The first thing Philip Kimball noticed when he rode into Four Corners was how dusty it was. He'd sneezed four times before he even reached the second building. Next thing he noticed was a lovely blonde woman standing outside the general store, talking to a young black woman. Immediately, he felt his fury rising. He unconsciously touched his saddlebag, which held in it the confederate flag he'd carried with him since the war ended. As a proud southerner, he'd headed out west rather than remain and watch his motherland be destroyed by Northerners and "darkies." Seeing one on the street talking to a white woman made him even more angry.
Up ahead, he saw the livery, and went to stable his horse there. He carried his bags toward the Standish hotel, where he was greeted by a man in a white shirt and red vest who gave him a big smile.
Ezra had seen the man ride into town a few minutes ago, and was impressed by the horse and finery, and had hoped the man would make the Standish hotel his residence while in the area. In fact, he was determined to use every charm necessary to make sure it was so. While Samanatha Crawford was inside going over the registry, he had offered to serve as host, a nice change from his activity of the past few days; renovating the new Maude's dress shoppe.
"Well, good afternoon sir!" Ezra greeted, and Philip was pleasantly surprised to hear a southern drawl in the man's voice.
Philip smiled back at his southern brother. "Would you be the proprietor of this establishment?" he asked.
"I am one of them, indeed," Ezra replied, offering his hand warmly. "Ezra Standish, at your service. And you are?"
Taking the man's hand, Philip introduced himself. "Philip Kimball."
"Ah," Ezra said. "A Fellow Southerner. And where precisely in the mother south do you hail from?"
Philip smiled in rememberance of his homeland, destroyed now by those damn union armies. "Formerly of Baton Rouge, and you?"
Laughing, Ezra gave him his standard answer. "Atlanta, St. Louis, New Orleans. I have perused the whole wonderful land. Will you be staying in Four Corners long?" He wondered how much money Philip could have had with him. He was dressed in elegant finery, but had ridden in on a horse by himself. He was older, probably in his fifties, and looked like he had come from affluence at least at one point.
"If your establishment has room, I may take a well-deserved break from riding for a day or so," Philip answered.
Ezra took Philip's saddlebags from him, always the perfect host. "For a fellow Southern boy, always." Going into the hotel, Philip took in the extravagant decor and the upscale looking guests. He was grateful he'd decided to ride through this town, he'd been staying in boarding houses and rented saloon rooms for far too long. This was where he belonged, among the elite.
"Mr. Kimball, there is someone I'd like you to meet." Ezra led Philip into the hotel's registry office, where Samantha Crawford was going over the books. She looked up and gave him her most beautiful smile when they entered. "Philip Kimball, this is my business associate and very dear friend Samantha Crawford. If you need anything during your stay with us, Samantha or myself will be glad to assist you."
Philip looked at the brunette and smiled. He could think of a few things he wouldn't mind having her assist him with.
"Miss Crawford," he said, taking her hand and kissing it grandly. He drawled in an overdone variation of the Southern accent Ezra posessed. "It is one of life's great pleasures meeting you. I haven't seen a lovely face in so long, you're a breath of fresh air."
It was absurd how much he was leering at her, but Sam was getting used to male travelers doing the same thing. She pretended to be slightly embarrassed and smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Kimball. It's a pleasure to meet you too."
Ezra wanted to laugh at the exchange, and from the looks of it Sam was so obviously ready to bust out herself. Philip didn't see it that way at all, he thought he was winning her over.
"Samantha," Ezra said. "Mr. Kimball will be staying in fourteen. I'll show you to your room" Ezra led Philip to his room, which was decorated beautifully. No detail was too small for Maude Standish, and Ezra was often grateful for that. "Well, I'll leave you to get settled in and rest. You must be tired from all that riding."
"As a matter of fact I am," Philip replied. "Thank you, sir, for your great kindness."
"You're very welcome," Ezra replied, and left the man alone.
Sam was entering Philip's information into the books when Ezra came back into the office.
