There are certain acts which defy belief. Things that, by their sheer improbability, can, when they come to pass, shatter entire worlds.
The icebound glare that tore through him seemed to have a grip on his heart, slowly crushing the life from it. JD struggled under the heavy weight of the gaze, holding his ground.
The pure venom on Chris' features didn't change as he spat, "Get the hell out of here. You get to ride away 'cause Buck is my friend. You come back, and I'll kill ya."
"F*** you, Chris. He's my friend too! I'm not some kid you can push around anymore. We've come a long way from that." JD's eyes were round in shock at the words that he screamed at Larabee, but he couldn't back down or take them back. Once upon a time, he'd have sworn that such insolence would be a death sentence. He was right. They had come a long way.
"JD, son. You come with me now." Josiah's large hand settled firmly on JD's shoulder, trying to remind the young man of the danger he flirted with.
The touch coursed through him like lightening. He jerked his arm away. "Stay out of this, Preacher! It's none of yours."
"Josiah, stay back. He thinks he's a big man now, go ahead. Let him find out differently."
JD's anger was wearing thin. He caught the promise of death in Chris' voice.
Part of him, the part that had drug him out west in the first place, wanted to cry out, to apologize, find a way to make it all right again. But another part, one that was older and harder, laughed at the notion. There was no way to put the world back together.
He stalked past Chris, brushing aside the man in black. Chris latched onto his arm,, fingers digging deep into the muscle.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Chris was seething.
"I'm going to see Buck."
Chris' voice dropped into a quiet whisper. The one reserved for bad guys just before things went to hell. The one that carried the heavy static electricity of a thunder storm about to be born. "No. You're not."
It broke then. The fragile thread that held remnants of a bond that once was worth dying over together gave way with an almost audible snap.
JD's hand closed into a fist. The pressure on his arm tightened, the white freeze in the green stare dropped a few degrees.
And JD Dunne launched a punch straight into his heroe's face.
Kat
