Sequel to "Do I Know You From Somewhere", "Not That Kind" and "The Lonely One"

*****

Vin stood beside Peso, stroking his neck. He'd just been out riding for a couple of hours, and as soon as his horse had got some rest, he'd make sure he was fed and watered properly. The last few days he'd spent more and more time with Peso, trying to avoid the others, especially Chris. No one had said anything to him about it, and he knew it was because they all knew about his need for solitude. Only Chris knew why he'd stayed away.

Chris. The only one who had the power to hurt him emotionally. And he had. Bad enough that it had been all Vin could think about. When he'd left Chris's room that night a few days ago, he'd been sad, but it had still felt all right. He'd been hopeful, somehow. Chris had been drunk, that's why he'd done what he'd done. Vin sometimes wondered what would have happened between them that night if Chris had not been drunk. Would they just have talked, or would something else have happened? There was no way of knowing. What he did know was that he was still in love with Chris, and he was almost certain that Chris felt the same for him.

He and Chris hadn't really talked lately, but he knew Chris had wanted to try, he'd seen it in Chris's eyes. But there was still something stopping him, some mental blockage, or maybe the fear of someone finding out. Their love was wrong, according to society, but no one had to know. Vin knew that he could be discreet, and he knew that Chris could be too. Chris was already so controlled in everything he did, it shouldn't be a problem for him to keep his hands off Vin in public. Vin smiled, and walked away to get food for Peso, all the while thinking about how it would be when they were not around people and Chris could have his hands *on* him, all over him. It was strange. Chris had hurt him so badly, and yet Vin was ready to wait for him, would do anything for him. A part of him knew that Chris would probably do anything for him too, so maybe it wasn't so strange, after all.

But it was taking too long. They hadn't talked, but they had looked. Vin had watched Chris whenever he'd had the chance, had let his eyes rest on that tall, handsome man, his heart aching with longing each time. And he'd seen Chris watching him, their eyes meeting sometimes. Vin had seen so much in those soulful, green eyes; longing, shame, love, desire. He knew the shame was because of what Chris had done to him, but he hoped he didn't feel too bad about it. Chris had been wrong to treat him that way, but Vin knew why he had, and he wanted to tell Chris he understood. It was so obvious what was going to happen between them. It was inevitable.

He watched Peso chew on his hay, and went to get water for him. He suddenly felt an urge to be around Chris, just be near him, talking or not. When Peso had drunk all the water in the bucket, he went to fill it up once more, then left the stable. He walked slowly around the town that he'd learned to like, not so much because of the town itself, but because of some of the things that had happened here. The one thing, anyway. But that one thing meant more to him than anything else ever had. If he ever left this town, it would be with Chris by his side. And the reason he stayed now was to be by Chris's side. To Vin, Four Corners and Chris were connected. But he could leave Four Corners without ever looking back. He'd never leave Chris.

*

"Kinda quiet here, ain't it?" Vin looked at Chris who was sitting across the table from him. He liked these moments with Chris, even if they had been few lately. Their conversations, usually in the saloon or on the street. The tension was still there, but Vin was used to it by now. And there had been tension between him and Chris from the beginning, anyway, just a different one. Before, it had been because they had both known there was something going on between the two of them. Now, after Vin had said straight out to Chris that he wanted him, the tension had changed. It was as if they were both waiting for the other to take the first step. Again. Vin had decided it wouldn't be he this time. They were two in this, and Chris would have to at least say something, or give him a sign. Just something, anything, to let Vin know that he wanted this just as much.

"Yeah," Chris said after a while. It was weird how his conversations with Vin were different from every other conversation he had. With other people, he'd talk fast, expect them to do the same. With Vin, he'd listen, watch, think, before he spoke. It had always been a bit like that with Vin, but he was more aware of it now. He didn't want to mess up anymore. After that night when he had, he'd intended to tell Vin he was sorry, that he hadn't meant to treat him that way, but every time he and Vin were alone, that one little word just wouldn't come to him. When he'd realised that, he'd decided to try to show him instead, but that hadn't proven too successful, either. Especially since Vin had stayed away so much, making him feel even more like the biggest piece of dirt that ever existed. But whenever Vin looked at him, which Chris had noticed he did a lot each time they were around each other, Chris could see in his eyes that he really didn't have anything to worry about. So why was it so hard?