"We should put a sign outside the door that says 'No unoriginal flirting'" she said, not looking up. "A breath of fresh air? Cliche. I thought all Southerners would have the mastery of words you do, Ezra."
He shook his head, deadpanning. "Sadly, my dear, that is not always the case. There are those uneducated few who still have to resort to the common cliches. Though I will say, you did an admirable job of almost holding in your laughter."
Sam leaned back in the leather chair. "I tell you, Ezra, you should be grateful you have me around. After all, according to our dear Mr. Kimball, it is one of life's great pleasures knowing me."
Nathan Jackson and his beautiful fiancee Rain laughed as they walked up the stairs over the livery where the clinic was located.
Once they were inside, Rain closed the door behind them and kissed Nathan fully. She couldn't wait to marry the man. She wanted to be able to think of him as and call him her husband. She wanted to have his children, lots of them. Most of all, she wanted to sleep every night in his strong arms, safe from the coldest nights.
"Hey now," Nathan said, laughing as the kiss concluded. "Enough to make a man forget himself."
Her smile in response warmed his entire body. With all the ways he loved her, everything she did lit a fire in him.
There was a knock on the door. Nathan barely managed to seperate himself from Rain to answer it. There stood Melanie Hills, the lovely blonde bartender of the hotel.
"I'm sorry to bother you," she greeted Nathan, seeing the smile on his face and figuring he'd been occupied. "But there's a guest at the hotel complaining of a stomach ache, and Sam asked me to come see if you were available to check him out."
Rain smiled at Nathan. "Go, I'll stay here and put these things away."
He looked at her, kissed her quickly, and followed Melanie toward the hotel.
Ezra leaned on the porch outside the hotel. He tipped his hat at Nathan when he saw the man approach.
"Nathan," he greeted. "Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to see to a whining old man. Mr. Timmons is in the office with Sam. I'm sure you'll find him most unwilling to cooperate."
"Wonderful," Nathan ironically replied, patting Ezra on the shoulder as he went inside.
After cleaning up, Kimball emerged from his room and went down into the lobby. Elegant finery, a brilliant pianist at the keys playing luxurious pieces by Chopin and Beethoven. Closing his eyes, he remembered the grand balls back home in the south.
A small fuss caught his attention, and he went toward where it came from; the office.
Inside, he saw a scene that startled him deeply.
"What is going on here?" Kimball stormed into the office, seeing Nathan standing talking to Sam, Melanie, Mr. Timmons, and Ezra.
Sam smiled at him. "Hello Mr. Kimball, this is Nathan Jackson, our town doctor."
Nathan shook his head. "I ain't no doctor," he said. "I'm just interested in healing folks." He had a deja vu moment of how many times before he'd said that to people.
Kimball's face was cold. He looked past Nathan to Mr. Timmons.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, his southern drawl nearly rendering his words incomprehensible.
Mr. Timmons clutched his stomach. "I'll be better soon. As soon as Dr. Jackson's cure kicks in." The old man took Nathan's hand. "Thank you, sir."
Nathan's brilliant smile was his reply.
Kimball's face was pale. Sam saw it, and looked at Ezra, who stepped toward the man.
"Mr. Kimball," Ezra said. "Perhaps some fresh air?" He led the man outside.
"Whats wrong with him?" Melanie asked, indicating Kimball.
Sam rolled her eyes. "I don't have an exact diagnosis. I reckon he's just crazy."
"How in the world do you explain what was going on in there?" Kimball asked Ezra as soon as they were outside.
Ezra was confused, to say the least. "Mr. Timmons was complaining of stomach ailments..."
"You know what I mean!" Kimball cried. "I would have thought you'd be better than the rest, being as you're from the mother south. But you're just like all the others."
"How, praytell, is that?" Ezra asked, having an idea where the ranting man was going with this.
"So many of our southern brothers died fighting to keep those....animals...from living side by side with us," Kimball growled. "And you, a traitor who claims to be a son of the south, harbours them in your own hotel."
