The aroma of cooking beef summoned Vin back to the world of the living. It was just after noon. Eighteen hours of sleep had done enough to see him feel more like himself for the first time in three weeks. As Tanner rolled over, his stomach loudly announced its discontent. It had been empty for far too long.

Larabee appeared above him. “Hungry?”

“Reckon so. That smells damn good.”

Chris smiled. “I’m glad something does. Why don’t you go down to the creek and wash up.”

Vin scowled good naturedly and pulled himself up. An unconscious groan echoed out of him. He began to cough. It was a bark that came from deep down in his lungs. Larabee frowned but said nothing. For a moment, Vin paused and then swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Chris refrained from offering help, knowing that it probably wouldn't have been accepted graciously. Vin stood and moved stiffly out of the cabin holding up his trousers with his right hand. Earlier, he had removed his belt to make himself more comfortable. Unfortunately, without it, the pants swam on him.

“You limping?”

“Feet are sore. Boots weren’t mine and the damn things rubbed me raw.” Tanner continued on his way with only woolen socks on his feet. Chris snorted and then moved back to the stove. Through the window, he watched Vin head toward the livery to check on Peso. Tanner paused, his attention captured by something to his right.

Vin’s brow furrowed. He stared. Turning, he slowly walked up to the small wooden cross standing alone under a tree. The young man stopped directly in front of it. There were still a lot of words he couldn’t read, but he sure as hell recognized his own name. For several seconds, he just stood looking intently at the piece of wood.

Footsteps.

Chris stopped beside him. The two men stood shoulder to shoulder, both absorbed by what the symbol represented.

“I’m sorry,” Vin whispered.

“It doesn’t matter. You’re here.”

Vin shook his head. It did matter. He didn’t know what to say. He had recognized that Larabee would think he was dead, but he hadn’t expected this. He could only imagine what his friend had gone through. If it had been the other way around, and he had thought that Chris had died... Tanner couldn’t even finish the thought.

The pale tracker stepped forward, grabbed the cross, yanked it out of the ground and tossed it to the side. There was no anger in the movement, but there was a very real finality. “Won’t be needin’ that, Cowboy. I ain’t lookin’ on goin’ nowhere for a while.” Tanner clapped Chris on the upper arm as he turned and continued on to the barn. The words themselves were soft and the tone reflected the emotion he felt.

Chris released a long breath. The cross he couldn’t quite remember constructing, lay discarded several feet from him. The gunfighter walked up and stamped down in the middle of it. Finality! The release of anger felt good. The splintering sound of the timber echoed the release of tension in Larabee’s body. Until now, he really hadn’t considered anything except the fact that his best friend was home.

Behind him, he heard Vin whistle. Chris glanced across at the tracker. Vin was standing outside the opening to the barn he had helped to erect. A clattering sound from the small building caused Larabee to grin. Buck and J.D. had brought Peso back with them the night before. The black and white horse trotted out of the stable and jammed its head into Vin’s chest.

“Easy, there, fella. You’ll knock me over.” The horse dipped its head again and shoved Vin. “Yeah, it’s good to see you too.” Vin caressed the animal fondly. “Come on, lets go for a walk down to the creek. Larabee reckons I smell. Of course, he can talk!”

Chris’ grin matured into a full smile. He watched his friend, dressed in a pair of black trousers five sizes too big for him, a white shirt four sizes too large and black woolen socks, make his way down to the small creek, all the while clinging to his pants and cursing them with passion.

Larabee’s chest quivered. He suddenly found himself overcome by the realization that Vin was alive. No, it wasn’t that. It was the realization that he had believed that Vin had been dead. Now, it was like Vin had never left. For several days after the gunfighter had been told that his best friend was gone, he had clung to the hope that somehow Vin had made it to the bank and was laying there hurt just waiting for help to arrive. A thorough search of the shore over the course of a week, had pushed those hopes aside... and yet, unconsciously Chris had never truly accepted that Vin was dead. Something deep down inside of him had refused to let go. It was more than just his need to have Vin around. It was something else. Something he and Vin had shared from the very first look they had exchanged. They had a connection and while logic had insisted that Vin was dead, and Chris had allowed himself to acknowledge it, Larabee had still been able to sense the connection. A connection that had forced him to continue to look for his friend on the plain leading to Four Corners despite reason and common sense dictating that it was impossible for Vin to appear there - but he had.