He turned around and glanced at the doors to the saloon. It had indeed been unusually quiet in Four Corners today. Not many men had come and gone in the saloon, and everyone, including himself and Vin, seemed a bit lazy. "Might be the heat," he said. "This might just be the hottest day so far since we've been here." He looked at Vin, saw him nodding, but without looking much discontent about that fact. Chris smiled. It seemed Vin could never get too hot, he didn't even seem to sweat as much as the rest of them, even when they all did the same thing. Must be that skinny body of his not being able to absorb the heat, he thought, once more wondering just how that skinny body would look naked. "Or it might just be the calm before the storm," he said quickly, before his other thought went too far.

Vin looked at him questioningly. "What storm would that be?" he asked.

"Didn't I tell you? Buck and Nathan have ridden out to escort a prisoner to Four Corners," Chris said.

"You told me. But why do you think that will cause trouble?" Vin said, fingering the shot glass on the table in front of him. "This one was imprisoned for robbery, wasn't he? Not murder, or anything?"

Chris gave Vin a doubtful look. "And since when ain't robbery bad enough?"

Vin smiled at Chris. "I didn't mean it like that, Chris, you know that."

Chris shrugged. "I guess," he said. Right now he didn't really care what Vin had meant. Vin had smiled, that rare smile of his, the honest one. He'd never seen Vin smile like that at anyone else. It seemed reserved for him, and him alone. It was like a gift, and he knew he had to let Vin know how much it meant to him. And he seemed so relaxed now. Chris supposed the whiskey had a part in that. Whiskey made him relax too. Unless he drank too much of it, in which case it just made him plain stupid, dangerous even.

Chris's thoughts strayed back to that night that shouldn't have been, and he didn't feel so good anylonger. He wondered why Vin took all the crap he poured at him, why he stayed. He looked at Vin, saw that he was still smiling, looking at him in a way that made Chris feel. Just feel. Some things he hadn't felt in years before Vin came along, and some things he'd never felt at all. It was obvious now. Vin was in love with him, probably more than Chris had realised so far. And he could see through Chris's facade, saw another Chris than the one he so desperately tried to be to hide his real feelings from Vin. That was why he took it. Chris watched his young friend. Vin was looking at the table now, but was still smiling slightly, looking content somehow. He wondered if Vin himself was aware of how he looked, how sweet he was. Buck had commented on those looks, a tad contemptful, of course, but had he ever been right. 'Cute' was the word Buck had used, though. 'Pretty' was the word Chris had thought of to describe Vin's looks when he'd first seen him. Now that he knew him, knew his inside matched his looks, there was another word that seemed more appropriate. Vin was beautiful. Simply beautiful. He watched Vin get up from his chair, and looked at him inquiringly.

"I'm going to get some more whiskey," Vin said, smiling at him. "You want some?"

Chris smiled back, turned his head away slightly, then looked at Vin again, still smiling. "I think I've had enough," he said. He'd had one glass, then had settled for coffee. Vin had already had one glass of whiskey that day, and was now about to get a second one, which Chris knew was unusual for him. But then, Vin could handle alcohol a bit better than he could, so he wasn't going to say anything about it.

Vin nodded, silently grateful. He hadn't minded if Chris had wanted more whiskey, but he understood that this was one of Chris's ways of saying he was sorry. He walked to the bar to get his whiskey. He heard some commotion a moment later, and turned around. A little girl had come into the bar, not too common a sight in Four Corners, and Buck and Nathan were back too. Vin could hear from their conversation that the girl had something to do with the prisoner Buck and Nathan had picked up earlier that day, and that the prisoner was female. Vin shook his head slowly, unable to stop himself from hoping that the female prisoner wasn't beautiful. He wasn't up for more competition for Chris's attention. Not anymore. He took the glass of whiskey, and drank some while watching Chris leave the saloon. He guessed today's nice and quiet time with Chris was over.