If anyone had been around, they would have found an interesting juxtaposition between the Ezra of three years ago and the one who replied; "Mr. Kimball, I suggest you pack your things and get the hell out of my hotel. Nathan Jackson is a close friend of mine, and in addition to my deep and undying respect for him I will not tolerate your insolent and ignorant intolerance."
Kimball's face went red, and he stormed back into the hotel and up the stairs to his room.
Ezra watched him go, and exhaled deeply.
Kimball went to the livery and got his horse from Yosemite, paying the man. When he'd left the hotel a few minutes earlier, Nathan had still been in the office, discussing something with Samantha Crawford. As much as Kimball had wanted to rip the man's throat out, he'd merely stalked past him and left, and no one had noticed.
He was attaching his bags to his saddle inside the livery when he got an idea. Payback. Revenge. For himself. For the South. Against those damn darkies and the Yankees who harboured them and called them friends and allies.
The idea was born when he heard a voice talking to Yosemite.
"Hey, do you know if Nathan is upstairs? I think my son's arm is broken."
Yosemite spit and then replied. "Nah, he done gone down to the hotel to tend to some hoity-toity old man."
Nathan's clinic was upstairs. No one else was in the livery but Kimball, for Yosemite went with the man who'd spoken to him down to the hotel.
Kimball got on his horse, and rode to the door of the livery. He lit his cigar with a match, then while the match still burned, he threw it on a haybale. Then he rode away, smiling to himself.
Rain had grown tired of waiting for Nathan, she'd unpacked everything and reorganized the medicines a few times. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze, so she curled up in the windowseat and let herself drift off to sleep.
Sam had joined Ezra at the table outside the hotel for a mid-afternoon game of chance. She was winning, Ezra knew it, but it didn't stop him from trying. Someday, he would beat her. No matter what it took. Yosemite had arrived with a little boy whos arm seemed broken and his father, so Nathan had taken them directly into the office and set the boys arm.
Vin Tanner came down the street, sauntering. He tipped his hat at the gathering and came up the stairs so that he was standing directly behind Sam.
"Mr. Tanner," Ezra greeted.
Sam looked over her shoulder and smiled sweetly at him. "I'm winning, in case Ezra's nervous expression doesn't give it away."
Vin nodded. "I could tell that from down the street."
"I should never have been so generous as to give away my secrets," Ezra said, removing his hat and throwing it on the table. "It's not done me a bit of good."
A panicked voice scared them all.
"FIRE!"
The cry spread until many people were screaming and running around.
Vin went into the street and collided with Mary Travis, who was hanging on tightly to her nine year old son Billy.
"It's the livery and Nathan's clinic," she said, frenzied. "I can't find him."
Nathan came out of the hotel and saw the commotion. He, Sam, Melanie, and Ezra, joined Vin and Mary in running down the street toward the hotel.
Buck and Josiah were riding out toward the river, more for a lack of anything better to do than any good reason. Fishing seemed a relaxing way to spend the lovely afternoon.
Josiah took a drink from his canteen. Something was occuring, he could feel it, but couldn't tell what it was.
"Might Jumpy today," Buck noticed. "Something wrong?"
Josiah looked up at the sky. "I don't know, Buck. Maybe."
Buck nodded. He figured that whenever Josiah figured out what was wrong, he'd let him know.
A new scent caught his attention. It wasn't the summer breeze of the plains, or the cigar he was smoking only because Chris had given it to him earlier. It was.....smoke....
"You smell somethin?" Buck asked the preacher. They turned toward the town and saw the flame enveloping the livery. "Good god almighty!" Both men rode back as fast as they could. Had they been looking for him, they would have seen Philip Kimball riding out of town. Seeing the two men racing toward Four Corners, he turned around and saw the fire blazing on the horizon. He puffed on his cigar and smiled to himself, then tapped his heels into his horse and rode on.
Meanwhile, the townspeople were working as hard as they could to stop the blaze and see to it as little damage as possible was done. Yosemite, the livery manager supervised as the twenty or so horses stabled in the livery were rushed out and hurredly led over to behind the saloon, where they wouldn't see the fire and panic. They were tied up quickly, and then those who had been helping rejoined the effort to put out the fire.