Ten minutes later, Vin returned, stabled his horse and climbed the stairs.

“Damn, that smells good, Chris.”

“You have a bath?”

“In your ass, Larabee.”

“Sit down. How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” the gaunt man answered a little too quickly for Larabee’s liking. Vin still wasn’t a good colour.

“Vin?”

“Mind your own damn business and serve the food.” Chris snorted and spooned the broth into a bowl. He walked across and placed it in front of Vin.

Tanner stared down at the watery brew, looked up at Chris with what could only be described as shocked horror and then directed his attention to the bowl. “You got to be kiddin’. Broth! You know I hate broth. What’s wrong with that beef over there?”

“You haven’t eaten in days. I doubt you’ll be able to keep anything solid down.”

“How about you let me worry about that?”

“Eat the broth.”

Vin glanced up at his friend, rose to his feet with defiance, walked across to the bench and hoed into the beef.

“You’ll be sick.”

“What a way to go,” Tanner commented, his mouth full of food.

Chris knew Nathan would have a fit if he saw this, but seeing Vin up and about left the gunfighter unable to think of anything but his relief and contentment.

“Buck and J.D. brought your things out. Looks like there’s some clothes there and your boots.”

Vin nodded. “Gun?”

“Yeah, it’s there.”

“Can I ask you somethin’?” Chris waited. “Where’s your holster?” Vin inquired, inclining his head toward the hook the guns usually hung on.

“Gordon and his mob rode in here yesterday. Took them.” Tanner was so shocked by the news that he began choking. Larabee casually reached for Vin’s mug of water on the table and handed it to him.

After a quick swig to settle his throat, Vin spluttered, “Took them?”

“Yeah.”

Vin stared at his best friend confused. “You hurt?”

“No, just outnumbered,” Larabee offered simply.

“I’m supposed to accept that?” Tanner stared at his friend trying to make sense of the situation. “You hurt?” he demanded again. The only way anyone would have got Chris’ gun was if the gunfighter had been badly injured.

“Took my rifle, horse, boots, saddle and hat.”

Vin’s left eyebrow peaked. “So you weren’t here when they came and robbed you?” But even that didn’t make sense. Chris wouldn’t have gone anywhere without his guns. “You weren’t here?” Vin repeated.

“I guess not,” Chris answered quietly.

Tanner still looked baffled.

“It’s not important,” the older man insisted.

“Not important? He stole your horse and your guns and it’s not important? You ain’t makin’ sense.”

“I had other things on my mind,” Chris whispered.

Instantly, Vin dropped his face as realization finally dawned. Everything was starting to make sense. The way Chris was dressed. The fact that Larabee didn’t look like he’d shaved or eaten in three weeks. The condition of the cabin. “Hell, I’m sorry, Chris. I couldn’t get ’em to understand that I needed to send a wire. Tried to get up earlier but my damn legs...”

“Vin, it’s alright.”

“But it’s not!” Tanner exploded. “I promised I’d be here to protect your back when you needed me and... hell, you could have been killed!”

“But I wasn’t.”

“Doesn’t change anything!”

“I should do something about getting my stuff back, I suppose.”

“Reckon ‘we’ should.”

“I lost them, I can get them back.”

“I weren’t offerin’ to come.” I’m tellin’ ya, I’m coimin’!

Bugger what Nathan says. “Chris, I’m fine. I know I probably don’t look it. I was powerful sick for a while, but I’m okay now. Really.”

Larabee pursed his lips. “So, have you finished all of my lunch?”

Vin glanced at the plate of beef he had been stuffing himself from. It was almost empty. “Try the broth. I’m told it’s good.”

A half smirk lit of the older man’s face. “Between you and Buck, it’s amazing I have any food at all.”

“So, Nathan’s not in town?” Vin asked, shoveling more of the beef into his mouth.

“Went off to visit Raine.”

“By now, Buck will have told the other boys I’m okay?”

“Josiah’s spending a few days with Kojay - some spiritual festival. And Ezra’s in Brenton.”

Vin raised an eyebrow. “Only leaves the three of you to keep an eye on things. So what are you goin’ to do for a horse?”