*

Vin got Peso ready, glad that he'd been wrong when he thought he and Chris wouldn't be spending any more time with each other that day. Chris had come back to the saloon after a while, asking him to come with him. Because he was the tracker, of course. Vin knew that, but it didn't matter. And something told Vin that he'd be Chris's first choice, anyway, even without his tracking skills. He listened to Chris and JD talking, and the little girl, Olivia, saying she wanted her mom back. Who didn't, he thought, then told her it was their plan to bring her back.

When they'd ridden for a while, Vin sensed the familiar feeling of Chris watching him. He didn't immediately turn to Chris, but let him watch. Not that he knew what Chris saw in a scruffy guy like him, but obviously he saw something that he liked, and Vin wasn't one to object. He had to admit to himself that having a man like Chris, handsome like few other men, a man who could have any woman he wanted, wanting him, was doing wonders for his ego. He'd always been aware of his own worth in everything he was and did, except when it came to relationships. He'd always assumed he wasn't good enough to be someone's man, had always known he would never make a good husband. Then a few years back when he, after a few half-hearted attempts, had realised that he didn't want to be with women at all, he'd given up completely. Approaching a woman was scary enough, and he'd never been much good at it, so how was he supposed to be able to approach another man? Especially considering what society thought about it. Failing with a woman was one thing, failing with a man, another. And he'd heard about men being tricked into set-ups, made fools of in public. So he'd never tried, and never failed.

It had left him a lonely man, but he'd always appreciated loneliness, so it hadn't really been a big problem. He'd never known love, not the adult kind, so he'd never known what he missed. Not until Chris came into his life. The things he'd started to feel, the thoughts he'd had about the older man, it was something he'd only heard about. Never talked about, just heard other people, mostly women, talking about. He'd listened to them, but without really understanding. The way some of them had talked, it had seemed to him that love, and being in love, was something like a disease, something that made you feel constantly sick. He'd thought then that he probably wasn't missing out on anything. Then he'd met Chris, and he'd begun to understand what the women had meant. And he had felt sick a lot. Both the thought of being with Chris, and the thought of not being with him had given him a big, grinding knot in his stomach. It was not a pleasant feeling.

He felt good right now, though. He could still feel Larabee watching him, and he liked it. He wondered if Chris liked what he was wearing today. He had his usual clothes on, except today he was wearing a red shirt. A woman had once told him, when he'd worn a bright blue shirt, that he looked good wearing a bit of color. He'd supposed she was right, women seemed to know things like that. But he'd still preferred to wear clothes in shades of beige and brown. Lately, though, he'd felt like making an effort where it concerned his clothing. Because of Chris, of course. He'd never admit it out loud to anyone, especially not Chris, and he hoped he wasn't too transparent in what he did. But if he was going to compete with Mary and every other woman that tried to get Chris's attention, he'd just have to work a bit extra to keep Chris's attention where it belonged, till Chris himself realised it. Not only realised it, but showed him that he did.

He even smelled good today. Better than usual, anyway. Not that he ever smelled really bad, he just didn't visit the Bath House as frequently as say, Buck, did. But then, Vin wasn't trying to pick up every girl in town. He just wanted to pick up Chris, and keep him for good. He'd been out riding with Peso the day before, and had stopped by a pond. He'd bathed there, using the soap he'd brought with him to scrub off dirt and sweat. He'd thought about going to the Bath House in Four Corners, but he'd been afraid it would've seemed too suspicious. He'd been there maybe twice the whole time they'd been there, so if he all of a sudden started going now, comments were sure to start pouring out of people's mouths. Especially Buck's. Vin knew that Chris's old friend still kept an eye on him, and he didn't intend to raise his suspicions. When it was he and Chris, Chris would be the one to decide whether to tell Buck or not. Vin was never one to flaunt anything that he did. And he'd always preferred ponds to bath houses, anyway.

Chris kept looking at his younger friend silently. He knew Vin must have felt by now how hard he was watching him, and it pleased him that it didn't bother him. Not that Vin could complain, Chris thought, the way he was watching Chris sometimes. He didn't know if Vin knew that he'd noticed him watching him. Maybe he didn't care if Chris knew or not. Probably not, since Vin had been the one to admit that he wanted him. As it had turned out, way before Chris had been ready to hear it. And it had all gone to hell. Chris swore that he'd never hurt Vin like that again, but he knew he couldn't tell Vin. He didn't want to have to break a promise. If he ever told Vin, he could only swear that he'd *try* not to hurt him again. He knew he wasn't the best man on earth, he'd been through too much to be. But none of what he'd been through had had anything to do with Vin. Vin had never hurt him, all he'd done was make Chris feel love for another person again. A love that was so strong it was a constant ache inside of him. He had to have Vin, had to let him know how much he wanted him.