Rushing towards the blaze, Nathan felt everything inside him want to freeze. He couldn't stop though, not now. He tried to run past the crowd into the blaze, but Chris stopped him.
"Rain is in there!" Nathan screamed as he ran up the stairs into the fire. The building would collapse soon, and he had to get her out. Once he was told that, Chris stopped trying to hold Nathan back and instead ran into the fire with him.
Ezra, Mary, Sam, Vin, and Melanie were among the townspeople trying to put out the fire, relaying water to the building as fast as possible. All their differences were put aside as they handed each other buckets of water. Catherine and Maude came running and joined in the line of people.
Buck and Josiah galloped into town, left their horses out back and ran into the fray. They joined the line of water-handlers, working as fast as could be.
"Look!" Mary called, pointing up to the door of the clinic, where Nathan and Chris had emerged, Rain lying in Nathan's arms. The two men ran down the stairs as fast as their feet could go and reached the ground just as Nathan's clinic on the top floor of the building fell into the stables at the bottom.
Chris had frozen once he'd gotten out of the fire. Memories of another deadly fire consumed him.
Josiah watched the fire go deeper into the livery and realized what was packed away into a corner of the stables. He knew there was a store of gunpowder.
"Everybody Get Back!" Josiah acted fast and hollered the command as loudly as possible. The townsfolk scattered away from the building. Chris stood in front of the fire, unable to move. He'd never been afraid of anything before, but that moment awoke something in him, and it was like having his home burn all over again. "Chris! Get back!" Josiah called to the man, but he wasn't moving.
Nathan had carried Rain to the alley across the street and laid her on the ground gently. She was still breathing, barely. He heard Josiah's cry and had covered her body with his own.
Ezra had gotten away from the fire quickly, but when he'd seen Chris frozen in the danger zone it was stunned him. When he heard Josiah tell Chris to get back, and Chris didn't respond, Ezra ran as fast as he'd ever run toward the man who had trusted him after Ezra had proven he wasn't worth trust anymore.
Sam saw Ezra run past her toward the fire, and turned to see what he was heading for. Vin saw this and darted to Sam, grabbing her and pulling her away with him.
Mary had lost Chris in the blur of people and the reflections of flames. She ran with Maude and Catherine as soon as she heard Josiah yell and they ducked down the alley between the saloon and the bathhouse, pulling themselves into a huddle.
Ezra reached Chris and tried to pull him back away from the building, but they weren't to safety yet when the building expolded into a fireball, and glass shot out of the windows like bullets.
As the rest of the town watched, Ezra and Chris fell to the ground and disappeared into the smoke. Before anyone could run to their rescue, the thick black smoke had consumed the city. No one could breathe, everyone hit the ground trying to breathe.
The explosion sent Vin and Sam hurling forward and to the ground. Still a little alert, Vin moved toward her and covered her from the shooting glass coming from all directions.
Everything was black. No one could see a hand's reach in front of them. For a few minutes, the townspeople were coughing, gagging, desperate for air.
Then, luckily, a wind came in and seemed to disperse the smoke. Things became clear again. People started to be able to see. All anyone could hear was coughing and choking, and people started looking for their family and friends.
Nathan pulled himself up to kneeling and looked down at Rain. She wasn't moving, but was still breathing raggedly.
"Come on," he urged, pulling her into his arms. "Cough it out, Rain, come on, please." She couldn't die, he wouldn't let her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the piled of rubble that had once been his clinic. He'd lost the clinic. He wasn't going to lose Rain.
Buck had thrown himself behind a barrel when the building had exploded, pulling Melanie Hills and Mrs Potter with him and sheltering them both. As soon as it was clear, he left his place and began looking frantically for the rest of his friends and anyone else who needed help.
Mary was among the first people up, and her first thoughts were with Chris and Ezra. She carefully moved over the people on the ground and went deeper into the smoke, praying her friends were alright.
"Chris!" she called. "Ezra!"
Josiah went into the smoke behind her, seeking the same people. He came across Ezra first, laying face down in the dirt.