“I’ve got a couple of ponies down in the far paddock. One of them will do until I go and ask for mine back.”

“We go and ask for him back.”

“Maybe.”

“You got anythin’ to drink?”

“Water or coffee?”

“Nothin’ stronger?” Larabee frowned. Vin didn’t make a habit of drinking during the day. A clear head was essential if any bounty hunters caught up with him.

“How bad are you hurting?”

Tanner turned his back to finish the plate of food.

“Vin? How bad are you hurting?”

“Just feel like a drink.”

Larabee strode across to his friend and waited for Vin to look at him. “I’m not asking again.”

“Good.”

Chris continued to stare at his stubborn friend.

“Alright! I’m just achy is all. You know how you feel after bein’ sick.” Larabee reached for Vin’s brow, but Tanner batted the hand away impatiently.

“So where are my clothes?”

“I’m only going to ask you once, are you okay?”

Vin heard the anger and was ready to ignore it, but he had identified the twang of concern there as well. The younger man sighed. “I feel like shit, okay. But I ain’t hurt and I ain’t sick anymore. Just feelin’ miserable because I’m aching all over.”

“Get back in the bed.”

“Chris, I was bein’ honest with you. I’m fine. Reckon I just need to move around a bit. Feel all stiff.” Larabee studied his face. “Really, Chris.”

“You look like hell.”

“You don’t look much better. Look, Chris, will you relax. I’m okay. Really. I give you my word.”

“That’s good enough for me.”

“Good, now where are my clothes? Want to put some decent pants on. Lucky I stripped off my boots and coat before I dived in. Hey, the little girl? You said that Buck got her?”

“Yeah. The entire family are safe thanks to you.”

“The way I remember it, there were seven of us out there.” Tanner and Larabee shared a silent look.

Vin was the first to turn away. His guilt kept rising up and he just didn’t know how to deal with it. “Hey, them Quakers must have kept my clothes. Don’t know what they’d want them for. They all dress the same. Soon as I’m dressed, we’ll shave and then head off and find that Gordon fella.”

“We’ll shave?”

“You’re a scary bastard at the best of times, Chris, but you look a right mongrel at the moment.” Chris elbowed the younger man with apparent disgust as he moved to retrieve the articles Buck had brought out for the tracker.

Vin just grinned and accepted his clothes as they were thrust at him. “I won’t be long and then we’ll set off to get your things back.”

“I don’t remember asking you along.”

“I don’t remember havin’ to wait for an invitation.”

**********

Vin pulled his boots on gingerly. The ones he had borrowed had left his feet blistered and bleeding. Standing up, he noted that Larabee too had changed. The gunfighter was now dressed in black, his duster billowing out behind him in the breeze that was filtering through the door.

“Where you goin’?” Tanner asked, climbing to his feet.

“Want my hat back.”

“Like I said, I don’t think it’s a job for one man.”

“Oh?”

Vin raised first one finger representing Chris and then a second to represent himself.

Larabee smiled and nodded. The two set off to saddle their horses.

**********

“Mr. Wilmington, you seem very cheerful today,” the bartender commented.

“I got a lot to be cheerful about,” Buck boomed, tipping the glass of whisky to his lips.

“Mr. Larabee is doing better?”

“Mr. Larabee is back to his old self.”

“I see.” He didn’t actually, but then he wasn’t about to ask for clarification.

**********

“Do you have to go? Couldn’t you stay a little longer? Until the end of the week?” Raine pleaded.

Nathan shook his head. “Been away too long as it is. Chris needs us at the moment.”

“I need you.”

Nathan turned the young woman and drew her in. “I know, but at the moment... with Vin gone...”

“I understand.”

**********

“Perhaps you should return. Your mind is not here,” Kojay stated.

“I don’t believe it would matter where I was at the moment, my mind is with a friend lost and another friend who wants to join him.”

The elderly Indian sighed. “If you are a true friend, then you should allow him to make his own decision. If being with his brother is where he knows he needs to be, then you should not stand in his way.”

“I wish it were that easy.”

**********

“So where are you from?”

Ezra glanced up at the speaker and snapped irritably, “Does it matter?”

“Just making conversation, friend.”

