his chest at the announcement. Keeping his voice casual, Chris replied, “Better than the burned biscuits I can make.”

“I know for a fact that you can crack an egg and cook up some bacon, when the situation calls for it,” Vin pointed out.

Smirking, Chris said, “Fine. I’ll do breakfast and you do supper.”

Vin opened his mouth and then closed it again on a scowl. “That ain’t fair. I just woke up, so I’m not at my best.”

Closing the distance between them, Chris sat on the bed beside Vin and said, “You’re always at your best. I think you just wanted to get caught this time.”

A silence fell as Vin looked away, but Chris didn’t let it discourage him. He just took one of Vin’s hands carefully in his and brought it up to his lips, kissing the bandaged limb. The fingers stuck out, long and thin, but strong, scarred in places, just like the rest of Vin and Chris had to smile at the thought.

“What?” Vin asked.

Shrugging, Chris answered, “Just thinking you got nice hands is all.”

Canting his head at Chris, Vin observed, “You got some strange notions, cowboy.”

A slow smile spread over Chris’ face as he replied, “Guess I do. Come on. You hungry?”

“Definitely.”

Before Chris could stand up, he had an armful of Vin and was flat on his back on the bed, the other man kissing him hard and desperate. Chris groaned into the onslaught, mouth opening to Vin’s demand, and kissed back just as fierce. Their tongues moved together, twining and licking over each other. Chris’ hands held on to Vin’s hips and pulled him down flush, which brought their cocks together.

Both men moaned at the contact and Chris felt himself harden the rest of the way. Abruptly remembering that Vin was still injured, he slowed the kiss and eventually stopped it altogether. Vin collapsed on him flat and Chris gasped, “God, you feel so good lyin’ on me like this.”

“Can feel better,” Vin replied breathlessly, rocking back and forth a little.

Shuddering at the friction, Chris shook his head and said, “Let me take care of you, Vin, okay? I don’t want you getting hurt worse.”

Vin pushed up on his elbows to stare down into Chris’ eyes for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “All right.”

Pleased and frustrated all at once, Chris kissed him again lightly and helped him up, shivering when the awkward position caused their groins to rub together more than once. Finally they were both upright and walked over to the table. Vin sat down and let Chris serve the stew, and then Chris dragged the other chair over so they sat side by side, instead of across from each other. They ate in a comfortable silence, and if sometimes their fingers or thighs touched under the table, it wasn’t a big deal, it was a promise.

Chris cleared the dishes and stuck them in the sink to be dealt with later. Vin had already gone to sit back outside, and he hurried after the other man, strangely reluctant to let Vin out of his sight for long. Maybe afraid that he’d change his mind and fade off into the darkness. Chris found the tracker on the chair and leaned against the wall beside him, asking, “Everything all right?”

“Yeah, just…I’m not used to so much company,” Vin answered, soft.

And even though it was still just him, Chris understood. He knew that Vin meant he wasn’t used to someone being so close. “Me, either. Not for a long time, now.”

“Since Sarah.”

Chris combed his fingers slowly and carefully through the longish brown hair to rub at the tense muscles of Vin’s neck. He thought about it for a few seconds, then said, “I don’t want you changin’ none, Vin. You come and go, just like you always have. If you need me at your back, I’m there. That’s where I want to be. I know you need the open spaces and the quiet, that townsfolk get to be too much at times. If you want to head out on a vision quest or whatever, I’m fine with that too. I just…I’d like to know that you’d be comin’ back, is all. Comin’ back to me.”

Looking up at him, Vin said matter-of-factly, “The last person I tried to hitch my wagon to beat me to within an inch of my life on a regular basis and called it love. This is just going to take some time for me to get used to, Chris.”

Continuing to massage the tension from Vin’s neck, restraining the violence that had surged at the calm explanation, Chris replied, “You got all the time in the world, Vin. I ain’t goin’ anywhere and we don’t have to do nothin’ you don’t want to do.”