Ezra must have passed out for a moment, because he seemed to wake up when Josiah reached him and rolled him over. His eyes fluttered open.
"Chris?" he asked, then coughed. The smoke was deep in his lungs. There were some cuts on his face and hands, Josiah saw these. Ezra looked over to his side, where Chris lay still out. Mary was shaking him and trying to wake him up. Josiah helped Ezra sit up and patted his back to help him breathe.
Chris heard familiar voices, but couldn't place them. All he could see was his son's face the last time he'd told him goodbye. A young, innocent face, looking so much like Chris himself. He'd ridden off and the fire had burned that young face and the face of his wife. It had killed Chris's family and his soul, and at that moment it was trying to take him away.
But a voice was calling him, hands were touching him, and something was bringing him back to earth. He smelled smoke, felt it coming up through his lungs.
Chris Larabee opened his eyes and saw Mary Travis looking down at him. If he could have spoken, he would have told her she looked like an angel. Dodging his eyes over to the side, he saw Josiah and Ezra, awake and moving. He then began to cough.
From where she was, deep inside herself, Rain heard Nathan's voice, felt his arms holding her, and felt something else pulling her away from her body. She wanted to go with it, but heard Nathan say her name.
"Rain, please!" he cried.
Her eyes opened. Rain started coughing. Nathan's face was streaked with tears of fear that were now tears of relief, joy, and love.
Vin slowly pulled himself up to kneeling, and looked around. Everyone was alive, it seemed. He could see that Chris and Ezra were sitting up and moving, at least they seemed alright.
Sam felt Vin's body move, and finally lost all fear of opening her eyes. The town was still smoky, but at least the big things were visible. She rolled over and sat up, looking toward where the livery and clinic had once stood. Now there was just a big pile of lumber with small flames coming from it. It was just going to have to burn itself out.
"You alright?" Vin asked, taking her hand and helping her up.
She looked a little dazed, but nodded. "I'm fine, are you okay? Is anyone hurt?"
There was a patch of soot on her cheek. Vin reached out a hand and gently brushed it off.
"Come on," he said. He didn't let go of her hand. She didnt want him to.
After he emerged from where he'd sheltered himself, Buck was going crazy, he didn't see Sam anywhere and Chris had been engulfed in the fire. Then the smoke cleared and he saw Chris, surrounded by friends, alive and coughing. One relief. Then, as he watched, the rest of his relief washed over him as Sam and Vin joined the group around Chris.
Ezra finally stopped coughing, and quickly checked to make sure nothing on his body was broken, sprained, or missing. With a sigh he realized he was okay. Looking over, so was Chris. The man in black was coughing and sitting up, supported by Mary Travis, her normally pale white skin and hair smudged by soot. Ezra saw Catherine approaching, and the look in her eyes almost made him cry. Catherine dropped down to her knees next to Ezra and threw her arms around him.
"Don't you ever do that again!" she scolded, but he recognized the relief in her voice. "Running into a fire, are you crazy?" He held her tightly, feeling fortunate for everything in the world at that moment. Everyone was alive, though for a moment he'd seen death face to face. He was alive, and there was someone who cared.
Buck made his way to the group of people, and saw Sam. Everyone was alright, it seemed. Chris was alive. Buck had seen Ezra go back into the fire for Chris, though he hadn't believed it at the time.
He approached Ezra and helped him up, supporting him until he could stand, aided only by Catherine who was not letting go of him.
Buck came up behind Sam next. She was standing over Chris, but turned when she noticed him behind her.
"Are you alright?" Buck asked, coming closer to her than he had in ages. Had this been a sign to get over his pigheadedness and get her back?
Sam nodded, keeping the fact that she was thrilled to see him safe inside. "You?"
Buck started to say something, but Chris interrupted the moment.
"Where're Nathan and Rain?" Chris asked, his coughing spell ended and coming back to full life again. He stood up with some assistance. The reason he'd been at the fire in the first place was because he'd followed Nathan in to get Rain. When they'd found her, she'd been passed out over the counter in the clinic.