“I’m sorry. I haven’t been myself lately. At present, I am from the humble metropolis of Four Corners.”

“Oh. That’s the place that hired seven guns to look after them.”

One of the other three men at Ezra’s table nodded. “I’ve heard of them. Leader is Chris Larabee.”

“So you know them?”

Ezra was lost somewhere in thought. Talk of his friends sent his mind back... back to that point when Vin had disappeared under the water for the final time.

“Standish? Standish?”

“I’m sorry,” Ezra apologised, returning to the present.

“Do you know them seven guns?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact I do.”

“Heard one of them drowned a few weeks back. The fool jumped into...”

Ezra dived at the speaker, his hands encircling the other’s throat! “That fool gave his life for a child!”

“Hey, settle down,” one of the other men cried.

“I’m sorry,” Ezra’s victim squeaked. “I didn’t mean to...”

Ezra shoved the other man away and then sank down into his chair. “That fool,” he whispered emotionally, “was a friend of mine.”

**********

Peso whinnied with excitement. It had been far too long since he'd been ridden. The huge black horse continued to move about as Vin tried to buckle the saddle in place.

“Stand still, damn you,” Vin growled.

Chris saddled one of the ponies he usually kept in the far paddock. The gunfighter moved slowly, his mind elsewhere. After all that had happened, he had realized a number of things. “Vin there’s something I’ve got to say.” His voice was soft and bathed in emotion. This was not going to be easy.

“Damn it, Chris, didn’t you exercise this damn horse while I was away?“ Tanner continued to struggle with the huge black steed.

“Vin.”

“I swear, I’ll shoot you!” Vin snarled at the animal.

“Vin.”

“Stand still!”

“Vin.” Chris had finally realized that his friend was avoiding the conversation. No doubt Vin had sensed what it was going to be about. “Vin, please.”

Tanner turned, took one look at Larabee‘s face and then returned to fighting his horse. “Aww hell, Chris. Don’t be going all misty on me. Ain’t right for no one to be gettin’ themselves all worked up over the likes of me.”

Chris stepped forward and took Vin’s two shoulders and turned his friend to face him. He couldn’t believe his ears. Was Vin’s opinion of himself that poor? “The likes of you? Do you have any idea what...”

“Don’t!” Tanner dropped his face. He didn’t want to hear this.

“Vin, I haven‘t been one much for words since I lost, Sarah. Like you said, I barely say three in a day, but I need to...”

Abruptly, Vin dragged himself free of Larabee’s grasp. “Dammit, Chris. Don’t you get it?”

Chris stared at the young man who was glaring back at him with an equal amount of anger and hurt.

“I got a bounty on my head and sooner or later someone is gonna collect. I don’t want you to get caught up in that. I never should have stayed this long! I should have moved on before...”

“Before you made any friends?” Chris accused. Larabee felt he was beginning to understand. Vin cared and that terrifed the young man who knew that the bounty on his head meant he couldn't afford to invest in anyone. He cared enough to want to protect his friends from the curse that was his life.

“I don’t want your or any of the boys‘ deaths to be my fault, so just let it go. We'll go and get your things and leave it at that.”

“Leave it at that?” Larabee whispered. To protect those who meant something to him, Vin appeared prepared to turn his back on everything. It was time for Chris to let his best friend know that he wasn't going to get out of it that easily.

Vin turned back to Peso and began to struggle with the buckle again. “Chris, don’t get used to having me around. I’ll have to move on shortly. You and me, we’re just two men riding the same path for a few weeks, nothing more.”

Larabee saw red. He grabbed Vin by the arm, spun him around and rocketed his fist into the smaller man’s jaw. Tanner flew backwards, Peso dancing to the side out of the firing line. “That’s just to get your attention!” the gunfighter snarled, his hands clenched into fists.

Vin started up at the enraged man dumbfounded. “What the hell was that for?”

“How dare you? How dare you take it upon yourself to decide how I should feel!”

“Chris...”

“Shut-up and listen! I know that every word you just said is crap... and so do you. It’s too late for either of us because we’re both used to having each other ‘round. And as for the bullshit about you and me just being two men riding the same path for a few weeks... “ Chris began to calm. The shock in Vin’s blue eyes dissolved the rest of the gunfighter’s anger. Chris took a deep breath and then offered his hand. Vin eyed it and allowed the gunfighter to pull him to his feet.