“Always said you were a patient man,” Vin observed seriously. “I was always glad for it.”

Chris smiled at him and said, “I’ll get those dishes and bank the stove.”

“I’ll be in directly.”

“Take your time.”

*  *  *  *

Even though it was pitch black in the cabin, without even the moon shining in through the window, Vin knew that Chris was awake. The other man had taken up his regular spot on the floor, clearly not assuming anything, and Vin hadn’t been able to tell him to come up on the bed with him. It seemed like that would be a final, irrevocable step after which, Chris would change somehow. And Vin didn’t want to lose something so precious before it’d even begun.

He’d stripped to his jeans, like every other night, with Chris’ help, and then climbed into the bed while Chris had laid out his bedroll without complaint. Just like every other night. Only, it didn’t feel like every other night, knowing what he did. And the bed felt a lot colder and more uncomfortable than it usually did, too.

It had to be after midnight when he realized how stupid he was being. Chris was Chris. He wasn’t going to change into some heartless, domineering bastard because he’d found out that Vin was in love with him. He’d said that he could wait, and Vin believed him. Chris was about the most patient man Vin had ever met, and that included a lot of the holy people that he’d known over the years.

“Chris?”

“Yeah, Vin?”

“It’s a little chilly tonight. You want to come up here and warm me a little?”

“Sure.”

There was some rustling and then Chris’ weight dipped the bed as he climbed under the blankets with Vin. He settled the extra blankets over them both and then asked, “How do you want to sleep?”

Vin thought about it a second, then slowly eased himself onto Chris’ front, knowing that his friend liked to sleep on his back. Resting his cheek on Chris’ chest, he whispered, “This okay?”

A gentle hand stroked over Vin’s hair and Chris whispered back, “It’s fine. Get some sleep.”

Sighing deeply, Vin thought that maybe now, he could.

*  *  *  *

JD scowled at the sight of Chris and Vin walking their horses down the street and turned to Buck, who lounged in a chair supposedly asleep, exclaiming, “I thought Vin wasn’t supposed to be comin’ into town for another week!”

Poking his hat up, Buck glanced up the street and answered, “Guess they decided to come in today, instead.”

“Nathan’s gonna be ticked,” JD observed righteously.

Buck snorted. “If Chris let him ride, then Vin’s okay. C’mon, kid, let’s go say hi.”

With a head shake, JD followed his friend down the sidewalk and they met up with Chris and Vin outside Mrs. Potter’s store. Bouncing a little, JD asked, “How’re you feeling, Vin?”

“Better, thanks, JD,” Vin replied with a brief smile.

Buck teased, “Got tired of him already, did you?”

Vin’s smile returned as he looked over at Chris and answered, “Maybe a little.”

Chris didn’t even bother to answer that. He just glared at JD and asked pointedly, “Did you forget something, JD?”

Freezing in place under that hard look, JD frantically thought through his day’s duties and finally had to shake his head. “Uh, no. No, Chris. That is, I don’t remember forgetting anything.”

Chris’ scowl dropped to nothing and he grinned with, “Good. Glad to hear it. Where’s Ezra? I thought we were going on patrol today.”

Relief surged through JD that he hadn’t forgotten anything, followed fast by indignation. One of these days, they were going to take him seriously and stop poking fun at him and playing jokes like that.

“Here I am, Mr. Larabee. And I see that you brought our recalcitrant tracker in for a visit,” Ezra announced, joining them.

Vin glanced at Chris. “Recalcitrant?”

“Stubborn,” Chris clarified.

Vin smiled faintly in amusement and leaned against the hitching post. “I don’t think you’ve seen me recalcitrant yet, Ezra.”

“Oh, I believe I have,” Ezra countered, grinning broadly. “Why just last week, I recall you mentioning that it would be a month of Sundays before you set foot in this town again, and yet here you are. And as such, I do believe you owe me a sum of money.”