He stopped, suddenly feeling a bit lost, despite the determination of his thoughts. He knew it was because he was afraid that Vin might reject him, after all. Maybe it was just a game to Vin? Maybe, since that horrible night, Vin had grown angry with him, and was just pretending to still have feelings for him, but in reality just waiting for revenge? Don't be so stupid, he told himself. Vin would never do that. He knew it was the truth, but the doubt was still tearing him up inside. He had to stop those thoughts, had to be certain.

When Vin noticed Chris had stopped, he did too, turning around to look at him. "What's going on, cowboy?" he asked, riding back to Chris.

Chris dismounted. "I need to stretch my legs a bit," he lied.

Vin smiled. "Ain't getting old, are you, Chris?" he said, expecting a sharp remark in return. But Chris just watched him, a peculiar look in his eyes. Becoming concerned, Vin dismounted too.

Chris kept looking at Vin. "Well, I ain't getting no younger, that's for sure," he said.

"Are you okay, Chris?" Vin asked. He was getting worried by now. Chris was acting very strange.

Chris smiled at him. "I'm fine, Vin. Don't worry," he said. "I just... there's something I have to do." He stepped closer to Vin, one hand reaching out to touch Vin's cheek. He stroked it, the stubble making it feel much different from a woman's cheek, but he liked it.

Vin could barely breathe. He knew what was coming. He'd been waiting so long for this moment, and now that it was here, he felt as if he might faint any second. "What's that, cowboy...?" he said, his words sounding distant to himself. He wondered if Chris had heard him at all, or if he'd just seen his lips move.

Chris didn't say anything more, just took a step closer to Vin, and kissed him. It felt so good. He hadn't expected it to feel that way, to feel so right. He drew back, watching Vin's face. The younger man seemed stunned, but didn't object to what had just happened. Not wanting to lose the moment, Chris kissed Vin again, licked his lips carefully, till his tongue was finally allowed entrance to Vin's mouth. He let his tongue play with Vin's, stroked it, sucked on it, all the while with one hand on Vin's neck, gently keeping him close, and one hand on Vin's back, caressing him.

Vin was the first to break the kiss. He didn't really want to, but he was overwhelmed. And he suddenly felt very inexperienced. He'd never liked kissing much, had always found it too intimate, and had tried to avoid it. With Chris, it felt like he could never get too intimate. But right now, he felt very, very young. The thought came to him, unexpectedly; maybe he couldn't handle being with a man like Chris? Looking at Chris, he shook off that thought just as quickly as it had come. He'd learn.

Chris put both his arms around Vin, holding him tightly to him. "Was that okay?" he asked softly.

Vin wasn't sure if Chris meant if it was okay that he'd kissed him, or if he meant the kiss itself. Both were fine with him. "Uh huh," he said, his arms now around Chris's back.

Chris looked around. They were still alone. He'd checked before he'd got off his horse, and it had been calm then too. "I've been wanting to do that since I first met you, Vin," he said. "I'd meant to do it when... you know..."

"I know," Vin said.

Chris kissed Vin's forehead. "Anyway, I need you to know how much you mean to me, Vin. I..." I love you, he wanted to say, but he was afraid it might be too early. He didn't want to scare Vin, even if it was likely that he felt the same. Besides, he wasn't sure men were supposed to say that to each other, whether it was how they felt or not.

"You mean a lot to me too, Chris," Vin said, then added more silently, "You mean everything to me." He felt Chris tighten his arms around him, and he did the same. This was what he'd been thinking of all this time. To be held by Chris. He hadn't thought so much about what it would be like to kiss him, he'd just wanted to be embraced by Chris's strong arms, and now he was. It was better than he'd ever thought it would be, unreal almost.