“I never wanted your friendship either, Vin. I never intended staying this long. And like you, I’d like to be able to go back to having no ties. No one to worry or care about, but it’s too late for that because I do care. I care about J.D. and his infernal enthusiasm; Josiah and his boring stories; Ezra and his never ending get-rich schemes; Buck and his stupid animal magnetism; Nathan and Mary and Billy. I care about all of them and I wish to God I didn’t. They are a part of my life now and even if I wanted to, I couldn’t push them out.” Chris paused to collect himself. “They’re my friends, but you...“ Larabee’s voice dropped to a whisper. His emotions rose up and consumed him. Chris Larabee was not a man who spoke his emotions out aloud, but he had decided that it was necessary on this one occasion. Vin needed to hear these words. “But you’re my brother, Vin Tanner. If I had my choice, you probably wouldn’t be the person I’d chose, but I’m stuck with you, and whether you like it or not, you stubborn, selfless, stupid, pigheaded bastard, you’re stuck with me. And if one or two, or a &*%@ing hundred bounty hunters come for you, I’ll be right beside you. Not because I want to be, but because I need to be. And if you choose to ride away, it won’t change the way I feel... or the way you feel.”

Tanner dropped his face. The two men stood in silence for several moments. “When I went under, I knew you'd dive in after me and I cursed you for everything you were worth.”

Chris reached and squeezed Vin’s shoulder. The gesture carried a great deal of affection.

Tanner raised his face. “You’re wrong, you know. I don’t want to go back to havin’ no ties. Reckon I like havin’ five good friends and one bastard of a... brother.“

Their arms snapped together. Nothing on the planet would ever change the sacred pledge and bond these two men shared. Brothers by actions. Brothers by emotion. Brothers in every sense of the word, except blood, but that didn’t dull the connection they shared. Their eyes accosted one another as the two men searched the other’s soul.

What followed was an action that was almost out of character for Chris Larabee. Still gripping Vin’s hand, he wrapped his other arm around the tracker and drew him in. Four words from his soul were whispered. Four words that Vin understood and reciprocated. Four words that would never again need to be said. The two men stepped apart, but the strengthened bond was still symbolized by their laced arms.

“What the hell do you mean if you had your choice, I wouldn’t be the person you’d choose?” Vin demanded, his eyebrows drawing down in concentration.

Chris grinned, dropped his companion’s arm and turned to his horse. “Reckon I’d pick someone that bathes.”

“I bathe!”

“Not nearly often enough.”

“In your ass, Chris. I smell just fine.”

Larabee glanced back over his shoulder and watched the younger man lower his face to his sleeve.

“Ain’t nothing wrong with the way I smell,“ Vin muttered as he pulled himself up into the saddle.

“According to you? Reckon you should get a second opinion.”

Tanner scowled and tried to suppress the grin that was forcing itself onto his face. “Come on, Cowboy. If we’re gonna get your things back, we better go find us some help.”

“I know a man who can help,” Chris stated, mounting his horse. “If we can get him out of bed.”

Vin lost the battle with the muscles in his mouth and a smile radiated from his pale face as fond memories of the day they had met flooded back. “I know a man, too. Good man. Useful in a fight because he can ride and he can shoot.”

“Fly and swim too, I hear.”

“That’s him.” Vin spurred Peso off. Chris flicked his eyes to the broken cross on the ground and then urged his horse after the disappearing tracker.

**********

J.D hammered the last shingle into place. While midday, the sun did not hold a great deal of heat. Winter was certainly on the way. Taking a long deep breath, the youth scanned the countryside below him. He had spent almost two hours repairing the aging roof of Nettie Wells’ small cottage. Normally Vin would have handled such things but everyone thought the tracker was gone. J.D. now knew that wasn’t true, but Chris' decision to hold that information from public knowledge meant J.D. couldn't share the best news he'd ever had.

