The ride was hectic; the group stopping to rest their horses and grab something to eat after about four hours.

J.D. sat down on the grass under the shade of a tree munching on his beef jerky. His mouth had not stopped since they had left Four Corners, despite the fact that no one could hear him over the sound of the horses’ hoofs. The closer Christmas got, the more his need to focus on it and not on the fact that this year, his mother would not be present.

“Are you still going on about Christmas?” Ezra inquired.

“I’m just a bit disappointed that we won’t be home for it.”

“Home?” Vin asked, the pitch of his voice rising sharply.

“Yeah, home. At Four Corners.”

Vin muttered something under his breath and then pulled his hat down over his eyes. Unlike the others, who were taking the opportunity to eat, Vin was using his half an hour break to sleep.

“Don’t ya want to be home for Christmas?”

Chris Larabee found the word ‘home’ repeating over and over again in his mind. Home. Sarah had always said to him that home was where the heart is... or some such thing. If that were true, then his home was buried in a shallow grave near the burnt out shell of his ranch for that certainly was where his heart was. Home.

“Pa, Pa! You’re home! Ma, Pa and Uncle Buck are home!” Adam raced down the stairs to greet his father.

Chris dismounted and swept the small child up in his arms. “Of course I’m home. Tomorrow’s Christmas. Buck and I said we’d be back for Christmas.”

“That’s right, Kid,” Buck stated, taking the child from Chris.

Sarah stepped up to her husband and smiled. “He was worried you wouldn’t be back in time,” the pretty woman whispered as she kissed her husband tenderly.

Larabee winked at his wife. “Ole Buck wasn’t about to miss out on Christmas. I had a hard time keeping up with him.” The pair turned and watched as Buck and Adam started chasing each other around the corral.

Larabee slipped his arm around his wife’s waist. “We had one child and ended up with two.”

Sarah smiled.

“I think it’s time we did something about adding to the clan,” Chris stated slyly.

Sarah elbowed him. “You really did miss us, didn’t you, Christopher?”

“I hate going away. Thankfully, I won’t have to as much any more.”

“You hungry?”

“Famished.”

“Alright, go wash up. Then build a fire. Adam wants an outdoor meal tonight.”

“Sounds fantastic.” Chris squeezed his wife, turned, slapped her on the backside and disappeared into the stable with the horses.

Sarah shook her head smiling. Chris really had missed them this time. He was finding it harder and harder to leave, but if he wanted to sell the horses he kept breaking, it was a necessity.

An hour later, the sun had set and the family was collected around a fire in the yard. They had eaten a fine meal under the stars. The temperature had dropped drastically and all had a blanket draped around his or her shoulders to keep the chill out.

“You got me a present, Uncle Buck?”

“Now why the hell would I get anything for the likes of you, Kid?”

Adam smiled and snuggled up beside his father. “I got something for you. And for Pa. Bet you can’t guess what it is.”

“A parasol?” Buck guessed.

“No!” Adam giggled.

“One of them frilly shirts? Oh, I know, a hat with one of them flowers on it!” Adam’s laughter filled the night.

“I’m starting to get worried about you, Buck,” Chris muttered.

“Adam. It’s late. Time for bed,” Sarah prompted.

“But I want to stay up with Uncle Buck.” Uncle Buck was the soft touch around the place. Adam could always get his way with Uncle Buck.

“Uncle Buck needs to go to bed, too,” Chris stated. “It’s Christmas tomorrow and he’s going to need all the sleep he can get if he’s going to keep up with you.”

“Keep up! Hell, I can out run this young whippersnapper!” Buck shouted scooping the youngster up and heading for the house with Adam slung over his shoulder.

“Can we go fishing tomorrow, Uncle Buck?”

“We can do whatever you want, Adam. It’s Christmas.”

“Tell me the story about how you and Pa saved that whole town.”

“Well, actually, yer Pa didn’t do much.”

“Yes he did. You said that Pa...” The pair disappeared.

Chris draped his arm around his wife’s shoulders and pulled the blanket further around her.

“It’s going to be cold tonight,” Sarah noted.

“Not if I have anything to do with it.”

“Christopher!” Sarah scolded with mock surprise. “Did you get a good price for the horses?”