Well okay. I’m not the only one that gets teased, JD allowed to himself, watching Ezra and Buck argue as to whether a bet made on a sickbed really counted. Still. It ain’t right how often I get the short straw.

Chris put a stop to the argument with a simple, “Time to ride, Ezra. Vin, I’ll be back for you about dusk.”

Tipping his hat, Vin answered, “I’ll be around.”

There was some strange current to their words, but damned if JD could figure it out. Something in the way their eyes lingered as they parted. Shrugging it off, knowing he’d never really understand them, JD fell into step with Buck and Vin and asked, “So do you think General Wilcox is really going to start patrollin’ the area with his own soldiers? ‘Cause if he does, doesn’t that mean our jobs ain’t needed as much? And if they ain’t, how’s that affect how we get paid? What about umph!”

“Thank you, Buck,” Vin said, flashing a brief grin when Buck cut off JD’s words by clamping a hand over his mouth.

JD bit down and Buck howled in pain. Seeing the flush to his friend’s face and knowing exactly what it meant, JD took off running.

*  *  *  *

Vin watched JD and Buck tear off down the street with a laugh. It was fun to see them this carefree, the time between hardship and bullets generally all too short.

“It’s like watching two overgrown boys play,” Mary Travis said from behind. “And one of them not all that overgrown.”

A little startled that he hadn’t heard her arrival, Vin nonetheless kept himself in check as he turned and tipped his hat, this time for real, for Mary. “Afternoon, ma’am.”

She smiled warmly and greeted, “Good afternoon, Mr. Tanner. It’s good to see that you’re recovering from your injuries.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Vin replied.

“Are you on your way to Nathan’s?”

“I am.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I accompany you?”

Knowing that she was going to ask about the rustlers, Vin would have preferred to tell her to go away, but couldn’t make himself do it. Wishing vainly that JD would lead Buck back this way, Vin managed a faint smile and answered, “No.”

They started walking and, to his surprise, she didn’t speak again until they were almost there. Tilting her blue eyes up at him, Mary asked quietly, “How many bullets did you have left before the rescue?”

Vin contemplated her serious expression before replying, “Three.”

“Each?”

“Altogether.”

“I see.”

He watched her chew that over for several long moments, not sure what it meant.

“I would appreciate you passing on a request for Mr. Larabee to see me when he and Mr. Standish return to town,” she finally said.

Nodding, Vin murmured, “Ma’am,” as she hurried away. He watched her go thoughtfully, then shrugged off the odd behavior and started to slowly climb the stairs to the clinic. A deep moan from inside caused him to hold his hand and he grinned ruefully. Nathan and Josiah must have decided to enjoy the free time as well, in their own fashion. Served him right for not letting them know he’d be stopping by to see them.

Eyeing the stairs, Vin decided he didn’t really want to climb all the way back down, only to turn back and have to climb them all over again when they were done. Three times in one afternoon was a bit much, even if he did look a fool for sitting on the bench at the top step of the stairs. There was a barely muffled shout from inside and he grinned again, this one lingering.

Looked like he wouldn’t have that long to wait.

*  *  *  *

Josiah moaned as Nathan drove into him hard and fast, and clutched the bedcovers as his body was pushed higher and higher. It felt like they’d been going forever, but what little thought remained knew that it had only been a half-hour or so. One of Nathan’s big hands kept stroking his shaft, bringing him closer to the edge of orgasm until a particularly hard thrust nudged that spot inside that sent a lightening bolt of pleasure through him. Burying his face in the pillow, he shouted and came, spilling over Nathan’s hand as Nathan filled him inside with his own seed.

They collapsed in a heap of limbs and panting breaths and Josiah was able to enjoy the sensation of having one of the few men bigger than himself, press him into the mattress. The cock filling him had softened, but was too big to slip out on its own, something else that he loved to feel.

Nuzzling the back of his neck, Nathan gasped, “God above, I love you, Josiah. More and more every damn day.”