Chris finally let go of Vin, and after a quick kiss to Vin's lips, he got back up on his horse. He watched Vin get up too, noticing that he seemed a bit distracted. Well, he was distracted too, and it felt great. When they had been riding for a few minutes, he saw that Vin was smiling. "What are you smiling at?" he asked him, curiously.

Vin shrugged, and turned to look at him. "Just...you know, we're out working, and you stopped to kiss me. I didn't think anything could keep you from your job."

Chris smiled. "Well, you got yourself a man who knows what's important in life," he said, only half joking. He did know now. Four Corners and his work there was important, but it was nothing compared to Vin. "I guess we lost a few minutes, but I'm sure it'll work out well in the end. It usually does. Besides, Buck was always good at looking after himself, especially with women around to impress," he said, momentarily forgetting the incident in Wickes Town a while back.

"I guess," Vin said, smiling. "Olivia was a bit worried about her mom, though."

"We'll get her back too." Chris looked at Vin, concerned. "Are you sorry we stopped at all?" he said.

Vin realised that it might have sounded that way. "No," he said quickly. "I didn't mean it like that, Chris." He reached out his arm to touch Chris briefly. "And don't you dare take it back," he added, still looking at Chris.

Chris was surprised at Vin's words. The way he'd said them, they'd sounded almost threatening. That was a side of Vin he'd never really seen before. He liked it. "I won't," he said.

A while later they stopped, seeing riders in the distance. Vin took up his spyglass, and watched. It was Buck, Terry and a few others, about to cross the border into Mexico. For a moment it looked as if they could get at them right away, but Vin watched the surroundings closer, and saw more riders. He told Chris the odds just changed, and gave him the spyglass to have a look for himself. He didn't mind helping out to rescue Terry and Buck, it was part of his job, but after what had happened between he and Chris today, he could think of better ways to spend his time right now. But at least he and Chris were together. "How's your Spanish?" he asked Chris.

"No bueno. Yours?"

"What's 'no bueno' mean?" Vin said. He did know what that meant, but not much more.

Chris smiled slightly. Not only was Vin nice and good looking, he was funny too. And he was his now. Could he get any luckier? If they just didn't have all this business with Terry to take care of, everything would be perfect.

When they were in the outskirts of what looked like a small town, Chris didn't really have any idea where they were. Vin told him, and he didn't like what he heard. While they rode down the main street of Purgatorio, as Vin told him was the name of the town, Chris kept listening to Vin, and if he didn't believe what Vin said, he only had to look around and see the expressions on some of the men's faces to know it was the truth. Vin was right when he said most of them recognised him.

"If you stick around here, you'll be deader than a beaver hat," he said to Vin. He'd wanted Vin with him to help out tracking Buck and the others, but he'd never want him to get hurt because of it. If he'd known they would end up in a place like Purgatorio he'd probably gone alone from the beginning. He couldn't live with himself if something happened to Vin. Especially now.

"I'll take that chance," Vin said. He didn't want to leave Chris alone in this place.

"I won't," Chris said, in a tone that said it wasn't up for discussion. He watched Vin, and saw that he understood that he was serious. He grabbed his arm, and squeezed it, praying it wasn't the last time he touched the younger man. Vin squeezed his arm in return, then rode off. Chris was on his own now, and he knew he had to find Buck as quickly as possible. He could only hope that Vin made it out of Purgatorio and back to Four Corners in one piece.

*

The saloon was the first place he went to. Chris had a feeling he'd run into at least some of the outlaws he was looking for there. He was right. He got eye contact with Buck, and from the conversation he heard from the men around him, he could tell Buck had not made himself popular. When he heard the leader of the gang order them to shoot Buck, he acted quickly. He was afraid it wouldn't work. He'd already been in the saloon a while, they should've already seen that. If he really wanted to kill Buck Wilmington for having "shot his brother", he could've already done that. But he had to take the chance, and soon he and Buck were out on the street surrounded by the usual crowd that always gathered when blood was about to be spilled.

Buck got down on his knees in front of Chris, trying to play along as best he could. This had better work, or his days were about to be over. "Go ahead, just shoot straight," he said to Chris, watching him with as much hatred in his eyes as was possible. He hoped he was a better actor than he felt he was. He thought both he and Chris had sort of over acted, but no one around them seemed to think so. God bless them for their stupidity, he thought.