No one knew.
Nathan took Rain's face in his hands after she'd finished coughing. Her eyes were bloodshot and her skin was pale and damp, but she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. She saw the tears on his face, and smiled.
"Hey now," she greeted in a ragged half-whisper.
"Nathan!" someone called, and he wiped his face quickly and attempted to gather his wits. "Hey Chris! He's in here!" It was Virgil, the shopkeeper, who had found Nathan.
Within moments, the whole town seemed to be gathered around Nathan, holding an alive but very dazed Rain in his arms. Quickly, Rain was taken to a room above the Gazette office where Nathan would try every thing he'd ever learned to make her feel better.
A group of ranchers set to work trying to put out the remains of the fire. Everyone else seemed to be milling around, tending to those who had cuts or were still trying to rid their bodies of the black smoke.
Mary supported Chris, the man was still wobbling a little from taking in so much smoke. She really didn't mind being that close to him, she liked knowing that he was solidly there. It would take more than a fire to kill Chris Larabee. She got him to the boarding house, and made him lay down on his bed. Chris was a little embarrassed, but his head was spinning too much for him to really do anything about it. Mary stayed by his side, keeping him awake and letting him cough when he needed to.
In her mind, Mary had lost him that day, but by the grace of god she'd been given him back. She was not about to let anything happen to him again. She stayed with him, and helped him recover.
Josiah was in with Nathan as he took care of Rain inside a room at the hotel. Deep in Josiah's head ran the question of who had started the fire, in midday, in the middle of town. And did the fact that it was Nathan's clinic have anything to do with it?
Nathan was too focused on helping Rain to wonder about such things. It was a building, no one had been killed, so a building didn't matter.
Vin and Sam helped Catherine get Ezra back to the hotel and onto his bed.
"Check on the guests," Ezra requested from Sam. From the look on her face, she was hesitant to leave him.
"I'll stay with him," the handsome tracker said, and with that assurance Sam left to check the rooms. Then Vin turned to Catherine. "Can we have a minute?"
Catherine understood. "I'll go get some clean water. You two take your time." She made a quick exit.
Ezra looked at Vin, his face was sooted and he had a cut on his cheek.
"Mr. Tanner," Ezra said. "You look terrible."
Vin smiled. "Hell, you look worse than I do." Both men chuckled, and any tension that had existed before was gone. Then Vin grew serious. "You realized you saved Chris's life. If you hadn't pulled him away, he woulda burned."
Shaking his head, Ezra replied in a joking manner. "I don't know what came over me."
"After how everyone's treated you and Sam lately, you still saved Chris," Vin was obviously impressed and slightly shocked. "Of all people, I wouldn't have bet money on those odds. "
Ezra smiled. "Just be grateful it wasn't Buck," he drawled tiredly. "I may have not been so heroic had it been him. I have no battle with Chris, in fact I owe the man as great of a debt of gratitude as I owe you." Vin knew what Ezra meant, the southerner had sworn loyalty to him after the incident with Anabelle Dawson.
Sam stepped back into the room. "Everyone is fine, except that Mr. Kimball is gone," she informed Ezra. "He left his money on his bed and disappeared." She thought that was insanely weird, to just leave so quickly and without a word after being so forward and friendly with both herself and Ezra.
"Kimball.." Ezra realized, putting all the pieces together. Of course, the man had arrived in town intending to stay for what should have been at least another few days. The devout Southerner probably felt he had every reason to try and avenge the people who'd wronged him. Unfortunately, Nathan happened to be a black man. In a flash, Ezra knew who had started the fire. He tried to get out of bed, but Vin and Sam stopped him.
Sam wouldn't let him stand up. "Whoa," she said.
"Easy pard," Vin tried to make him lay back down.
Ezra refused, shaking his head. "No, you don't understand. It was Kimball. Kimball started the fire."
"Kimball?" Vin asked, looking at Sam. He'd never heard the name before, and wondered if Ezra was crazy from the smoke or if there was some truth to his words.
She nodded. "He was a guest here. Arrived yesterday. Very wealthy seeming, and very southern."