A broad smile spread over Josiah’s face and he replied, “I love you too, Brother Nathan.”

Chuckling, Nathan bit at his ear, complaining lightly, “How many times I got to tell you not to call me that in bed? ‘Specially like this. Bad enough we’re already sinnin,’ I don’t feel no need to add incest to the list.”

Which was exactly why he did it, but he kept that thought to himself. A pounding at the door set off a deep panic inside that they were about to be caught. There was no way they’d get dressed in time for whoever was outside not to know what they’d been up to. Even with all of that, Nathan held him down in order to be careful when he pulled himself free of Josiah, not wanting to risk hurting him.

Doesn’t want to hurt me, but he’ll get us both killed moving so slow! Josiah thought frantically.

“Open up in there before I break the door down to check on our fair doctor’s virtue!”

“I’m going to kill him,” Josiah hissed viciously, his body sagging down on the bed in relief.

Nathan collapsed on top of him, breathing heavy from his own panic and not their lovemaking. “I ain’t goin’ to stop you this time.”

Scrubbing fingers through his hair, Josiah stole another kiss and moved to clean himself up before getting dressed. Nathan was dressed before him, but at least Josiah managed to get his pants on before his lover let Vin inside. Stabbing a finger at the grinning tracker, Josiah threatened, “You’re a dead man, Tanner!”

Holding his hands up in surrender, Vin pointed out, “I could’ve done that earlier and really spoiled your fun.”

Nathan caught his eye and Josiah sighed, knowing his tender-hearted lover had already partially forgiven the mischievous tracker. Aside from waiting until they were done, Vin had guarded them at their most vulnerable. Shaking his head, Josiah wagged the finger that was still in the air and grumbled, “You also could’ve knocked politely.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Vin asked, smirking.

“Sit your sorry butt down so I can take a look at you,” Nathan ordered, pointed at a chair.

Vin saluted and took his seat without protest, unusually mild.

Frowning at the behavior, Josiah squinted at him, wondering at the relaxation of lines around the younger man’s eyes. It was as if some long held burden had been eased, or perhaps taken from him altogether. Pulling his shirt on and then his boots, Josiah grabbed his hat and coat, kissed Nathan’s cheek and left them to their own devices.

Maybe Buck would know what was going on.

*  *  *  *

Buck grinned to himself at Josiah’s subtle questions, answering them only on the most direct level. The least informational one, of course. Not that Josiah or Nathan would ever do anything to expose Chris and Vin, even if they hadn’t been involved, that sort of thing wasn’t in their nature. It was just that he suspected Chris and Vin were still too new to each other to want the extra scrutiny.

JD chatted on about Wilcox and his possible incursion into their sworn duties at great length, not paying any attention to his elder friends’ by-play. Buck hoped that the younger man never had any reason to look beneath the surface, but knew that one day it would happen. Still, they’d keep him from it for as long as they could.

Nathan and Vin showed up a short time later, Vin moving slower than he had before and sitting carefully in the chair beside Buck.

Concerned, Buck asked, “You okay, Vin?”

Vin nodded. “Yeah.”

And, knowing that was likely all they’d get out of him, Buck sighed to himself. Resigning himself to the fact that he had friends made up of pure cussedness, Buck stood and said, “I’ll get you some supper. You’ve gotta be sick of Chris’ cooking by now.”

“Who said he was cooking?” Vin replied, blue eyes twinkling.

Nathan exclaimed, “He better be cooking! You ain’t been on your feet all that time it takes to make supper now, have you?”

Looking somewhat abashed that he’d gotten Chris into trouble, Vin hedged, “No, not really.”

Buck escaped before Nathan’s lecture started, and crossed over to Inez with a grin. “Evenin’ Inez.”

“Senor Wilmington,” Inez replied, dark eyes merry. “How is Senor Tanner feeling?”

“He’d feel a whole heap better with some of your fine cookin’ in him,” Buck wheedled shamelessly.