Chris fired his gun twice, and when Buck was lying on the ground, he went to check that he was really "dead", ensuring no one else came up with that idea. He cut his hand, felt the pain then saw the blood. A small price to pay to keep Buck alive. Then he got up and left Buck lying on the street. He'd done what he could, Buck would have to do the rest himself. He walked back into the saloon, and was soon joined by one of the men he'd seen earlier, the one who'd been talking to Terry, and who'd given his men the order to shoot Buck. Chris could have shot the man where he stood without hesitating, but he knew he still had to play along.

"Would I know you?" the man asked Chris after a while.

Well, that was at least something Chris could appreciate about the man, he didn't recognise him. Nice to know not everyone knew about Chris Larabee. "Would I know you?" he replied, still spitting venom at him through his voice, not bothering to answer the man's question.

"Name's Morgan Coltrane," the man began, determined to get this ruthless man to join his gang, then began to tell him about the plan they had.

Chris listened to Coltrane, only because he had to. He hated the man, hated the type of man that he represented. The more the man talked, the clearer it became to Chris why he'd fallen so hard for Vin; Vin was nothing like that, and never would be.

*

It was dark when Vin came back to Four Corners. He'd not been too excited about leaving Chris there alone, but he'd had no choice. Chris had been right when he'd said he'd die if he stayed there with him. Too many men in Purgatorio had recognised him, and if he'd stayed with Chris, and they'd seen Chris was with him, they might have killed him too just because of that. Leaving Purgatorio was the best alternative for both himself and Chris if they ever wanted to see each other again.

He walked to Josiah's church, where Josiah and Ezra were sleeping. Ezra pointed a gun at him when he'd been there a few seconds, and Vin watched him with a look in his eyes that said he needed to practise some to get quicker.

"Where's Olivia?" Josiah asked, suddenly wide awake.

Vin looked around, knowing she must have slipped out while the old guys had slept. They all walked out of the church, and Vin shook his head slowly while he walked down the few steps that led to the building. Josiah ran down the street, beginning to search for the young girl, and Vin and Ezra had a look around too. Then suddenly they heard a shot, and ran to find JD who yelled something about Olivia. JD had a knife wound a bit too close to his heart, and they knew they had to get him to Nathan quickly. Never anything but trouble in Four Corners, Vin thought. But at least now they knew Olivia was still in town.

While Nathan was taking care of JD, Buck walked into the building. Vin was not pleased to see that Chris wasn't with him. He barely waited for Buck to have a look around to see what was going on before he asked him where Chris was. He didn't care that he probably sounded too worried, and that Buck probably noticed. Hearing Buck say that Chris was with the gang that was going to rob the bank didn't make it better, and the only thing that comforted him was that he knew Chris was capable of taking care of himself. He'd still have preferred to be with him, though.

*

It was over now. This fight anyway, they were likely to have something else come up for them to take care of soon enough. But right now, the town was quiet again. The only villain around them was Olivia, Vin thought, smiling. He'd seen her take Buck's watch, and he had to admit that she was good, really good. He liked the child. He even liked her mom. Terry was a beautiful woman, but as far as Vin knew, she hadn't flirted with Chris. And even if she had, Vin felt he could've handled it. Chris had shown him today what he wanted, and Vin was still feeling high from what had happened between he and the older man that day. "Hey, Buck, what time you got?" he asked, still smiling.

"It's..." Buck reached for his watch, only to find it wasn't where it was supposed to be. Olivia, who else? He ran after the wagon, yelling for it to come back. So, it didn't have much sentimental value for him, but it was his watch. He didn't really feel like getting a new one. Not to mention that he didn't like to be outsmarted by such a young little girl like Olivia.