“Not bad. The day after tomorrow, Buck and I are going to head up to Three Tree Pass and see if we can rope some of the wild horses we saw last time. There are a couple among them that will go for a good price if I can break them.”

“How long will you be away?”

“Just overnight.”

The two fell quiet. Some minutes later, Buck returned. “He’s asleep. Real excited about tomorrow. Wow, it really is getting cold.” The big man sat down in front of the fire, drawing his blanket back around his shoulders.

“We heading out to Three Tree Pass tomorrow?” Buck asked.

“Certainly not!” Sarah snapped. “It’s Christmas day. Christmas is about being home with family and you two aren‘t moving a step off this property.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Buck laughed.

The wind picked up, lashing the trio with icy chills.

“We should head inside,” Chris stated, watching his wife draw her blanket further around her.

Sarah shook her head, her eyes directed toward the stars. “I want to stay out for a while.”

Larabee removed the blanket from around his own shoulders. Instantly, his body reacted with shivers. He had never put anyone before himself until he had met Sarah. He loved her and Adam... and Buck so much he’d do anything to protect them. They were his family - his world.

“Now, what do you think yer doin’, Chris? Put that damn thing back around you and I’ll go get Sarah another blanket,” Buck growled, noting how violently his best friend was shaking. “On second thoughts, I’ll let Sarah have mine and I’ll go to bed.” The big man bounced his eyebrows. “Leave you two alone.”

“Finally, he gets the hint!” Chris laughed.

“It’s good to have you both home,” Sarah added, grinning. “We missed you.”

“Yep, home is where the heart is, isn’t that what you say? Reckon I’m home then,” Buck stated sincerely before disappearing.

“Well, Mrs. Larabee, I have a Christmas present for you.“

“Oh? But it isn’t Christmas yet.“

“Close enough.“ Larabee withdrew a small box from his pocket and handed it to his wife. Sarah accepted the parcel and lifted the lid. Sitting on a small velvet pillow was a gold locket.

“Chris? How... this must have cost a fortune!“

Larabee leaned forward and kissed his wife. “I’ve been saving. Besides, I saw you looking at it.“

Sarah flung her arms around her husband’s neck. “I love you.“

Chris sighed. Those words meant everything to him. “How about we do something about increasing the size of our clan?”....

“Chris. We better get going.” Larabee looked up at Vin as the recollection faded. He didn’t want it to go. Larabee cursed viciously. Why couldn’t he hang on to the image for just a few moments longer? He wanted so badly to be with those he cared about, even if only in the recesses of his mind.

The other members of the posse had already mounted and were staring across at the seated gunfighter curiously.

“Ya okay?” Vin asked, moving to mask Larabee from his companions’ view.

“Yeah.” No, he wasn’t okay. His family was dead. He would never again feel the need to protect another - to take his own blanket and give it to someone he cared about. That part of his life was gone forever and that left Chris both grief-stricken and incredibly angry.

Vin offered his hand and pulled Chris to his feet. Ya sure you‘re okay?

“Come on. I want to be in Johnson Crossing before dark, ” Chris growled, shouldering Vin out of the way with enough force to knock his friend off balance. Tanner frowned as he regained his footing. He didn’t accept such treatment from anyone. Another man would have ended up facing the business end his mare’s leg, but this was Chris and there was something in Larabee’s eyes that told him his friend was far from ’okay.’ Vin decided that he would voice his discontent in private - out of the earshot of the rest of the group who had moved off to the left to wait for them.

“Cantankerous cuss,” Tanner growled as he mounted his horse next to Larabee. Chris shot his companion a look of disapproval. “Shove it, Chris.”

The pair glared at each other for several seconds.

“Ain’t askin’ again.” There was concern in Vin’s raging blue eyes. The accusation was as clear as if it had been stated.

Chris sighed, his anger draining away. I’m okay, Vin, Larabee confirmed with a single look that he knew only Tanner would understand. There was an apology there too.

Vin’s face screwed up thoughtfully. “Christmas can be a hard time for some.”

Larabee wasn’t surprised by his companion’s apparent understanding of what was troubling him. Vin had an uncanny way of simply ‘knowing’.

Chris urged his horse across to the rest of his men. “Alright, move out!”

**********

The group of thirteen men were met with cheers as they rode into the town of Johnson Crossing just on sunset. The damage was stomach turning. Buildings had been burnt to the ground. All of the windows were boarded up, the glass shattered. Despite the smiles, the elderly residents’ faces showed their devastation.