The young sheriff had found keeping the confidence one of the most difficult things he'd ever done. Nettie Wells loved Vin like her own son and it had almost killed her when Casey had passed on the news that Vin had been lost to the river. Vin and the elderly lady had become close from the moment they first met. It had been a mutual attraction - and since then, a clash of wills. Both were stubborn, rough around the edges, but with generous souls and kind hearts. Nettie reminded Vin of his mother and Vin was the son the elderly lady had always wanted. Each filled a missing part of the other’s life. It wasn’t as if they spent a great deal of time together - probably less than a couple of hours a week, but the time was precious to both.

“J.D? You finished?” Casey shouted. “Aunt Nettie’s got lunch ready.”

“Yeah, I’m finished. Coming down now.” J.D. dreaded lunch. Sitting there watching Nettie and knowing that she was mourning the loss of Vin - Vin who was alive. The sheriff had tried to draw out the repairs as long as he could so he didn’t have to face Nettie’s hollow eyes and whispered voice. He had never heard the tough old woman speak so softly. She had aged considerably in the past three weeks. J.D. longed to tell her everything was okay - that Vin was alive, but the youth would never consider betraying Larabee’s confidence. Vin needed time to recover, J.D. had seen that for himself.

J.D. slid to the edge of the roof and climbed down.

“You better go wash up,” Casey insisted. The regulator nodded and headed toward the well. “Didn’t think repairing a few shingles would take so long!“

“Wanted to make sure I did it right.“

“Yeah, well, we’ve got part of a fence down on the other side of the barn. Needs fixin’.“

“I’ll take a look after lunch.“ J.D. scooped the water from the bucket and washed his smudged face. How did Vin do it? The tracker had taken on looking after all of the repairs on Nettie’s property. Unfortunately, everything was getting old and needed replacing. From what J.D. had seen, Vin had been systematically restoring each thing that had broken or worn out.

J.D. splashed his face with water, reflecting on the lunch that would follow. The food would be delicious, but the fact that he felt like he was letting Nettie suffer, even if Chris thought it was necessary, just didn’t sit well with him. As the youth opened his eyes, he spotted two riders approaching. Instinctively, his hand descended to his holster and he blinked furiously to clear his vision. As his hazel eyes focused, a relieved smile formed on his face. The two figures were familiar and unmistakable.

“J.D., there are riders comin’!” Casey warned, rushing across to him.

“Yeah, I can see them.”

Casey squinted at the pair as they drew closer. “Vin?” The girl’s face flushed with shock. “J.D.! It’s Vin! Look!” Casey couldn’t believe her eyes. “Nettie! Aunt Nettie, it’s Vin! He‘s alive!”

Nettie Wells stepped out on the porch. When she had heard Casey cry Vin’s name, her aging heart had missed a beat.

“Nettie! Nettie! Look! It’s Vin and Chris!”

Nettie followed her niece’s pointing finger. A choked whisper escaped her parched throat. A trembling hand came up to cover her mouth. “Vin.”

Tanner and Larabee rode in casually, as they usually did. Casey raced up to the pair. When Vin dismounted, the teenager threw her arms around him and began to jump up and down.

“Easy there, Casey... Casey.” The girl kept leaping around clutching him so tightly that Vin was finding it difficult to extricate himself. “Come on, now. Casey. It’s good to see you, but you gotta let me go.”

J.D. wandered up to Chris. Larabee grinned at the young man.

“Boy, am I pleased to see you two. I was starting to feel the pressure.” Chris clapped the youth’s arm. J.D. grinned. It was a long time since he had seen Chris this relaxed.

“You feelin’ better, Chris?”

Larabee drew his eyebrows down, the smile leaving his face.

“I mean... what I meant was... “

Chris winked at the youth. “I’m feelin’ just fine.” With that, the gunfighter turned to check Vin’s progress in releasing himself from the ecstatic Casey who was determined to let the tracker know just how much he'd been missed. Vin had freed himself and was walking toward the house where Nettie was standing on the porch, her hand still covering her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Tanner stepped up onto the bottom step. “I’m sorry, Nettie.”

The elderly woman reached out slowly and laid her hand on his cheek. Her eyes ran over every inch of his face. “They told me you were dead,” she whispered.

“Reckon I probably came close. Just wasn’t my time.” Nettie’s composure left her. Her tears became sobs of relief.

Vin stepped up onto the next step and put his arms around the trembling woman. “Don’t cry, Nettie. I’m okay. Hell spat me back. Weren’t ready for me yet.”