"Mr. Larabee, Mr. Tanner, I want to thank you for what you did. All seven of you, of course," Mary said, turning to Chris and Vin after watching Buck run after the wagon. She found Mr. Larabee more handsome than ever right now. She was always attracted to him, but when he was all dressed in black, even more. He was the only man she'd felt even slightly drawn to since her husband died, and she had no problem admitting to herself that she wanted him. His interest in her was lacking a bit, of course, but she was determined to change that. The time had to be right, that was all. And when the time was right, she, she and Billy, would show Chris what he could be a part of. She'd noticed Chris's growing friendship with Mr. Tanner, how he usually wanted him with him whenever he went somewhere, but that wasn't a problem for her. When she and Chris were a couple, she'd just be happy for him to have friends like Vin and Buck. It was nice when men were good friends instead of enemies. All seven of them seemed to get along very well, and Mary was only happy to see that. It made for a peaceful town when people got along, and it was good for the children.

"No problem, Mrs. Travis," Chris said. He was glad for how everything had turned out too.

"Actually, Mr. Larabee, if you have time, would you mind coming with me to my office?" Mary asked.

Chris looked at her. What did she want from him now? "What, now?" he asked, trying to sound less annoyed than he was. If he wanted to go anywhere with anyone right now, it was with Vin.

Mary put on one of her pleading expressions, the one she'd found usually worked best. "Yes, please, Mr. Larabee, if you have the time. It won't take long. I'd just like to write something about what happened, and I thought you could help me."

"All right, then," he said. "Will I see you in the saloon later, Vin?" he asked Vin, noticing how the younger man's smile was gone now. He'd like nothing more than to go somewhere with Vin to put the smile back on his face, but he'd promised Mary to come with her. He knew what she was doing, and he knew from before that she was very bad at taking hints. He also knew that if she understood what it made him feel about her, she'd stop.

"Okay," Vin said, a feeling of abandonment coming over him. It seemed he could never keep anyone's attention for long. Everyone was always leaving him, no one ever stayed, never for long. Or he left, himself. He watched Chris and Mary walk down the main street, and then he was alone, standing in the middle of it. If Chris didn't show up in the saloon later that night, he'd go find him. He even felt glad when he saw Buck come walking back.

Buck looked at him, shaking his head. "That girl ain't nothing but trouble," he said, but didn't look too angry.

Vin laughed. "Yeah, clever, ain't she?"

"A bit too clever," Buck grumbled. "I saw Chris and Mary walk off together. Where were they going?"

"Mary's office," Vin said.

"They make a great couple," Buck said. He was beginning to like Vin, but he still couldn't stand the thought of he and Chris together. The more time Chris spent with Mary, the better. And as far as he'd seen, Chris hadn't shown any interest in Vin lately. Maybe what he'd sensed between them in the beginning had only been him imagining things. Maybe Chris was still the same man he'd always been. He knew exactly what Vin wanted from Chris, though.

"They're not a couple," Vin said, the thought of them being one making him nauseous.

Buck didn't fail to notice Vin's reaction. "But if they were, they'd make a great one," he said. "Besides, it's only a matter of time now before something happens between them." Buck looked at Vin, saw his questioning look. "Well," he began, deciding he could save being above lying for another time, "Me and Chris had a talk a couple of days back, and he told me how much he missed having a family. You know, a wife, children, all that. Mary's just the woman for him, and she's beautiful too. And still young enough to give Chris a couple of children." Buck smiled at Vin. He didn't think he'd been too hard on the young man. So what if he and Chris had never had that conversation, and so what if Chris had never breathed a word about wanting a new family. He had to do what he could to keep Chris from being humiliated, and having his reputation destroyed. It was just a coincidence that he had to hurt Vin in the process.

"A family, huh?" Vin said. Once again he felt as if he was all alone in this world. He didn't know if Buck was telling the truth or not, but what if he was? He could ask Chris tonight, but then Chris would know that Buck had been talking to him about him, and he might get angry at Buck. Buck was Chris's oldest friend, and Vin had noticed them getting along good again lately. He didn't want to ruin that. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see," he said. He told Buck he might see him later in the saloon, then walked away. He knew Buck would do anything to keep him and Chris apart, even lie. But Buck didn't know what had happened between the two of them that day, and what he'd said made sense. From what Buck had told him before, Chris had been happy with his family, and there was really no reason why he wouldn't want to have that again. No reason why he would choose to be with him instead. But if Chris thought he could tell him how much he meant to him, kiss him the way he had, then leave him for Mary or some other woman, he had another thing coming.

*

End, part IV. On to Part V