Larabee lead his men to the livery that was crowded with the horses of those who would be joining the posse the next morning.

Buck did a quick count. “Looks like we got the three dozen ya said we’d need, Vin.”

The sheriff of River Flats offered his hand to Chris as the gunfighter and his men exited the stable. “Sheriff Ethan Longly. It’s good to have you along. You have a tracker with you I‘m told.”

Larabee nodded.

“Good. We had a look when we got here this afternoon. The tracks are quite clear. They weren’t trying to hide them, cocky bastards. Looks like they headed west. We’ll head off together after breakfast, around eight o‘clock.”

“Before dawn,” Vin stated.

“Huh?”

“Need to be up before dawn so we can leave as soon as the sun starts comin’ up.”

“The rest of us took a vote before you got here and we decided...”

“I’ll be leavin’ on dawn,” Vin stated, moving past the sheriff and heading for the saloon.

“And who the hell does he think he is?” Sheriff Longly demanded.

“He’s your tracker,” Buck informed the other man as he and the rest of the men from Four Corners set off after Vin.

Longly frowned. “He isn’t going to be difficult is he?” he asked Larabee.

Chris stared at the other man. “You can do what you want. We’ll be leaving when he says.”

“Now, look. There are already twenty-five of us here and I was voted in charge - unanimously as a matter of fact. The sheriff of Eagle Bend was even happy for me to...”

“I’ll bet he was,” Chris muttered. Staines would not want to lock horns with the Seven and he would have known that anyone trying to tell Larabee and his men what to do, certainly would do so. “We aren’t here to cause trouble, Longly. However, Vin’s the best tracker I’ve ever come across. If we’re going to find these bandits, we need to listen to him.”

“Fair enough, but I’m calling the shots.”

Chris shook his head and moved off. The only thing Longly was interested in was being in charge. That made him a fool and not worthy of Larabee’s time.

When Chris arrived, the rest of the Seven, except Nathan, had seated themselves at a table and ordered some drinks and food.

Vin flicked his eyes to Chris. Well?

“He’s an idiot. Where’s Nathan?”

“Gone to see what he can do for the folks who were wounded.”

“Ezra, get that gleam out of your eye. We don’t want any trouble,” Buck growled. Standish was eyeing the other patrons as if they had huge money signs in the middle of their foreheads.

“I don’t intend causing any trouble, but I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t...”

“No!” five voices stated firmly.

Ezra snorted. “And why should I listen to you?”

“Because if ya try to get out of that seat, I’ll ram my mare’s leg up your ass. We eat and then we turn in. I want to be on the trail early. We’re all gonna need clear heads when we catch up with these bastards.” Tanner’s voice was low but extremely severe.

“You okay, Brother?”

“Just want to catch them before they hurt anyone else,” Vin muttered.

“Ya reckon we’ll be home for Christmas?” J.D. asked.

“Depends whether they’re still moving or have decided to camp for a few days.”

“What do you think, Vin?”

Tanner’s brow furrowed. “I’m bettin’ they’ve split up and will camp for a day or so. They’ve hit two towns in only a few days. Probably camp tomorrow and then regroup and attack again.”

“On Christmas Day? You mean, they’re likely to attack a town on Christmas day?”

“J.D. they don’t much care what day it is. They’re gettin’ bolder. Army is stationed only a couple of days’ ride from here. They’re temptin’ them to try and come after them.”

“You seem to know a great deal about this group of miscreants,” Ezra mused.

Vin shrugged. “Seen their type before. They don’t stop until someone stops them. And they get more aggressive. Start killing more each time. Enjoy it.”

“Then judgement day has come for them,” Josiah proclaimed. Chris glanced at the preacher and nodded his agreement.

“To justice,” Ezra proposed, raising his glass. The other men raised theirs.

“And to making those bastards pay!” Buck added. It was a pledge. They would not rest until the bandits had been dealt with.

J.D. watched his companions and sighed. So much for peace and goodwill at Christmas time.

**********

“This is where they separated,” Vin explained to Chris. The pair was crouched away from the main group, Vin studying the pattern of hoof prints.