It was some time before Nettie calmed. Vin held her, his guilt once again overwhelming him. “I’m sorry, Nettie. I tried to get back sooner, but...”

Nettie reached up and placed her fingers to his lips. She took a couple of deep breaths to compose herself and then set her face with apparent annoyance. “Three weeks! What, you couldn’t find a telegraph?”

“Nettie,” Chris stated in a low deep voice as he approached the pair. “He’s been sick.”

The elderly woman studied Vin’s face and immediately saw evidence of Larabee’s claim. “Then what the hell were you thinkin’ allowing him to ride over here? He should be in bed. You boys go fetch Nathan. I hear he‘s due back today.”

“Nettie, I’m fine.”

“Codwallop! Get inside. And don’t argue with me, I ain’t in no mood for your lip, Vin Tanner.”

“But, Nettie...”

“Move!” The elderly woman took a handful of Vin’s buckskin coat and dragged him toward the door.

Vin shot a look at Larabee. Are you just goin’ to stand there? I could use a hand!

Chris grinned and watched as Nettie shoved Vin into the cabin ahead of her, his mild protests filling the air.

“He hasn’t got a chance,” Casey giggled.

“What about Nathan?” J.D. asked.

“When he arrives, I’ll send him out here. Vin’s in good hands.” Chris knew that if anyone could keep Vin in a bed where Larabee was fairly certain he should be, it would be Nettie Wells.

Inside, Vin continued to argue that he looked worse than he felt.

“You are grey,” Nettie insisted.

“But I feel fine.”

“Not from what I can see.”

Vin stepped up to the elderly lady and grinned. “I’m fine. Really. And I have to go. Chris was robbed yesterday. They took his horse and his guns. I have to help him get them back.”

“Let the other’s help him... no, you can’t do that, can you?” Nettie murmured. It was one of the many qualities about the young man that she loved him for. He was loyal to a fault.

“No, Ma’am, I can’t. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

She assessed his condition with her eyes. He didn’t look well, but she knew Chris Larabee well enough to know he wouldn’t have allowed Vin on a horse if he thought his best friend needed to be in bed. Besides, if they were headed for Four Corners, Nathan would take one look at Vin when he returned and the healer would have a fit. Such a thought caused the elderly lady to smile.

“Well, don’t you go gettin’ yourself killed before I can give you a piece of my mind.” Tanner smiled, tipped his hat and started for the door.

Nettie laid her hand on his arm, reached up and kissed him on the cheek. “I missed you, boy.”

Vin winked. "Reckon you got a soft spot for me?" he chuckled.

“Go, on," Nettie bristled, shoving him toward the door. "But you promise me that you’ll let Nathan have a look at you.”

“Don’t reckon I’ll have a lot of choice.”

“Good. And the moment you get back from getting Larabee‘s things, you better get yourself out here. I’ve got a few choice things I want to say to you about letting an old lady like me think you were dead. How the hell am I supposed to fix that fence on my own?” Vin smiled, tipped his hat again and then left.

Nettie sank down into the closest chair and clasped her hands. The tears started in earnest, but not tears of shock or sadness - tears of pure joy.

Chris was just mounting his horse as the tracker reappeared. “You fixin’ on leavin’ without me, Larabee?”

“I wasn’t about to argue with her,” Chris stated. He honestly had thought Nettie would be able to make Vin rest.

“We gotta get your things back.”

“Huh?” J.D. asked. He had intended staying on to fix the fence, but this sounded a little more interesting.

“Chris was robbed yesterday. They stole his saddle, horse, guns, boots, spurs, rifle and hat.”

“They took your hat?” J.D.’s expressive eyes lit up with unadulterated shock.

Larabee’s face descended into hell. His voice took on the quality that saw grown men run from him in fear. “They took my hat.”

“We’re gonna go and ask them for it back,” Vin informed J.D. as he mounted Peso. “You interested in comin’ along?”

“You bet!” The youth raced off to the barn and re-appeared in the saddle less than ten seconds later. Tanner turned to Larabee and raised his clenched fist. Abruptly, three fingers were flicked free.

Chris nodded, grinned and then urged his horse toward Four Corners, Vin and J.D. following him.

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