Ezra grabbed Vin's coat. "I am embarrassed to say he was indeed a typical Southern boy. Made a few comments about which side he felt should have reigned victorious in that little war a while back. He was quite disturbed by Nathan being the town's medical expert." Even at the brink of passing out, Ezra was still talking in his verbose manner.
Rain was asleep. Finally. She was alert, and seemed fine, but was sleepy. Nathan left the room, closing the door behind him and went outside. He found Buck and Josiah looking concerned.
"She'll be alright," Nathan informed them. He went outside the hotel and looked down the street to where the clinic and livery had been once upon a time. What a day it had been. Josiah and Buck went with him.
"Boys, I think we may have some idea as to why the fire started," Vin said, as he and Sam came up behind the gathered men. "Or rather, who started it."
Nathan whirled. "Who?" Given the chance, he was perfectly willing to lose his normally level head and get 'Old Testament' as Josiah often referred to it.
"Philip Kimball," Sam said. "He was a guest here. Arrived yesterday, and he's gone now. He left money on hs bed and disappeared."
Vin nodded. "I talked to Yosemite, he said Mr. Kimball had come to get his horse. Said it seemed like he was sneaking away."
"Why would he do this?" Josiah saw Nathan getting angry, having a face to put to his feelings. Josiah was holding himself in until they had proof. He put a hand on Nathan's shoulder.
Sam blushed a little. "He was very Southern. Ezra said he was talkin' about how the south was wronged by the outcome of the war and all. "
"He headed west," Vin said. "We can track him, still plenty of light. He's only got a few hours lead. We can get him." He wanted to get this man, as revenge for Nathan's loss.
Nathan looked around for a moment. Thinking it over, he looked again at the pile of burnt lumber and realized it wasn't an option. They had to catch the man. "What are we waiting for?" he asked.
"We ride," Vin said.
Maude came up the group, sooted from head to toe and completely unaware of it. It was very unlike this delicate and fashionable woman "Boys, is everything alright? Is anyone hurt? Where's Ezra?"
Sam looked at her. "He's upstairs, Catherine's with him, he's fine."
"And Rain?" Maude asked, looking fearfully at Nathan.
"She's going to be alright," Nathan informed her. "Ms. Standish, could you keep an eye on Rain? She's asleep upstairs. We're going after the bastard who did this."
"Why of course I will, darlin'" Maude said. Nathan looked at her, and saw the big difference in the world. Maude, southern as can be, was helping him. She was a friend, as was Ezra. "You hunt him down."
Buck turned to Sam. "You comin with us?" She looked up at him, stunned he was addressing her and that he was including her. "You've seen what he looks like, you know the man."
Sam nodded immediately. "Absolutely."
Buck turned to Maude. "If you could let Mrs. Travis know where we're going.."
Maude shooed them off. "Don't worry about a thing, you just go catch the son of a bitch!"
Hurriedly, the ragtag posse headed for their horses.
Sam couldn't believe she was galloping across the prairie with Buck, Vin, Nathan, and Josiah. She felt like part of the team. And the fact that Buck had included her. She looked over at him, and he winked at her.
Nathan and Vin led the pack, Vin tracking the hoofprints all the way. Nathan's mind ran off with the worse things that could have happened. Other buildings could have caught fire. Chris, Ezra, and Rain in addition to others could have been killed. He didn't want any other man in his position to ever be victim to this Philip Kimball ever again. He was going to catch the man and show him what kind of anger fear could brew.
"Looks like he's headed to Eagle Bend," Vin said, slowing down the horses for a few minutes to rest.
Eagle Bend, a city they were all familiar with. Looking around, Vin saw everyone lost in their own thoughts. Nathan looked cold and furious, riding ahead of everyone.
Vin turned to the other three. "I'd keep an eye on Nathan way once we find him. No telling what he may do." Everyone agreed.
They reached Eagle Bend in a few more hours and formulated their plan. Josiah and Sam set out into the town, which was remarkably like Four Corners, looking for the culprit. The corral for Eagle Bend's livery was right in the center of the town, so Buck, Vin, and Nathan remained there, waiting.