The thirty-eight men had left on dawn, which was almost three hours earlier. Longly hadn’t been happy, but had realized that the men from Four Corners were leaving at that time and unless he wanted to be behind them, he’d have to leave at that time too. “One group headed that way,” Tanner stated, pointing. “One toward the mountains and the other into the valley.”

“I think it would be best if we select one trail to follow and all of us go together,” Longly stated, moving up to the pair. “That way we can pick off one group at a time.” The man was speaking loudly so that his suggestion sounded like an order.

“Vin?”

“Reckon we should split up,” Tanner stated quietly. “There’ll be a dozen of us in each group. That’s more than enough to take them on, on their terms. They won‘t be expectin‘ to be hit from three fronts.”

Longly glared at Tanner. “I say we stick together.”

“Ain’t no one askin’ you,” Mark Robbins growled, walking up to confront the sheriff. “If Tanner says we break up into three groups then that’s what we do.” Chris glanced at the speaker. Robbins had caused a number of brawls in Four Corners and clashed with the Seven more than once, but here he was supporting them. Strangely, that didn’t surprise Larabee. Robbins was wild and basically brainless, but he was loyal.

“The boys from Eagle Bend can follow the trail into the valley,” Chris allotted. “We’ll take...”

“The mountains,” Vin put in.

“Fine and the men from River Flats can go west. Any questions?... No. Vin?”

“Follow the trail, but be wary. These men know what they’re doin‘. If the trail peters out, turn around, return here and then follow one of the other trails. The majority of the group headed into the valley. I’d say the other two smaller groups are just decoys. There are only a couple of men in each of those groups. My guess is they’ll camp the night and then circle around to join their companions. Be careful. They are probably on the look out for anyone followin’ them. If we can take out the decoys, we’ll reduce their numbers by a third. Make it easier when we tackle them,” Vin explained.

“What do we do if we catch up with the main group?“ Staines asked.

“Hang back but don‘t engage them. Wait for the rest of us,“ Chris ordered.

“And if we take out the decoys, how do we know where to meet the rest of you?”

“Retrace your steps and then follow one of the other trails.”

“This could take days!”

“Yep.”

“Alright,“ Chris stated. “Move out and good luck.”

**********

“Mr. Tanner, explain to me why we are heading into the mountains when we know it is likely to be the coldest of the three options,” Ezra demanded as the men from Four Corners set off after their tracker, who was several feet out in front.

“The mountains are rocky. Trail will be hard to find. Thought it best that I be in the group goin’ there.”

“I hope Mary decorated the tree.”

“How is she gonna do that, Kid? Vin ain’t there to be hanging from the rope,” Buck chuckled. Unfortunately, Vin was so intent on studying the ground, he failed to hear the comment.

“You ever had a white Christmas, Buck?”

“White Christmas?”

“You know, snow.”

“Oh, yeah. Once. Chris and I were holed up in this cave. Thought we were gonna cash in our chips that night, pard.” Larabee said nothing, his eyes roving the area around them for signs of trouble.

“What about you, Ezra?”

“Yes, I have been unfortunate enough to suffer a white Christmas.”

“How come you’re so down on Christmas?” J.D. asked. “You must remember one Christmas when ya had a good time.”

Ezra urged his horse forward. He didn’t want to think about Christmas. Unfortunately, the memory tunnel was drawing him in.

“Ezra, honey. Come in out of the cold.”

Ezra glanced back at his aunt and shook his head. The woman in the doorway pulled her shawl around herself and moved out to stand on the veranda beside her ten-year-old nephew. “Sweetheart, she isn’t going make it.”

“She said she’d be here!” Ezra insisted, his eyes directed at the road leading to the farm. His mother had written and promised to be with him for Christmas. However, Christmas day was almost over. The sun was setting. In half an hour, it would be dark.

Dawn Morrison shook her head. The little boy had been standing out here on the drafty veranda since six o’clock in the morning. Eleven hours later, and he was still standing, staring at the trail, waiting for his mother.

Dawn put her arm around the child’s shoulders. She had six children of her own, but had been looking after Ezra for the past eight months. Her sister had ‘run into difficulties’ and had asked if Ezra could stay a few days. Somehow the days had become weeks. Maude had written regularly, always stating that she would be back soon to pick up her son, but... well, everyone was still waiting.