Smiling up at him, Inez replied, “I think I have something to give him. Go on back to your friends.”

“Oh, I’ll wait here and take it over for you, ma’am,” Buck promised.

The humor increased in her dark gaze, as if knowing exactly what he was doing, hiding out on Nathan, but she only nodded and went back into the kitchen.

He was leaning on the counter when Chris and Ezra returned, the normally pristine gambler muddy and clearly ticked off. Grinning even before he knew the circumstances, Buck hurried forward to hear what had happened, fully planning to tease the other man mercilessly.

“Don’t you even start, Mr. Wilmington,” Ezra snapped, pinning him with a glare.

Assuming an innocent expression, Buck questioned, “Start what? I was just coming to check on the well being of a good friend of mine.”

Chris cleared his throat, a suspicious sound given that the man was never sick, and said, “I’m just going to get a drink.”

“Ez, what the heck happened to you?” JD exclaimed, joining Buck.

Crossing his arms over his chest, looking rather like he was about to start throwing a hissy fit, Ezra took a moment to just breathe. By the time he was done collecting his clearly frayed nerves, just about everyone in the room was looking at him with amused curiosity.

“If you must know,” Ezra began haughtily. “A snake startled my horse and threw me.”

“Threw you where, Ezra?” Chris prompted, an evil grin evident.

The door opened on a breeze and Buck suddenly caught a whiff of something pungent and spoiled.

Glaring his worst at Chris, which didn’t phase the gunslinger in the least, Ezra bit off, “A patch of swamp cabbage.”

Buck frowned. “Swamp cabbage around here? Never heard of such a thing.”

“Somebody obviously mistook what they were in seed form and brought the accursed things out here to plant. There’s a fairly big planting of it on the east side of town,” Ezra informed him stiffly.

Buck thought about it a second, then started laughing, which earned him absolutely no grace in the gambler’s book. “It’s not swamp cabbage, Ez, it’s skunk cabbage.”

“Whatever it may be called, it is foul, and I am going to take a bath,” Ezra stated before taking off in a huff.

Laughter followed him, as the rest of their friends joined Buck in his amusement. Only Ezra could manage to get thrown into the vilest smelling plant around. Shaking his head, he turned to find Chris leaning down to Vin and whispering something into the tracker’s ear. He saw Vin’s hand clench tight on the table and a shiver run through the slender body as Vin flushes. He also saw the self-satisfied smirk on Chris’ face when his friend stood and innocently took the seat across from Vin.

Shaking his head, still grinning, Buck headed back to the table to try and keep Chris from bewildering the poor boy in public. Vin was a good man and an able tracker, had seen blood spilled and spilled it himself. But when it came to Chris Larabee in a mischievous mood, well, he clearly had no idea what to expect.

*  *  *  *

“Oh by the way. Mary’s lookin’ for you.”

Vin’s smug announcement came when it was far too late for Chris to avoid running into the woman in question. She’d seen him and was now making her way directly over to them. Glaring at Vin, he muttered, “You’re in serious trouble now, pard.”

“Payback,” was all Vin replied, tipping his hat to Mary and heading over to their horses.

Bringing his attention to the woman before him, Chris forced a brief smile and greeted, “Mrs. Travis.”

“Mr. Larabee, I wanted to say…” she began, then stopped, at an apparent loss for words. She tried again with, “I don’t think…”

Chris waited impatiently for her to form her thoughts clearly, but kept his impatience behind a calm, attentive mask. Just because he was no longer interested in her didn’t mean he could be rude.

“I realize that no promises were made, or even made mention of, but I must say that I can no longer feel comfortable with your pursuit of me. However subtle it is,” she finally managed to say.

Surprise broke through him, and he asked, “Excuse me?”

Clearing her throat, Mary said, “You only had three bullets left, Mr. Larabee. I can’t…I’ve already had one husband killed and my son has lost his father. I won’t put either of us through that again. And since I know that you aren’t likely to change your, well, occupation, then I must insist that we remain strictly friends, with no romantic leanings or aspirations whatsoever.”