It didn't take long for Josiah to give a whistle, which they all followed to the dancehall at the other edge of town. Josiah was waiting across the street and indicated inside. Sam peeked from the alley around the corner from the dancehall.
They waited, and sure enough, about fifteen minutes later Philip Kimball emerged, smoking a cigar and dressed in new finery. Nathan nudged Buck, who stood up.
Kimball began walking away from the dancehall. With perfect timing, Sam emerged and called out to him.
"Mr. Kimball," Sam called, a big flirtatious smile on her face. Kimball stopped and turned, then adjusted his collar after he saw it was her. His face turned into a big smile.
Sam wanted to laugh at him again. Men could be so stupid sometimes. She'd perfected this act by now, it was what she used to try and win over every man who came to the hotel, the perfect hostess act.
Buck watched with pride as Sam approached Kimball, batting her eyelashes and flipping her hair. Watching, Buck realized how much he'd missed her.
"Ah, Miss Crawford!" Kimball replied, coming toward the young woman. "How wonderful to see you here, though I will say the hotel here is a far cry from your fine establishment." He took her hand and kissed it deeply.
"Don't move, Kimball," Vin said, coming out from the shadows and pressing his Winchester to Kimball's back. The Southerners eyes grew wide as Sam pulled her hand away from him.
As he realized what was pressed to his back, and Buck, Josiah and Nathan emerged from their waiting places, Kimball grew increasingly nervous. His smile faded from his face. "And I see you brought some friends with you, how delightful....heh heh." He tried to chucke, feign cheer, but his voice cracked.
Josiah stepped in front of Sam to face Kimball, towering over the man. "You seem a little nervous. Doesn't he seem nervous to you, Nathan?"
Nathan spoke with coldness radiating from his always warm eyes. "Sure does."
"Oh, would you look at the time?" Kimball looked at his pocketwatch. "I hate to run, but-"
Nathan grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall. "Where do you think you're going?"
Kimball's face grew into a sneer. "I am only going to tell you once to take your hands off of me."
"Before what?" Nathan asked, it was a challenge.
Kimball punched him in the stomach. Nathan doubled back a little, but recovered quickly and threw Kimball back to the wall, drawing his gun and pressing the barrel to the white man's chest. His jaw was locked, eyes raged with fury, and he was willing to pull the trigger at that moment and end it all.
"Nathan," Vin said, taking the gun barrel in his hand. "Let him go, he'll go to Yuma Prison."
"Like any jury in the country would convict a war hero," Kimball's defense was weak, but his ego was inflated beyond any point where he could see that.
Buck smiled. "Mister, we are the jury. And the sheriffs. And the judges. And you're going to jail for a long, long time."
Nathan still held the gun firm to Kimball's chest. In his head, he saw Rain in his arms, dying. Vin stood on one side of him, holding Nathan's gun in his hand. Josiah stepped up to his other side.
"No one died, Nathan," Josiah muttered. "You shoot him, you're worse than he is. I know your conscience doesn't want that praying on it forever."
Nathan heard the preachers words, and then saw Rain in his mind. Her beautiful eyes opening and her breath coming back to normal. She was alive, and Josiah was right. He let Vin take his gun.
Buck and Josiah pulled Kimball out of Nathan's way and Buck quickly tied his hands up. With Josiah's help, they started leading Kimball away from the crowd that was gatherine.
"You alright?" Vin asked Nathan, coming toward the man who hadn't moved from the spot he stood in. He'd seen that kind of anger before. Hell, he'd been that kind of angry before, and it was hard and all-consuming.
Sam walked up to Nathan, also. She took his hand, and he looked down at her and managed to nod. The old Nathan was coming back. "It's just a building," Nathan said to himself, but Vin heard it. "A building ain't nothin' that can't be rebuilt." Nathan knew he'd thank god every day for the rest of his life. Like so many times before, the hand of prejudice had reached into his life. This time, luckily, it had pulled away an empty hand.