“Sweety, the weather has been really bad in San Francisco the last few days. Your Mother probably hasn’t been able to get a coach out here.”

“She said she’d come and spend Christmas day with me,” Ezra insisted quietly. The assuredness he had felt earlier was fading with the light. “She promised.”

“I’m sure she wanted to be here, but... look, you haven’t eaten anything all day. Come on inside and have some turkey. Maybe your mother will arrive tomorrow morning.”

“It won’t be Christmas then.”

Dawn sighed. She patted the child on the head and then turned and headed for the door. “Only another ten minutes, Ezra. I don’t want you catching pneumonia.”

Ezra stared at the darkening sky. “She said she’d be here. She promised,” he whispered to himself. He’d been so excited when he’d received her letter. She had said, “I promise I’ll be with you Christmas day.” Yet the day was almost over.

The child’s green eyes became moist. He had refused to cry up until now. He had been so certain that she would come. His mother had never broken a promise. She’d let him down on different occasions, but she had never broken a promise and they had never been apart on Christmas day.

The sun lowered in the sky. Darkness was blanketing the earth. Tears filled Ezra’s eyes. Where was she? She had promised.

“Ezra,” his aunt called from the doorway. “Come on, sweetheart. Come on in out of the cold.”

“She said she’d be here,” the little boy whispered, tears streaming down his face.

Dawn walked out and wrapped the sobbing child in her arms. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry. I know your mother would have wanted to be here with you but sometimes things happen and they don’t go as you plan.”

“She said she’d be here. She promised.”

Dawn tried to comfort the broken hearted child. “Come on in. You haven’t even played with the present your Uncle Martin and I got you.” The woman shepherded the boy toward the door.

A noise from the road drew their attention. Ezra pulled free of his aunt and rushed to the top of the stairs. In the darkness he could hear the sound of a carriage.

“Mother?”

“Ezra!” Maude shouted and she brought the horse to a standstill and stepped out of the small carriage. “Ezra!”

“Mother!” Ezra raced down the steps and ran into his mother’s arms. Dawn smiled. Maude lived a lifestyle she didn’t exactly approve of, but she loved her little boy. If ever Dawn had doubted that fact it was dispelled at that moment. Maude Standish, a woman who never had a hair out of place, looked like a drowned rat.

“What happened to you?” the young woman asked.

Maude smiled at Ezra and then glanced at her sister. “They cancelled all of the coaches because of the weather, so I borrowed a carriage and came myself.” She was drenched to the skin.

“Maude, that was very foolish. In this weather...”

Maude crouched down in front of her son. “I promised Ezra I’d be here. We keep our promises to each other, don’t we, honey?”

Ezra nodded, wiping away his tears.

“And no matter what else, we’re always together on Christmas day, right?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Ezra stared up at his mother and then threw his arms around her again. “I knew you’d come, mother. I just knew it.”

“Of course I came. Nothing can keep us apart, on Christmas, darling. Nothing.”

Ezra sighed. Maude had been true to her word. She had always been there at Christmas, but there had been so many other days that she had been painfully absent and Ezra had had to spend them longing for her arms around him. Christmas day was always wonderful though. It was the days after Christmas that brought heartbreak - when she was inevitably called away. That was why he disliked Christmas. So happy for one day in the year - devastated when his mother had to leave again.

“Josiah, remind me to wire my mother to wish her a merry... it doesn’t matter.”

“Ezra?”

Ezra Standish smiled. He knew, without a doubt, that his mother would arrive in Four Corners on Christmas day. “I shall speak to her the day after tomorrow.”

“That’s Christmas day,” J.D. pointed out.

“Yes indeedy. My mother and I always spend Christmas day together.” Maude Standish was not perfect, but she loved him and for the first time, Ezra realized just how lucky he was to have a mother who was prepared to drop everything just to be with him at Christmas.

“I thought her last letter said she was in California?”

“She will be in Four Corners on Christmas day,” Ezra repeated with certainty. That wonderful feeling lit up his being. He loved his mother dearly and was looking forward to celebrating Christmas with her as they always did. He had tried, as he did every year, not to get his hopes up for he knew their time together would be short, but this year, he found that fact didn’t matter. He would enjoy her company for however many days she would stay and then he would bid her farewell without regrets. Ezra glanced at his companions. This time, after his mother left, he wouldn’t be alone.