For a long moment, all he could think was, Oh thank God. I don’t have to worry about breaking it off with her when there was nothing to really break off. Then he realized that she was looking at him and feeling guilty, so he hastened to assured her, “If you think that’s the best thing, then it is. I wouldn’t want to cause either of you any hurt.”

And that was true. He admired Mary for her courage in trying to build a better life for herself, her son, and this town. He didn’t want to see her hurt by anything, especially not him.

Relieved, Mary nodded and said, “I really do feel that it is for the best, before either of us become more…emotionally involved.”

Chris nodded in return and took her hand, raising it briefly to his lips. “I understand.”

“Good day, Mr. Larabee,” she said softly, smiling up at him with something like wistfulness.

Tipping his hat to her, Chris stepped back so she could walk by, then turned and walked to Vin.

“What was that about?” Vin asked, expression shuttered.

Suddenly realizing what it might have looked like, Chris said, “She was letting me down easy.”

Vin frowned, then smiled. “Good.”

“It’s always best to let the woman end it,” Chris agreed, then a frown of his own surfaced and he looked back at where Mary was in conversation with Mrs. Potter. A warm presence beside him caused Chris to look at Vin, still troubled.

Vin rested a hand on his back and said softly, “She’s no Ella, Chris. Ain’t nothin’ going to happen because you’re not what she needs you to be. Except maybe the two of you becoming friends for real, now that the dance is over.”

And Chris knew that, he really did, but he couldn’t help the shiver that ran through him at the thought that something he was responsible for could take Vin from him.

Maybe sensing that, Vin murmured, “Take me home, lover. Show me how you really feel about me.”

Heat surged through him, both at the words and the love that shone from Vin’s sky blue eyes, and he nodded.

*  *  *  *

Vin gasped at the wet heat that surrounded his cock, desperate to get in deeper, but pinned down by Chris’ arm over his waist. It was the only way Chris would agree to them doing anything more than kissing, for him to be in control and do all the work. Vin wanted to feel his lover inside him, but it didn’t look like that was happening any time soon. Not until he was completely healed, at least.

Chris had treated him to such loving attention that Vin had been hard long before his lover had even finished undressing him. He’d sat on the bed and watched as Chris got rid of his own clothes, the other man sporting a hefty erection of his own. There’d been a timeless interval on the bed where Chris’ mouth got acquainted with just about every part of Vin’s body. Kissing was an on-again, off-again haven for their mouths to be resumed at leisure.

And now Vin was dying in the best of ways, his orgasm staved off only by the tight pressure of Chris’ hand around the base of his shaft. Glancing down, he was treated to the incredible sight of the other man rubbing himself off against the bed, face flushed and sweaty, mouth wrapped around Vin’s cock. “God, Chris, please, partner, need to come so bad!”

Chris moaned around him and shuddered hard, releasing his grip around the cock and rolling Vin’s balls in his hand.

Vin shouted and came, filling the hot mouth still on him and being swallowed down without hesitation. The suction returned, but softer, keeping the pressure until Vin gasped, “Stop, please!”

Head resting on Vin’s abdomen, Chris panted heavily for a few seconds then crawled up to collapse beside Vin. Going into his lover’s arms at the first tug, Vin ignored the slight pain in his back as he curled around Chris.

Nuzzling his sweaty throat, Chris whispered, “Love you, Vin. Don’t ever leave me, okay?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Vin promised, catching his own breath. “Not now that I finally got a home again.”

They were silent for a long time and, just before he knew Chris was going to drop off, Vin barely said, “Love you too, partner.”

The only sign he was heard was the tightening of Chris’ hand on his hip, but that was fine with Vin. He’d never been good with words, but those were too simple even for him to mess up. Smiling and content, Vin drifted off to sleep as well.